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Crank it out

I've been hanging stuff up every couple months at Savages Ale House for the First Thursday Artwalk here in Muncie. Savages is kind enough to let me display my art there for the month and, in exchange, I spend almost everything I make off art on beer/wine/food. I've been really blessed to have a rad venue to hang my stuff where all my buds work and hang out. I've been double blessed by selling several things. I'm doing it again in February and have been working on stuff for it constantly (when I'm not at my day job as a stupid mall store clerk). Here's a few pics from stuff I'm working on (and a aerial view of my tech deck skatepark). Sorry, no mix this week (as if anyone downloads that shit). Some of these are off my phone.

Smoking by the dumpster in December.

The worst part about working at the mall this winter has been smoking outside. Every 15-minute-break, I have to go to the back and suit up in winter gear, and then ride the elevator down. I maneuver through racks of clothes, still getting "excuse me, do you work here?" at least once each pass. Even in a black hoodie. Even with a hat on.
When I get outside, I steel myself against the wind rolling in from across the vast, white lot. I always feel like a salty sailor (salty semen, if you will) standing on deck on some arctic expedition. There are also the customers outside; 1 in 5 will make some sort of face and/or a nasty comment about the smoke. And it's never directly TO me. It's always some passive aggressive phrase like "cover Kraden's face! Ew!" I sometimes stand right by the pretzle joint's dumptster as sort of a "hey - this is a designated stinking-area. Fuck you."

Nobody has sympathy for a working gal' any more.

Anyhow, so this mix has been in heavy winter rotation. I've learned that if I wear earbuds on break with the music cranked - I tune everything else out but the sacred moments of inhalation, hold, and exhalation. I haven't really gotten tired of this mix the last two shifts of work. Stream directly below or hit the download link at the bottom.



MediaMonkey Track List

# Artist Title Length Album Track # Year Genre Rating Bitrate Media
1. Pungent Judy Coffee Machine
2. Japanther Fuk Tha Prince A Pull Iz Dum
3. The Replacements Careless
4. Blank Dogs Falling Back
5. Dow Jones & The Industrials
6. Oneida The Winter Shaker
7. The Cure - 10.15 Saturday Night (home demo)
8. Afterlives - I Am the Heroic
9. Polvo - My Kimono
10. Cave In - Juggernaut
11. Swans - Half Life
12. T.N.T. Tribble - Half a Pint of Whiskey
Total Tracks: 12
Duration: 0h 37m 47s




I went to an awesome basement show last night. It was the first party-type thing I'd been to in a long time with teenagers. It got nice and rowdy but maintained a good vibe because all the bands were stellar and nice dudes. I ended up with whiskey and awesomeness ensued: little basement slamdancin, fell in the snow (don't remember), Rallys (also don't remember). I've got a pretty awesome boyfriend. He played a killer set with The Bashville Boys and managed to wrangle me away from a group of teen girls in somebody's kitchen.






Only got a couple pics courtesy of my phone and someone's facebook posts.

Hey Ladies.

The female voice is a fickle thing when it comes to some kinds of music. I always used to say that I didn't like most female vocalist fronted bands "oh, except for Sonic Youth, and wait! Bikini Kill! Oh Oh and Kim Deal in The Pixies...." and that seems to go on and on. Because the truth is - the older I've gotten, it seems - I really enjoy a lot of bands fronted with ladies. It just doesn't matter much to me anymore. As long as they sound nothing like Nelly Furtado or some shit like that. Well, there are some ladies that give it a stretch - girls-screaming-metal is almost never cute or brutal. I actually have trouble conjuring up the ballz to sing lyrics I write to some of my band's songs. I always here the singer from Pissed Jeans singing the song in my head. My voice is, sadly, far far from his.

A few nights ago a girl-buddy/bartender of my favorite place, Savages, asked me to help her come with more girl-fronted bands she could play at the bar while working. There is enough testosterone in that joint to fuel a tanker and a few songs with a feminine touch can do nothing but good. But the guys in there don't want to hear sap - so here is a mixtape I came up with. It's chalk-full of brutal femininity while not being a long, whining nag.

You can download it here or just stream it below.





Tracklist

My sentiments exactly.

False Jesii Part 2
by Pissed Jeans

I know there are things going on tonight, but I don't bother
Only ten minutes across town that's right, but I don't bother

I could put on a tight black shirt, but I don't bother
I could hit the gym so it looks real nice, but I don't bother
I could tell a joke and make the whole room laugh, but I don't bother
I could show up with the coldest six pack, but I don't bother

No to everything

I could match you drink for drink, but I don't bother
I know I could make her boyfriend mad, but I don't bother
I could captivate with a story of mine, but I don't bother
I could go on and start a conga line, but I don't bother

No to everything

Scare Trax!

In this final week of October - I'm just now getting around to digging into the internet-Halloween craze. Every year lots of bloggers are posting killer Halloween comps - and I'm joining the ranks once again. Behold, one of the scariest comps out there. NSFW or children - this is in the true spook-spirit. Best listened to on headphones and/or in the dark.

The first song is one I put together using some old Aleister Crowley recordings with looped sounds from BBC Sound Effects - Death And Horror, ripped from glorious vinyl. I used Virtual DJ to mix it. The rest of the tracks are all evocative of my Halloweens past. While straying away from obvious classics like The Misfits and Moster Mash stuff - I've included music that reminds me of youth. Sludgy, dark metal like Swine and the twitchy theatrics of Idiot Flesh make me want to load up on eggs and toilet paper, steal a sixer from someone's parents, and hit the Halloween streets.





Download it here, Jannell's Scare Trax 2010, or listen to it below with no download. Spread it around and let me know if you dig it.



There are a few Halloween comps I've run across that I've really been digging. The first new Halloween comp I've come across this year is by http://rockisdeadrip.blogspot.com/The artwork (which is standard CD case format - so you can print it off and give this as a righteous gift) is rad and the artists and arrangement are fantastic.




From the blog: I've been gathering these fiendish tracks from various sources including YouTube which has been very helpful in digging up some pretty spookatucular sounds,and songs.Once again I designed the artwork myself with what I consider to be better than ever.

And he put out 2 other volumes! Awesome!

And http://rockisdeadrip.blogspot.com/2010/10/rock-is-deadrippresents-sounds-from.html is where to check it out and download. Leave the guy a comment if you dig it - that's the only way these dudes know their doing a good job! One other comp to mention asap is Halloween Hits, which is only up for the month of October. Better get it quick!

Stay tuned for more Halloween links, tunes, and news.

No one's alone with videophone.

You may be one of those people who bitch and moan about the future (being now, 2010) is lame. You wanted a hover board and robot slaves. You wanted a machine that would dress you, shave you, and feed you breakfast. I may not have a hover board - and nothing shaves my legs for me - but I've got Skype.

I came stumbling in right before dawn today after another sleazy night downtown. I plopped down on the dirty couch - the silence of an empty room was pressing me down and spinning my head. You know how it is when you've been out with people all night - loud bars and laughing and yelling. When it's all over and I start to come down - it feels like falling down stairs over and over in my brain - like an Escher staircase of drunken doom. I tried to play guitar. I failed. I tried to read - it made me sick. I could not watch tv. Sometimes the buzz of the tv itself is enough to make me anxious. I was not tired and I turned on some Japanther and stared at the wall - starting to feel like the last person alive. Then my computer rang.


One thing about drinking on Skype is that you will want to hug the far-away-friend you are talking to. And you can't. But you can: show each other cool stuff in your apartments, play guitar, and look at each others cats.




Living in Muncie,Indiana - I've had a lot of good friends move to bigger cities. Just recently we lost Peter Gaunt to Austin, TX. I have no doubt that it is a good thing - but that thought doesn't help when you miss your pal late at night.




It does help when a rad pal rings you on videophone when you're drunk and lonely. We had a pretty good time and even thought I couldn't hug him - I felt like I got to hang out with my pal. I love the future.