summer '12 preview\ Blonde Redhead "Spring and by Summer Fall"

√ Be a better skateboarder. Ollie's are possible, just gotta practise. Those kids you see wiping out when attemping to jump the curb will probably land it the next time, but your back will be turned.

√Camping!

√ Getting a drivers license (finally) and adopt an early 2000s pop-punk look for the photo ID.

√ Beaches! Sun! Beers on the beach! With Bob Marley! Beers on a patio in the sun with/without Bob Marley! Fizzy water in the kitchen like Kate Moss!

√ Fireworks on Canada Day, or sparklers any other day. Last July 1st I was actually astounded at how beautiful fireworks are and realized that they aren't pointless and wasteful. They're pretty close to being literally magical.

Japandroids "Crazy/Forever"

Japandroids are the sound of what summer feels like..or at least the feelings that go along with going to outdoor music festivals. This past week I've been listening to Post-Nothing a whooole lot, mostly because it makes me so excited for all the good things to come with this gift of early summer! The name of this song ("Crazy/Forever") reminds me of an from adventure time quote that my sister loves : "let's always be stupid...forever." I feel like the whole album speaks to this philosophy; with lyrics like "I don't want to worry about dying, just wana worry about sunshine girls," or "you can keep tomorrow, after tonight we're not gonna need it." Life is fun...being happy is simple.

GRAPEFRUIT\\ Crocodiles "I Wanna Kill"

Islamic architecture\\ Nobunny "Motorhead With Me"

Learning about Islamic architecture in art history. Metallic textural details (muqarnas) and blue scale-y tiling. This kinda dumb combination of beautiful historical architecture paired with a garage/punk song by Nobunny could say something about my mental state of the moment. Not sure what yet..

1. muqarnas (islamic architecture detail) | 2. Shah-i Zinda (Samarqand, Uzbekistan) | 3. Interior of the Church of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey (537)

Workspaces\\Monks & Melrose "Gentle"

Don't ever make excuses for not doing your art. Everything is within your control so just do it.

Using the computer as a tool...finding ways that it can be extremely helpful in making your art instead of a hindrance or distraction, that's what's key. Sometimes taking the computer away as a main resource can be really condusive to get working...it's not there to distract you in this endless search for new creative inspiration.

But then again, there are people that have taken advantage of this crazy power technology offers to make music. Monks & Melrose's new tape was done completely independantly with just the simple drive to make music. This statement sounds extremely obvious, but things won't be created unless you stop thinking about what you wana do and just do.

[Mark Borthwick, Tim Barber, Ingrid Schram, ii-ne kore]

March mix