I Feel Better

Wanted to share a great song and video from Frightened rabbit. I’ve been listeting to them constantly for about a year now. Great lyrics, great music. Enjoy.

Dragging Pictures

I was at the swap meet the other day and found a box full of pictures. I asked the lady how much she wanted for them and she said I could have them for free. I hadn’t even looked through the pictures and I was excited. “Can I ask you what you want them for?” she asked. I told her I did art pieces with them and then she told me about her son who’s a photographer and who tends to see pictures where she doesn’t.

While at home I looked through the pictures and found a few common themes. Some of the pictures were of empty bars and restaurants. Just pictures of furniture and floors, etc. Most of the pictures were of costume parties, possibly at these same locations. The overall atmosphere was jovial and the costume theme seemed pretty common at their parties. Once taken out of context, however, the people turn into characters.

A friend of mine who's a DJ in Rome asked me if I could work on some art for his next show. The theme of the event was going to be drag. I immediately remembered the box of pictures and agreed to send him something. I was off from work for a couple of days and thought of these captions. For the most part, I thought of the captions first and then paired them with the pictures.

growing together

It’s been a while since I write something here. The new year has found me with a new job which keeps me very busy.

I was playing around with some pictures the other night and came up with these captions. I sat at my desk and stared at the pictures while at my typewriter. I would type the captions as they came to my head.

The art on the wall

I took a stroll while in Mexicali and brought my camera along. I walked along the old neighborhood where I grew up for part of my life. While other parts of the city are getting new malls and Walmarts, this part has seen little business growth. The neighborhood looks just like it did 20 years ago, but abandoned establishments and graffiti are more common now.

Even under the economic strain, the area is very vibrant and small businesses sprout everywhere. More importantly, art is everywhere. You see it in the local taco stand or the laundromat. I’m a big fan of the signs for all these businesses.

When I was driving back from Mexicali I stopped at a McDonald’s next to the outlet mall and was put off by the familiarity of it all. Nowhere near where signs of personality in the area.

First Work Day

Ah, the first work day of the year. There’s so much about the first day of the year that makes you feel like you’re moving forward in time. You think of resolutions, you start talking of the previous year in past tense, etc. The first day of work, however, simply can feel like just another work day. Unless you’re herding sheep, that is. Then maybe things would be different.

I must have hit the snooze button five times this morning. I was dreaming that I was at the Ida Maria show, so naturally I did not want that dream to end. I actually have tickets for her show in LA, which is something I’m totally excited about (hence the dream). It’ll be the first great show of the year. This was the first song of hers that I heard. I’ve had this song in my ipod for almost a year now, and I still play it all the time.

Is it me you're looking for?

My boyfriend got me a turntable for Christmas and I could not be happier. I stopped trying to collect vinyl years ago mainly because my old record player had broken down. Buying a new turntable was one of many things on my to-do list, and of course I never got to it.

After moving a couple of years ago, I decided to clean out my collection and work with the space I had in my new apartment. It was a tough decision, but I didn’t have the space for a big collection in my apartment. I picked out the records I figured I could do without and made them part of my moving sale. I wasn’t playing the records, so I would rather someone else play them. I still remember watching a young college girl walk away with my Lionel Richie “Cant’ Slow Down” record. I really hope she put it to good use.

My collection now consists mainly of 50’s and 60’s lounge, some 70’s and 80’s rock, and some Latin pop and rock from the 70s’ and 80’s. Last night I was listening to a reading of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. I also listened to some Talking Heads and some Jose Jose. I always listen to music while working on my art, so now I’ll get to explore all the vinyl that I bought at so many different thrift stores throughout the years. Maybe tonight I’ll play my Menudo record. In the meantime though, some college girl is probably spinning this…

You must listen to The Planets

What’s your favorite Los Planetas song? I struggled the other night after I was texted this question. I thought about it for a while, eventually replying with “Anuncio Para Coches”, which is a song that I used to play obsessively. I had the feeling that I was leaving others out though, mainly the whole “Encuentros con Entidades” record. I bought that record the first time I went to Europe and slowly fell in love with it. That travel experience was pretty important in my life, and I like to think of these songs as something I brought back from that trip.

I played the record after I was asked the question to try and pick a favorite track. There are so many stand-out ones that I couldn’t find a favorite song. It’s just one of those records. Your favorite song can depend on your current mood and circumstances. In this case I’ll say it’s this song, being that it’s an introduction to the record and it’s the one I’ve probably played the most. What an amazing video too.