Jun 9, 2009
another kamiak adventure (words)
on sunday, LD and i decided to introduce john to kamiak butte. i've never been to the butte during the summer before, having never stayed in pullman this late into the year before. it was incredibly green...in some places so green that it was hard to believe that it was natural (maybe it wasn't). we went up the short, switchbacky route, and i decided to cut across the last few switchbacks and climb straight up the side of the butte along a run of sharp rocks and mud. LD gamely followed me, and we eventually picked out way to the top and met back up with john, who immediately decided that he wanted to run back down to the bottom of the butte and back to the top. sadly (for me), he caught back up with us before we reached the summit. the three of us wheedled around on the summit for a bit, watching as a storm blew in, me (of course) arguing that we should sit in the middle of it and risk getting electrocuted while eating, and the others wanting to do something less exciting and less deadly. so we hiked back down the butte a bit and unpacked lunch. john had (of course) packed beer with the food, so when it eventually started raining, we ended up sprinting down the butte while drinking our beers in ultimate redneck fashion. fortunately, i remembered a) the ranger station was at the foot of the butte and 2) drinking in real life is illegal. amusingly, the descent on the path we ran down usually takes about 45 minutes (at a walk). we reached the bottom in 11 minutes. and now my shins hurt. but it was awesome.
another kamiak adventure (pictures)
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| From summer '09 |
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| From summer '09 |
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| From summer '09 |
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| From summer '09 |
Jun 3, 2009
fun with words #2
so this poem sucks, but was born from a conversation i had with my professor last week in which she used the phrase "old american mythology" to describe our tendency as a culture to prize science and empiricism over art. i couldn't get that phrase out of my head and still eventually want to spin it into a song or something, but here's what i did with it for Fun With Words:
Draft 1:
the old american mythology
that lines our lands with asphalt veins
that puts our circles into boxes
that creates five-syllable words for our art
that reduces our hearts to pink, fist-shaped muscles
will not protect us when we close our eyes
rules don't apply to dreams
control is no answer to chaos
you can't build a bigger gun
they all kill at both ends
catching butterflies doesn't make them yours
doesn't impart to you the secret of the cocoon
that's a gift given, not taken
Draft 2:
the long, black american car
driving through our veins
that get put into pine boxes
that leave nothing but words as art.
it reduces our pink, fist-shaped loves and
will only leave us when we open our eyes
adieu to dreams
control or chaos?
you have a bigger gun
they explode at the end of the barrel
catching butterflies can make you believe, but
can't impart the safety of the cocoon
that's your dream, not mine.
Draft 1:
the old american mythology
that lines our lands with asphalt veins
that puts our circles into boxes
that creates five-syllable words for our art
that reduces our hearts to pink, fist-shaped muscles
will not protect us when we close our eyes
rules don't apply to dreams
control is no answer to chaos
you can't build a bigger gun
they all kill at both ends
catching butterflies doesn't make them yours
doesn't impart to you the secret of the cocoon
that's a gift given, not taken
Draft 2:
the long, black american car
driving through our veins
that get put into pine boxes
that leave nothing but words as art.
it reduces our pink, fist-shaped loves and
will only leave us when we open our eyes
adieu to dreams
control or chaos?
you have a bigger gun
they explode at the end of the barrel
catching butterflies can make you believe, but
can't impart the safety of the cocoon
that's your dream, not mine.
Jun 1, 2009
pink elephant sessions
i mixed these as well as i could. which is to say that they don't sound that good, but they don't sound that bad, either.
back in february, i set aside a weekend to record a few as-yet-unrecorded songs for a friend's benefit CD. she wanted a song or two. so of course i recorded fourteen. because that's how i roll.
there aren't really any completely new songs on here, per se, though "insomnia song", a song i originally recorded for a movie a few friends and i were making last fall (the movie never got made, due to grad school) is new but doesn't have lyrics. just crickets.
there is also a persistent odd pinging throughout a few of these recordings, a problem i fixed eventually but couldn't completely edit out of these particular tracks.
so if you're interested in hearing yet another version of some of these songs, download this...though i still think the winter '08 show is probably my best recording, this has a few moments of good-ness. here's the official tracklist file:
Ben Bunting
May 26th, 2009
Stepford Studios
Pullman, WA
Taped by Ben Bunting
Mixing/Etc. by Ben Bunting
Source: AUD
AUD: 2 MXL Condenser 990 Mics > Behringer Eurorack UB1202 > HP Lappy Soundcard
Lineage: Audacity 1.34b > FLAC
1. Intro > Better To Have Loved (5:01)
2. Back To Ohio (Pink Elephant Album version) (6:18)
3. Memphis, Tennessee (Mason Jennings cover) (2:16)
4. The Melody (3:33)
5. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (Bob Dylan cover) (4:23)
6. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key (Billy Bragg/Wilco cover) (4:35)
7. Molly (Pink Elephant Album version) (4:18)
8. Sunshine (3:28)
9. Sunshine (3:36)
10.I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan cover) (4:20)
11.Ways To Fly (4:09)
12.Hospitals and Jails (Mason Jennings cover, performed with Shipping & Handling) (4:19)
13.Palace (4:23)
14.Insomnia Song (Love Song For a Film) > Outro (3:00)
Total Time: 57:39
and here's the link.
back in february, i set aside a weekend to record a few as-yet-unrecorded songs for a friend's benefit CD. she wanted a song or two. so of course i recorded fourteen. because that's how i roll.
there aren't really any completely new songs on here, per se, though "insomnia song", a song i originally recorded for a movie a few friends and i were making last fall (the movie never got made, due to grad school) is new but doesn't have lyrics. just crickets.
there is also a persistent odd pinging throughout a few of these recordings, a problem i fixed eventually but couldn't completely edit out of these particular tracks.
so if you're interested in hearing yet another version of some of these songs, download this...though i still think the winter '08 show is probably my best recording, this has a few moments of good-ness. here's the official tracklist file:
Ben Bunting
May 26th, 2009
Stepford Studios
Pullman, WA
Taped by Ben Bunting
Mixing/Etc. by Ben Bunting
Source: AUD
AUD: 2 MXL Condenser 990 Mics > Behringer Eurorack UB1202 > HP Lappy Soundcard
Lineage: Audacity 1.34b > FLAC
1. Intro > Better To Have Loved (5:01)
2. Back To Ohio (Pink Elephant Album version) (6:18)
3. Memphis, Tennessee (Mason Jennings cover) (2:16)
4. The Melody (3:33)
5. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (Bob Dylan cover) (4:23)
6. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key (Billy Bragg/Wilco cover) (4:35)
7. Molly (Pink Elephant Album version) (4:18)
8. Sunshine (3:28)
9. Sunshine (3:36)
10.I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan cover) (4:20)
11.Ways To Fly (4:09)
12.Hospitals and Jails (Mason Jennings cover, performed with Shipping & Handling) (4:19)
13.Palace (4:23)
14.Insomnia Song (Love Song For a Film) > Outro (3:00)
Total Time: 57:39
and here's the link.
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