A Post-Christmas Poem

Not mine but a good one.



Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on the slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: Were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their god.
I should be glad of another death.

"12/25"

wake up

to thin paper cocoons immediately undone,
their contents consumed.
the floor is littered with a terrible refuse.
and faces drain of anticipation,
as multicolored lights illuminate
fabricated smiles.

and then:

"that's it?"
(the offerings expire)
"it's not even what I asked for.
i needed more

than this"

the air is still and strange when
greedy eyes glance at sturdy walls
and stare at flawless feet.

Christmas Snippets

a tip of the hat to a few of my Christmas favorites:

When Christmas Comes Around

a late entry.

real happy about the way

this one came together.

hope you feel the same.

enjoy.

When Christmas Comes Around - Be Thine Mountain

The Garden of Earthly...

Happy Holidays all! Loving the card designs that have gone up. Wishing that I had the talent to produce such beautiful imagery. Anyhow, wanted to share something I just posted on my blog. Recently have been thinking of this piece by Bosch and drew from it some inspiration... The spacing is out of whack, and it's not what I intended; blame Google! Some words are supposed to be offset from others, to give them more space for emphasis but this isn't bad. Happy Holidays! I'll have to jump on the "Country Christmas" train now.

"The Garden of Earthly..."


Split in three.
Heaven,
Hell,
And the interlude.


(triptych trifecta)


Holy Ghost apparatus:
produced me.


And God knows,
I decay.


Naked bodies, piled high
(insinuating
intercourse)


What I’m trying to say is
We haven’t got time.


for most of these

rotting flesh

...delights

...Holiday artwork- Advent #4...

This is my last holiday artwork post, which means that this is my creation for this year's card. As you have probably noticed, the idea of advent has really been on my mind this season. I didn't realize how much, until the other night I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a few phrases running through my head. I've shared them below, unedited, just the way they rolled through my mind.
As you view this card, I hope you feel as though it was especially made for you, because it was....and this is my way of wishing you and your family a super holiday!!! Have a great week!!!

...ADVENT...

-----------------------

(The) Coming

Combing

Through the sands of time....................................

..........................................................Sifting and Shifting,

Between arrival & future destination...

...Waiting again.......................

{)Country Christmas(}{)A Mixtape(}

been savin' the best fur last folks. this here's ma last Christmas mix of the season. it's a blend of classic bluegrass, country & western. i've derived much joy during the collecting & patching together of this collection. there's something here for everybody, ranging from songs that celebrate the Savior to songs about the broken-hearted Christmas blues. there are songs of Christmas on the range, Christmas in the country, Christmas in the mountains, and there's even one about being in a Christmas tree delivery truck. some of these songs go way back with recordings that span several generations up to the present date. for me personally, they produce a genuinely warm feeling as i think of the intimacy of this ongoing celebration that mainly happens within the context of family. there's something about the country inflection, the tone of the songs, the vulnerability and playfulness of the lyrics that has a way of casting my memories back to childhood. I pray it'll do the same for you & yours. A special thanks to Josh for providing his talents to the album artwork displayed above as well as all the blogs out there who are kickin' out the crackly goodness. Merry Christmas everybody ~ Doug

Blue Christmas - Leon Huff
Christmas Angel - Stompin' Tom Connors
Christmas Is Near - The Stanley Brothers
Old Timey Christmas - Merle Lindsay & The Oklahoma Night Riders
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks - The Louvin Brothers
Footprints In The Snow - Jack Guthrie
When It's Christmas On The Range - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Santa & The Kids - Charley Pride
You're The Angel On My Christmas Tree - Faron Young
Lonely Christmas - Ferlin Husky
Christmas With You - Johnny Cash & June Carter
Winter Wonderland - Willie Nelson
Here At Christmas - Be Thine Mountain
Hanukkah Dance - Woody Guthrie
Baby, It's Cold Outside - Homer & Jethro with June Carter
Christmas Is Just Another Day For Me - Ernest Tubb
Blue Christmas Lights - Buck Owens
Old-Fashion Christmas - Jimmy Martin
If Santa Claus Could Bring You Back To Me - Jimmy Wakely
Silent Night - Wilf Carter
A Cowboy's Christmas Song - Leon McAuliffe And His Western Swing Band
White Christmas - Kitty Wells
(Merry Christmas) We Must Be Having One - Tammy Wynette
Be My Valentine On Christmas - Glenna Bell
Country Christmas - Loretta Lynn

Christmas Time's A-Comin' - Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys

Gonna Wrap My Heart In Christmas - Hank Thompson & The Brazos Valley Boys
Truckin' Trees For Christmas - Red Simpson
Jingle Bells - Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers
Merry Christmas To All - Al Dexter & His Troopers

^^^^^MERRY^^MOUNTAIN^^^^^

via !!crescere!!, Be Thine Mountain would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. Ben & I wrote and recorded the following song last night and would like to gift it to you. it's a little rough around the edges, but it's wrapped in love. look for a second appearance of this number on an upcoming country mix of the classic sort. peace & joy ~ B.T.M.


Here At Christmas - Be Thine Mountain

...Holiday Artwork- Advent #3.1...

Here's a couple more pieces inspired by the advent season. Feel free to write something based on them. I have been missing the posts filled with creative writing, even though I have been enjoying all the great music mixes....let's (inspire/be inspired by) one another!!! Share the gift of your thoughts and words....

...Holiday artwork- Advent #3...

Here are two more cards that I created in years past. We're almost down to the final week. During this season, I hope that you're feeling excitement rather than stress; joy instead of anxiety. BlesSINGs to you and yours!!!

<(*)>lights on a house<(*)>

last year this time, my good friend ben nester (one half of be thine mountain) gifted friends & family with a homemade christmas ep. he's given me permission to put it up here for all ears to hear. it consists of two traditionals & two originals. you can tell which one i favor by the title of this post. keep your eyes peeled for volume two.

oh come, oh come - b. nester
more christmastime - b. nester
silent night - b. nester
lights on a house - b. nester

...A Mix of BlackForrestry: Christmas Time Is Coming To Town...

Here's my contribution to the stream of Christmas mixes that are flooding the blog. I wasn't going to post a mix, but I received an offer from Ryan "The Coolest Cat Around" Portnoy to participate in a "good-old-fashioned mixtape swap". So, I figured that I would post the results here for you guys to enjoy as well. If you are unfamiliar with the ever-coolness of the Portnoys, check out some of their projects at http://kellanstudios.com/.
This past year and a half, I have fallen in love with soul, gospel, and garage music, so it is appropriate that the music of this mix reflects that. These tunes are the ones that have been bringing a special amount of merriment to my holiday preparations. Hopefully, it will do the same for you.

"A Mix of BlackForrestry: Christmas Time Is Coming To Town"

01 The Beatles- Christmas message 1969 (excerpt)

02 The Sonics- Santa Claus

03 The Vel-Mars- Jingle Bells

04 Elvis Presley- Santa Claus Is Back In Town

05 Otis Redding- White Christmas

06 The Ronettes- Frosty The Snowman

07 The Supremes- Silver Bells

08 Darlene Love- Marshmallow World

09 Honey & The Bees- Jing Jing A Ling

10 Carla Thomas- Gee Whiz It's Christmas

11 Booker T & The MGs- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

12 The Temptations- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

13 Harvey Averne Band- Let's Get It Together This Christmas

14 Wild Honey- Angel's Christmas

15 The Funk Brothers- Winter Wonderland

16 The Poets- Merry Christmas, Baby

17 Smokey Robinson- Deck The Halls

18 Betty Lloyd- Snowflakes

19 Desmond Dekker & The Aces- Christmas Day

20 The Shurfine Singers- Silent Night & The 11 O'Clock News

21 Rotary Connection- Christmas Child

22 Zebra- Christmas Morning (Sean Bonniwell Re-edit)

23 Gene Toone- Baby Boy

24 Manhattans- It's That Time Of Year

25 Bill Withers- Gift Of Giving

26 Don Mason- Here's Wishing You A Merry Christmas

27 The Galaxies- The Christmas Song

--------------------------------------------

You can download the mix broken up as tracks with this link

http://www.mediafire.com/?8jj9425f6e51w7g

Please let me know if the tracks download out of order or there are any other issues when downloading.

WE FREE KINGS

some Christmas jAZZ for your listening pleasure. this was a tough mix to make. to my personal dismay, there appears to be very little material to work with in the avant garde department, though i'll never give up the search. however, this is excellent jazz throughout with a heavy dose of the Christmas Spirit, including a few tracks that really push the envelope. if you listen to nothing else, please hear roland kirk's (cool lookin' cat on the cover) interpretation of we three kings. a yuletide gem to rival coltrane's greensleeves (also included).
Merry Christmas

silent night, holy night - i heart lung
winter wonderland - sonny rollins
we free kings - roland kirk
variations on a Christmas theme - the modern jazz quartet
God rest ye merry gentlemen - oscar peterson
have yourself a merry little Christmas - dexter gordon quartet
what child is this? - vince guaraldi
chipmunk Christmas - john scofield
santa claus is coming to town - jimmy smith
sleighride (aka midnight sleighride) - sauter-finegan & their orchestra
little drummer boy - jazzcode
do you hear what i hear? - jack brokensha quartet
we three kings of orient are - wynton marsalis septet
greensleeves - john coltrane
white Christmas - charlie parker
hymn for st. john of shanghai - create (!)

...Holiday art- Advent #2...

I'm going to include 2 past card covers in this post. They are both from several years back.

{)Christmas Eve(}{)A Mixtape(}

this is christmas eve, one half of a two disc christmas mix i made for some close friends in 2008, though i've made a few revisions for the sake of improvement. this was the mellow half. the other half, entitled christmas morn', was more on the peppy side. perhaps i'll put it up next year. this will be the first of three christmas mixes that i intend to put up between now and somewhere's around the 20th. there are some really wonderful renditions of the classics here, as well as some fine originals. merry christmas. doug

carol of bells - i heart lungs
joy to the world - clem snide
holy night - a perfect friend
o come, o come emmanuel - belle & sebastian
only at christmas time - sufjan stevens
the little drummer boy -vandaveer
lo, how a rose e're blooming - feist
christmas (baby, please come home) - arab strap
in the bleak midwinter - dan zimmerman
silent night - richard hawley
blue christmas - the perishers
the first noel - benji cossa
wrap me up - the sad cobras & the magic twig family
christmas time is here again (bring out the joy!) - my morning jacket
we're going to the country - sufjan stevens
christmas eve, driving home - frontier ruckus
don't be scared, there is a savior - joel pickell
shenandoah - le loup
the choir at your door - the choir at your door
last christmas - erland oye
if you were born today - low
o little town of bethlehem - the innocence mission
white christmas - snow den
it came upon a midnight clear - laura gibson
jingle bells - julian koster

Closer

I just noticed that !!crescere!! is closing in on 100 posts. I am honored to be a part of this blog. It has inspired me and given me the opportunity to, hopefully, encourage other artists in their quests. I have mentioned many things that have had a huge impact on me this year. Some of them have come from this blog. Earlier this year I went through a very powerful change; an awakening. God, and I blame Him because this kind of beguiling activity has His modus operandi all over it, has used many instruments (some smooth, some blunt) to pierce me, hook me and draw me deeper into His heart. Holiness has been a huge reality that He has been opening my eyes to. Then a convergence of all the arts in my life (that I dabble in) being instruments of worshipping Jesus. It is as if everything I have learned, from the CD sleeves that inspired me to writing poetry in middle school, to my modest song writing based off passages of Scripture, has converged into a mountain peak and exploded at the tip into confetti and streams of turqouises, teals, canary yellows, golds and oranges. I am grateful that !!crescere!! is part of the journey.

Here is the short of it. Amidst a week of prayer I had a dream that I was at a concert. The guys playing didn't have their shirts on. For some reason that stood out to me. I heard the term "gravio rio". At first I thought it was the name of the band. As I researched I found "agravio" which means insult or wrong. Rio, of course, means river in Spanish. I have an affinity for aspects of Latin culture so this definitely spoke to me. I finally concluded that I was in the "wrong river". Though I wasn't in a terribly sinful state, necessarily, I wasn't completely in His pleasure.

One day the Lord spoke to me and said. "You can go higher". I realized then and since that I was spending more time in my soul than in His Spirit. As I said there were many tools He used. John Mark McMillan's The Medicine album, Philip Graham Ryken's Art For God's Sake, Makato Fujimura's work, Rick Joyner's articles on the arts and prophecy, as well as the days of prayer that were going on at our church at the time. It has opened doors in me that I am watchful to keep open. I just want to thank you guys for any response, encouragment or support you've given. If I'm on here a little less it's because I'm still striving to make Him my first audience. This is a beginning for me. I have spent 30 years stumbling toward this. Now I purpose to spend the remainder of my days here perfecting the best offering possible. Oh, it also could be because of my technological ineptness that I can't post a single song. Anyways, blessings to you all.

-:o:- First Attempt at Overlay -:o:-

Doug, I know we talked about Microsoft and how you've mastered their image program... but I don't think I even have it so I decided to play around with photoshop. I don't even know what I did, but I somehow induced some interesting effects by monkeying around. Overlaid a photo I found of my favorite place from when I was a little boy. A pond in Drew University's Zuck arboretum. Merging distant past and present... while trying to learn a thing or two: Youtube has some great tutorials. Photoshop has many, many functions. Layers are confusing! Anyhow, I like the way the colors turned out for sure. An eerie effect. Not too similar to your overlays which I'm so fond of, but I'm looking forward to playing around some more.

<{(come winter)}>~<{(a mixtape)}>

greetings. happy first day of advent. here's a new mix intended to make you feel glad. if i were to try to describe it i'd say it sounds like the internal buzzings of someone dizzy with love. i realize that i might not have won you over with that statement, so allow me to explain:

the songs cover a lot of territory while consistently maintaining a sense of reflective joy & anticipation. somebody alone in a big room or ambling up a forest path with no one looking on. lost in thought. full of hope, acceptance, mystery. at times the music is hardly conscious - outside of time - flowing in the current. other times it's totally uninhibited - leaping giddy. i hope you've been here before. it's a good place to be.

what's the inspiration? i was thinking of a friend who i probably just described. one jaben vandenburg who this coming saturday will wed one carly arends. this mix is dedicated to them. i wish, hope & pray the very best to both of you & hope this music aptly reflects the coming days. congratulations - i wish i could be there.

as for everyone else, i would recommend this mix for activities such as drawing, walking, writing, necking, bubble-bathing, chessing, cooking & all around chillaxin'. enjoy. doug

birds pt. 1 - monster rally

a tender history of rust - do make say think

whisper always - wet wings

aesthetics of clouds - wixel

rails - bing & ruth

seeplymouth - volcano choir

look into the air - explosions in the sky

glory - 2%

vaarwel - wixel

follow me (john denver) - damien jurado & richard swift

filling our lives with each other - geotic

from one two - brometer

train song - vashti bunyan

winter waltz #1 - wixel

green - message to bears

womb duvet - origamibiro

lovers' carvings - bibio

honey moon - monster rally

hidden beneath - message to bears

wedding - ljudbilden & piloten

Recent Poetry

(None of these really relate to each other; but I thought I'd put some recent poetry out there...)

"And Yet We Wait"

I still crouch in ribbons of weeds
-Bare to the bone-
Apprehensiveness illuminating
Men all around me.
I can't stand the quiet any longer.
So I ask them
What they think of the world.
"We don't know," they whisper.
"It's been a while."
We all turn pale.
Everyone forces a laugh
Until the wind asks us
What we're waiting for.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Solubility"

Fit right in.

Watch the way you ask questions;

When I'm not even around.

I told you,

"I'll be down by the river searching for driftwood."

It makes me feel at home.

So don't tell me you're lonely.

There's no such thing as an empty room,

Only a vacant mind.

You could be here with me,

It doesn't matter if I'm not around.

The Hudson smells nice this time of year,

You'd fit right in.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Riverside Interlude"

Autumn's mockery
Creates an absence of boats,
And the willow speaks for itself.

Half of a worn couple shows affection:
Speechless eyes and a limp arm embrace.
Why am I alone?

Cold brick slabs retain
River water overflow.
"A monument to those lost at sea"
True patriotism.

Scarce light scatters slowly
Over a family torn to pieces,
God knows why
The seagulls don't mind
The cold.

I wonder where the fish will go?
Swim away with me?

Brick and mortar won't last forever...

...Holiday artwork...

Since we are in the midst of the holiday season, I have chosen to participate in the holiday spirit by sharing some of my artwork that is inspired by the holidays and, more specifically, advent. Each year I try to create a card to send to friends and family. Over the next few weeks, I am going to post cards from the past few years. In my final post, I will share this year's creation and you can let me know what you think. Hopefully, these images will help spark anticipation and excitement for the celebration of this season.

...History Of Redemption- book and prints...

A friend of mine (the illustrious and ever-cool, Ron Babington) posted some info about this book on facebook. My attention was caught especially by the illustrations. It's interesting to see the ways people creatively express the story of their faith. I thought maybe some of you guys would be interested in checking it out. http://www.historyofredemption.org/

you are my flower

i can't stop listening to this song.  i absolutely love it.  a man i work with and assist has a fantastic classic country collection and i found this gem as a result.  this is a slightly different version in terms of instrumentation, but just as good, and you gotta love the old footage.  stuff like this makes me pround to be an american - classic country is precious.

Beautiful Abstract and Expressionism

I love this Bible. I ended up ordering some for our kids. It dawned on me one Sunday that girls usually have cooler, more decorative Bibles than we do. I was like, "Why don't guys have artistic Bibles" so I started looking for some. I found these. My bank had to wire London to get them but it was definitely worth it.

http://www.wtlbiblepublications.com/

Blue Canvas

So I was reading this art magazine, Blue Canvas, and noticed that during an interview they asked some really neat questions. I thought I'd share them with you fellow artists and see what responses might pop up.
1. If you had a choice from any artist that has ever lived, who would you choose to sit down and have a conversation with?

2. What is your favorite movie of all time? Why?

3. If I had special powers they would be...

4. The world would be better if...

5. I'm addicted to...

6. When I have a creative block I...

7. Growing up I...

Have fun with this. We may actually inspire one another with our answers.

Oh, also check out my blog Lightning Rod and The Conduits. Pretty fun stuff: http://lightningrodconduit.blogspot.com/

...A Mix of BlackForrestry: Lite-ly Fall...

Here's a mix of some of the stuff that I've been listening to lately- folksy stuff from the 1960's and 70's. Listen to it here or download it as individual tracks with the mediafire link, burn a cd, and check it out while you travel to your Thanksgiving festivities. They'll be a couple more mixes of this variety popping up in the near future. And remember, if there's something that catches your ear, keep your eyes open for it at your local record shop and pick up a hard copy of it...enjoy!!!

"A Mix of BlackForrestry: Lite-ly Fall"

01. Heron- "Car Crash"
02. Bill Fay- "I Hear You Calling"
03. Marc Brierley- "The Answer Is"
04. Bob Desper- "Dry Up Those Tears"
05. Anne Briggs- "The Time Has Come"
06. John Fischer- "The Cold Cathedral"
07. Jim Schoenfeld- "Before"
08. Jeffrey Cain- "For You"
09. David Hemmings- "After The Rain"
10. Jim Sullivan- "So Natural"
11. Skip Spence- "Little Hands"
12. Billy Nicholls- "It Brings Me Down"
13. Chris Britton- "Why Did I Let You Go"
14. Ted Lucas- "Plain And Sane And Simple Melody"
15. Michael Yonkers- "The Day of Jubilee"
16. Ben Atkins- "That Brings Me Down"
17. Alexis Korner- "Sunrise"
18. Jackson C Frank- "Milk And Honey"
19. Duncan Browne- "Final Asylum"
20. Susan Christie- "Rainy Day"
21. Linda Perhacs- "Hey, Who Really Cares"
22. Wendy & Bonnie- "By The Sea"

http://www.mediafire.com/?291fn7j1hea2tc3

mixcloud: fluid radio

i've been meaning to look into this "mixcloud" business for a while now. i come across there widgets on certain blogs and am always impressed with what i see & hear. i'm still reading up on the details, but basically it's a place on the web where poeple can create a radio station that plays full, uninterupted radio shows that people can stream (not download). these are basically mixtapes and they can be embedded on blogs and elsewhere in the form of some pretty nifty widgets as seen below. Fluid Radio is one mixcloud radio station with many dj's making radioshows/mixes. Everything i've come across of theirs so far has been really good - a good blend of ambient stuff & folk stuff for the most part. i've been listening to both lately, so three cheers for Fluid Radio! This is a very chill, folk driven mix i was listening to for the first time this morning & it sounds great. It's from a dj/musician by the name of Nils Frahm. if you like this Sibylle Baier tune i'll be including it on a forthcoming mix that i've been intending to put up for some time now. enjoy. doug

www.mixcloud.com ~ www.mixcloud.com/FluidRadio

...{the end is at hand}-{Jesus music, vol. 1}...

If you enjoy rare, psychedelic music...or if you enjoy "Jesus Music"...or if, like me (& Doug), you can get down with both, then, boy oh boy, do we have a post for you.

You may not know it, but Doug and I have been brewing up this little treat for a while. In our never-ending search through music of all types, but especially psychedelic and folk music, we kept bumping into these great, almost unheard of records- albums from the Jesus People Movement of the 1960's and 70's. Although some of the tunes from that movement may have had a cheesy quality to them, there's some really interesting stuff that came out of that period and subculture as well. As much as Doug and I love making mixes, upon discussion, we realized that we had never made a comprehensive mix of songs from this category. So, we decided to work cooperatively to make this compilation for you to enjoy. If you have any interest in "outsider" music, then I think you'll find these tracks to be pretty engaging.

While putting this together, we discovered that we have a bunch more stuff to share, so this will be the first volume, with several more to follow sometime in the future. These posts are intended to turn people on to these obscure artists. If you like what you hear, feel free to check out the following link to support the artist by purchasing a recording: http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic.

Also, keep your eyes peeled at your local record stores. Many labels are re-issuing rare, outsider, records, like these, as the interest in them increases. Let us know what you think. Dig? Want more........................... Get Volume 2...

...a collaboration between doug & josh...
(2 forty minute halfs combined to make a whole lotta goodness):


"The End Is At Hand pt.1"
Creation, Lord I saw You cry - Azitis (1971)
Almighty God - Wilson McKinley (1972)
Someone Who Cares - Gospelfolk (1969)
Come Into My Life - First Revelation (1974)
Spirit Move Me - Ray Lemay (1979?)
Jesus Is - 2nd Chapter of Acts (1972)
This Bird - Fraction (1971)
On Solid Rock - Out of Darkness (1970)
The Rapture - The Last Call of Shiloh (1972)
Second Best Friend - Infinity Plus Three (1971)

Get the entire 1st half of the mix at: http://www.mediafire.com/?1tbn387xkoh8bbt

"The End Is At Hand pt.2"
"A Love Song (Reprise)"- Love Song (1972)
"The Edges of His Ways"- Linda Rich (1969)
"Son of God"- Parchment (1972)
"Sailing On A River"- Glass Harp (1972)
"The Bible"- D R Hooker (1972)
"Pressed Down Shaken Together"- Pressed Down Shaken Together (1972)
"Kingdom"- Harvest Flight (1971)
"You And I"- Search Party (1968)
"All Across The Nation"- All Saved Freak Band (1979?)
"Will The Circle Be Unbroken"- U.S. Apple Corps. (1970)
"Romans 10:9"- Selha (1972)

Get the 2nd half of the mix as individual tracks at:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ek914debfleca3z

Give One Way Trip- Jesus Music Vol. 2 a listen

...Check out these interesting videos documenting some of the "Jesus Movement"...

since it's a coal mine

well, it took a bit longer than expected to get this tune recorded, mixed & mastered, but here it is in all of it's low fidelity glory. please give it a listen. and by all means, please comment, critique, offer suggestions, high points, low points, etc... this is our first recording for the album, and even this song can recieve some editing if necessary, so offer your input freely & know that ben & i will humbly consider any insights. this invitation is for anybody visiting this blog by the way, regardless of how you found your way here.

in reference to something i had alluded to in a previous post concerning this recording project: my long term hope is to start an online record label that focuses primarily on recordings and distributes it's music for free (digitally): complete albums, splits & possibly ep's. and though the music would be totally free to download, we would present the option for donation at any price with a suggested donation attached. each album would be connected to a particular cause, organization, person in need, ministry, etc... and the cause would be determined by the artists making the music. for instance, as an extention of the content of the album we're recording at the moment, our hope is to find a group that we feel akin to that focuses on mental health, suicide prevention & education and that sort of thing. my thought at the moment would be to have 75% of proceeds going to the cause and 25% going to the artists for things like instrument maintainence and upgrades as well as possibley putting their music on vinyl for further distribution, a candy bar maybe, and other things i haven't thought of just yet.

i also imagine the label becoming a network of musicians, a collective, available to collaborate with all other members from their homes via the web. like, i know i need a double bass player for a particular track, and i know that joe shmoe from siberia plays the double bass and is part of the collective, and so i contact him and see if he feels up to it. if he does...cool, if not...no sweat. that sort of thing.

there are many more thoughts and wild ideas churning around in my mind concerning this vision. i'll save them for another time, but wanted to germinate the seeds a bit for now. respond with thoughts & questions if you feel inspired. below is Be Thine Mountain's first official recording. hope you enjoy. doug

Since It's a Coal Mine - Be Thine Mountain

In Response to The Sunflower's Shame

Josh's work, especially the third picture down, made me think of a poem I wrote almost 10 years ago entitled "Knowing"

of my crawling days i cannot recall
i cannot remember when i began
or when i lost my sense of knowing

as if it were a sun exploding
and i was one who came to find
the fragments f l o a t i n g

but at least i am relieved in knowing
that no one has ever loved me
the way that You do

...HUEmility of AUTUMN/ PRIDE's FALL...

Down The Road

mind unraveling

(a peeling gorde)

a head turning

(like the flash of a sword)

getting caught in the traffic

(like dreams in a net)

horned frog hair

(mind like a t.v. set)

mind unraveling

and i plan to pick

up the pieces

somewhere further

down the road

"To Protest"

Take your banners; men,
Take them among the cold winter streets
And weave in autonomous lines,
Your warm breath illuminating
bloodied statistics.

Take your banners; you dreamers.
Expose the youthful eyes
To what you consider to be just.
Let them know you think it true.

Fight for your cause, humble warriors.
Bring the troops home, if you must.
Let the talk of change flow.

But when your warm breath turns cold;
Retreat.
Let gold-paved disillusion resume,
And take to the woods, you cowards.
Have you no idea how to inspire?

Take your banners in flight; men,
And bring your cause to the wild.
Stake your words at the base of the trees.

"Ha,"
The wise ones will reply--
Hinting at a fact they have long known;
At the words nearly engraved in their withering limbs:
"nothing ever changes"

...Autumn Hues- (one video, a few songs, a new sketch, and somebody else's poem)...

...OTHER LIVES...
"Speed Tape"

...DAWES...
"Love Is All I Am"

...JIM SULLIVAN...
"So Natural"

...JACKSON C. FRANK...
"Milk and Honey"

...SPLINTER...

The voice of the last cricket

across the first frost

is one kind of good-by.

It is so thin a splinter of singing.

- Carl Sandburg

"When the Time Comes"

“Stand clear of the closing doors.”

Please.

Let’s be listless for a while,

I know a place.

There’s a room in this city...

Full of smoke.

If you’re lucky,

It’s at the stop with the children

slowly reciting valedictorian speeches.

Look for eyes that frighten you

like the aspect of love.

(That’s the one.)

Head a few blocks north,

and ring a door or two--

I’ll be down in a minute.