TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2012

1. mewithoutyou - Ten Stories

What a dreamy train ride, what a providential wreck. 

I found myself in the smoke, snow, broken branches

and scattered with the animals through each song, and even 

pleaded in defense for 'The Elephant'. 

The journey of this album was/is a grand and sensory one. 

Each song was a page turner of hurts, concern and anger, 

golden lyrics, precise and 

openly honest with screams and whispers. 

2. The 77s - Stick and Stones 

     plus - ('seeds & stems') - Re-Issue

Greater, stronger and crisp. A nice 77s archive investment. Going back and polishing the 

master(s), to me it's like going 'back to the future'. Mike's info said that they were 

trying to make the 'big time', and working for that had them, to me, restricted and boxed 

in. To me, though, alot of the songs were complementary - Aaron's sharp geared 

drumming was the perfect flip with Mike's synched-scat guitar. I've always 

considered Mike Roe as one of the best guitarists.

3. The Hunger Games Soundtrack

Another T-Bone Burnett all star production and gathering of singers and bands. 

(soon The Secret Sisters will not be a secret anymore).

To me, this album is mega-better than the movie. I saw the movie (sorry, i didn't read 

the book) and it reminded me of a Charleton Heston 60's Sci-Fi.

4. Johnny Cash Bootleg 4 - The Soul of Truth

Most people like JC's rebellious, cocaine and 'tall-man finger shot' phase. 

I like JC's gospel/dressed-in-black portion of his life (and all the way 

through Rick Rubin's American Recording sessions). These 'good-news' songs 

were sung, i felt, out of pennance and gratitude for grace after the stormy days. 

5. U2 Popmart - 23 disc Las Vegas 

     rehearsals bootleg!

This plug is more of 'finding' this rare U2 bootleg, than listening/aesthetic pleasure.

This is not as good as the treasure chest of the 4-disc Achtung Beibi out-takes, but 

close. 23 discs compared to 4. You kind of wonder with all the rehearsing, 

why the 'Lost Wages' opening show still had some show problems. 

6. U222

A 'greatgottanabit' package (booklette and music) of the 360 Tour!

7. Jack White - Blunderbuss

I agree with most of the reviews that gave this album kudos, most mentioning that 

every song was a different experiment, with the golden thread of JW's guitar.

Blunderbuss 'almost' lost me, with each song being SO DIFFERENT in music frame, 

like Hometown buffet, but the more i listened to it, the more a structure surrounded me 

and 'the flarred out barrel flintlock' seemed 'reasonable' (is that a good adjective?). 

Jack was 'still there', while the 'scenery' changed around him.

(did anyone else notice that's giant crow on his shoulder?!)

8. Bob Dylan - Tempest

Like Blunderbuss, i thought Tempest had it's silly/puzzling moments of lazy lyrics

(from TEMPEST "...they mumbled, fumbled, tumbled...") 

[sorry, no Dylanites can convince me that those lines are holy and sacred), 

BUT then they were blown off, with lyrics of sage, wisdom and prophecy, 

(from SCARLETT TOWN "Good and evil livin' side by side, all human forms 

seem glorified").

9. Levi the Poet - Seasons

Are these written down?! Is this reharsed?! Does this just flow out?!

Levi's (if i were to believe in past lives) an old-testament prophet that 

gleans from his journal, heart AND from the Bible. It's great that he has an 

album to listen to when you're bobbin' at the wailing wall of modern culture.

(I think Levi the Poet and mewithoutyou should tour together or make an album 

together!) - http://www.levithepoet.net/info.cfm

10. Waterboys - Cloud of Sound

Remember i gave The Waterboys the number one spot for 2011 

with An Appointment With Mr. Yeats?!

This is an album of left-overs, and remember, 

left-overs are always better the next day.

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

(barely out of the top 10 group:)

11. Wovenhand - The Laughing Stalk

David Eugene Edwards has really developed into a high-desert, 

dry bones and minor-prophet singer, song writer and guitarist.

This is quite a dark, powerful and aboriginal album that took me 

through the red, hot sand-stone canyons of the soul.

12. Rickie Lee Jones (& Ben Harper) - The Devil You Know

Basically a Ben Harper album with Rickie Lee Jones singing.

Not  dissing the basic-ness of it, but when Ben and Rickie 

create an album, together, it's soulful.

THANX to SKIP'S RECORDS & CD WORLD for 

alot of these albums!!

'Busier Than Santa' - our Postal worker

i made a Boxer Day Eve Eve 'allmark' card 

for our hard-working, 

mega-over-time, ragged (#3) postal worker.

(apologies to The Grinch and Kevin Frank's Crash Dog illy 

for the cover of Pursuit of Happiness)

Daniel OR Dylan?

it could be Bob Dylan (with Daniel? glasses);

[ originally i drew a cigarette and Daniel J. - BUT 

some1 said 'HEY'?! so i added a mustache and 

covered the smoke with a candy cane. 

THEN it changed into Mr. Zimmerman. ]

(TOO MUCH writing for a simple quick sketch)

it's rare that she's sick

a quick sketch of Becky...

Matriarch Mikaela

i did a double take, and saw the future 

resemblance, of my daughter Mikaela 

when she is old and grey, in an icon of 

the Resurrection!

la sketch de maya

The other day i was visiting and observing the young artists 

in Stephanie Tsuchida's art class and decided to sketch 

one of the students named Maya.

(on an art towel with a new Sharpie Brush marker)

Tokyo on Foot

I'm reading/viewing this book/graphic novel/travel sketch book 

right now called TOKYO ON FOOT by Florent Chavouet!

There's a hand-full of reasons why i'm cuddle-ing this book; 

one is i can relate to the may travels and 

experiences of the Tokyo scene - with all the cool city 

graphics, years ahead of the U.S. in electronix, advertising and 

pop culture, people, gadgets and compact-ness; 

another is when Florent got the flu right after he arrived. 

That happened to me and i was miserable, constantly 

blowing my nose into a nice, newly bought samurai silk 

handerkerchief, wearing cool yellow pants, trying to take in all the 

sights and action, staying with an assistant manager 

of the Yakult Swallows (with tatami matts and a 

great sauna, tiled bathroom); 

i can also relate to the book seeing all 

the fringe fashion-ites like in Bladerunner; 

the colors in the book are amazing; 

how could Florent draw 

everything so well and fast in that 

well fast city??!! 

That amazes me.

like shapes in clouds...shapes in the popcorn stucco!

on saint poeman's day

Presidential Debate in Boca Raton

I think Boca Raton is the funniest town/city name,

if you know Spanish! 

I just had to make a 'pho'shop-ustration' 

for the next debate.

my logo creating process

Over the past couple of weeks i've been

thumb-nailing logo ideas for a bookstore 

logo contest in Portland. A real good friend and i 

chose our favorite 3, and then i vectorized them today.

Dozens of sketches...circling in on several that i liked... 

...refining those...and then 'Vectorize Captain Picard'!

click the pic to see up close.

This should be catagorized under my 

graphic/design 'kitchen' BAMmGRAPHICS.

Nina, Pinta & the Santa Maria...

...quickly drawn on a marker board for Daniel and 

Columbus Day; the discovery of San Salvador 

and the intro of 

viruses to the natives.

(It always seems to be that way with

explorers...Lewis & Clark (the corp mostly) and the trail 

of syphilis; Captain Cook and his sailors; and 

Christopher Columbus and his sailors!)

i hope

another dreamage.

vote and hope?

hope and vote?

'THE SCOPE' acro-prose and typography...

Dr. Wu!

i had to capture that sight in a drawing

B. Cigarette

A. Tired. B. Cigarette. C. A small stick or twig.

D. Homosexual.

weakened weekend

Peter Case

I went to the PETER CASE concert last night @

COZMIC and was sad and disappointed...because... 

...it went on for only an hour and a half. 

The concert was great, i should say. 

I WAS glad that i went and PC is 

phenomenal in his lyrics, 'soul', history and developing legacy;

the guitar is now another appendage [ he only played one harp song :-(  ], 

his skill and musician-ship is very captivating and enjoyable. 

His conversation, information, history and humor 

between the songs were fun, like we were all comfortable on 

the porch or the backyard under the apple tree.

When i saw him first shuffling into COZMIC, he really looked

like he came off of the same boxcar of Woody 

(and the other folk singer saints) - weathered 

and a veteran of the road of life, that extends 

like a  l o n g  neck of a guitar. 

Gracias Pedro.

Favorite Songs (if i dare): The Words in Red, Million Dollars Bail, 

Drunkard's Harmony (his only harp song).

waiting for the COHO FERRY...

...from Victoria, B.C. to Port Angeles, WA.

THE BAY CENTRE in Victoria

I'll have to say something about the sorry state and 

availability of record/cd/music stores in Canada.

I went around to alot of yard sales and hardly saw any records or cds for sale. 

One man pfft'd at me and said "CD's?! We put them on our flash's long ago!" 

The irony of that - people love their books and would NEVER 

scan and have them digitalized, they need books to be tangible. 

I asked one guy "why are you selling your BJORK cds, 

they have such great designs and art work and they're such a 'keep sake' ." 

He, in essence, said the same thing, "oh i have my albums on my iPod."

On our last day in Victoria, there was an oasis 

of a rare record store called DITCH RECORDS.

They were friendly and abundant in cool music.

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria BC

Beacon Hill's a nice park in Victoria, B.C.

Grayspark, Vancouver, B.C.

Our trip to Canada...

Granville Island, B.C.

Lotsa people/tourists, seagulls, pidgeons, fruit and food!

Sorry i didn't sketch ALL of that!

TTTMC#7 by Mikaela

Register Guard You Ticket to the Movies Contest

envelope by Mikaela this week!

TTTM #6

REGISTER GUARD Your Ticket to the Movies Contest

illustrationISM envelope number six.

The CELIA CRUZ stamp was inspirational.

THE CALL - Let The Night Begin

Here's some more custom CD covers i made for

THE CALL and their 1989 'Let the Night Begin' 

concert in Boston.

This is an awesome sounding concert, 

sound-wise and band-wise (2 encores)!!!

I got the concert (and the right/front cover) @ 

GREAT WHITE WONDERS blogspot!

Since it's a 2 hours gig, lotsa songs, i made the covers

for a double cd case; front booklet, inset and back cover.

THANX Thull!

TTTM contest envelope #5

Register Guard 'Your Ticket to the Movies' Contest envelope #5.

( a quick marker rendition of an.......orange; 

i just noticed that the bumps of the orange's surface 

really looks dimensional and realistic! It tends to 

happen when you have to rush an illy out and 

not think too much 

about it.)

2 new custom MIDNIGHT OIL covers

   There wasn't a CD cover for the Oil's Jim Ladd's

Living Room concert in L.A., so i made one; 

and the MIDNIGHT OIL'S BLACK RAIN FALLS 'Special Guerilla Action' 

in NYC was a stale cd cover, so i revised that one (i re-scanned my video cover!).

(If you can d/l the 'Jim Ladd's Living Room' bootleg, there's 

great un-plugged music and banter! [ sniff...right B4 they dismantled ]

The 'agit prop' gig in NYC is a classic.)

Register Guard "TTTMC" envelope #4

In honor of the 12 people slain in the movie theatre in Colorado;

all i can think of was the phrase "i can't be everywhere @ once!"

dreamage #7

another 'dreamage';

(what does T.S.A. stand for you?)

Petrograd & Zahra's Paradise

I read two historical fiction, graphic novels in 3 days! 

(About 480 pages! Not quite Les Miserables or War & Peace but...)
I highly recommend them for their 

line work (Petrograd 1st, and Zahra's Paradise a close second), 

intriguing story-line, history, research and information.

Tyler Crook's artwork and brush style in PETROGRAD, pulled you into 

the dark and cold world of the city, minds and souls. I liked the awesome art a bit 

more than the story; the story at times was vague and confusing.

The artwork of Khalil in ZAHRA'S PARADISE was 

lively and well thought out for all the details of the 
oppressed people of Iran in 2009. 
I liked the story better than the artwork, but both were symmetrical.

Register Guard 'YTTTMC' envelope #3

Dee dee

They put these ads in the 'bluespaper' for orphaned

animals. The shelter's name has been changed so they

won't howl or growl @ me. My favorite line is 

"Who needs two eyes anyway!"

(reminded me of the verse from Matthew 5:29! Was 

Dee dee an adulterer?!)

ANDY PRATT

I'm enjoying hearing ANDY PRATT music again!

http://soundcloud.com/andy-pratt-music

Register Guard "Your Ticket to the Movies" #2...

Here's my 2nd envelope i sent to the Register Guard for 2 FREE 'Moo-vie' tix!

p.s. - Mikaela's 'Bach' from the 

Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy 

and the Oregon Bach Festival!!

ELECTRIC BURMA CONCERT cd cover

Here a custom cd cover i made for the

ELECTRIC BURMA CONCERT, that

was in Dublin, June 18, 2012!

Register Guard 'YOUR TICKET TO THE MOVIES' Contest #1...

Here's my first envelope art for the summer/annual 

Register Guard's

'Your Ticket to the Movies Contest'!

©illustrationISM

AP (Alternative Press) Magazine illustrations

(PAST PUBLISHED!)

Here are some 'rough take' ink samples for 

AP Magazine's (Alternative Press), 

Art Director Christopher Benton!

Lettering.....

...air-guitar snowmen!

i like PALINDROMEs

Here's an illustration from the past; 

a palindrome, lettering and thin 'n thick 

ink lines with a dip-nib pen.

dreamage (6)...

 'Door in the Desert' image...

(in a Dr. Ruth voice, "let's analyze these.")

 i © the Dreamage word!

Jesus and the guard

  dreamage (#5)... .    .            .

U2DJ REMIX(es) covers...

here R 3 U2DJ remix(es) cd covers i made!

                                                   U2DJ remix(es) cd covers i made here R 3 !