Mixtape 07.2010.Guitar
Guitar is the newest of the mixes and features both electric and acoustic styles. Simple rhythmic guitar hooks and nice sounds. All my favorite guitar wielding bands: The Dead Milkmen, Sex Pistols, R.E.M., ALL and more. Isn’t guitar a strange looking word. I keep thinking it’s spelled wrong.
Listen here or the player below.
California Dreams, moving time
Posted by jfx in California Transition, personal on July 19th, 2010
The last 9 months have been a roller coaster. I’ve seen a lot of upheaval with good & bad results. With every struggle there is knowledge and wisdom gained. All of this has given me a clearer view of what’s important, what I need and what I want.
The good news is that I’ve landed my boyhood dream job (in the skateboard industry) in California. The logistics are overwhelming and I don’t even know where we are actually going to live yet.
After 13 years of calling Philadelphia home base, it’s time to change it up. Timing is everything and it seems like this is the right move now. There is a lot I will miss. Humidity & frigid cold will not be missed. I’ve done a lot here and I’m proud of my efforts, impact and most importantly the relationships that I’ve had the opportunity to develop. I’ll be posting more on here about the move, traveling and how this transition works, so stay tuned and wish us luck.
Mixtape 06.2010.Class of ’91
Summer is here and time keeps passing. As you get old, and I guess that’s what’s happening to me, you start to look back. I’ve never been a fan of looking back. I’ve always tried to look forward. I am approaching my 20th year away form high school and the fact of the matter is this: I still listen to a lot of the same music. Yes, I mix it up now a days. But my go to stuff, the things I listen to over and over are the gems of my past memory. This mixtape, a double disc, is exactly what I loved in high school – way back in the late 80s and dawn of the 90s. Enjoy.
Listen here or the player below.
Mixtape: 05.2010.Cover Bands
In the midst of all the American Idol madness I’d like to pitch my new Mixtape: Cover Bands. This version has a slew of my favorite covers and some new finds as well. It includes the now, way-over covered Leonard Cohen track Hallelujah. I kept the Rufus Wainwright version on here because it’s still the best version and it was on the Shrek soundtrack, which I just think is funny. It doesn’t say that it’s Rufus, but it is. The art here includes images from Flickr once again: Lubitel 2 by Tokenygaard & Fuzzimo’s Vynil Record Texture.
Listen here or the player below.
Deck Heads 3 opening
Posted by jfx in art, opening, show, skateboarding on May 16th, 2010
Big thanks to Steve Miller from Exit Skateboards for organizing the show and dealing with all us crazy artists.
Deck Heads 3 opening Friday night
Posted by jfx in art, opening, show, skateboarding on May 5th, 2010
Exit Skateshop presents the Third Annual Deck Heads art show. The opening is First Friday, May 7th beginning at 6 PM. The artist list is quite impressive and I’m glad to be a part of it. Come on out to support your friends, bring some cash (cash and carry sales) and see some art. 825 N. 2nd St. Philadelphia, PA, 19123
Mixtape: JFX.04.27.2010.Commercial Indie
Mixtape number 3, is themed on music from TV that was once only the domain of select indie music junkies. They have probably written off half of these bands now that they’ve sold their souls to Sony, Nissan, Sprint and the like–but oh well. Sometimes it’s a good thing and introduces you to music you’d never find. Other times, like the Wendy’s spot listed below, it’s just a little creepy. The photo is by Craig A Rodway via Flickr. You can listen with the player below or click through and listen here.
Such Great Heights, The Postal Service – The M&Ms people use a nice acoustic version in this nice little M&Ms spot
Stars, The Weepies – My wife loved this song from this heavily played Old Navy commerical
Souvenirs, Architecture in Helsinki – Sprint used this song in their very cool light streak ads
Sleepy Head, Passion Pit – I kind of hated these Palm ads
Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes – Wendy’s used the pro-masturbation Femmes song to sell hamburgers. The main character even wipes his dirty mouth in it.
We’re All in This Together, Ben Lee – Kohl’s & Ben Lee… so American
Coming Home, The 88 – Target & Sears introduced me to The 88
Here It Goes Again, OK Go – Nike + Apple = cool ad
Gravity Rides Everything, Modest Mouse – This Nissan mini van ad had hipsters losing their minds
Kodo [Inside the Sun Remix], Yoshida Brothers – This spot for the Nintendo Wii played about 3 billion times.
My Mathematical Mind, Spoon – Acura usually does good ads
All That I Want, The Weepies – JCPenney used another Weepies classic
Island Of The Sun, Weezer – Beaches used this Weezer song to very poor effect.
Heartbeats, Jose Gonzales – Sony has a knack for doing great advertising. This Bravia ad is easily my all time favorite. Be sure and watch it in HD.
Sampla: Video Game Music Quiz Game
Many moons ago I approached my collaborators at geekadelphia about doing a game. The concept was simple enough, and after months of fits and starts it is finally live to the world. Sampla: the video game music quiz. Try it out, post your score and tell your friends. This game is a variation of the original Sampla, which you should still play even though the high score board broke. –> more games of mine here at games.johnfreeborn.com
First Pics of the Day via iPhone
Over the last 8 days I’ve been shooting and posting (to my twitter) a picture from the beginning of my day. I’d like to keep this going & I like my results so far. I’m using a variety of iPhone photo apps to augment these including hipstamatic, swankolab, tilt shift generator and more to come.
Mixtape: JFX.04.2010.DEEPFOOLS
Mixtape number 2, with the deceptive title, “DEEP FOOLS”. Read into that if you wanna. The image is from the Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings movies. Sometimes its just that simple. You can listen with the player below or click through and listen here.
