Merry Christmas from the Seattleitz’s
Love
Luke, Courtney, Melody and Boris
DOWNLOAD: Token Folk “Stuck In The Trees”
It has arrived! The collaborative project between Uncle Shredded Wheat, IFTHEN, G3, and DJ Shvr otherwise known as Token Folk has released their debut album entitled “Stuck In The Trees” and it is available HERE for FREE!!!! Oh Snap! Yes you heard right…..FREE! The full length album features Caskade aka The Dirty Wordsmith and Sweenee Todd from the Cardiff, Wales (not to be confused with this).
COVER: photo by www.maypria.com / design by www.brandonpage.com
COME AND GET IT CHILLENS!
Download: Caskade – Dirty Demo
A little while back I posted THIS about collaborations happening spanning The Pond. While both sides have been feverishly working to complete projects such as Token Folk, The Hellionz, OX&RABBIT, and The French Letters, the distractions have been relentless and time short.
So Caskade beat me! Ha! Check out this new EP from Cardiff, Wales.
This “demo” of sorts is crammed full of hip hop’s legacy. It has bounce. It has wit and intelligence. It’s beats (from the likes of Beats 4 Tea, Split Atom, Kid Eight, and Abstract) BANG! My personal favorite is “Gourmet Rap” (even over the track that features IFTHEN…ha ha) which gives a dinner menu of what Caskade is offering to hip hop hungry listeners.
Go cop it!
-PEEX
Imperative Questioning
1) DO YOU EXIST? This is the most fundamental question one can ask. If this question cannot be answered, then there are no answerable questions. All further thought or lines of questioning hinge upon the answer to this question. If you haven’t answered this question for yourself, then most likely you have been operating under the assumed “yes”. If you have posited this question to yourself and honestly came to the conclusion that “no” you do not exist, then you are now finished. You can go about your business (or not) and no further inquisition is required. I suppose it is possible to go on further to answer the subsequent question ’1a’, however any answer is ultimately a contradiction to the heading question. For if you truly do not exist, it follows then, that it makes no impact and is merely absurd, in light of your admitted nonexistence, if you do or do not care about your lack of existence. I find it difficult to believe that any rational creature could come to the conclusion that they , in fact, do not exist. I am not here stating that it is impossible. I just can’t personally find the line of reason to follow and haven’t had any support for the belief sufficiently explained to me. Mainly, I cannot grasp what kind of relation one could form with anything that they encounter (actual or possible, including the question itself), in as far as one who does not exist can encounter anything. Now if, on the other hand, you answered “yes”, then you must now proceed to sub question 1a.
1a)Do you care? This question is more of an opinion based inquiry. There are no roads to follow for the “correct” answer, where reason provides for so many other. There are and will continue to be much debate surrounding all aspects and implications of this one. Probably the main reason for the broad span of answers and arguments thereof stems from the implied acti0n involved. A ‘no’ given to this probing, will typically produce a similar outcome as that of answering ‘no’ to question 1. In this scenario, one does exist but does not care. I find no reason that an action justified through the negative of question 1 cannot be justified through a negative of 1a, even if the answer to 1 was positive. Consequently, if you do exist but do not care that you exist, then ultimately the result remains that there is no further need of questioning. If you do exist AND you care that you exist, regardless of where you go in between, you will ultimately arrive at question 2.
2)DOES GOD EXIST? Though true, this may well be the most debated over question in all of history; it also happens to be the most readily answerable question if reason has any merit. Any argument against the existence of God is either a misunderstanding of the concept of God or an improper use of reason. Regardless of the evidence to support a “first mover” or “first cause” (which, as far as anything else in life is “proved” -i.e. law of gravity, law of motion, law of averages, etc- is overwhelming), it is possible for one to conclude that there is no God. In this case, as previously, you may now stop questioning, at least as far as this exercise is concerned.
2a)Do you care? Whereas the logical progression of thought/questioning will indeed lead to Q2a, as with sub-question 1a, there exists no rational line of thought that can confirm or deny the merit of any given answer for this question. Both the “correctness” or “incorrectness” of answering 2a lies in faith*. Once again, as with 1a, the innumerable responses (and action implied from any given response) cannot be judged on merit by another individual. This is inherent in the question itself. Do YOU care that GOD exists? The only relation spoken of, or accountability implied, is by very essence of the question between YOU and GOD.
Thank you for participating in the fundamentals of IF/THEN, namely identifying the “IF”.
* (…lies in faith) It should be noted, as in context of ultimate truth, that all things believed or not believed are ultimately decisions of faith. Hard, undeniable proof is essentially nonexistent. For example, one can say that one knows one exists, as in Cartesian thought, for the simple fact that one can ask themselves if they exist; Or as I stated above, the overwhelming evidence to support the “first mover”. These beliefs and essentially all others are based on reason. Reason masquerades as an immediately recognizable and self evident truth. But why? All reason has come from man’s mind, from exactly that which we are attempting to deduce being or non being. We are now in the infinite repetition of the circle. One cannot employ functions of that which has not been proven to exist to prove it’s existence. That is absurd. For if the functions are sound enough to employ, it follows then that the being from which the functions stem is also sound. But functions cannot be justified if the being from which they stem cannot be verified. My whole point with this addendum is to point out an irrational fear of the word “faith”. People, especially Christians, have used the word “faith” to justify and motivate so many horrors throughout time that most people shrink from the very mention of it. I only hope to illustrate that both the believer (of God or anything for that matter) and the non-believer can only justify their belief by faith. Neither side of the history-long debate can claim ultimate knowledge on the subject. In the same, no one can claim ultimate knowledge that the computer screen you are reading right now even exists. All things are faith: believing your senses that the screen IS in fact in front of you, believing your history book that the War of 1812 actually happened, believing your friends that Amsterdam even exists (unless you’ve physically been there yourself, in which case, you then are believing your senses once again), believing your heart that what you are doing is “right”, and on and on.
–adjective
PRNDL
I don’t care about growing watermelons in a pot. I’d rather smoke pot in a watermelon. I don’t care about the powerplay. I can’t lose if I don’t play either, Mr. Smarty Pants. although you do really make scrumptious sandwiches. Do you want what you need? Could you tell? I don’t care about what you bought. I thought laundry was supposed to induce ecstasy. I can’t find it for less. Don’t contradict me and tell me I can. What do you really know about my unique perspective? HA! See! You don’t even know if I’m calibrated. Now’s the time for construction. The guy is a pain in the ass. Highland is a place I’d like to send my mastercard. I don’t like fees. Especially when they’re secret. Straight up GAS! Then again, how can ANYTHING BE SECRET? good question. Or it’s just a classic representation of the fallacy that lies in the removal of the distinction between soul and sole. This took the “Q” to a little more intimate place then it had ever imagined there could be. WHew. Now THAT”S a death. Or will be. I tried to tell me. Yeah….that’s always how it goes. Can’t tell no body nuthin. Can’t even tell them that you can’t tell them anything. I tried to show someone a way once and they asked me how it was that I even saw it in the first place. Therein lies the crash in “TELL”. Ha . You can’t see the big smoke monster in front of your pen? Ha well so goes the cacophony. So goes the telling of that which is so telling because it cannot tell anyone but the teller. Imagine getting money from yourself and being absolutely depressed because it was only the money you had just given yourself. All in the city. You’re really highway. Home is. Kind of like it isn’t. Ok so see? Nope again you can’t. But you can ration as if your shovel wasn’t filled with the bucket. I’m burning. Ha! We work the little point to death. AH now there’s DEATH> It is. Ha! yup. Can you not tell me how to see it? See what? See what is telling you? burn out the noon. Technically speaking the voice has no authority. Ask Kierkegaard. Unless there was a tome within. An you follow my line of thought. Well maybe if it wasn;’t through an innumerable amount of lines creating a solid where the line in question seems to disappear. Oh no you silly child. So curious and so on fire. Here’s some water. It’ll make you—–AHHHH NO GET AWAY GET AWAY!
Like this my friends. Like this. I can’t believe it. It’s not news if it’s how long. Can we expose ourselves fully? hahaha. that’s ridiculous. Ah. NOW we see death. can you please stream across the desert? Bust it. Someday we’ll release the pressure like letting blood. Can this be a day at all? Why the questions? See there you go again. ME? Yah You. How? See? NOPE> Telling me to ask for what you would like me to tell you the next time you are telling me what I have already aked you before you told me the first time. Oh ok. Now I see the reference.
Move to trash. Nah. I rather like it in my apartment.
Green block of impenetrable material took my view. Only for the moment. But there HE goes. Doing int all over agin. Stolen as the diamond. Name one that isn’t. Cycles of Sundays. Bloody or not. You two can too. Drafting the concierge. He shows me the way to tell you the way to ask me to ask him which way to the door. Impenetrable but permeable. Cannot shoot but slink through. Patients my young grasshopper. You need patients to have a business. Doctors don’t just start a business with out em. True but they do not even start a business with the,. They are always practicing. Can’t wait til one of them get’s it right. Or at least decides to heed the info that the book told them that someone told them to write of the book to see where it all began in the snakes ass-mouth conclusion.
We don’t care.
Nor do they.
Watch it!
I got bitches for you bitch. I got hoes for you ho!
“Highlight…..translate”
What did it tell you?
HA! NOW THERE”S A DEATH!
(DOWNLOAD/REMIX) Electro Estate – Fresh Espresso
Electro Estate - Fresh Espresso Remix
EE is back at it again with his over-your-head-intricacies! This time with local Seattle hip hop party group Fresh Espresso. Original beats by Electro Estate and Fresh Espresso’s recently released a capellas….what more could you ask for?
Download them for free.
Left Lane Lemmings (download)
L to R: Mark Steitz, Jim Steitz, and Tom Lambert
Few people are lucky enough to have parents in rock bands growing up. I was one of those people. Im not bragging (because I had nothing to do with it) but I am super proud and thankful. When I was very young (early 80s), my dad (Jim Steitz) was in a new wave band called Malibu. While the name suggests blond, hawaiian shirt and sandals clad surf rockers, Malibu was closer to The Cars, Devo, The Talking Heads, and The Beat. Apparently at shows they would get accused of being called punk rock. Nevertheless, the band consisted of my dad on rhythm guitar and vocals, my uncle (Mark Steitz) on drums, my second cousin-and truthfully the reason I exist-(Tom Lambert)on lead guitar, Dave McCumber (family friend) on keys, and Jim Greene (now professional musician in NY) on bass. They would always have practices in the basement of our house growing up. Those nights were my brother (Tom Phonic) and my favorite nights! We could be as loud and create as much ruckus as we wanted up stairs in our bedroom while the band was practicing in the basement. Our parents couldn’t hear us, Then when a song was over…FREEZE! The band release one album on cassette tape. Very few exist, however I do own one and would be happy to play it for you sometime.
Later down the road after Malibu split, The Spooky Westerns formed. The Spooky Westerns were a “super group” of our family bands. The band was formed from members of Malibu and Illegal Tender (St.Louis cover band) which added yet another of my uncles to the mix, Mike McGuire who now plays for a St.Louis premier cover band Klose’Nuff as well as (my uncle-in-law, if those exist) Steve Walsh. The band played a few shows and released a full length album “Pull My Finger” that WAS available at mp3.com. Unfortunately I cannot find anywhere online to link to anymore. (any family members reading this know anywhere?).
Then when The Spooky Westerns went their separate ways, Jim, Mark, and Tom began -or continued rather-jamming. When I first heard the rough basement recordings of the new project, I distinctly remember saying “Dad…you guys are playing garage punk!” Much different kind of “punk” then the new wave influenced Malibu. I beleive if you asked them about this today, they would modestly reply “Ahh it was just really poor recording”. Still I tell you my friends, those early tapes were loud, fast, distorted, screamy, and full of fun! As the project progressed, it found its more steady foundation in folk. Yes folk. I am pleased to report, however, that the fun was not lost!
So here it is for your listening pleasure:
Go there, download some FREE songs (I recommend “The Craftsman” or “Drinking Whiskey“), tell the guys what you think. All artists love feedback! Help support my pop. I’m stupid proud to be his son! (his nephew and his second-cousin) ENJOY!!
-PEEX
Sick-Be-Gone
I love my Neti Pot! I can’t say enough about it!
Year End Review (at my leisure)
Happy New Year everyone!
oh right. that was almost three months ago…..oh well. I finally sat down and did the year in review of calendar art.
Enjoy…
March
April
August (April through July was a vaccuum due to the Swiss sucking my mental creativity)
August face detail
September
October
October Vamp detail
October cone-kid detail
October smoker detail
November
November tree detail
November "Happy Thanksgiving" detail
December
December most awesome useless word detail
December elf 1 detail
December elf 2
December WS detail
December Santa detail
So that’s it for the official Calendar art. I realized as I was going through these that there were many months that apparently weren’t worth saving. If I think back on my year and what was going on, it is kind of telling which months I didn’t end up with anything.
Then there was the implication of the new accounting software “IFS” when i was employed by FRANKE. I remember the training meeting explicitly….now you can too:
My "notes" taken during the IFS training meeting.
And one more for the archives. My old boss Ann left this stapled to the headrest to her office chair spun around to face the wall on her last day. So when I went in the next morning and spun the chair around, I saw this!
I love Ann!
-PEEX
Dog Is My Co-Pilot
PEACE
-IFTHEN
