raccoon and zebra

4.15.11

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:32:19 -0500 GMT

We made a video for our new song and it's awesome. "Van Gogh's Ear" by Digital Crafts Night:

3.4.10

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:39:33 -0600 GMT

this is a little old, but i'm just now getting around to uploading it here. i made an ep of electronic music. here's the description i wrote for it on last.fm:

Commuter Breaks is Owenâs first foray into sample-based electronic music. He had no idea what he was doing. Normally he plays guitar and talks about himself in the first person. For this EP, he decided to try something newâsomewhat under the influence of Panda Bear/Animal Collectiveâand made these songs using the iPhone app Beatmaker. The whole thing was written and programmed in 2009 while either on a shuttle on the way to work or holding a baby.

you can download the whole album at once as a zip file or get the individual tracks below.

1. rebirth of salamander
2. outer spaces
3. aluminum tunnel
4. dolphin clicks
5. nico's dream

2.8.09

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:54:32 -0600 GMT

i finished a new recording of an old song about romance called "i hate people like us." mr. h.p. mendoza contributed the lovely harmony vocals, drum and bass programming, and some of the keyboards. inspiration by the zombies and billy j. kramer & the dakotas.

12.14.08

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:05:17 -0600 GMT

at last i finished recording my album "lorem ipsum," which i've been working on for over a year. almost all of the songs have been uploaded to this site as they were finished, but even if you already have copies, please download 'em again because i've made some tweaks and added the track numbers and lyrics so that everything will show up nicely in itunes. you can download the whole thing at once as a zip file (57.8 MB) or download 'em one track at a time below.

1. medication
2. stamps & matchbooks
3. closing credits
4. supermodel
5. weightless
6. lorem ipsum
7. saved to memory
8. black cocaine
9. x = tundra
10. song for logan

with that out of the way, it's time to focus on getting ready for some babies to arrive! i probably won't have much time to work on music for the next 6-12 months, but i hope to get back to it as soon as possible, and maybe find some other music people to collaborate with next time.

11.18.08

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:02:03 -0600 GMT

bethany and i have set up a new "family" blog for sharing baby photos, travel stories, and such. yikes, now i have two blogs to be behind on updating. luckily bethany has already written a bunch of good stuff for the new blog.

11.11.08

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:04:55 -0600 GMT

the other day i finished recording another acoustic guitar instrumental called "saved to memory." it's a pretty good little tune.

10.24.08

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:00:18 -0500 GMT

i just discovered that 20 minute loop, an excellent local band we used to play with, have written and recorded a song about logan.

10.24.08

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:32:07 -0500 GMT

here's a new song called "lorem ipsum." indeed, it is the title track from the forthcoming album, which i need to finish in the next month.

update: i thought it would be fun to add the lyrics to this post...

lorem ipsum
eternum
lorem ipsum
the words i want on my grave
lorem ipsum
forever
ipso facto
the truest thing i could say
lorem ipsum

here's my advice to my younger self now
the lessons garnered from so many days
here's what i see with my eyes closed
that can never be disclosed
here is the wisdom i'm shouting from the mountains
here is the message i'm leaving on your machine
my speeches come out best when written
in a language that no one speaks anymore

repeat chorus

here's my advice to my unborn children
stay in school, eat your vegetables
keep talking when you have nothing to say
to see what comes out of your mouth

repeat chorus

lorem ipsum
that's all i ever say
needlepoint it
put it in a frame
lorem ipsum
the ever apt response
repeat the mantra
until the words decay

7.25.08

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:24:15 -0500 GMT

cmu computer science professor randy pausch just passed away. if you haven't seen his last lecture, which was given when he already knew he was dying of pancreatic cancer, i found it very moving and highly recommend it:

7.21.08

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:22:31 -0500 GMT

if you're not yet familiar with the pookies, you will be soon. i've been following them for a while, but at last it appears that they're meteoric rise to fame is about to begin. the pookies are currently the #1 artist on popcuts.com and they have 2 of this week's hottest songs!