So we made some good music in 2007, but we certainly didn’t pay enough attention to this place. Maybe I will in 2008. I keep telling myself I’ll do better like the guys upstairs.

Two new BLOGS have popped up recently, though, that really have my attention. I suppose it’s no coincidence they’re both written by creative types whose work I admire.

1. The Sloganeerist is like a smarter, sharper, and less self-consciously clever McSweeney’s. Check out the brilliant pep talk from a couple of 12 and under softball coaches.

2 Why Your Life Sucks is a little more broad, covering music, film, politics, and the like. With two Arkies still in the running for that new big job in ‘08, he oughta have lots to write about in coming months.

Oh yeah, and I finally got around to setting up a Sellout youtube page. Dig.

Sit through this long enough to see John Fry and Jody Stephens pull up the multi-track for “Back of a Car”. . . Good stuff.

“We’re the artists’ ally, but they have to have some financial responsibility…”

Sometimes Sellout takes on album projects (see a couple posts below). Watch this trailer to see what that’s like when we do. . . .

Check it out here. Or even better: Great World of Sound.

So we’ve had the good fortune of being involved with a number of cool recording projects over the last few months , and said records are starting to see their way into the world. All of the releases are available on iTunes, Amazon.com, etc. Here’s a sample:

Jim Mize: Release it to the Sky, Fat Possum Records
Jason Weinheimer: Record, Mix, Produce, Bass, keys
Charles Wyrick: Electric guitars
Hear tracks here.

Christopher Denny: Age Old Hunger, 00.02.59 Records
Jason Weinheimer: Record, Mix, Wurlitzer
Hear tracks here.

Boondogs: A Thousand Ships, Max Recordings
Jason Weinheimer: Record, Mix, Produce, etc.
Charles Wyrick: Guitars
Hear tracks here.

Easys: Blood Capsule, Max Recordings
Jason Weinheimer: Record, Mix
Charles Wyrick: Guitars, Q Chord
Hear tracks here.

Our friend (and Boondogs producer) Joe McMahan reports that Ornette Coleman was channeling music from another planet before collapsing on stage at Bonnaroo this weekend. Read the Jon Pareles report here.

It just so happens that news of Ornette’s collapse (he’s recovered after a brief hospital visit, btw) comes as we were composing a post re: a recent score with a direct link to Ornette. After licensing the standard “Come Rain or Come Shine” we recorded two distinct versions of the tune (one straightforward, one moody and atmospheric) for a Baton Rouge Area Foundation TV and radio campaign.

For the more atmospheric version, we borrowed heavily from the vibe of a Joe Henry recording which features Ornette Coleman… Oh yeah, we first heard about said Joe Henry record from Joe McMahan, the guy who saw Ornette collapse. . . anyway, blah blah.

Joe Henry | Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation

(right-click, save target as)

Sellout Music | Come Rain or Come Shine score

(right-click, save target as)

And finally, the finished radio spot for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation:

(right-click, save target as)

Here’s a recent favorite piece of music from the Sellout Reel: