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 Your Hey Mercedes weblog. The Cast: Robert Nanna Damon Atkinson Todd Bell Michael Shumaker Dan Keehn Chris Bickert Norman Arenas Ryan Snyder 
Ebay: Bob Damon Todd Mike Ryan Go Clock Go: absolute punk all music guide alton brown art of the mix awkward pirouttes bipolar braid heaven c & c drums cadmium chicago shows! critical darling dullest dvd file ebay google news grandtheftautumn invisible city kempa look like kenny michael moore my friend goes left the new top ok plus three panaphobic pirate smiles pitchfork punk news quoc machinery recwreck rocket fuel the scout theme park thieves trouble vagrant weasel manor who would buy work of fiction you look good hallelujah it's the indieblogs webring list random previous next |
May 12, 2001
Robert: I'm about to go in and lay down the vocal tracks for "The Promise." The gang is up there chatting and singing along with Shirley to "Hash Pipe." I swear, from down here it sounded like my little sister yelling along words to the New Kids or something in her room with the door closed. What the heck is happening up there? Maybe they'll work up enough courage to ask SM if she'd come and growl a little on our song. But last i was up there, she was playing with our (newly purchased) boxing-nun-puppet, so i'm not sure she'll take any messin about at this point. At Blogger's current turnaround rate, you can expect to see this post at 5:30 PM. May 12, 2009. 234 Iscarabaid - Sunny Day Real Estate
Todd: We went out today for breakfast with our host Andy "you can stay with me for a week" Hayward and (holy) Sam (dude). Mark and I were beaten badly by Bob in Boggle while waiting for our food to arrive.. nothing new. Its good to see Burning Airlines have arrived safely in the Netherlands. Keep us filled in on everything via blog J! Don't let Paul Drake push you around too much and keep Harbin away from the red lights! We are starting on "The Promise". Should be a fun day. Has anyone seen my collectible card pop up on Ebay?
Robert: Hooray for our first international post. I'll have more to add in a second, blogger willing. J, you forgot to thank DeVlerk! I get 11 points off the word "quagmire".
j.: Hey kids: It's a beautiful day in Rotterdam. Todd Bell: I ate Tartex this morning on my tomato & cheese sandwich, and I thought of you. Europe is better in the sunshine. Got to drive to Amsterdam now. I hope mix is going well. When you keep working on stuff day in, day out, it has a way of starting to sound wrong even when it's right, so don't freak out. You're making a great record! Tell the Dismemberment Plansters hello from me. Drink them under the table twice. xoxo J. May 11, 2001
Robert: (don't) give up. 235 Divorce Song - Liz Phair Having a bad day. Listening to The Green Album. It isn't helping. The melody from "Hash Pipe" sounds an awful lot like "Kiss Me Deadly", doesn't it? And Rivers is sounding more and more like Billy Joel...
Todd: Heres my blog from 10:36 this morning, blogger was down and I finally remembered to save it for a change if anyone cares.. Whats up with blogger lately? More trouble than it's worth sometimes.. You brewin? Yup, gotta a hot one on the lil' coffee warmer, listening to some records. Just flipped to side 2 of The Replacements 'Don't Tell a Soul'. About time for a refill, hold on.. I'm home, though briefly. Damon and I came home from Madison to Milwaukee last night for a break. The boys are in Madison somewhere kicking it I suppose. I'm here blogging and checking my email and getting direction to UPS. Wish my cat was here, it seems lonely without him and Mark here, but he's at a different house being spoiled while I spend the remaining days of the month recording and mixing. I'll see him soon though.. time for a change, hold on.. Listening to The Clash, record 1 side 1. London calling to the faraway towns Now that war is declared - and battle come down London calling to the underworld Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls We ran into a little problem while mixing yesterday, had to wait for a piece of equipment to arrive. Damon and I decided to drive the 72 miles back to Milwaukee for the night. Mark and Bob stayed to hang out with our friend Andy. On the way out to Milwaukee we dropped them by the lake to hook up with him, if only he knew their diabolical plan.. I heard them talking about trying to get someone to drive them down to Chicago for the Dismemberment Plan show last night. Hmmm. We'll see what happened in a little bit, we are heading back to Madison soon. Just waiting for a call from Damon, he is in-route from breakfast to laundramat then we have to go pick up a package from UPS then we are on the road. 'Final notice', what a terrible phrase. Darn the UPS! It's just a small package already!? Can't you just leave it? Because of this we are driving a 1/2 hour out of the way so they don't return to sender. F' em. more later from the cozy abode of Smart Studios.. May 10, 2001
Todd: Good to see some Rodan popping up on Bob's list.. that is one of my favorite records of all time, also good to see Bob thinking about getting a haircut! Aye ohh!! Looks like a some-what overcast day here in Madison, but does it really matter? We'll probably be inside mixing all day anyways. I spent a little time out on the deck reading today already, it's a little windy but nice. Just so everyone knows. IF YOU'VE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED to the Hey Mercedes mailing list, no need to do so again. We do updates when we feel there is neccasary information to divulge, not regularly. Very sporatic actually. So, if you've signed up and not recieved anything, hang in there.. I'll be doing it soon. Also, we will hopefully have a 'sign up mailing list thingy' on the site after we overhaul, granted Bob figures out how to do it. I have faith in him. Maybe that'll make things easier for us and cut down on the repetative emails. Well, time to go make some more progress in the book and check up on the mix..
Robert: 236 Heart of Glass - Blondie Getting a haircut today. Mixing "What You're Up Against". More to come, of course. May 9, 2001
Robert: Hello again, everybody. Shirley has entrusted us with a box of CDs that was given to her from some media company or other. So we dove right in for the goodies. Unsurprisingly, the two copies of "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" are still in the box unclaimed. Hey, wait a minute... I'll be right back. The reason why i bring this up is that i'm presently rocking out to something called Llorca New Comer. Have you heard of it? It's pretty good. A souly jazzy thang. Groove on. We're working on "Let's Go Blue" and it's been a bit of chore making everything sound exactly the way we'd like. We're closer now than we ever have been. At least closer than we were riding in Mark Haines' sweet ride, heading towards some frozen custard stand. Since I've still got 2 songs to track vocals on ("That's Right I Said it" & "The Promise"), i had none of that, thank you very much. (Don't you just hate it when Blogger eats a post? Don't you just hate it when blog members complain about how the accidentally deleted post was so long and so good and they won't bother retyping it? Yep. Just happened.) Mark is to my immediate left, checking out some extra sequences on Boogie Nights and American Psycho. He was unaware that Christian Bale is actually British. (As was I, until I saw his featurette interview) Does anyone else think he should have gotten nominated for more awards? The performance is brilliant. I am now listening to another free CD, Nine Inch Nails "Fragile". Haven't gotten too far yet... Just finished reading The Name of the World by Denis Johnson. I enjoyed it, in that "I'm-glad-it's-only-a-novella" type way. I've been told that Already Dead isn't that special, and i could see where hid slow contemplative writing style might get unsettling during a long novel like that. Speaking of American Psycho, the next book up is Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. And before you ask, I have NOT seen the movie. I know, where was i in 1987? Where were you? Maybe this list will help us out. I will now completely saturate the blog by going through each song one by one and providing a short anecdote. Mixing can be fun. 100. Right on Track - Breakfast Club Didn't Madonna have something to do with this song? I remember the video and the singer looked an awful lot like this guy. This was also the very first "cassingle" that I bought. 99. Who Will You Run To - Heart I use to tease one of my old friends about Heart NOT being heavy metal, even though he had a Nancy Wilson pinup on his wall next to (surely heavy metal) Judas Priest, King Diamond, etc... Made him real upset. Hilarious. 98. Respect Yourself - Bruce Willis Seagrams... Golden wine cooler. You can't give away "The Return of Bruno" on Ebay. 97. Big Love - Fleetword Mac The video was vaguely reminiscent of OP906. Does Lindsay Buckingham grind on your nerves too? 96. Wipeout - Fat Boys and the Beach Boys Where are the Fat Boys now? Hmm. Upon research, i found that this member died in 1995, and the other two aren't doing much of anything. But who are these "Beach" Boys ? 95. I've Been In Love Before - Cutting Crew The hardest part is when you're in it. 94. It's a Sin - Pet Shop Boys This is a pretty sinister dance number. My favorite PSB song is "Suburbia" by the way. (and i'm not really digging the NIN. It's a but too grating.) 93. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You - Glenn Medeiros While in Hawaii, we ran across a poster of Glenn. I immediately began singing this song. 92. Ballerina Girl - Lionel Richie I don't know this song. Thankfully. (How many severed hand pictures can Mark download?) 91. Cross My Broken Heart - The Jets Again, I don't know this one. I only know "Rocket 2 U" and "Crush on You." Had the "cassingle" for both of them. 90. Valerie - Steve Winwood I'm the same boy I used to be. I know where I was now. Instead of seeing movies, I was at the Brickyard mall Musicland buying "cassingles". And now I'm listening to the Eminem CD. Again, nabbed from the Shirley goods. I've never heard it and i want to see what all of the hullaballoo is about. Maybe you'll see it along with LB soon? More babbling later. My eyes are starting to hurt. Should I throw salt in them? And I maintain my plea, I expected MIGAS!
mark: Man o man.I'm kicking it in the office,checking my email,watching deleted scenes from Boogie Nights,and sipping on 7-up.Bob's across the way doing some tappy tap tapping on his computer.I'm such a multi-media whore.People keep walking past me shaking their heads.What?You 've never seen someone doing 8 things at once?Shit,man. Honk if you love John C. Reilly.Man,that guy is good.I'm watching the deleted scene from the recording studio."you got the touch" Genius!!!!!If you haven't seen this-find it, and love it. We've spent all day working on "Let's Go Blue",and I think it's almost done(Take that JBH).One more LP song and we're done.Whew.I think Bob is bumping the local smooth jazz station or something.I don't know what he's got going on. In my defense,I never promised migas.Scott from Paris,Texas said they had migas,recommended them even.So I point my finger at him.Point,point,point.
Robert: 237 Shiner - Rodan Pop pop, down goes the enemy! Finally, at 3:40 PM, i have awakened. Even though the sun blared, it seemed like a big dreary day, outside and in. Perhaps it was the drinks last night and yakking with the crew... Or it may have been my breakfast. A nice beans, rice, tomato, avocado burrito. Yes, that did it. I could barely move after eating that horrible thing. Horrible. Mark promised migas, and alas there were none. Boo La Hacienda... I will talk more. Later. Longer. The Garbage folk are travelling to see U2 tonight. Should I entrust them with the OP906 machine so we can involve such luminaries as Bono, and dare i say, The Edge? Nah, i'm sure they've got better things to worry about. Certainly.
dan: beautiful and sunny today slightly windy but what are you gonna do..? Thanks to all who replied about my teeth..I don't have a cavity and I have been thinking of ways to get more exercise..last night I stayed up until 1am watching craigers, conan and dave...you know that guy from BT..? you know....(blues traveler) he lost a lot of weight..dave (letterman) said you look good and he said ' nothin a little painful surgery can't fix ' he looks weird..well I finally made it to bed...no dreams..woke up... more laundry and a stop at the salvation army to drop some funky goat smelling clothes off...man it's nice out, you should try to get outside if it's nice where ever you are... peace out- May 8, 2001
dan: it's cold gin time again..you know we'll always win...exciting news today..I cut the lawn..pause for applause....nothing..didn't expect any...just had to chime in..real busy here..ever since spring got here I've noticed a few little spiders around the house...does anyone know what it's supposed to mean when you've had a dream that your teeth are falling out..?
Todd: Yo! I can't believe I've stayed off the blog for 24+ hours! I did'nt blog at all yesterday, I'm ashamed.. We just got back from eating a lil' @ Noodles and Co. yummy! Just so everyone knows I'll be doing the 4th annual Hey Mercedes mailer sometime this week, so, if you want to sign up, email us, ok? It'll have a current update and details about our upcoming tour(hopefully) and record release plans. We just started working on "Let's Go Blue" but I think we are going to get out of here pretty soon, there are people that we need to drink under the table.. I'm not going to mention any names, but they're in a band called The Dismemberment Plan. Oops!
mark: We just got back from seeing Joe Dirt.It was as good as you would expect-Terrible.But it was the only movie showing at that time.We had to take a break from mixing while Mark(Haines) fixed a little problem with the equipment.We picked up Andy and hit the local budget theatre.Last night I actually learned how to play table shuffleboard.Yeah,I know it sounds weird but it was cool.I did get whooped by some of the locals.Sam tried to help me out ,but it didn't work.A guy also passed out at the bar.Poor bastard. No time to keep blogging-must dash to Urban Pizza to get cheese-less pie with soy pepperoni!!!!Madison ain't so bad...
Robert: 238 Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Harry Connick Jr. We're still working on "Eleven to Your Seven", which is proving to be a difficult one, given all the whistles and bells. What? ... Also, I am learning more HTML by the truckload, so by the time June 1st comes around, the newly designed website will be in full Olerud swing. Oh yes. May 7, 2001
dan: do i actually want to type tonight..? I feel like figure skating tonight with a loved one...at night of course with the moon above and the hot cocoa waiting inside....scarfs and mittens...cool air..god am i too mushy tonight ..I gotta go..dream..or drink more...beatchs...es..course my skate would be some handmedowns from uncle kim or something.......old skool hockey ...dig..?
dan: oui..it's nice to type to..you might wanna try it...hold on a second somebodys calling me trk..3 is the one to type to folks...
mark: Big.Really.Moody.Club.I hate them too,Bob.And their street team.As I type this,Garbage has just left the building,and Mark Haines(nice guy who is mixing our record)is bumping "eleven to your seven" and it's sounding pretty sweet.I wish I had more to say,but it's been pretty mundane around here lately.Last night's Bands on the Run was pretty cool.Who hates Soulcracker?What a bunch of shit.Those guys are the worst!!!BOO!!I hope they get bootd next week.I'm sure they'll find a way to fuck someone over,and win.Bunch of jerky jerk jerks!OK-I'm going to climb down from my little soap box now.Bob is being mean to me now,so I should go listen before he lashes out (again).
Robert: Actually i mistyped when i said we have a big problem with the band. It's not really them as much as their hype-croonies. You know, the folks who infiltrate parties just to sticker up walls and refridgerators and people's jackets. Well it won't work with this pope! And there was just a car accident outside Smart. And I used to actually have dreams in HTML. And i'm going to be redesigning the website soon. Doo doo dum dum dum.
Robert: 239 The Magic Number - De La Soul "Space can be filled if you rise like my lumber?" I'm pretty sure that's not what they say. Yep, we're still rocking it out here at the studio, with over a week left! We're putting finishing touches on the mix of "The Slightest Idea" - then it's on to another mini-epic, "Eleven to Your Seven." My word. It rained last night and i woke up to the sound of two distinct crashes. One involved some shattering I'm certain. I was going to bring up something about an upcoming hot new band that we have a big problem with... but as it has been said many a time - Any publicity is good publicity (plus i'm not sure i'd like to get sued), so i'm going to keep my mouth shut and instead present you with the entire theme from the Love Boat lyric: Love, exciting and new / Come Aboard. We're expecting you. / Love, life's sweetest reward. / Let it flow, it floats back to you. / The Love Boat soon will be making another run / The Love Boat promises something for everyone / Set a course for adventure, / Your mind on a new romance. / Love won't hurt anymore / It's an open smile on a friendly shore. / Yes LOVE! It's LOVE! / The Love Boat soon will be making another run / The Love Boat promises something for everyone / Set a course for adventure, / Your mind on a new romance. / Love won't hurt anymore / It's an open smile on a friendly shore. / It's LOVE! It's LOVE! It's LOVE! / It's the Love Boat-ah! It's the Love Boat-ah!
dan: good morning--I've already dropped my car off to have the brakes looked at again and I'm hoping that this will be the last time for awhile..give me some factory pads guys..screw the cheap ones..they squeak..This weekend I just remembered I have to utilize my fog machine for this symphony..that's using a rocket in their show...I asked them if they needed flash pots but they said..ah no thats ok..just the fog..It's gonna shoot out the bottom of this rocket some guy made..hey it pays.. .. I also put another coat of paint on these windows I'm painting in the basement...what else..I think I'm gonna go have a bowl of cereal frosted mini wheats..after I put a load of laundry in of course.. next sunday..grilling? The drive to madison is like a walk in the park. '.next thing ya know jump in the 6 4 jump out cock the hammer and kick down the doe..' pop quiz: "thank you very little"..what movie? May 6, 2001
mark: I just got done watching "Dancer in the Dark".wow.um...I think I'm going to go be quiet somewhere for awhile.What a heavy ride.It kinda sank my battleship,you know?
dan: I had a really fun night..It all started with me thinking that either the wind was blowing hard around my ass or cause I had briefs on it was cold or something...I learned while I was walking up the stairs to the party that I had a whole in my crotch....GREat..you couldn't really see it but I spent the night standing anyway..Things I brought to the party were...a generous handful of lady fingers and 3 bunches of bottle rockets also a flask with bacardi ron 8...in it 3 oz to be exact..I must say it went over pretty well with some of the people at said party..I also brought a big ole' bottle of castillo rum..and a 2 litre of coke to mix..I mustofbeen the only one to bring stuff cause 2 hours into the jamboree there was no soda left therefore rendering my drinks really strong..It also forced me to create new and exciting drinks...oh yeah there was a girl showing her breasteses too...crazy party..after a lot of the people left we went up to the roof and proceeded to throw the previously mentioned lady fingers down onto the people on the street...they blew up in the air...we also launched bottle rockets ... then went home to sleep...and today..! I'm here at smart..I grilled some veggie burgers for the guys and I made the engineer (mark) and myself some steaks with asparagus and garlic herb potatoes on the side..tasty..the sun is trying to poke it's head out but..i dunno.. peace out-
Todd: The Newcastle was bad news! It led to 2 cocktails before even making it to the party, and party we did.. After leaving the studio for the night and then getting there, within 10 seconds of us entering the party I had a beer in my hand. Just like in the movies. Weird. It was fun, people where dancing, drinking and having a good time. Bob and i chatted up some old friends in the kitchen where there was a mysterious glass mason jar of moonshine floating around. Beers where drank. We tried to get Mark to drink the clear-homemade liquid through peer-pressure type heckling but it mainly ended up being a fun-insulting-type-schralp-fest. Glad we all went, instead of just going to bed. There is a lot of built up tension to get out after being in a studio 14 hours a day.. Dan is here and hes prepping up goods for the BBQ. It's a little overcast here in Madison, but no sign of rain. It's going to be a relaxing yet productive Sunday, i can feel it.. |