Three

Last week marked 11 years together and 3 years married and each year since our wedding BJ makes a compilation CD and we take our anniversary photo. It's my favourite time of year. And this year it was SO nice to be able to share it all with Audrey.

Our anniversary album never disappoints. BJ will collect songs over the year. Some old but mostly new songs. He will often hide an entire album if there is a song on it that he's wanting to save as a surprise.

This tradition started after we did a CD as the wedding favour for our guests. It was so much fun to make and was just so us. So I thought I'd share the playlists and albums covers.

The Wedding Album

This album is a mix of some of our favourite songs and also songs we including in our special day. 

Faithful Heights - Night Beds

Your Arms Around Me - Jens Lekman

Love Song - Tilly & The Wall

First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes

Love Interruption - Jack White

Stay Forever - Ween

These Old Shoes - Deer Tick

That's What's Up - Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zero

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

Think I'm In Love - Beck

No Children - The Mountain Goats

My Love - Mariachi El Bronx

As strange as this might sounds, this is our song. I love it!

(I was so sad when we saw The Mountain Goats live and they didn't play it.)

One

This album had a few of the same artists from our wedding album but seriously, how can you go wrong putting The Mountain Goats on a compilation CD? 

Shepherd's Bush Lullaby - Benjamin Gibbard

Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine

The Way Love Used To Be - Colin Meloy

Feb-75 - The Mountain Goats

Hannah Hunt - Vampire Weekend

The Hardest Part - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

Nausea - Beck

Awkward Conversation - The Front Bottoms

Oh Yeah - Foxygen

Black Cadillacs - Modest Mouse

Palaces Of Montezuma - Grinderman

Seeing this song performed live is one of the most mesmerizing and amazing things I've ever experienced.

Two

I got this album one month before Audrey was born and it was the perfect album to get me through those last few weeks.

Just A Dream - Tobias Jesso Jr.
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Iron & Wine And Ben Bridwell
Beginners - The Tallest Man On Earth
Wastes Of Time - Elvis Depressedly
Slow Show - The National
If I Love You - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
West Virginia - The Front Bottoms
Depreston - Courtney Barnett
Against Pollution - The Mountain Goats
A Girl In Port - Okkervil River
I Went To The Store One Day - Father John Misty

I seriously burst in tears as soon as the album started because of this beautiful song.
(And can you tell we have a serious love for The Mountain Goats)




Three
I've already listened to this album a few times and like the rest, I love it. This one tells the story of our first year with Audrey starting off with the song that was playing when she was born... Yes, my kid came out to mariachi music... She's my little Mexican baby.

Arpeggiator - Mariachi El Bronx
Welcome To Earth (Pollywog) Sturgill Simpson
C'est La Vie Way - Wolf Parade
Are You Serious - Andrew Bird
Two Kids - Laura Gibson
Dust Bunnies - Kurt Vile
Belong To You - Eric Bachmann
Brother's Song - Brand New
River - Leon Bridges
Being Around - Courtney Barnett

What the hell?! No Mountain Goats... C'mon BJ!
This is the song that I would sing to Audrey when I was trying to get her down in her cot. His album was often playing in the car so she would snooze... And because it's amazing!



Already excited about what next years album will be like

xx
Smorgy

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Two

When we got married we made a wedding album which we gifted to our guests and since then BJ has made one every year for our anniversary. We go to the same place each time to take our cover photo. BJ then scrolls through his music collection and creates the perfect playlist. Often using songs that he's found and kept from me until the next album because he knows i'll love them.

It was a little late this year with everything else that's been going on so I finally got it off BJ this week.

He makes every album so special and unique. I look forward to it every year and it is always on regular rotation on my ipod.

I pressed play in the car as I drove to work for my last 'official' day in the office on Thursday and enjoyed every second of it.

This years album starts off with a beautiful song about having a newborn baby girl and I was instantly in tears listening to it. It continues with a lot of beautiful sounding songs and is a nice easy listen. I have listened to it a couple of times already.

Now he just needs to finish our 'labour playlist' ready for the big day.

The tracklist:
Just A Dream - Tobias Jesso Jr.
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell
Beginners - The Tallest Man On Earth
Wastes Of Time - Elvis Depressedly
Slow Show - The National
If I Love You - The Brain Jonestown Massacre
West Virginia - The Front Bottoms
Depreston - Courtney Barnett
Against Pollution - The Mountain Goats
A Girl In Port - Okkervil River
I Went To The Store One Day - Father John Misty

xx
Smorgy

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Monthly Album - MAYDAY

BJ's Words:

This artwork had a lot of time and effort put into it. I pulled out 5 records and lined them up along the windows so that I was able to look up and use them as reference as I tried to replicate the look of compilation albums from the 50's. I love this artwork.

Artwork:

Tracklist:

99 Problems- Philidelphia Grand Jury / Jayz
One More Cup Of Coffee - The White Stripes / Bob Dylan
Let's Dance - M.Ward / David Bowie
Band On The Run - Foo Fighters / Wings
We Wil Become Silhouettes - The Shins / The Postal Service
Hurt - Johnny Cash / Nine Inch Nails
Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana / Lead Belly
Somebody That I Used To Know - Eskimo Joe / Gotye
Seven Nation Army - C.W Stoneking / The White Stripes
Only The Lonely - Mariachi El Bronx / Roy Orbison
Skinny Love - Birdy / Bon Iver

Samples:

Extras:

For this album BJ asked me to make two magnets which had the stain glass images from the front covers on them. I packaged them up all cute and they looked awesome in the end.

Copyright:

Disc 1 - ©FTI RECORDS APRIL 2012 SIDE A: AN ALBUM FULL OF COVER SONGS, WHODDA THUNK IT! WELL, WE DID, ONCE AGAIN, NEW MUSIC BURSTING FROM OUR LOINS, INTO YOUR LOINS, WELL NEW OLD MUSIC ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU DIG THIS AS MUCH AS WE DO. WE GOT 99 PROBLEMS, BUT A RELEASE AINT ONE!

Disc 2 - ©FTI RECORDS APRIL 2012 SIDE B: THE ALBUM OF ORIGINAL SONGS, THE AURAL ACCOMPANIMENT TO SIDE A. THE ARTISTS AND SONGS THAT MADE SIDE A POSSIBLE EXIST ON THIS CD. SO TURN IT UP. SIT BACK. AND LISTEN TO THE ORIGINALITY BURST OUT OF YOUR SPEAKS AND FILL YOUR EARS. CYA IN JUNE!

My Thoughts:

With this album it was hard. There were soo many great cover songs out there and I feel that there are some better ones BJ could have picked over others. I enjoy the covers more then the originals mostly but both albums have a good flow.

We'd love to know what you think of MayDay and if you would like a digital copy of the album send me an email silhouettesofknights@gmail.com

xx
Smorgy & BJ

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April Album - The April Skyline

BJ's Words:

I had an idea to dedicate the album to one of the gentlemen that are doing this music experiment with me, the artwork was very difficult to decide on and I made probably 7-8 different covers, with this one winning out. I'm still not very impressed with the small text or the way it looks, but it was better than the other 6 or 7. After this album I picked up my game with design and took it more seriously.

Artwork:

Tracklist:

Some Nights (Intro) - Fun
Pot Kettle Black - Tilly and the Wall
Full Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
L.i.f.e.g.o.e.s.o.n - Noah and the Whale
Bright Lit Blue Skies - Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti
Bait and Switch - The Shins
Mr Tough - Yo La Tengo
Cellphones Dead - Beck
Write About Love - Bell & Sebastian
Lagartija Kick - Bauhuas
You Ain't Alone - Alabama Shakes

Samples:

Extras:

There was a video BJ made for this month but unfortunately he emailed it to the other members privately so i can not embed it here :(

Copyright:

©FTI RECORDS APRIL 2012, A QUARTER OF THE WAY THROUGH THE YEAR AND SOME SOLID RELEASES UNDER THE BELT. AT FTI RECORDS, WE STRIVE TO PUT TOGETHER ALBUMS THAT INCITE CONVERSATION AND BRING PLEASURE TO THE EARS. UNLESS WE GET BORED, THEN ITS JUST SHIT AND MORE SHIT. COME TO THINK OF IT.........

My Thoughts:

This album isn't my favourite artwork but i love to this one on in the car, especially if i don't know what i want to listen to. It has some great songs on it and really gets you singing along. 

We'd love to know what you think of The April Skyline and if you would like a digital copy of the album send me an email silhouettesofknights@gmail.com

xx
Smorgy & BJ

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Monthly Album - MARCH

BJ's Words:

The artwork fits in exactly with the album subject matter and the name of the month. A photo of an army marching just made sense. The punk album was something I had been wanting to do for a while. I regret some of the choices I made with the songs I put on there, but all in all, I'm pretty happy with it.

Artwork:

Tracklist:

The Separation Of Church & Skate - NOFX
Fuck Authority - Pennywise
David Courtney - Rancid
Heart's All Gone - Blind 182
Generator - Bad Religion
Cool To Be You - Descendents
Past Lives - The Bronx
Penguins & Polarbears - Millencolin
Longview - Green Day
Miami - Against Me!
Let's All Go To The Bar - Deer Tick

Samples:

Extras:

BJ created this promo video leading up to the MARCH album release date.


MARCH from BJ Carter on Vimeo.

Copyright:

©FTI RECORDS MARCH 2012. WE’RE STILL PRETTY UNSURE WHAT THIS GUYS DEAL IS, BUT HE LOOKS SHADY, WE HERE AT FTI RECORDS WOULDNT TRUST HIM, ESPECIASLLY WITH MANAGING OUR INVESTMENT BANKING.

My Thoughts:

When BJ was making this album i didn't think i'd enjoy it as much as some of the others. I like a lot of punk-rock music but BJ likes a lot that i don't really care for. In saying that, this album is probably the album i played the most out of the first three albums. It get's me pumped on my drive to work and it's just such a fun album to listen to. 

We'd love to know what you think of MARCH and if you would like a digital copy of the album send me an email silhouettesofknights@gmail.com

xx
Smorgy & BJ

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Monthly Album - FEBRUARY

BJ's Words:

Seeing and hearing the other albums in the monthly swap, I realised that I needed to up my game and make some big steps forward.

I heard the Saul Williams song when I got his new album and it blew my mind, I knew it was going to be the one that opened the album. The clapping, the synths, the spoken word to open it up, it was perfect.

I filled the rest of the album up with songs that packed a little bit of punch but weren't too in your face.

The artwork I wanted to make desolate, the cover, two thirds sky, the remaining part to look simple yet grabs your attention. I wanted the artwork to fold open and there to be an image inside, we made it work.

Looking back, putting the track list on the inside of the foldout was a mistake, but one that I did learn from.

Artwork:

Tracklist:

Reach For The Sun - Saul Williams
If You See Light - The Mountain Goats
Energy - The Apples In Stereo
Tony The Tiger - Manchester Orchestra
From The Hips - Cursive
Beatles Or Stones - Beady Eye
Thickfreakness - The Black Keys
We Need A Myth - Okkervil River
Just For Today - The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Transdermal Celebration - Ween
The Ship Song - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds

A Visual Selection:

Extras:

February had a mini poster the the track list printed on the inside of the booklet and a promo video

February album promo video from BJ Carter on Vimeo.

Copyright:

©February 2012 FTI RECORDS. Another album of solid gold treats, although this one is dated correctly. January had a misprint on the dates, if was an oversite by FTI Records and we refuse to apologize, so take your complaints and jam them where the sun dont shine. See you in March you damn nazis, I dont mean you killed a bunch of jews, Im pretty sure you understand, Pigs.

My Thoughts:

This album starts with an artist which I'm not really a fan of. This had me worried that I would let that cloud my judgement and stop me from enjoying this album. But even now (in July) FEBRUARY one of my favourite albums. It's got such a great flow about it and some of my favourite artists (The Mountain Goats, Ween). This album doesn't just stick to one genre and even though it does jump around a fair bit it still works soo well. 

We'd love to know what you think of FEBRUARY so if you would like a digital copy of this album please send me an email silhouettesofknights@gmail.com

xx

Smorgy & BJ

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Monthly Album - The January Wilderness

BJ and two of his work mates decided to start making a monthly CD for each other (sooo cute) as they all had quite different tastes in music and thought it would be an awesome way to hear some different stuff.

I've helped BJ a lot with his monthly CD's. I am constantly being asked to listen to the playlist and see how it flows. I've created templates for him to make all the artwork in and when it's all ready I get it all printed then I cut, fold and assemble it all, plus sometimes I also create some extra goodies.

So I thought I'd share each month with you guys as I think they are fantastic. Not just the playlists but the artwork and all the extras.

January

BJ's Words:

I had been listening to far too much 70's pop. When I saw far too much, I mean, my days were filled with Cat Stevens, Ross Ryan, Jim Croce and a handful of others.

Fuelled with my 70's pop hard on, I headed to my iTunes to make an album indicative of what I had been listening to.

Without pumping the album full of Jim Croce, I wanted the feel of a 70s album without using songs from the 1970s. I wanted songs that had the feel of 70s pop. Songs that make you feel good and songs that make you want to drive with the windows down, driving into the sun, music blaring.

The artwork was weird, its ugly, but charming, disgusting yet eye-catching. Everything I wanted it to be.

Artwork:

Track List:

Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes

Section 9 - The Polyphonic Spree

Kathleen - Townes Van Zandt

Part Time Believer - Boy And Bear

Low Rising - The Swell Season

Where Dirt And Water Collide - White Buffalo

Right Or Wrong - Heidecker & Wood

Dear God - Monsters Of Folk

You Know That I'm No Good - Wanda Jackson

Lorelei - The Mess Hall

Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me - Iron & Wine

A Visual Selection:

 

Extras:

This album had no extra goodies. But i think it's pretty darn good.

Copyright:

©January 2012 FTI RECORDS. This album is full of songs pinched from a bunch of other albums, I guess it could be considered a compilation, however we here at FTI RECORDS consider it a masterpiece and anyone who has a copy of this album should thank their lucky stars that they got their grubby, filthy, little hands on it.

My Thoughts:

I love this album. It flows soo well and I really enjoy putting it on while I'm driving to work. 

We'd love to know what you think of The January Wilderness and if you would like a digital copy of the album send me an email silhouettesofknights@gmail.com

xx
Smorgy & BJ

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Broni Album Launch

Last night i got to get see my mate Broni launch his new album 'To Get Her  Together'.
It was an awesome night at The Wesley Ann in Northcote. The night started off with Broni great friend Gimp making a surprise appearance. He has been traveling overseas for some time now and flew back just for the gig.

The opening act was SheBlondeSwede and it was brillant. He got the crowd singing along and warmed up for when Broni went on stage.

It was a nice intimate venue and was a night enjoyed by all.

The reason i bring up this gig is (not only because of how awesome the album is) because i made some new merch for Broni. Keyrings, Zipper Pulls and magnets. And while i was creating these i decided to make some Broni earrings to wear to the special occasion.

The earrings came out awesomely adorable but with my little ears and oddly shaped head they didn't really suit me so i didn't end up wearing them on the night. BUT i wanted you (all two of you) to see them.

Modeling them...

 

And they even suit the guys...

 Let me know what you think. Oh and please go check out Broni's album. At the moment you can choose your own price to get the digital download and i tell you it's worth every cent you can spent. So get it now!

xx
Smorgy Pin It