SEXY: A MIX

Tim Lampe is a designer and explorer in Atlanta, Georgia. You can find his work at timlampe.com and he writes occasionally at I’m A Bear! Etc. He wore sunscreen while writing his, but that’s not really important right now.

That’s right, it’s sexy week. After Ciara told me about who she was going to feature on this week’s Home // Closet // Tool, I insisted that I make a sexy playlist to along with this week and then the rest of Sexy Week came together. This playlist is fun. It has a few tracks that haven’t technically been released yet, a cover, a sing-out-loud track, beat-box drums and some Gayngs. There’s no other real intro to this mix except to just jump in and get inside this playlist. I hope you do enjoy.

♫ 8tracks

1. Baby // Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
2. Wrong Feels Right // Dum Dum Girls
3. Nocturne // Wild Nothing
4. Odessa // Caribou
5. Somebody // Niki & The Dove
6. Stay Don’t Go // Spoon
7. Trick Pony // Charlotte Gainsbourg
8. Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent Pt. 1: The Innocent // The Besnard Lakes
9. Beast of Love // Cloud Control
10. The Last Prom on Earth // Gayngs

Guest Post: SUMMER PALOOZA

Happy Friday! It's an exciting Friday for me because I did my first guest post for Breanna Rose, an amazing, talented designer and co-owner of Our Paper Shop. She went on vacation, so I offered to share a summer playlist, Summer Palooza, and an outfit to match.

See the post here!

NOT YOUR TYPICAL VALENTINE'S DAY MIX

Tim Lampe is a writer for I'm A Bear! Etc. who appreciates Valentine's Day but thinks it's better known as "National Reeses Appreciation Day".

I have a mix for you this week that I think you're going to really like. It's both a mix for Ciara herself as it is for all her readers. Since it's Valentine's Day, I wanted to make a mix but didn't want it to be full of cliched songs that you've heard over and over. It's a mix that includes a lot of old songs, but a collection of well-worn songs for me. You might wonder why it starts with Guess Who's "These Eyes" because it's not necessarily a love song. It's a simple answer; I find more joy in belting out that song in public than what the subject matter is. You might also remember a famous movie scene from Superbad involving Michael Cera singing it too, but I digress.

I love every track on this playlist, and a lot of them are slower than previous playlists, but I think you'll really enjoy it. Midway through is GAYNGS (a band compiled of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and over 20 other collaborators) doing a cover of SADE's "By Your Side". I don't have scientific proof, but I'm pretty sure this track is the sexiest songs ever put down on record. Just listen for yourself. And any great Valentines playlist wouldn't be complete without ending it with Mew's "Comforting Sounds". That track means a lot to Ciara and myself.

-Tim



1. These Eyes // The Guess Who
2. Anthems For a Seventeen Year Old Girl // Broken Social Scene
3. VCR // The XX
4. Summer Holiday // Wild Nothing
5. Slow Show // The National
6. By Your Side // Gayngs
7. Strange Things Will Happen // The Radio Dept.
8. Bookshop Casanova // The Clientele
9. Vittorio E. // Spoon
10. Comforting Sounds // Mew


If you'd like to listen to the playlist in Spotify, put this link in your search bar: spotify:user:bearetc:playlist:2OPTWQwbTZnRrigtoo6kad

I GET NERVOUS // MIX BY I'M A BEAR! ETC.

Tim Lampe is a writer for I'm A Bear! Etc. (and my awesome boyfriend!) who is currently reading the book 1Q84 and pondering staircases. He writes and takes pictures for I'm A Bear! Etc. and thinks you should start your year off with the right music.

This mix is called 'I Get Nervous' and it's really inspired by this track by Lower Dens called 'I Get Nervous'. It was one of my favorite tracks of 2010, and this week Lower Dens announced their new album. My revisiting of Lower Dens combined with the paranoia created from reading 1Q84 means that I've put together a mix that feels right to your nerves. It doesn't cause extra tension, believe me. It won't stress you out, by any means. If anything, it should help out. From the slow-burning start of Lower Den's new track "Brains" to Los Campensinos' triumphant anthem "Hello Sadness", this should be what you have on repeat this week.

Additionally, it also features a few new 2012 tracks you should hear such as Porcelain Raft's "Put Me to Sleep" and Sharon Van Etten's "Serpants" in addition to Lower Den's "Brains".

To download the mix yourself, click here and drag the songs into a new playlist in iTunes. Title it "I Get Nervous".

-Tim



1. Brains // Lower Dens
2. Put Me To Sleep // Porcelain Raft
3. Turning Into Stone // Phantogram
4. Serpants // Sharon Van Etton
5. Noche Nada // Givers
6. The Great Fire // Future Islands
7. Believe // CANT
8. Hello Sadness // Los Campesinos

VOLUME TWO

Here's a little mix that Tim made me and gave to me for Christmas. It is a wonderful mix of songs that he knows I love. The inside of the cd sleeve has a little comic about how we met, including flying lions and malfunctioning time traveling watches that would somehow guide us to our first date. So cute, right? Tim hand drew the entire thing, which is his super romantic style. Gotta love it.



1. Ignorant Boy, Beautiful Girl // Lonely, Dear
2. Heartbeats // José González
3. Fiery Crash // Andrew Bird
4. San Bernadino // The Mountain Goats
5. Foux Du Fafa // The Flight Of The Conchords
6. Sweet Disposition // The Temper Trap
7. You And I // Wilco & Feist
8. Young Adult Friction // Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
9. My Sweet Lord // Yim Yames
10. Dry Hump // Twin Sister
11. Whole Wide World // Wreckless Eric
12. This Tornado Loves You // Neko Case
13. Om Nashi Me // Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

tim tuesdays: isolation

This week the mix is titled "Isolation". Of course there's tons of sons about isolation, but this week I'm going to focus on some positive ones. There's an album that caught me by surprise and it's an album called "Year of Hibernation" by Youth Lagoon. It's an excellent exercise in isolation, and the album swallows your emotions up. I can't stop listening to that, and also the new album by M83. With this mix I'm taking an exercise in isolation being the moments that you get to imagine your own moments and fantasy worlds.

1. Youth Lagoon- Posters
2. Pomegranates- Create Your Own Reality
3. House of Wolves- 50's
4. The Luyas- Tiny Head
5. M83- Wait

Here's how you get it:
1. Click here to download the folder
2. Go to iTunes and click + to create a playlist, name it "Isolation"
3. Drag folder you downloaded into the playlist
4. Enjoy!

Make sure to stop by my music blog, I'm A Bear! Etc.

-Tim

cat lash.

Happy Friday, folks! Pretty stoked about this weekend. We're celebrating my birthday (and the birthday of my friends, Emily and Kimberly) tomorrow night at my favorite Bangladesh restaurant. I've been waiting all month for this!

In other news, I found a really awesome playlist by the wonderful Kate Miss of For Me, For You. Find it here and enjoy! It's a perfect way to get into fall.

tim tuesdays: diane keaton's vest

I started thinking about things and there's one object out there that may be the luckiest of all in the world and that is none other than Diane Keaton's Vest. I've watched countless Woody Allen films with her in the title role, but her vest emits the fuzziest of feelings. What is this vest feeling at any given time? Luckily I've put some songs to illustrate the feelings of Diane Keaton's Vest after much thought and consideration. Take a journey along with me and I'll see you guys here again next week!

1. Active Child- You Are All I See
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.- Simple Girl
3. St. Vincent- Cruel
4. Cults- You Know What I Mean
5. Generationals- Please Be It

Here's the instructions:
1. Click here to download the folder
2. Go to iTunes and click + to create a playlist, name it "Diane Keaton's Vest"
3. Drag folder you downloaded into the playlist
4. Enjoy!

-Tim

tim tuesdays: frugality

This week's mix is titled "Frugality". It's pretty simple. The whole mix isn't about money, or lack thereof. It's songs inspired by a overwhelming feeling of frugality (at least for me this week before paying off some bills). There's some of my favorite gems on here ('Silver' by Traveling by Sea and 'There's Nothing in the Water We Can't Fight' by Cloud Control) to serve as optimism. The lead track is the new single by brit-pop mimicking The Drums as they develop their sound.

1. The Drums- Money
2. Cloud Control: There's Nothing in the Water We Can't Fight
3. Delta Spirit- Randsom Man
4. Class Actress- Let Me Take You Out
5. Traveling By Sea- Silver


Here's the instructions:
1. Click here to download the folder
2. Go to iTunes and click + to create a playlist, name it "Frugality"
3. Drag folder you downloaded into the playlist
4. Enjoy!

See you next week!
-Tim

tim tuesdays: drug.

This week's mix is simply titled "DRUG". The simplest reason is because music is my personal drug. Some of the readers of this may feel the same, but these are a collection of tracks that hopefully may be a drug for your Tuesday listening. It's main goal is to get you to explore some new tracks today; some you may not have heard before. It starts with some classic-rock infused White Denim, cruises through some Fresh and Onlys and Coco et Co and finally ends with a summer celebration thanks to Athens, GA locals Reptar. Ciara's only requirement is that while listening to Dent May you must bend you knees up and down, as if to simulate Mr. Dent May playing these tracks live.

1. White Denim- Drug
2. The Fresh and Onlys- Waterfall
3. Coco et Co.- State of Radio
4. Dent May- Fun
5. Reptar- Houseboat Babies

Here's the instructions:
1. Click here to download the folder.
2. Go to iTunes and click + to create a playlist, name it "Drug".
3. Drag folder you downloaded into the playlist.
4. Enjoy!

See you next week!
-Tim

tim tuesdays: city as my church.

My name is Tim Lampe from I'm A Bear! Etc. It's been a busy few weeks but I'm back here with another mix.

As promised last time, this one dives into some borrowed sounds from the 1980's. I'm really excited about this mix.

I present to you 'City As My Church'. It starts at a party. These are kids who don't practice religion; they flock to the city as if that was their church. It starts with M83's thrilling new track "Midnight City", with scenes of catching late night ridges through the city. The neon lights, the lounge and club scenes fill your head. What follows is mind-numbing reflection and identity struggle of who was who and the stagger home to Small Black's "Photojournalist". You feel slightly out of place when Dum Dum Girl's "Hold Your Hand" comes in, but time has passed and you can relate to losing a loved one. Your story matures all the way through The War on Drugs excellent "Your Love is Calling My Name" in a race back into the city by train to let that someone know how you feel. It ends with Sun Airway's reflective "Put the Days Away" especially when you're reminded that "trying not to die is so taxing" and you realize time doesn't move as slow as you imagined.

1. M83- Midnight City
2. Small Black- Photojournalist
3. Dum Dum Girls- Hold Your Hand
4. The War on Drugs- Your Love is Calling My Name
5. Sun Airway- Put the Days Away

Here's how you get it:
1. Click here to download the folder
2. Go to iTunes and click + to create a playlist, name it "City as My Church"
3. Drag folder you downloaded into the playlist.
4. Enjoy!

See you next week!

tim tuesdays: for those that think young.

My name is Tim Lampe and I write for I'm A Bear! Etc. and I collect 3D glasses and absorb lots of music. Here's a mix I put together just for you!

For Those That Think Young is a mix to celebrate youth and stepping away from it. From the initial moment that TV Girl's excellent 'Benny and Jetts' kicks in with "Her eyes were green, her skin glistened. Talk all you want to, she never listens" to the final chorus of New Animal's 'Fires in the Backyard' ends with "How'd we get so far with nothing to show for it?", this mix is about youthful feelings with a look back. Feel exuberant as you ride along a non-stop train of gems that bend styles and genres. Hopefully no matter what your age, you act youthful just a little bit every day.

1. TV Girl- Benny and the Jetts
2. Yuck- The Wall
3. Foreign Born- Vacationing People
4. The War on Drugs- Baby Missiles
5. New Animal- Fires in the Backyard


Here's how you get it:
1. Open iTunes
2. Create playlist (+) with name "For Those That Think Young"
3. Download the playlist here and when it is downloaded, drag and drop folder into iTunes playlist!
4. Enjoy!

Thanks for listening and next week I plan on taking us back to the 1980's so watch out.

tim tuesdays: the only way is up.

My name is Tim Lampe and I write for I'm A Bear! Etc. and I collect 3D glasses and absorb lots of music. Now that you know everything about me, here's a mix I put together just for you.

The Only Way Is Up is a way to celebrate summer. It's July and summer has been settled in for some time, but there's time to still simmer and relax with some essential summer tracks. This mix is the perfect blend of pop music, folk with a little psychedelia and afro pop. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Givers- Up Up Up
2. Deerhunter- Agoraphobia
3. Woods- Be All Be Easy
4. Beirut- Santa Fe
5. Foster the People- Pumped Up Kicks

Here's how you get it:
1. Open iTunes
2. Create playlist (+) with name "The Only Way is Up"
3. Download the playlist here and when it is downloaded, drag and drop folder into iTunes playlist!
4. Enjoy!

If you like this mix (of course you did!), then tune in next week as I explore some deeper cuts that you may enjoy. I'll be in Wisconsin this week so I'll probably be influenced by some beard infused folk rock. Or Hall and Oates. There's no correlation between those two but I'll see you next week!

weekend: meetings/pitchfork.

Sadly, no photos in my weekend recap. :( I was either working, packing, or in a meeting this weekend. And none of that is especially photogenic.

I didn't go to the Pitchfork Music Festival, but I was there in spirit. Tim and I both downloaded the festival's app a few weeks ago and have been drooling all over it. Isn't the design just gorgeous? Half of me wishes I had been there just so I could utilize the app! They did have the shows streaming live on their site, which was amazing. I really enjoyed watching The Woods. Heard of them before? Check them out!

Also, I have a nice little announcement to make. From this week on, I will be having a special guest every week or so! Tim (my beau and author of I'm A Bear! Etc.) will be giving you a nice little playlist. And we're both certain you'll enjoy them!