Yellow Ostrich – The Morgan Freeman EP

Inspired by Morgan Freeman’s wikipedia page.

This is the claim made by Alex Schaaf, a Maine resident that records prolifically under the name Yellow Ostrich, about his latest free release: The Morgan Freeman EP. I think for most people this sort of production would strain their notion of a concept album, but the EP is at once incredibly catchy and listenable, while consistently bearing out Schaaf’s claim. Track 4 – for example – “Morgan Freeman’s Alleged Relationship With His Step-Granddaughter,” with its wikipedian title, is an emotional exploration of (Schaaf’s?) feelings about the real-life controversy, that ends with the line “Morgan, I think no one understands you.” The Morgan Freeman EP is six tracks of lo-fi folk-pop; glitchy and driven by primitive beats, and ultimately sustained by good songwriting… enjoyable regardless of one’s post-modernist tendencies. Download it and many other releases from the Yellow Ostrich bandcamp.

Yellow Ostrich – Morgan Freeman’s Selected Filmography
Yellow Ostrich – What Is Morgan Doing Now?

❤

Dwight

Alice Cohen Exhibition at Live With Animals Gallery

Earlier today, Olde English Spelling Bee announced that Williamsburg gallery Live With Animals will be hosting their very own Alice Cohen’s debut solo art exhibition from August 7th to 29th. Normally, I would politely ignore any mention of cultural activities taking place in New York City, because 99.9% of the time I live here in Morgantown, where New York famously isn’t. On this occasion, I can happily let you all know, because I’ll be in town for a week and it will be totally within my power to drop by. I might even not drop by. Who knows. But at least I had a choice. Here’s OESB’s briefing and a preview of a Cohen film set to debut at the opening tonight:

The ever-amazing Alice Cohen has been super busy for the last couple months putting together her first solo art show for the Live With Animals gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show is titled “Mirror Moves For Private Eyes” and will feature paintings, collages, installations, and a brand new 15 minute long animated video that she also created a soundtrack for (an excerpt from the video is below).

There will be musical performances at tonite’s opening by Labanna Bly (P.A.R.A.) and the mysterious Mechanick Preachers (Upstairs cdr / Irma Vep Tapes). The opening party will be from 7 to 10 p.m. – and there will be an afterparty at Manhattan Inn in Greenpoint. Live With Animals is at Metropolitan & Kent in the same building as Monster Island and Secret Project Robot. Below are some snapshots from the exhibit that I took yesterday.

Rest assured, it will be weird.

Dwight

Kites Sail High – Alone/Secrets 12″

Kites Sail High is San Franciscan Mario Baltodano, a composer of what he very descriptively terms “ambient dub.” His 12″ double-EP on Life’s Blood (“aural releasing entity”) showcases that, without really becoming in any way niche – plenty of the tracks are catchy enough to seem not too distantly removed from the “mainstream” (if one can be said to exist) of instrumental indie-pop. Its twelve tracks are a genuinely varied lot, exemplifying more or less his self-characterization and striking several distinct notes: the catchy, the meditative, and sometimes the damn near danceable.

Alone/Secrets saw it’s street date on the fourth of this god-fearing August, and god-willing I’ll be seeing my copy shortly. You can see yours for $13, or a bit more if you aren’t a rosy-cheeked citizen of Uncle Sam’s land.

Kites Sail High – Pollen
Kites Sail High – Dancing Sprinklers

Gordbresy’all,

Dwight

PS, I still love you.

Big Darn Batch of Releases: GOBBLE GOBBLE & Mellows vinyl

Today, we unveil our biggest batch of vinyl to date and one of the single biggest expenditures of energy I’ve ever subjected myself to:

•RRFR-020, GOBBLE GOBBLE Neon Graveyard 12” LP
•RRFR-022, Mellows It’s In The Stones/Ghostriding 7”
•RRFR-023, GOBBLE GOBBLE Lawn Knives/End of Days 7”

Head over to our Orders to grab a copy or copies, and download all three releases totally for free.

Love,
Dwight

•RRFR-020, GOBBLE GOBBLE Neon Graveyard 12” LP

•RRFR-022, Mellows It’s In The Stones/Ghostriding 7”

•RRFR-023, GOBBLE GOBBLE Lawn Knives/End of Days 7”

Updates & Wish Remixes GOBBLE GOBBLE

Today, after a nearly month long revery, fraught with complex planning and extensive nonsensing about, the silence ends! Over the next month or so, the public face of Royal Rhino will shift a bit, along with what you may expect from release to release. We’ll have a better website, a slew of releases, new projects and fun furloughs with friends, and loads of free stuff. This August, expect a free EP from Cough Cool and the official release of GOBBLE GOBBLE’s debut LP Neon Graveyard on a gorgeous white 12″ and breakout Lawn Knives/End of Days singles on black and transparent 7″s, coming up for preorder in the next couple of weeks and shipping on August 17th. More on both soon.

In the meantime, redigest GOBBLE GOBBLE’s “Lawn Knives” and the first of a whole slew of remixes Cecil’s songs will be subjected to (the first of three that Wish alone will be handling) while we gear up for their official releases:

GOBBLE GOBBLE – Lawn Knives
GOBBLE GOBBLE – Lawn Knives (Wish Remix, Take 1)

& download both GOBBLE GOBBLE releases in their present entirety while you’re at it – each download will be supplemented with its full compliment of remixes once they’ve all been made, hehe:

Neon Graveyard 12″
Lawn Knives/End of Days 7″

While everything develops, the website will probably be less frequently tended than in the past. For more consistent updates, friend us on facebook and keep your eyes peeled.

Love love lovE,
DwighT