Merge Records

Music Tapes’ Lullabies to wander dark streets and bedsides!

July 6, 2010 – 1:43 pm

Julian Koster and The Music Tapes will be delivering lullabies at bedsides from bedroom to bedroom, and house to house in Boston, New York and Philadelphia in August. Featuring new songs as well as some of the gentler songs from Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes and the 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad, lucky hosts will be visited at the bedtime hour by the most lulling of music tapes songs, by the sounds of the glowing and enchanting “Ghost Orchestra,” Singing Saws, Stories, and so forth.

To invite The Music Tapes to your house, send an invitation to:LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com to reserve a time slot. There will be very few slots available so the first and most warm invitations will have to be chosen. Sleep over gatherings are accepted and even encouraged, although the lullabies will be absolutely delighted to regale audiences of only one. Locations of the lullaby events will be closed, and will not be announced to the general public, though you are heartily encouraged to make use of whatever means you wish to make new friends and gather.

On the night to follow, in each city, there will be played a game of “St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles” at a secret time and location to be announced by automatic reply via LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com. “St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles” is a Music Tapes Game not unlike a form of freeze tag played with candles, which sometimes causes unexplainable things to happen. In order to play the game, you must bring a candle 10 or 12 inches tall.

Further instructions and information to be found via automatic reply from: LullabyeDeliveries@gmail.com and www.orbitinghumancircus.com!

Thank You Very Much!

Lullaby Delivery tour:
8/4 Lullabies in Boston and Cambridge, MA (and area)
8/5 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in Cambridge, MA
8/7 Lullabies in New York City, NY (and area)
8/8 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in New York City
8/9 Lullabies in Philadelphia, PA (and area)
8/10 St. Nikolai the Wonder Worker’s Wishing Game of Candles in the Philadelphia area

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Julian Koster and his Singing Saw unveil dates and cities for Music Tapes Caroling December ’09!

November 30, 2009 – 2:43 am

It’s caroling time again! Julian Koster and his Singing Saw will come to your house to bring songs, stories, and good cheer to you and your friends – all you have to do is invite them!

To promote the spirit of the holidays and The Singing Saw at Christmastime, Julian, his dog Rudolph and his Singing Saw friend Badger set out on a caroling tour last fall. Julian says, “Caroling last year was one of the most special experiences I’ve ever known…following a path that wound through so many houses (over 100!), in so many neighborhoods in each town (and so many towns!), and being welcomed so kindly and so warmly into all of those homes. I’m so glad that we’re all still here, and that the Universe has arranged for this all to happen again. I can hardly wait.”

The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available on CD, LP, and digital download. Stream the whole album in the Merge store, visit the Merge blog to watch a video of Julian and the Singing Saw performing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” and click to download a brand-new Singing Saw holiday classic rendition of “White Christmas.”

To find out the address of one of the homes in your area who will be hosting the carolers, please email musictapescaroling@gmail.com for the address and general time of the performance. Invitations are still being accepted at musictapescaroling@gmail.com for Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Champaign, Cleveland, Providence, Baltimore, D.C., and Chapel Hill/Durham.

Julian and his merry carolers will accept no money at their caroling visits, but if you would like to contribute a little to help with their expenses, visit orbitinghumancircus.com.

Confirmed Caroling Path:
12/5 – Atlanta / Rome, GA
12/6 – Nashville, TN (early) / Louisville, KY
12/7 – Indianapolis, IN (early) / Champaign, IL
12/8 – Chicago, IL
12/9 – Kalamazoo, MI (early) / Detroit, MI (and area)
12/10 – Toledo, OH (early) / Cleveland, OH
12/11 – Buffalo, NY (early) / Geneseo, NY
12/12 – Ithaca, NY (early) / Monterrey, MA / Easthampton & Northampton, MA (late-night)
12/13 – Boston, MA (and area)
12/14 – Providence, RI (and area)
12/15 – Riverside, CT / Purchase, NY / Marlboro, NY
12/16 – New York City, NY
12/17 – New York City, NY (and area)
12/18 – Manalapan, NJ (early) / Philadelphia, PA
12/19 – Baltimore, MD (early) / Washington, DC
12/20 – Eagle Rock, VA (early) / Lynchburg, VA
12/21 – Chapel Hill, NC / Raleigh, NC
12/22 – Athens, GA

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Julian Koster and The Singing Saw perform “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

November 16, 2009 – 12:39 pm

Get your invitation in now to have Julian & The Singing Saw come bring caroling, stories and holiday cheer to your house next month! More information can be found at orbitinghumancircus.com.

Order The Singing Saw at Christmastime on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store. A great gift for everyone on your list!

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XX Merge: Saturday (OCSC)

July 30, 2009 – 5:53 pm

xxmerge_sign_bradsearles

photo by Adam R.

portastatic_bradsearles suggs_mac_bradsearles thalls_bradsearles radarbros_bradsearles 3ds_bradsearles sat_daycrowd

photos by Bradley Searles unless otherwise noted

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Major Organ and the Adding Machine to be released on DVD

June 3, 2009 – 5:58 pm

Pitchfork is reporting that Orange Twin Records will release the infamous Elephant 6 movie, Major Organ and the Adding Machine on DVD this fall. If you were smart enough to attend the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour, you already know that this movie is funny, strange and a must-see for any fan of children, pastry, and, of course, bands from the Elephant 6 collective!

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Julian Koster and Uncle Harlan!

April 3, 2009 – 12:25 pm

From Music Tapes mastermind, encourager of saws, and Neutral Milk Hotel member Julian Koster:

“It’s a recording of an old Yiddish/Gypsie song I made with my Uncle Harlan, as interpreted by the circuits and tubing of my Wire Recorder. It was really fun for us to do, and I am hoping it will be fun also for friends to listen to. For the curious, you are hearing both the signal coming off the wire and the signal being mic’ed coming from the Wire recorder’s speaker as it originally passed through.”

Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes is available in the Merge Store now!

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