Depeche Mode Flashback

So Citizen D was waiting for an order of chicken and broccoli at the local Japanese fast food, when she found herself bopping her head and keepin' time to Depeche Mode over the speakers. The guy behind the counter, he was keepin' the beat too, and soon they were both singing: "Never again is what you swore the time before." Classic Depeche from the early 90s: "Policy of Truth," the song, record: Violator.

Awesome.

Musical moments.

Brought to you by Japanese fast food and really cool guys behind the counter.

Peace in music.

(Photo: Depeche Mode website: www.depechemode.com)

Rough of New Design: I'm Just A Girl...

Musicians' Village - New Orleans

Being a creative person is awesome on so many levels: the relationships with others, with oneself, with art...but oftentimes artists don't have the resources to rebuild if their lives are upended by health or other tragedies. There are a lot of great groups out there: from the SIMS Foundation (www.simsfoundation.org) for musicians in Austin, to retirement villages for actors in Los Angeles and New York. Artists try very hard to take care of other artists and that is one of the very unique thing about creative people.

The Musicians' Village in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans is no small example of this sort of concern. Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis spearheaded this effort to create new homes for artists - extremely talented musicians - whose lives were scattered by Hurricane Katrina. Do a google search and you'll find lots on this project... It's definitely worth knowing about.

(Pictured: Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and Jim Pate at the Musicians' Village site: photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity: www.habitat-nola.org.)

(Photo: ravaged New Orleans: photographer: Scott Landis: www.scottlandis.net.)

Cool Images

Click on this link for some awesome images from around the world: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7215283.stm

(photo above: AP Services)

Series I - Sometimes wonderful...

Just a sneak peek at one of the designs for Series I: Sometimes wonderful, sometimes tragic. This shirt was inspired, as we mentioned before, by lyricist Deborah Dalton and the song she performed with Burden of the Blissful: "When it's Real."

We love it.

Hell-e-copters

We are thousands of miles from the nearest war zone, but right now a thundering, military helicopter is flying over the Citizen Reindeer headquarters. There's a military base close by, so it makes sense...but, damn, wouldn't it be so much better if they weren't necessary? Reminds us of Burden of the Blissful's song, "Machines":

I'm tripping down denial road

High from meeting with Sir Halliburton

Up above, a Black Hawk's singing

Who's the voice behind the oval curtain?

But I'm alive in helmet and tie

So boys and girls

See "Steel Boats" and "Iron Men"

In your mouths taste the engine's ride

Close your eyes

Your "Angels Over America"

Citizen Reindeer no like military recruitment videos - especially when packaged the way the US military puts them together. However, to be completely legal: The references (very tongue in cheek) "Steel Boats," "Iron Men," and "Angels Over America" are titles of US Military recruitment videos.

The good news is, you can't copyright titles and that left it wide open for Burden of the Blissful to create, create, create.

Peace.

http://www.myspace.com/burdenoftheblissful

UFOs

Citizen Reindeer has no official statement on the recent UFO sightings in Texas, and other parts of the world.

(photo courtesy of http://www.ufocasebook.com)

Music & Video

Music and visuals together truly kick when well crafted...

The group at Pitchfork Media has put together a list of what they title "100 Awesome Music Videos." From My Chemical Romance you'll find "Helena," 2005, all the way back to "Hot For Teacher," Van Halen, 1984. This collection is definitely a trip down the musical runway.

From where this Citizen D is sitting, however, one major exclusion: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I don't know anyone who could not get up and throw some things around after watching that video that captured the angst of an entire generation (R.I.P., Kurt). No matter, this is definitely worth a visit where you'll find a vintage 1978 video from Kate Bush: "Wuthering Heights," and The White Stripes's (not brother and sister, that's an urban myth), "My Doorbell" from 2005. Too, can we ever get enough of William Shatner doing "Rocket Man"? Apparently so, because that one is not included...

For a few hours of major musical indulgence: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36588-staff-list-100-awesome-music-videos

Not preachin', but...

It takes diligence to make sure that the products that are being produced these days are being produced in accordance to the basics that we hold near and dear: that people shouldn't die while gathering diamonds or making clothing. And yet it happens all over the world. Every day. We've all heard of blood diamonds, we know why Wal-Mart can sell a pair of pants on the cheap. Education for all of us is key, no matter what the product.

We also need to protect the wildlife on the planet. There are plenty of fabrics to keep people warm...warmer than fur (unless you live in Siberia where the temperatures are life-threateningly-cold). SO when you're buying that cute jacket or micro-purse that has soft, fur trim, please consider than an animal had to die in order to make that fashion statement happen. The button pictured here can be purchased for very little at http://www.peta.org.

Thanks for listening.

A Lovely Portrait

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Democracy Now (http://www.democracynow.org) has a less well known speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. posted, speaking on the Vietnam war. It's definitely worth a look. To learn about King's Nobel Peace Prize: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

Citizen Reindeer Logo Revealed

Edun-Live Tees

The blanks for our logo tees will be supplied by this awesome group started by Bono (U2) and his very cool and creative wife, Ali Hewson: http://www.edun-live.com/. We are looking forward to working with them and I encourage every designer or individual looking for a blank tee shirt supplier to give them your consideration. These shirts are humanely manufactured - NOT IN SWEAT SHOPS - and the villages in Africa where they are produced are closely monitored. This level of consciousness by suppliers as well as designers, like Citizen Reindeer, is not the wave of the future -- it has arrived.

For now, they'll have to go naked

We've had some inquiries about the new line. For now, at least for the first two series of shirts, the designs will be for women only. However, we will introduce a guy's line no later than spring of 2009. For now...you guys will just have to frolic naked.

(photo: ceiling of the NY Public Library, 5th Avenue, NYC)

People makin' it happen - Kiva.org

There are awesome opportunities for individuals - not just the wealthy - to make contributions to others to help them get their businesses off the ground. These loans are small, are paid back, and, should you choose to, can be reinvested into another individual's business goals. Choose your country - make a small loan (as little as $25) and watch as you make a difference in another person's life. One group that we know a lot about is http://www.kiva.org/. Fantastic. Check it out.

Indie artists making it happen

SXSW 2008

Working our arses off to have shirts ready by the festival in march: http://www.sxsw.com. Above, a picture of The Good, The Bad & The Queen (http://www.thegoodthebadandthequeen.com) from 2007. A very fun show, indeed.

Damn. He was just taking a piano lesson.

Christopher Rodriguez, a 10 year old boy from Oakland, will probably be paralyzed for life after being hit by a criminal's stray bullet. He was in the middle of a piano lesson when the bullet penetrated the window near where he was seated.

This kid loved music: he played African drums, listened to classical music...was learning the piano. His family is putting off telling him that he is paralyzed - hoping that he can heal a bit before receiving the news. And maybe, with stem cell research, this kid can get his life back. But for now, here is the story of what happened to him: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_7975615

Love and quick healing from Citizen Reindeer, Christopher. We're pissed too.

Hello Citizens of the World

So "hello citizens of the world" is a bit lofty - but it's all in fun. We are working hard to get Citizen Reindeer lyric tees out to the public. Anticipated launch: spring 2008. We will be updating this blog with interesting aspects of the design cycle, as well as anything cool, interesting, or outrageous that you might want to know about.

The Citizen Reindeer website is being constructed, but we anticipate that here is where the real dialogue will take place. We can tell you that Series I will be made up of the following:

I'm just a girl with a song
Sometimes wonderful - sometimes tragic
Skip confession!
Love a freak with all your heart

These shirts were inspired by the lyrics of Deborah Dalton's: "Broken" and "When It's Real," two songs that she performed with the band, Burden of the Blissful (Todd Dalton, http://www.myspace.com/3rdcontrol, and Steve Rincon).

More on when the shirts will be available soon. In the meantime, check out the World News on http://www.bbc.co.uk/: best place for world news...we have it on right now.