6/20/13

I woke up to a great text today. My sister: "I forgot what a good album everything starts where it ends is!"

She's right! It really is fabulous. Lovedrug has evolved a lot, and while their fan base has grown I think some of the early adopters still prefer the earlier work. Though I absolutely loved "Wild Blood" and think it's a fantastic rock record, "Everything Starts Where it Ends" has a more daring, unaffected sound. It's a lot more unafraid to fail - in a lot of ways bands are that way when they first start out - and I think that makes it that much edgier. Years later "Wild Blood" was much more polished, with a clear narrative and spot-on precision lyrically and melodically...and I love it for its wholeness and for how fucking good those songs sounded live, but "Everything Starts" was truly a game-changer of a sophomore record. I mean, that's how you do it, in do-or-die fashion, with tons of instruments and dark lyrics and haunting melodies that are also so fucking good live you're getting attention from rock listeners from all over the spectrum.

These days, Michael Shepard is goin' solo, according to a Pledge Music campaign, and I'm very much excited to see what he does. His gift for melody and hooks is so apparent, and has only grown with time, so I can't wait to hear what he does with a clean slate. No doubt it's going to be masterful, extremely well-produced and lyrically, incredibly sharp.

In the meantime, though, what a good time to rediscover the earlier days Lovedrug. I put it on a mental shelf, for awhile, a result of getting overplayed and over-associated, as can be the case with favorites. But on this night, where insomnia and loneliness are unfortunately getting the better of me, something familiar sounds just right. The title track to this day is one of my all-time favorite songs,  because it is beautiful and symphonic and weird and heart-stoppingly momentous. Those last two minutes? Chilling. Every time I hear it, it's like the first time all over again.

Then there's this track, which I think I understand tonight more than I might've in years gone by. As the go-to ballad of the album, it was one I may of skipped over every now and again. But tonight, I wanted something slow, sad, and just a little bit gallant - and inspired my sister's text, I knew exactly what I wanted to hear.



"Would you believe me if I told you
That I'm surfacing for just one thieving moment
To steal your heart?
Would you believe me if I told you
That fairy tales come true
When I'm with you?
I'll free the one who falls in love again
Come on and hold you like candy on a Friday after
Making love all year
And now we're swimming down where
Iron doors are open
And there is too much fear to breathe
A girl, a boy, a hell
Like thieves we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down,
and fall apart for love.
Dance, alright
But I'm giving it one last fight
I fancy not your night
I'm not your girl, your whore, your hell
But thieves, we are...
All in love
With stolen hearts,
and we all fall down
and fall apart for love."
~Thieving
Lovedrug, Everything Starts Where it Ends

6/13/13

I'll never forget this one time I was supposed to see Taking Back Sunday play an acoustic gig at a record store back home, but that morning my car's transmission blew up on the underground floor of a municipal parking garage, striking an undercover cop car, leaving me stranded for eight hours while trying to find a tow truck that could fit under the clearance, and winding up costing me my entire savings and a 19 percent APR on a new used vehicle.

Funny how that's one of my happier TBS memories. Joking. Sort of. Anyway, love this recent performance of "Bike Scene." What a classic this album is/will be:



"I'll leave the lights down low
so she knows I mean business,
And maybe we could talk this over,
Cause I could be your best bet,
Let alone your worst ex, And let alone your worst...

I wanna hate you so bad
But I can't, but I can't stop this anymore than you can
So honestly, how could you say those things
when you know they don't mean anything
And you know very well
that I can't keep my hands to myself,
hands to myself...
I wanna hate you so bad But I can't
But I can't stop this
anymore than you can
This is all wrong and it shows
There's certain things I promised not to let you know, You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the..
  You've got this silly way
of keeping me on the edge of my seat
But you're only counting the clock against the train
And I'm miserable, oh
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the edge of my seat,
You've got a silly way of keeping me up on the...

You've got me right where you want me
Let's never talk, let's never talk, let's never,
let's never talk about this again because I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me
I didn't want it to mean that much to me "
~Bike Scene
Taking Back Sunday, Tell All Your Friends

6/10/13

I liked this song even more when Wikipedia told me it was inspired by the John Updike novels. Lots of longing, not too much distraction, simple counterpoint and simple ascension. Regret, but not defeat.

I first heard this while watching performances from the dance company I used to be in at this year's semi-finals at Youth American Grand Prix, the biggest youth ballet competition in the country. I was far from ever good enough for YAGP and so I was very proud (and admittedly a little jealous) of the girls performing on stage, some of whom I've known since they were very young. But mostly I was inspired. Dancers get to show how they feel, every day, existing in the most beautiful way possible. They tell stories, using only themselves, no intermediary. I am glad I did that in my life for a time. It taught me a lot, and while I don't find myself dancing on stage these days, I still chase the feeling, I still crave creative expression, I still run...and I don't know what I'll ever find but I think I'm getting closer and in the meantime, I'm always learning, always failing and improving and trying to outpace the memories...

"Every sentiment hangs around
No longer than a minute or two
I find I keep falling for love,
But I can’t seem to follow it through.
So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run...
I leave one good hand on the wheel,
Been counting mile markers for days.
Everything falls further behind,
I can disappear in several ways.
So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run...
 
Sleep through the morning,
Don’t wake me up.
Sleep through the morning,
One little man to one mighty sun
Try to break away from yourself,
Throw your broken bones in a heap,
All the blood and guts are exposed,
Your spirit has been begging to leave...

So run, little rabbit, run...
Run, little rabbit, run."

~Rabbit
Matt Duke, Kingdom Underground

6/6/13

I don't know why I'm surprised, but I'm pretty blown away with how much I enjoy this album. Jimmy Eat World, as any longtime fan will tell you, has no two albums alike, but you never really know what to expect, so I keep expectations minimal and have a blank slate...so what a surprise and comfort to find "Damage" as heartfelt and honest and heartwrenching yet also mature it makes me feel old and new at the same time.

Jim Adkins called this an "adult break-up" album in an interview somewhere, and I definitely get that vibe. There's a lot of regret and nostalgia here, but only small doses self-pity (something you learn is a waste of your time as you grow older). I'm really digging the whole record - the only thing I'd of  loved to see is an epic closer a la "Goodbye Sky Harbor" or "Invented" and "Mixtape."

"Please Say No" is my favorite track so far, already have played it to death.  With a mix of acoustic and electric leads, soft background harmonies, a climatic ending full of auxiliary and dreamy sounds, and the mostly perfectly measured rhymes, it's classic Jimmy Eat World but hardly stale, because the feeling is too fresh and the growth too evident. I plan on buying the album and playing the hell out of it all summer long.



"If all you're really hoping for is peace of mind,
Don't come to me with questions, you'll just waste you time..
Exactly what your'e looking for is what you'll find
And all I see around me is a losing fight.

Please say no, please say no 
Please say no, please say no
No, no, no, no...
Say anything you will 
Except how you'd have me still 
Say anything but no
And I'll go, I'll go, I'll go."
~Please Say No
Jimmy Eat World, Damage

5/30/13

I'm such a sucker for a good country song. Like seriously, and I don't care what that does to my pop-punk, rock-n-roll credibility. If it's not from the heart, it's not for these ears, and sometimes nothing's got more heart than a good country tune.

Enter Kacey Musgraves, who is winning over radio waves and critics and iTunes and girls like me, or however you measure music success these days. She's the one behind this beautiful song, "Merry Go' Round," this sad-town tale of the broken young girl. The first time I heard it, on a static-strewn radio station coming back from Lancaster, I knew I had to hear it again.

Get More: 

Merry Go 'Round (CMT Listen Up), Kacey Musgraves, Kacey Musgraves Videos

I could see why someone would put Musgraves in that slightly gimmicky category of a lot of other new female country singers, the kind who make no apologies for their cavalcade of redneck references and get them brandished on merch and tweeted by tweens. In most scenarios and songs, that's not my cup of tea. But with Musgraves, especially on "Merry Go' Round," I hear the sadness in her voice more than I hear any act. I can feel the dust on the roads and the chipped paint on the trailer siding, and I can't help but sing along to the quite brilliantly crafted chorus. Exploring the rest of her songs, I find them incredibly honest and far more introspective than you'd expect, and the references aren't there for decoration so much as they're reflecting her reality.

(Also: Kacey plays not just guitar but banjo, as I saw in this performance. And to the many who've picked up the four-stringed step-child of string instruments because of bands like Mumford and Sons, it was definitely a backwoods redneck country thing first, so reconcile that with progressive ways.)

"We think the first time's good enough.
So, we hold on to high school love.
Sayin' we won't end up like our parents.
Tiny little boxes in a row.
Ain't what you want, it's what you know.
Just happy in the shoes you're wearin'.
Same checks we're always cashin' to buy a little more distraction.

'Cause mama's hooked on Mary Kay.
Brother's hooked on Mary Jane.
Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down.
Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
We get bored, so, we get married.
Just like dust, we settle in this town.
On this broken merry go 'round and 'round and 'round we go
Where it stops nobody knows and it ain't slowin' down.
This merry go 'round."

~Merry Go' Round
Kacey Musgroves, Same Trailer, Different Park

UPDATE:  Sooooo I just learned Kacey co-wrote "Undermine," the song from the TV series "Nashville" that I was totally obsessed with and completely fell in love with...here is Kacey performing it. I like her even more now; again, honest, and introspective and cuts straight to the heart of the emotion. "Undermine" is a rather inspirational song that doesn't sacrifice hurt or humanity to show strength. Truly beautiful and fun to sing.



"Sometimes good intentions don't come across so well 
Got me analyzing everything that ain't worth thinking about 
Just 'cause I ain't lived through the same hand that was dealt to you 
Doesn't make me any less, or make any more of you

I wouldn't trade my best day 
So you could validate all your fears
And if I've only got one shot 
Won't waste it on a shadowbox, I'll stand right here

It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind 
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine 
Than undermine.

First mile is always harder
When you're leaving what you know
Won’t blame you if you stay here
Waving to me as I go
Always wished the best for you
Thought that you would see me through my wildest dreams
Yeah, the ones you thought I’d never meet

Still, you would trade your best day
Just to have your way
All these years
And if you only had one shot
Maybe all this talk
Would disappear

It's all talk, talk, talk, talkin' in the wind 
It always slows you down when you start listening
And it's a whole lot harder to shine 
Than undermine."
~Undermine
Kacey Musgraves, as performed in February 2013