12/28/10

"This night is sparkling
Don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck
Blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

This night is flawless
Don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck
Dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
My thoughts will echo your name
Until I see you again
These are the words I held back
As I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you

Please, don't be in love with someone else
Please, don't have somebody waiting on you
Please, don't be in love with someone else
Please, don't have somebody waiting on you"
~Enchanted,
Taylor Swift, Speak Now

She's so honest. I don't know how many people probably wish they wrote this song. It's so great. The best choruses are those that just flow like this one. If you look at the entire lyric structure (which I have not posted), this song is even better...very simple switches...anyway, this song was in my head all day. Damn you, shuffle.

12/27/10

If this isn't the sweetest song I've heard in awhile, more sweet songs should be written.

"You and I
We might be strangers
How ever close we get sometimes
Its like we never met
But you and I
I think we can take it
All the good with the bad
Make something that no one else has, But
You and I
You and I
Me and you
What can we do
When the words we use
sometimes are misconstrued

Well I won't guess
Whats coming next
I can't ever tell you're
The deepest well
I've ever fallen into

Oh I don't wanna know
Oh I don't wanna know
Oh I don't need to know
Everything about you
Oh I don't wanna know
And you don't need to know
That much about me"
~You and I
Jimmy Eat World, Invented (bonus track)
(cover)

12/18/10

Please tell me you're just feeling tired,
cause if it's more than that I feel that I might break.
Out of touch, out of time
Please send me anything but signals that are mixed,
cause I can't read your rolling eyes.
Out of touch, are we out of time?

Come on, I shouldn't need to qualify this one. Not seeing this band this week is a regret.

12/17/10

Dear blog,
I've got a little something to say to you. I started you awhile ago, in the hopes that the routine practice of writing about something I'm interested in would give me a way to sharpen my skills even outside of the work-associated tactics. Maybe it's the combination of those things lately, but I feel I've been neglecting you.

I listen to new music I like, sure. I sing my effing brains out to it, sometimes, and I use it as a way to distract myself from all the other pains I seem to be so intent on focusing on otherwise. But lately, the inspiration for such things has been so close to dead. In terms of the writing for me I swore to hold onto, it has fallen by the wayside. And in more ways than the virtual ones.

I spend mediocre amount of time seeing what other people say in similar piece-of-the-web places, targeted towards those who do it well. Often interesting, but rarely inspiring. In fact, quite the opposite -- if they can do it, why can't I?

12/17/10

Found this streaming today. Would have to describe this band as cute-punk, essentially pop punk that's not even really angry, just cute. Like The Rocket Summer. I enjoyed this song:

Come this friday night, i'll be waiting
calm me with your best intentions
wake up the next morning with me,
i could be your best invention

when i arrived there, i saw you up there
waiting for me, standing at the top of the stairs
i couldn't walk straight, i couldn't see straight
thinking about your body put my mind in a daze

i've got a pocketful of sins
so lets screw this up and we'll fit right in
another round before we fall
this is the last call
i'm going all in
~Best Intensions, Sweatshirt Weather

12/12/10

"now i'm holding my mouth to keep from sayin' what i really mean....all of us spend too much time here listening"
~States, Time to Begin
Line 'Em Up

12/12/10

"One more drink tonight as your gray stallion rests
Where he lays in the reins
For all of the speed and the strength he gave

One more kiss tonight from some tall stable girl
She’s like grace from the earth
When you’re all tuckered out and tame

One more tired thing the gray moon on the rise
When your want from the day
Makes you to curse in your sleep at night

One more gift to bring we may well find you laid
Like your steed in his reins
Tangled too tight and too long to fight"
~Iron & Wine, Calexio, He Lays In the Reins

I adore this song, I play it in the mornings a lot. Even with the Spanish interlude -- a dose of theatricality is not a bad thing. But a beautiful song overall.

12/12/10

Top ten albums of the year, according to how excited I was to listen to them, how many listens they've received, how groundbreaking and advancing I think they are for music right now:

1) The National - High Violet
2) The Black Keys - Brothers
3) Jimmy Eat World - Invented
4) The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
5) Minus the Beat - Omni
6) Taylor Swift - Speak Now
7) The Weakerthans - Live at the Burton Cummings Theate
8) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy *
9) Neon Trees - Habits
10) Beach House -Teen Dream

*I know this is the probably the most popular and overarching album on the list, and I do really enjoy it. Kanye is the trendsetter for the rest of the trendsetters, and I loveeee his work. However, taste is a factor, and I'm more likely to put on one of the higher-ranked albums than MBDTF, solely based off of mood and style factor.

But ya know, no one has to listen to me. Hats off to Lovedrug and States for the most talent-ridden EPs I've heard maybe ever.

12/12/10

So I was listening to WBER yesterday -- heard acoustic version of Pardon Me (love), Rest my Chemistry (also love) then this awesome song I couldn't identify....the only lyrics I recall was "as cannibals call, do they call you by name?" and despite my best Googling efforts I can't freakin' find it. Help!

12/3/10

mhm.

10/2/10

Yeah, I love Invented, just have to say that again. Sometimes I feel like the things I do in my day to day life are merely interrupting my music listening. Today is one of those days.

9/29/10

I live in constant debt, to feel you, invented.

Jimmy Eat World you did it again...I love Invented, I can see this album lasting forever and ever for me, it's on a totally different level than Chase This Light but extremely honest and satisfying and so many things.

"There's a cinematic end
I picture it just right
Having trouble with the right words
But you tell me with your eyes:
There's something good I miss
Something I cant' find
Do you believe me now?
Can you see it in my eyes?
You're always in my head
You're just what I wanted
I live in constant debt
To feel you, invented"
~Invented, 
Jimmy Eat World, Invented

In three days I am going to lock myself in a room, alone, and listen to music all day, on brand new speakers, in a brand new place. So, maybe it's just all that, but I love this album right now.

9/25/10

Self-explanatory.

9/10/10

"This is the story of your red right ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled
And how the skin was softly shed
And how it whispered, "Oh, adhere to me
For we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been
We together make a limb"
This is the story of your red right ankle

This is the story of your gypsy uncle
You never knew because he was dead
And how his face was carved and ripped with wrinkles
In the picture in your head
And remember how you found the key
To his hideout in the Pyrenees
But you wanted to keep his secret safe
So you threw the key away
This is the story of your gypsy uncle

This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet and some were cold and snuffed you
And some just layed around in bed
And some, they crumbled you straight to your knees
Did it cruel, did it tenderly
Some, they crawled their way into your heart
To rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you

This is the story of your red right ankle"
~Red Right Ankle
The Decemberists, Her Majesty

9/8/10

I have to say it, again and again, I'm never unimpressed by radio magic. Example: Been listening to Disintegration a ton, but today my iPod battery decided to call it quits for good.**

Anyway I was driving to work thinking I could really go for some more of The Cure, and, bam - "Pictures of You" comes on (with a shortened intro, but still). Loved it.

And I was also determined to here Taylor Swift's "Mine" before going home, which I caught on the top 40 station. The DJ made a joke, saying the song could be called "15 Teardrops on my Love Story" or something like that. I laughed, but understand where he's coming from. Still sang it, loud.

The new Jimmy Eat World single, "My Best Theory," is awesome. I'm so excited for that album, which I tend to dig overall more than the singles. Still it's a great song, awesome to drive to, hook-tastic, and I can't wait for more. I love the perspective of the song, JEW is great for songs that reflect social/political landscapes, they have a subtle way of doing it without being gospel. This song just observes and captures really well, I think.

**This is three in one year, by the by. The new nanos are glorious, though, I might buy one next week.

9/8/10

Beautiful little song that flipped across my radar.

"Lucy and I came from Tallahassee
With our bones on our backs
Our backs on our knees
She was small, I was straight
We left our love in a bed ridden gate, for shame

Why can't you see the sky isn't green anymore
Why don't you know what I need on these shores
All I want is love eternally
With your heart facing me

Science says stones don't fly through water
And souls don't matter if you love your mother
If karma could dance, she'd tango forever
And I'd sell my sleeves for some cloud ridden weather

Why can't you see heaven won't wait for us
Salutations and prayers are too laborius
All I want is love eternally
With your heart facing me"
~To Travels and Trunks
Hey Marseilles, To Travels and Trunks

9/4/10

This song is so good through headphones. Reminds me of early high school, but it sounds totally different now.
The whole album does, really, I didn't notice guitars this much when I was 14 but now it's like, damn, this is better than I remember.


But I threw you the obvious
Just to see if there's more behind the
eyes of a fallen angel
eyes of a tragedy
~3 Libras
A Perfect Circle, Mer de Noms

9/4/10

Hear this on WBER all the time, gorgeous.

Tom McRae - Please

Seriously, go listen to it. It's a beautiful recording but it sounds pretty good in the live link above.

Fireworks through the trees, city turns away from me
my hand raised to say goodbye, goodbye my love.
Wheels roll to the light, sleep kills fevered night
and it's easier now, it's easier now you're gone.

Shadow rise, shadow fall, deaf to siren call
a year has died, a year since I said your name.
Burning in the blue, light comes low and cool
and like your love there's no heat in this winter sun.

So please let my heart go.

Walk the world side to side, place where hidden memories lie
and I buried you there along with your history.
Give me sun you give me shade and seven years of hurricanes
but now my love I'm sundialling my days away.

So please let my heart go. Cos I don't care no more.
~Please
Tom McRae, The Alphabet of Hurricanes

8/15/10

You know why I think I like love songs? It's sometimes terrifying to write something so dangerously true. And I think that's why I have so much respect for those who do them well. Hence the blog. As I said initially, I'm just figuring this out as I go. I haven't been able to write as much about here lately (and I've been forum-hopping). But I've been listening to them all the time.

I drive about 8 hours a week. I've managed to scrounge up an old iPod shuffle, like, the long skinny kind, which holds about 70 songs, so I here the same over and over a lot.
It winds up being a lot of love songs,
given that's what, oh, 80 percent of songs are about.
The National's been good. So has The Gaslight Anthem, and the new Taylor Swift and select Fearless tracks. Can't wait for the new Jimmy Eat World, and there's a bunch of other stuff I still need to pick up.
I pretty much always stop when the Lovedrug EPs come on, I just like them so damn much and they're so good. Thinking of road tripping to see them throughout the year.

And I listen to a lot of the radio, which is pleasing more often than you'd think, if you set the right stations.

I think about my truest feelings, and I wonder if I say them. I think, the best songs do. So, props to those who do it well. Even if they never hear it, maybe someone will. Maybe they'll like it.

8/8/10

Waiting for the new Jimmy Eat World on Sept. 28 is going to get me through the next few weeks, I gather.

7/24/10

This is my favorite song of the week. I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake about these guys, but, better late than never.



I've got these habits that I cannot, I've got this habits that I can't, I've got these habits that I cannot break.

I found life out on the weekdays
When we would drive to some new city
Call me crazy I was born to make a mess
Would you love me still if I were to confess
That I had a little too much fun
Back when I was young?"
~Sins of my youth
Neon Trees, Habits

Chorus is rather cheesy but ohsogood.

7/18/10

"dirty on the ground is what I need
I got another one to tell you and another one to make you believe

pity on the grass; I tried to be the one you needed
when I told you that you wanted something bigger than me

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

'cause you and I will ride
but when I need you
I need it quickly
in case you never know

I can't play where I'm not supposed to anyway
any way, anyways, any way, anyways...

dirty on the ground is what I see
I need another reason why I need another reason
tell me to breathe

the dirtier the sound, the best I breathe
I tried to do it all for you
it didn't do anything for me

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay

and you and I will find
that when I need you
I need it quickly
in fact you'll never know

I've got friends in all the right places
I know what they want
and I know they don't want me to stay"
~I've Got Friends,
Manchester Orchestra, Mean Everything to Nothing

7/18/10

Even if I posted this before, I don't care. Daisy gets better and better the more I listen to it, and this song is biting.



"Well I carry this box to the proper place
And when I lower it down
I let it you fade away
I hope that you would do this for me
I'd serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me"
~At the Bottom,
Brand New, Daisy

7/12/10

Why are you so good to me, WBER? Free Energy twice in one day, The National's "Sorrow" on my lunch break, and all other sorts of good things in between? Though I have an iPod shuffle for the car, it holds like five CDs but radio's pretty good sometimes. There's usually a bit of channel surfing for whatever's good if something too electro-poppy noise beep boooop BOP comes on (you know?), but there's a lot of good in there. Caught U2's "One" the other day, too..."Well it's too late/tonight/to drag the past out into the light." Nottt bad. And that was fabulous on Glee.

Oh and these guys are going on their last tour, indefinitely. Love them, very good band.

7/7/10

One of my favorite songs to drive to, especially during the guitar solo. Loved this album when it came out last fall.



"miles till dawn
but it feels so dark till then
drowns you out
but you can't be too certain

common wants
only fill me up with need
everybody
in this world is just like me

so I row on

sounds like fear
thinking there might be a cure
waste your life
but you don't know it's worth

comb your mind
for all the treasures of this earth
too close to find
anything inside yourself

so why row on

life ain't nothing
but a dream
realistic
as it seems
*sweet solo*
destiny's vulgar
so I might as well resist
out of the darkness
and all the secrets still exist

finally decided
and by decide I mean accept
I don't need all those
other chances I won't get"
~Life's a Dream
Built to Spill, There is No Enemy

7/5/10

If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar.

7/2/10

Ever notice how a song can make you think of something (read: someone) you swore you would never think about it? Someone who you didn't think you needed to think about anymore. Then you hear some song, or maybe a few songs, and it's like, fuck, that's why I feel this way. I miss you.

"sorrow found me when I was young
sorrow waited, sorrow won
sorrow they put me on the pill
it's in my honey, it's in my milk

don't leave my hyper heart alone on the water
cover me in rag and bone sympathy
'cause I don't wanna get over you
I don't wanna get over you

sorrow's my body on the waves
sorrow's a girl inside my cake
I live in a city sorrow built
it's in my honey, it's in my milk

don't leave my hyper heart alone on the water
cover me in rag and bone sympathy
'cause I don't wanna get over you
I don't wanna get over you"
~Sorrow,
The National, High Violet

This album gets better with every listen.

6/29/10

"Drink alone and watch TV.
You're expecting harmonies
To tap your tune with silver spoons,
The anthem of impending doom.
Guiding Satan's steady hand.
Forcing Beatles to disband.
It's ego freaks and drama queens
The young at heart know what I mean.

You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world
You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world

You could do better, better than that
you're a fraud
Thank God you learned to keep your shirt on.
You could do better, you could do better
You could be the greatest man in the world"
~Do Better,
Say Anything, Say Anything

6/28/10

I finally into The National, 'cause High Violet is a wonderful album. It's sad and doubtful and guilty and solid.

6/26/10

One might say this has been my anthem for summer 2010. No band name pun intended.



"and they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive.
I got your name tattooed inside of my arm.
I called for my father but my father had died.
while you told me fortunes, in American Slang."
~American Slang,
The Gaslight Anthem, American Slang

6/25/10

Right here you can find a full album stream of "Becoming a Jackal" from the Irish band Villagers. They are dreamy and a little dark and lush....I love what they do with piano parts, treating them like a jazzy spice. It's a very full sound. Frontman Conor O'Brien (yes, Conor not Conan) has the kind of voice you might find a theatre stage rather than a rock band, and it makes for a vibe/sound that is pretty unique. Soundtrack-for-life-esque, as if I could envision the song "Set the Tigers Free" playing as I nonchalantly drive down the highway in the rain. Or something. Anyway, I like this album today, it is getting me out of my head.

6/20/10

Anberlin's been around for awhile, with fifth record coming out soon, and I've never heard anything I disliked from them. So in the hope of finding new music I gave it a shot and downloaded some full lengths. It was a pretty good idea. Some songs I haven't been able to really get through, but others, like this one, are really beautifully done. The more I listen to it, the better it gets.

"aren't we all to you just lost causes, all we are to you lost?"
~*fin
Anberlin, Cities

They get the Christian band label a lot, but I don't really like it when that's done to bands. Writing about faith and spirituality is no different than writing about love or death or a ham sandwich or whatever a song is about. Would a band that writes about cars be a car-rock band? No. So "Christian rock bands" just shoves something into a category that potentially alienates fans who are afraid of associating their music with a faith.

And that choir section is absolutely chilling if you've been listening to the song with the right set of ears.

6/15/10

Something about hazy June days draws me to Elliott Smith, specifically "From a Basement on a Hill." I attribute half of this to nostalgia, and the other half to the raspy acoustic sound that is quite numbing from the inside out.

"He said really I just want to dance
Good and evil matched perfect, it's a great romance
I can deal with some psychic pain
If it'll slow down my higher brain
Veins full of disappearing ink
Vomiting in the kitchen sink
Disconnecting from the missing link

This is not my life
It's just a fond farewell to a friend
It's not what I'm like
It's just a fond farewell to a friend
Who couldn't get things right
Fond farewell to a friend"
~A Fond Farewell,
Elliott Smith, From a Basement on a Hall

6/14/10

Have I not said how fucking kickass The Black Keys are? It's time for that.



I've been listening to these guys for about a year or so, after a magic fairy gave me their entire discography up to that point. In this time they've become one of my go-to favorites, notably for their debut "The Big Come Up" from 2001. I got really hooked on their blues-rock feel -- it's not as chaotic as The Dead Weather, but not too contrived. Dirty-ass guitar licks, thundering rhythms, and all kinds of lonesome lovesick-ridden melodies. And fantastic production work, too; great sound and great subtle parts that sneak up on you with how cool they sound.

Their most recent release, "Brothers," is a gem in their already-established catalog (And -- see below -- isn't that great cover art?) From "Everlasting Light" to "Sinister Kid," from "I'm Not The One" to "Never Give You Up," this album has the coolest vibe that runs from high energy to slow burn blues tunes. They're freakin' masters. Hoping to see them live this summer when they come upstate with The Flaming Lips.

6/12/10

Josh Ritter wins again, with "So Runs the World Away." It's an outstanding collection of songs, transporting you to a different time and place. I listened to it sitting alone in my car on a horrendously rainy day. It was a perfect fit. Songs like "The Curse," "Rattling Locks," and "Folk Bloodbath" prove that he's got no shortage of inspiration both lyrically or instrumentally, because the songs are as realized and full as ever. It is extremely produced, with layers and layers of keys and auxillary and backup vocals and all kinds of things, which is not what one might expect from a tried and true folk artist who brings such simple songs like "Monster Ballads" and "Kathleen." But while that might draw criticism from some listeners, I think it works, and Ritter has already proved he excels in this area of arranging (see: "Girl in the War"). Also, this could be a good album for people who aren't familiar with Ritter to get into him, since there is a lot of variation on it.

In other news, I am once again without an iPod. And probably will be for a good two to three months, yay.

6/10/10

"There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I’ll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out"

~Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You

6/10/10

"It will be only a matter of time - months rather than years - before the music business establishment completely folds. (It will be) no great loss to the world."

-Thom Yorke

He's pretty correct. No need for labels, no need for record deals. Just make music and spread it, let everyone appreciate whatever speaks to them.

6/4/10

Come on play that 45 and dance like sin.
I'll lock up the doors honey so no one'll come in
You're beautiful alone but with so much to give to the world
so why not let 'em in?
~Southern Knell,
Lovedrug, Ep - Part II

I am so excited for their album to come out at the end of the year, I can't even describe it. This band inspires me so much, namely because they can write any kind of song and still sound like Lovedrug. It's so great. "Miss California" might be one of the coolest songs they've ever written, sweet keys and bass line -- lots of subtlety all over this EP. Made my week. Good music should break your heart, make you believe in god, or some such feeling.

I don't want to do anything other than sit around and listen to this. For days.

UPDATE: Like most Lovedrug, it gets even better with multiple listens. I've concluded this has a "Pretend You're Alive" feel if I had to compare it to any of their other releases, notably on "Faith" and "Elastical." They won my heart over when they covered The Pixies' "Where is my Mind" live on WBER one time, and they kicked the shit out of the recorded cover.

5/2/10

Unlucky

Lovedrug never ceases to satisfy me. I just ordered Part II of their EP series and I can't wait to get it.

You're in my head,
you're like a disease and I'm thinkin
How unlucky am I to have met you now
You're like a bad dream
You're always around and I'm thinkin
How unlucky, I'd rather be alone than be with you
~Unlucky
Lovedrug, EP-Part I

I wish had the opportunity to make my own music this summer, but doesn't seem like any of those opportunities will come to fruition, per usual. Guess those are dreams deferred, and I live vicariously through my favorite bands moving upward and onward.

5/31/10

I can't find a suitable video, but the title track from Jenny Owen Youngs' "Transmitter Failure" is a pretty gorgeous song. Like, could be on Grey's Anatomy gorgeous (which, incidentally, I had a very bizarre dream about. Seattle Grace was under siege by pirates and everyone was in water [like Titanic freezing] to death and I was trying to save all the doctors while putting back together a Christmas-themed stamp collection).

Anyway. I like to sing this.

"there's a lot of words in the english language
and i'm just getting started, baby
we could be here all night
we could be here all night
we could be here all night

you say,
'i don't wanna know how you work'
you say,
'i don't want the pieces, i just want the break'

there's some tired words
that would carry the meaning
but i keep stumbling on the first one
we could be here all night
i could put you to sleep
we could be here all night

you say,
'i don't wanna know how you work'
you say,
'i don't want the pieces, i just want the break'

days don't mean anything
i wait 'til i'm the one for you
well, words don't change anything
i know it's coming, soon
i know it's coming soon

you say...
you say...

you say,
'i don't wanna know how you work'
you say,
'i don't want the pieces, i just want the break'
you say,
'i don't wanna know how you work'
you say,
'i don't want the pieces, i just want the break'"
~Transmitter Failure
Jenny Owen Youngs, Transmitter Failure

5/27/10

The song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros came up on my playlist today, and it made me miss this past year at Syracuse like whoa. Lazy days and dance parties alike. Absolutely adorable, uplifting song....and really you can't beat whistling.



"Ah home, let me go home
Home is whenever I'm with you
Ah home, let me go home
Home is where I'm alone with you."
~Home,
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Up from Below

5/18/10

Of the many bands whose lyrics I adore, few are as capable of putting oft-indescribable feelings into words as well as The Weakerthans.

"My city's still breathing but barely it's true, through buildings gone missing like teeth. The sidewalks are watching me think about you, all sparkled with broken glass. I'm back with scars to show. Back with the streets I know will never take me anywhere but here. Those stains in the carpet, this drink in my hand, these strangers whose faces I know. We meet here for our dress-rehearsal to say "I wanted it this way." Wait for the year to drown. Spring forward, fall back down. I'm trying not to wonder where you are. All this time lingers, undefined. Someone choose who's left and who's leaving. Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me: some matches, a blanket, this pain in my chest, the best parts of lonely, duct-tape and soldered wires, new words for old desires, and every birthday card I threw away. I wait in 4/4 time. Count yellow highway lines that you're relying on to lead you home."
~Left and Leaving,
The Weakerthans, Left and Leaving

5/18/10

Maybe someday I'll be as suave and cool as Julian Casablancas, but probably not. Today I learned the fourth Strokes album got postponed until 2011, and I got sad.



Cool song, but I love this verse:

"Well I don't feel better
When I'm fucking around
And I don't write better
When I'm stuck in the ground"
~Heart in a Cage
The Strokes, First Impressions of Earth

5/18/10

I've been listening to random playlists on autoplay on YouTube lately, leads to good background music, and good re-discoveries. I've been in UK band mode lately......Travis is a throwback to high school, sad I sold that record. So good for rainy days.



"Every day I wake up and it's Sunday
Whatever's in my eye won't go away
The radio is playing all the usual
And what's a Wonderwall anyway

Because my inside is outside
My right side's on my left side
Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you

It's good to know that you are home for Christmas
It's good to know that you are doing well
It's good to know that you all know I'm hurting
It's good to know I'm feeling not so well

Because my inside is outside
My right side's on my left side
Cause I'm writing to reach you now but
I might never reach you
Only want to teach you
About you
But that's not you
Do you know it's true
But that won't do"

~Writing To Reach You,
Travis, The Man Who

Trent Reznor Unleashes How to Destroy Angels' Bloody, Fiery Video

Elemental, disturbing.

Trent Reznor Unleashes How to Destroy Angels' Bloody, Fiery Video

5/3/10

The new Hold Steady, "Heaven is Whenever," is pretty awesome. Their piano player left, but the guitar solos are making up for it. It's a solid record, more of the amazing, storytelling lyrics from Craig Finn about drugs and girls and music, it's such a scene feeling that he manages to encapsulate but I love it tons. Seriously, you don't even have to listen to the song to appreciate the words.

"Heaven is whenever we can get together,
Sit down on your floor, and listen to your records
Heaven is whenever we can get together,
Lock your bedroom door and listen to your records."
~We Can Get Together,
The Hold Steady, Heaven is Whenever


Favorite song so far: The Weekenders



"There was that whole weird thing with the horses
I think they know exactly what happened
I don't think it needs any explaining
I'm pretty sure I wasn't your first choice
I think I was the last one remaining
I wish we hadn't gone and destroyed it
Cause I was thinking we could pull another weekender
You've still got a bit of clairvoyance

I remember the metal bar
I remember the reservoir
You could say our paths had crossed before

So if it has to be a secret
Then I guess that I can deal with it
you and i both know it's a negative thing
In the end only the girls know the whole truth

....
So if it has to be a secret
Then I guess that i can deal with it
God only knows it's not always a positive thing
To see a few seconds into the future

And if you swear to keep it decent
Then yeah I'll come and see you
but it's not gonna be like in romantic comedies
In the end I bet no one learns a lesson"

~The Weekenders,
The Hold Steady, Heaven is Whenever

5/2/10

Love Jenny Owen Youngs. I first heard an acoustic version of "Dissolve" that was very beautiful from Paste but her band is pretty awesome. Audio is not great, such is the state of live clips on YouTube.




"tell them whatever you want
you and i know what happened here
tell them whatever you want
we gave each other proof we were there

there's nothing left on you
we sat and watched the glue dissolve

ask me whatever you need
i'm just waiting to obey
ask me the things you don't see
i am living to repay

there's nothing left on you
we sat and watched the glue dissolve

tell me what i deserve
i'm just waiting on your words
tell me i'm fit to be torn
you go, i stay, nothing gets done

there's nothing left on me
but breaks and cuts i know you can see
we're dead, we're bones, we're dust
there's nothing left to lose"
~Dissolve
Jenny Owen Youngs, Transmitter Failure

I love her sense of melody, and her perspective. Her music videos are pretty cool, too.



"Love is so embarrassing
I'm this awkward and uncomfortable thing
I'm running out of places to hide it
I'm running out of places to hide it
What the fuck was I thinking?"
~Fuck Was I,
Jenny Owen Youngs, Batten the Hatchets

5/1/10

"And you don't want to look much closer
'Cause you're afraid to find out all the hope
That you had sent into the sky by now had... crashed
And it did because of me

and if I hurt you, then i'm sorry
please don't think that was easy.

I always catch the clock it's 11:11
And now you want to talk
It's not hard to dream
You'll always be my Konstantine.

Spin around me like a dream
We played out on this movie screen
And I said,
Did you know I miss you"
~konstantine

an old favorite, remembered suddenly. Beautiful song, so much longing and love attached to it, so rich!! wonderful. Can't find "Played in Space," SoCo's best of, yet, but oh do I want to.

4/29/10

Funny that I woke up in a Copeland mood today, found out that States is a new band with two formers of Copeland (still sad about that) and Mindy White from Lydia (meh). I am truly hoping this will be something beautiful, because I have a Copeland-sized hole in my heart that needs filling with warm, soft, emotional music. It sounds pretty, and I like her voice. They certainly have the hype factor working for them considering what bands they're both from, but not too much material to share yet, it seems. Waiting for that. It sounds very sell-able, though, whatever that means. Like a less punk Paramore. But I'm not one to bash artists who want to make music that could also make them money. We all gotta make a living -- some things are more important than indie cred. Unfortunately, the shit that sells is often boring as hell to listen to, so, it's a careful balance and we'll see how States plays it.

Slightly related, waiting to see what Aaron from Copeland does next, 'cause I'm pretty sure he's brilliant. Per che?



"It's sure as the floor 'neath my toes
and somehow not surprised
that I was superimposed
Somehow in this life
And if my friends and my foes would just drop me a line it'd be nice

You see love is a drink that goes straight to my head
and time is a lover and I'm caught in her stare
And the sentiment there follows me straight to my bed through the night

I've got my life in a suitcase and ready to run run run away
I got no time cause I'm always trying to run run run away
Cause everyday when it feels like it's only a game
I've got my life in a suitcase, a suitcase, a suitcase
A suitcase"
~The Day I Lost my voice (The Suitcase Song)
Copeland, You Are My Sunshine

4/28/10

I like this song....makes me think of long nights with good friends...."We're all right we're were we're supposed to be." Looking forward to summer and reuniting with the high school gang....desperately need that and it's gonna be so much fun (now that we're all legal, of course). Anyway, cool band I'd heard of but never heard, glad I took the time.



I really can't stop listening to Brand New this week, but that's okay.

4/26/10

The latest song for my try-to-learn-piano-parts-and-fill-in-the-rest endeavor.



Move to New York City
Take your woman by the hand
Leave her there with your things on the doorstep
And there's no way around it
Could this be our last dance?
So fall asleep with the tv darling
I'll be back again
~Twenty Years
Augustana, Can't Love, Can't Hurt

4/25/10

Brand New hits the nail on the head everyyyytime. with killer guitar solos to top it off.



"last night they said the fire had spread
then we said our prayers
and now the flames are burning me in my bed
but I just don't care

we all go to sleep in the same place
and in the morning, hope that we're all the same
just sit around like broke down cars in the lot
waiting for repairs

there you go
there it goes

well, I wish that I was as good as you
caring and trusting
and I wish that my condition was new
but I'm old and rusting

we just hurry up only to wait
add to the list of all the places we hate
I pretend like I got something to say
but I've got nothing

now I know that you stole
from the cradles they were rocked in
you took the first words that they spoke
yeah, you stole

so if I'm a liar and you're a thief
at least we both know where the other one sleeps
let's end this tonight

because you stole
from the cradles they were rocked in
you took the first words that they spoke
yeah, you stole"

~You Stole,
Brand New, Daisy

4/22/10

This song made me cry today. Nothing puts a stone in my stomach like dead or dying love. Sometimes I can't speak about it, but it's true. Sad, sad songs do it, though.



"Poke at my iris, why can't I cry about this?
Maybe there is something that you know that I don't?

We adopt a brand new language, communicate through pursed lips,
You try not to put on any sexy clothes or graces.

I might never catch a mouse and present it in my mouth
And make you feel you're with someone who deserves to be with you.

But there's one thing we've got going and it's the only thing worth knowing.
It's got lots to do with magnets and the pull of the moon.

Why won't our love keel over as it chokes on a bone?
We can mourn its passing and then bury it in snow.

Or should we kick its cunt in and watch as it dies from bleeding.
If you don't want to be with me just say and I will go.

Well we can change our partners, this is a progressive dance,
But remember it was me who dragged you up to the sweaty floor.

Well this has been a reel
I've got shin-splints and a stitch
But like a drunken night it's the best bits that are coloured in

Should look through some old photos I adored you in every one of those.
If someone took a picture of us now they'd need to be told that we had ever clung and tied a navy knot with arms at night
I'd say she was his sister but she doesn't have his nose.

And now we're unrelated and rid of all the shit we hated,
But I hate when I feel like this and I never hated you."
~Poke,
Frightened Rabbit, The Midnight Organ Fight

4/20/10

"I won't regret saying this,
this thing that I'm saying,
Is it better than keeping my mouth shut?
That goes without saying

Call, break it off
Call, break my own heart
Maybe I would have been
Something you'd be good at
Maybe you would have been
Something I'd be good at
But now we'll never know
I won't be sad
But in case
I'll go there
Everyday,
To make myself feel bad
There's a chance
I'll start to wonder
If this was the thing to do

I won't be out long
But I still think it better if
You take your time
Coming over here
I think that's for the best ."
~Call it Off
Tegan and Sara, The Con

4/20/10

"Cause when I fly solo,
I fly so high"
~I Can Barely Breathe,
Manchester Orchestra, I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child

4/19/10

Been feelin this tune a lot lately. Now I know it's not Dylan at his most poetic, but these words feel great when you think of the ones you're mad at. Someone must've really pissed him off. And hell, isn't that what music is for? Expressing what you, for whatever reason, can't?

"You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning

You got a lotta nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that’s winning

You say I let you down
You know it’s not like that
If you’re so hurt
Why then don’t you show it

You say you lost your faith
But that’s not where it’s at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it

I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You’re in with

Do you take me for such a fool
To think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don’t know to begin with

You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck”
But you don’t mean it

When you know as well as me
You’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once
And scream it

No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I’d rob them

And now I know you’re dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don’t you understand
It’s not my problem

I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you

Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you"
~Positively 4th Street,
Bob Dylan

Because copyright sucks I can't find a Dylan version anywhere to post -- but I like this cover just fine.

4/19/10

The fourth full-length from Minus the Bear is as deep and sexy and awesome as I wanted it to be. Stream here. It's bright, it's focused, it's real, it's inspired....have yet to be disappointed by this band. Great song-to-song transitions, too, like the synth line in "Into the Mirror" to "Animal Backwards"...very cohesive. "Summer Angel" and "Excuses" are well-disguised pop songs...."my summer angel keeps me on the run." I love, love, LOVE "Secret Country."

I love this band. They were amazing live, killer set list, so tight, so on point -- bassist was either sick/injured/fucked up, and he couldn't stand, so played on a stool the whole time and still managed to sound perfect. Bad ass. They played this:

"They got a mirror full of caine in the bathroom
because nobody here knows when to stop
for now we're just making out with the door unlocked
back in the atrium the music's slowing down
the party's thinning out for the late crowd
fixes her lipstick, fixes his belt
the coast is clear as he walks out

she whispers, you get what you pay for
we could cost a lot.
you get what you pay for
and we do it for the taste of a good high
we do it for the sake of a hot night"
-Into the Mirror
Minus the Bear, Omni

4/15/10

Great cover.


To call for hands of above
to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough
for me, no
~Heartbeats
Jose Gonzalez, Veneer

4/11/10

I'm not calling you a liar, just don't lie to me
I'm not calling you a thief, just don't steal from me
I'm not calling you a ghost, just stop haunting me
And I love you so much, I'm gonna let you kill me
~I'm Not Calling You a Liar
Florence and the Machine, Lungs



Very inspiring record. Blend of soul and pop and atmospheric sounds, biting lyrics, and great singer. It's dark at times, feminine and soft at others, but really well executed.

4/8/10

4/8/10

I wanna see Lovedrug again, asap.

your love is an old friend, who is running around
with a pocket knife in a shotgun town
but you say what but want
and you do as you please
and you’re wanting your soul back before you leave
~Pink Champagne,
Lovedrug, +/- EP - Part 1

4/5/10

So found out Punchline will be releasing a new album this summer, realized I forgot about them, whipped out "Action" from the ole CD case (zomg discs) and I've been loving it all afternoon.

It's pop punk. So it's not Colin Meloy, it's not Jeff Magnum, it's not John K. Sampson or elaborate poetry by any means. But it's honest and heartfelt and it works and you know I know that's all that matters. And it's a great album, makes me feel all lovely. Hell, sometimes my iPod depresses me more than Six Feet Under does. Don't know how much I'll check out their other discography from the past few years, but I'll definitely be looking into the release this summer to see what grown-up pop punk sounds like these days. I love it when bands outlive trends.

I’m cold inside
and these pictures can’t even explain what’s missing in my life.
The coldest of calendars I couldn’t have it any better
Half the time I am alive just to see your smile

Sometimes I feel cold inside
It feels like I am sleeping outside
Indoors there's a light I can see in your eyes

I’ve seen nights without sleep
Days without daylight
These memories I keep won't keep me warm at night
The coldest part is the heart that we share
It's breaking apart and you’re not even here
To say things will get better
So freezing out blanket my discontent 'til I sleep again.

~Coldest of Calendars,
Punchline, Action

3/31/10

You're not the fastest draw in town now
How many times you been shot down now?
Seems like everybody else could see the things you never did
But if you could yourself you'd probably never have made it through the things you did
With your heart still beating
~Still Beating
Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

3/30/10

Today I remember this lyric:
"Just before our love got lost you said, 'I am as constant as a northern star.' and I said, 'constantly in the darkness? where's that at? If you want me I'll be in the bar.'"

The audio is very quiet in this video, but worth turning it up for.




I love her. She just sings, somehow floats everything together. All it needs is something acoustic behind the words, because they're that strong, and she uses every bit of her range and dynamics to make it move. Such beautiful songwriting, beautiful metaphors...and such storytelling in this song.

Oh I am a lonely painter
I live in a box of paints
I'm frightened by the devil
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid
I remember that time that you told me, you said
Love is touching souls
Surely you touched mine
Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time

Oh you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet
~A Case of You
Joni Mitchell, Blue

3/25/10

There's going to be a new Jimmy Eat World album this year -- something to live for. Also excited about new Minus the Bear, more new Lovedrug EPs leading up a full length, finding more Avett Brothers material, And crossing my fingers for a third installment in Lady Gaga's Paparazzi/Telephone video sequence. Won't lie.

Other albums to look forward to (after a quick browsing of Metacritc):
new Jakob Dylan
new Rufus Wainwright!!
new Deftones
new Josh Ritter
new Unkle
new The Black Keys
new Sia
new Stars
new Arcade Fire
new Cake
new Fleet Foxes
new Interpol
new Kraftwerk (always cool)
new Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
new STROKES!!!!!!
new Amy Winehouse

.....and that should all keep me pretty busy.

3/25/10

Moremoremore.



If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected
Decided what to be and go be it
~Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You

Great song title, great song.

3/24/10

Don't push me out,
Just a little longer
Stall your mother,
Disregard your father's words.

Close the laundry door,
Tiptoe across the floor
Keep your clothes on,
I got all that I can take
Teach me how to use
The love that people say you make

Stop your parents' car
I just saw a shooting star
We can wish upon it
But we won't share the wish we made
But I can't keep no secrets,
I wish that you would always stay

Last night I dreamt the whole night long
I woke with a head full of songs
I spent the whole day
I wrote 'em down, but it's a shame
Tonight I'll burn the lyrics,
'Cause every chorus was your name

Break this tired old routine
And this time don't make me leave
I am a breathing time machine,
I'll take you all for a ride
~Laundry Room,
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You

It's been a minute since I've heard a band with as much subtlety as The Avett Brothers. Or one that I've instantly liked this much.

They're little like an indie Billy Joel at times, a lot like a folk band at others. I love both their voices, and something about them just seems very heartfelt, very authentic....lovelovelove. These songs are a bit on the sad side, but in general they're just beautiful, well-written songs.

(Kudos to Maggie for introducing me....now, to find their older albums. I've only acquired "I and Love And You" which is doing very well for itself critically. Band to watch, fo sho!)




One foot in and one foot back.
But it don’t pay to live like that.
So I cut the ties and I jumped the track.
For never to return.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in.
Are you aware the shape I’m in?
My hands they shake, my head it spins.
Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in.
~I and Love and You
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You

3/9/10

Since it's midterms week and studying's no fun, I spend a lot time fooling around the Internet. Today I came across Free Energy and thought they sounded pretty good (see link for free album stream). I love their vibe, they're so fun and happy, and really melodic guitar solos.

I always like seeing what labels are putting out, what they think is up-and-coming. I imagine that sometimes they're so far behind the curve, other times it's dead on. So fancy that, signed bands that are talented musicians and not just an act!!! :o

(For the record, Free Energy is signed to DFA, and their debut album is called "Stuck on Nothing.")



bang bang, pop, pop
when does the searchin stop
bang, bang, pop, pop
when the mind goes
~Bang Pop
Free Energy, Stuck on Nothing

^probably the catchiest chorus ever about the extinguishing of the self.

Also, though I really really miss my iPod, it's cool to hear what you hear when you don't have headphones in all the damn time. Today, for example, I was walking home from class and I heard someone blasting "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" from their bedroom window or something. It was all echo-y and loud and the sky was a warm, dark blue and it was cold but not so cold that you minded. I could hear it for about half the song, it was pretty loud. Quite the moment in my day. So yeah, no iPod isn't all bad. Not to mention all the overheard conversations, phone calls, and the seemingly higher number of people I know I seem to run into.

3/7/10

Sad news.

The last time I listened to Sparklehorse was in the passenger seat on a rainy day in Brooklyn. I remember how well it fit how I was feeling, something drizzly and sad and slow.

3/6/10

Well, I crippled your heart a hundred times
And still can't work out why
You see, I've got this disease I can't shake
And I'm just rattling through life

Well, this is how we do things now
Yeah, this is how the modern stay scared
So I cut out all the good stuff
Yeah, I cut off my foot to spite my leg

Well, is that you in front of me?
Coming back for even more of exactly the same
You must be a masochist to love a modern leper
On his last leg

Well, I am ill
But I'm not dead
And I don't know which of those I prefer
Because that limb which I have lost
Well, it was the only thing holding me up
Holding me up

~The Modern Leper
Frightened Rabbit, The Midnight Organ Fight



Something tells me they will big at SXSW this year, their new album is getting lots of buzz. Kudos to my roommate Patty for playing this CD a lot, I've come to really like it.

3/5/10

zomg, just heard a re-recording of "I Kissed a Drunk Girl" and my stomach flipped and I was 16 again, haha. It sounded so good!!! Thank you, Bamboozle Radio.

3/1/10

Also, my iPod is dead. There'll be way more updates because I'll listen to way more music at my computer now. But I'll be way more miserable (kidding, sort of).

3/1/10

No waiting necessary -- FYS album leaked, yay!!! Prettttty fucking catchy too, if the first track is any indicator.

UPDATE: Albeit this isn't the energy cool-down I probably should be attempting at this hour, this album's pretty good. I'm listening to it for the second time through, and while it sounds like more FYS, that's a really good thing! It's like they took all the best parts of "Rise or Die Trying" and just kept going with those elements, and it totally works. The harmonies are great and the lyrics are direct and pointed and harsh and heartfelt all at once.

The chorus of "Wasting Time," which I imagine is the first single, kicks in at the perfect time and you're begging it back to come again, and then it does in all kinds of ways. Good. Just the right kind of screaming, I think, and I really like the way they seem to pull it all together at the end of each song so well. A lot of the choruses are catchy and hook-filled and just sort of force you to nod your head to it. Lyrically, melodically, they have this way of putting a bridge into a chorus and just making things flow really well from one part to the next. Lines soar from one to the next, hit hard at the end, like it's nicely punctuated. Like it. ie:

One step at a time/One foot in front of the other/I'm gonna get through this one way or another
Cause I know it's warmer where you are/Cause no matter how far the view/I still always look up to you


I love how fun this album feels for feeling so aggressive. Great combination, but hard to do right, I think.

This would be a great way to kick off the day at 8 a.m., if my iPod was still working. =(

2/28/10

Stand there
Dance with
Stand there, dance with a memory
The caption reads "it's all over now"
~Steps and Numbers,
The Appleseed Cast, Low Level Owl 1



This band came back on my radar thanks to shuffle...I love this song.

Also, Interpol will be touring with U2, and while I doubt any chance I'd get to go, there's suspicion they might have a new release this year or be working on something. Would like that, miss them.

2/28/10

Amazing to watch and listen to him put this together.

2/27/10

Love my name
Love left dry
Frost or flame
Skeleton me
Fall asleep
Spin the sky
Skeleton me
Love, don’t cry
Love, don’t cry
Love, don’t cry
Skeleton me
Skeleton me

Soon comes rain
Dry your eyes
Frost or flame
Skeleton me
Fall asleep
Spin the sky
Skeleton me
Love, don’t cry
Love, don’t cry
Love, don’t cry
Skeleton me
Skeleton me

Skeleton me
~Skeletons
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!

Beautiful song.....some great tones in there, simple and pretty words. I don't think there's any Yeah Yeah Yeahs I don't like, but some songs stand out more to me than others. This is one of them. Also, the video is sick-nasty but I can't find an embed code....see The New York Times for a take on that.

In other news, I'm very sad to say I don't think I'll get to make it to any of the Copeland farewell tour dates. Too much homework, and things to do, blah. But that's a band that, I think, might deserve a reunion someday, if I have to organize and pay for it myself. I can't believe I'll never hear You Are My Sunshine songs live! Sad. Goodbye, favorite band, you will still be one of them.

Still other news, new release from Four Year Strong soon......excellent. Get ready feel like throwing things into walls and smashing electronics on the ground, and all kinds of good stuff, with a snide-ass fucking grin. They can take a minute to warm up to (if you're not crazy about melodic hardcore or whatever you'd like to call it) but the dueling vocals and harmonies are pretty freakin intense, they're so straight up about what they do. New songs here.

2/24/10

Sweeeeeeet.



And this video made me laugh. There is whole Beatles community on YouTube that could keep me here till 3 a.m....so many videos....

2/16/10

Even in February, The Decemberists make great walking-in-winter music.I recently rediscovered this album and have been pretty addicted.



Apparently the song is about a WWII battle, not the French Revolution, but we'll forgive that.

and the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
and the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
and they're picking out our eyes by coals and candlelight
when the war came, the war came hard
~When The War Came
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife

2/16/10

This is just weird and funny and oddly fascinating to me.

2/15/10

So I finally saw Lovedrug on Friday. The concert at Water Street in Rochester, and I went with my big sister (who, as of about a week ago, is a huge Lovedrug fan).

What a fucking amazing concert. They played a great variety of songs, about five of which are new. So, not only did the show make me extremely happy because I got to hear some of my favorite songs live, but I know there's more good stuff comin'. Yay. Really good stuff -- "Premunition" has been stuck in my head since I heard it.

Their chemistry was extremely evident, everyone just really seemed to be on the same page and I could hear every part crystal clear. Noticed harmonies more than I did on the recordings, as well as guitar stuff -- "Happy Apple Poison" in particular sounded fucking kick ass live, and the "We Were Owls" chorus was dead fucking on; in that they gave me chills.

Which is I guess what I really like about Lovedrug in particular -- they're a band with a lot of moments, I think, where things build up to the right place. They do this musically and lyrically which is, I think, important to note.

All my opera studying this semester has taught me that, for Richard Wagner, music cannot reach its full potential without it's partner, poetry. It was SO important to him. He could not write symphonies, apparently.

To Wagner, there are motifs in which the 'profoundest secrets of the poetic intent' are revealed. They're composed of music and poetry, both of which are essentially saying the same thing that sums up an entire story or message or feeling from beginning to end. I don't know. Wagner was a complicated man.

But sitting here, singing Lovedrug songs, I kind of understand that theory. There is something very purging about it, to have music and words so well-aligned. Something that captures a feeling that often cannot be put into any other form, as any art aims to do.

Additionally, I have great respect for any professional musician whose name not everyone knows. To be really good at what you do, and do it as your career, is a lucky match -- especially in a creative field like music or art or writing. You need endless dedication, patience and ambition, as well as the ability to adapt when things don't work out the way you planned. They're currently unsigned, after label problems and they once even had their van stolen on tour -- but they're still writing and recording with good results. Their new material has been so popular and well-received by their fans......sticking to the art, sticking to the craft and continually evolving yourself in it is just the way to go, I think. Nothing more commendable than turning your dreams into reality, which is what I think Wagner was trying to get at most of the time too. Mostly because he was insane and needed to justify it, but it worked.

Bottom line is the concertwas really, really, really good, and so satisfying. Even though they're one of my favorite bands, they still exceeded my expectations in their performance, abilities and attitude. I do wonder, though, if Michael Shepard will make his way back to the piano for any new songs -- I really, really liked his playing at the show but it was mostly for older material. I can't wait to see them again, though, and follow their work as it progresses.

2/11/10

I stumbled on this Wikipedia page and kinda died a little. I didn't know song entries could lay out structure, but I guess it depends if you're looking up Zep or "Poker Face" (no offense, luv you so much LG). But I so don't hear music that way, at least not without conscious effort to do so. I wish I could turn it on more, I guess it's just a matter of paying attention.

Anyway, it just got me thinking about how amazing Wikipedia is....they tell you in school not to use it, anyone can edit it, whatever.....but honestly, only because of Google + Wikipedia (and I guess, Mom's Dell credit card) can I know everything about any song, whenever...also, I can know it in FIVE freakin' seconds. Granted, I don't know

So, okay Newhouse, Wikipedia is a bad thing to do, it's bad for journalism and really everything that reporting should involve. But my trivia-geek wins out.

Great fucking song, too. Great playlist of songs, as I quickly discovered, courtesy of iTunes radio station The ANIMAL Rocks:
Stevie Nicks, "Edge of Seventeen"
Pink Floyd, "Time"
John Lennon, "Instant Karma!"
followed by a commercial for psychic reading.

Yessssss, points.

2/8/10

Never an overrated song, was only familiar with The Beatles and Smokey Robinson versions but I like this one, too. So sweet, and it sneaks up on you with patience and delicacy.

Obviously I love both M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel, how can anyone not? A fittingly talented pair of songwriters and performers, She & Him is just a good example of a certain kind of music that just ran rampant the past few years, I think they just hit that soothing, quiet, sad folk nail on the head. They got great style, too, pop appeal like crazy but it didn't detract from the product. New album alert: March 23!!!

Also, the labeling tool won't let me put the ampersand in the "She & Him" label. I've half a mind to complain to Blogger.

I don't understand this video, something about love, loving and food? I'm missing something, but the guy at 2:35 made me laugh. So, do I sing this to my food? I don't understand.

2-1-10

It's brittle and it trembles as the wind is coming toward,
And if you string it up it dries right out with time.
So raise your glass to that new dollar,
In the bank we're reaching for.
But the drink was sweeter before we had a dime.

But you're far away now,
And you've got troubles, all your own,
Just to spend your whole life shooting down.

Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?
Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?

If you feel restless where you are, it may be easier to stay.
There are a million other fools to make your bed.
And they'll be closing all the shades
To keep you right there in that grave.
And I'll be knocking cause you never left my head.

But you're far away now,
And you've got troubles, all your own,
Just to spend your whole life shooting down.

Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?
Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?

Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?
Oh, oh what do I know?
What do I know?
~What Do I Know?
Copeland, You Are My Sunshine


I love this song, and this album. They're so soothing, but not without tension and build and dynamics. A lot of patience. As much as I love music that amps you up, sometimes you need something that is going to slow you down.

2/1/10 - 2/2/10

My iPod on shuffle takes me so many places, keeps lines and riffs and moments stuck in my head. Their only purpose for being connected, somehow noted of their influence, is that they connected to me.

back to where we started, losing who we were
everybody knows that you'd break your neck to keep your chin up
~Chin Up
Copeland, You Are My Sunshine

wake up, you're alive, we're on your side
~Everything Starts Where It Ends
Lovedrug, Everything Starts Where It Ends

now, in the deep and down
your heart moves
now, in the deep and down
i don't know how but i know i want out
wait for something better,
will I know when it can be us?
~Clarity
Jimmy Eat World, Clarity

freeze your blood and then stab into me
stab your blood into me, and then
~Night On The Sun
Modest Mouse, Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks

i can't believe how you looked at me
with your James Dean glossy eyes
~Speechless,
Lady Gaga, The Fame

since i've been loving you
i'm about to lose my worried mind
~Since I've Been Loving You
Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III

Wake up! Say good morning to that sleepy person lying next to you
If there's no one there, then there's no one there, but at least the war is over
It's us - yes, we're back again, here to see you through, 'til the days end
And if the night comes, and the night will come, well at least the war is over
~In Our Bedroom After The War
Stars, In Our Bedroom After The War

This plane is definitely crashing
This boat is obviously sinking
This building's totally burning down
And my, and my
And my heart has slowly dried up
~Shit Luck
Modest Mouse, The Lonesome Crowded West



Love shuffle. It's really great. For some reason, I can't figure out how to get "Genius" to work on my iTunes. If anyone can tell me how, that'd be great, because I hear good things. I'm just an idiot when it comes to upgrades. Anyway, shuffle is fun; sometimes I play a game where I leave it on and make myself listen to whatever I put on there, no skipping.

My only regret is my inability to remember what order I heard what songs/what was good about it -- for some reason, I find that significant in my undenying love for shuffle.

1/26/10

sky black and blue
blue turned to red
it's quiet in the streets now
it's screaming in your head

i ain't a fool
i've got my doubts
say it doesn't hurt
doesn't matter anyhow
anyhow

saying hey you're bleeding for nothing
it's hard to breathe when you're standing on your own
we'll kill ourself to find freedom
you'll kill yourself to find anything at all

~hey now
augustana, can't love, can't hurt

1/25/10

And I know I'm not the only one who loves this record. More Jimmy Eat World, forever and always. Where so many artists lose their appeal with fads and you just get out of touch with their work, this band proves to me that I can only love them more.


And when I watch that, I can't help but wanna sing the harmonies. So good. I really noticed the guitar parts in this recording and kinda loved 'em.

Not to mention "Dizzy," an unbelievable addition to the heartbreaking songs this band can write. If everything I meant to you, you can lick and seal and fold into then I've been so blind

And in many ways, the reasons this blog is here is because when I don't know what to do anymore, I find heartbreaking songs. Dizzy ends, Clarity begins, I have common usage errors to study for class, and just like that finding the right music gets my day back where it should be. Moving forward.

1/25/10

Cheer up, honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stuff
Honey kisses clouds of fluff
Shoulders shrugging off

Cheer up, honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with radio cures
Electronic surgical words

Picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen

Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable

Cheer up, honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stars
Honey kisses clouds of love

Picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen

Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable

Cheer up, honey I hope you can

-Radio Cure,
Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

1/23/10

"O, the blood and the treasure
And then losing it all
The time that we wasted
And the place where we fall

Will we wake in the morning
And know what it was all for?
Up in our bedroom after the war"

-The Beginning After the End,
Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War

"The pleasure part
The after shock
The moment that
It takes the fall apart

The time we have
The task at hand
The love it takes
To destroy a man

The ecstasy
The being free
That big black cloud
Over you and me

And after that
The upward fall
And worry angels
After all"

--The Night Starts Here,
Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War

"Slick girls and sick boys and
Each one lining up to take him home
They hold tight, their coin and
They pray no one has to see them fall

I'm there yeah, I serve them
The one with the empty looking eyes
Come closer, you'll see me
The face that is used to telling lies"

-Take Me To the Riot
Stars, In Our Bedroom After the War


"In Our Bedroom After the War" is amazing. I just think it's really well-written, the parts make so much sense. It's not without it's moments of cheese or drama, kind of like a musical or I guess a lot of indie pop. But it's good to get that in there.

1/20/10

A Paste news story brought to my attention the side project of Keane's Tim Rice-Oxely, called Mt.Desolation. Apparently he's got all kinds of musicians working with him, and I'm excited to hear the result....also, says they've been in the studio together since Jan. 14. It's great to think about artists collaborating in a close environment, creating something new together and just devoting themselves to it for weeks at a time...when so much music is just thrown together and thrown on a record and thrown a stage because it's the cool hip thing of the moment, you risk losing some of the feel that comes along with the creative process....so yay, Mt.Desolation, I hope you do not disappoint and I do not think you will.