Carbon Copy

it was the leather jacket and eyeliner

I find myself listening to Francoise Hardy quite a bit lately. My parents had a record collection when I was growing up from which I would play three records: The Fantasticks, Camelot, and a Francoise Hardy album my dad brought home from France on one of his trips there. I didn't understand anything she said, but I knew she was cool from the album cover. It was the leather jacket and eyeliner. My first trip to Chicago, when I was 19, I bought a double disc CD of her music that came up missing while I was on my mission and have still never found. I recently decided that I needed to fill that gap in my collection again. I mean, look at these album covers:

She's just cool. And it makes me feel cool to listen to her while I drive around at night in the French Quarter (or thereabouts). Here's a favorite:

le maison ou j'ai grandi

It's a nostalgic song about the house she grew up in that is no longer there. And for a more modern look at Francoise Hardy, a collaboration with Air.

Jeanne

One last thing, a video I found while searching for pictures. I always forget to check youtube.

That song, "tous les garcons et les filles," was one of the first songs I loved from her. Even at 14, especially at 14, I loved music, movies, and books about unrequited love.

How to Clean the House

The best way to clean the house is wait for everyone to leave, pull out your old tape player, stick in your old musicals and belt it out. It doesn't matter how many dishes need to be done or floors need to be mopped. The grime stuck in little crevices is no match for me when I'm lost in the emotions of Florence from Chess or Kim and Ellen from Miss Saigon (my musicals are way out of date, as you might suspect from the reference to tapes). I guess there's a part of me that still wants to be a Broadway star, so why not pretend when no one else is around?

Here are some songs to help you be a Broadway star and a cleaning machine, too.

From Miss Saigon:

I Still Believe

Room 317

Now That I've Seen Her

From Chess:

Quartet

Nobody's Side

I Know Him So Well

As I Am

A week or so ago, I spied an Alicia Keys cd on the math teacher's desk. I asked her at lunch if I could borrow it to play for my students while they did some creative writing. Confession: I've actually never listened to Alicia Keys. Don't act so surprised. Where would I have heard her? Seriously. I don't listen to the radio. I don't know anyone that really listens to Alicia Keys. At least, not when their with me. I just knew that many of my students liked her, so imagine my surprise when I put the music on and realized that it was good! And here I am on a Saturday listening to it by my own choice. Here's my favorite:

No One

Anyone have any other good recommendations for music my students might like to listen to that's not Lil Wayne?

Divine Hammer

Kylie didn't need to worry about me blogging about the Breeders show before her. I'm so behind on my blogging and I don't expect it to get better any time soon. But it's Sunday night, and I'm relaxing at my mom's house, waiting for the lasagne to come out of the oven. It's a good time to catch up. The show was last Tuesday at the Depot. I felt old. Everyone there probably listened to Last Splash in high school. And I have to admit, Kim and Kelly were looking a little older, too. Still didn't keep them from rocking out. (Does using that phrase also make me old? yes, yes it does.)

My only complaint - other than a couple rowdy and obnoxious concert goers (see? old) - was that they didn't play one of my favorite songs. So I'll post it here instead.

Do You Love Me Now?

Rainy May Days

Rainy drive to work this morning, and I was feeling pensive. I listened to Playing Dead by Breathe Owl Breathe twice. I wanted to keep on driving.

You Want Me to Make You a Mixed Tape?

I'm totally behind the times. Pretty much everyone already has a mix up on muxtape, and Kylie's been telling me about it for a while. I finally started listening to it yesterday and was so excited about finding some new music that last night I stayed up way past my bedtime coming up with my own mix. There's nothing terribly new and exciting on there. Just some songs I've been listening to a lot lately.

Driveways

Driving home and it was windy and because I live in the desert it was all chalky. I could taste it when I opened the door.

Just over six months ago I posted the song Adventures in Solitude. I was listening to it again tonight as I drove home, and I had to sit and wait in the driveway because I got home before my favorite part (about 2:26 minutes into the song). It perfectly suited my mood. I love it when music does that.

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's (I've) been kind of dull lately.

{Picture taken from my driveway tonight.}

starry, starry, starry

My friend Danny just posted this video of Joanna Newsom singing Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie, and it hit the spot. After watching it more than three times (and some of her other videos), I decided to post it here, too.

Danny also introduced me to this awesome site earlier today.

Reconsidering Augie March

No, I don't mean the book by Saul Bellow (which I should really read some time). I mean the Aussie band. I first stumbled upon them 3 years ago through the House of Leaf and Lime, where Jim posted 2 songs from Strange Bird. I loved the songs enough that they graced several mixes and I went in search of the album on ebay. But after a cursory listen, I dismissed the album after burning a copy for Tanker, who had received one of the aforementioned mixes. Over the years, though, I would frequently get an earful from him about how I was missing out on this band and that he just couldn't believe that I didn't love it, etc. I got so tired of hearing about it that I recently decided to give the album another chance. In doing so, I discovered this little gem of a song (that now frequently gets stuck in my head).

Little Wonder

So maybe I was wrong in completely dismissing the album. They really are so much better than I gave them credit for at first. For Christmas, I bought Tanker their new album. I didn't want to make the same mistake this time, so I've been listening to it more. Here's my favorite:

The Cold Acre

Sampled

I wrote over a year ago about how to cure a bad day. After a little private dance party to some Girl Talk this morning, I discovered it still works.

Old School

You know those Sci-Fi movies and books where technology advances so far that there is a revolt and people revert back to Medieval ways? I think I've reached that point with music for the moment. I'm just so tired of everything. The other day I started piping some Beatles through the radio. Man, these guys are good! And I know this song is probably overplayed and if I'm going to listen to the Beatles, I should at least listen to some rare stuff to keep my indie cred or something, but I can't help it. I've listened to it approximately five times today. It just really hits the spot right now.

Here Comes the Sun

Desert Winds are Strong but They're Not Strong Enough

My love for the Fiery Furnaces has been well-documented on this blog (see here, here, and yes, here). And I'm currently loving their new album, Widow City. I've been listening to it for the past week. Here are two of my favorite tracks:

My Egyptian Grammar

Restorative Beer

Ok, I can't resist posting this one, too:

Ex-Guru

p.s. Dear Mike, remember how you said you were going to listen to the next song I posted on here? I probably wouldn't start with these. You might not listen to anything else, and that would be a shame.

Euros Childs (formerly of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci)

My jaw dropped when I saw on Pollstar a couple months back that Euros Childs of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, a Welsh band, was coming to the ol' SLC. It didn't matter that it was at the Urban Lounge, my least favorite venue. I still had to attend.

I'm not the one to give a history of Gorky's. Really I'm more of a fan by association since they just happen to be favorite band of my best friends. Here are two videos that kind of show their evolution. The first is for the song "Merched Yn Neud Gwallt Eu Gilydd," and they look super young! I believe it was recorded in the early 90s.

They're a little older in this one for the song "Iechyd Da."

Unfortunately, the band broke up in 2006. Now Euros Childs has several solo albums and the tour was in support of that. I'm not as familiar with his solo work, but here is a favorite song from the album Chops

Hi Mewn Socasau

And even more unfortunately, the concert was not as well attended as it could've been. In fact, most of the people were there to see the accoustic guitar, coffee house stylings of a U of U grad student in poetry, Kathryn Cowles. Funny story about Kathryn Cowles. When I was in high school, I was the Sterling Scholar in English for Alta. I made it past the regional competition and on to the state finals where I was bested by none other than Kathryn Cowles. Although, I believe she got second place, but I'm not exactly sure. It was, after all, ten years ago. So I think we were the only fans there, all three of us. The rest of the audience was made up of loud talkers who had sense enough to know that the music was great to dance to at least. Except for the really drunk guy who made his presence known through woofing (think Aresinio Hall style, with his hand in the air) and yes, even howling during the slower parts of the song with comments such as, "Pick it up!" He asked each one of us at some point throughout the show whether or not we wanted to dance. We didn't. At least, not with him. But it was still a great show and I'm so glad we got a chance to see Euros because chances are he won't be coming back again. Here are a few more pictures from the show.

Let's also just say that it would take A LOT to get me back to the Urban Lounge any time soon.

Hearts Locked Up Tight Again

Some of my friends who maintain MP3 blogs have already posted about Caribou's new album, Andorra. And since they both posted my two favorite songs, I'll just direct you to Antarctica Starts Here for "Sandy" and to The House of Leaf and Lime for "Melody Day." Last night, I attended their concert at the Urban Lounge.

But first I had plans with Tanker for milkshakes, which ended up including the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich and an episode of The Simpsons. I know you're probably tired of seeing pictures of the sunset from a) my front porch and b) driving on the freeway, but I can't help it.

I met up with Kylie and Jonathan at the bar at 9:30. The show was supposed to start at 9, which, old fogeys that we are, already felt really late. The first band didn't go on until 10:30, and since they looked about 16-years-old, it was obviously past their bedtime, too.

The Born Again Ruffians were pretty good, but we were still kind of bored. So we took pictures.

We were right next to the pool table, and I kept having to scoot out of the way because I almost got a cue to my cheek.

I really considered buying a Caribou t-shirt because they were such nice colors, but I never got around to it.

Of course Concert Aaron showed up. He likes to talk about math with my friends and even though I've seen/met him at a lot of shows, I don't think he even knows my name. But progress, he totally high-fived me that night.

Finally Caribou came on stage and we moved up to the front so we could get some good photos. During the first song, just as we raised our cameras, some disheveled hair, skinnyjean wearing girl slunk in between us and in front of us and proceeded to dance. Now this dance was a combination of the slow motion bullet scene in The Matrix and Elaine's dance on Seinfeld made extra annoying because of the limited space. Eventually, we decided to follow her lead and slipped in front of her. While we didn't have anyone blocking our view, we were now extra close to the two sets of drums. It was loud, but awesome.

One of the best things about the projector they had was the shadows it made.

Caribou put on a great show, but I have to admit that I wasn't interested in staying for an encore. At 1 am, I just wanted to get home. I really am getting old.

Another Holiday

This song is perfect for a Friday morning right before I take off for a fun-filled weekend in sunny St. George. And the music video makes it even better.

Forgotten Downloads Remembered

Every once in a while, I will visit all sorts of MP3 blogs and just download a bunch of stuff that I never really get around to listening to. At work today, I decided to listen to a playlist of songs from the now mostly defunct House of Leaf and Lime and stumbled upon this song by The Bird and The Bee.

I'm a Broken Heart

*This link is now fixed so the song actually works. I also fixed the links to these songs by Kate Bush and Sonic Youth that I posted back in July.

Bodies of Water

Just the phrase "Christian Rock" conjures up a strange time in my life when I wore shapeless jumpers and tights every day. Often it was the same shapeless jumper and pair of tights with varying shirts or sweaters. My mission president was actually pretty liberal on the music policy for our mission. Where some could only listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or Classical music pre-1850, President Hoglund just said to follow the white handbook. I can't remember now exactly what that little guide said, but we took it to mean anything connected to the LDS faith and some companions extended that further to Christian rock. So on our drives around Montana where things are measured in how much time it takes to get somewhere rather than miles, I listened to a lot of Hilary Weeks and Michael McLean. There was one song by Mr. McLean that had nothing to do with church or God or anything. In fact, it was sung as though by a lounge singer and called "No More Love," and I remember feeling a little guilty and a little exhilarated listening to this song because it had a bass line. There was one transfer in particular when I had to drive ALL BY MYSELF, which is unheard of as a missionary, from Billings to Great Falls because they needed another car there. So there I was, a missionary who hadn't been on her own in a car for over a year, listening to a love song with a bass line, and I thought it was the most beautiful moment of my life. One of the best parts of getting to know your new companion was the prospect of having new music to listen to. I got tired of the same old EFY soundtracks, so when Deb introduced some Jars of Clay into my daily rotation, I didn't complain. In fact, I welcomed it. It was almost like listening to real music again.

I get uncomfortable around Christian music and Christian paraphernalia. Those license plates in Indiana with the "In God We Trust" on them made me unreasonably upset. This is a strange quirk for someone who considers herself a pretty devout Christian that I haven't quite worked out yet. But I just can't shake this image of people swaying with their eyes closed and their hands reaching out, palms open. So when I first listened to Bodies of Water last Sunday while driving around town, I felt a little tricked.

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Are they singing about giving glory to God? Hold on, isn't this almost a little Christian rock-like?

But I loved it. I was hooked, and I've been listening to it ever since. And let's not call it Christian rock. Let's say Gospel-influenced. At least, that's what they say on their website. To quote exactly, "combining the metaphysical intensity of gospel, the primitive gusto of punk rock, the earnest idiosyncracy of american folk, the sonic inclusiveness of tropicalia, the planned jamming of prog, and the sincere melodrama of musical theatre." All I know is that I like it and can't help but sing along and feel happy while listening. Here are a few songs:

Our Friends Appear Like the Dawn

These Are the Eyes

Roar Roar Roar

I Turned My Face

And a video from YouTube:

p.s. I totally love the girl's hair in this video. Makes me want a haircut.

Adventures in Solitude

So I did things a little backwards, as is my wont. I am just barely giving the new album, Challengers, by the New Pornographers a listen (instead of doing so before the concert). I really like this song.

Adventures in Solitude

I have some more good, new (to me) music to post sometime soon, but I'm still trying to decide on songs.

Also, thank you to everyone for the comments. I felt a little sheepish last night after I wrote the entry and thought maybe I'd come delete it this morning, but then I had some new comments! And they made me happy. And I love that they were all by people who already comment. You guys are the salt of this blog.

Same Old Flame Again

Here's the thing about the Arcade Fire, I really like them. I snatched up a ticket right away for the concert and it didn't disappoint. Here's another thing about the Arcade Fire, a lot of people really like them, so it was a bigger concert than I usually attend.

It started off with LCD Soundsystem. Here's the thing about them: I usually can only listen to the first minute or so of their songs. But live, they were amazing!

We got there pretty early, but still didn't get the best spot. It was ok for a while, but then people started crowding in. Something I'm proud of, though, is that I actually stopped a man with my dagger stare. He was about to crowd in front of my but I scowled at him, and he apologized and went around me. It was the most empowering feeling. Still, the crowd kept getting closer and closer. After the first song, I couldn't see anything, and I decided to move to the back. Despite being at the concert with about ten people I knew, I ended up watching Arcade Fire all alone. And in some ways that seemed most fitting. I can't think of a time when I haven't listened to them alone. Their music reminds me of cold, early mornings driving on the backroads to campus at Purdue. Or walking the streets of Innsbruck at twilight.

Because I ended up towards the back, even though I could see them better, I was too far away to get a lot of great pictures. But here are some anyway, and again, there are a few more on flickr.

Listening Too Long to One Song

I already directed you to a much better review of the night events at Bryton's blog, so this will mainly be pictures from the concert. Also, more pictures can be found on my flickr. The night started off with The Awkward Stage, but I didn't get any photos of them because I was in an awkward position sitting on the stools with my side to the stage. I tried to crane my neck after I found out the singer was wearing a sweatervest and had colored his hair silver. But that's as far as it went. After they performed, though, Tanker and I met up with Kylie down on the floor for Lavender Diamond. Initially, I thought there was just one opening band called Lavender Diamond and the Awkward Stage, and I really liked that name. It's a little disappointing that it wasn't so. Also, initially, I thought Lavender was spelled L-A-V-E-N-D-A-R, but my spell check tells me otherwise. That's also taking some getting used to.

Tanker already saw the New Pornographers up in Seattle with his girlfriend, so we had the inside scoop as to how the show would go down. I guess when Lavender performed there, she was wearing a wedding dress and tiara. Her outfit that night was still cute, but I was looking forward to the wedding dress.

Here's the thing about Lavender Diamond: Every once in a while, I would think, "Hey, I like this!" But then I would get bored. I think she needs the rollerskates from her video to keep me entertained. The drummer helped, though. Tanker thought he looked just like the guy from Highlander.

But Tanker also can see me dating a guy like this guitar player, so...

Finally, the New Pornographers came on. I love them. As linked to in my previous entry, I saw them in New York last year at the New Yorker festival and then listened to Twin Cinema constantly for weeks after. I still pop it in regularly. I need to listen to their other albums more, too, because they are so good. If I were on my home computer (instead of at work), I would post some songs. Maybe I will another time. But the thing with the New Pornographers is that nothing beats a live show. There's something about the layers of their music that you just have to experience in person and having it surround you. Not to mention the energy they bring to the stage. Ok, ok. I said I wasn't going to talk much, and I never feel like a qualified reviewer, so I'll stop there (except maybe one or two more comments along with the photos.)

Dan Bejar, a band member who also spearheads Destroyer (another great band), toured with them. At first, I was like, "Who is this guy?" Because he would walk out on stage and everyone started cheering and shouting out, "We love you!" And he acted so cool and casual, holding his beer bottle. And he never stayed on stage. No, he would just come out to sing. It kind of rubbed me wrong at first, but then he won me over. I don't know how to describe it or why he was, but he was magnetic.

Kathryn Calder, the keyboardist, has the most amazing skin. It's seriously perfect.

Neko Case was looking a little tired and haggard. There, I said it. But man, can she sing.

I think this may go down as one of my favorite concerts. This pic Tank took of me shows just how happy I was.

Here's a video from one of my favorite songs, Sing Me Spanish Techno. (The beginning got cut off because I had to hurry and switch the settings on my camera.)

Upcoming Posts

This has been a big week! In fact, I can't believe it's only Thursday. On Tuesday, I saw these guys at the Depot. I'm not sure when I'll get around to blogging about it (because of home Internet problems not laziness), so if you just can't wait, check out Microsuede's post. In fact, you should just check it out anyway because it's way better than mine will be.

And then last night, I joined the crowd at Thanksgiving Point for a little Arcade Fire. I'll be posting more about that later, too.

Just wanted to give you something to look forward to this weekend.

Stars: In Our Bedroom After the War

I cannot get enough of this album. I never was a huge Stars fan before. I liked some of their songs and never changed the track when one was on a mix CD, but I never really chose to listen to Stars. However, I heard good things about this album, so I thought I'd give it a chance. On the first listen or two, it didn't really strike me as anything much, and I was caught up in one or two other CDs (I can't even remember what now), but then I found the songs sticking in my head. A song I didn't even like at first, Barricade, would haunt me until I had to listen to it and then I fell in love. and that song led to another, which led to another. It's going to be hard to narrow this down. I might have to post three or four songs. And then you might rush to the store to pick up the album for yourself, but you'll be disappointed because it doesn't actually come out until the end of September. So how was I so lucky to get it? Here's what you do: Go to eMusic right now and sign up for a free trial. You'll get to download 25 songs for free! (And if you say that I sent you there, I will get 50 songs for free.... so... if you don't mind... ) And for some reason, Stars released this album early only on eMusic, so you can get the rest of the songs there. It will be well worth it.

Some samples:

My Favourite Book

Barricade

Window Bird

Bitches in Tokyo

There really are several more that I love from this album that I could post, so be sure to check it out.

A Little Time

Izzy and I were listening to this song by the Beautiful South whilst driving about town today. I love it.

I'm Down with P

The first time I had ever heard of the Rentals was when my older sister went on a date with some guy and he gave her the single of Friends of P (in cassette form). I thought that was so cool.

But really the Rentals remind me of 1999-2000 when Seven More Minutes first came out. I was working full time at DSW Partners (an advertising agency, not the shoe store) and getting ready to go on my mission and feeling frustrated with life because nothing was working out how I planned. And at 21, you think you have everything planned just right. The best thing about my job, though, was going on runs. I remember in particular coming back on the 201 and I had the sun roof open in my p.o.s. 1988 Honda Prelude (it was a cold fall day, so it was probably stuck open) and I was listening to this song, and I don't know what it was but the moment was perfect. Strangely enough, out of all the music that I loved and listened to before my mission, the Rentals was one of the bands I most wanted to listen to during that time of Mormon Tabernacle Choir, EFY soundtracks, and (I'm sorry to admit this) Kenneth Cope. I kept going back to that perfect moment and thinking about how nice it would be to get rid of my companion for just an hour or so and go for a long drive and listen to the Rentals.

I guess when you become attached to a moment like that, you also become attached to the band because the Rentals have become a staple in my music rotation. They came to Salt Lake last summer just after I returned back to Indiana. I was bitter, so when they came again on Wednesday, you know I was in attendance, camera in hand.

The band has changed quite a bit since the albums came out. Instead of Maya Rudolph and Petra Hayden, we had these two girls. But they were adorable and fun to watch.

I loved how the band interacted with each other.

I never really liked the song The Man with Two Brains. It gets stuck in my head and the lyrics kind of bug me, but I really liked watching them perform it.

Matt Sharp totally worked the crowd the whole night.

Besides being really cute and fun, the blonde girl also knew how to play the violin.

More pictures:

They changed my mind about another song, too. I always skip Insomnia, but I really liked the version they played as their final song. Wish I could get a copy of it. I thought my new found like would extend to the album version, so I listened to it on the way home. It didn't.

I have two videos, but I haven' t had time to upload them to youtube yet. I will later and post them. But for now, here's a song I wish they would've played.

My Head Is in the Sun

And two more, just because I have them with me and I really like them.

Sweetness and Tenderness

She Says It's Alright

Redemption (or, Young Again)

Last night, I attended the Page France/Bishop Allen show in Provo. It was a long drive, but it was completely worth it. Give this a listen and you will see why. (This isn't really the song I wanted to post. That one isn't imported to my iTunes and I'm too lazy right now to go find it, but this song's good too). Everything I hated about the last concert was redeemed at this one. First of all, small venue, not over-crowded. We could see almost perfectly, but still had room to breathe and even dance. Fans overhead and an open door in the back kept a nice, cool breeze drifting through. Everyone was really into the show, singing along at appropriate times, dancing, clapping along, etc., without going overboard and rushing the stage and pushing against everyone else. Ok, so there was a couple ahead of me that got a little too rambunctious and the body odor and sweat of the man became almost unbearable at the end of the concert, but I couldn't deny their enthusiasm. It made me happy to see how into the show they were. Seriously, who knew Provo hipsters were so into Bishop Allen? Here are some pictures from the show:

Page France

What I really want you to look at in the last picture is the bass player in the white shirt. He was my favorite. He was so intense and singing along to all the words (without a mic). I felt like he was the understudy for the lead singer and secretly dying to take on the main role. Something else you should look at in these pictures is the lead singer, Michael Nau. His outfit kept Judy and I wondering all night. I mean, isn't that a lady's jacket? And is his shirt pink-striped with a woman's neckline? I mean, not that it matters, but we just wanted to know for sure. By the way, he wasn't at all what I pictured when listening to the CD

Bishop Allen

(She was singing Butterfly Violet, which is my favorite song from the album, I think.)

The singer for Bishop Allen had a lot of dramatic gestures throughout the performance. Here he is in the middle of one.

This show went over so well that they already booked a second one in October with, I believe, John Vanderslice. So if you missed Bishop Allen the first time, just wait a bit. They'll be back.

Twilight Concerts (or, I'm Getting Old)

Last night I met up with friends for the Twilight Concert Series at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake. Peter, Bjorn, and John were playing. Their songs are catchy, and I had been looking forward to the concert for a while. This was my first time attending the concert series. I had heard it was crowded, but I didn't really know what to expect.

First of all, lets document how the sky changed during the event. When we got there, it was still daylight. But twilight slowly crept in.

As far as the music went, it really couldn't be beat. Peter, Bjorn, and John knew how to rock!

Salt Lake City-ites, however, know how to be obnoxious. Crowd surfing, moshing, drunken arrests. People pushing in front of us, hovering over us, and tall, tall guys standing in front of us. I am getting old, my friends. This is how we looked the whole night.

I think this just may be my last free concert.

Rediscovery

I recently rediscovered "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush. I read Wuthering Heights in 8th grade. I don't think I appreciated it very much. I couldn't identify with any of the characters, and I preferred Jane Eyre or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I think it might be time to revisit Emily Bronte.

While I'm posting songs, here are two more that have been speaking to me the past couple weeks:

"Mad World" from Donnie Darko and "Superstar" covered by Sonic Youth.

In other news, my first day of work is tomorrow and I just returned from Montana. Pictures from the trip are forthcoming.

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get

Ok, I know I've already posted three times today (what can I say, school's out!), but I can't resist posting this little gem of a YouTube video. I remember catching it one day after school and thought it was brilliant. It came up on in conversation at Nine Irish Brothers the other night (ok, I brought it up and now I can't remember why), so I thought I'd see if I could find it again. I love YouTube for just this reason. Enjoy Bill Nye's rendition of a Morrissey classic. (I used to have a Morrissey bumper sticker of this phrase. I wonder what happened to it.)

Here's a Little Sumthin...

especially for you, Tanker. I keep forgetting to put it on a CD.

Goldfrapp: Utopia

Arcade Fire's Neon Bible

Ocean of Noise

I can't stop listening to this song. This morning, I had it on in the car on my way to school, I sat inside the car while it finished, and then when I put in my ipod headphones, I turned it again to this song.

Gold.... and Silver

I can't get enough of this video.

On the Turntable

Lately I've pretty much kept on repeat two very different songs.

The Essex Green: Mrs. Bean

and

Of Montreal: Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse

M. Ward in Chicago

Ok, let's set a little mood music.

M. Ward: Undertaker

The evening began, really, with a lie. Kind of. Because the doors opened at 6:00 and it's kind of a first-come, first-served seating venue, Tom and I wanted to get to Chicago at a goodly hour. This meant ditching out on my Monday afternoon class a little early. It's a three hour class, and I left at the break. I told my professor before class that I had to leave at the break and she asked me why. "An appointment," I said, with a note of insecurity. I think she could tell it was a lie (kind of). I felt guilty.

But soon after that I felt the excitement of being on the road. The trip to Chicago is long. It must be at least 5 miles longer than the 127 miles it says on the sign leaving Lafayette. And those last five miles make all the difference. Luckily, good conversation, nice scenery, and excellent music make the miles (up until the last 5) inconsequential.

I love heading into the city. It's my favorite part of the trip. Since we got there in the dark, the lights greeted us first. Chicago's all excited about the Super Bowl, as is Indiana.... oooh, I smell rivalry! Some subtle, like the guard at ParkWest who almost didn't give Tom his 21+ bracelet because he's a hoosier, to the not so subtle.

City lights. I love them. Even if they spell out sports references that I don't understand. And even when they're blurry because I'm trying to take pictures of them as I drive. Tom tried to get a good one of Navy Pier all lit up, but traffic (both moving and in a standstill) got in the way.

We found the venue easily, thanks to Tom's good sense of direction. Amazingly, I found a parking spot really close to the venue, and then we went in search of some food. The venue, ParkWest, was in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. I want to live there. Somehow, when I'm all graduated, I need to get some kind of great job where I can afford to live in an awesome townhome with an iron fire escape. And maybe a brick fence with a pair of bronze reliefs in them. Like these:

Then on Monday nights, I can stick a book in my back pocket and head over to the local new Mexican restaurant, like the one Tom and I ate at called Zia's. It was full of successful young people wearing dark clothing and dark-rimmed glasses. The food was good, although I'm not really sure what was "new" about it.

I like this little patio underneath the restaurant.

After dinner, we walked over to ParkWest for the show. The venue was chill. It had black leather booths, silver balconies, and a disco ball. It also had about five bars, so no matter where you sat, a drink was close at hand. Tom and I pulled up some barstools on the balcony where we had a great view. You can't tell, really, from the pictures. My view was much better than the pictures let on. Here are a couple pictures of ParkWest.

We were getting excited for M. Ward. Unfortunately, we had to sit through Freakwater first. I had never heard of Freakwater, and I didn't know what to expect. I mean, if they were opening for M. Ward, they had to be pretty good. But then the name Freakwater... I don't know what I expected really, but it wasn't what I found. Tom described it as a Patsy Cline duet. It wasn't horrible, but man, was it annoying to me. I just wanted some M. Ward. The best part, though, was one of the player's suit. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was either sparkly or velvet, and it shimmered.

Ok, here's what we've all been waiting for. M. Ward!

We weren't really supposed to take pictures or video, but I did anyway. I wanted to get some video, but it was harder to do. First of all, you couldn't see anything because of the lighting. Second of all, because we weren't supposed to take videos, I didn't want to keep my camera out in the open for long periods of time. I know, I know.. probably nothing would've happened, but still... (I keep trying to upload the video, but I think the file is too big. Like I said, it's not very good anyway.)

After the concert, we exited into the cold Chicago night only to find it had snowed. At first it was no big deal. In fact, it was rather lovely. But then (after finding a $50 ticket on my windshield), the drive home turned treacherous. The roads were covered in snow and slush. My winter driving skills clicked in, and we drove slowly and cautiously while semis and SUVs rushed past. Later, we saw a couple of these off the side of the road (prob ably not the same ones) and I felt vindicated.

M. Ward

One week from right now, I will be in Chicago seeing this guy. It will be awesome.

Mix CDs

I love making and giving mixes, but really my favorite thing is getting mixes, especially from Kylie. She just sent me a fantastic one. It came at the best possible time, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Asobi Seksu: Thursday

I'm From Barcelona: I'm From Barcelona

King Creosote: Jump at the Cats

Scrabble Club

Last night I drove to Indianapolis for Scrabble Club. I listened to this song several times on the way back home. It's a current favorite

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - You Are What You Love.

New York City (ch. 6)

Saturday night agenda: The New Pornographers at newspace. I don't really feel like writing up a review. Suffice it to say, I am now a huge fan. I always liked them before but they weren't a favorite. After seeing them in concert, I've had Twin Cinema in my cd player pretty much nonstop. The sad thing is, I totally forgot till after they had played all my favorite songs that I have the capability of recording them playing and not just taking pictures. And it was kind of a short set, but you can't beat second row seats!

And once again, you can see a video on YouTube

Wilco 2006!

So Purdue finally got something right when they booked Wilco to play one of the convocation events. This time, I even had a friend to go with.

The other difference was that my new camera has video with sound, so I recorded a couple of my favorite songs. You can watch "Forget the Flowers" on YouTube.

Apparently these are really big files, so I'm just going to post this one.

M. Ward: Post-War

I am really loving the new M. Ward album. I have a new favorite song every day. Here's today's:

Poison Cup

Cure for a Bad Day

Seriously, if you are ever having a bad day, you should crank up some music and dance like no one can see you. It's a panacea, I promise.

Song of the Last Several Days

I've been listening to this song a lot lately. I love it.

Fiery Furnaces - Benton Harbor Blues

Lyrics:

As I try to fill all of my empty days,
I stumble round on through my memory's maze;
of all my past, only the sadness stays.

I went moping down by the bridge;
I rode a bike in the snow to the mini-mart;
I thought of the ways that I've broke my own heart.

It's not for me to fill the blue sea with tears,
but when I think back on all the wasted years
all the good cheer and all the charm disappears.

I wore the exact same clothes for five days;
the bailbondsman gave me a smile;
I was thinking of only my sins all the while.

As I try to fill all of my empty days,
I stumble round on through my memory's maze;
of all my past, only the sadness stays

Shuffled

Sometimes I think my little shuffle is not so random. I always listen to it when I'm walking from the parking lot to my class on Tuesdays and Thursday. Last Tuesday, it happened to play the perfect song. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but today it did it again.

It's rainy and warm. The campus seemed empty, but all the fountains were still on. I was melancholy, but the good kind of melancholy. And then Joanna Newsom. "En Gallop"

Lyrics:

This place is damp and ghostly
I am already gone.
And the halls were lined with the disembodied
and dustly wings, which fell from flesh
gasplessly.

And I go where the trees go,
and I walk from a higher education
(for now, for hire)

And it beats me, but I do not know.

Palaces and stormclouds
the rought, straggly sage, and the smoke
and the way it will all come together
(in quietness, in time)

And you laws of property
you free economy
you unending afterthoughts,
you could've told me before -

Never get so attached to a poem
you forget truth that lacks lyricism;
never draw so close to the heat
that you forget that you must eat.

Review

The Danielson show last night was spectacular. Completely worth staying in town for, especially since I couldn't have seen them in Indiana. I took my camera (which I almost left on the floor of Kilby at one point), but I never did take any pictures. So, if you're interested, I'm gonna send you over to Cloud 8 for some photos and an excellent recap.

His Name Is Alive

Last night was the perfect night for His Name Is Alive. I felt a little pensive, a little anxious, a little annoyed, a little happy. The night was a little stormy with thickening dark clouds. While I had to sit through 2 opening bands that I wasn't in the mood for, at least it wasn't crowded. I got to sit around the fire pit and chat with Danny. Eventually the band went on and we moved inside. There was only about 40 or so people there, so not too crowded. I got a prime spot under the fan, so I felt chill air at my feet and in my hair. The band didn't play any of my listed songs, but I still loved what they played. We had an unsuccessful sing-along to "This World Is Not My Home." I sang (pretty softly), but no one really knew whether or not they were supposed to. Then the band passed out about 10 different tambourines. I reached out for one, and I got to play it the rest of the night. Thus, my dream of playing a tambourine in a band (a la Mazzy Star) was fulfilled. And I realized it's actually quite tiring. The only downfall was that the show was much too short for me. I could've stayed there all night.

More pictures:

Tonight...

I will be at Kilby listening to

And I hope they play these songs:

Blue Moon

and

Answer to Rainbow at Midnight

or even

The Waitress

Okay, so there are lots of songs I want them to play. I'm just nervous because I haven't heard their new album, so I hope they don't just stick to that. I'm prepared to call out song titles.

*Love*

I'm totally in love with this song right now.

Danielson - Did I Step on Your Trumpet

The Fiery Furnaces in Indy

The Fiery Furnaces came to Indy for the first time last month. Of course I was eagerly attending. Sometimes I worry that I was the only fan there. When they announced song titles, my lone cheer cried out. And sadly, there was almost no encore. I can understand that the Fiery Furnaces isn't an easily accessible band, especially without the keyboards, but it was still a fine performance. I love their intensity, but I have mixed feelings about how they remix their songs during a performance. Mostly because I was sorely disappointed when Chief Inspector Blancheflower ended after, "You can tell me anything 'cept I started dating Jenny." Because I missed the best line - "You know damn well she ain't your Jenny no more!" Ok, ok... pictures:

Andrew Bird

On February 4th I traveled with Shannon and Liz down to beautiful Bloomington, IN (home of the Hoosiers and IU) to see Andrew Bird in concert. Shannon was impressed with his mic skills, and I was impressed with the pizzicato. Anyway you look at it, Andrew Bird is impressive. He whistles, plays guitar, violin, a little xylophone, and sings. The only other person on stage is Martin Dosh, drummer extraordinaire. The amazing thing about these two is that they continuously reloop their music to create layers and effect. Anyway, here's some pictures that don't do them justice.

Carolling

Brace yourself: this might get cheesy and sentimental.

Something I don't talk about much is how much I like to sing. Like, I love it! Driving in the car, in the shower, when I'm doing the dishes. I love to belt it and hear my voice carry. This has led me to joining the choir in pretty much every ward I was ever in. Purdue is no different, even though our choir consists of 5 or 6 people, give or take a few. Well, tonight was the Stake Carol Sing. This is when all the different choirs prepare a number and we all get together and sing them, interspersed with other Christmas songs and scriptures, etc. In my neighborhood growing up, this was informally called "the battle of the choirs."

So tonight, I got to sit up on the stage thingy (I can't think of its real term) and join in all the carolling fun. But I didn't expect to be filled with so much joy. It caught me with the first number, "O Holy Night." I almost had to stop singing; I could hardly stand the swelling joy. It must've been unbelievable because it made all the off-key choirs sound so tender. I couldn't help but fall in love with them, even in their Christmas sweaters. And the old man with his hunched back, the tape-recorded accompaniment, the lady falling asleep next to me, they all deeply touched me. I was so glad I got to belt out the Hallelujah chorus. When Handel wrote that, I doubt he pictured the rural Indiana crowd that would stand to sing it, but it was beautiful.

Wilco

I ventured to Indy by myself on Thursday to see Wilco. I had bought the ticket about 6 weeks previously and continuously fogot that I was going. Luckily, I remembered that night. And I even remembered my ticket as I left the house. I've been trying to think of what Wilco song I could post on here for your enjoyment as you peruse this entry. So many to choose from, but I think I will put up a favorite from the show.

Hummingbird

I gave myself about 2 hours to get to Indy, find the Murat Theater, find parking, and maybe get a bite to eat or explore a little before the show. It typically takes approximately 45 minutes, so I thought I had plenty of time. Little did I realize that I would be stuck in traffic due to construction for an hour! I had just driven to Indy the day before to pick up Erica from the aiport, and while there was construction, there were no delays. As I braked to a stop on the freeway, I didn't expect it to last long. Inching along for the first 20 minutes and looking down the road to see a line of cars changed my mind.

Eventually, I made it to Indy and found the venue right away. I even found a good parking spot about a block away (for free). The Murat Theater is apparently where they host Broadway plays and such. It was really nice inside. I wanted to explore, but I had already missed the first twenty minutes of the show, so I climbed up to the second balcony to find my seat.

A lesson I learned is that you should get tickets right away if you're going to get them. I went to purchase my ticket the morning they went on sale, and I got a good seat on the floor in the center. Then the $30 ticket magically turned into a $50 ticket (thanks to ticketmaster's outrageous fees! I hope the owners of this blood-sucking business burn in hell), I started questioning how strongly I wanted to see Wilco (esp. all by myself, which seemed kind of sad). A couple days later after listening to them and getting some advice from a friend, I decided to go for it. Two days makes a huge difference. Now I was up on the second balcony, on the right, two seats away from the wall. Oh well. I could still hear them and I could see their tiny little figures jumping around and pounding the piano. I took some pictures:

I was worried that since I had missed the first twenty minutes that I wouldn't get my money's worth, but Wilco went on to play for 2 more hours! Of course, it was for charity, so they were probably feeling charitable. I don't know who/what Riley is, but we all raised over $210,000 for her/him/it. That made me feel extra good inside. (Although ticketmaster probably didn't give any of their exorbitant, extraneous fees to the cause.)

Since I didn't have the best view of the band, I sometimes got distracted by the lights and the architectural details of the ceiling. So I took some photos of that too.

It was nice somtimes to just sit back and look at the lights. We must've listened to Wilco in Nebraska because that's all I could think about, slowing down to 40 as we got near a small town, the silos and fields. It made me smile.

The crowd was really into it, singing along and jumping for joy when they recognized the first couple notes of a favorite song. One group threw glowsticks. They looked like firework fountains falling off the balcony (and made me a little happy I wasn't down there afterall). Jeff Tweedy was pretty endearing when he'd speak in between songs. I always leave concerts with a schoolgirl crush on one (or all) of the musicians.

I left Indy around 11. I love driving at night, and this time there was no construction traffic to disrupt my progress. Although, even at that late time of night, the traffic inbound was still at a standstill. I took a blurry picture as I cruised by.

The Mighty Midwest

Right now I'm trying to put together a mix for CD Exchange Club. The theme for mine is of/about/from the Mighty Midwest. It's a little late. It was supposed to be sent out last week sometime. I'm expanding the Midwest to include Texas and Kentucky. Hope no one minds. Making compilations isn't just about throwing some songs together. No, you have to make sure they blend. A song coming on at the wrong time can just ruin the song. I'm not perfect at this, but it's sure a tragedy to make a perfectly good song unlistenable because it was placed wrong. The problem with this theme is that I have lots of different types of music. I'm dealing with folky, pop-y, mood-y, and obnoxious-y music all at the same time. Some songs I really wanted to put on just aren't fitting in. I have to pull them aside and say, "I'm sorry. I was really hoping things would work out, but I'm gonna have to let you go." It's really hard on both of us. I mean, the song worked so hard to get here.

The other problem is I feel this pressure to put on something new and undiscovered. So I've been scouring the Inter-web trying to find something. Did you know there's a lot of crap out there? Cuz, there is. I've listened to a lot of it this morning, hoping it would redeem itself. I also went to many websites and saw many emo boys trying to look hip and write profound lyrics. I hate them. Also, here's a tip: If you want someone to hear your music, make sure your website works.

Sufjan Comes to Illinois

Ok, before we get started, let's set the atmosphere a little.

The 50 States - live.

Last night, my friend and I drove through the rain-drenched cornfields of Indiana to visit the bustling college town of Champaign-Urbana Illinois. And when I say rain-drenched, I mean it. I think the whole of Lake Michigan was taken up into the clouds and then showered onto us. Other than the rain, it would've been a really nice drive. There were little hills in the road that make your stomach drop and a few nice cemeteries and some barns and silos and such. We got there in time to eat at a little Thai place on the opposite side of the Canopy Club. I liked the way it looked with the shadows and the umbrellas, so I secretly snapped a photo.

And then we got at the end of a very, very long line. You know, for as many people as say "who?" when I mention going to see Sufjan, there are still quite a lot of people that don't need to ask. We were supposed to meet up with some friends there, but with the throng of people, I didn't see them.

So I went to see Sufjan in Salt Lake before I left. In fact, it was my last concert there, and now it was my first concert here. There's something about the cyclical aspect of that that I like, esp. as yesterday was also my one month anniversary of being in Indiana. (I know, I keep track of stuff like that. It's kind of weird, but whatever.) I loved seeing Sufjan in SLC, but it was so (and I mean so) hot. It was a little distracting and even though the cheerleaders put on a good show, you could tell they were exhausted. I was excited to see them in cooler conditions, not to mention in Illinois, home town of the album.

There were some tables and chairs about half way back in the club with reserved for signs on them. We eyed them for a while and when the show started and McBride and Co. never showed up, we took their spots. So... not only was it cooler, but we had perfect seats, although a little too far away to get some good pictures. Speaking of pictures, I tried to take a couple. They didn't turn out so well, but here they are anyway.

Those last one shows some of the cheers that went on throughout the night. Alas, I did not get a photo of the human pyramid. I love Sufjan. They even played an encore this time. We almost got them to come back out again, but they didn't.

We drove back late at night, feeling our stomachs drop along the road and turning the brights on around the curves, but the heavy mist just reflected the light back at me. I was afraid of running into animals. But there were no accidents.

The Dears and The Shout Out Louds

Memorial Day was the Dears and the Shout Out Louds concert. I took lots of blurry pictures, bought a shirt from each band, and hung out with really cool people. So since I've got these all resized already, might as well share them.

First up: the Shout Out Louds

Here are some friends enjoying the show:

And now for The Dears:

The Decemberists

Well, my first concert back in the states was quite the successful event. It's so nice to be back and to hear excellent live music, and there's no better band to start off with than the Decemberists. I saw them last March when they came. I had only heard Castaways and Cutouts briefly, but seeing the band in concert completely converted me, and I quickly found that I must listen to them often. "Grace Cathedral Hill" graced every CD compilation made for that year. Anyway, I was just super excited about seeing them again in concert, especially because I had missed their interim stop in SLC.

I was really nervous at first because the place was *packed* when we got there, which for some reason came as a surprise. We only heard the last song of the opening band, and then made our way up to the front in between sets. Luckily, we squeezed into a pretty sweet spot, even if it was the place that every photographer in the crowd came to for brief periods of time. I had perfect views of Colin, Petra, and Jenny, and could see the guys at the far end of the stage pretty well, though I wasn't close enough to get any really good pictures. I was so glad to be right up at the front because really what I love about this band is the dynamics between them. I totally fell for Colin at the first show. He's just so crushable. But another reason this concert was so fun was the company. We had our own little group of swabbies. And April had a fan.

I felt completely satisfied with the show. I loved the drums, the screaming, the stomping, the albatross call, the "Wuthering Heights" cover song. I swooned over Colin's little smiles and his cover of "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty." I bought a t-shirt (even if my rent check will bounce this month - it was worth it). And I got to take some pictures. Although, I'm not quite as satisfied with them. They turned out pretty grainy, but ... eh, good enough. Enjoy:

P.S.

This is what I'm listening to: Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes the Summer

Of Montreal

I spent Saturday evening with friends and Of Montreal, who's not really from Montreal, but actually from Athens, Georgia. One might think they were playing some sort of Mozartian Sonata if you just looked at the wig, but actually Kevin was singing about Rapture - yes, rapture raping the muses. And although there was a piano, there were also guitars and it's quite upbeat.

The whole concert was fantastic, and I'd like to post some more of my pictures. This is my third time seeing Of Montreal. I love going back to see them again and again because then I feel like I have some sort of connection to them. It's funny to call them by first name. The great thing is, though, they allow you to build up that relationship with them by being to personable. I'd like to stash away in the back of their van, sometime, just so I could hear what they talk about on their long roadtrips. I wonder if they listen to their own compact discs on the way. I don't think I would. I wonder if they bring out their guitars and strum songs as they drive (or as one of them drives- preferably not the guitarist). Or maybe they play Boggle, travel games, read books, drink Coke, just like I would if I were on a roadtrip.

Before the concert, we all went out for burritos at Barbacoa - a Mexican Grill like Cafe Rio, but without the lines. We sat outside on the patio and chatted while hefting our huge burritos to our mouths. Luckily, I didn't spill anything on me. I actually was a little worried about that since I tend to spill quite a bit. Something I remember clearly about the evening was this fantastic tree across the street. It was perfectly shaped and shaded two buildings. The sun was slanting against it, creating even shadows. yes... summertime- waiting on benches and looking at trees.

Some other pictures from the concert: