The Beatles...

have some pretty trippy lyrics.

Reference: Across the Universe (well, and their lyrics)

that's so not history

So everyone has some "history" when it comes to music. Some regrets... some misinterpretations... some lost loves.



Here's my abridged history:
First full tape cassette (remember those?): "The Sign" by Ace of Base
First tape cassette single: "Run Away" by Real McCoy
First CD: "Tragic Kingdom" by No Doubt
First Vinyl: "Chutes Too Narrow" by The Shins
First music video viewed: "Barely Breathing" by Duncan Sheik
First concert: BB King & friends

The most embarrassing concert I've ever gone to is Hanson. Ok, second to O-Town (I was going through a rough time). All through middle school I tried convincing my parents that Hanson was the ULTIMATE band. I remember saying, "Dad- they play their own instruments- they write their own music- they are musical geniuses." I left out more important factors: they looked like girls- all of their "genius" songs were created in 4/4 from 1,4 and 5 chords. Saying that I liked them would be a complete understatement. I was infatuated. I'm talking... owned every CD (imports too), member of the fan club, posters covering every inch of white space in my room. It's part of my music history that I've suppressed... until now.

I'm going to see them live this weekend. I hope it is absolutely hysterical. I hope they play MMMBop.

In Rainbows

Buy it for a penny... or much more.

Brilliant.

Before They Were Played on the Radio

The Fray.





Now, I can honestly say that I'm not a huge fan of this band, but they're one of the few radio pop bands I can stand. And I can say "I knew them when..."

Waiting front and center

On Sunday of ACL, Wilco was playing at one of the main stages. They've been my favorite band for five or six years now. I have seen them live several times, but I hadn't seen them live since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had just come out. We made a group decision to miss out on some of our other favorite bands (and sit through other less exciting bands) to stake an area front and center for Wilco. The day started off great because Yo La Tengo played the stage at 12:30, and I've never seen them live. Also, we were able to hear Robert Earl Keen and Lucinda Williams, both Texas/Austin favorites. From the stage over, we heard Regina Spektor, The National and DeVotchKa.

Their sound has dramatically changed- mostly due to their new lead guitarist, Nels Cline. They took several old songs like Casino Queen (off A.M.) and I Got You (off Being There) and created a whole new dimension while preserving the simplicity of their early work. I enjoyed listening to Handshake Drugs off A Ghost is Born, which is their most experimental album.

Speaking of Cline, he had these crazy black & white striped socks on. We yelled "nice socks" several times, but we are girls and our voices were not loud enough. We asked the guy behind us to yell it. Tweedy heard him and then continued to explain that his socks were like the Wicked Witch of the West... and maybe he was the Wicked Witch.

They still have not played "Passenger Side," which is going to be my father/daughter dance at my wedding someday.

Colbie Caillat

Ok, so not exactly my favorite genre (accoustic girly-pop), but she's got talent. I originally heard her on Sirius on my drive home from Texas. Her single "Bubbly" has an incredibly catchy tune and simple lyrics. After hearing it once, we were all singing along to the catchy tune and simple lyrics.

Just months ago: Playing at small clubs
Now: Touring with the Counting Crows, huge radio play

Did Video Really Kill the Radio Star?

Since my OiNK account has been disabled, it's been hard to choose how I buy new music.

Vinyl:
Has the coolest sound quality
Can hang it (sweet wall art)
Can play it on my record player
Gets warped in the heat/ sun/ water
Can't replicate it
Can't put it on my iPod
Can't play it on my computer

Disc:
Have a physical copy of music
Can read the album insert (lyrics, art, notes)
Can play it in a cd player
Can play it in a car
Can play it on my computer
Can replicate it

Digital/ iTunes:
Cheaper than other options
Don't have to go to the store
Can play it on my computer
Loads immediately to iTunes
Full albums are cheaper than each individual song

There are some albums that I have on vinyl and don't have on disc or iTunes: Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel, Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins, and some live stuff from the Beatles. I've purchased the rest of my vinyls on disc or iTunes as well.

Is it fair that I have to pay for the music rights twice?
What if I illegally download an album that I already have on vinyl?
Would that be "wrong?"

I like the Happy Birthday song

...En Espanol

in the past 3 months

ive seen:
dr dog*
matt & kim*
mia*
voxtrot*
spoon*
new pornographers
wilco
colbie caillat*
bob dylan
bjork*
arcade fire*
damien rice
paolo nutini*
decemberists
regina spektor*
kaiser cheifs*
lcd soundsystem*
crowded house*
yo la tengo*

*1st time

(almost all of these were seen at sirenfest or acl)

lies, lies

C'mon..

The Patriots weren't the only ones cheating; they're just the ones who were caught.

Once

Oh. And I saw Once. It was good. It was relaxing. I'll probably go see Paris Je T'Aime this weekend. I like being in an area where I can see sweet movies.

sucker for albums...

in the past 3 weeks i've purchased the following albums:
-Dr. Dogg
-Peter Bjorn & John
-Bjork
-Jon McLaughlin
-Travis
-"Once" Sountrack
-Spoon
-Imogen Heap
-Kaiser Chiefs

I like it.
I love it.

iiiiiPODS are good.

I like walking to the beat of my ipod songs. My favorite song to do this with is Spanish Armada by Ratatat.

sneaky sale prices

So I went to a show at the Canal Room on Tuesday- Colbie Caillat. I heard her on the coffee house station on Sirius. I thought she had a pretty catchy song- "Bubbly"- saw she was playing in the city... and hey, the show was only $10.

I went to Virgin Records a couple days before the show to buy her album. No bueno, she's unsigned. At first I was like man, that sucks and started towards the door. Then $10 signs caught my eye. Oh. A CD/ DVD sale!

I ended up buying 6 cds for $10 instead of one for $15. Lame.

Sales always get me.

who needs shoes?

Obviously not me. I left my shoes at work today.

I bring two pairs to work. Heels and also slippers to wear at my desk. It took me until I was climbing the stairs to my apartment to realize that I wore my slippers out of the office, into the subway and through the city streets.

I think I'll throw them out.

all (good) things go

I got Sirius for my ridiculous drive home from school (28 hours). It's good.. in fact, it's awesome. I've had it for just over two weeks, and now I'm leaving for the summer- which means leaving my car. So long Sirius!

And I guess not all (good) things go. Only Sirius.

small VENUES

Intimate settings. Definitely the way to go.

Take the Black Crowes for example. The first time I saw them was back in high school at the Orphium Theatre in Boston- medium sized venue. Since then I've seen them at Bonnaroo (large), Great Woods/ Tweeter (large), Hippodrome in Springfield, MA (medium) and Pearl Street in Amherst, MA (small). Of course, the Crowes put on a great show in each of these locations, but my favorite show was definitely at Pearl Street. My dad and I actually got to see them perform under "Mr. Crowes Garden." They played several of these small shows under this name during their hiatus right before they were going to start touring again.

I saw Ben Folds awhile back and thought that his opening band was pretty good (The Fray). A few months later I saw that The Fray was playing a show at The Parish in Austin (similar to Pearl Street). Diege, Amy and I went to the show and actually got to see another guy who has started to make it big- Mat Kearney- open for them. We got a pretty cool area to stand-- to the right of the stage (which was only about 20x15 feet).

You can't get the same experience when you see shows in big venues. May as well pop in a live CD.

I mean, you've gotta be happy for the bands who "hit it big." But, the selfish part of me wants to keep them small and underground forever. I guess I can always say "I knew them when..."

something about that artist

I strongly believe that songs evoke emotions- artists evoke emotions. Everytime I listen to The Shins I feel like everything's going to be alright. I get the same feeling from Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel. Very calming. Likewise, Regina Spektor makes me feel happy. Radiohead makes me feel motivated. Amos Lee makes me feel peaceful.

On another note, I'm really digging the new Dntel song featuring Jenny Lewis- "Roll On." Dntel collaborated with Gibbard for The Postal Service (Jenny Lewis was also featured on an album track). She is also the lead singer for Rilo Kiley. Woah, connections. Small world. Ok, and unnecessary information. Anyways, I like her voice. I like Dntel's stuff. Sweet.

I'm good at a game.

Tetris might be the only video game I've ever been good at... I mean besides duck hunt. I used to play Tetris on my gameboy during plane flights but now I have it on my phone. Sweet huh? And I still play it on plane flights. They say you're not allowed to use your phone on flights but I watched a tv show (probably on the Discovery Channel or something, which obviously warrants credibility) that said phones don't interrupt anything with "air traffic control." Maybe it was on Myth Busters.

Plus- American Airlines doesn't even give you a snack anymore. It absolutely infuriates me that they make people pay $5 on top of their already expensive flights. It's not like flying Southwest. I could understand if they made people pay for a snack. But I guess it would mess with their "fly for peanuts" slogan. So a) they don't want people to play games on their phones, and b) they are lame and make people pay for snacks. Therefore, I will forever play Tetris on my phone during plane flights.

But back to Tetris. Sometimes after playing for awhile I start seeing the shapes when I close my eyes. "Flip! Over-Over-Over!" It's kind of weird but sweet at the same time. I like Tetris.

download.

New(ish) songs I can't get enough of

1. sundress- ben kweller
2. girlshapedlovedrug- gomez
3. sentence of sorts in kongsvinger- of montreal
4. on the radio- regina spektor
5. australia- the shins
6. bucky done gun- m.i.a.

How to...

Tie a tie
Make pancakes
Draw
Lose weight
Make money
Kiss
Write a resume
Solve a Rubik's cube

Things that came up on the google search on one of the school computers when I typed in "how to."

Awkward.

live nyc?

Up until tonight, I was rather sad about the lack of live music in June/July. The one time I've ever had the chance to live in a city over the summer (or ever for that matter)-- lame music selection. I was delighted to check the latest updates on jambase.com. Wilco and Califone had both added shows. Of course, others have too. But hey, I'm satisfied with those two.

speaking of music festivals...

I have always wanted to go to Lollapalooza. The tickets are relatively cheap and the festival is in Chicago. Seriously, what a sweet city. Last year they featured some of my favorite artists including Wilco, Raconteurs, MMJ, Flaming Lips, Ryan Adams, Shins, Nickel Creek, New Pornographers, Nada Surf, Jon McLaughlin, and Ben Kweller. I feel like it's a good mix of music.

I got an e-mail from them today saying that they're releasing early- bird tickets. So of course, I went straight to the site. My summer is relatively flexible compared to last summer. My internship is only 8 weeks, and I have weekends off. I figured it'd be perfect.

So when is it? Oh, August 3-5. Perfect... because my internship ends in July? Not so much. That's the same weekend as the AKPsi convention in DC. I'm already registered to go. Why do great things always occur on the same weekends?

One of these things is not like the others

I have gone to Bonnaroo for the past three years, missing only the first two festivals. This festival showcases a wide variety of genres- everything from bluegrass to jam band to alternative to djs. It would be difficult to classify the festival as a whole but there has always been one consistent factor: headliners. Sure, they vary a little, but you can usually get a good overview of Bonnaroo by looking at the headliners. Typically they fall under the following categories- the Dead/ Phish/ Classic Rock/ Jam Band/ Panic. Last year they made a pretty bold statement by grabbing Radiohead to headline on their first US tour in several years. But even Radiohead fits into the "jam band" category, although they are much more experimental than the typical jam band.

Headliners since I've gone:
2006- Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Phil Lesh & Friends
2005- Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio
2004- The Dead, Dave Matthews & Friends, Trey Anastasio

Headliners before I've gone:
2003: The Dead, Widespread Panic, Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2002: Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, String Cheese Incident

Who's headlining the 2007 festival? Well.. The Police (classic rock), Widespread Panic (again..), and Tool (?). I'd really like to know how Tool was roped into Bonnaroo. How does TOOL possibly fit? Last year, Radiohead was able to introduce Bonnaroo to the "Coachella-going type." I'm afraid that if Tool has the same effect, the "Warped Tour-going type" will be drawn to Bonnaroo. Needless to say, I will use the Tool show as a time to crash before the late night sets.

Ignorance or Irrelevance?

There's a guy in the b-school computer lab right now who's wearing a Damon Red Sox shirt.

1. Does he even like Damon?
2. Does he even like the Sox?
3. Does he know that he's a traitor?
4. Should I tell him?

Maybe he's just a jerk.
Maybe he just doesn't care.
Or maybe.. he was just scrambling for a shirt this morning and it was the only one he could find.

Waco Radio Just Doesn't Cut It

Amy and I decided that we want to start a radio station in Waco. Ok, so we haven't given it too much thought. Logistics? Equipment? Funding? I guess we're idealists, but with great intentions.

Our plan of attack:
1. Talk to Baylor and see if they will sponsor us and help us start up
-or-
2. Talk to a local radio station and see if they will let us have a show

We'll play "good music." What does that entail? Think- jam band, indie, brit pop/rock, singer/songwriters. What does that look like? Think- Starbucks meets Pitchfork meets Rolling Stone meets Bonnaroo.

It'd be good.

If all my friends jumped off a bridge, I would too

Well, not quite. I don't do MySpace- I barely do AIM- I do Facebook, but it allows so little creativity that I don't even know if it counts. But now, I blog. Who knows how long it may last. Could this be my only post?

A few days ago I was at a Starbucks in Newport Beach, California. I heard some sweet sounds coming from the speakers so I asked the girl working (she was eating Pizza Hut and tried to hide the box from me) to find out who it was. She said it was James Morrison and showed me where the album was in the store. I made an impulse decision to purchase it.

Now you see, it's not that I usually buy albums after hearing about 90 seconds of a song. I was seriously in need of some new music. My friends and I were on the last day of our extensive roadtrip to California. Four of us rode in Eleanor, my little Jetta. Between us we had 3 iPods, but the battery power couldn't hold up for the 3,000+ miles. And besides M83, the only CD in my car, the only music option was the radio.

If you live in a place where there is slightly good music on the radio, be thankful. If you have satellite radio, be even more thankful. At one point, driving on the 8 from San Diego towards Tucson, there were only 4 stations that came in, none of which were in English. Then on I-10 in Texas, there was one point where the only station that came in was a preacher who spoke with such a heavy accent, it was impossible to understand. We turned off the radio and resorted to singing "kumbaya."

Long story short- it was a good purchase. If you like singer/songwriters like Marc Broussard, Jon McLaughlin and Paolo Nutini, you'll love James Morrison. He's got a strong voice and music filled with blues and groove.