music revival, day 7

not a super great music day. luckily i'm feeling really good otherwise, so it doesn't really matter! my experiment has been working miraculously, so music is definitely second to my happiness today...


steve's 2008 pop! volume 2

florence and the machine - dog days are over
fleet foxes - ragged wood
the moondoggies - changing
be your own pet - zombie graveyard party
bon iver - skinny love
audrey - big ships
ida maria - i like you so much better when you're naked
m83 - kim and jessie
los campesinos! - you! me! dancing!
catfish haven - set in stone
fleet foxes - blue ridge mountains
blitzen trapper - black river killer
white hinterland - dreaming of the plum trees
benji hughes - why do these parties always end the same way?
icy demons - crittin down to babas
black exotics - theme of blackbyrds
the dodos - jodi
health//disco - triceratops (acid girls remix A)

• favorite tracks: possibly none.
  
• comments: this was another of my boss steve's favorite mixes from 2008. it might just be that i listened to this one third in the sequence of 3 new albums of totally new music and was starting to get a little burnt out. i didn't have the patience to get through it more than once. this one just didn't do it for me. see reviews of the previous 2 albums.
  

kelly clarkson - my december

• favorite tracks: possibly none
  
• comments: what happened to the american idol with the amazing voice? her thankful album made us all thankful she had won. with tracks like, 'the trouble with love is', 'miss independent', 'low', 'beautiful disaster', 'a moment like this', as well as her other soulful songs, she proved herself worth, in my eyes, as the american idol we'd all been waiting for (the rest, since, have been much of a letdown in my opinion - save, daughtry, who didn't even win). even the breakaway album had some merit to it, with 'breakaway', 'since u been gone', 'behind these hazel eyes', and 'because of you'. the my december album lets us know, she's pissed for losing love, but still longing for it in such a strong way, she loses her artistic talent and just falls...falls...falls...so far that there's nothing left really except a whiny, boring album. bring back the old kelly.
• further comments: i've read a little bit about why kelly wrote such a dark album. i'm sure her life was difficult and everything was tearing her down. i can respect that. perhaps i'm not in a place right now where i feel so torn down. perhaps i'm just not in the right mood to listen and really "get" what she's doing/saying with this album. i, however, didn't feel like it was her best work, especially voice wise. and i'm allowed to have my opinion.
  

the excitement of everyday life

yesterday i took a well deserved day off. i'd been working myself too much lately, and thought it would be refreshing to take a day and just do whatever i wanted.

slept in and woke up late. yes!

invited claire to come to the soup kitchen with me. she said yes!

had a great time at the soup kitchen. was told i looked gorgeous! and smelled good! only had to break up one small fight. sometimes men are so obnoxious. i wish they would learn to hold their tongue! that's what my mom and dad taught me. it's not worth it to get in the last word. they wouldn't stop even when a cute girl asked them to just drop it. sigh.

i spent some time with my cd collection. it'd been a year or so since i updated my music list, and i thought i was finding cds that weren't where they belonged, and others seemed to be missing from the list.

while doing that project, i found *3* cds that had been put into other cases for travel purposes, i'm sure...but those 3 cds had been lost for 9 months and i was SUPER EXCITED to have them back! i had actually started to worry that i'd lost/left them somewhere. hooray!

later in the evening, i got a call from someone who had some firewood to sell. cherry, split, and big pieces, about a cord. did i want it? absolutely! made 2 runs in my car, well into the night, and the roommates helped me unload it into the yard. warmth in the winter, i can't wait! well, yes, i can wait. i want to wait. i'm not ready to build fires yet, but i look forward to being ready with dry wood! during the unloading, zach sang us a rousing rendition of "the wonders of mechanical invention" since we were using a wheelbarrow.

[this was my second night of firewooding - the previous night i made a run to someone's house where i got some rounds of fir and some bigger pieces, and then i happened upon a house that had a sign out front that said 'free firewood' so i got some. it was kind of rotten birch, but some of the pieces were solid. score! i feel like a midnight firewood raider, however...]

after all the unloading was complete, we went inside, at which point zach realized we were all in the house together at one time, and he decided it was time for us to share the ONE lone pepper that had been growing in the garden. it was pretty feeble; small and leathery. but it was red and we were determined to share it since we all helped with it's growth and development. for a little red pepper, i found it to be quite tasty, even though we each only got a sliver.

to top off my wonderful day, i decided to sleep outside under the stars. a few things i learned from this:

1. lights on in the house can really light up the deck
2. chocolate before bed is a bad idea
3. every noise makes you think something big is coming for you
4. not using a tent makes a person feel very vulnerable!
5. the stars at night are amazing, along with the cool breeze, lack of biting bugs, and crickets chirping. thank you oregon!
   
6. the full moon is very bright!
   

i didn't sleep very soundly, but i did dream, and the last few hours of my sleep were very restful. i'd probably do it again, while i still can.

happy thursday!

music revival, day 6

steve's day of mixes
my boss steve gave me some mixes of some of his favorite tunes from 2008. he gave them to me in 2009, january. it's taken awhile, but i was finally ready to dig in and see what he had in store for me.

2008 dance! mix
sam sparro - black and gold
estelle (feat k west) vs the ting tings - shut up american boy
cut copy - lights and music
chromeo - fancy footwork
snowden - black eyes
cut copy - hearts on fire
crystal castles - courtship dating
dizzee rascal (feat calvin harris) - dance wiv me
lil mama - lip gloss
treasure fingers - cross the dancefloor
flo rida vs hot chip - hold on to that low
chromeo - tenderoni
thunderheist - jerk it
crime mob vs the dodos - stilletos in the park
le castle vania - tigertron
chromeo - bonafied lovin
dizzee rascal - flex

• favorite tracks: black and gold, *shut up american boy, lights and music, hearts on fire, *dance wiv me, lip gloss, jerk it, flex
  
• comments: this album had me grooving and shaking through tuesday! yeah! and, i learned about a couple of tunes that i'd heard before but knew nothing about. until now!
  

2008 pop! volume 1
hacienda - she's got a hold on me
vetiver - see you tonight
dept of eagles - no one does it like you
chad van gaalen - willow tree
tv on the radio - golden age
port o'brien - i woke up today
tapes n' tapes - hang them all
vivian girls - where do you run to
florence and the machine - kiss with a fist
peasant - the wind
delta spirit - trashcan song
benji hughes - i went with some friends to see the flaming lips
the felice brothers - frankie's gun
the walkmen - in the new year
of montreal - for our elegant caste
jim noir - ships and clouds
hercules and love affair - blind
jensen sportag - power sergio
ida maria - oh my god

• favorite tracks: she's got a hold on me, see you tonight, i woke up today, blind
  
• comments: my listening to this album was a big fragmented, but there were many tracks that made the listening very pleasurable. great to get through tues/thurs.
  

music revival, day 5

[ok so i listened to aaron's mix again 2x this morning, because it was just so fitting. and i counted it as friday, because i started it friday. anyway.]

dave matthews band - stand up

• favorite tracks: dreamgirl, stand up, american baby,
  
• comments: dave matthews first full length album came out in 1994. i went to college shortly thereafter, and realized just how big and great this band was. would they last or be a one hit wonder? under the table and dreaming was a masterpiece for those of us in college in the mid 90's. a moving, wonderful album that made us groove and chill out all at the same time. next came crash which had it's own set of hits. after that was before these crowded streets and we all thought, "wow, these guys have got the stuff to keep on going!" and then, everyday came out and knocked us all backwards. how long could dmb keep producing amazing albums? even busted stuff had some worth. but this, their 6th studio album, shows that the band is running out of new stuff. i was not impressed.

new radicals - maybe you've been brainwashed too

• favorite tracks: mother we just can't get enough, you get what you give, someday we'll know
  
• comments: got this album from my radio station giveaway box. the hit "you get what you give" is catchy, and was popular at the time and i thought, why not? turns out, the album isn't worth much. probably i got what i gave for this one. which was nothing.
  

music revival, day 4

new music friday!

a dancing friend of mine from the east coast made me a mix of music. i got it sometime around christmas, and have yet to spend any time listening to it. it was just a cd, blank, no writing, and no glitz or glitter to draw me in. i decided the way to get motivated about listening to it would be to figure out what tracks are on it, and maybe to give it a name. though it is still yet unnamed, here are the tracks:

music from aaron
1. josh ritter – monster ballads
2. sun kil moon – ocean breathes salty
3. beck – lost cause
4. contra dance tune
5. neko case – star witness
6. belle and sebastian – dog on wheels
7. the books – it never changes to stop
8. interpol – leif erikson
9. the dresden dolls – the jeep song
10. cliff edwards – that’s my weakness now
11. interesting dreamy techno tune
12. david sedaris – lesson 4: with a pal like this, you don’t need an enemy
13. modest mouse – people as places as people
14. throwing muses – backroad

a few of them are completely instrumental and i haven't figure out a way to search for tunes online other than by lyrics.

various artists - music from aaron, christmas 2009

• favorite tracks: monster ballads, contra tune, star witness, that's my weakness now, dreamy techno tune, people as places as people
• comments: this is the first completely indie album i've listened to [another friend gave me an album with guster, sarah harmer, and jonatha brooke, but i'd heard of all the artists]. in this case, i'd heard music by beck and modest mouse before, and heard david sedaris read before. i'd heard OF interpol and throwing muses, but never heard their music. so this was a real, TRULY new music friday.
• more comments: this is a PERFECT album for a monday morning. none of the songs are loud, thrashy, squealing, or annoying in any way. thanks aaron!
  

music revival, day 3

second round of cd listening. a shorter day, due to less familiarity with the albums. and a marginally successful day at work. aside from one sample taking 4 hours to filter through. sigh.

kenny wayne shepherd band - trouble is

• favorite tracks: blue on black, everything is broken, nothing to do with love, chase the rainbow
• comments: i got this album solely for blue on black, not knowing much about the artist or any of his work. he's a great guitar rocker, and sometimes i can get into it, and sometimes the crazy high-pitched reeling/screeching guitar work really bothers my ears.

david digiuseppe - welcome to heaven...

• favorite tracks: flying home to shelley, shenandoah falls
• comments: this is a contra dance type disc, with other styles of music tossed in for good measure. excellent listening for when you don't have time to worry about the words. feel good music, played by a professional accordionist, who i had the pleasure of meeting and showing around oregon last february before our dance camp weekend.
  

rigorous vs vigorous

i've often wondered what the difference is between these 2 words. now it is time to know the answer, once and for all.

rigorous

Pronunciation: \ˈri-g(ə-)rəs\

Function: adjective

Date: 15th century

1 : manifesting, exercising, or favoring rigor : very strict
2 a : marked by extremes of temperature or climate b : harsh, severe
3 : scrupulously accurate : precise

synonyms see rigid

— rig·or·ous·ly adverb
— rig·or·ous·ness noun

vigorous

Pronunciation: \ˈvi-g(ə-)rəs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English vigorous, vigrous, from Anglo-French, from vigour

Date: 14th century

1 : possessing vigor : full of physical or mental strength or active force : strong
2 : done with vigor : carried out forcefully and energetically

— vig·or·ous·ly adverb
— vig·or·ous·ness noun

synonyms vigorous, energetic, strenuous, lusty, nervous mean having or showing great vitality and force. vigorous further implies showing no signs of depletion or diminishing of freshness or robustness vigorous as a youth half his age. energetic suggests a capacity for intense activity energetic campaigner. strenuous suggests a preference for coping with the arduous or the challenging strenuous life on an oil rig. lusty implies exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment lusty appetite for life. nervous suggests especially the forcibleness and sustained effectiveness resulting from mental vigor nervous energy.

music revival, day 1-2

since i spend hours and hours and hours at work lately, and the radio is just about as good as used toilet paper, i decided it's time to dig out the cds that either:

a. i bought awhile back at garage sales
b. my dad bought for me when he was a member of columbia house
or
c. i borrowed from my dad within the past several years.

i haven't listened to these and picked them out, ostensibly, because i thought i would like them for one reason or another, i decided to do my usual tactic of listening to each one 2-3 times through (depending on my attention level, what else i'm doing, and my tolerance/like/dislike for the album) and then assimilating it into my (borg) collective.

so, here's where i may start my daily/weekly cd reports.

suzanne vega - retrospective

• favorite tracks: pretty much the whole album, in retrospect.
• comments: i never knew much about suzanne vega, but i'm glad i got this album. she's pleasing to the ear.

stone temple pilots - purple

• favorite tracks: vasoline, interstate love song, still remains, pretty penny, big empty, unglued
• comments: i remember when this album came out, i was in washington dc, summer of 1994 with a group of young republicans (hey, what did i know?). anyway we were staying in a dorm (trinity college, maybe) and some of the people i befriended had this and we listened to it. i couldn't remember all the tracks, but vasoline was the big hit at the time. since i didn't have any bad memories of it, i figured i should get it since it was now part of my musical formation and heritage. grunge rock. yeaaaaah.

prince - the hits 2

• favorite tracks: most of the tunes are either enjoyable memories from my past, or newfound grooves to bop along to
• comments: prince is a lot more sexual than i'm interested in listening to most of the time, but when i look past that, the music/beat is quite good. pretty sure that the hits 1 was a more complete album of his hits, though. and some of the tunes on this one, i had never heard of before. songs like 'raspberry beret', 'little red corvette', 'i would die 4 u', 'kiss', and 'purple rain' made the album memorably worth it. new tunes to me that were gems included 'controversy', 'delirious', 'dirty mind', and 'if i was your girlfriend'.

the who - tommy

• favorite tracks: overture, 1921, pinball wizard
• comments: didn't know much about this album going into it, other than it was the rock opera about tommy, the pinball wizard. i spent a good amount of time pouring over the liner notes for this one, trying to learn more about tommy and the who and the opera itself. after listening and reading and following along, i appreciate the album for what it is, though, there aren't a lot of stand out tracks. the whole thing comes together to tell the story of tommy, which has only a fraction to do with pinball.

jason mraz - mr. a-z

• favorite tracks: wordplay, geek in the pink
• comments: let's face it, it was his sophomore slump. i hoped to be wowed like i was with his first album. that did not happen. there are few tracks that reflect his previous work.

old post...

i found this in my drafts. i love it. not sure why i never posted it.

paul ingrassia: "the japanese just missed that trend entirely. they just couldn't figure out that people would actually buy burly 4 wheel drive vehicles and never take them off road. it just wasn't logical."

jon stewart: "it's what we do. we have things we don't use. to have them."