It has been a terrible June here - all gloomy and ridiculously chill. We have had only maybe 4-6 good days this year, and 6 seems like a high estimate. Blechh. I hate waiting for summer. Luckily, when I go home to San Diego for visits, it almost always has delightful perfect weather, so I do get a few fixes throughout the year. I was home on my birthday and soaked it up, and I will go camping with my mom in July at some point and soak up some more (probably get a sunburn and then whine about how much I miss WA coolth).
So I think a taste of warm sunny pop punk is just the ticket for the evening, while I run around and clean my house. To consider my timeline, I spent the early 2000s in college... so this is the kind of poppy skate rock that abounded at the time. Not actually sure how I heard of them, but they were apparently around. The guy is in Yellowcard too, or was, or is now (or something like that? Too lazy to google.)
"Little things like attitude, the way that we both hate seafood..."
That lyric is admittedly not Shakespeare, but it works for me (maybe cause I'm not a huge seafood fan myself?), and coupled with the chords, and just the right amount of sweet loveyness and screaming, it works out to be my favorite song by them. ("An Offer She Can't Refuse" is also good, that's a link to them playing both that and I Want Burns, at the Epicentre, a terrible cement box of a venue as I remember, but all-ages shows so they have their value; a girl I was with passed out there in the midst of some mild-moshing once and was like miraculously whisked up onto the stage and out by attentive security, fun times of my youth.) Actually the key lyric for me is probably the thought of
"a song that she could call her own..."
The video has them just kinda messing around. Nothing too spectacular or interesting. But goes with that skatepunky vibe. It fits. Makes me think of high school, college, the people I knew back then... and yes, the sun and warmth.
Note the blue sky and the palm trees. It's when I see snippets of something entirely normal like that (band playing by the free speech steps) with nice weather and here it is a cold and rainy June 29th, and I am worried that the work happy hour I am hosting tomorrow might get rained out even though it's July on Friday... makes me re-think why I live here, LOL. Not really, I love the green and the drear, it's just wears on you when it stays this grey so long. When the summer weather gets here (fingers crossed!), it is really beautiful. When it's good it's REALLY GOOD. Like, cartoonishly perfect. I will just have to hold on for it.
As they said in the song - "for the sun to rise, it must get dark" - well, it's dark grey now and has been for like 9 months, so sun please come out soon. Not sure how much longer I can take!
Surprising awesome tidbit:
While looking for the official music video, I discovered that they were actually once on Yo Gabba Gabba. That's right. They hit the bigtime. Too legit! And what a lovely sentiment! Yay! Good job, Reeve Oliver =)
"I Like Sandwiches"
Love it.
For the comments: songs that remind you of home, songs that remind you of sunshine, songs that remind you of college/being that age? Can stick with the sunny vibe, or can be moody (I have moody college years songs too, maybe another post) as I am interested in people with completely different college experiences - I went to a laid back sunny party school for undergrad, I know other people suffered through some things. I only had to suffer fools, tools, and skanks... not really that bad! And then grad school was actually way more fun for me, and a different vibe (UCLA) though still sunny and often quite similar. But songs that remind me of that would be totally different (more indie/folk, less punk, as befits a person finally aging into some semblance of self; maybe another post).
And I am going to do a summer song list soon too, and I may include your suggestions if they fit that theme as well.
I was drafting a whole post (more oversharing) about songs and feelings and whatnot, but it really needs a lot more editing-down and some non-sleepy logical connections, so it remains saved in the ether for another time.
To tide us over to a day when I've had a nap and maybe feel a little sprightlier, here's a cute little video. I can barely hear what the man is saying (quite mumbly), but I do like the synthiness and the fact that the video features a lot of blank windows/walls/doors... architecture can really set a mood. Plus, can anyone resist a xylophone????
Growing up, my parents enforced a pretty overwhelming "classical-only" music mandate, with very few exceptions. I may someday devote a post to detailing how I got to my current tastes, and what I owe my parents musically, but that'd be too long for today. I saw this "How Dad's Music Indicates What You Listen To" infographic yesterday and I thought it was very funny and rather accurate (although it could also influence you to go to opposites). I would open that up to what the people that raised you (or that you spent a lot of time with, parents, grandparents, family friends, etc) listened to - it's basically just what imprints you while you're young.
Like I said, in our house it was mainly classical - we grew up listening to Karl Haas every day. I can't say enough that while I don't agree with such strict limitations, it really did give us all an amazing musical education/foundation. Classical aside, there was some folk! They did listen to some Israeli folk/guitar music that both my parents loved (a distinctive style, lots of Spanish guitar, and basically 100% of the songs are love, dreaming of love, dashed love, lovey dovey flowers and birds and twilight, with maybe a smidge of traditionals, etc), and my dad had quite a variety of more traditional American folksy rock records that he would occasionally play.
The Parvarim / Haparvarim - here's a longish medley of the famous Israeli guitar folk duo (one of my favorites is played starting about 5:07ish):
And this one is Yesh Li Ahavah (I have love), although the only YT version I see has it listed as אהבה פשוטה (transliteration: "Ahavah Pshutah" or"A Simple Love") (In the song the singer lists all the fancy stuff he does not have, like, no air-conditioner, no savings in the bank, no rich uncle, point being that it's ok cause he has love. It's so cute, one of my favs growing up.)
I think that music definitely influenced my brother, who is a really talented guitar player (he can play any instrument he picks up, and play anything he hears, it's really really annoying) and he really loves that style of playing, even though his musical tastes have also evolved over the years. And it influenced me because there's nothing I love more than a good folk rock song with lots of sad-lovey lyrics.
Now my dad is pretty conservative, not a hippie in the slightest (my mother on the other hand, when she was younger, yes), but one of the artists that makes me think of him the most is Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), because my brother and I stole my dad's Teaser and The Firecat TAPE from his special junk drawer, and never returned it because we loved it so much. I may still have it? I don't even know if I still have my walkman though to play it, LOL. I feel slightly guilty that what to him was obviously a treasured tape disappeared. But it is one of my top 10 albums of all time. I love Cat Stevens (also, the main reason I'm sad he changed his name is not religion, it's that Cat Stevens was such a perfect name) SO much, and listening to it repeatedly early on played a large part in imprinting that style on my mind/heart. I am very thankful they had good taste!
Apparently, other than classical, our house was really big on guitar-driven peace/love music (and for the readers who have met (or heard tales of) my parents, you probably never guessed they were such sweet 60s/70s softies.) Reconciling my young idealistic(?) Cat Stevens loving dad, with the current version is fascinating and nearly impossible? Although given that he went to a foreign country and met and rapidly married my mother might show that he had some crazy hippie romantic notions at one time. It's a very interesting mainly-hidden layer of my parents' life.
So here's a little Cat Stevens, in honor of my dad.
Person I used to know posted this on fb (older man, posted it for his wife saying someone had finally put her thoughts into a song, heheh). I had not heard it, and I don't know who this Julian Smith character is, but he apparently has a bunch of other similarly random jokey videos up as well.
I both love and hate this - it's kind of grating, and yet it is exactly how I feel as well... I am first and foremost a book nerd, that's pretty much all I want to do in life (& listen to music, but mainly read books). In White Noise (Don DeLillo), I believe the main character says one of his ex wives 'reviewed fiction' as a part-time spy? Reading long novels with coded structures or something... Sounds like a great job to me.
Currently, everyone is swept up in Game Of Thrones fever because of the HBO TV adaptation, and I must confess that it irks me a little (even though I love it) because I started reading and loving it years ago, and had to suffer years between books in the series, and etc. And I've been telling everyone about it for years to lukewarm (if any) reception. Anyways, point of this additional overshare is that when I bought the first book, I happened to be between jobs and so I basically lay on the couch in my parents' living room and just read the book for 8 hours straight. And had to drive to the bookstore that night to get the next one. And did the same thing the next day. And I remember my mom being slightly worried (and annoyed) that I just couldn't do anything but lay there and read. The days passed like minutes, I swear. That's the power of a good book. It sucks you in. And putting a good book down? HARD. Irritating. Angering. Sometimes even a mediocre book is hard to put down. I would venture a guess that most (if not all) book people (no matter how otherwise mild-mannered) violently hate interruptions. So this video totally made me laugh and nod approvingly.
This theme is also appropriate for the #fridayreads meme, so Happy Friday everyone, I hope you're reading something great!
Via Laughing Squid - a claymation animated video "Nightmare" - Love Automatic that is a)mildly NSFW depending on who's around (clay boobs & gore), and b) actually kinda great and creepy despite being clay. Not creepy creepy, if you've ever watched a movie, horror or otherwise, you know what will happen - but it's good in that it IS so cinematic (again, though both a music vid and with claymation, both underappreciated mediums). Very imaginative and well-done.
I have to admit that I am a sucker for a good cameo, so Sara Bareilles' latest, "Uncharted" caught my eye because it is jam packed with 'famous friends'... Which sounds like it could be annoying, but put together, I think it's actually a really really charming video.
I am now going to overshare on concert experiences and what I think of when I think of Sara Bareilles, so feel free to skip down to the videos if you need to =)
My introduction to her sticks out to me because she was just getting some popularity at the same time that I was living in Los Angeles (btw Blogger spellcheck has just underlined Los and Angeles in red because it is ignorant). For instance, she spent some time doing many shows at the Hotel Café (known for its singer/songwriter career making), and one of my friends and several of their friends was always going there for her shows (and others). In fact, one of her vague friends, (a FOAF, one of my favorite terms, because it is funny and its funniness kinda informs you to not really necessarily trust anything that follows) knew her because he was in the music "scene" and this hazy source once said that she (not an actual girl named Jane) was the muse behind Maroon 5's Songs for Jane album... again that is alllll entirely hearsay (also nobody really cares, do they? But they do have some degree of history, and still tour together and he and his bandmates are in the "Uncharted" video so they are at least currently friends ), but this is just backstory to give some color to the fact that some people I know were really really into her, and because of that I feel almost like I have a special interest in her (even though I have only a middling affection for her music); and I have seen her live, and it was interesting.
I like her well enough, she has a good voice, and writes a decent pop song. Her live performance is also pretty good, but although her songs are sometimes pretty peppy she was not all that dynamic (could just be her style). I probably would not have gone to see her (I do like most of the Hotel Cafe artists, but usually not very passionately), but again, friends were really into it, and then she was performing with Aqualung and I do like him quite a bit (interestingly enough, in contrast, his songs are more often quiet and careful, but he puts on a hell of a riveting performance) and he had either just released or was releasing Memory Man, I think? I think that's right because it was 2007. So we went.
The night started with the fact that there was a large-ish wildfire in Griffith Park (could double-check the date by that but I'm too lazy), so from where we were on Hollywood Blvd (Music Box/Henry Fonda), you could see the glowing halo of fire in the distance, so everyone was kind of in that weird mood. Fires in southern CA are routine, but also always mildly scary, especially if they are close-in, and when there's smoke in the air and an orange-grey sky, I think there's a certain fire atmosphere, people get a little keyed-up. You could also see the fire glow really well from their rooftop. There was quite a line, and the people around us were as usual an interesting mix - a few older people but a lot of youngish people there more for SB. In line everyone around us was discussing the fire mainly, but there was also an ongoing dispute in front of us as to which Corey was in The Goonies, which I answered for them, and that was kind of rare for me I usually don't jump into people's conversations, and that led to the speaker being really proud of having seen him in a restaurant recently. (I don't intend to name-check stupid celebrities, it's just that this is what was going on at the time and it is a topic of weary yet tireless discussion in LA.)
The show itself was good, SB started out and her rabid fans had surged to the front so my friend and I were a few rows back but still close (small venue). Randomly, I think I saw BSG hottie Jamie Bamber and wife in the crowd (or someone who looks exactly like him), he is from England & so is Aqualung so that could make sense. That was again a pointless tidbit to share, but also part of the night.
Before her performance I was really annoyed by her fans, who were loud and pushy, and during her performance I was equally annoyed because they wanted to sing along and jump around (to not jumpy music). One pair of people who were reallllly into her also kept getting infront of us, elbowing us, talking loudly to each other and using their cell phones, and I don't even exactly recollect all that happened, but I do know that as someone who goes to shows, I expect quite a bit of bad behavior, I am mentally prepared to deal with some amount of jerkitude. And as for singing along and being dancy, I feel like you can sing along to anthems and maybe one or two of your favs, or better yet mouth the words, but I don't want to hear just your offkey screeching during a show. I paid for real singing. Also, the dancing should be music/energy-level appropriate. If it's a show of quiet melodious songs, there's no call for jumping into people. It's not a ska concert. And as a misanthrope who is permanently low-level annoyed with the crowds, this fat bro-sis/lovers couple (they looked realllly related and had a weird cozy vibe) was obnoxious enough to stick out in my memory for all these years since (rivaled perhaps only by a show were drunkies were practically having outright sex on the grass at our feet, and on top of others, perhaps a story for another day).
But the weird (and best) part was that as soon as she was done - a large portion of the crowd (including the losers who annoyed me) up and LEFT. Which to me is also really rude - why come to a show and then skip out on the main performer? I realize they are obv die-hard SB fans and maybe don't care for Aqualung, but it did surprise me. I find it rather disrespectful to the other artists. I don't think I've ever seen it go that way. Usually people show up late to skip openers, but get there for the main deal. Not this time. Apparently he did not have as many rabid idiot fans as she did. But it worked out wonderfully because that put us right on edge of the stage directly front and center and with the perfect eyeline for us to ogle Matt Hales. He put on a fantastic show, which was completely worth all the now-minor-seeming annoyances of the previous hours. As I've said, for a guy who plays mellow piano heavy music, you would think it could be dull, but it was not. He played a lot of his newer music, and people were into it, he was rocking the keyboard and it was great. And when he played the slightly older (and more famous)"Brighter than Sunshine" the crowd was just crazy with joy. In all, it was a lovely lovely night.
Anyways, that is what I think about whenever I hear a Sara Bareilles song. That night, the fires, the crowd, and the awesomeness of Aqualung.
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Ok, enough with the sharing, on to the videos - SB first -
The web-cam good times of "Uncharted" - who wouldn't want to take a class from Professor Benjamin Folds?
Prior to this her breakout song (2007) was "Love Song", which has a cutesy video where she is inside a music player of some sort.
The "King of Anything" video is made so that everything happens in windows/screens/reflections etc. Other than that twist it's mainly just shots of her, but I think it's a nice touch to add a little something to an otherwise straightforward video.
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Now on to the beloved Aqualung:
Let's start off with a live performance video, so you can get a taste (albeit quite hushed) of what the night would have been like - "7 Keys":
"Strange and Beautiful" - a lovely song, with a quiet moody video to go with it. I love the piles of books and junk around him, it lends the right atmosphere (being a neglected forgotten object, hoping to be found). Who hasn't felt like this:
Finally, I had to search long and hard for the non-movie related version of "Brighter than Sunshine" (movie-related version is terrible, I hate when they put in film clips, as it ruins the replay value of the video). Unfortunately, it's not a hq video, so I apologize. I really like this because it's such a perfect play of what may occasionally fly through our brains when we see someone (be it fantasy or premonition). First and foremost though, I love this song. Very much. There's just something about the line
...give me your hand and you will see
Your heart is keeping time with me
that just fills my heart with love and my arms with silly-girlie-romantic-notions goosebumps.
The new song that samples "Old Man" makes my blood BOIL. I have heard it twice today too, which angers me even more (to think people are playing it!). I have touched on the issue of covers before, but I would like to extend it to sampling... I like to think of myself as being fairly open, but some things are perfect and need not be messed with. (Insert "kids - get off of my lawn!" joke here.)
"Old Man" - Neil Young - is one of these morsels of perfection. The song is practically sacred to me. It's before my time and all, but I love it so much. It's one of the songs that I can play over and over. The song that samples is it is also called "Old Man" and is by singer/songwriter Redlight King. When I first heard it I was in the car on my way home from work and I heard the opening familiar chords and I was super excited for one split-second. And then it was this song and my jaw dropped and I got freaked out/livid. Filled with murderous bile. Luckily I don't live far from work or I might have driven badly I was so rage-filled.
I just... don't like it. I don't like the way it kind of waters-down/cheapens(?) such a special song (I realize the musician has to put his own spin on it and write a new song not just cover it, which is good, I respect that)... but in my mind I think that this effort doesn't make it special enough. And I think that's a huge risk when you sample something so iconic. I can forgive/overlook 97% of other song-usages... but Old Man?????? That's unique, a classic, huge. You'd better really bring it if you attempt that. This falls short, it just doesn't do it justice, IMO.
I googled this artist/song and apparently, he wanted to use it and had to ask Neil Young for it repeatedly - Neil Young apparently rarely approves these usages - and finally got him to agree to it by playing the song? And apparently he wrote it for his dad, and that's nice... Persistence and dad issues makes me soften towards it just a tad... maybe my murderous rage will mellow in a while... but currently I am still not having it. Still feel rather violently terrible (hence the post title's stabbiness) towards the song.
Another article or 2 that I read (just two or three, I didn't want to waste too much time on this, haha) compared it to having an Everlast sort of vibe, and I think that's very accurate. I will allow there could be potential. But I still can't abide the usage of my beloved Neil Young. Soooo I am taking an early stand on this and saying boo.
Watch the original in all its glory first (I think I've posted it before?):
Then hear the new song (travesty might be a smidge harsh) and its tacky video (although the glasses guy is cute in that inked up hepatitis way):
Who's with me? Or can you defend it? Is it OK because Neil Young said so? This probably will lead to a sampling post... so feel free to make suggestions too, or link to your pet peeves.
Spent yesterday afternoon laying out in the sun, then went to a friends house for a tasty salmon dinner outside near(ish) to the water (they were originally supposed to come over here so I cleaned my house, but that turned out to be for naught).
It may be drizzleydrear most of the year, but the few good days are really perfect to make up for it. Lovely super blue sky, all the flowers in bloom, 80 degrees with a cool breeze from the water, light until 10pm...
So my song for yesterday was "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" - Neutral Milk Hotel - which I believe is one of the greatest songs ever (and in an amazing album).
Something about the lyrics, the singing saw, his voice, everything just hits the right chords in me. It's one of the few songs I can listen to over and over again and still feel the same thrill at perfect notes. (Personal TV watching observation: I was super amused in Parks and Recreation (you should be watching it's been fantastic) this season where April's favorite band is revealed to be NMH, it's just so right.)
Was working from home this afternoon so I got to blast my music in the living room, and not worry about bothering coworkers. I work much better with music or tv in the background, and earbuds just don't quite cut it (also they keep falling out, my ears hate them). It was, all told, a very nice rainy afternoon.
Yes, it is still cold/rainy here. The morning was normal drear, but with small breaks in cloud, but then as soon as I got home it started raining. Back home in San Diego they like to talk about the annual "June Gloom" (marine layer) - but it's not up to the same caliber as PacNW gloom. However, according to the internet, it may warm up here soon (local wisdom is that it doesn't warm up/summer doesn't start here until the day after the 4th of July, and I don't know that I can wait that long for warmth).
So because I have been thinking of the weather and both astounded by how long it took to get here and how quickly it arrived - June songs!
The first song regarding June that immediately and obviously springs to mind would be June on the West Coast - Bright Eyes. Below is a lovely intimate performance vid from 2003 (love how quiet the crowd is for this, hushed and reverent).
"Ballad of Theodore and June" - Softlightes - This song is not technically about the season but I was just listening to it and I love the line: "I'll catch you like sunshine..." It just seems sweet and seasonally appropriate. I am not sure why the fan who put together this video decided to set it to a cartoon? But I guess it works?
While we are discussing the lovely Softlightes, completely unrelated to June (except in that it is a dreamy pop sound perfectly appropriate for Spring/Summer), the stop-motion video for Heart Made of Sound is superfantastic (color, motion, good use of words):
Back to the theme - there's also "Seven Days in Sunny June" - Jamiroquai: the vibe is right in this video, though there's a lot of trying-too-hard partying going on, and the wearing of man short shorts. I like the use of the hazy/yellow filter, because that's how I think of summer afternoons. However, to have such a party one would need a sunny June, which I don't have yet (fingers crossed for the weekend), so that's kind of a bummer for all of us with suboptimal weather (and friends who don't throw parties of this nature).
Or you could also go with "June Afternoon" - Roxette - for some very bright cheeriness (wah wah):
"...As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart." Proverbs 25:20 (KJV)
This could be interpreted as bad - corrosive, acid; or as a good thing - effervescent, cleansing.
It probably depends on the song and the heart.
(Disclaimer: videos are posted from outside sources that are beyond my control, I cannot assure what copyright protection practices each individual site may have.)
All you need to know about me is that I love Bob Dylan, Jesus, books, art, music, the internet, bad TV, cooking, my cats and crossword puzzles. In some order.
