Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay”.
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth:
and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter,
and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Beautiful sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini, Pluto and Persephone, 1622. Currently in the Galleria Borghese, Roma – I highly recommend a visit: one of THE best museums in Rome.
Still recovering from the weekend, hence the dearth of posts lately…But it is Monday. Let’s buck up and dive in.
“If You Want Me To Stay“ Sly and the Family Stone Okay, wtf was up with the Grammy performance from Sly? As rad as the platinum mohawk was (that’s what I want to have the courage to sport at 61), and the enormous belt buckle that says “SLY,” the man has obviously completely FRIED his brain with some hard substances. He wandered off the stage before the song was even done, and as far as I can tell, he didn’t do much while he was on-stage (just kind of massaged the keys and moaned into the mike). That is unfortunate because he is partly responsible for this, one of THE funkiest, smoothest, grooviest songs ever recorded, with a bass line that could strip paint (and that’s a good thing). Add The Essentials to your collection.
“Buckets of Rain” (Dylan cover) David Gray I love David Gray so much and am stoked to be seeing him next month. His voice just gets me, something about the honesty and the incisive tenor of it, just lays right into the core of emotions. And this is one of my favorite Dylan songs ever for the simple longing and the lyrical beauty of it. The desire expressed in this song is sexy, sexy. Thanks for unearthing it, Chad.
“You Won’t Be Leaving“ Herman’s Hermits I’ve admittedly been on a total retro ’60s pop kick lately, listening to The Turtles, The Zombies, Herman’s Hermits, and the Beatnix (which recorded a whole album’s worth of non-released Beatles songs) etc. The harmonies, the time-capsule sound of a simpler era, just make me happy and it is good good for the ears. Here, with all the “it’s too cold/I’m too tired” excuse-making of what is essentially a 1960s booty call (in the vein of other songs like “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and “Wake Up Little Suzie”), Herman’s Hermits sing about the “lovelight” shining in her eyes (or some kind of light, right?). Fabulous little ditty.
“The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song“ Flaming Lips My friend Matthew said, “About halfway through this song I got up from my computer chair and spontaneously went into half dance/half spasms.” I find the first thirty seconds almost unlistenable, so let’s forgive that and skip right into the meat. You can’t deny the catchy pop sensibilities and the handclapping goodness on this one. From their upcoming album At War With The Mystics, due April 3 in the UK and April 4 in the U.S.
“The Bar Is A Beautiful Place“ (live NYC 5/23/01) Ryan Adams Similar to how Josh Ritter recorded “Thin Blue Flame” with ambient bar noise which added to the immediacy of the feeling, this is an actual live version (as opposed to Ritter’s studio-with-added-noise recording) of this song with bar chatter and clinking glasses to heighten the gorgeous overall effect. This song is an lesser-known Ryan Adams gem, originally from the Gold bonus CD, and absolutely one of my favorites by him. I love this live version, off the Bedhead 10 collection, because the bar is a beautiful place and this puts you right there on the barstool, being depressed, singing along, “Sha na… Sha na naaaa naaa” with the simple and rousing piano accompaniment. I love the fragility of his voice on the line, “Would you take an old drunk as is, if he was sweet to you?”
So, I finally Netflixed Junebug (I just decided that “Netflixed” can be a verb), a film whose preview I saw a few months ago at Kimball’s, the coolest downtown artsy theater in Colorado because it serves up pints from the local brewery a few streets over, fresh Colorado goodness in a plastic cup.
That’s totally beside the point, but if you are ever in town and looking for a good ale, now you know.
Anyways. I really liked Junebug. As wholeheartedly as I support the concept, independent/artsy films are sometimes a mixed bag. You’ll go, dole out your bucks, and get something like Dancer in the Dark or Broken Flowers, both of which I distinctly did not like. But sometimes you get a quirky little gem like Junebug. It was a small film, nothing earth-shattering, but simple in its fleshed-out portrayals of interesting characters, and affecting in quiet ways.
One of the things I found most moving about the movie was actually the silences. Several times during the film the directors just showed a silent, ordinary room in the suburban house (where most of the movie takes place) for several long seconds. They’re not afraid to have a prolonged, silent view of the everyday ephemera, almost as if the house was waiting for the next scene, waiting for someone to come in and end the awkward silence. I loved it as an effect. The quiet rooms in the house were almost aching to be heard, the silence was deafening – which paralleled so many of the characters in the film; almost everyone seemed to have so much more to say than what they actually said.
Junebug also offers some superb acting performances. Amy Adams was a gem in this film, playing a pregnant and oft-ignored very young housewife, bright and overly-talkative, masking a consuming and desperate need to be heard and loved. She deserves the Oscar nomination she received for bringing depth to a character that could have just been played as a shallow and comic/tragic ditz.
Alessandro Nivola (love the way that name rolls off your tongue) is steadfast and kind in his role of older brother/husband/rescuer/good guy. He is kind of the glue that holds everyone together when he returns home to North Carolina from the Big City (Chicago) with his new wife. He convincingly shows the different layers to growing up and leaving your roots, but also keeping them as part of you. I was also surprised by his clear singing voice and the good job he did performing a hymn for the role at a church social.
It also features Benjamin McKenzie, best known for his sullen and brooding role as Ryan on The O.C. (so I’ve heard. I’ve never watched the show. Not even that one time). This role is not that much of a departure for him in terms of angst, but he rednecks-it up so that it took me about 20 minutes to recognize him. He convincingly plays a guy drowning inside, not sure how to reach out and be heard and understood by those who are supposed to be closest to him.
Little things in this movie spoke volumes for me. Amy Adams’ character loves meerkats (favorite animal, darkly comic moment as she explains this). She is married in the movie to Johnny (McKenzie). Watching his panicked and frustrated attempts to tape something for her that suddently comes on the TV about meerkats was surprisingly poignant. He doesn’t know how else to show her how he feels, he certainly doesn’t tell her. Also, the passionate sex between Nivola and his new wife on the air mattress while the rest of the house sleeps on the other side of very thin walls was also affecting in incising just how unhappy the others were. It is a bit hard to explain in writing, because these are such small and insignificant things, but it is masterful, quiet, and evocative on the screen.
The movie features an original score by Yo La Tengo, which I enjoyed, and revives a light-hearted ’70s pop song for its opening and closing credits. If you’ve seen the movie (or even if you haven’t), you might enjoy hearing this again:
It would be good for a mixtape to listen to while you are practicing your backwards roller-skating at the roller rink. Sweatbands and legwarmers are, as always, completely optional.
Just dancing around to a little Roger Clyne and I thought to make a post. Clyne was one of the first artists I posted about, and he is still worth a listen for those listeners just tuning in at home. One reviewer says, “Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers is the best live band in America…It’s a band with no radio play, no marketing, and yet fans from all over the world flock to sweaty, unbridled and kinetic 120-minute-plus shows.” (My edit: my brother heard Roger Clyne on the radio in San Diego, so some radio play, somewhere!). But having seen Clyne twice now in the past 6 months (he is from neighboring Arizona, so he comes through these parts with some blessed regularity), I can offer a hearty “amen” to that sentiment.
Roger Clyne used to front The Refreshments, and you may be familiar with their guitar stylings from King of The Hill’s theme song. Clyne has been steadily churning out great independent rock and roll with his new band The Peacemakers since The Refreshments disbanded, and puts on one of the best live shows I have ever seen. From the Live Music Archive, here are some highlights from the November 19, 2005 show that I attended in Boulder, Colorado:
“Baba O’Reilly” (Who cover) – Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers (I went a bit nuts for this one, I think if I had sung along any louder I may have ruptured my spleen or something)
Their excellent 2004 album ¡Americano! is definitely worth adding to your collection. Allmusicguide.com says the following about the CD, and I think it is the perfect description:
“¡Americano! is one fine album; it should be played at earsplitting volume in pool halls, bowling alleys and backyard bashes and on college radio stations. It should blare from the CD players of fast cars roaring down empty highways under the stars and just before dawn. Indeed, it should be savored and celebrated by those swaggering street denizens known as the rock & roll faithful as proof that the good stuff never disappears.”
And Thom Jurek says in Paste Magazine, “Rock ‘n’ roll is still out there…¡Americano! is proof that the crazy, reckless, restless, swaggering soul of American rock is still burning a hole in the night sky…guitars blaze, quake and quiver, drums slip, thud and thunder with killer melodies and hooks and the occasional reggae or mariachi rhythm laced through the middle to keep it all honest and interesting.”
Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers are on tour now, please check them out if they come to your neck of the woods. And if they are not coming near you, consider attending the twice-yearly Mexico beach bash that they throw. I would love to go, as I need a vacation.
03.10.06 & 03.11.06, Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ 03.17.06, Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins, CO 03.18.06, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO 03.20.06, Skinner’s Pub, Brookings, SD 3.21.06, Knickerbockers, Lincoln, NE 03.22.06, The Reverb, Cedar Falls, IA 03.23.06, Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN 03.24.06 &03.25.06, Martyr’s, Chicago, IL 03.26.06, Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH 03.28.06, Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Ontario CANADA 03.29.06, Harper’s Ferry, Allston, MA 03.30.06, Grape Street Pub, Philadelphia, PA 03.31.06, The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ 04.01.06, Rocks Off Boat Cruise, A cruise around NY Harbor and a headline RCPM concert!World Yacht Marina, New York, NY 04.02.06, State Theatre, Falls Church, VA 04.04.06, Smith’s Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA 04.05.06, Exit/In, Nashville, TN 05.06.06, The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA 05.20.06 (Saturday) RCPM Circus Mexicus Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), MEXICO WHERE: A concert space next to the Sunset Cantina in Rocky Point, Mexico. Doors 5pm, Mariachis 6-6:45pm, Openers David Lowery & Johnny Hickman of Cracker at 7pm, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers headline show at 8pm. 06.10.06 &06.11.06, Wakarusa. RCPM will play two days of this great music & camping festival featuring 70+ bands over four days. Lawrence, KS
************************************* Also, a little bit of news that I found amusing, and one more reason for me to consider attending one of Clyne’s twice-yearly Mexican beach bashes:
“Realizing a long-time dream, Roger Clyne introduces Mexican Moonshine, a 100% Blue Agave tequila created in limited supply with two Rocky Point cantina owners. Distilled in Tequila, Mexico, the full-bodied spirit is only available south of the border. Check out Mexican Moonshine here!”
Ha! Roger Clyne is The Man. He definitely loves his tequila, drinks it like a fish during his shows and share shots with the audience. My relationship with the stuff is a bit more contentious.
Here are some interesting and/or alarming things that I have found noteworthy of late, brought to you in an easy-to-follow outline style, which makes me SO glad that I am no longer in school writing papers (ha ha suckers).
a) From Buddy to Sufjan – 50 Years of Music Chain – This is just about the coolest thing I have ever seen, coming from she who LOVES covers with an unabashed passion, and also loves creativity and history. And it has a scientific-looking chart! Beauty!
b) THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE in so many ways that I can’t even begin to describe it. It must have been her stellar debut CD that won him over. AbsoLUtely not OK.
d) I thought this was extremely funny for all you facebookers who may have been affected by the long arm of the law in the past. The “cake stand” is awesome.
e) Aquarium Drunkard has a lovely little Josh Rouse live set for download from the White Sessions in France 2005. I have really been enjoying “Quiet Town,” which I posted on Monday. Listening to it on repeat (along with that stu-pen-dous Otis Redding version of Cupid…absolutely LOVE it).
f) Gwen Stefani is uber-cute. Bono can kiss my belly anytime (although mine is definitively not like hers at the moment).
g) Nada Surf will be interviewed and perform on Air America this Friday, February 10 (tomorrow). They are currently on tour with Rogue Wave.
h) Download the new one from Swedish band The Concretes here: “On The Radio“ (thanks to Cindy). Sunny day pop music with some lovely harmonies. New album In Colour due March 28, produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes/Rilo Kiley/Cursive).
(Gratuitous Singles content not related to post; just because I love the movie. Wait, can I put a picture containing the word “dick” immediately after an item referencing Jesus?)
So, if you are anything like me, iTunes has bled you dry in $0.99 increments for quite some time now. Love it, hate it, that’s how it has been. And LOTS of us have been doing the download thing, so iTunes is getting ready to celebrate its billionth download. You can enter to win by buying songs, HOWEVER, you can also enter to win tons of free schwag up to 25 times a day by going here:
Prizes to covet: A black 4GB iPod nano, $100 iTunes Music Card, 20-inch iMac, 10 60GB iPods, and a $10,000 iTunes Music Card to jumpstart your digital music collection.
Yes, $10,000. That’s just crazy talk.
Maybe I will win me the 60GB iPod. I remember when I first decided that I indeed had to have an iPod last year, I was scouring the internet for ways to get a free one and entering all kinds of lame contests. I didn’t win, I bought one the old-fashioned way (and now it is full), but I still hold out hope that my big winner day will come.
I supposedly have this (long dormant, actually) luck that makes me win things. Come on, big money.
With all this winter nonsense abounding, sometimes a gal just needs to relax and remember warmer days. Although I do not (and probably never will) surf, the soundtrack to the surfing movie Sprout is one of the best chillout soundtracks in my collection. Out on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label (check out Thicker Than Water & The September Sessions too), this laid-back collection features Calexico, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions (who I blogged about recently), Superwolf (Bonnie Prince Billy & Matt Sweeney), The Shins, Sam Prekop, and others. These are two of my favorite tracks:
Two Stones In My Pocket – Neil Halstead (this song is only on the iTunes version of the album, as far as I can tell)
Got My Sunshine – Mojave 3 (also with Halstead, if you think the voice sounds slightly familiar)
You can also see the video for one of the best instrumental tracks on the album here, which completely makes me want to get a little sunburned: Butternut video – Sprout House Band
I am a huuuuge Alias dork. I do in fact believe that Sydney Bristow is one of the coolest women in the world, and I thank JJ Abrams for creating her (in his godlike fashion) from nothing, to entertain me on Wednesday evenings at 8pm, 7 Central (and Colorado).
One of the best things about the show is the fabulous use of music to accentuate the daring international spy missions. As lame as it may be to actually admit, I picked this track for World Music Wednesday today because when I first heard it, my honest first thought was that it would be killer music to accompany Sydney on a mission to, like, assassinate an evil sheik in Saudi Arabia or something. Plus, it’s just a cool song and it expands my horizons, so it qualifies.
This is from the fun Putumayo CD Arabic Groove, and the artist Abdel Ali Slimani is an Algerian by birth who now lives in London via Paris. He has collaborated with world music/electronica guru Jah Wobble, as well as Sinead O’Connor and Peter Gabriel.
It is a bit outside my normal musical styles, but that is of course what Wednesdays are all about. I like the beat and the catchy vocals which have stuck in my head. Ever wanna hear me try and sing in Arabic? Yeah.
Okay, for someone who has worked for five years in international education, this “Create a map of where you have been in the world” is a little bit depressing. Makes me want to buy a plane ticket to a grey area ASAP and see something new. The Europe area is quite heavily travelled, although this map doesn’t show the detail. And we’ve got some El Salvador action, as well as the Caribbean & Mexico. Man, I wish I had more red!
If I could pick some places today to visit next, I think I’d like to spend some time in Argentina, then Australia & New Zealand with a Fiji stopover. Plus Greece for the amazing archaeology and art, and maybe South Africa. I’d better start saving my kopecks.
The United States map is a little bit more thorough, although I’ve certainly got a lot more to see. As I visit different states in the US, I am always amazed at the diversity in each location and all the wonderful things to see. I love my country, and all the things there are to see within its borders.
Glaring grey omissions are Oregon, which I plan to maybe finally visit this August for a wedding (and then I can stay at the schoolhouse hotel that always looked rad to me, but then again I loved being in school). And then maybe I need to go to Louisiana to visit my friend Jenn, and Boston is a place I have always wanted to visit but never have. I think it is reminiscent of multiple readings of Make Way For Ducklings when I was a kid. It just instilled this glimmer of interest in me in Boston which remains unfulfilled. No, seriously (she says with a self-directed laugh). Oh, man.
Okay, so his name sounds like he should be a handsome, tortured billionaire (maybe with amnesia or a secret love child) on a daytime soap opera (and wait, he kind of looks like it too!), but Ashton Allen actually makes some good alternative indie folk. While musicians must tire of comparisons, in order to give you a sense of his sound, it is heavily influenced by first & foremost Elliott Smith, and The Beatles. Hea-vi-ly. And you’ve got the ghosts of Paul & Art traipsing around in the background as well (you can also say Simon & Garfunkel, but we are on a first name basis, so…ya know).
KFOG tipped me to this fine chap, saying “Atlanta singer/songwriter Ashton Allen adds even more melody [than Nick Drake and Iron & Wine], a little more pace, Beatle-esque horns, clean and honest strings, crisp percussion and flawless production on his debut solo album . . . Irresistible.”
I very much like the entire Dewdrops album (2005), with its minor melodies, double-tracked vocals and rich/varied instrumentation. I have listened to it more often than any other new album I have gotten in the last few months. However, I’ll raise this point for discussion: If I were a HUGE Elliott Smith fan, instead of the fairly new & moderate one that I am, I might have a hard time not dwelling on just how *much* he sounds like Mr. Smith (especially pronounced on tracks like “Drive” and “World’s Fair”).
I liken it to the way that I cannot ever under ANY circumstances listen to Creed, just because the first time I heard them they made me turn up the radio to see if it was a new Pearl Jam song I was hearing. I’ve never forgiven them for that. So, Elliott fans I think you will like Ashton, but I’d be curious to know.
It is really good stuff (and I am not, godforbid, comparing him with Creed – *shudder*). My only minor qualm would be that some of the lyrics are rather unimaginative and pedestrian, but I do like the music and I would recommend the album.
“Dewdrops” – Ashton Allen (finger-picking melody, lonely shoe-tapping percussion).
“If You Leave” – Ashton Allen (crack out the piano, on this, the most Beatlesesque tune on the disc)
“Starting Over” – Ashton Allen (a bit more upbeat, with some mandolin I think)
He’s on eMusic, for those of you looking for a worthy cause to spend your 50 free downloads on. In addition to Ashton Allen, some Otis Redding, and The Turtles, I buckled and bought some me some Tone Loc. Funky cold medina indeed.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
(Gratuitous 
album (2005), with its minor melodies, double-tracked vocals and rich/varied instrumentation. I have listened to it more often than any other new album I have gotten in the last few months. However, I’ll raise this point for discussion: If I were a HUGE Elliott Smith fan, instead of the fairly new & moderate one that I am, I might have a hard time not dwelling on just how *much* he sounds like Mr. Smith (especially pronounced on tracks like “Drive” and “World’s Fair”).
Name: Heather Browne
