Open Letter to whoever picks the music for all the Lincoln vehicle ads:

KEEP AT IT. Whoever picks that music knows exactly the music that I like...

The Cat Power one, singing "Space Oddity", would be AWESOME if it were a whole song, rather than just that clip.

Then there's another with "Coming Home"(originally Peter Schilling) by Shiny Toy Guns.

The newest one is "Under the Milky Way" sung by Nicole Atkins. Another good song...

So. Yeah. not going to buy a Lincoln, but I love their marketing department audio people.

if anyone will get this, faith47 and xerophreak will, and maybe a couple others of you...

So. i'm doing calculations at work (density on some tiny little parts, whee) and I come up with .5591 as an answer.

And immediately think of Justin Furstenfeld's "alter ego", or whatever you'd call it.

(for explanation, read this concert summary.)

The geekery, it abounds.

Everyone doing good today? I've been having a pretty good day, and didn't catch hell from boss-person visiting today like I thought I might, earlier. Whoop.

This is a realy cool stop-motion music video for "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren LaVie.

(you wonder what it's gonna be like, as I did, and I bet you'll think it's really neat, like I just did. Down to the "aaa, fallin-- oh wait, no" thoughts.

Lemme know what you think.

I don't know how to embed youtube in LJ...

(oh yeah, and MTV still sucks for not playing videos at any sort of normal hour. pff.)
((and I know there's MTV2, and MTV3, but those aren't the same-- MTV3 is in Spanish, I think... Quite frankly, Palladium is my new favorite music channel, 'cept it's full concerts, and thus not always people I necessarily want to hear right then...))

Imogen heap is RIDICULOUSLY talented. go watch this vBlog from Imogen (it's ten minutes long-- fair warning). (yes, I was slightly distracted at work and had random Imogen stuff running in the background while I was working on a spreadsheet. eh.)

And i think the wo-that's-a-colorful-keyboard-she's-got is pretty neat, too. She seems so... quirky, and that's one of the things I think is so neat. But there's the fact that she's able to play a zillion different instruments-- which, I've heard, isn't that difficult once you're comfortable playing an instrument. Still really cool to me. Being able to see the whole physical world as an instrument-- all the stuff around you can make noise-- and she's willing to use all of those sounds.

Yeah, safe to say I can't WAIT for the new album.

K, so I'm looking at pollstar.com (best way I've found to find concerts if you like going to them), and two things jump out at me.

Blind Melon is touring. Shannon Hoon was Blind Melon. how the... what the... YOU CAN'T TOUR IF THE LEAD SINGER IS DEAD.

and this:

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band. What? I mean, I guess I sorta get it, but...

right right.

Everyone doing good?

KT Tunstall's new CD is good, so far. I'm still listening to it. I pull out the liner notes, expecting to see lyrics and pictures, right. Pictures, indeed-- but like a film noir graphic novel, not unlike, um... art-deco-Frank-Miller, really... It's neat.

And "Funnyman" is a damn good song...

I love Natasha Bedingfield's CD. Love it. Some vocoder, a touch of gravel in the voice... love it. The lyrics are good, too. I mean, seriously, anything that has

Read some Byron, Shelley and Keats
Recited it over a hip-hop beat
I'm having trouble saying what I mean
With dead poets and drum machines

in it... Seriously, you gotta love that.

Every time the song comes on the radio, I have part of my brain (might be the part that keeps giving me those bizarre headaches) that enjoys Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how conflicted I am, redefining my blatant hatred for her as an artist.

She has a good voice. She just makes a lot of STUPID songs. And-- don't get me wrong-- her songs aren't ever gonna be Unchained Melody, by any stretch, but this's one I find myself enjoying the sound of.

Seems like a shame, since she really can sing, if she wants to. Seems like she should take advantage of that, rather than that... that piece-of-shit Black Eyed Peas "my humps" song.

Hahaaaa, she says "and we'll play ... Uno cards" in the song. </digression>

Anyway.

How's everyone doing? This weekend was awesome-- met some of jnspies's friends from California, hung out with a bunch of other Houston people, went to Sunday School-- wherein they went over the different Hebrew words for love-- and I'm gonna make another post on that one, soon, since it really hit me, honestly. Made some things make sense, anyway. Again, one of those "ohhh, heh, that makes sense" moments that I enjoy.

And I'm almost done with all the massive Excel spreadsheets for a liiiiiittle while.

So it's been a damn good last few days.

(found thru xerophreak, since I'm at least as much a music geek as he is...)

This:

http://audiomap.tuneglue.net/

is about the coolest thing I've seen in a while for new-music-finding.



Start with one artist, expand it, and keep going. it creates a web-map of music artists. Neat stuff. And it totally reinforces that the majority of my music is all in the same genre.
Quite cool.

(why yes, it's friday and nothing is happening, why do you ask...)

hahah, outfreakingstanding, going out late. nothing like "hey... so I should have come over earlier, but... wanna go do something now?"

*grin*

I should get a lot of sleep later today, since I think I feel a cold coming on... no good, that. I mean, I doubt it'll happen, but I should.

I slept, for the few hours I did get last night, pretty good. And I love realizing that you woke up at 3:30 and you have better'n two hours left to sleep. Very nice.

I have GOT to get curtains, though. way too much light coming through my windows. I think that's the last thing left to do.

Actually made real food last night-- Angel hair pasta with meat sauce. Turned out really good. I need to get a pasta scoopy-fork-thing eventually, but other than that... Quite happy with dinner.

---

Wow, what a weird mix - Vienna Teng and then Nick Cave. sweet, and pretty, versus "My eyes ain't green and my hair ain't yellow, it's more like the other way around..."

heh...

STAIND is awesome. that is all. And I think I identify with some these songs, on a certain level. heh.

argh. back to work. Lots to do this afternoon.

---

EDIT:
so this "Falling" song by Staind, she bugs me. for one reason. The lyrics start like this:

You
In your shell
Are you waiting for someone to rescue you
From yourself
Don't be disappointed when no one comes

Don't blame me you didn't get it
Don't blame me you didn't get it
Don't blame me you didn't get it

I already told you that falling is easy
It's getting back up that becomes the problem
Becomes the problem
If you don't believe you can find a way out
You've become the problem
Become the problem

You
All alone
Are you waiting for someone to make you whole?
Can't you see?
Aren't you tired of this disfunctional routine?


(and there's more song after that, but ehh.)

and that part in bold bugs me. 'Cause he didn't 'already tell me' nothin'. Other than that, the song is cool. but... rgh.

Staind is good work music. "Please" is a cool song.

---

Please

Can't you see that I'm sick of this?
Chances are you're oblivious
To how I feel
Sitting on your throne
And I'm sure that I'm not alone
Not alone
Not alone

Tell me please
Who the fuck did you want me to be?
( Was it something that I couldn't see? )

---

HAHAHAH. if you click on that location link, "middle of nowhere" is apparently outside of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. which is, I think, about true. I heard it said once "Bartlesville's not the end of the earth, but if you stand on your tiptoes, you can see it from there."

I understand that The Bravery are new-school 80s. But I like it. </guiltypleasure>

And the lead guitar in "Unconditional" is pretty much awesome.

(yes sir, busy morning...) (it actually is, though. Takin' a break with a honey bun and a coke. woo.)

EDIT: and I need something I enjoy listening to, because this buggy-ass homegrown computer program I have to use is NOT COOL. piece of crap.

Oh well. coffee with Adrienne tonight, I think. or maybe the Flying Saucer. Maybe both. mmm.

Sarah Bettens (from K's Choice) is headlining an event at SXSW (in Austin, TX) next year (march 16-18th, '06, that is)

So apparently, I'm going to SXSW. for the first time ever, actually. But I'm excited. woo.

Anyone wanna go with? vivaldia? lesliessexxy?(ever heard of K's Choice?) Either way, I have me a concert to go to in March. whoop.

(oh yeah, and it's apparently a girl-band thing. Which is also my kind of deal.)

link here: http://www.gogirlsmusic.com/sxsw/

Before the show, Adrienne and i went to Katz's, this lil' kosher deli underneath Momo's Club, and had a sandwich, which was totally unremarkable, except I saw Justin (Furstenfeld) and he recognized me. I was surprised, sorta. Maybe I stand out at concerts, or something. Recognized Adrienne, too, it seemed.

Kirk played acoustic versions of a bunch of Greatness in Tragedy songs... which were good, but, just sorta 'unplugged' versions. not really much different than the normal versions. not bad, though.

Then Matt Novesky (sp?) played a couple, and... while he's a great guitarist, his voice just drives me up a wall.

---

Then Justin came up a played his set. Awesome. Totally different than a lot of the Blue October stuff. Setlist, mostly--and comments as i can remember things from what he said:

Mountain - he wrote this when he was 14.

The 21st - had to do with a girl he dated for a long time.

Sorry Hearts (I have no idea if that's the right name, I think that might be it tho)

Who Am I - written when he was with Last Wish, an old band. New music to this one, I think, since the old band won't let his use the old material.

Morning Everything

Kangaroo Cry - (this quote is from an mp3 i have - "uh, this next song was, uh, sponsored by September 11th. Kind of opened my eyes and made me not take things for granted. So, sat down in the van and wrote this song. it's called 'Kangaroo Cry'")

What went Wrong - I think this was the one he wrote when he was 15 that freaked the SHIT out of his mom, he said. It';s aabout a man who murdered his whole family.

Murdered a Friend

Spotlight

Artha - another Last Wish song, but written about his grandmother, after she passed away.

____________ - I didn't catch a name on this song, but I'm keeping the order as best i can.

Define the Trail

Graceful Dancing

Gunmetal Blue

3 weeks, She Sleeps (this is such a fun song. he had everyone sing along with the la-di-da, la-di-da part. Loved it.)

Sack Lunch - he was trying some new stuff, with a friend named Alan. turned out cool. synths and all that.

The Week Below the Sea - synths, drumbeats, all that. very neat.

The Fern - I love this song. very electronic.

Italian Radio - the lyrics were the same. Damn near everything else was different. very neat.

---

Shook Justin's hand, got him to sign the ticket stub, and then I went back and slept. It was a good night.

I swear to Pete, every time I turn on the TV and it's on KFDM my brain goes "wait, fuckwhat? KMFDM has a tv station? Sweet. Aww...dammit.

Every time, that happens. Stupid Louisiana.

lessee... bought the new bon jovi album tonight. woo. it's good. (which, seeing as it's already been certified platinum... somewhere (Japan,. perhaps?) it's good I think so, too. weird Japanese music standards notwithstanding, I still like it.

I wonder if they make an album, and then just go (when the album is certified platinum)

"Yup, still got it."

and then go back to recording. or hanging out with Heather Locklear, depending on which band member you were. (I'd definitely take the "Heather Locklear" option, but, well, that's me.)

this guy apparently remixed all the themes to Super Mario World, using new instruments. banjos, guitars, synth... weird shit. but strangely addictive.

http://www.archive.org/details/xoc_SMW

List five songs that you are currently digging ... it doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words or even if they're any good but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artist and the song in your blog along with your five songs. Then tag five other people to see what they're listening to.

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
Jessica Beach - Break Away (it's a cool song, yay for MP3 blogs)
Olive - Love Affair
The 88's - How Good it Can Be
System of a Down - Radio/Video

I'm supposed to tag people... hrmm...

faith47,
motherevol,
buscemi,
mothoc, and
baldeagle.

the ads for the M3Power razors are a lie. i couldn't see any way at the time that a "vibrating" razorblade would shave better, and not to mention the damn things are expensive. There was nothing i could see that would help. Not out of a volt-and-a-half. the damn thing didn't even connect to the blade-- there was no juice running thru the blades...

And that article says that "well, okay... they don't actually work..."

A fool and his money, eh?

---

Sancho Erik and Michelle's wedding went well. Anne and Philip's wedding went well. (I had two weddings to go to yesterday). they both went well, everyone cleans up well. The brides both looked beautiful, and damned if the guys didn't look spiffy too.

---

went to see Star Wars Episode III today. many people have bitched and moaned about this movie. I liked it. Yoda is awesome. Natalie Portman is hot. Now, Natalie Portman in the slave-girl outfit that Leia wears in the later movies...woops, that was out loud, wasn't it?) Contrary to normal movies, the black dude does, in fact, not die first in this movie. And, um, I like Coke. (yay, random string of facts.)

---

going to dinner with Alexis later in the week. whoop. being in College Station was good this weekend. But it's still weird as hell to not live in the house anymore. And now I'm back in Temple. Lots to do tomorrow.

I have, tonight, had a combination of Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek, The 88's How Good it Can Be, and Billy Joel's Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) in my head.

Hide and Seek... I listened to that song something like fifteen times (no, seriously.) I put the player on repeat and just drove, last night... that song's intoxicating. I want an album full of that. right now.

( Oily marks appear on walls, Where pleasure moments hung before... )

The rhythm of this song, and the vocoder and her voice. And the instruments. I pretty much love everything about this one.

ps: (i bought 4 real honest-to-god CDs -- willie nelson, Santana, Aerosmith, and another-- the other day...y'all should be proud. Or worried. not sure which. hah!)

System of a Down's "Radio/Video" is a cool song. I like it. The vocal gymnastic sections, kinda like the parts in "Chop Suey!" are my favorite section...
and the guitar and bass... fun, too.

Kirsty Hawkshaw
Solar Twins
Sarah Bettens - Scream (when it comes in to the US...)
imogen Heap (and, by extension, Frou Frou)

list in progress, the "female vocals that i like a lot and most of them are trance tracks" list

---

Dj Session One - ocean of emotion, No Gravity
Sylver - Turn the tide
Sarah McLachlan - Fear remix, Silence remix, Hold On (BT rmx
Olive - I don't think so, I'm Not in Love
Jem - 24, Just a Ride, Wish I
Frou Frou - Let Go, Shh, Psychobabble
Alizée - Moi Lolita, Youpidou, C'est Trop Tard
Mylene Farmer - Innamoramento
Kate ryan - Desenchantee, UR my Love, Scream for More
Iio - At the End (Louie DeVito Mix)
Sophie Ellis Bextor - Leave the Others Alone, Get Over You
Lunik - The most Beautiful Song, Virtual Shadows, So on
TATU - Robot, Nas Ne Dogonyat, Klouny, Ya Sosla S Uma (galoyan remix)
Sonique - Sky, That's what takes me High
Delerium - Poem for Byzantium, Fallen, After All, Innocente
Kirsty Hawkshaw and Tiesto - Just Be
Orbital - Halcyon and on and on (vocals on that are by Kirsty Hawkshaw, as well)
Shaft - Mambo Italiano (it's a remix of the Rosemary Clooney song)
Zero - gdy zgasnie slonce (It's in Polish)
Madhouse - Like A Prayer
Cirque Du Soleil - Seisouso (Quidam sdtrk), Alegria
Garbage - Cherry Lips, Androgyny (i like almost all of Garbage, actually, but...)
Conjure One - Sleep, Manic Star, center of the Sun, Make a wish, tears from the moon
BT - Running Down the way Up, Dreaming,
Fiona Apple - The way things are, Shadowboxer, Criminal, Paper Bag
William Orbit and Beth Orton - water from a vine leaf
Solar Twins - Swayambhu
Tori Amos and BT - Blue Skies

"if you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!"

rgh. impatient... hurry up and call, already. I wanna job.

---

... 'cause i said it all and started to fall and the silence deafens...

this song is cool. lots of strings, and flamenco-y guitar, and bells. heh. whoever recommended this band to me, you rule.

---

and there's something really cute about the girl that's behind me in the lab, in a professional pantsuit and flip-flops. heheh. I love college.

The last few days:

Sin City was cool. Visuals were awesome, cast was great... need to watch it again some time to catch all the little stuff...

I need to rest. I think i'm coming down with something.

The girl in my classes who maintains 'I am not old-- and they're perky, dammit' *pushes them up with her hands* heh--whoop. Every now and then northerners aren't so bad. (i didn't say anything to prompt that... it was her birthday today, and she's on some repeat of 22.)

I need to order graduation invitations, like, in the morning. eek.

BitTorrent is awesome. And this song is great. I like Frou Frou.

I have a couple more prospects for jobs coming up. yay.

39 days and counting until i graduate.

Night, y'all.

---

EDIT: I want one. the 2007 GT500 Mustang....*drool*. for those of you at home, that can be the communal birthday present for the next 3 years, from the group. I'll be good, honest.

i've been listening to this a lot lately. I like the voice. And this is, to me, the very definition of post-apocalyptic. Everything else... so just acting. I'm apparently becoming a fan of prog-rock. I'll be damned. It's great. you should listen to this one...

---

Godspeed You Black Emperor! - The Dead Flag Blues

The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel.
And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides. And a dark wind blows...
The guv'ment is corrupt, and we're all so many drunks with the radio on and the curtains drawn.
We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death.
The sun has fallen down, and the billboards are all leering, and the flags are all dead, at the top of their poles.

it went like this: the buildings toppled in on themselves. Mothers, clutching babies, picked through the rubble, and pulled out their hair.

The skyline was beautiful on fire; all twisted metal stretching upwards, everything washed in a thin orange haze.
I said "kiss me; you're beautiful. These are truly the last days."
you grabbed my hand and we fell into it, like a daydream or a fever.

(4 minutes of instrumental. violins, guitar, synth. Beautiful.)

we woke up one morning, and fell a little further down; for sure it's the Valley of Death.
I open up my wallet, and it's full of blood.

*train whistle, bells*
(more guitar; harmonica-- i think; horns; and violin)

*pause*

*bells, xylophone, all peppy and pretty*</b>

-END-

---

If you knew (not suspected, KNEW) the apocalypse was coming, what would you do? Load your gun and go outside to meet it, standing up, and with your eyes open? Hide under the bed? Make tea and wait it out?

Would it be beautiful, to you, in its own horrifying way? Would it scare you shitless? I love fires. I think it would be beautiful to me, somehow. And I think that somehow, once a person came to deal with it, that one could accept it and take it at what it was.




I'd go stand in the biggest field i could find and face the sun.

Chris LeDoux passed away. I wasn't really a massive fan of his until last year, when i heard he'd be coming to the Texas Hall of Fame (it's a dancehall) in College Station. I found some of his music, and enjoyed(and still do) the tar out of it. The concert was great... see this entry from January 25th, 2004 for my thoughts on it back then.

"he's the last to quit, and the first to buy the beer..."

"So come to me my love,
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry...
never have enough,
For you i'd burn the length and breadth of sky"

---

Scary and sweet at the same time. I love Vienna Teng.

"Amerika" by Rammstein, while never a happy sounding song, is genuinely creepy when you listen to the words. Till Lindemann is pretty cool. And "Ich Will" is a cool-ass song.

yay! Ali'll be here at the end of this next week. *grin*

Might be going to see Cirque du Soleil with Ali (and maybe her mom, not sure) pretty soon. that will be cool, I've never been to a Cirque show. I've seen the recording of "Quidam" before, and if it's anywhere near that cool it will be worth the money.

---

cleaned part of my room and did a crapload of laundry tonight. sorting out stuff and filing things, too. kinda nice to get things organized.

And now it's time to sleep.

i'm not sure what the genre is for these songs... but here goes.

the ones I like are a techno/electronica beat, and a light female voice... examples are :

Kirsty Hawkshaw and Tiesto - Just be
Delerium - Poem for Byzantium
Sarah Mclachlan and Delerium - Silence

actually, i like a great deal of Delerium, and Conjure One.


Can anyone recommend some new artists in that same vein? Thank you in advance...(and if there's a label for this genre, that would be cool to know, too...)

hmm. cold here today, what the hey. just when i got all used to shorts and flip-flops again. wtf. stupid weather, all cold in the winter and stuff...

---

Ali called... I'm the person she calls, it seems, when she has time to talk on the phone. *smile* She's got friends coming in from New England, so she's going to be out of touch for the weekend. Need to make a Houston field trip soon... lots of people to see. I can think of 3 or 4 people right off...

---

watched "Reservoir Dogs" and "Van Wilder", both for the first time today. (yes, I know i should have seen them both. I have now...) And, well, more than you know, I do now identify with Van Wilder. ( more on that here... )

---

this has turned out kinda long... heh. first entry in several days... I don't have a lot to say, that's very profound or anything. Part of the reason breaks like this are nice, is that I lose track of the day. I love that. I think I need to go to bed. i got all industrious and did my laundry today, which means now, dammit, i have to re-make the bed. and typing on here allows me to delay that. heheh...

---

This is a good song. It's a cover, and I can't place who sings it originally. *goes to look* Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hah, knew that sounded familiar. Thanks to ernunnos for showing me allmusic so that i could find out in one search.

Night, y'all.

Fightin' Texas Aggie stupid-fucking-iPod-i-got-for-xmas-and-it-won't-work-with-USB-less-than-2.0. yay, computer mods.

I mean, um, yay, i got an iPod for Christmas. now if it would only work on the hardware i have...rrgh.

EDIT: okay, i fixed it. installed a USB 2.0 card in my parents' 'puter, and it works now. *jspurlin jams out on iPod*

Answers to the music post located here

1. Just a gigolo - Louie Prima or David Lee Roth
2. Shasta - Vienna Teng, once i get the lyrics right
3. whiter shade of pale - Procol Harum (or Annie Lennox)
4. Not an Addict - K's Choice
5. Dollskin - Toadies
6. Why I don't believe in God - Everclear
7. Dream on, depeche mode
8. White Flag - Dido
9. I'm stupid - Prime STH
10. 2003 - Nina Gordon
11. Dear God - Sarah McLachlan
12. Eurythmics - Missionary man
13. Escape Club - Wild wild west
14. Fiona Apple - the way things are
15. Merril Bainbridge - Mouth
16. Poe - Not a virgin
17. Sarah McLachlan - Elsewhere
18. Black betty - Ram Jam
19. One toke over the line - Brewer and Shipley
20. One of these days - Pink floyd
21. Inna-gadda-da-vida - Iron Butterfly
22. The Dolphin's Cry - Live
23. Broken Heart - Zwan
24. Captain Crash and the beauty queen from mars - Bon Jovi
25. Everybody loves Jill - Cowboy Mouth

"fear is the brightest of signs
the shape of the boundary you leave behind
so sing all your questions to sleep
the answers are out there, in the drowning deep...

sail your sea,
meet your storm
all I want is to be your harbor
he light in me
will guide you home
all I want is to be your harbor..."

Suddenly I want badly, worse than in a very long time, to be at the ocean, and watch the waves in the dark with the moon on the water and the rushing of water all you can hear. I want to feel very separate from all this, save for maybe a person with me to share it with, just for a few moments. I want that, right now, very badly. I want to sit on a jetty for hours, lay on my back and look at the stars with someone, and just not care that everything is going on around us.

I'm going to try to sleep. good(maybe) night, y'all.

1. and everywhere I go, people know the part I'm playing...
2. coffee mountain coffee diner coffee go on...
3. asked for another drink, the waiter brought a tray...
4. it's not a habit, it's cool, i feel alive
5. I hate these walls, they speak to me...
6. Strange talk about Edgar Cayce...
7. Hey, you pale and sickly child...
8. and when we meet, which i'm sure we will...
9. make it easy on yourself, and don't worry about me...
10. I've got a brilliant plan, I hope you understand...
11. I don't need a big reduction in the price of beer...
12. there'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin...
13. I love her eyes and her wild, wild hair...
14. keep on calling me names, keep on, keep on...
15. Turn you upside down, don't wanna waste it...
16. I've been opened, I've been closed like a book...
17. I believe, that this is heaven to no one else but me...
18. ... bam-a-lam...
19. if i should choose to make a part of me, would surely strike me dead...
20. i'm going to cut you into little pieces...
21. Adam, take my hat...
22. See the road rise up to meet us...
23. if only i died, just once in my life...
24. dressed up just like Ziggy, but he couldn't play guitar...
25. my favorite red spoon...

---

there are specific ones of y'all that i expect will get some of these with NO delay...

It's always weird when you are sitting with someone, and a song triggers a memory so pleasant you can't help but smile....
Happened last night. riding in the car with someone, listening to Christmas music (I never listen to it by choice, since it pervades the universe this time of year...but, hey, her stereo.) and Mariah Carey's "all i want for christmas is you" came on. And a mental picture and memory flew into my head, as well as a giant grin. That particular thought always was a good one. There are a bunch of good memories from all that... I just only find them every now and then.

Good stuff...

---

And hearing certain people's voice on the phone is good stuff. even if it's playing phone tag with messages...

---

Packing crap and going home for Thanksgiving after my class at 9AM tomorrow. it will be nice to be home for a bit. and jesus, do i need to hit my classes HARD when i get back. I must woop ass on finals.

*grin* just got a random "so whatcha doin?" call from Blythe.

---

Dark Side of Oz was good, i suppose. Blythe was gonna go with, but had to finish her fairy halloween costume, so she couldn't make it. eh... She's coming to the party tomorrow evening, so that will be good stuff. I like Pink Floyd, and so it was good. I still need to see "The Wall" at some point, i suppose. It's always cool to listen to music through a sound system that can make it out like it should be heard. LOUD.

---

I really like this Olive song. I think her voice is why. Me and my "female vocalists" thing, i guess.

Not a lot else to report... oh yeah, starting to get poison ivy on my left arm. motherfucker I hate poison ivy. but i still have some of the cream they gave me last year to help, and if it gets much worse, i'm going to the doctor. I'm a big fan of that cortisone shot. My immune system is good, but it also likes reinforcements.

THis is, I think, going to be a long next few days. Cutting/moving logs tomorrow, Party tomorrow night, and then Bonfire Centerpole Sunday, so i can't stay at the party very long; and then studying with R. sunday (whoop), and we're going for coffee (that i will need, sweet jesus, i bet i will) monday mid-morning. heheh. my life, too busy. I love it.

ok... going to bed, more tree-killing in the morning.

hmm... not much going on. weather's cooler and that's nice. It's currently raining though; I hope that stops before i ahve to bike to class in the morning.

I think that Lunik is a new favorite band of mine... they kinda remind me of... if Avril Lavigne and Dream and Fiona Apple all combined. In a good way. peppy and cheery and electronic. "The Most Beautiful Song" is good stuff. The internet is great for finding new artists to listen to.

wow, i'm tired after all the crap these last few days.

My entire room leans. In different directions. wacko old house...now to bed, i think...

and i got bitten all over my feet by a crapload of fire ants today. freaking fire ants.

Got there at around 5:45. doors weren't going to open until 7, so i figured I had some waiting around to do. parked right up front, and that was cool. got out, and this girl named Lauren was there, too, about the same time. So we're walking, and we look over there, and I'll be damned if Gert (Bettens, the lead guitarist and backing vocals; Sarah's brother) isn't sitting on the ground just picking on his guitar. He was teaching another guy, Kurt (kirk? dunno; he was the tech guy) how to play some of the songs on acoustic. So Lauren and I go sit on the ground next to them, and Listen to that for a while. We look up on the stairs leading into the building, and Sarah (Bettens, the lead singer, and Gert's sister) was standing there, talking on a cel phone. And we were both flipping out, sitting this close to them and just listening to them BS and sing a little. Yes, I went all sissy-fanboy. Yes, i giggled like a moron. I've liked this band for going on eight years now. I have gotten through breakups, shitty dates, deaths in the family, and general heartache of various and sundry kinds listening to this music. I'm allowed to be that excited. so there.

So after a while Sarah gets off the phone and comes down to walk around a bit. we flip out, since she's gone over to talk to some other girls that showed up, Darlene and Ashley. Darlene is a hardcore fan, as am I, and so is Lauren. Ashley really couldn't care less. So Darlene is literally almost crying she loves this band so much, and my legs are shaking, i'm all nervous. It got better. We went to talk to Sarah, and I got my picture taken with Sarah, Gert, and Eric(bassist), each separately. So cool. The shirt Sarah had on for the concert was a tomato-soup colored ringer tee that said "you say tomato, I say fuck you" with a lil' tomato flipping you off on it.

They(Sarah, Eric, roadie named Chris) walk to some chinese restaurant near the venue. So Lauren and I sit and listen to Gert a little more, and then he got on the bus so we went inside. Darlene, Ashley, Lauren and I got a table at the very front. I got the "10" DVD, Sarah's solo CD, and a real copy of "Almost Happy". Had them sign the copy of Almost Happy. hahah. awesome.

Her tattoo: I asked, it's an S, with an wave, like the ocean (almsot verbatim there). the S has the bottom loop closed around, and then the wave goes like the swoop in a fermata, but vertical, perpendicular to the S, connected on the end. All in black ink. It's her only tattoo. (looking at the DVD, she used to have one in the same place of a cross, made of lines...)

The opening act was Jen Foster, a singer from... Houston, I think. She wanted us to "lend her our energy" by sitting right near the stage. So we did. woohoo. Stood right near the stage, and that was nice. Good stuff, from what I heard. It'd have been nice to have known the words. I caught a shirt, that she tossed (about two feet) to me. yay. It was good, overall.

The second act, "The Skills of Ortega" was... too much like Tori Amos, if she wanted to be electronic. Their purpose was the raise awareness of cervical cancer in women, which is an admirable cause. But the woman sang kinda... not awesome. The electric cello was kinda cool tho.

Then K's Choice came on.

And I lost it. So excited. They played, in order (since I got a setlist):
Another Year, Cocoon Crash, Believe, Butterflies Instead, Come Over Here (a new song, sounded cool), Almost Happy, Not an Addict, Too many Happy Faces, Winners, If You're Not Scared(my personal favorite), Hide, Not Insane(another new one, also good, different style, sorta), My Heart (she had us sing. Eric "was speechless", in that "It's not supposed to be depressing" kind of way. So we all grinned and bucked up and sang our asses off.), Breakfast, Losing you(another new one), and Busy.

If You're Not Scared was my favorite. Distinctly. I LOVE that song. they did an awesome job on it. beautiful. Watching Gert and Sarah lean in and play facing each other... god, I wish i'd had pictures left to take. I took a BUNCH of the first songs.Winners (before If you're not Scared) was also very very good. I love that song too, one tiny little bit less than If You're Not Scared.

Listening to the 15 or so of us that were up front, singing along with Sarah... it was like a little choir. we were ALL singing our asses off. and grinning like crazy. I love it. I've never been to another concert where there were so many people singing that you could hear it over the monitors. It was surreal...

Her favorite guitar was a Fender 'flying V' style one, made of wood stained sort of a walnut color. We were so close to the stage you could see that Sarah has a lil' vein that shows under her right eye when she is singing. Gert has one on the right side of his head that shows when he plays... yay, being all up close to the band.

After they played "Busy" they went away, and we cheered for them to come back. we'd seen the setlist; I knew they were coming back. Sarah said we sounded like 500 people. They then played Everything For Free, and God In My Bed.

That was it. They left after that. And then I said goodbye to everyone (Lauren, Darlene, Ashley) and left. As I was leaving, Shannon (another girl from inside, CUTE) was leaving, and I told her goodbye. She said to call her. Will do.
And then I drove home.

---

Random snippets/thoughts about the evening:

--the conversation Sarah had with Jacob(a lil' dude who came to the show with his dad and held up the phone so his sister could hear the concert) and his sister:

"Hello? Are you enjoying the concert? Where are you? San Antonio? (to audience) how far is that? Response:three hours. Three hours? that's nothing. you should come next time we play...Bye..." and then gave him back the phone.
----------
Man, there were a LOT of cute girls there. um, cute, lesbian girls. yeah. (did i mention I got two phone numbers?) What? I'm a sucker for short hair. In my defense, each asked me to call her... *grin*
----------
That show kicked a lot of ass.

---

that was an awesome concert, and I am extremely grateful to have gotten to see them, finally. It was worth every penny.

class in a few minutes. yay.

Movie with Blythe tonight. yay, for real though. *smile*

---

My test on Friday will probably not be as hard as I previously thought.
that means the rest of the week will be all right.

---

I think the reason I like this song so much (it's lived on my MP3 player for months) is that the ending is almost exclusively violin. yep.

y'all have a good rest of your day...

I have found another band I enjoy. If you can call it a band... a "group", rather. Bond is a band of two violins, a viola, and a cello. and it's all strings and electronics and bad ass. and all the girls are attractive. wow. what a deal.

Honestly... if you like string music in any way, you should check this out. If you like Blue October, try this. the violin is very similar. Little or no vocals, but... it's very cool. Songs I enjoy are: Hymn (very good, pretty representative), Explosive (the original mix, and the remix from "Classified", both), Allegretto, and the others are good too. but there's three to start on.

Okay, now i'm really going to sleep. it's nigh onto 4AM. (nigh onto? jeesh, I am tired.)

I wish y'all could experience the peace that comes over me when i hear the first couple bars of the violin on this song. I LOVE this band. I love this violin...

The Bulletproof Brown show was cool too. Live music with a bunch of friends (on stage playing, and in the audience) is a ton of fun. I wish that the girl from my class who wanted to come ('cept she was very ill) could have come; that would have been cool. She may go cut trees with us some weekend, though. that will be cool. I need to go buy workpants and an axe. tonight after lab, perhaps.

This is turning into a pretty random post, I guess.

---

hahahaha... awesome. Cowboy Mouth is coming to College Station again, on October 20th. I'm going to go broke going to concerts this year. between concerts, lack of sleep, and the whole "chopping down the forest for the trees" thing, school is going to be a pain in the ass to not flunk. (yes, misguided priorities, I know). bah.

one more thing, in the next entry. see y'all in a second. seriously, this is a big enough thing it gets its own entry.

The Blue October concert was awesome. I got to be in essentially the second row. right near the stage. Things like that, where you can feel the bass in your clothing, and your body vibrates from the sound.... I LOVE IT. my ears really don't care. doesn't bother me at all. "Schizophrenia" was beautiful. All of it was great. The crowd was good... nothing rowdy I can remember.

Apparently this is the last time they'll come to College Station for a while. Too bad. I like seeing them perform every couple months. it's great.

I met the band afterwards, asked justin what his tattoos were.
*points to underside of right forearm* "this one says 'nevermind'".
*points to left wrist, at W.W.M.D. tattoo, above the red star* "this one stands for 'what would mom do'"
*points at ring-finger tattoo (two thin blue lines with green diagonals)* "...and this one stands for 'never let a bitch ruin your life'."

and then he grinned and I went to Piper for my autograph. Got all them to sign a poster. yay autographs.

More later. I just wanted to get that about the tattoos down before it slipped my mind.

There are lots of things that I want to know that I can't. This paragraph was a lot longer, but i re-wrote it into that. There are lots of things for which part of me wants details. And another, hopefully stronger, part of me wants to let it be.

---

I'm taking a field trip to Houston sometime next weekend. That'll be nice... I should call my uncle and aunt and see if I can get together with them.

---

It always kinda blows my mind when I find someone that I can talk for two hours with, at a stretch. It's nice. I looked up and it was nearly 6pm, when she and I started talking at about 4pm... figured I'd better get going. It's kinda nice to have one of those conversations that actually gives your head a workout from all the talking.

---

This song is the only one I can recall that contains the word "undulate". heh. I like Fiona Apple. She has a cool voice. (yeah, I'm on a "posting about music" kick lately...) Now it's playing Lacuna Coil. yay female vocalists. good stuff.

--We have the biggest freaking spiderweb in my yard I've ever seen. elaborate, and really thin spaces. very dense. weird shit. and it's huge, from the ground to the power line to the mailbox. lil' tiny spider comparatively; only like an inch in diameter counting the legs.
--So, apparently things figure out if you wait a while. finding things out is good.
--The end of this week is going to RULE.

Thursday - Blue October Concert. Anyone else going? (other than xerophreak and maybe mothoc, that is?)
Friday - Midnight yell. with a pretty girl.
Saturday - First Cut for Bonfire. YAY. tree-choppage.
Sunday - REST, so I don't die. wait, Cut is both days. That means Sunday afternoon I go sleep. hahahahaha.... I love it. I don't need sleep.

---

I really am turning into a massive Freckle. I think i'm in serious making-new-freckles mode lately. weird stuff. (And it's weird; you actually do notice new ones. Yeah, I keep track. I currently have something like 11,358 11,359 freckles. and increasing, it seems. more on the tops of my fingers, lately. weird stuff.

---

It occurs to me that I like really elaborate music... I think that is why "Godspeed You Black Emperor!" and Pink Floyd and techno appeal to me. Details. extra little stuff that I didn't catch the first 20 times, but did catch this time. The little "twaaaannngnnng" in "Dream On" by Depeche Mode, for example, that sounds like they did it on a electric 12-string. the little random things I hear in K's Choice songs i've listened to literally thousands of times. "One of these Days" by Pink Floyd. I listen to too much music, perhaps. (Nah...)

yay music. Now I think yay sleep.
Night, y'all. Have to go pull football tickets in the morning 6 hours or so...

holy crap.

454:55:22 of music.

divide by 24=18.9 days, solid, of music, with no repeats.

And that doesn't count the part I have encoded as WMA. but i own those on real CDs. so there's more.

this seems like a ridiculous amount of music for me to possess.

(say it ain't so, passenger86. say that it's not possible to have too much music!)