goodbye levis
my favorite jeans
have gone missing, probably
to that place socks go.
the smedley log - suburban scrawl
Friday random ten
(falling for the entire human race)
- Moment – Gran Bel Fisher
- Bad Day – R.E.M.
- Jesus in New Orleans – Over the Rhine
- Baby’s Coming Back – Jellyfish
- The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight – R.E.M.
- I Can’t Understand – Los Lobos
- Let Me In – Garrison Starr
- Waltz with Me – Tonic
- Desire – U2
- Your Lips – Olu Dara
This is the sound of you and me:
Autumn
Ben
Brian
Lauren
Marisa
Polonius
shut the doors on him;
let him play the fool nowhere
but in his own house.
(in honor of Scott’s new blog)
Mourning angst
“Won’t it be dull when we rid ourselves
of all these demons haunting us
to keep us company?”
- Barenaked Ladies (from “War on Drugs“)
This is about angst – sort of. There was a time when I was full of it. These days I’m sometimes melancholy, but it just isn’t the same.
I remember when I realized I was losing my sense of perpetual angst. It felt, for a while at least, like I was losing an integral part of me. I dreaded its absence, almost mourned it, wondering if I would even recognize life without it.
Angst was almost my friend. Not the sort of friend who remembers your birthday or loans you a few dollars when you’re short, but the type that nurses a heroine addiction and steals the last twenty from your wallet. Still, I was sure I’d miss it.
But like most dysfunctions, I only expected to miss it. I never actually missed it once it was gone.
It fascinates me how many things people are better off without but still dread losing.
Monday morning couplet
Tired weekends wilt to the pressure of Monday’s dawn.
Always wish they’d hold out, but the pattern trudges on.
…
Giving Frank feedback
Frank posted about a prospective re-design for when he moves his blog to WordPress. I like what he’s mulling and I told him so. Maybe you’d like to throw your two cents in too.
Friday random ten
(crazy lady with the shiny shoes)
As I head in to the oral surgeon this morning
- The Bends – Radiohead
- Wash It Away – Black Lab
- Silver and Gold – U2
- They Dance Alone – Sting
- Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe – Live
- It’s Come to This – Fuel
- Crowing – Toad the Wet Sprocket
- Winding Road – Bonnie Somerville
- Sell, sell, sell – Barenaked Ladies
- Sweetness Follows – R.E.M.
But who are my real friends?
Andrea
Autumn
Ben
Brian
Lauren
Marisa
Twittering the day away
I’ve been on Twitter, and I just found out I have three followers – does that make me some kind of minor prophet?
At first I thought I might use Twitter to post haiku. Given the space constraints (160 characters or less per post), it seemed a perfect idea. Then I realized there’s no way to impose my own line breaks. Good, bad or indifferent, I have to blame Frank for the bad influence, and Scott for making me wish I was a true twitterholic.
On being framed and what you can make with lemons
Here is where I briefly enlighten readers as to a couple more albums that have joined the fold. This time it’s The Frames and Glen Phillips on the docket. (Clicking on a CD image or title below will take you to a page where you can purchase that disc.)
The Frames: The Cost
I only looked these guys up on emusic.com because Mark practically nagged me about it (or maybe that inference was just some sort of Irish guilt on my part). Believe it or not, I didn’t realize there was more than one talented rock band to come out of Ireland. Or maybe I did, but I didn’t expect them to be this good. Once I got past the creepy similarity to Chris Martin’s bad falsetto that inhabits the first few lines of the album, The Cost was pretty much uniformly impressive to the last note.
First song to reach out and grab me: “True” (I think I have to blame this selection on the female backing vocals toward the end of the track, which I find almost whimsical)
The Frames’ website is here. Their MySpace page is here.
Glen Phillips: Mr. Lemons
During the same visit to emusic during which I picked up my first taste of The Frames, I also noticed Glen Phillips’ latest. Having been a longtime admirer of one of his previous obscure music efforts, I figured chances were better than not I’d find something to like in his latest outing. And I found a lot to like within Mr. Lemons’ confines, which weave from the grateful to the melancholy. Phillips even incorporates a new sound for a Huey Lewis cover.
I must also draw attention to the fact that he has a mostly dormant blog, where his “about” statement reads:
I am a singer/songwriter and father of three daughters. I had a brief moment of mainstream success as a young man which I am still in the process of recovering from. I love my family, friends, music. I think people are basically good but usually broken. I’m trying to learn how to make music for a living without it being at the expense of my family and community. I value simplicity. I create noise.
The last two sentences resonate with me for some strange reason. I don’t quite know why…
First song to reach out and grab me: “The Next Day”
Glen’s website is here. His MySpace page is here.
