Holy shit!

Whoah!  Vampire Weekend gets sued?

A Sunny Rainstorm for you

Sun filled rainstorm

Tactile Luminosity

Hand-drawn graphite border

(Lit from Within)

there was an amazing sunny rainstorm today on my way home from teaching (last three weeks here! no more teaching for a few months. yes!) I've begun the daunting and slightly overwhelming task of sorting through my apartment, selling stuff, and donating the rest of it. 800 square feet allows one to spread out one's stuff, and to live in the illusion that one will always have that space (false.) However, I'm trying to take a no prisoners approach to cleaning my apartment-I have a large pile of clothing amassed in the last 9 years, and it's time to get ride of some of those high school duds, even if they fit. I'm thinking a little photographic wake is the best way to send them on their way. Photos to follow, I suppose.

what's most exciting though, is that I have nowhere that I really need to be right now. i have to teach a few lessons here and there, but otherwise, I'm free to be my own agent, and that's rather exhilarating. I don't have too many friends here right now, so I'm really just vegging out, and appreciating the silence and the opportunity to stay in bed late, and nibble on peanut butter chips at night time while drinking white wine and watching the tele. Other points of business are things that I've been observing on the internet(s)-I've been indulging in the internet time now that it works again. Here are some of the finest things I've found lately:

Levi's Pioneer sessions: never did I think that a folksy cover of a disco song could be successful! The covers that have come out are Dirty Projectors, She & Him, and the Swell Season.

Shop Ruche- a great website, like modcloth, but cheaper and ecofriendly.

My boys, (not grizzly bear. my other boys.) Vampire Weekend, have a new video out, which is pretty 80's tastic, and it makes me laugh, because they look hysterical, and only one of them looks decent with the wig. Clearly, John Malkovich had to work harder in "Dangerous Liasions" than anyone else knew.

Urban Outfitters: duh, they sometimes have good stuff, but online, it's amazing! everything is organized, which is totally different from the stores, which are a clutterfuck if ever there was one. The best part though, is the shoes and the shoe sale. How else can I get ten dollar flats in awesome colors?

John Adams' (composer) blog: it's kinda like the Onion, for classical music. Few people I know can make fun of Elliott Carter so courageously.

on the more banal side of musical exploration, I have Kid Cudi's song "Make Her Say" stuck in my head, with Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" simultaneously stuck in there too. Catchy shit, those top 40 hits.

listening to: yacht, beach house, swell season, and more

Obsession

So I have been going through my quarterly or biannual "band/indie rock music obsession" phase, which usually occurs on breaks from school, when I indulge in non classical music in excess. This particular binge is thanks to last week's concert, and the hope that I will attend some good shows in the summer, before Canada, part 9. (I've been to Canada 8 or 9 times since I moved to the Roch.) Anyway, on the same line, I had the weirdest dream about the band Grizzly Bear last night, and a less weird one about Vampire Weekend.

In my dream, Grizzly Bear, whose members are moderately clean-cut looking, showed up at the church where I did my Easter gig (Lutheran something in Pittsford) and looked kinda crazy and manic, in that their facial hair was out of control and they looked homeless. They sat in the choir loft, and instead of singing, they read 'the Lorax' for the children's service component. I asked them if they would sing, and the drummer said that it was too early in the morning for their vocal chords to be warmed up. I was really bummed, of course, but I told them that it was fine. Then, the dream gets a little hazy, and I did something really cool or wore something really cool, and the lead singer, Ed Droste, told me I was one of the coolest fans ever, and that I deserved 22 points. (For what?? I don't know.) He said there was some kind of national competition for fans, and that I was a medal contender. (Significance of 22? No idea.) The band then told me that they were going to Cleveland, and that I should go to the show, and that if I was a winner, I would get to go to the Wisconsin show too. That's all I remember. Weird. It definitely has some vague connection with the "Two Weeks" video, which is filmed in a church, and the fact that John and I were discussing the complications of Catholicism before bed. (John is MJ's boyfriend, and we were just having a light chit-chat about how sometimes throwing in Jesus and God references can really taint a spiritually informative homily or sermon.)

I also, in the same evening, had a sweet dream in which I wrote Vampire Weekend a letter, they wrote me back, but at MJ's mom's address in Byfield, MA, and told me that they wanted to hire a personal assistant/musician to do fill work. It was a far less descriptive dream, but equally rewarding. I dropped out of NEC and moved to Brooklyn to live in a closet and cook, clean, and play viola lines. It was dreamy.

currently listening to: Gorillaz, "Plastic Beach".

Currently contemplating: My future. I.e., what the f*$% am I going to do next year. More on that next time.

Currently baking: Sage shortbread and matcha cookies for MJ's recital tomorrow. Success stories and recipes to follow.

Vampire Weekday, or Please Don't Talk To Me, I'm Busy Watching My Celebrity Crush

As many of you know, I went to Toronto on Tuesday for a most excellent concert by one of my favorite bands, Vampire Weekend. My love for specific bands usually goes in 1-2 month chunks- I'll get really obsessed with something for a while, then move on and temporarily forget about them, and rediscover them a few months later. Such is the case with many of my favorite groups, including V.W. My boss at the Boston Public Library first introduced them to me in the summer of 2008, so there are songs that I strangely associate with the city of Newton, MA, where I was residing at the time. I forgot about them for a year or so, then they released their new album this year- the single "Cousins" was take it or leave it for me, so I wasn't totally sold, but I had hope in their abilities, and I wasn't disappointed. Anyway, in February, when I coincidentally discovered that I had not passed prescreening at Colburn (WTF, but whatever) I decided I needed to be bold and highly decadent, and buy tickets to see a show. Thus this event came to pass. (I realize that's a lot of random backstory. Sorry)

Anyway, the bottom line is that the show was amazing- their music is really fun and energetic- it always makes me think of summer and drinking red stripe. I don't know that I would ever have a deep spiritual epiphany as a result of them, but it's just fun and interesting music. The show was very carefully crafted- they played most of the songs off the two albums, and the performance was mostly very similar to the actually albums. There weren't a lot of variations in terms of improvising solos, fills, and whatnot, but somehow that was mostly ok. What I was most excited about though, was the fact that the lead singer can actually sing. Many times, I am totally disappointed in bands when they play live, or even on TV, because I see how much post-production editing takes place. But this was the real deal. (And he was cuter in real life too.) The other thing that was so interesting to realize is that there was a certain masked sense of insecurity that was hidden in the show. These guys aren't that old- maybe all 24-26, and it was so interesting to see them project a certain confidence that was necessary, but at the same time a reserved nature underneath. I almost enjoyed knowing that the most. It was so interesting to realize that for all the praise we give bands and celebrities, they are still complicated people behind the projected persona. I can't really explain what exactly they did or didn't do that made me feel that way, it was probably something I just noticed as a fellow performer. It was like they could be courageous while performing, but as soon as they had to address 3,000 people, they were a little cautious, perhaps for good reason. Either way, it was fascinating.
We also went to an afterparty of sorts, which could have been more amazing, if we had had more cash...argh. So we had heard of a top secret afterparty in which the bassist would be DJ-ing, and we had only taken out about $60 Canadian for the day. We ended up spending a bunch of it on the taxi to get there, and then the cover fee for the party. We go in, and we see the lead singer (aka. my big celebrity crush) bartending. And we proceed to flip out. We don't want to seem too anxious and needy (MJ and I, that is), especially since we're not dressed as groupies: we're wearing normal clothes, and it's cold. After some milling about, we get in line, he takes our order, and then we're told that they don't take cards. Thus, we didn't really get to talk to him, and we went on a fruitless search for an ATM, and because Canada is stupid about VISA, were unable to buy a beer from him and talk about music. It kinda sucked, but we did get to sort of see him and have our order to taken. Tragic, truly. But here's what we decided: if we had talked to him, it would have been stupid superficial things, and we really wanted to know substantial things about them writing music, and influences, and things like that. We were just some groupies there to fawn over them, or at least not only fawn over them. Also, he might have been contrary to what my fantasy crush persona has allotted for him, which would then ruin the dream. And that would be unfortunate.
Anyway, the overall evening was a success, although I do regret not having the means to have a conversation with the lead singer, the boyish and charming ezra koening. I'll just have to settle for the music videos.


Thinking about: why I don't play in a band in Brooklyn or Canada. Apparently, that's where all the cool bands are, and I want in on that.

Proof the white boy can't dance

I often have major crushes on the indie/alternative/other bands...grizzly bear, decemberists, vampire weekend...but this video is absolute proof that my favorite paul simon stylized band singer (graceland era) simply can't dance like everyone else in this video. And it's kind of a amazing. Here is ezra koening soloing with "The very best" and his vocals sound terrific, but man, he doesn't hold a candle to the band's booty shaking. But I manage to love him anyway, even if he is wearing a plaid shirt over a striped or plaid shirt. Too bad he doesn't wear glasses.

In other news, there's a great quote from pitchfork: ""I just love the Grizzly Bear. That project was great. It sounds like these church cathedral chords-- it's just sick what they're doing."
-- Jay-Z, sounding more and more like somebody's cool grandpa every day. The Grizzly Bear!"
I wish grizzly bear would take the hint and make a super sweet collaboration with THE Jay-z. ok? Because that could be awesome.

vampires, weekends, horchata

New Vampire weekend album IS awesome. Horchata. Remixes. Bliss. Dancing in my apartment. 'nuff said. This is the only band that can make the sounds of Paul Simon hip again, post-Graceland. Afro-beats, rock instruments, a taste of Animal collective...delicious.

In other news, I've also become addicted to the HBO show, TrueBlood, and have spent the bulk of the last three days watching the first season, which is the only one on DVD. This may be a short-lived obsession, since I don't have access to HBO or the second season. But it's fabulous, and 1000 times better than Twilight. In fact, Twilight is kind of a rip-off of this whole series, and I'm glad the books and author are getting her dues, since these totally pwn the Twilight series.