Summerten Mixtape

Well, it's about that time. The air's getting warm, the days are getting longer, and the pollen has been absurdly thick in the air (from where I'm standing anyway).

Summer is getting closer. In preparation, I made a draft list of some songs for This Summer's Mixtape Numero Uno. Feel free to add some suggestions:

Fun.- All the Pretty Girls: For those of you not familiar with this band, it's the former lead singer of the Format, members of Anathallo, and Steel Train. They deliver on the promise of their name and so much more. For all the naysayers, I got one thing to say to you- "C'mon." Seriously. The instructions for how to listen to this song are practically in the name and lyrics.

Denison Witmer- California Brown & Blue: This feels like such a summer song, but he does such a great job of capturing the wistfulness of thinking about missed opportunities.

Jonsi- Go Do: The lead singer of Sigur Ros has released some solo work, and yeah, this is something to be excited about. His solo album Go is somewhat a departure from their work. It's more beat-driven and buoyant. I heard this song described on npr as "five minutes of pure joy." That description of this song is spot-on. It is Jon Birgisson at his most ebullient.

Mumford & Sons- Winter Winds: These guys are new to me. I’ve been hearing about them for awhile, often in a sentence that also contained the words “Avett Brothers”. When they’re on, they’re on. And in this song, they’re on. And I like that it’s a love song that ends in a seemingly ambiguous place.

Le Loup- Grow: Another exciting export from the Ol’ World, as they say. Le Loup is hauntingly beautiful (grammar?); imagine Animal Collective and Fleet Foxes going on a road trip, while Sufjan Stevens and Arcade Fire play quietly on the iPod. That's what this sounds like.

I know. It blew my mind too.

Michael Jackson- Rock With You: Even though last summer was the passing of the King of Pop, the beginning of this year still seems appropriate for a digital homage. What could be better than one of the early hits, and a perennial favorite? I’ll say it. Classic.

The Darkness- Growing on Me: This is such a fun straight up rock n'roll song that I'm pretty sure the words were made up on the spot for.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Weren't these the guys from like four years ago with the spandex and too many guitar solos?" Maybe. But after listening to this song, I would challenge you not to long for a catsuit and a Les Paul to call your own.
Go ahead. Try it.

That's it for now. Call this side A.

Miscommunication (Or, Adventures in Semantics)

Setting the scene:
I’ve just exited a fine production of Stravinsky. I’m stepping outside onto the patio with everyone else to congratulate some of the players and enjoy some tasty hors d’oeuvres and light conversation (or light hors d’oeuvres and tasty conversation, whichever you prefer. But you get the idea). In any case, as I was standing there enjoying my pate and eloquently pontificating to a most patient listener on the striking similarity of Stravinsky’s piece to Charlie Daniel’s masterpiece “Devil Went Down to Georgia”, when a nearby lady ambles into the conversation. I’m unsure of the exact conversational entry point, but I only remember hearing a heavily accented voice (addressed to my companion) “You know, Stravinsky was Russian. By the way, you shouldn’t eat that brownie. Brownies will make you fat.” Shortly thereafter, I found myself asking her questions about her background. “So you’re from Russia? What part?” etc. She explained that she was from a couple of hours outside Moscow. I then proceeded to ask what I thought was a fairly valid question. “So, where you’re from, is it a bigger town or like, a smaller village?” Her face contorted into a look of pained confusion. “What?” she snapped loudly.
Had I said something wrong? Maybe the synapses had misfired, and my brain said one thing and my mouth another, something inane and offensive, like “sweatshops are okey-dokey” or “underarmour is acceptable Saturday night casualwear.” I haltingly tried again. “Uh, you know, the place where you live, is it a larger town or like, a smaller village?” Her face settled into an expression of oh-yes-of-course. “Yes, I live in a village, there’s only about 400,000 people that live there.”
I’m glad we got that cleared up.

So I was driving this afternoon today for work. Had an idea for a star wars-themed coffee shop.

Drink names (still just in the brainstorming phase):

java the hutt (a house blend, perhaps?)
mocha fett
latte calrissian
leia americano (get it- leia organa, americano? it's a stretch, but hey I'm really trying to make this work here)


Names:
A Brew Hope

Remember how in Back to the Future there was the awesome futuristic diner? Kind of like that, but better. Wookie uniform mandatory. Basic understanding of Shyriiwook language as well. Still in the planning stages- I'll work out some more kinks later. Suggestions are welcome.

New Beginnings (Or, a Misadventure in Cliche)

Well, dear unsuspecting reader, what you have stumbled upon is the first blog post. That's right, the very first one. You might be asking yourself at this point, "What major life event has he undergone recently that I wasn't privy to?" And the answer is.... (drumroll please) nothing. That's right. I haven't moved to a foreign country with the Peace Corps. I'm not hiking the Appalachian Trail and stopping in provincial towns at the one computer to update you on my progress. And I didn't have a child (but who knows, science is getting pretty amazing last I heard).
So the real reason I am doing this is that is the only way I can think of to keep track of all the ridiculous things that I can't remember any other way. I can promise you this, most of it will probably be so absurd and self-indulgent that it is absolutely blog-worthy.


So be prepared, dear reader, to follow me down the rabbithole.