November 22nd, 2006 at 3:18 pm
by sillyjoe (Adventures in Randomosity, Lamentations)
Ever had a day where everything that could possibly go wrong at your workplace…did? Well, that day was today for me. I was there from 8 to 3…and the entire period sucked. I seemed to be moving in slow motion, and never caught up. We ran out of baked potatoes, we ran out of alfredo, we ran out of marinara, I didn’t drop enough chicken tenders, I ran 20 minute checks….I couldn’t do anything right, or quickly. All of this lead to me getting pretty much chewed out by my manager, even though there were two other cooks in the kitchen, mainly because I was the ranking cook on the line, and the opener…so all of the blame had to fall on me. My injured shoulder is acting up and as a result my neck’s stiff…
God, I need some grace today…
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November 20th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
by sillyjoe (Adventures in Randomosity, Life and Introspection, Music)
I’ve been speculating today on my high school days, and of most of my days during my year at college. I spent the majority of those years absolutely positive that I needed a girl. I remember thinking, if I just had a girlfriend, than all of this other crap that’s bothering me would go away! I know, that sounds pretty dumb, but hey, that was my logic. The older, wiser self that looks back on those times now wishes I could go back and smack myself….but oh well. I wasted so much time giving way too much attention to a few particular girls only because they gave me attention back. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of my mind, I thought, “Hey, she’s giving me attention…maybe she likes me. Maybe she’ll go out with me. Maybe she’ll make me feel better.” Why is it that we need companionship to validate our existence? And why isn’t God’s companionship enough? Or is it enough, and we’re just greedy beings? Somewhere along the line, I grew up. I quit being so desperate for female companionship, and started enjoying just hanging out without all of the excess baggage of hoping for more than friendship. And I was surprised to realize that there was life out there. There was completion out there. And it was only a breath away. I’m not sure how I missed it. I had it all along, I just never noticed before. But now, I realize that all I need is what I have in God. He is there to complete me, to fill that void. That whole female companionship thing will come when it’s supposed to come. And who knows? Maybe someday something will fall into place and I’ll look back on everything that’s happened in my life and say “See? It was all leading up to this.” But right now, I’m content with what I have. It’s still pretty entertaining to look back on those older days, those desperate days. To all of the ladies I pursued in those times…I apologize. I was…a sad creature, at best.
And I feel blood pouring through these veins after all
And I feel love washing through these stains after all
And I am coming to life, I am coming to life – The Normals
I can’t believe I never noticed my heart before… – Mutemath
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November 18th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
by sillyjoe (Music)
“I want you to get into the deep beautiful melancholy of everything that’s happened.” – Claire Colburn in Elizabethtown
There are certain songs that seem to evoke a feeling that nothing else does. You can’t find it in any other artistic medium. Not in film, nor literature, nor poetry. The combination of that music and those lyrics and that voice…it takes you to places you can only dream of going (or never wanted to). I relish those moments. Those moments when that song, that one song that perfectly describes the way you feel comes on your Ipod or on the radio. Those are magical moments. Over The Rhine seems to really bring this out in me. I don’t think any music can be better described as “melancholy” than the piano of Linford Detweiler meeting the voice of Karin Bergquist. That voice….good Lord, that voice, I think Karin could control the world with her voice if she wanted to. But there’s a new artist in town that’s taking over my melancholy musical moments. Well, he’s not really new. Just to me. Somehow I managed to miss him for way too many years. Matthew Perryman Jones has one of the most engaging voices I’ve heard in modern folk music in a long time. There’s something to it that pulls me in…I feel I could swim in his voice. His voice brings comfort, yet a strange sadness. When he sings “Refuge,” I feel every word, every line. I LIVE every moment of the song, from the first breath. It’s a strange phenomenon. Ray Lamontagne and Damien Rice, both mentioned in my last post, provide cathartic tunes as well.
I’m thinking of making a “songs for catharsis” mix…more to come, perchance.
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November 17th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
by sillyjoe (Music)
So here’s what’s been rolling around my cd player as of late.
mewithoutYou – Brother, Sister – I’ve never been that huge of a harder/alternative music guy…I have my moments. Most people that know me know I’m a folk guy. If it’s acoustic and not modern pop country, I’ll probably like it. mewithoutYou is one of those bands that just grabs you. The vocals of Aaron Weiss are very peculiar, leaning more towards spoken word than actual singing…but it has a charm to it. And I MUST give Weiss props as a lyricist. Here’s my personal favorite lyrical moment in the album, found in the song “In A Market Dimly Lit”:
I wrote a little song for you with a melody I’d borrowed put to words that didn’t rhyme to repeat what you already knew as the stones thrown at your window tapped a syncopated time you kept a distance out of fear you’d break but what good’s a single windchime, hanging quiet all alone? the music our collisions would make is a sound that turns the road-that-leads-us-back-home into Home.
The band isn’t a slouch musically either…with interesting melodies, some sparse arrangements, and just…a great range of sound. I dig it.
Ray Lamontagne – Till The Sun Turns Black – Ahhh, Ray. I’ve been slightly obsessed with Ray Lamontagne for some time now. Something in his voice just takes me to a place that I wish I could stay. A step up musically from his first album…the string arrangements on this album are stellar, and the addition of horns on some of the songs give it a killer jazz feel. Plus…there’s Ray’s voice. It’s pretty much the best ever.
Damien Rice – 9 – This is one of two VERY recent musical purchases, that I haven’t had all that much time to let sink in. We’re all familiar with Damien’s first album, O, as it was a huge success. This one is not all that different…the musical arrangements are a little larger…with some more electricity added in, which has a great affect. The opener, “9 Crimes,” just draws me in….and I want to listen to it again when it’s over. I’ll have to ruminate on this one more as I listen more.
The Format – Dog Problems – JUST got this one today. And I’ve already listened to it all the way through three times. I love this album. I had a love affair with the Format’s debut Interventions and Lullabies last year, in particular the track “Give It Up.” I’ve said that Nate Ruess has a way of capturing a moment, an emotion that you remember, in a song and allowing you to come back to that moment again and again. With this album, he does that with breakups. Strangely, it’s a musically “happy” album. It was even dubbed “the feel-good album of the summer” by Relevant Magazine. The lyrical content, however, is a bit sadder…it’s about breaking up after a long relationship. Here’s another artist that has grown musically since their last album. The arrangements on this album…plainly…are just fun. I give it eleventy billion stars.
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