"Hey, lets cross the sea and get some culture"

Today, my favorite, Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse by Minus the Bear.

Its just one of those perfect songs. Its a good mix of calm but energetic.It also puts a really good image in my head which I am going to try and paint over spring break. Its really just an excuse to try painting thought. I listen to this song all the time and it never gets old. It makes me want to go to France. I think ive been over this before, maybe it just means I need to go to France. I will. Anyways, just listen.

So on this crazy weekend, I took part in an epic random act of kindness. I bought a Buddy Holly album and a sick headband. I saw the play All My Sons. Found a brilliant cover of Pursuit of Happiness. Finally bought Contra by Vampire Weekend! And has no words to describe how amazing it is. I decided I am taking my camera everywhere. I saw this fantastic exhibit at the Frist Museum called New Urban Species which was mechanical sculptures that represented nature. Found the answers to a test review were online only after I spent hours actually doing it (quite disappointing). And discovered one of the most epic modern houses Ive ever seen in a suburb of Nashville. It looks like an alien spaceship. Here is a picture (Its really bad though cause I cant figure out how to take pictures at night):

Thats all for now. Sweet Dreams!

"Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance"

Today I looove You and I by Ingrid Michaelson.

Its amazing. Her voice is totally gorgeous. The lyrics are hilarious. And its so uplifting. I quite enjoy the big change into the rhythmic part at the end. If youre possibly feeling anything less than stellar, hopefully this will turn that around for you. Apparently the guy singing in the song is her producer. Thats pretty sweet and unexpected. I always wondered who that guy was cause it doesnt say. She is playing a show here in May so im hoping ill get in on that. hope you enjoy!

Speaking of shows, tonight I saw Taylor Swift and she was actually really great. Country is not really my thing; Im really trying to get more into, especially since Im in nashville and all. But I got free tickets to this show and it was real chill so why would i not check it out? I had never heard great things about her live performances but she sounded pretty solid on this one. I had lots of fun just being an excited fan while she danced around head banging and playing her bedazzled guitars. Im super glad I didnt skip out on this one.

This week so far has been real great. I was in an orchestra concert on tuesday night that was my favorite yet. The music was really exciting and fast and we got a standing ovation! Afterwards I went to go get free pancakes and IHOP for national pancake day. We got so lucky because basically you had to be seated before ten if you wanted them free and we got seated at 9:58! It was so worth it. Well its getting really late, as usual, cause ive been distracted by my suitemates watching german music videos, you could check out this one, its pretty legit. That is all.

Night!

"I will haunt you if you want me to"

Today I am in awe of Phones Don't Feud by Holiday Shores.

This is a recent find, like as of a few hours ago (theres more about that below) so I dont have much to say yet. Im loving the high side of the song, if you get what I mean. I saw these guys play a show tonight with CY, Turbo Fruits, and Surfer Blood. It was absolutely amazing. I hadnt been to a show in a while so I was real pumped. Nothing can replace live music and the atmosphere of being around people who love the music too. Everyone should go see a show as soon as they can; its always worth it. I went to see Turbo Fruits and ended up loving everyone who played, especially these guys. And to top it all off, Holiday Shores' singer looks like Corey from Boy Meets World (aka he was real cute!). We were also right up front which is always the best. It was nice to get out because I had spent the whole day doing research for another paper. College never quits. Im actually about to go tackle that essay after I write this. Or rather, right now.

Enjoy!

"Ships are launching from my chest, some have names but most do not"

Yesterday I was inspired by Welcome Home by Radical Face.

This song is such a comfort, to put it simply. Chorus is pretty amazing. And Im a huge fan of the clapping beat. And read the lyrics! Im big on lyrics lately and these are legit. I had a hard time choosing one for the title. If I could be welcomed home by any song, it would definitely be this. I literally found this song a few days ago while skimming my music library. I honestly only listened to it cause I thought the album cover looked real neat and I was wondering what song it was. Pure luck right there.

Yes this post was supposed to be for yesterday. I had it all planned out in my head and no time to write it because I was being an extra in a movie! Im not supposed to give out details yet but Ill warn everyone when it comes out and make sure we all go see it. Lets just say it was an amazing experience and Im so glad I did it. I had to get up at four in the morning though! So when we got back late that night I totally crashed. But here we go, I got it written.

Laters

"Live through this, and you won't look back..."

Today I discovered Your Ex Lover is Dead by Stars.

Oh my goodness. How could I have overlooked this song? It has so many different elements that are just fantastic. I love how it starts out with an old sort of feel, then somehow transitions into a string section, then the voices are added. The layers are fascinating and they all seem to fit great. And there we go with all of those different instruments again.The lyrics too, they are genius. It makes me think of Paris for some reason; more specifically a street at night in Paris. But really, Id listen to it anywhere. A note on the video (since it is the actual music video), it seems reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Its super amazing! so watch that too. Start a list or something. Both the song and the movie give a sort of deeper look at the concept of love. I enjoy it. I hope you do too.

Today I decided I would like to be an art critic. Im not sure what it even takes to be one, but it would be a great excuse to travel the world looking at art. Another thing to add to my bucket list. I really do love making lists. I bought a new notebook with a really cool cover to put them all in. I also had a performance tonight in a quintet. I havent been in a smaller group performance in a long time so it really got me excited. I should have more opportunities to perform coming up so now I just need to focus on practicing. Im working on that. That way I can get to the extra things I want to do, like write songs and beatbox on flute (if I ever figure that one out). No sense in rushing though, I have the rest of my life to do everything.

au revoir

"Oh, the razor blade, wish it would snap this rope"

Today my favorite song is Razorblade by The Strokes.

First of all, I love The Strokes and anything by them is amazing. But this song in particular has been stuck in my head all day. I cant remember the circumstances surrounding the time when I first heard it, but I can remember my mind being blown. I especially love the guitar part (it is on my list of songs to learn if I ever get to learning guitar). Its great how they fit the guitar part inside the vocals. The lyrics make me laugh too. So good. While youre at it listen to Under Control by them as well. I cant pick which one is my favorite, which just goes to show how consistently epic these guys are.

Ive been slacking on this, sorry to the few of you who read this haha. School has been really busy lately. I just decided that I have officially taken on too much. But to be positive, I enjoy being insanely busy. I went to see Belmont's Rock Showcase on Saturday and it was amazing! If you ever find yourself in Nashville, check and see what music stuff is going on here cause I guarantee you will enjoy it immensely. I also dyed my hair this weekend! It was one of those middle of the night spontaneous ideas. I was hoping for it to turn out a much lighter brown but since my hair is so very dark it barely did anything. It just kinda gave it a red tint. Gradual change is probably better. My constant distraction has left me lots of work to do for the rest of the evening so this is all for today.

Ciao!

"I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea like navy men"

Today I question the necessity for some of this absurd schoolwork I have been given.

I am currently writing a paper on how the images on Achilles' Shield (from the Iliad) relate to everyday Bronze Age Greek life. Ridiculous huh? I wont deny that I am getting an amazing education and it is probably what is best for me. However, at this moment as I sit here at my desk surrounded by old-smelling books littered with post-it notes, all I can think about are the many other things I could be doing with my time that would be far more enjoyable. But instead those things pile up on my to-do-over-spring-break list. Work work work. Back to music,

Today I am comforted by Brothers on a Hotel Bed by Death Cab for Cutie.

I will confess that it took me far too long to listen to this song all the way through. The slow piano at the beginning turned me away too quickly. But once you get past that you can appreciate the song as a whole and just be calmed by it. There are some great lyrics too. I especially love how they slowly layer everything. You notice a different thing every time you listen to this song, but then again many songs are like that. I just realized that there is some weird music playing in the background of the beginning, listen for it. Then just relax. Thats what Im doing now that my paper is done =)

Sweet dreams

"You must stick up for yourself son"

Today I cannot stop listening to Ambling Alp by Yeasayer.

It took me a bit to get into this song but obviously it has made a good impression on me because Im writing about it now. Im fascinated by how they add strange noises into songs and make it all work together. The music is all motivating and exciting. After doing some research I find that it is about boxing, even specific events, which surprises me. It is refreshing though to have an unexpected topic like that. But just listen to it already, its good, I promise. You can download it free off their website too, which is a little odd, just warning. But go for it. While on the topic of free downloads, I originally got this song from a playlist series that Urban Outfitters puts out every so often. Check it out. Its solid. For those of you who ask me where I find music from, this is one of the big places.

I have been reading far too much ancient literature today so music is a nice mind-cleansing end to my evening. Like really all Ive been reading has been about battles so its just lots of heads getting cut off and people being impaled. Quite intense. I didnt really do much this weekend, lots of sporadic working on homework. I wrote a pitch for a TV show last night around 1:00 (then I should say earlier this morning I suppose) in my favorite coffee shop with some friends. It was very contenting. I like talking to people about how things like that are what I do for homework because it is so unusual. I just love it! Perhaps Ill give details on that later. But for now its time to catch up on some sleep.

Sweet Dreams.

"Winter's cold is too much to handle"

Today I am loving the song Horchata by Vampire weekend.

I dont know all of the specific musical terms to describe this song, even though I am a musician, but Im hoping that wont matter too much. Im still quite young and learning. All I know is that this song is amazing! The first time I heard it I could not get over how epic the sudden explosions of sound were (listen and you will know what I am talking about). Its neat how they use unexpected instruments to create a really unique sound, I love it when artists do that. Honestly I have yet to hear a song from them that I did not like, and I have yet to hear a song that does not stand on its own in its uniqueness. Its almost as if the thing that distinguishes them is their variation from song to song. My other favorites are A-Punk and California English. Im actually finding it hard to put my feelings for these songs into words. Hm. I want to write down how a song makes me feel instead of all of its technical aspects; Ill work on that.

On a more personal note, I need to learn how to write these faster cause they are taking time out of my homework, which I am slowly getting behind on. I had to read about classical Greece today which was exciting for me because I am a total nerd when it comes to art history. The Nike of Samothrace is probably my favorite piece from that time. I would post a picture but the "infringing on copyright" thing is still confusing me (we wont risk it until I understand). Its nearly unbelievable how an artist can sculpt marble to look like flowing fabric and make the Nike seem in the middle of an action. I do wish it still had a head though, I try not to let that ruin it for me :P

My neighbors somehow ended up with a trash bag full of leftover bagels from Panera, which of course I allowed them to share with me. So my stomach is feeling pretty great right now. Its been a solid day. I think Im slowly getting the hang of this blogging thing, its alot harder than I thought.

Goodnight!