Have You Ever Heard The Sounds In The Shadows Of A Song?

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. This is just a quick post to say I'm still here and I'm gonna post a long message soon, but I've just been stupid, silly busy working for corporate hell and what not. There's just not a whole lot to write about thats worth taking the time out to read. I mean I basically have the same routine everyday. I start my day by going to work at 10p.m. to 7 a.m., I come home and go to sleep until 3, around this time friends of mine start getting off of school. I hang out with someone until around the time I have to go to work...voila...lather, rinse, repeat. Not all that exciting.

I was supposed to come back and tell Mr. Blog here all about my crazy misadventures at Purdue. Did that happen...fuck no. Why not? Walmart. Plain and simple as that. I wish it was more complicated than that, it just isn't. Monday and Tuesday are my days off and they had me come into work anyway. I was lividly pissed off to say the least. Not to mention having the feeling in the back of my mind that I am letting down everyone that was waiting for me. To those, I am sorry, there was just nothing I could do. I could've told them to piss off...but I didn't. Maybe it was that flaw about me that was kicking in to effect. You all know about it, that one where I just go ahead and let people use me as their own personal red carpet for life. Just roll me out and let footsteps collect glamorously. True no matter how many times it is trampled, the red carpet still looks amazing...but you have to take into account the underside. Tattered and worn at everyone's expense, knowing that its just going to be rolled up and stored until further use. Where once again it will be glamorously trampled at the expense of the side no one sees. Point being, this was just a mishap that happened in the cogwheels of the clockwork. Give it time and I'll be down at Purdue to see everyone. Give it time. Same goes for those at IU.

I was at ChelC's house the other day just talking to her in the backyard. There was a hummingbird that came around and just acted as if it was observing us for mere seconds. It truly is amazing how fast they can flap their wings and yet the go no where. ChelC used it as a metaphor for her life, a good one at that. It just made me succumb to the realization that there are so many things in this world that go unnoticed and unappreciated. Imagine if you could slow down time and space as we know it and just watch that hummingbird. Watch every effortless flap of those tiny wings, moving ever so rapidly with a slow melodic pace. Just wonder how they are so well calculated, straight down to the point of not even realizing they do it. Flying to them is like blinking to us. Done so easily all the time, its just habit and adaptation.

On that note...I will have to conclude on a later time. Now I'm off to Bella Vita to talk with ChelC. Here's to that toothy smile, and anticipation for part 2...

Alright, anticipation period is over. Just got back from Bella Vita with ChelC, good times as usual. It made it all the better that we got free goodies because they made too many or something. Who says loitering gets you no where? Now to see if I can muster any of what I was going to say before I left. Lets see, just got done talking about the hummingbird...I was going to segway into my comical part of the post. Here it goes.

I was at work the other night when I heard one woman make a comment to the other. I was assuming that these two were friends. She made a comment about how nice her breasts were. Now that is one thing that I have always found fascinating about women, no not their breasts, the fact that they can comment and compliment eachothers anatomy. This is of course ok if your a woman. You know they just go ahead an analyze eachother and its cool. One goes ahead and starts feeling the other ones breast. "You have some nice breasts (analyzing process) so soft...yet so firm" Now picture two guys standing at a urinal..."Hey Earl, nice balls you got there...(analyzing process) so soft...yet so firm" See it just doesnt work out that way. Its ok for women but if guys do it...its just not right.

Alright thats all for tonight. I'll leave the toothy smile here for anyone to pick up on. I'll give you some albums to check out as well, not too many though. Here comes that part of the post where I ramble about music...w()()t w()()t!!

Artist: Death Cab For Cutie
Album: Plans

Death Cab for Cutie might be one of the best bands on earth. Gibbard's voice is breathtaking and soothing. His voice actually makes you smile. The best songs on this cd are by far "Summer Skin" and "I Will Follow You Into The Dark." Such powerful songs. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" is Gibbard's way to face death since he is petrified to lose anyone around him especially his girlfriend. "Summer Skin" is a great song for the summer especially if you have had a summer fling. There's something about spending your summer doing certain things and the end of it that affects you. Gibbards lyrics put it all into perspective. Sometimes the summer can make us do things that we regret and things that might break your heart. Shedding of your summer skin is a very depressing and beautiful because you lose all that summer fun in that skin when it starts peeling because obviously its fall and summer is over, which is a very depressing thing. It's beautiful because you sort of become fresh, reborn when that skin is shed. Summer skin parallels the old saying that spring means rebirth. What a great song. Other favorites are Manhattan, Soul Meets Body, and Different Names For The Same Things. Although Plans sounds similar to Transatlaticism, you have to love Plans because the aforementioned album is awesome. As is Plans. Plans has some songs that could be included in The Postal Service's play list. The great thing about Cutie is that they are taking risks and they are playing to their public. With the success of The Postal Service, why wouldn't they sample a little of that sound? It's very smart of them. Being on a brand new label has not changed their sound one bit. I know a lot of Indie Rockers think Cutie is selling out. Dudes!!! Let the boys make themselves heard. Stop being so protective and let other people listen to them. Jeeze!!! Finally, Gibbards voice is the glue that holds the band and the songs together. If someone with a lower voice or a different sound were doing any of Cuties songs, they wouldn't have gotten this far. I foresee great "Plans" ahead for the band of the year.

Artist: Blue Merle
Album: Burning In The Sun

I will start this by saying I LOVE THIS ALBUM! Its great. Period. It's some of the freshest music out there right now. The instrumentation gives it a texture that really turns an ear. Acoustic guitars, mandolins and fiddles blend to make an interesting feel. Though the instruments suggest it, this is not bluegrass. Nevetheless, Blue Merle has a sound that is so unique, except that their singer sounds like the Coldplay frontman's clone. However, musically this is what Coldplay should sound like. Coldplay is just a little too simple and Blue Merle uses just a little more creativity and complexity in their songwriting. There's just more going on here. The music is more dynamic. It builds, peaks, terraces, thickens, and sprawls out into a light airy atmosphere, all in the same song. The instruments play a bigger role in the music. The mandolin part in the title track, the fiddle solos on "Lucky to Know You" and "Places", the bowed bass line and acoustic guitar solo in "Stay", the airy string arrangements, the firey mandolin in the chorus of "Boxcar Racer", the fast lines at the beginning of "Either Way it Goes" and the crooning mandolin and fiddle on "Part of Your History" all add to the texture and the excitement of the album. There are also good vocal harmonies on the album that you don't hear from groups like Coldplay. The musicianship on this album overall is just a little more mature that what you find on the Top Seller racks these days. Another thing to note about this album is the lyrics. Especially on "Stay" and "Places." The lyrics act as pure poetry and say a little more than "O baby I love you" and "Let's make the world a Better Place" and "O baby I miss you." This album is a must have. I can't wait to see what these guys put out next.

Artist: Aqualung
Album: Strange And Beautiful

While the album as a whole is strong, there is certainly a differing level of quality amongst the songs. The title track is great but the next two are merely decent songs, never reaching the sort of heights as the first. But the fourth track, "Brighter Than Sunshine," then comes in and picks the record back up. This is a much more positive, upbeat track that, pardon the pun, really shines. The album then moves into a mixture of strong and simply good songs before flowing into an amazing second half. Interestingly, as "Brighter Than Sunshine" makes clear, even an upbeat song from Aqualung feels mere steps away from tumbling into dark corners of the mind. This is a strength of the album--the ability to always be within reach of the more melancholic states of mind. Combine that with the fact that this tactic never seems indulgent or tiresome and you have the perfect album for when you're in a quiet mood. Hales' voice is smooth and soothing, confident over his piano work and always imparting a sense of weariness that, nevertheless, does not overwhelm or depress the music. It's a fine line he straddles, being able to perform an upbeat track while keeping the listener aware that sorrow often comes hand in hand with happiness and joy, feeling it lurking there under his words, ready to come forward at any moment. Aqualung is original, yet familiar. You'll hear definite strands of Coldplay throughout the album and there are moments that sound like less-eccentric Radiohead as Hales' voice takes on qualities of Thom Yorke. Thankfully, though, the songs never come across as derivative. Aqualung's music is clearly its own, building on the artistry of others rather than attempting to mimic it. The first half of the album is solid but a bit uneven, moving through a series of songs that vary in their sound. The greatest strength comes toward the end of the album, starting with "You Turn Me Round." This is where the record's atmosphere fully kicks in. The songs become darker and more melancholic, laced with pain and too much experience. The vocals are gorgeous and the piano work encompassing. "If I Fall" is soft and subdued, plaintively asking for safety and comfort. The following song, "Easier To Lie," is a strong and subversively up-tempo track. Strange and Beautiful's final two songs are magnificent, offering a wonderful cap to the album. "Extra Ordinary Thing" is a haunting lullaby, with Hales' voice sounding consistently on the verge of being overwhelmed with emotion. The piano is perfect, building on and accentuating the lyrics to create a pervading sense of beauty and unease. The final track, "Another Little Hole," perfectly sums up the album, continuing the quiet and haunting tone of "Extra Ordinary Thing." Hales bookends the opening song's tale of putting a spell on his love by singing, "The day is breaking / and time is taking / the love we're making away. / The gods have spoken / the spell is broken / and love will tear us apart." It's a sorrowful song and not particularly hopeful, but it is beautiful. And that, perhaps, is how best this album--and Hales' expressive lyrics can be described: beautiful. Sorrowful and lilting, yes, and haunting and thoughtful, without a doubt, but first and foremost beautiful. How appropriate the album's title turns out to be.