The mixed tape. I used to spend hours upon hours making mixed tapes.
See that? That is me, aged somewhere between 16-18, making one of probably hundreds of mixed tapes on my parent’s stereo.
Mixing songs into a specific order for someone is a special thing. It takes time and patience. Dedication for not just whoever the mix is for but also to the music. And everyone has a different tactic for it. I know many people who strongly believe that mixes for others should contain music that they might not know about yet.
Me…I choose to make things from the heart. Some songs, or even all, will probably be known to the listener. But just to know that I think of that song and them….that is the message. It’s like a letter or a card. But in music.
So when I came across The Shifted Librarian’s blog about Muxtape, I was just really pleased. While not as personal, time consuming or really as heartfelt as a mixed tape/CD, this new website rocks socks.
Seriously…you should play around with it. You just upload songs, organize them, and then play them. So, fair readers, here is my Spring Mix to you.
I have the day off today, which is a pleasant little surprise. So this morning I have just been playing about on the internet. Catching up on missed blog postings and all of Pitchfork’s news on SXSW…which I’m not at. And that makes me sad.
But this has basically led me back to multiple band’s Myspace pages, which in turn is bringing about a sense of….nostalgia maybe?
I eliminated my Myspace page just about a year ago. For a few reasons really. I had stumbled across the fact that News Corp. had bought it out…and that’s a little creepy.
Also I was just plain sick of the spam.
Various versions of that girl requesting friendship over and over again. Ugh.
But there were good things about Myspace.The quirky, clunky html codings of your friends, in all it’s glory and occasional ridiculousness.
I guess there is something a little endearing about being able to create your own code….or in most cases use Thomas to create your own code.
As much as I love Facebook, I have to admit missing that touch of personalization.
But what I miss the most, hands down, is the music.
There are bands that I discovered through Myspace that I now love and probably never would have found…ever…if it weren’t for the website. Just to name a few:
I had actually first been introduced to Myspace in 2002 as a “music website”, which is kind of funny considering what most people use it for now.
Still I find myself returning to it, every now and again, to try and find some obscure little band’s music that just hasn’t made it’s way to ITunes yet…like Fleet Foxes, for example. And everytime I go back I wonder….Are there hundreds of bands that I’m potentially missing out on because I no longer have a Myspace page? Should I recreate my Myspace?
……
nah.
I’ll just have to find other ways to get my social networking music fix.
Well have a lovely weekend fair readers! And if you are at SXSW….I hate you.
While listening to NPR this morning, a show came on that I find rather amusing. It’s called Sound Opinions. This is basically a show where two music geeks talk about…well…music.
to talk about the connections between food and music. It was a great show, which I highly recommend you check out, but they listed off some of their favorite songs about food. I found this inspiring.
While listening to this I became inspired and thought I would share with you….aren’t you lucky….some of my own very favorite songs about food.
My first thought immediatly went to Yo La Tengo…because they are gods…but also because when I saw them live
which was awesome beyond belief, they told the hot chicken story, which basically revolves are a little place in Nashville called Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, where they apparently have the hottest chicken Yo La Tengo hates to love. They claimed that you have to eat the chicken because it’s so delicious but it’s so damn hot, that you get sick for days. So yes, my first song about food that I love is:
and not just saw them but this so happened to be my first first solo concert experience. Alone. And it was really lovely. Hands down my best concert ever.
I also threw a fairly decent, at least I hope so, Halloween party. Stefan and I went as Dwight and Angela from The Office.
My roommate Nathan went as a Jackson Pollock painting
And Shinji spent the night as an adorable rooster
Which he really despised at first and then came to realize that it was just his fate to become the cutest rooster pom ever.
And there were other events as well, like parties on the 33rd floor of highrises downtown…
long drives from Michigan to Chicago using backroads only…
and even Shinji’s first excursion to the pumpkin patch.
So why the blogging block?
Well fair readers, I just don’t know what to tell you. Hopefully this time of crisis will pass over soon enough.
Until then, here is the playlist for a late autumn mix. Listen, enjoy and wish me great topics for future bloggings.
This morning I feel groggy. Why? Perhaps there was a little sangria last night. Just a bit. So while I drink my morning coffee I have been going through my photographs from the summer and listening to music.
Good morning.
But I thought I would share with you what I think are some of the better pictures from this summer and it’s corresponding song. So here we go:
I took this picture on May 30th, which technically is still spring. But it was such a hot day. I had just moved into my new apartment and felt like exploring. And commonly when I feel like people watching, I head over to the Faces fountain. It is hands down one of my favorite places to be in Chicago on a hot summer’s day. For those who have never been there, children and adults alike run around in the fountain, waiting for the faces on the screens to make their “oh” face like this
and then they run under the stream of water, screaming and laughing. I love it.
(I had to shrink the photo to fit. please view the original here)
I didn’t take this picture. My boyfriend Stefan did. And I will always be in his debt for it. I love my older sister. Colleen is hands down my best friend. You will always have fun with her. Probably get into some kind of trouble but be giggling the whole time. She lives back in Michigan and every now and again, she will last minute drive down to Chicago. And it is always a good time. This night my two amazing cousins, Lauren and Nathan, Colleen, Stefan, our friend Caitlin and I all went out to eat Italian in Wicker Park. It was one of those nights where you are the only people in the restaurant. Aren’t those amazing? And we drank wine, ate lots of food. Ended up at the tiniest little bar called Danny’s. Long and short of it, it was ridiculously fun. And my older sister is awesome. The picture was taken on May 31st.
I took this picture on June 10th. This summer my sister (in the middle) married Nate (on the left). I took this picture of my mother, Nate and Colleen in front of the Detroit River on the day of their bridal shower. It was a beautiful day. When the wind is perfect, not too hot. People were fishing off the pier, although I wonder how edible the fish from the Detroit River could possibly be. Regardless, it was a good day. I actually had to turn in a paper that day for one of my graduate classes. The whole day I was thinking “copyright law…need to think of ideas for copyright law paper”. I had a portion written but I’m one of those people that leaves things until the last minute. I cannot help it. It’s just how I work. And it seems to work out for me quite fine. This was one of the few moments when I wasn’t so concerned anymore.
I took this photo on June 14th in New York City. Stefan and I were sitting in his apartment about a month before. He just looked at me and asked me if I was interested in going to New York. Of course I said yes. I love this city. I’m not quite sure what it is but I am attracted to it. It’s big and it’s dirty and people are constantly moving. But there is a beauty in that. So many people on such a tiny island. We had an amazing time. This was taken on top of the Met.
On June 24th I went to my very first Pride Parade. It was such an enlightening and amazing experience. It was like a sensory overload. Everywhere people were laughing and singing and drinking and shouting and dancing. Oh yeah…and there were some floats too.
This picture was taken by Stefan on July 14th at the State and Lake El train station on the way home from Pitchfork Music Festival. While it may not be the best picture structurally, it is perfect for me. This night was one of the best of the summer. We watched music all day. In the picture with Stefan and I are Andrea and her boyfriend Jon, two fellow librarians. We all went back to my house very drunkenly and drank beer in the park across from my house. People just happened to be setting off massive amounts of fire works. And they were awesome. We played on playground equipment and ended the night watching Kung Fu Hustle. It was beyond fun. One of those nights when I feel so lucky to be alive.
(currenlty listening to Good Morning by Punjabi MC)
I took this photo on July 21st at my older sister Colleen’s bachelorette party. In the picture are my new sisters in law (that’s what it’s called right?) Niki and Maija. We had so much fun. But I must tell you. Organizing 21 drunken girls throughout a night on the town in Chicago is….complicated. So much that I really didn’t get drunk because I was constantly thinking about the next step. But! The most important thing is…well…just look at Colleen’s face. She loved it.
When it comes to pictures of the wedding, it is extremely hard to just pick one. I could have done this one or this (because seriously that child is adorbable). But I chose this, taken by Molly Boyette on August 4th, because it is a really beautiful moment. Just when my dad was done walking Colleen down the aisle. Good shot Molly. Seriously.
Hopefully this beautiful Saturday is treating you well so far.
(the view from my window. just now. perfect)
This day has actually inspired me to pump my tires on the old bicycle (finally) and go for a jaunt.
But first, I thought I would share my interesting experience last night at Hideout Block Party.
This event is an outdoor music festival of sorts that takes place in a parking lot that appears to be owned by the Department of Fleet Management of Chicago. It’s a 2 day event and only costs $35, which is nice…unlike certain other music festivals….
ehem
ehem
Granted, this festival is a much smaller scale than any of those festivals or even Pitchfork for that matter. Still the first night was yesterday and there were two bands that were totally worth seeing.
They were The Cinematics and The Changes, who were my personal favorite of the night. Unfortunately, there were also some disappointments…as there often can be. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, besides having one of the worst band names ever, is barely worth mentioning. And the 1900s were just at the wrong festival. If we were in Tennessee and it was the middle of the summer…maybe. But I just ended up feeling sorry for them.
However the most disspointing, hands down, was Bloc Party, the brit pop band.
They were by no means bad live. That wasn’t the issue. In fact, they sounded exactly like their albums….which can be, well, just disappointing. Not bad. In fact I’m sure this says something about them as pop musicians, that they can sounds so much like their recordings. It just is also kind of boring. And when it appears that 80% of the population of Lincoln Park showed up to hear them as well? Well then it just goes from boring to unbearable.
I saw many of these
Please note the trucker hat, which I was sure had gone out of style once Punkd was finally canceled.
But I was wrong. In fact, there were multiple trucker hats, bros or as I have heard them called before, “chads” and “trixies“.
And apparently, they are all avid Bloc Party fans. Which is disturbing on several levels including the fact that I think the band is kind of fun and neat.
sigh.
Needless to say, we left after a couple songs because it was just unbearable. I will suffer through a shite crowd for bands or performers who I really love...but not for a band that I could get the same experience listening to their CD in my bedroom.
Obnoxious partying males who are often seen at college parties. When they aren’t making an ass of themselves they usually just stand around holding a red plastic cup waiting for something exciting to happen so they can scream something that demonstrates how much they enjoy partying. Nearly everyone in a fraternity is a bro but there are also many bros who are not in a fraternity. They often wear a rugby shirt and a baseball cap. It is not uncommon for them to have spiked hair with frosted tips.
Noticing a theme here? I guess I’m just feeling lovey and happy. Recently I’ve been discovering things that make me really really happy. Here are a few:
Planet Earth
This program is amazing. I makes me cry and cringe and laugh. It’s amazing to watch not only the breath taking animals and environments here on Earth but the feats the production crews went through to create this work of art.
I actually use Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recipe for cookies. Last night I made them and realized as I started that I didn’t have any vanilla. I substituted a bit more sugar and upped the amount of chocolate chips. And let me tell you….they are yummy.
I think it’s just leaps and bounds better than Myspace for several reasons. Less advertising is probably the biggest. Also it’s more private. And not owned by News Corp. On that same note, I have finally deleted my myspace page. So if you thought I defriended you or something of that nature, that is not what happened. I’m actually kind of proud of myself. You all can do it too. It’s not the most straight forward process in the world (as in you must click through to about 8 million pages deep, then confirm, check your email, log in again and again confirm) but once it’s done you can then start a blog here or here and join this better social networking site.
Yes. I know. It’s not here yet. But it should be, damn it! I demand cooler, milder weather and I demand it now! Summer. Your time is over. Let’s give the other lovely seasons a turn to shine. And be less muggy.
My pets
Isn’t it great how completely weird and wonderful pets can be? Not that they have been doing any extremely odd in particular. I just think their personalities are really strange and adorable.
For the past few days I have been spending my time at Pitchfork Music Festival, an extremely well organized and quite fun music festival. In comparison to Lollapalooza, which I’m sure will be amazing no doubt, but the price has now reached a whopping $190, lovely little Pitchfork is $50 for 3 days of music, beer, and fun.
Pitchfork is held is the picturesque Union Park
which indeed has the space to accommodate the large amounts of people who are there. For the most part.
Some of the really nice things about the festival is the organization. Food is not awful and overpriced. I had a veggie curry for only $5 and all the water is quite large and only a $1. Also the beer is kept simple. All Goose Island all the time, which means all 312 for this little blogger.
The concerts were fun. I was accompanied by a very nice group of people, including two librarians
and Stefan’s friends who happened to bring Battleship.
he lost.
But no matter, we were having a grand, slightly drunken time. We saw two particularly interesting groups including (my favorite of the day) Battles, this crazy Math Rock band that was just…well….pretty damn amazing.
And also we did catch part of Cat Power’s set. Unfortunately my view looked a lot like this…
which is, as you can imagine, kind of lame. But still she was pretty wonderful.
At this point, we were all getting slightly drunken.
as you can see. So we decided to head out for the day. The train ride home was…well….eventful.
But we made it back in one piece. It was a blast.
Probably the most amazing thing about Pitchfork so far was Friday night. A company called All Tomorrow’s Parties in collaboration with Pitchfork, presented Sonic Youth performing Daydream Nation
Needless to say….it was probably one of the better concerts I’ve ever witnessed. Alas, I was sans camera. So you’ll just have to imagine it in your mind.
*insert musical day dream here*
So today I’ll be off to Pitchfork for the last day. I’m sure it will be as amazing as the first two. And as always, it will remind me just how lucky I am to be in such a wonderful city.
Life is so unfair. So I went with
