Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent

Last night, my friend suggested I check out My Morning Jacket’s version of Elvis’s Suspicious Minds. I was instantly given the chills and I even ended up tearing up towards the middle of the song. I’ve heard this song many many times before, and I know the lyrics, and I’ve never been moved in this way by it. I began thinking about music and I tried to pinpoint why we many have more powerful feelings or connections with particular songs. Is it the melody that catches us, the lyrics, the instruments, or even the artists themselves? I just don’t know…I guess it is a combination sometimes.

I got to work this morning and started talking to my music buddy Bob about this question. He definitely agreed that it is a combination of the above, but confirmed it is the melody that will catch him first. I am not sure if I 100% agree with this. I mean…this song in particular, Suspicious Minds, is pretty much sung in the same melody in both versions, a little different yes, but mostly the same. And never has it really hit me before. So is it the lyrics, or the way MMJ sang it that made me feel this way? I don’t know. I just don’t get it. Is there something that stimulates the mind that sends messages to make you feel this way?

So then I get to thinking about why certain types of music make you feel at ease, happy, sad, and so on. Have you ever heard a song that is really old and reminds you of a certain memory or feeling that you once experienced in time? I can pretty much go on forever with questions like these and I probably shouldn’t try to understand this, but I figure it is pretty healthy to fill my mind with such thoughts. Why did I not study music/art therapy in college…shit?!

The other day my friends and I had a discussion about why particular shows leave a more lasting impression than others. We probably could have talked about this for hours upon hours. There are definitely not right or wrong answers to any of these questions but I am just glad that I have people in my life that appreciate and love music the way that I do. So….I will continue to continue to think…and know that music is just, yea I said it, fucking rad.

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

JUNIP

Amazing show.

My love for Jose Gonzalez has only grown.



she feels she needs to leave

when the fields are all covered in frost

and the dreams begin to breathe

opening the partly open locks



while the others start to disagree

on returning to rough and moving grounds

and if I should come to be relieved

would it be without you



she feels she needs to leave

to avoid a messy aftermath

alone between lines of anguished needs

rearranged to allow a newborn path



while the others start to disagree

on returning to rough and moving grounds

and if I should come to be relieved

would it be without you

I'm NOT a Jr but a Jr Jr

Wow. What a weekend.

Friday 5.13

Friday the thirteenth...yep. Awesome. Sat in traffic on 76 forevs. I wonder about this effin road. Is there ever a time when it is not jam packed? I just don't get it. I've tried just about every combination of departure/arrival times to get to T's house and it never turns out good. It's a good thing the boss supplied some unbelievable pizza, wine, and of course kettle one. Otherwise, I would have one cranky drivvvaaa.

Never noticed how ridiculously hilly Manayunk was until I had to walk 900 blocks to the train station in my 6 inch heels. I felt like I was in San Fran again. Regardless, it was worth it. Arrived right back in Center City ((yea walking distance from my joint, go figs)) to meet Libs for her birthday celebration. Jolly's is typically not my cup of joe but for Libs anything shy of a two min run in is great. Not to mention big Russell from the old school SIC crashing days is the bartender. So free drinks are always flowing. Libby's embarrassment on stage particularly made the evening, well, just perfect. Love her. Having both her and Trisher in the same establishment at one time is pretty much the best thing that could ever happen. Not to mention...I get to do it all over again this Saturday.




Saturday 5.14

Got my ass up at 6 am to avoid the 76 bullshit and of course to see mr Jose who I missed dearly. Immediately went back to bed and woke up to the craziness of the Italian Market Festival. Shit was nuts. Mistakenly decided to drive to Target and it took me, no lie, 45 min to move two blocks. If I could have turned around I would...def could have walked all the way to Target and back in the same amount of time.

Got back to my place and was welcomed with the overwhelming aroma of Italian awesomeness. Too bad I gave up meat again about a month and a half ago. It took about every bit of me not to slam back some meatballs and roasted pork sammies until I saw the poor old pigos on display. Instead I filled my belly in the next two days with just about everything else I could eat. Pasta, caprese salads, olives galore, artichokes, cannolis, tomato pie....ahhh it was all so delicioso!




This is about the only time of year when the Italian Market is actually not realistically the Cambodian Market. The dynamic was amazing and it was just so nice to see the roots of my neighborhood come to life. I mean a full Sunday of listening to Sinatra on the streets can never be bad. I would spend more of my time with the hipsters at Gleaners if this was actually how it really was. Unfortunately, my extended family at Claudio's is typically the only reason to venture and spend a shit ton of money on the reg at the market.

The whole experience reminded me of my pop and how awesome he is. The FU Bros would have been so proud of their beloved granddaughter.

Motivated myself for the cheesy 104.5 Summer KickOff party at the Piazza to cure Doc's desire for us to see Biffy Clyro. However, being the girls we are we did not arrive until just about ten minutes before the thing was over. Wardrobe decisions, non-charged Iphones, and the rain were definetly our excuse for moving slow as shit. Well we got there...and the falafel at Green Olives was well worth the $20 cab ride.

Stopped by Bonnes' joint which is amaze. I am totally crashing there more often. Played some old school card games while throwing back PBR pounders prior to the main event.



Off to Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr (yes that's two Jr's) which I pretty much had no expectations of. I had heard some of their tracks and I liked, but I was in no way prepared for the incredible show that was to come. I have not seen a bad show yet at KFNT and this was one of the best yet.




Participating with skeleton masks made me feel like I was 18 and on mushrooms. I could not stop laughing for the life of me. Looking at Ames and Jac with their masks on gave me such extreme giggles I almost pissed my pants. Not to mention my love of skulls. I was eyeing up the skull masks lying on the stage from the minute I saw them figuring out how I could, of course, snag one before I left.



Hanging out with the trio after the showed just proved that these guys rocked. They were so genuine and down to earth. I am looking forward to seeing them again at ACL. Of course, being the slobs were are...we ended the night by throwing back some food at the Tap. FYI their veggie burger sucks ass sideways. I should have stuck to my tequila diet or just licked the side of ranch whatever that came with. What a waste of eleven bucks.

Sunday 5.15

Joined Zilla to the Amitayus Kadampa Buddhist Center for Sunday morning meditation. Nothing else to say except AMAZING!

Returned within 24 hrs for my next session. I am already reminded of the benefits of practice. I don't like to talk much about my experience as it is pretty personal to me, but it just makes me feel so much more complete and focused. Love...that's all.

Fill your mind with compassion. Be Awake.


Craze craze amaze weekend. Repeat.

namaste, namaskar, not a star

Bitch Blog Alert.

Okay so I've been taking this Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga class over the past four years. I began taking this class to cure some serious anxiety issues and came to love it so much. My instructor Lisa is just simply amazing...she kicks your ass and supplies some pretty awesome tunes as she does it. The fact that I can meditate and workout all within an hour and half of time is just fab.u.lous.

But....the weirdos. The weirdies. Lord do they show up for these classes. Along my side of the room alone last night consisted of five straight up waaackkks.

Wack #1--The smoker: Despite my love for ciggies, I hate this lady. She shows up to every class smelling like Denis Leary's ashtray. I don't even know how she gets through the intensity of the class. I am surprised she has not lit up while hanging out in downward dog. Use body spray lady, or for the sake of everyone else's nostrils take a bath before class. Puhlease.

Wack #2--The Yoga Professional: This other lady is the complete know it all of yoga. Ironically, she sucks. She spends half the time in child's pose chilling out while all the rest of us are listening to her psychobabble about how we are positioned wrong. How about you actually participate in class and stop using your hurt shoulder as your excuse to get outta sun salutations. Come on. Or simply, shut the eff up, this is MY time and I don't feel like listening to you.

Wack #3--The farter: Serial. I understand you are relaxed and all, but farting, when it is that quiet and intense is just a set up for me to non-stop belly laugh for the rest of the class. Farts are funny, really funny, however, hit the toilet before class...it may help. If you are having gas issues that day, take a beano and watch some jeopardy instead.

Wack #4--The Overachiever: I hate this man. Hate him. NO the yoga instructor will not sleep with you. NOR will anyone else in the class for that matter, even Mrs Fartski. Stop showing off. Counting every breath and calling out the poses is the instructors job, not yours. You are horrible at yoga and should just give it up. Coming to class in a polo and khakis is not acceptable.

Wack #5--The Wam Bam Falamajam Man: He is all over the place, flailing his arms, grunting, jogging in place...whatever he is doing is not yoga. I can assure you that. He never misses a class...and surprising his technique has not changed at all. My instructor has officially threw in the towel. She somehow manages to get him positioned in the back of the room for lack of distraction. Kudos Lisa....however, a referral to step aerobics might be better.

Somehow through all of this I am still able to come out of class completely rejuvenated.

Thank you and no thank you for your wacked out company.

Namaste.

The Low Anthem

Goooood Friday, ummmmm yea. Luckily, due to the holiday I had the day off and was able to attend WXPN's Free @ Noon featuring the Low Anthem. Steph, Bob, and I headed over to the Kimmel Center to meet Allison and Craig for the show. I was suprised to see that they had set up the show in the middle of the Commonwealth Plaza and I immediately thought the sound was going to be horrible. We set up shop upstairs on the balcony overlooking the stage where Bob was able to set up his recording equipment. Again, we did not think the recording was going to be any good since we anticipated the sound not being so great. Wow. We were wrong. Sound was amaze.



Low Anthem is pretty much a collection of musical geniuses. The array of musical instruments used amazed me to say the least. A hammer dulcimer, really? I have not seen one of these things on stage yet, however, Joci Adams had that shit down pat. Playing a saw? Really with a bow? Even better. It seemed the band was just pulling stuff out of the garage to create such a beautiful and well, original sound.





Okay...now let me get into the use of the cell phone to make "This God Damn House" so insanely unique. Typically, I would think most bands would be annoyed with the over use and annoyance of cell phones during shows. Low Anthem embraced this technology and insistantly used it to make the sound of crickets at the end of the song. To do this...the band asked us to call the person next to us and put both phones on speaker. I had no idea what to expect. Soon enough the whole joint was cricketing. Sounded like we were straight up chillin in the neck of the woods. Sick. Again amazed, just amazed.



During the show, I took notice to the whole front row of children that were at the show. I figured that down there was a very smart teacher who decided to pack up her kids for the afternoon and use music to get out the classroom to see one awesome band. It got me thinking about those kids and how at least one, maybe two or three, would be influenced by this show. Watching them watch the band in amazement made me so incredibly happy. It is so beautiful to know that something so small can create something so big.



"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination
and life to everything." ~Plato

After the show....we closed off the afternoon with a never disappointing meal at Sabrinas.

Ohhhhh what a Good Friday.

Rusted Root

Okay so being the old school flower children we are D and I decided to revert back to the college days and check out the Rusted Root concert at the new XPN venue the Queen. First off, the Queen is simply amazing. I cannot say anything but that. I hope to see as many shows as I can here.



I was not really sure what my expectations of RR was since I have not seen them since college. The last show I had seen them at in Pittsburgh was effing awesome. All I can remember was it was pouring and we were covered in mud, "Rain" came on it was just epic. I remember every second of the song and how incredibly lucky I was to share my love of music with such cool ass people. The three hour ride home however was not so much fun. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that RR still had it. Despite the loss of my favorite member and the discontinuance of my favorite track I still enjoyed every minute of the show. It is amazing to see a group of people use such a broad spectrum of instruments. Liz Berlin is just so incredibly talented.



At the end of the show of course we stuck around, like old times, scored some autographed guitar picks and then peaced out.



Of course the night never just ends for D and I. Continued with some rooftop reminiscing.



The overall consensus of the night was that we would like to go back to college...even for a couple days. Danielle would like to return for the partying, I myself, would like to return for the naps in between classes. These 9 hour work days simply suck ass.

Next up at the Queen....Robert Randolph

Artsy Fartsy

Despite the rainy weather the girls (Jackie, Allison, and Amy) and I decided to venture out for our planned Artsy Fartsy day. We ventured out prior to the rain and within a couple of blocks we were immediately met by the annoying ass storm that would continue through the night. Both the rain and the closing of the Parkway made our attempt for a cabbie absolutely impossible. So we trekked it through the Bill Nye Science Guy fair to make it to our first destination Kite and Key for some eats.

http://www.thekiteandkey.com/

Its never easy to get a seat anywhere on a Saturday at 1pm for some grub however, we patiently waited over a bloody mary for our table and it was so so worth it. First, the fried pickles were the perfect way to settle our hungry grumps. Amaze. Next up came the most dynamite veggie burger ever created in the city of Philadelphia. Swear.to.Allah. Go get one. Like now. I have been dreaming of it since. Oh Toasted Brioche you made everything come all together in awesomeness.

Following lunch we called for a cab because it was seriously monsooning outside. Decided to go wait outside to try and hail one prior to the 45 minute wait suggested. Jackie almost bitch slapped on old angry drunk cabbie who insisted that he was on a call and we need to shut the *$%^ up. Never a dull moment. However, once Ronald our cabbie came it was all worth it because he was the Shiiiiitt.

Making it to the Perlman Institute soaking wet we were ready for the Marc Chagall exhibit. Chagall was an early modernist, creating works through a broad spectrum including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic, tapestries and fine art prints. The cubism work was by far my favorite and I was sad to not get any service on my phone for the audio tour. Bummer. However, the exhibit was enjoyable, leaving me, like usual, always wanting more.

We then moved onto the Unsettled: Photography and Politics in Contemporary Art exhibit which was equally amazing. The photographers used their artwork to address some of the most controversial political and social issues of the late 1970s through the early 1990s, including feminism, racism, the AIDS crisis, and gay activism. The photos were very provocative but definetly influential in getting political statements to shine through.




Finally, we moved on to the men's fashion exhibit which was just hilarious. Personally, I believe a more approprate title should have been: hipsters through the years and some other weird shit.







This was definetly a wonderful way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. Next up on the artsy fartsy schedule Roberto Capucci exhibit which is highly anticipated on my part.

Saturday evening festivities included taking an overabundance of shots and celebrating Al's big ol promotion. Evening ended in a perfect Irish goodbye.
Overall, what a great weekend. And what a great way to end it.