Tuesday, December 30, 2008

so this is the difference between living and not living...

the title of this post is taken from a minus the bear song - my new obsession.



i have figured out that this is how my mind works: i find something i like (be it a band, a book, a movie, an actor, even a tv show) and i become completely consumed by it for an indefinite period of time. i cannot stop listening to minus the bear - and, except for making a copy of vitalogy as a christmas present and a mixed CD of some of my favorite songs by seattle bands as another gift, no other bands have seen the inside of my CD player since thanksgiving time. i've even started taking a longer bus to work (i.e. one that takes 45 minutes to get me to my destination vs. my normal one that takes me 20 minutes) just so i can listen to minus the bear a little bit longer on my ipod. i'm not entirely sure what it is about this band but i don't really want it to go away. and i'm super excited to see them at the showbox on january 9th (with rocky votolato!). counting the days. eagerly. 10.

i came across an old interview with jake snider and this kind of cracked me up:
Q: Someone wrote that your voice is so passionless, you might as well be singing about the ham sandwich you had for lunch. Does that make you want to belt out a song about a ham sandwich?
A: No, not really. I'm a laid-back dude in reality. My personality is mellow and not in-your-face and not aggressive. When we're playing, I'm not like, "Hellooo, New Jersey!" If it sounds like I'm singing about a ham sandwich when I'm not, then oh well. Maybe I'm singing about a ham sandwich and I just don't know about it.


ha!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

run run rudolph




i have been meaning to post about this all week, but i never quite got around to it. on tuesday, i went to see shadow (mike mccready's first band), kim virant, star anna and kristin ward at the tractor tavern in ballard. it was a benefit for treehouse, an organization that provides toys to foster kids in king county.

i'll start at the end. mike played yellow ledbetter again, and asked the crowd to sing along because he said he didn't know the words (haha, does anyone?) and, for some reason, this time i found the singalong even funnier than last time. everyone was singing something different - it was like yellow ledbetter in the round. as a finale, everyone came back on stage to sing run, run rudolph
, hence the title of my post.

it was an early show, which i loved, since i'm like an old lady and i hate staying out late. first, mike came out by himself and played a few songs, one of which was a cover and the other of which was a song he had written. it was pretty good, although i am biased. he also said that pearl jam is currently working on thier new album and that "ed brought in a song that was pretty punk-sounding." what a surprise.. but that makes me happy! new pearl jam!! now play a show in seattle, please!!!!

once again, i found myself standing in front of rick, which i liked since he is so fun to watch. he just seems so.. happy while he plays. like a kid. and he's obviously really good. i'm a dork - at one point, mike stepped out onto the table in front of me to play and he put his foot on my jacket which was laying there and i just thought, "oh my god, mike mccready is standing on my coat. i will never wash it again." hehe. just kidding about that last part, although the whole thing was pretty surreal.



other notes: shadow is really LOUD - even with earplugs, my ears were kind of hurting. i really like kim virant more and more every time i see her. she has a great voice, and she's kind of funny. and the tractor is a cool place to see a show.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

favorite things, part I

oprah has a list of her favorite things. i thought i'd try one.

twilight - a friend gave me this book in october, and i remember calling my mom and saying, "it's a book for teenagers! i'm sure i won't like it, but i have to read it because i don't want to offend her." that was on the friday before i went to LA (to see the swell season), and by monday morning, i had finished twilight and its sequel, new moon. i don't know what it is exactly about these books (there are 4 in the series, but i don't recommend the last one) that make them so hard to put down. they're not always well-written, but the story that stephanie meyer tells is interesting, funny, sad and happy all at the same time. it's like a fairy tale with some fantasy and mythology thrown in. and, really, what woman does not want edward to come sweep her off her feet? i realize he's fictional, but he's ten times better than any man i've met in real life. speaking of, if you by any chance agree with me about the wonder that is this book, you should read midnight sun on stephanie meyer's website. it is twilight told from edward's point of view. sadly, only chapters 1-12 are online, but it is fascinating (seriously. i think i like it more than twilight. almost)

although the movie based on the book is not great, the line i had an adrenaline rush, you can google it has provided me with endless amusement. also - cue teenage girl reaction - rob pattinson, the actor who plays edward, is GORGEOUS. i wonder if he will marry me? hehe.


minus the bear - this is the band that i first saw at bumbershoot and was blown away by. three months later, the love affair has not ended - in fact, it has grown. i even have a minus the bear sticker on my water bottle sharing space with eddie vedder. their new ep of acoustic songs is, as i discover every time i listen to it, beautiful. and i think i have decided that pachuca sunrise has got to be one of the prettiest songs ever. (well, i'm sure that's an exaggeration, but let's go with it anyway)

pearl jam - of course. the highlight of my year was my vacation to boston, and that would not even have happened (i'm sure) if it had not coincided with a pearl jam concert. my next goal is to see them play in europe. it WILL happen... better yet, a joint pearl jam and frames show in dublin. where both bands play two hour sets. please??

eddie vedder - he gets his own category, because seeing him in vancouver last april was one of the best shows i have ever been to. and i just realized that he can be connected to twilight (which i'm sure thrills him), since kristen stewart (bella) was in into the wild. hee!

the swell season - last on this list, but certainly not least. i saw them three times this year, and every time was better than the last. i love it when i can combine a concert with a trip to another city - if seeing pearl jam in boston was the highlight of my year, seeing the swell season in san francisco is probably the second best.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

last stop on the west coast line



(i call this picture "cliff diving in la push." if you understand that, you have probably read new moon)

my parents and i went to friday harbor for thanksgiving. they rented a little house on the coast, and we saw deer and foxes. it was fun and relaxing and i didn't want to come back.

click on the picture below to see the rest.
Friday Harbor