a few things i am liking right now

1. i'm reading a book called this is your brain on music . i saw someone on the bus with it, and thought it looked interesting, so i checked it out of the library. i like it a lot - even though i'm not smart enough to completely understand it. the author is a neuroscientist, who tries to understand and explain what it is about music that affects many people on such a fundamental and emotional level. i can't always follow all the scientific and musical jargon (man, when you think about all that is involved in making the brain work, it is absolutely amazing), but the whole book is basically an argument that music is an integral part of human nature. in fact, the chapter i found most interesting is the one i'm on right now when he talks about the evolution of music. he writes, "music may be the activity that prepared our pre-human ancestors for speech communication and for the cognitive, representational flexibility necessary to become humans." wow. does anyone else think that's pretty incredible?

plus, the author reminds me of the lead character in high fidelity. he strikes me as the kind of guy who would make lists of music to correspond with certain periods of his life.

2. ocean by john butler.



i probably watched this video 4 times in a row. i am completely fascinated by his guitar playing. from the 6:00 point to the end - especially when the audience starts clapping along- is just GORGEOUS. the john butler trio is from australia; i first saw them live at bumbershoot five years ago, fell in love with them, and bought their live CD. i have seen them a few times since then, and cannot wait until the next time they come to seattle.

i'm such a dork. i really am. or, i can call this, "the youtube rocks!" post. in my quest to make everyone like the same awesome music i do (haha.. no really!), here are some videos i am currently obsessed with. first up, one of my favorite frames songs, "red chord."

next up, john butler trio. this song is called "ocean." i love his facial expressions. heh

finally, here's pearl jam from mtv unplugged in 92... if you've seen the movie "singles," you might recognize this song... this show is what made me love this band. i had it on video tape and watched it over and over for about six months.


jericho premieres tonight!

ugh, my cold will not go away. now i have something weird going on with my ear. i'm going to the doctor - again - this morning. it is better first thing in the morning though, but yesterday i was practically crying at work because it hurt so much. i think part of the problem is that my mind always goes to the worst possible thing - i have cancer, i'm going deaf, i'm never going to feel better.. i know that's stupid.

that u2 movie on saturday was really good. there were a couple parts when i had to move my knee because it looked like bono was going to reach out and touch it. i want to see u2 again!

i went to easy street on saturday afternoon, but only bought two cd's: a live ep by john butler, because it has a 15 minute version of "ocean," an awesome song. usually i'm not for long songs, but everytime i've seen him play that one, it's completely mesmerizing. he's an awesome guitar player. i also bought one by songs:ohia, which i have not listened to yet. i know nothing about them.. i just bought it because, in an interview, glen hansard talks about being friends with them. a lot of my favorite bands i've found because another band has talked about them. like death cab for cutie - they opened the vote for change (was that 03?) tour for pearl jam. kings of leon opened a tour for them too. so did sleater kinney, although i liked them before.