Oh, I’m still living
At the old address
And I’m waiting on the weather
That I know will passI know that it’s true
It’s gonna be a good year
Out of the darkness
And into the fire
I tell you I love you
And my heart’s in the strangest place
That’s how it started
And that’s how it endsWell I know you’re with me
It’s a point of pride
And it’s louder than lightning
In this room of mineOh, I’m just like you
I never hear the bad news
And I never will
We won by a landslide
Our troubles are over
My sisters are married to all of my friends
Yeah, that’s how it startedYou took your sweet time
And I waited by without complaint
‘Til all the pipe dreams made me insaneSo it’s all over
It’s all over anyhow
You took your sweet time
Finally, I opened my eyesMy friends and my family
They all ask me one thing
“How long will you ramble”
How long will you stay with me
The snow is still falling
I’m almost home
I”ll see you in the new year
Category Archives: music
it’s gonna be a good year.
songs i couldn’t stop listening to.
‘Tis (’twas, I guess?) the season of best-of list-making, and having always been one for bandwagons, I’m jumping on the bandwagon. I’ve been stupid lucky to enjoy a lot of great new music this year, much of it live, and it’s a nice year-end activity to reflect on what songs hit me hardest. Because I’m not a real music person and don’t pay attention to things like release dates, this is not intended to be a list of the best songs that came out in 2011; rather, it’s a list of the songs I couldn’t stop listening to last year. And with that, in alphabetical order…
ON REPEAT, ALL YEAR
The stars wash over me, so far away that I can barely breathe from where I lay
I could have chosen a number of songs from Blind Pilot’s We Are The Tide (“We Are the Tide” and “New York” were contenders), but this one stands out. Start to finish, it highlights Israel Nebeker’s gorgeous voice and makes me happy and sad in all the best ways.
Let’s begin at the end of a bad year / With bad things at my back
Eric Anderson of Cataldo puts together perfect short songs that say a hell of a lot with every line. I love the way this one builds up such that by the second verse, you can’t not dance in your seat. Maracas of all sorts, they get me every time.
Dawes, “A Little Bit of Everything”
It’s not some message written in the dark / Or some truth that no one’s seen / It’s a little bit of everything
The each-verse-tells-a-story style of this song could be trite, except that it’s not. It’s holy-shit powerful, and for me, pretty nicely sums up what this life thing is all about. I’ve loved this song from first listen, but loved it even more after hearing it live. Dawes sounds like an entirely different band when you’re watching them in a quiet room from a few yards away, and if you get the chance to see them in 2012, you should.
Raise your glasses, here’s to living out our dreams
This song IS summer. So joyful, so fun. Makes me want to go skinny dipping then drink whiskey at a beach bar.
The Head and the Heart, “Rivers and Roads”
Nothing is as it has been / And I miss your face like hell / And I guess it’s just as well / But I miss your face like hell
A lot of people I know have loved this song for a while, and though I’ve been a huge fan of THATH for the better part of the year (and the name of my Tumblr is inspired by one of their concerts), I was late in learning to love this song. Maybe it was the bare bones nature of it; maybe it was that I didn’t listen hard enough to the lyrics. Either way, I’m glad I learned to love it, because it speaks so accurately about this exact time in my life.
So this is what the volume knob’s for…
This song choice is kind of a cop out. I fell hard for the Mountain Goats this year (way later than everyone else) and I could have picked almost any of their songs. This one wins because for me, it sums up why we need music. And John Darnielle.
But I am fine with where I am now / This home is home and all that I need
I know I love a song when I consider it a running song even though no one else would. Meaning: though not necessarily pump-up-y, the song transfixes me such that I forgot about how much I hate running, which is no easy feat. This song is one of those songs.
I wish I was a little more delicate
Dude, violins and kick-ass female singers and those little brush-like things that people use to play the drums? I’m so into them.
Then the suffering, one way or another, it will go away
Typhoon is a big band to begin with, and when you add in an entire cello group, the effect could be sloppy and overwhelming. Instead, this song becomes bigger and better with the addition of the Portland Cello Project, making you want to listen to it on repeat for weeks, which is exactly what you do.
We got no money, but we got heart
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about music videos, but videos like this one make me hope bands keep making ‘em. This one-shot video captures the sentiment of the song perfectly, and it just looks like so damn much fun. Plus, lead singer Nick Petricca’s dance moves? Can’t be beat.
Here’s to a lot more of this goodness in 2012. Happy New Year, kids!
[Posted by Mallory]
youtube clip of today: father/daughter.
Oh my my my. Great song + acoustic upside-down guitar for a lefty + adorable father/daughter sing-a-long = I die.
Thanks for the tip, seester!
[Posted by Mallory]
and anything to make you smile.
Why didn’t I listen to Band of Horses before now? And why are they only touring in Europe for the next few months? Do they hate America?!!
[Posted by Mallory]
everything is as it’s always been.
I’ll admit that some Bright Eyes stuff is a little too wacky for me, but when they’re good, they’re so damn good. “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)” is a favorite of mine. Even though it’s a kind of horribly sad little song, it’s so intense and awesome that I like to listen to it no matter what mood I’m in. Like today, I’m all chipper because Kathleen and I DID YOGA THIS MORNING BEFORE WORK (be amazed), but this song still sounds great:
Now I do as I please, and I lie through my teeth
Someone might get hurt, but it won’t be me
Should probably feel cheap, but I just feel free
And a little bit empty
No, it isn’t so hard to get close to me
There’ll be no arguments, we’ll always agree
And I’ll try to be kind when I ask you to leave
We’ll both take it easy
It’s Friday, guys! Take off your pants!
[Posted by Mallory]
whatevma, i do what i want.
As I’ve discussed briefly here, I’m (with some hypocritical exceptions, no doubt) a firm believer that people should do what makes them happy — short of murdering strangers, etc. — and that the people who hate them for doing what they want to do and loving what they want to love should probably find other ways to occupy their time. It made me happy to learn that Jordan Reid agrees, and to read her kickass post on the topic (spurred, not surprisingly, by a holier-than-thou commenter). An excerpt:
When it comes to fashion, to literature, to art, to music, you love what you love; there are no absolutes. But the best way that these people have to make themselves feel awesome is to make sure that you know that your opinions are wrong. They make you feel scared to say that hey, you kinda like Hootie and the Blowfish, or that you think that rockabilly hairstyles are pretty cool, or that you enjoy reading paperback thrillers sometimes, because they’re going to laugh at you, and mock you, and otherwise shut you down. They’re going to tell you that your taste is terrible, that your job is unimportant, that your ideas aren’t good enough, that you chose the wrong life partner or house or diet or freaking dinner plate pattern.
And that is a crappy thing to do.
If you don’t read Jordan’s blog, Ramshackle Glam, you should start now. It’s one of the best — and certainly the most aesthetically pleasing — out there.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under fashion, music, pop culture, thoughts
youtube clip of today: kayne’s tweets.
I’ve always liked that one song Josh Groban sings that makes me cry, but I never thought much about the guy until I saw this video. Now I’m completely and totally in love with him. Watch out, Katherine Heigl! [Ed Note: Oops, that’s Josh Kelley. So, er, just watch out, Josh Groban!]
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, music, pop culture, random, technology, YouTube
some thoughts before the new year.
It’s been a while since we last talked. Some things have happened! For instance:
- I traveled to five states in one week.
- I became obsessed with this song.
- I won Nerd Prom.
- Baby Jesus was born, again!
- I ate a really good veggie burger.
- I pretended to care about sports, like, three times. (My dad was impressed that I could describe a first down. Really, Dad? Thanks for the confidence.)
- I got to hang out in Colorado for ten days with my pup and fam and two friends from home who are actually still in Denver.
- I severely jammed and/or broke my toe. I was sitting upstairs in my dad’s office, minding my own business, and feeling annoyed that the Christmas socks I was wearing were toe socks. I HATE toe socks. Like pants are to your legs, they’re like prisons for your toes. Obviously, I pulled all of my toes out of the toe prison parts, so there was some extra material just flappin’ around. Then the doorbell rang, so I rang down the carpeted stairs, my feet slipped out from under me, and my right foot rammed into the wall. Then my dog started barking his head off in my face, and I almost murdered him. I had to answer the door all like, “Oh, hi, sorry, just fell down the stairs. No, I’m totally not about to cry. Haha, okay, thanks for the spiced nuts, neighbor.” Then my toe started to really hurt. Then I went on a pub crawl that involved a lot of walking. Then my toe turned sort of black. Then purple. Now it’s just sort of bulbous and can’t bend, so I’m fine, but REALLY MALLORY? You couldn’t walk for a week because you fell down the stairs wearing slippery Christmas toe socks?! Because I have a history of showing you my injuries for no reason at all, here’s a picture of the toe at its purplest. You’re welcome:
So Happy New Year’s Eve Eve, dear readers, and get excited: 2011 is going to be THE BEST YEAR EVER! You know why? It’s 2011! Which means 11/11/11 is finally coming! Which means I can have my gala! You’re all invited, so I’ll keep you posted. I seriously cannot wait.
Now I’m off to paint the town sparkly with Kathleeny.
[Posted by Mallory]
have yourself a merry little christmas.
Need some modern Christmas/winter music to add to your rotation? Heather Browne has done it again. Dowload a kickass 28-song mix (fer FREE!) here.
Speaking of Fuel/Friends, here are a few other fabulous songs Miss Browne’s blog have introduced me to…
I belong with you / You belong with me / You’re my sweeeeeetheart:
I am on my way / I am on my way / I am on my way back to where I started:
[Posted by Mallory]
my heart’s in the strangest place.
I got to go see The Walkmen on Friday at 9:30 Club, and wow. Just…wow. Their sound is too big for words. I think a lot about what my five songs would be if I was FORCED to only listen to five songs for the rest of my life, and “In the New Year” is almost definitely on my list. I really think I could listen to it forever and still love it. And the live version blew my mind. (Eloquent, I know — I’m quitting my job to write for Rolling Stone.) Listen:
DCist did a pretty good review of the show, and they mentioned one of the best moments of the night: when lead singer Hamilton Leithauser shoved a rowdy fan off the stage. It might sound mean, but the kid jumped on stage during the encore, when the rest of us were just all “Let us listen to the pretty, loud music and think about what it all meeeeeans.” The kid deserved that swift push back into the crowd of annoyed indie rockers.
In other news, this show finally convinced me that I need to start wearing ear plugs to concerts if I want to be able to hear when I’m 26. The tall scruffy kid in front of me had them, and that means it’s totally legit.
[Posted by Mallory]
six words to change the world. 