rattling around in my brain this weekend...

So good.
Also, I am probably going to buy the new Charlotte Gainsbourg next weekend.

Check it out here:
http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb100127charlotte_gainsbourg

Also, after seeing Lady Gaga's ensemble for the Grammy's I've been humming "Poker Face" under my breath all night. Ugh.

Turns out I can stand songs with jams in them if they are six minutes or less : )

"Got nuffin to lose but darkness and shadows, got nuffin to lose but bitterness and patterns..."

the best money I've ever spent on myself...

A few weeks ago, I was in Schoolkids Records in Raleigh, flipping through their vinyl. I've gotten into the practice of looking through vinyl, even though I didn't have a record player, because I knew at some point I would get one, when I could afford it. I've made it a point to collect the vinyl from albums that have changed my perspective on things, or are people like Sleater-Kinney or Elliott. I've bought records as souvenirs from road trips. I've gotten vinyl as birthday presents, and yes, I've been the sad 20-something hipster that bought it so I could frame the album art. What, the frames keep the dust off!

We can blame it all on Jay, really, who bought me my first "real" record, Jeff Buckley's "Grace," limited edition, with a single of "Strawberry Street" pressed onto translucent blue vinyl. Whenever I found a friend with a record player, I would beg them to let me bring my small collection over to listen for the afternoon. So, as I was standing in that record store, and I was looking at a copy of "Sainthood," with a free digital copy, I realized that the time had come. Time to buy a turntable, and damn the cost.

So when I got back to Roanoke the next day, I met Ashley at Best Buy to see what they had. I wasn't too surprised, because I have priced turntables in the past... and I can't afford to put down at least 100 for a turntable, and then an amp, and speakers, not to mention find the space for all of that! I wanted to spend Christmas money, but it's not like I had 300 dollars to blow. Disappointed, we went to Target. We went to the electronics section, and lo and behold, there was a traveling turntable with attached speakers for 70 bucks. It's not going to win any awards for sound quality, but it allows me to listen to what I've been collecting so long, and stop being the wannabe hipster that puts it on my walls.

Now, in all honesty, I haven't listened to vinyl full time since I was listening to my mother play Anne Murray and the Bee Gees when I was a little girl. (Also, Best of Friends, The Smurfs, thanks to my godfather) So here are some observations of the vinyl experience from a fresh perspective:

1. Vinyl gives the user a more intimate experience. Listening to Elliott made me feel like he was sitting next to me. Since I'll never have the ability to see him in concert, it gave me the next best thing.

2. Vinyl commands your full attention. We all know I have attention problems. With vinyl, I can cut down the number of things I'm doing at the same time, and actually give the music most, if not all, of my full attention. It's harder to skip around, so I don't. I listen to albums as a whole, from beginning to end. It's an experience that I didn't realize I was losing, given that I grew up in the age of the CD and the digital music file.

3. Vinyl has album art. Yes. CD's have album art too. But with a record, I can sit and stare at a large version of the picture on the cover, read the lyrics, see who did the mastering... and since I'm getting an immersion experience, I'll probably remember it better, too.

I covered the outside of the suitcase (it *is* a travel turntable) with the decals I've collected from labels and record stores I've visited. It looks like I've had a turntable all along. And I like it that way.

Where I Finally Post about Sainthood...

I finally figured out why I liked Tegan and Sara's new album so quickly. Because, for the first time since Sleater-Kinney broke up in 2006, I'm finally hearing music that *sounds* like Sleater-Kinney.

It's obvious the effect that Sleater-Kinney's music has had on my life. After all, it's where the title and the url for this blog comes from, among other things. Their music came into my life in a period when I was floundering, and listening to Corin Tucker scream helped me put my life back into order. When they went on permanent hiatus, there was a void for their kind of music that I'd not found a replacement for...until this Tegan and Sara album.

Granted, they are not the same, by any means. Corin and Carrie were not twins, and Tegan and Sara are. The music isn't as heavy on the guitar god shenanigans that S-K got into with The Woods, but it's not as acoustic as T&S were previously. Somehow, the music finds the melodic middle ground that S-K occupied so well.

Example: "Ocean"


This song is what led me to make the comparison between T&S and S-K. They use the dual vocal technique in this song that S-K was so famous for. Because they are more willing to have songs where there are separate themes coming together in the same song, they are maturing in their songwriting and falling into the groove that made me like S-K so much.

Sleater-Kinney example: "Burn, Don't Freeze"


Sleater-Kinney comparisons aside, I like this album on its own merit, despite the fact that it does make me think of Sleater-Kinney. It's just good to hear from the girls who are busy doing their own thing, making their own lives free of drama, and being awesome. For instance, in the song "Someday" they capture the yearning and struggle that pretty much encapsulates the late 20's, and is probably the best song on the album.

In short, two years ago when I could have seen them for free at Amoeba Music, do I wish I had? Yes.

well we had a good streak going there

But then Christmas happened. Actually, it's 9 days till Christmas and I've done none of my cards or my shopping and... uhm. yeah. I doubt any serious blogging will happen until after Christmas insanity.

I have a few posts planned out though. I doubt my late and somewhat trite musical observations will set the world on fire, but I am rusty at writing and the few projects I have percolating in the back of my head need me to be the best writer I can be.

So, beloved writing exercise and waste of time, I will be back in a few weeks. Maybe.

so I was going to post a real entry but...

The cold has frozen my brain.

The most AH-MAZING thing ever... I may get out of this winter yet...

I could really care less that this was in a car commercial...

Anything that makes me dance around my kitchen is good for me.