But in the meantime, it got me thinking about music…and red hair. For a pretty legit list of the top 5 songs about redheads, check out this Hairpin article. Jolene, yes!

And to contribute my little addition: I can’t tell you how many times this little Garth Brooks ditty has come on and people have gone out of their way to point at me during the line “Pick him up at seven and they’re headin’ to the rodeo/Momma’s on the front porch screamin’ out her warning/Girl you better get your red head/Back in bed before the morning.”

So, an ode to the last few days of spring break. And wild redheads.

Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up)
Garth Brooks – Ain’t Goin’ Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up)

(if you’re reading this in an RSS reader or on mobile, it’s possible you need to click through to hear Garth. He’s worth it.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMq3hRLDD0

Cosmic Love (live on KEXP)

Such a beautiful video, such a beautiful voice. And I can’t help but notice her super intense red hair, either…

I try not to post videos alone, but this one is worth your time.

I have never compiled a bucket list, or a 30 before 30 list (though I’m thinking about it, with thirty a little more than a year away!) But, even without formal list making, our little life lists start to develop. I want to see Machu Picchu before I die. And the Taj Mahal. And the Grand Canyon at sunset.

Some items on this not-quite-list are more likely to happen than others, sure. But, over time, you can slowly cross things off.

And so it is that, at some point over the last 15 or so years since my very first concert (Ben Harper at a greyhound racetrack), I’ve seen almost all of the artists I’ve always loved, ever since I got that CD player for Christmas in about the sixth or seventh grade.

I quickly figured out that attempts to record songs off the radio weren’t especially successful. Once I started babysitting, I could afford more than tape singles from Musicland.

And so I bought CDs.

A lot of these CDs I actually acquired via one of those Buy 1, Get 13 free BMG promotions in every Sunday’s newspaper supplement. A handful came from Target or were presents. Many I saved for and bought in the mall on long afternoons consisting of wandering with friends while wearing our coolest clothes, eating bobby cheese bread at Bob’s Pizza, and buying knock off perfume and nickel jewelery at Claire’s. We had to make sure to save a quarter so we could call one of our moms from the payphone to arrange a ride. Those were the (late 90s) days.

For a long time, my silver CD case was my most prized possession, by far the most valuable thing I owned. Over time, it sprawled to five or six cases, many of them binder-sized, almost exclusively filled with actual purchased CDs.

When about 60% of your (paltry) money goes to buying music, discovering those artists live is the next logical step. I’ve seen most of the bands represented on those early CDs: Dave Matthews Band (eight times?), Ben Folds, Ani DiFranco, John Mayer. Also quite a few from my parents’ generation, music I grew up listening to: James Taylor. Crosby, Stills and Nash. Bonnie Raitt.

But always absent from that list? Counting Crows.

Until they came to Austin.

I haven’t bought their last handful of records, I must admit. This item was almost removed from the life list by virtue of an expiration date.  But I love August and Everything After. I like Recovering the Satellites. Hard Candy is underrated. I like Adam Duritz’s elaborate metaphors – all birds and kings and blankets of stars keeping you warm. The lyrics really meant something to me when I first heard them, and I remember that when I listen to them now.

I still think that the line “Every time she sneezes, I believe it’s love” is one of my very favorites, ever.

It was a pretty wonderful concert. They played for almost three hours. Opened with “Round Here” and played “Holiday in Spain” as an encore. Adam Duritz was strange and mesmerizing, the songs wandering and leaving and coming back again just as I expected they might. And there was something so comforting about hearing those lines, in that voice, in a place that is not yet familiar but that I’d like, eventually, to feel like home.

Counting Crows, Round Here
Counting Crows, Holiday in Spain
Counting Crows, Anna Begins
Counting Crows, Colorblind

(all photos by me, posted to Instagram)
(oh, and did I mention the elaborate music video friends made in high school to the CC song “Goodnight Elisabeth”? I so wish I could show it here…there’s a particular scene when a dress, found in a laundry basket, is held up and swirled around and morphs into a flashback of a girl wearing it and dancing on a roof in the snow….epic)

» Sunday was my birthday. Great sushi, friends and family in town, and lots of fun presents. I’m finally the owner of a pair of TOMS (the Carpe Diem style), a present from my mom. Just in time for spring! As my sister said, inspirational. footwear. Just my style. There was also a snarky comment in there about them probably being vegan – and they totally are! (though I’m not…but I guess I seem to flock toward touchy-feely footwear. I also have vegan Danskos…)
» Today is International Women’s Day, as you’ve probably seen around the web somewhere. I don’t pay too much attention to National Ice Cream Day and International Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve Day or whatever, but the treatment of women still gets my heart pumping and in a world where Rush Limbaugh still exists, it’s worth taking time out to envision a society in which women are valued and treated accordingly. I think it’s still possible to make a $25 Kiva donation to a low-income woman and her business without putting any of your own money down. A five minute, zero-risk investment in an entrepreneurial woman in need of a hand – a great way to celebrate today.
» I also plan to attend a showing of Miss Representation tonight. Have you seen it? There are 3 and 8 minute trailers on Vimeo.
» I loved this NPR story on the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time. I devoured A Wrinkle in Time and all the rest of the Madeleine L’Engle books. Totally connected with Meg! From the story:
“Even if a young reader doesn’t know all of the words, or know who all of the quotations are from, or if they can’t grasp exactly what a tesseract is … it sort of gives room for the reader and shows possibility and a place where you want to go and understand,” Voiklis says. “[L'Engle] didn’t think condescending to children was the right thing to do.”
» When I’m stressed, I buy pens. My newest purchase: Pentech Hybrid Technica in the Extra Fine 0.3 mm size, black. Super smooth for such a fine tip. Makes me delusional enough to think I might eventually get around to some photographic journaling.
» Excited to see Cataldo and Blind Pilot tomorrow. You can listen to all of the Cataldo albums streaming online. Worth checking out.
» I’m going to Toronto in two weeks! Have you been there? Any recommendations for me?

Many summers ago, my dear friend had a mix among his many burned CD mixes called “My Martin.” I burned it, tacking on my friend’s camp name to the mix, so that, to this day, my iTunes reads “Rumble’s My Martin.”

And so I was introduced to Martin Sexton.

When I heard he was coming to town again, I was quick to buy a ticket (ticket #21). Long before I knew whether anyone else would come.

Because I’m tired of trying to rile the troops. He’s wonderful in concert and I didn’t want to miss out.

For a while, a friend was going to meet me. But her work plans changed, last minute.

And so I went to dinner alone and ordered my new favorite pizza. I read a bit from “Life Would be Perfect if I Lived in That House” (recommended by Holly from Nothing But Bonfires). I had a couple of beers, beers that really hit the spot (kind of like the mystery of super-clean showers). And then I reveled in being alone in a crowd.

Alone in a singing, clapping crowd. Feeling a sense of community I haven’t felt in a while, even in a city where people throw around the “c” word like it’s, well, candy. Singing along to some of my favorite songs. Singing backup when he asked the crowd to “sing like angels.” Clapping and snapping and tapping my toe. Yelling out the request for my favorite, “Hallelujah,” something I never would have done had I known the person sitting next to me. But my seatmate and I made friends after all. Her boyfriend loved “Hallelujah” just like me. And even though he didn’t play it, I left feeling really content. Pleased I came.

So here it is, Hallelujah, but a couple of other favorites. If you get a chance to see Martin Sexton, alone or with others, I highly recommend you go.

Martin Sexton, Hallelujah
Martin Sexton, Angeline
Martin Sexton, Beast in Me

As far as I’m concerned, all of these are from “Rumble’s My Martin,” the album.

I’m sitting in my living room, listening to “Linus and Lucy” for one of the first times this season, a little transfixed by the Christmas tree, finally decorated. It’s my first tree (and I even wielded the saw!) and is mostly covered with my parents’ castoff ornaments and a bunch of FIMO fruit ornaments I made a couple of years ago but never had anywhere to hang. It’s a little motley, I guess, but it has tons of lights and so far it hasn’t fallen over (it’s threatened it, more than once, and two of the stand’s legs are propped up with books should you happen to lift the white sparkly tree skirt…). Did I mention this same tree also slid off the top of my car and had to be re-attached in 40 mph winds on the side of the highway? It’s been a trial.

But now it looks pretty good. Cozy.

It’s sort of a weird reflection of how things have been going for the past couple of weeks. Stressful. More complicated than seems necessary. And with a couple of frantic moments to keep me on my toes.

But everything is going to be alright.

Beef stew is simmering in the crock pot. A load of laundry is humming in the basement. I’m finally unpacking two suitcases – one from Spain, the other from Thanksgiving weekend. One has summer dresses and ballet flats, the other is stuffed with fleece and wool and capilene, the necessary Montana tree cutting armor. The storm windows are in place, and there’s snow on the ground.

I’m going to catch up on my letter writing this evening, get back on track with 52 Weeks of Mail. I’m excited to send out Christmas cards in a few weeks – letterpress cards I bought on sale last spring.

I’m not caught up. Not even close. I’m not even sure what that might mean anymore.

But things are good. Everything is going to be alright.

How are things with you, friends?

(photo by Brian W. Ferry, used with permission. If you like dreamy photography and artful everyday moments, his blog is probably for you.)

I’m finally ready to welcome you.

Celebrating with quilts and peppermint tea, quiet evenings listening to Adele. Leaf collecting has officially begun. Pumpkin muffins on this week’s agenda.

So, pull up a chair and tell me: what are your favorite fall rituals? Who’s playing on your stereo these days?

Adele, One and Only from “21″
Adele, Lovesong from “21″
Adele, Someone Like You from “21″

(photo via hier houd ik van on flickr, first seen on Pinterest)

Dave Matthews Band, The Gorge, 2004

All but one of these yahoos will be joining me to relive our youth at the Caravan this weekend. Four nights, three days of concerts, flying and driving in from Chicago, L.A., and all corners of Montana, with a couple of new people (sisters, wives, fiancees) added along the way.

These will be my 7th, 8th, and 9th Dave shows – small potatoes – especially since I haven’t been to one in forever. A couple of people in our group have passed the century mark, pretty sure.

Should be epic.

Even so, it’s mid-July. I think I’ve eaten a total of two meals involving the barbecue. And now we’re going through this weird afternoon/evening thunderstorm phase that is even further preventing me from being outside when I get home from work. Time feels like it’s slipping away.

And so even though it’s not June anymore, summer feels like it’s just begun. This song has been on my mind, and spinning in my stereo, quite a bit lately. The Decemberists will be in town this coming week, and I finally decided to bite the bullet and see them again. This song is a big part of what tipped me into the “yes – go for it” category. That, and the use of “panoply” and “barony” in this song. Get a couple of beers in me (the concert’s at a brewery, after all) and I just may find myself shouting “Colin Meloy! I love your vocabulary!”

The Decemberists, June Hymn from The King is Dead

Things have gotten away from me a bit lately, in general as well as in terms of this little June project. Life is in flux, in so many ways. And, in wanting to talk about it while also maintaining my carefully curated semi-anonymity here, I’ve found myself feeling stuck.

I say that I don’t want to get Dooced, but that’s a small part of things – sort of a cop out. I know that. I’ve been surprised to find how private I am, in a lot of ways. Maybe it’s smart. Or maybe it’s personal preference or paranoia – not wanting any random person to know the ins and outs of my life. Or maybe there’s more to it.

In the world of Facebook, we broadcast our whereabouts, our relationships starting and ending, our frustrations and happiness, our lunches. It has a tendency to make things that really matter seem on equal footing with all of the banal bullshit. Or at least that’s how it feels to me. I’ve heard about countless engagements and divorces, even deaths, via the status update. And I can’t help but resent that.

Recently I spent a little time with someone who has no qualms about telling everyone what he loves and hates. He has a tendency to express himself so openly that he sometimes looks kind of pathetic. Kind of angry. Kind of a lot of things we all are, sometimes, when we’re not just showing the PR version of ourselves.

I know the same level of honesty or bluntness, the total lack of filter, whatever you want to call it, isn’t me. And I’m thankful for that, in a lot of ways. But I’m also kind of in awe of it and trying to learn a little something from that acceptance of vulnerability. It’s so goddamned refreshing. Somehow it’s different from the unfiltered broadcasting of big and little, good and bad. And that’s something I’m still sorting out: how to respect the importance of how we feel, be honest and authentic, even in cyberspace, while still maintaining my own sense of boundaries and what feels right to me.

“The heart of authenticity is the courage to be vulnerable.” – Brené Brown

OK, so blah blah – what does all of this have to do with creativity, you ask?

I’ve been reading a bit of Brené Brown’s blog after watching a TED talk she gave about vulnerability. And I came across this post about living a creative life. This thought really resonated:

“I had the creativity scars that many of us have; the ones that come from not being able to draw a still life in middle school and being told that I better stick with writing and reading.”

Yep. Because my grades were all-important for so long, I grew to dread art class – the one class that would get in the way of my perfect report card. Not only was I, along with others, given the impression that I had no talent, no ability, but we were also graded A-F dating back to grade school art classes. Maybe the kids who couldn’t carry a tune dreaded music the same way? I have no idea.

I spend a lot of time now pointing out that “I’m not artistic, just kind of crafty.” Because anyone can be crafty. Crafty just relies on the willingness to try, to buy random supplies, to not get your feelings too hurt if it doesn’t turn out the way it looked in the magazine photo.

But isn’t the same true for so many aspects of creativity?If you’re just willing to try and not be embarrassed and practice, you can do it, at least kinda. I won’t pretend I have innate drawing ability or painting ability or musical talent. I could work at all of those for a long time and not create a single masterpiece. Or a single thing that didn’t look like a fourth grader was involved. I’m not foolish.

But there are things, creative things, I do pretty well. Writing is one. Photography is another. And there’s no shortage of crafty projects!

But there’s also the unsung creative heroes: Problem solving. Curiosity. Wandering. Decorating. Fantasizing.  Cooking.

And so, in honor of some of those, a few things that have been inspiring to me in the past couple of days, in the midst of moving chaos and carpet cleaning and furniture stacked up in the kitchen and to the rafters in the garage.

• My garden style pinboard on Pinterest
• The Empire State building looking like this
• Bon Iver cover songs

Bon Iver, Your Love (The Outfield cover)
Bon Iver, I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time (Bonnie Raitt cover [with a little Leon Russell intro] live on Jimmy Fallon) (two of my favorite B.R. songs mashed into one!)

• 29 Ways to Stay Creative video on Vimeo
• Coffee can lanterns
• Vision and Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (just arrived yesterday!)
• The Hairpin
• my journal
• The book I’m trying to read (more on that soon)
• The homes in Brothers & Sisters reruns (ok, and Dave Annable)
• Sunshine on my shoulders and walks to nowhere
• Also, walks to get ice cream

A few photos coming tomorrow.

Do you feel creative? Artistic? Crafty? Inspired? When? Where? Why not?

Yes. Most certainly.

Getting back into the real swing of things, I thought I better include another photo of flowers. Weekend, here I come!

Lately I’ve been rescuing a lot of random stuff from the curb or the garbage. I figure that if I don’t revamp them soon, they can just go back on the curb, no harm done. Basically no one I know shares this mindset and they all think I’m crazy, but that’s OK. One man’s crazy is another man’s creative? Maybe.

This was in the garbage at work, since no one else could see removing all of the many generations of tape (Scotch, masking, remnants of masking long gone).

Others saw junk, I saw a project! Popped in a movie and went to town with my razor blade. Now I just need to wipe it down and paint that sucker. I need few things in the world like I need paper organization.

And then to the retail therapy. Started off the morning on Sunday by buying a midcentury dresser on Craigslist. Ended the day knee deep in homewares at Ross/TJ Maxx. Bought plenty of useful things, some less so. And then there’s the cast iron apple pot. It looks like this, and is about three times the size of an actual apple:

And it was THREE DOLLARS. I said to a friend that it’s either going to be one of those dumb purchases you made because it was cute and cheap OR it’s going to be one of those things you never knew you could live without. First I’m going to try baked apples with cinnamon and maybe nutmeg and maybe ginger. Then, I might try roasting garlic. Or peppers. Or pears! Don’t worry, these are all going to be done separately. Decided it would give me a creative cooking outlet and be weirdly cute, to boot.

And then today was busy and Monday and … still raining. So my creative move of the day was contributing to someone else’s creativity. Amy Martin is a local musician who is attempting to fund her work via a Kickstarter-esque campaign. She writes pretty hippie songs and led a kids choir with a repertoire of songs about science. They opened for Ani DiFranco a few years ago and I was totally smitten. So, about the campaign: though I didn’t have much to contribute, I have a CD of hers I really enjoy and thought I could at least chip in. “Green Valley” is my favorite song written about the city in which I live (I think The Decemberists’ “The Apology Song” might be number 2). Also, for whatever reason, her political satire song “It’s About Oil” pops into my head sometimes in the shower. Listen to this song and you’ll see it’s really quite an image.

So, how was your weekend? Any exciting recent purchases? What would you roast in a weird little apple pot (if only you were so lucky to have one)?

Amy Martin, Green Valley (live)

Amy Martin, It’s About Oil (live)

(apple photo from amazon.com, other photos by me, Amy Martin’s music available on Amazon and iTunes)

I think that it probably has more to do with figuring out creative acts “good” enough to post.  Recognizing the little creative choices we all make every day and deciding that it doesn’t need to be elaborate, it doesn’t even need to be visual. The little moments of creativity are what make mundane days livable, enjoyable even.

One nice result of this focus on creativity is that I’m letting my mind wander throughout the day, figuring something creative might result. And I’m finding connections where I might not otherwise. Today, I was walking across campus when I heard a man whistling. I recognized him. He’s an administrator, fairly high up the University totem pole, but his background is in music. He has this lovely, booming voice when he sings on stages, wearing a tux. Performing. But walking today on the quiet grounds, he was whistling to no one but himself. Although he might not spend as much time in front of classrooms and auditorium audiences as he once did, music is a part of him. It’s in his head, in his heart, all day long. No tux required. And I just found it so wonderfully inspiring. What a blessing to have a job that’s an extension of something you’d do anyway.

Creativity clearly comes naturally to him; he would probably self-identify as a creative person working in a creative field (or with a background in a creative field, at least). But I doubt he’d recognize his whistling as a creative act. Sometimes creativity comes less from big gestures, tuxes on stages, than from the music that fills an otherwise silent, rainy sidewalk on a Friday afternoon.

Whatever it is, quite a few of my musical cravings were soothed last night by the show I saw at my favorite historic theater – The Head and the Heart opening for Iron and Wine.

To be honest, the Iron and Wine set was really different from what I expected. As NPR so nicely put it, “On his latest album, Sam Beam’s whispery folk has morphed into a many-tentacled colossus of a band.” He had two drummers. Three backup singers (including Markéta Irglová of Once/Swell Season fame). A horn section. It was way more rock/funk than the very mellow music I’ve come to know. Despite Sam Beam’s total lack of stage charisma last night, it was an excellent show, helped immensely by the ultra-talented backup musicians and the energy of one in particular, who rocked out in a linen jacket and pink shirt (and braved questioning looks from his trumpet-playing neighbor) while nailing flute, clarinet, an instrument I didn’t even recognize during the haunting encore of “He Lays in the Reins,” and more than one amazing sax solo. Just watching his excitement and joy and talent was worth the cost of admission.

A live version of “He Lays in the Reins” with the band Calexico:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoAnnbxMkGg

Sam Beam

I won’t pretend to write eloquently about music. I’ll leave that to all of the blogs (one in particular) and radio stations gushing over The Head and the Heart, but they were fabulous as the opening band. It’s always fun to watch a band early in their rise, when they’re still figuring out their style and their stage presence. When the quirks haven’t yet been ironed out. They alternated between lovely ballads and stomping and clapping, sometimes within the same song. They harmonized beautifully. And here and there one of them stepped up to bust out a solo singing moment that actually gave me goosebumps – these moments of shocking loveliness – singing on tiptoes, one step away from careening off course and hitting the wrong note but keeping it just at arm’s length, in a way that was really mesmerizing.

A sextuplet of attractive, talented young musicians bringing clapping back into the mainstream? I’m all for it. We will be hearing more from them in the months to come, I’m sure. I was pleased just to hear a bit of them, in all of their dancing and singing and stomping and clapping glory, last night.

The Head and the Heart, Lost in My Mind
The Head and the Heart, Down in the Valley (I also liked the YouTube video of this song live in Seattle)
The Head and the Heart, Josh McBride (from the beautiful Fuel/Friends Chapel Sessions)

Tip: If you join their mailing list, you’ll get two of these songs to download, Lost In My Mind and Down In The Valley, for free!

(all photos by me)

We seem to be continuing with the OCD theme this week, but I am weirdly excited to tell you about TuneUp, a plug-in for iTunes or Windows Media Player. I saw an ad for it on 8tracks.com and was curious about whether it would really work – it claims it “automagically” cleans up track names, adds album art, artists, even genres in iTunes. Plus it says it gets rid of duplicate tracks, of which I have many. MANY. Plus it’s supposed to tell you about upcoming local concerts for any artists in your iTunes library, and I like knowing those kinds of things.

I downloaded the free trial, which allows for 50 cleaned tracks, 25 album covers added, 25 duplicate removals, and access to concert alerts (plus artist bios, music videos, things like that).

I started simple, adding artist and track info to pretty well known songs. No problem. Then I picked some Spanish music – sin problema. Even got the accents right, which made me weirdly giddy.

And then I really tried to trick it.

I looked all over for the weird stuff. Lithuanian music from a former roommate? Had no trouble finding Jūratė ir Kastytis. OK…

SNL clips? Figured out the “The Chanukah Song” (not Hanukkah) is from Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving & Chanukah Songs album.

Obscure live acoustic version of Mr. Big’s “To Be With You?” Nailed it.

Punk rock cover of Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now?” Easy.

Bad reggaetón song I only had listed as “Toma, toma?” All over it. And even put the accent on the genre.

You can choose the fields it updates, so I can keep the compilation name Fish Magic is Birthday Magic (thanks, Rhiannon!) but update the tracks and artists, all within a minute or two.

I am smitten.

So then I tried cleaning up duplicates. I wanted to keep Ani DiFranco’s “Both Hands” from her self-titled album (but not all three copies) but also have the live version from Living in Clip. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Not only did it show concerts in town from now until September, it let me know when bands I like are opening acts or are even playing in small, basement bars. Crazy.

You can buy the various tools a la carte- Clean for artists and track names, DeDuper for duplicates, Cover Art – or you buy the whole package, either as a one-year subscription (with new settings NOT reverting at the end of the year) or lifetime membership, even allowing one license switch if you get a new computer. And right now they’re offering 25% off any of the products using the promo code CLEANSE.

Initially, even the $37.50 sale cost seemed like a high price for my anal retentiveness. But it’s making me so happy. SO HAPPY. Best money I’ve spent in a little while, really. It’s like the computer version of getting your teeth cleaned, but with no excessive drooling or judgmental questions about flossing. I’m so psyched that I set up a referral link. If you are catching my drift and want this same OCD high, use this link: http://tuneup.tellapal.com/a/clk/6BXcD and I’ll even get a kickback. Or just go directly to TuneUp’s website and have a look around. I don’t even care – I feel like I was just handed hours of my life back.

Give this a try if you’re a detail freak like me. Then let’s talk about how fresh and so clean, clean (that’s Outkast, not OutKast, y’all) we feel!

(Update: I’ve now been using this for a couple of days and am still very pleased. It’s not 100% perfect – it’s recommended a couple of songs that have nothing to do with the ones I’m looking for [though I guess they must have similar "musical DNA"] – but I just skipped over those. I think it’s been wrong about 5 times, and I’ve cleaned up about 4,000 tracks so far. And my library was a lot more in line than most people’s I know. It’s sometimes a little slow, but still 100x faster than trying to do this by hand – easy to sit down with a movie and power through approving them. I’ve removed about 500 duplicate songs from my library, and hope to have everything in order by the end of the weekend. And now newly added albums and mixes are going to be perfectly labeled, with cover art. I never thought this day would come!)

I haven’t had much time for the actual cleaning I never seem to get around to, but I’ve been going through my belongings and clothes, adding more all the time to the garage sale bin. As I plot my next step, it’s nice to feel like I’m working to lighten my load. I finally bought a shredder and have been plowing through lots of old papers and receipts. Trying to streamline and organize, at least a little bit. Get ready for some of my warm weather projects.

I am not a naturally tidy person. Far from it. Music is in order.

Music for spring cleaning is different than normal upbeat get-your-ass-in-gear music, at least for me. This may have to do with the fact that hippie culture is out in full force here once spring rolls around – people walking around barefoot, playing Ultimate, slacklining, a ton of pot lucks and talk of community gardens. Hemp Fest must be right around the corner. People start acting like every day is Aber Day. As we shed all of those winter layers, there’s always one day, the first decently warm day of the season, when skin is out, libidos are high, and every college student in town (plus some just wanting to hit on aforementioned college students) is sitting on the Oval, the campus’ version of a quad, neglecting responsibilities and classes in lieu of a few hours in the sun. The message is clear: spring has come.

So I put together a little playlist of what I’ve been rocking out to over the last few weekends. It’s random, sort of like the crap I keep unearthing in various boxes around my house! It’s posted in 2 parts on 8tracks (part 1, part 2) because they limit you to 2 songs per artist per playlist and Old Crow plays too big a role in my cleaning to be so limited.

(it’s funny. I seem to post a lot of sort of hillbilly music here, even though it makes up a small proportion of my total listening preferences. I guess these kinds of songs just seem especially Montana to me.)

So…what’s on your spring cleaning/general enjoyment playlist? Leave me links in the comments!

UPDATE: 8tracks keeps screwing up my mixes, so they are appearing to be identical. This is not the case. Working on a fix – will post another update when it get them working, hopefully with playlists embedded here directly.

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Think they’re working now. Had to delete and recreate. Let me know if they seem eerily similar, ie the same, and I’ll do a bit more triage.

Now I really need to know what you people are listening to, since I’ve been cycling through these same songs trying to get these playlists to work!

Perhaps third grade is a bit too early to really appreciate James Taylor.

It’s one of his cheesier songs, maybe, but there’s something really golden about his voice. And today, with all of the crazies out there shooting people, with politics getting more brutal and more nasty and more dishonest all of the time, it’s nice to take a step back. Remember that

there are ties between us

all men and women

living on the earth

ties of hope and love

sister and brotherhood

that we are bound together

in our desire to see the world become

a place in which our children can grow free and strong.

Maybe there isn’t total harmony out there. But we can have a little harmony in our music and maybe even in our lives. So let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King, with a little help from JT.

James Taylor, Shed a Little Light

- I’m like a vampire and rarely see the light. Photography needs to happen on weekends.

- Even more importantly, I can’t really post anything until I give the presents, or else the surprise will be pretty, well, wa waaaa. I’m thinking about doing cool wrapping, posting that, and then posting the presents down the road. Just need to remember to photograph them in reverse order. This all may or may not happen.

But I’m loving the pure white snow, this lovely, fresh surprise to wake up to every few days, so in the meantime, I give you this snowdog, which makes me weirdly happy:

While I’m here, I thought I’d also post a little song which my sister recommended to me, free to download on Amazon until Christmas.

Fleet Foxes, White Winter Hymnal

Are you having a white winter where you are?

(photo via {get ready for this} The Brick House, via Cute Overload, via Jenny’s Tumblr, via Flickr. Phew. My what a tangled {ww}web we weave.)

When I’m sitting at the computer or reading or doing something that requires my concentration, I often think it would be nice to have some music in the background. But the truth is that I end up slowly turning it down until it’s inaudible. Or I mute it for a second and then forget about it. I’ve come to sort of understand that it has to do with the lyrics – I do better with background music in a language I don’t understand so I don’t have to tune out the words or catch myself singing along when I’m trying to read or think about something totally different.

And so I listen to some random Portuguese fado from time to time. And I’ve tried dipping my toe into jazz and classical, exploring genres without lyrics, though too dramatic or too busy versions of either of those also crowd out my thoughts. In describing this phenomenon, someone suggested that I look into movie scores.

I’d rather they not be immediately identifiable to the masses – this rules out Disney or Titanic or Harry Potter. (I’m not entirely sure why I’ve set this criteria, but it seems like a good start.) The initial suggestion was the score to 500 Days of Summer – but I can’t see paying $10.99 for less than 35 minutes of mp3s, especially when many of the songs repeat themselves, as scores are wont to do. I sort of thought about the score to Amelie -  I read somewhere that a blogger considered it her brain music. Yann Tiersen, the artist behind the score, also did the music for Chocolat and Goodbye Lenin!, among others – perhaps he’s worth exploring further. Though John Williams is the reigning king of movie scores, I’m not sure he’s the man for this particular job. But maybe I’m mistaken.

What’s your background music? Does your house feel empty without other sounds? Do you walk wearing an iPod? Any classical music or movie scores you want to recommend for me, to help fill those quiet evening spaces?

(It might even be time to finally take down the Halloween decorations.)

In a perfect world, I’ll also decorate for Christmas. In reality, all I know is that I’ll dig out some of my favorite Christmas songs – the ones I uncheck the rest of the year in iTunes so they don’t randomly come up on shuffle. Today we’re in a mellow mood.

I have to ask, do you like Christmas music? I feel like this is a big dividing conversation for some people – you love it and embrace the cheese or you revile it. I’m obviously in the former camp.

Keb Mo, Jingle Bell Jamboree

James Taylor, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Vince Guaraldi Trio, What Child is This

Among his good traits:

• + he’s a talented and creative cook
• + he’s fiercely loyal and an excellent friend
• + he pays attention to the person in the room who feels most out of place
• + he knows that sometimes, ice cream really does solve your problems. He doesn’t really eat it, but he likes to be the one to provide it. And I’m always appreciative.

And so I thought I’d dedicate a couple of his favorite songs out to the interwebs. I kind of feel like Delilah.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, American Dream

Tennessee Ernie Ford, Sixteen Tons

So I thought I’d put up a few of my favorites – both solo and with his band, Tom Catmull and the Clerics. He’s pretty mellow solo – but in the bar, with the full band, you’re going to find me out on the dance floor.

His band’s site has links to iTunes downloads and CDs and the like.

Tom Catmull, Dirty Valley Low

Tom Catmull and the Clerics, Sail on Gone

Tom Catmull and the Clerics, Don’t Let Her Get Down

Tom Catmull and the Clerics, All the Good in the World

Not a whole lot in the way of ghosts and goblins happening around here, but I’ve always felt that it wasn’t really Halloween until I heard Monster Mash. Even in Spain, where people don’t really understand the holiday, I went to this weird Irish pub hosting a party just to hear Boris Pickett (and maybe a little Thriller).

So here’s the Mash, plus a couple of other picks for the holiday.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett, Monster Mash

Warren Zevon, Werewolves of London (2007 remastered)

Sufjan Stevens, They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhh!

Michael Jackson, Thriller

(photo: my sister’s pumpkin skillz)

I’ve been cleaning and organizing around here, reading the paper and this week’s Blogging Your Way assignments, and listening to the Americana Music Awards Sampler. At the moment, it’s still a free download on Amazon.

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A few songs from the album:

Darrell Scott, A Crooked Road

The Avett Brothers, Shame