A MUSICal History//MY CALIFORNIA

Life is often defined by music.  If I think back on the last 15 or so years of my life, each year I can remember definitively by the music I was listening to.  It has had such a profound influence on my life.  Thankfully, my tastes have changed over the years.  But that is not said to negate any goodness from the music I once loved.  If it wasn’t for Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” I would never have been able to endure my middle school crush on Maurice.  If it wasn’t for Hanson, who else would have adorned my walls in jr. high thanks to the centerfolds and pin ups from BOP magazine.  N’Sync was the topic of most of our sleepover discussions freshman year of high school.  And how else would I have endured boring Chemistry if I didn’t have which Backstreet boy would make a more suitable boyfriend to ponder.  It was always argued that Nick Carter was definitely the kind of guy you could bring home to Mom, while A.J’s piercings and tattoos might freak Dad out a little too much.

But then I grew up & so did my musical tastes.

I went through my country phase.  In a moment of devout abandon to my Christian faith I felt the need to purge my music collection entirely of any non-Christian music.  For a year I only listened to worship or Christian themed songs, intermixed with some classical pieces.  I thought God would be proud of my musical tastes.  I only wanted to listen to songs about Him.  But the truth was I missed the other stuff.  I missed the melodies of folk tunes.  I missed the instrumentality of bluegrass, I missed the poetic lyrics of love gone wrong, overcoming hardship, having a crush, dreaming about another life and land, or just a simple love song.  I began to realize that if music wasn’t polluting my mind, why couldn’t I listen to it?  So slowly but surely I began to integrate the artists that connected to my heart and soul back into my collection, and yes, even some Britney and N’Sync remain there.  I think God cares about what we think about.  It’s not so much what we listen to, as what we listen to causes us to think about.  I want to think on things that are lovely. (Philippians 4)  And that’s what I believe my music collection contributes to.

I’d like to say my music taste has become more refined over the years.  I suppose maturing does that to you.  The last four years specifically have been very defined by music.  Since 2008 I have become an avid concertgoer.  I fell in love with live music when I began going to Nickel Creek shows.  Something about the instruments, and the voices, the emotion and meaning behind the songs, really come alive when they are played live. 

And I have seen some amazing live shows.  Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Mumford and Sons,  The Shins, Punch Brothers, She and Him, The Swell Season, Mates of State, Joshua Radin, Greg Laswell, Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, Lucy Schwartz, The Weepies, Mat Kearney and Bon Iver to name a few.  I feel so blessed to be able to attend shows, some of which have honestly changed my life.  I can’t help but be amazingly inspired by the creative, intense, emotion and feeling that is brought out in song.

And when I fall for a band, I fall hard.  I mean, head over heels, crazy love.  There are few bands I would include, in what I call my heart home of music.  That is a musician that somehow always seems to create music that touches the deepest parts of my heart and soul, and carries me through the good and bad.  The Beatles are probably the foundation of my heart home.  They are the first band I ever remember listening to.  They have steadily remained the music that is the most meaningful to me.

I officially met the Dave Matthews Band in college and it became a serious relationship real fast. And I've lived my dream of seeing them thrice.

When I discovered Mumford and Sons in early 2011 I knew it was going to be true love.  And it still is.  I never tire of those voices, those lyrics carrying me through deep pain, and oh my goodness, that passion.  I saw them live a month ago, and it changed me. I wept through “The Cave” and smiled through every cheeky remark, every heartfelt lyric sung, made the biting cold, the four hour drive, and sitting in the nose bleed section worth it.
and hearing these lyrics sung before my very eyes, well, it was just perfect.

The best part of music for me is defined by the place I live, the great state of California.  I haven’t always loved living here.  In fact, for such a long time I was so determined to leave.  I wanted something a little less sunny, a little less warm, a little less, well, California.  But somewhere in the last two years or so, I’ve found myself loving this place more and more.  Sunny days, ocean, mountains, forest, trees, dreams, long stretches of highway, bustling city life, to small town quaint life, famous people, to the secret homes of writers.  So soooo much culture.  Everywhere.  L.A. being just a two-hour drive away.  San Francisco, a short flight, or a long day drive…it’s all here, at my fingertips.  Sports, entertainment, literally everything, and all of it themed around song.  All of it has some sort of musical memory attached to it.

Joey Ryan’s “California” takes you on a beautiful drive through the coastal parts of Central California.  Sarah McLachlan’s “Silence” accompanies my drives across the long stretch of the Interstate 8 on gray days.  Rainy Saturday mornings, with my bedroom window cracked, and the shudders open just enough to let a little dim light in is set best to Dido’s anthems.  I find Radiohead’s “All I need” dominating my iPod on my evening walks in January.  On Valentine’s we visit Balboa Park,  peruse museums and listen toJosh Kelley’s “Special Company”.  When I am reading on my bedroom floor, Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” just feels right.  On my frequent drives to L.A. nothing is better than Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” & "X and Y"  A hike up cowles mountain, or a walk around the lake requires some Iron and Wine or The Beatles.  On that early morning drive to Starbucks, nothing can calm my soul more than some Vivaldi, or Chopin. And when I’m headed to the beach, driving up the I-5, the most suitable tunes are by that San Diego surfing band, Switchfoot.

Music holds such deep meaning for me.  I hope everyone can have a special connection with it or like it with something. As I am driving the long stretch of Friars to Genesse to work on comes this tune, and i think to myself:

This. Is. ABSOLUTELY. beautiful.

coolest chick ever (part 1)

i just have to rave about how interesting, cool, and unpretentious i find miranda july to be.

short story writer, movie maker, artistic spirit, super creative, unique heart, clever, and just ridiculously inspiring, i am just completely and utterly impressed and obsessed with her. i crave her creative capacity.

totally going on my must see list!

*after watching this film i regret to say miranda's coolness factor dropped significantly. i found this movie to be the most discouraging and depressing i had seen in awhile. i realize this is a place she comes from often, as i find the same to be true of her books, but something with this movie just sat wrong with me. i can appreciate the questions it asked, but there was no redeeming factor to any of it, no real sense of hope, and i believe these things can and should be found in any situation and circumstance. also as a result of this movie i now have a great disdain for men wearing gold chains.
shudder.
and on my must read list...

a happy piece for a monday

because monday can be so hard, this is a happy piece that makes it better, if only for today.

strict joy.

Sunday night was one of the most amazing nights of my summer thus far.  taking in the cool night air, spending time with a good friend, and hearing some of the best music was absolutely incredible.

Zooey Deschanel is the most adorable thing ever! She wore the cutest girlish green dress, with a great silver sequenced belt, black tights, black flats, and danced around the stage like a five year old, banging a tambourine, impressing everyone with her extraordinary vocal abilities.  she has penned the most beautiful heartfelt songs i've ever heard, and enjoying them live was unforgettable! she&him's cover of 'you really got a hold on me,' 'roll over beethoven,' and 'i put a spell on you' were outstanding! m. ward was nothing short of amazing!

the Swell Season! what can i say? i am in love. they were completely humble, beautiful, charming souls, that harmonize amazingly, sing with such love, i just sat there completely in awe! glen hansard is one of the most passionate singer/guitar players i've ever heard. and marketa irglova is the sweetest thing i've ever encountered in a venue as large as the hollywood bowl.
i was completely impressed and ecstatic with how respectful and enraptured with the show, a crowd of 17,000 people were. ah-mazing!!!!
love this # best...from their most recent album...strict joy!

what will your verse be?

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?-John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

selfishness to selflessness.

Hi, um... hello. I'm Mia. Um, it's stopped raining! I'm really no good at speech-making. Normally I get so nervous that I faint or run away, or sometimes I even get sick. But you really didn't need to know that... But I'm not so afraid anymore. See, my father helped me. Earlier this evening had every intention of giving up my claim to the throne. And my mother helped me, by telling me it was ok, and by supporting me like she has for my entire life. But then I wondered how I'd feel after abdicating my role as Princess of Genovia. Would I feel relieved, or would I feel sad? And then I realized how many stupid times a day I use the word 'I.' And probably all I ever do is think about myself. And how lame is that when there's like seven billion other people out there on the planet, and... sorry, I'm going too fast. But then I thought, if I cared about the other seven billion out there, instead of just me, that's probably a much better use of my time.
See, if i were Princess of Genovia, then my thoughts and the thoughts of people smarter than me would be much better heard, and just maybe those thoughts could be turned into actions. So this morning when I woke up, I was Mia Thermopolis. But now I choose to be forevermore, Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia.

Okay, I would be lying if I said I still didn't heart princess diaries in that teenage girl way, where you kinda wish someone would come along and just be like, "oh yeah, you're a princess." This whole speech Anne Hathaway's character gives at the end of the film popped into my mind as I was journaling and reflecting upon the past year, and brainstorming over 2010. I mean I think we can all relate to the sentiment she is expressing here:

But then I thought, if I cared about the other seven billion out there, instead of just me, that's probably a much better use of my time.

yeah, totally convicted. All of my reflection, all of my planning, all of my dreaming and scheming, hoping and wishing, all of it is about me. What I want, how I feel, when I want it, how I want it to happen, where I want to have it, what I think I so desperately need, never factoring in, you. And You. You, them, and you. It's always me. and I wonder why I am constantly drying up, and feeling so utterly drained by life? hmmm...cause it's all about me?
If my life involved more others-thinking...wow, I can't even begin to imagine the possibilities. Sometimes our careers, professions, ministries, etc. are all about other people. However, we can still so easily be me-focused in the midst of that.

I encounter people everyday who are only out for themselves, never thinking of or considering another soul, and frankly it is completely unappealing! Rather heinously unattractive.

I am not entirely sure where to begin. I just know that I don't want to be stuck in this me-ness. It's messy and lonely here.
Thinking about others, realizing there out there moment by moment, I suppose that's a good starting place...
i'm feeling that 2010 is going to be about transformation. perhaps transformation will come in shapes and forms I could never imagine for myself. i'm letting go and taking myself out of #1.

missed it by that much...

Can I just say...watching Get Smart is like the best therapy for an awful and exhausting day!

i have a mad crush on the ridiculous hilarious beady eyed maxwell smart. "And Loving it!"