One Awesome Thing: Music Release Days

It's been over 6 months since my last blog, so it's high time to pick up the habit again. There's so much attention given to satire, negativity, or passive mocking that it's hard for millennials, like myself, to find encouraging daily reads, so I'm hoping to get back into providing these One Awesome Thing posts on a regular basis again.

When I was in high school, I was introduced to the music "scene". To this point, my main source of quality music was The X (or The Force, if you remember that far back), which was the only modern alternative station in Pittsburgh and played a heavy dose of Green Day, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. Throw in some Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit on MTV and you have me at 13.

My good friend, Brandon (who is now co-executive producer for Travel Channel's Dangerous Grounds, introduced me to music that was not on the radio in 10th grade (after establishing POD as my favorite band the year before). He gave me albums from MxPx, Value Pac, and Ninety Pound Wuss. These Tooth and Nail staples introduced me to wholesome Christian punk and, more importantly, the fact that there was great music that was NOT on the radio!

Over the next few years, learning about bands and listening to music became my main source of entertainment. When you are constantly entertained by what's new and hip, your favorite day becomes record release day. In high school and into college, Best Buy offered new release for 10 bucks, so this was where you'd find me on Tuesdays.

Well, times have changed. My love for new music still exists, but the Internet has changed everything. Albums started leaking online several years ago, so now bands put them online for us before the album release. More attention is given to having an album release show so fans can pay SOMETHING to see the artist instead of just listening for free online.

Today's One Awesome Thing is record release days, or, more specifically, Noah Gundersen's debut full-length album, Ledges, which is out today via Dualtone Records (The Lumineers, Delta Spirit). This album is beautiful. I've had the pleasure of seeing Noah play his own stuff 3 times since moving to Seattle, in some of the most unique settings (house show, Timber!, Triple Door) and look forward to seeing him a 4th time at the Neptune Theater for his release show this Saturday. I could go on and on about Noah Gundersen's unique songwriting ability, but I'll let my friend, Greg Jones, at Ear to the Ground do that instead.

Great Expectations

A friend asked how I'm doing and I began explaining that I'm in the mood to read and play music a lot, realizing that this has been an ongoing struggle. I deactivated Facebook, refused to get cable in my new apartment, and am considering ditching the internet at home or on my phone. These things are all such distractions.

This is your turn to keep me accountable. I picked up Great Expectations and am intending to read more so I can get my creative juices flowing. The opportunity is here to write songs and play at open mics, see shows and review bands for Ear to the Ground Music, or even start writing prose again and publish a little something in the UW Tacoma literary publication, Tahoma West.

The time is now. Facebook is gone for a bit; hopefully a long while. Genuine human interactions and real, valuable alone time is in the horizon. Hopefully creation follows. Check back soon.

Band Obsessions

Working in an office gives me a chance to listen to music all day, which is certainly amazing for someone who loves music like I do! There have definitely been days where I've been in moods when I feel like I'm bored with my music selection and I need some new stuff (which I usually indulge in at that point), but lately there have been a few albums or artists that have been able to simply captivate beyond the need for anything else. Let me mention a few of them here:

Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave: These boys have a way of playing their way into my sub conscience and not getting out. They are probably the catchiest band I listen to and Patrick Stump's voice has a way of captivating my attention that few other singers can do. Take This To Your Grave was their first big hit and is one of my favorite albums of all time. It is pop-punk mastery. I loved listening to these guys on my way through their hometown of Chicago on my cross-country trip. Their follow-up album, From Under the Cork Tree is another one of my all-time favorites and is full of catchy anthems. Their last release, Folie a Deux, is one of the most underrated albums of the last 5 years, in my opinion, with plenty of diversity and a few cool cameos (Pharrell, Lil Wayne).



Bon Iver - Bon Iver: In short, this is the best album of 2011. There will not be an album that is better. If there is, I will pee my pants. I did not think there was a chance Bon Iver could follow-up their first release, For Emma, Forever Ago, with anything better, but they reinvented their sound and released a completely different album that is simply beautiful. Every track is stunning. I have a couple favorites, but I rarely repeat songs because each song prepares your spirit for the next. It just makes sense to listen straight through. In particular, though, I have been obsessed with this Bonnie Raitt cover from a little CD of extras, "I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time"

The Tallest Man on Earth - Everything: Kristian Matsson is The Tallest Man on Earth, but isn't particularly imposing in stature. Instead, he's fairly meek and humble. He is one man with no other musicians involved. He is Swedish, but manipulates and utilizes the English language. Most importantly, he controls you. There is something incredibly endearing about him, despite the fact that he doesn't talk much, move around much, or really do anything much to particularly entertain you. He simple plays beautiful music with such emotion and obvious spirit in his voice that you can't help but be under his spell.




Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends: This is the quintessential teen angst album, which I didn't actually own until I was firmly inserted in my mid-20s. Regardless, this album is full of anger, frustration, and I-don't-give-a-what mentality that it fits any disgruntled mood you might have. Can't find any motivation? Tell All Your Friends? Girls being a pain? Tell All Your Friends. Missed the bus? Tell All Your Friends. It was amazing to see most of these songs performed by the original lineup on their tour this summer. What's more, take a look at videos from 2011 and then take a look at 2002, when the album was first released. The maturity has changed this band quite a bit. The emotion is still there, just in a different form, and with a microphone swinging swagger.



Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: The most unlikely addition to any music list of mine, I could not figure out people's affinity with Vampire Weekend for years. The songs were odd, cheeky, and not particularly interesting to me. Then one day, it just hit me. Everything was sticking in my head. I wanted to learn every word to every song. I'd listen to the album straight through, then I'd want to listen to it again. The songwriting sounds simple, but is full of changes in time signature and demeanor. The lyrics are intelligent and full of one-liners. I think what did it was "Oxford Comma", thanks to "who cares about details" mentality and its use of the most taboo word in the English language.

When the Story Ends

Moving to the Northwest has been a dream of mine, for any of you who have not been following my blog the last few years. It has been the goal for so long. It's been a dream I've had in my head since I first visited Seattle two years ago. This summer's job search gave me the opportunity to move here as I'd been hoping for. The dream would be realized. Pack up the necessities in Marie Antoinette and hit the road heading west until the road ran out.

So I did it.

Now what?

That's been the question. I've been reading through my favorite book again, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Don Miller. In one of the chapters, Don mentions the idea that we rarely think about: what happens to the characters when the story is over? We all know about John Cusack holding the stereo in the girl's yard, or Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan on the top of the Empire State Building, or Rudy making those unlikely tackles in his first-and-only playing time for Notre Dame. But what happens next? People don't live happily ever after because there is always a new goal, a new challenge, a new endeavor to navigate. I'm starting to learn what it really means for this to be the start of a new chapter rather than the end of a story.

This move has been the toughest thing I've ever done. Some days I wake up with debilitating homesickness that makes it difficult to function normally and enjoy my day. Some days I don't, though, and I thank God for those days. Things will get better, but for now I'm still just handling the homesickness day-to-day.

The most difficult part of this move has absolutely been finding community. It's not that I'm struggling to meet people or find places where community is, but it's just that I'm struggling with not having any support system in place here for me to rely on as I venture out for new places to call home. I don't have that one go-to friend to talk to about everything. I'm still finding ways to get my emotions out and feel refreshed. It's been a real struggle to lay in bed at times and process my thoughts by myself because sometimes it's hard to talk to anyone about them, even if they know what I'm going through.

Things are getting better, though. This weekend I spent time with some people who made me feel like they are genuinely happy to have me here. I do have a need to feel appreciated and I think the last 48 hours have made me feel that way consistently for the first time since I left Pittsburgh.

This is a journey. The past month has been an amazing journey that I'll never forget. Yesterday was a journey. Today is a journey. Tomorrow is a journey. Every day we learn new things about ourselves and others. Each day we get more comfortable than the last. One day soon Tacoma will start to feel a bit like home. 

No matter when that is, I know that I need to take advantage of the opportunities I have while I'm here. I want to go to shows weekly. I want (need) to start a band and play a shows around the Sea-Tac area. I may even want to live in Seattle for a year before my time here is done. Until then, though, I am living in Tacoma, finding community, and filling the voids that have been left from my move. I'm also creating new experiences that would not happen in Pittsburgh.

At the end of the day, God has placed me as a tree in a story about a forest. The story is ongoing and purposeful. There is a reason for me to be in Tacoma right now and it doesn't have as much to do with me as I'd like it to. I'm just a tree in a story about a forest.

The Head and the Heart

Yes, I listened to this band because they sorta share a name with my blog.  Their lyrics, though, are introspective in the way you'd expect with that sort of name.  Check out the review I wrote for their self-titled album here at Ear to the Ground!

Start of Unemployment

My extreme extroversion feels like the death of me at work the last couple weeks.  Things are slowing down mightily at work as students finish up classes and head home for the summer, so I return home every day completely drained of energy because my little back office with no windows in the basement of the UC at CMU is keeping me from any social interaction and driving me nuts!

I need some interaction, so how about you comment some answers to these questions?

What is some music I NEED to listen to today?

At the moment, I'm jamming a stream of the new Manchester Orchestra album (out yesterday) as well as Arcade Fire's performance at Coachella.  These two bands are reminding me how much I need to create music, but I need some energy and inspiration first.  I want to start a band so badly, but have no idea where I will live at the end of the summer, so it's virtually pointless to try at the moment.  That will be one of my first endeavors in my new (or old) city!


What are some cool (cheap) things I should do while I'm unemployed for a while?

Tennis, painting, playing music, disc golf, cooking, and reading are already on the list.  Give me some other ideas!  I'll be poor, so the cheaper the better.  I'm about to be unemployed for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time, so I could use some simple or elaborate ideas to utilize in Pittsburgh.

What makes you impatient?

My attention deficit is not designed for long periods of idleness, so my patience is being challenged by my lack of tasks in front of me as well as my job and future uncertainty on many levels.  I know that I need to put my need for patience in God's hands or I'll continue down a slippery slope of insanity due to lack of stimuli.

Music for Music's Sake

When do you listen to music?  In the car on the way to work?  On your computer at work?  While you're making dinner?  When was the last time you sat down and just plain listened to music with no other distractions?

For being such a lover of music, I realized recently that I rarely listen to music for the sake of listening to music.  Music is always something added to a another activity as filler.  My attention span is bad, so I need to have at least two stimuli to keep me from losing my mind.  Sometimes, though, music needs to be fully experienced on its own to get the full effect.

Saturday was Record Store Day across America.  Music stores had some rare merchandise and performances to celebrate the record.  I sifted through the vinyls when I stopped in at The Exchange in Squirrel Hill and came across a lot of great records.  But they were records I already had on CD or on my computer, so why would I need a vinyl copy?  I can't even put those tunes on my iPod!  I saw Come on Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens in this selection and decided that someone needed to own it, so I got it for my roommate, Andy Redfield.  Once I got it, though, I thought about how great it would be to just invite some friends over to listen to the album.  Where have the days gone when we just got together to listen to music and talk about it.  We rarely sit back and think about what the music makes us feel.

This realization was reinforced by the broadcasting of the Coachella festival in California this past weekend.  Many of the biggest acts were broadcast, such as The Black Keys, Bright Eyes, and The National.  On Saturday I watched the Friday performances while working on a paper.  Saturday night I did the same, but we set aside time to watch Mumford and Sons plugged into Andy's TV late that evening.  I even stayed up until about 3am to watch the beginning of Arcade Fire's set.



Sunday night I was really hit with an overwhelming appreciation for music.  The Strokes performed at 12am EST and I sat up at my parents' house all night watching.  The Strokes aren't a particularly entertaining live band and generally rely on their incredible music to speak for itself.  The camera work on the broadcast was intriguing because it was all in black-and-white and stayed zoomed in on certain members of the band the entire time, unlike the other performances.  The music was encapsulating and I loved every riff and scream.  After a while, I just laid in bed watching and enjoying.  No other time have I ever just watched a concert so intently.



I've been babbling quite a bit, but here's my challenge for you.  Pick your favorite album and just listen to it.  Listen to it a few times.  Listen to the intricacies and the lyrics and the details that made you fall in love with it.  I've been experiencing Funeral and The Suburbs by Arcade Fire over and over again and they keep getting better and better.  There is nothing more invigorating than beautiful music.

Concert Anticipation

In the last 5 days I've been to 4 concerts. Tonight I add to the total. First I saw two friends' bands, Sleep Experiments and Whiskey Holler on Wednesday and Thursday. Then I saw Hellogoodbye on Saturday and Titus Andronicus on Sunday. Tonight is the crown jewel: Jimmy Eat World. All of these shows were fantastic in their own ways, being in a variety of venues (library, dive bar, ex-church, college ballroom, dance club, respectively) and featuring a variety of tunes and fans. Tonight, though, the anticipation is immense.

Jimmy Eat World is one of my all time favorites and they are still blowing it up after all these years. I first saw them in 2002 at Metropol (now Club Zoo) with some friends from Blade Runners when I was a junior in high school. They blew my mind. Energy, musicianship, songwriting; it was all emotionally moving. Fans were in love with what they saw on stage. Five years later I saw them at the Carnegie Library Music Hall in Homestead, which is arguably the coolest venue in Pittsburgh. They still had it down and were killing it on stage. There was a wide range of favorites played from almost every album dating back to 1999. But they stuck with what worked, which was the hits from Bleed American.

Tonight, the anticipation is high. After seeing four very different and very good bands this week, it all climaxes with one of the best. It's how you feel when you're about to run out for the opening tip of a basketball game. The butterflies are there, but you can't help jumping all over the room with excitement. I already saw the set lists from the last few shows, which has killed the mystery, but the fact is that even without the element of surprise Jimmy will still blow me away. I never get to shows early (except for the Avett Brothers), but I'll be there 30 minutes before the openers hit the stage because I don't want to miss a lick from David Bazan, either. I simply cannot wait to hear that first riff!

What makes you so excited that you bounce off the walls in anticipation?

eat, sleep, repeat

this morning i walked to work in the midst of the snow. it took me a while to drag myself out of bed and sloth my way through the morning routine, but i got to the bus stop just in time to catch the 77 halfway to work. my run down the hill to the bus stop woke me up a bit, but i still shuffled my feet on the walk down morewood to carnegie mellon.

accompanying me on this journey today was copeland. these guys were not mentioned in my "favorite artists" list, but i believe that was a pretty big oversight. copeland released four albums, each pretty unique, with their masterpiece (arguably) being eat, sleep, repeat. their 3rd studio album is a trip through emotions. the album moves up and down in pace and demeanor, making it unique and intriguing.

eat, sleep, repeat is a mundane title for an album that goes far deeper than the everyday occurrence. aaron marsh has a way of singing into your soul on this album and it will mesmerize you when you don't expect it.

one of my favorite afternoons of the last few years was a trip to the carnegie museum of art when i put this album on my ipod and just experienced art. visual art was in front of me and the audio art engulfing my eardrums created an experience that was utterly calming and inspirational. eat, sleep, repeat has a home in the art museum.

so this morning i listened to a few tracks from the album on my walk to work. i noticed myself losing focus and slowing my pace as i wanted to let the music take over my being. it was becoming a soundtrack for my thoughts with an alternating of depression and hope. often times our lives and jobs can feel like an "eat, sleep, repeat" kind of rotation, which is why it's so intriguing to take an album of that name that contains immense uniqueness. in the most ironic of ways, i noticed something new about life every time i listen to eat, sleep, repeat.

what albums give you unique experiences?

is there a particularly fond memory that you can associate with an artist or album?

what music helps to eliminate the "eat, sleep, repeat" feelings in your life?