... and books and music and movies. :)
Though in truth, my TV watching has been sporadic at best in the past 1.5 years since I last posted. The only currently airing TV shows I watch are The Amazing Race (though I haven't watched the finale of the most recent season which ended in December), Gotham (4 episodes behind), and MasterChef Junior. I listen to the husband watch Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Bones. I recently obsessively watched all of season one of a Canadian TV show called The Next Step, I'll blog about that separately later, though.
I don't do much reading these days, or at least anything blog-worthy. I've discovered in the past couple of years that if I don't have the time to sit and read a book (or series) from start to finish in pretty much one sitting, chances are pretty high that I will never finish the book (or series). As a result I've been pretty bad about reading anything long and meaty, and instead tend to only read young adult or trashy books, which can be started and completed in one sitting. However, last weekend I did binge-read two books that are blog-worthy -- Graceling and Fire, part of a 3 book series by Kristin Cashore. I have the 3rd book in possession now to read, so I will blog about those 3 books soon, too!
I do listen to music and make my way to concerts when opportunity arises. But truthfully, I have no idea what "new" music exists anymore and find myself listening very often to the same music I have always liked. Notable concerts I have attended since I last blogged: Imagine Dragons on their Night Visions tour, OneRepublic at the Royal Albert Hall, Pentatonix, Download Fest in Derbyshire with headliner Linkin Park performing Hybrid Theory front to back, and Linkin Park on their Hunting Party tour.
I go to the movie theater for movies maybe once every other month? Working backwards, I've seen: Into the Woods, Mockingjay, Part 1, The Maze Runner, The Fault in our Stars, and Captain America: Winter Soldier. I think I watch more movies on planes than in theaters... I could write about Into the Woods (which only just released in the UK and I watched yesterday), but I probably won't. :)
And so yes, that is the round up of how I still like tv and books and music and movies but never blog because I just don't watch/read/listen/watch much worth writing about. That said, I of course have new year's resolutions that I'll probably forget about shortly, which includes writing more -- and so I will try to do so through blog. I've started my own personal blog and the plan is to cross-post anything that is relevant to this long-standing blog on both sites in the coming year. So stay tuned! (If anyone is still tuned in, that is, ha!)
Oh -- and I did totally kill the 2013 weeklies by moving overseas. :(
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Thursday, January 03, 2013
M: Concert Hopes for 2013
I'm not a major concertgoer, but I like to go to concerts when the right opportunities are present. As much as possible, I strive to see artists that I like perform live at least once. Afterward I can determine whether the artist falls onto my a) must see every single time I can, b) not bad and worth seeing if they're touring with someone else I want to see, c) don't bother seeing them again, or d) stay away from any concert they are associated with list.
I think only one artist is on my A list -- Ingrid Michaelson. But I think any a capella group I've ever liked would also fall onto that list as well. Most groups are on B or C, depending on how much I like their subsequent albums. On my D list -- well only Taking Back Sunday comes to mind. I have a strong suspicion that Taylor Swift would also be on the list given that any live TV performance I've ever heard her sing on has been beyond disappointing. However, given the fact that her concerts sell out everywhere in 5 minutes flat and in big venues and by repeat concertgoers, I am a teeeeny tiny bit curious. Not enough to actually shell out the money and go, though.
In 2012, I picked up a whole slew of bands I like, most of them new bands. So I'm hoping to catch them in concert sometime soon... My fingers are crossed that I can make it to some of them in 2013!
Really want to see:
- The Lumineers: Performing in DC at DAR Constitution Hall on January 30 (tickets on sale tomorrow morning -- fingers crossed!) or England in late February (all sold out).
- Of Monsters and Men: They were here in November but I was traveling in South Korea. They are in England in late February or early March (all sold out). Or Paris in June. Or maybe I can catch them in their native Iceland one day. I do want to go to Iceland...
- Mumford & Sons: Saw them at Merriweather in Summer 2011. Would like to see them again, but not enough to go to the Patriot Center on 13 or 14 February. Since they're an English band, perhaps I can catch them in the UK at some point...
- Imagine Dragons: Their February concert at the The Fillmore in Silver Spring is already sold out and prices are astronomically marked up on StubHub. They are in England on 2 or 9 April, so... maybe?
- Pentatonix: At The Fillmore in Silver Spring on February 18. What I mentioned above about a capella groups on my A list? Yeah, they're included! And we're going. :)
- Pentatonix: At The Fillmore in Silver Spring on February 18. What I mentioned above about a capella groups on my A list? Yeah, they're included! And we're going. :)
Less so:
- Walk the Moon
- AWOLNATION
- Grouplove
Note: I am not really traveling internationally to follow bands around. My husband and I are planning to move to England sometime this Spring.
Friday, December 23, 2011
J: Music of 2011
Earlier this year, I read this really great article on NPR called The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going To Miss Almost Everything, which talks about how consumers of TV, books, music, and movies generally fall into two categories: people who cull, and people who surrender. People who cull are quick and decisive about which things are worth their time, while people who surrender realize that there's just too much out there that they want to read/see/listen to and will never get to it all. I'm definitely in the latter category, especially when it comes to music. There is just way too much music out there and more and more of it is coming out all the time. At the end of every year I peruse various best of lists and realize how much I've never even heard of! But I surrender. Here's some of what I've been enjoying this year (even if it wasn't released this year):
Songs:
The Naked and Famous - Punching in a Dream
M83 - We Own the Sky
Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith - Not in Love
La Roux - In For the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey remix)
James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand
Noah and the Whale - Life is Life
Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!
TV on the Radio - Will Do
Albums:
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Lykke Li - Youth Novels, Wounded Rhymes
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Bright Eyes - The People's Key
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals, All Day
Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Songs:
The Naked and Famous - Punching in a Dream
M83 - We Own the Sky
Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith - Not in Love
La Roux - In For the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey remix)
James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand
Noah and the Whale - Life is Life
Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!
TV on the Radio - Will Do
Albums:
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Lykke Li - Youth Novels, Wounded Rhymes
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Bright Eyes - The People's Key
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals, All Day
Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Saturday, August 22, 2009
My favorite songs of the 2000s
Isn't it crazy that 2009 is nearly over, and in turn, the first decade of the 2000s is coming to a close? Pitchfork and a lot of other blogs have been putting together lists of the best songs/albums of the 2000s so I thought I'd give it a shot as well.
I didn't start caring about music much until late in high school (I graduated in 2001) so the 2000s actually represent most of my music-listening life. Of course, not everything I've listened to has been released in this decade, though, so I've limited this list to the songs that were.
I wouldn't say this is a list of what I'd consider the "best" songs, as I don't claim to be any kind of music expert, but more the songs that at one point I listened to over and over and didn't get tired of, and more importantly ones that I still love years later. I had enough trouble picking these out, so I didn't bother ranking them, they're just listed chronologically. I apologize for the random number in the list also...I thought I was going to get to 50 but fell short. I'll probably add/edit the list as I remember others...
1. New Found Glory - The Glory of Love (2000)
2. Midtown - No Place Feels Like Home (2000)
On a post-high-school-graduation trip to Six Flags, a friend of a friend that I met for the first time that day told me I should listen to New Found Glory. For some reason I took this recommendation seriously and I ended up being very into pop-punk/emo for through the first half of college. And yes, The Glory of Love is a cover of the Peter Cetera version from the movie The Karate Kid, neither of which I'm huge fan of, but I think the cover is awesome.
3. Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet (2000)
4. Radiohead - Idioteque (2000)
I started getting into more indie type music my sophomore year of college, and I found out that there was just SO MUCH to catch up on. I'll admit took me awhile to "get" Radiohead but now they're one of my favorites.
5. Bright Eyes - I Will Be Grateful for this Day (2001)
Yes, I started listening to Bright Eyes because of Seth Cohen (the OC)...
6. Weezer - Island in the Sun (2001)
I remember playing this in my dorm room all the time first semester of college. It was one of the few things me and my roommate actually agreed on.
7. Brand New - Jude Law and a Semester Abroad (2001)
This song cracks me up, the anger in it is so random and ridiculous.
8. Sigur Ros - Untitled #3 ("Samskeyti") (2002)
I didn't actually listen to Sigur Ros at all until I heard it used on the British show Skins. This one is gorgeous.
9. The Flaming Lips - Fight Test (2002)
The song that led me into "quirkier" types of music.
10. Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down (2003)
Even back then I sometimes got annoyed at Dashboard's earnest angst thing but this song is an exception. I always have to sing along to this one.
11. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (2003)
My friend Ann and I sort of made the transition from emo to indie music together. Ted Leo was one of our early favorites and we got to see them live at a show at our college and say hi to Ted Leo afterwards!
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (2003)
One of my all-time favorites, as I'm sure is true for a lot of people. Just a really beautiful song.
13. The Format - The First Single (2003)
14. Jimmy Eat World - Kill (2004)
15. Jimmy Eat World - 23 (2004)
Bleed American was released in the 2000s also and I know it's their most popular album, but nothing on it really stood out for me like these two. I saw them live in 2005 and it was pretty amazing. The Format was one of their openers.
16. The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2004)
17. Modest Mouse - Float On (2004)
Both ridiculously catchy.
18. Arcade Fire - Wake Up (2004)
I was completely obsessed with Arcade Fire for a pretty long time. I got to see them live at my college before they really got big and it remains to this day the best show I've ever been to. It was in this relatively small multi-purpose room above a dining hall, the "stage" (just a raised platform) was too small for all the members and their instruments, and Richard Reed Parry was pretty much right in front of my face going crazy. At one point he started banging his drumsticks on the ceiling and pieces of plaster were coming down. I saw them again a couple of years later at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, and while the music was still great, I don't think anything will compare to that first time I saw them.
19. Tegan and Sara - I Know I Know I Know (2004)
I didn't actually start listening to Tegan and Sara until I heard this song on an episode of Veronica Mars.
20. Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan (2005)
I had a hard time picking a Death Cab song from the decade...
21. Bright Eyes - I Believe in Symmetry (2005)
For awhile, every time I heard this song I would think to myself, "I really like this, what is it?"
22. The Bravery - An Honest Mistake (2005)
23. Mates of State - For the Actor (2006)
I have this distinct memory of being stuck in traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) in Philadelphia and being pepped up by this song.
24. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (2006)
25. The Killers - When You Were Young (2006)
26. The Album Leaf - Always for You (2006)
27. Band of Horses - The Funeral (2006)
28. Hot Chip - Boy From School (2006)
29. Midlake - Roscoe (2006)
30. Ratatat - Gettysburg (2006)
31. +/- - Leap Year (2006)
Apparently 2006 was a good year for music. I guess it helped that I listened to Internet radio pretty much all day every day at work.
32. The Veronicas - Untouched (2007)
Not ordinarily my kind of music but I first heard it on So You Think You Can Dance and loved it. (Not as big a fan of their other songs though.)
33. Lavender Diamond - You Broke My Heart (2007)
34. Blonde Redhead - 23 (2007)
I guess 2007 is the year I finally started to like more female voices.
35. Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper (2008)
Just a really great rock song. I love the emotion in the vocals.
36. MGMT - Time to Pretend (2008)
37. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings (2009)
38. Phoenix - Lisztomania (2009)
I didn't start caring about music much until late in high school (I graduated in 2001) so the 2000s actually represent most of my music-listening life. Of course, not everything I've listened to has been released in this decade, though, so I've limited this list to the songs that were.
I wouldn't say this is a list of what I'd consider the "best" songs, as I don't claim to be any kind of music expert, but more the songs that at one point I listened to over and over and didn't get tired of, and more importantly ones that I still love years later. I had enough trouble picking these out, so I didn't bother ranking them, they're just listed chronologically. I apologize for the random number in the list also...I thought I was going to get to 50 but fell short. I'll probably add/edit the list as I remember others...
1. New Found Glory - The Glory of Love (2000)
2. Midtown - No Place Feels Like Home (2000)
On a post-high-school-graduation trip to Six Flags, a friend of a friend that I met for the first time that day told me I should listen to New Found Glory. For some reason I took this recommendation seriously and I ended up being very into pop-punk/emo for through the first half of college. And yes, The Glory of Love is a cover of the Peter Cetera version from the movie The Karate Kid, neither of which I'm huge fan of, but I think the cover is awesome.
3. Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet (2000)
4. Radiohead - Idioteque (2000)
I started getting into more indie type music my sophomore year of college, and I found out that there was just SO MUCH to catch up on. I'll admit took me awhile to "get" Radiohead but now they're one of my favorites.
5. Bright Eyes - I Will Be Grateful for this Day (2001)
Yes, I started listening to Bright Eyes because of Seth Cohen (the OC)...
6. Weezer - Island in the Sun (2001)
I remember playing this in my dorm room all the time first semester of college. It was one of the few things me and my roommate actually agreed on.
7. Brand New - Jude Law and a Semester Abroad (2001)
This song cracks me up, the anger in it is so random and ridiculous.
8. Sigur Ros - Untitled #3 ("Samskeyti") (2002)
I didn't actually listen to Sigur Ros at all until I heard it used on the British show Skins. This one is gorgeous.
9. The Flaming Lips - Fight Test (2002)
The song that led me into "quirkier" types of music.
10. Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down (2003)
Even back then I sometimes got annoyed at Dashboard's earnest angst thing but this song is an exception. I always have to sing along to this one.
11. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (2003)
My friend Ann and I sort of made the transition from emo to indie music together. Ted Leo was one of our early favorites and we got to see them live at a show at our college and say hi to Ted Leo afterwards!
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (2003)
One of my all-time favorites, as I'm sure is true for a lot of people. Just a really beautiful song.
13. The Format - The First Single (2003)
14. Jimmy Eat World - Kill (2004)
15. Jimmy Eat World - 23 (2004)
Bleed American was released in the 2000s also and I know it's their most popular album, but nothing on it really stood out for me like these two. I saw them live in 2005 and it was pretty amazing. The Format was one of their openers.
16. The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2004)
17. Modest Mouse - Float On (2004)
Both ridiculously catchy.
18. Arcade Fire - Wake Up (2004)
I was completely obsessed with Arcade Fire for a pretty long time. I got to see them live at my college before they really got big and it remains to this day the best show I've ever been to. It was in this relatively small multi-purpose room above a dining hall, the "stage" (just a raised platform) was too small for all the members and their instruments, and Richard Reed Parry was pretty much right in front of my face going crazy. At one point he started banging his drumsticks on the ceiling and pieces of plaster were coming down. I saw them again a couple of years later at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, and while the music was still great, I don't think anything will compare to that first time I saw them.
19. Tegan and Sara - I Know I Know I Know (2004)
I didn't actually start listening to Tegan and Sara until I heard this song on an episode of Veronica Mars.
20. Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan (2005)
I had a hard time picking a Death Cab song from the decade...
21. Bright Eyes - I Believe in Symmetry (2005)
For awhile, every time I heard this song I would think to myself, "I really like this, what is it?"
22. The Bravery - An Honest Mistake (2005)
23. Mates of State - For the Actor (2006)
I have this distinct memory of being stuck in traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) in Philadelphia and being pepped up by this song.
24. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (2006)
25. The Killers - When You Were Young (2006)
26. The Album Leaf - Always for You (2006)
27. Band of Horses - The Funeral (2006)
28. Hot Chip - Boy From School (2006)
29. Midlake - Roscoe (2006)
30. Ratatat - Gettysburg (2006)
31. +/- - Leap Year (2006)
Apparently 2006 was a good year for music. I guess it helped that I listened to Internet radio pretty much all day every day at work.
32. The Veronicas - Untouched (2007)
Not ordinarily my kind of music but I first heard it on So You Think You Can Dance and loved it. (Not as big a fan of their other songs though.)
33. Lavender Diamond - You Broke My Heart (2007)
34. Blonde Redhead - 23 (2007)
I guess 2007 is the year I finally started to like more female voices.
35. Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper (2008)
Just a really great rock song. I love the emotion in the vocals.
36. MGMT - Time to Pretend (2008)
37. Passion Pit - Moth's Wings (2009)
38. Phoenix - Lisztomania (2009)
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Arcade Fire!
The first time I saw the Arcade Fire was back in 2004, soon after their first album came out and slightly before people started getting all crazy about them. I saw them play at Cornell in Ithaca, in the "multipurpose" room one floor above a dining hall, where they were crammed onto a makeshift stage that was entirely too small for them, and just really knocked my socks off. I was standing right to the side of the stage and the whole experience was kind of electrifying.
This time around, I saw them at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, which is really one of the nicest venues I've ever been to. The architecture and decor are very historic and vintage feeling, the seats seemed newly cushioned, and the views and acoustics were really excellent. My seat was in the back of the first balcony section, and with the stadium seating I didn't have trouble seeing the stage at all (which is often the case because I'm short). And the band? Still fantastic live. There were even more members of the band this time...was it nine, ten people? There were a ton of instruments that they all kept rotating on (including the strange but somewhat wonderful hurdy-gurdy) and they were really appreciative of the very revved-up sold-out crowd. The lead singer, Win Butler, told everyone in the orchestra to get up closer to the stage and things looked pretty jammed and happy up there in front, and the balcony was really hopping as well (so much so that my brother, who was a good sport and came along with me despite not being a huge fan, commented that the balcony seemed like it had the potential to collapse). The stage set was also pretty cool...they had these five round "screens" on top of posts around the stage that were showing various images and sometimes live playback of members of the band treated to look like an old silent movie. As for the music, I have to admit that I don't think I like their new album as much as their first, but the live performance kind of changed my mind about some of the new songs. And they mixed in just enough of the old stuff to make me happy too. They ended their regulars with Rebellions (Lies), which was definitely my favorite song of the night, followed closely by No Cars Go.
But before the show I kind of had the feeling that nothing was really going to live up to the first time I saw them and I was sort of right. I think that was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I still think that was the best show I've ever been to. But I'm definitely glad I got out to see them on this tour, especially since it was at the Tower which was super nice. I will definitely be taking advantage of more opportunities to see bands there.
Also want to mention the National, which opened the show. I felt pretty bad for them, as the theater was almost less than half full during their set and people were really just not that excited but I thought they were actually really good. I'd only heard of one of their songs before (Indie Pop Rocks! plays them occasionally), but I think I might check them out some more now.
This time around, I saw them at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, which is really one of the nicest venues I've ever been to. The architecture and decor are very historic and vintage feeling, the seats seemed newly cushioned, and the views and acoustics were really excellent. My seat was in the back of the first balcony section, and with the stadium seating I didn't have trouble seeing the stage at all (which is often the case because I'm short). And the band? Still fantastic live. There were even more members of the band this time...was it nine, ten people? There were a ton of instruments that they all kept rotating on (including the strange but somewhat wonderful hurdy-gurdy) and they were really appreciative of the very revved-up sold-out crowd. The lead singer, Win Butler, told everyone in the orchestra to get up closer to the stage and things looked pretty jammed and happy up there in front, and the balcony was really hopping as well (so much so that my brother, who was a good sport and came along with me despite not being a huge fan, commented that the balcony seemed like it had the potential to collapse). The stage set was also pretty cool...they had these five round "screens" on top of posts around the stage that were showing various images and sometimes live playback of members of the band treated to look like an old silent movie. As for the music, I have to admit that I don't think I like their new album as much as their first, but the live performance kind of changed my mind about some of the new songs. And they mixed in just enough of the old stuff to make me happy too. They ended their regulars with Rebellions (Lies), which was definitely my favorite song of the night, followed closely by No Cars Go.
But before the show I kind of had the feeling that nothing was really going to live up to the first time I saw them and I was sort of right. I think that was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I still think that was the best show I've ever been to. But I'm definitely glad I got out to see them on this tour, especially since it was at the Tower which was super nice. I will definitely be taking advantage of more opportunities to see bands there.
Also want to mention the National, which opened the show. I felt pretty bad for them, as the theater was almost less than half full during their set and people were really just not that excited but I thought they were actually really good. I'd only heard of one of their songs before (Indie Pop Rocks! plays them occasionally), but I think I might check them out some more now.
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