Movies of Myself

36: Part One - Guiltless and Free

In all seriousness, I don't feel very old, but this conversation did get me thinking about age, life cycles and life lessons. I'm creeping up towards thirty-six in a few months so this is "my year" in the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Snake. When each 12 year cycle comes around again you're supposed to have a turning point, a challenging but a hopefully fruitful year.

I assume that fruit is supposed to come mostly in the form of self-revelation and decisions made due to that new knowledge. In that spirit I'm writing a series of posts the rest of this year based on thirty-six important things I've learned in my time on Earth. Maybe some of them will turn out to be utter bunk. It's happened before. But they are the good and hard truths that I know now, and I can't ask more of myself than that. 

1. Be nice to new people. - Each time I have been new to a school, job, group or class I know the running commentary in my head has been, "oh my god everyone hates me, I might as well be wearing a sign that says 'dunce here', I'm a leper pariah, someone please JUST SAY HI." And you know, someone always says hi. It is such a beautiful gesture of kindness. Reaching out to a new person doesn't mean you have to fricking marry them. It might turn out that you won't really get along at all. But I've found that the person who does make that first welcoming gesture often turns out to be genuinely and endlessly wonderful, and I am blessed and thankful to know them not just on that first nerve-wracking day, but for years afterwards.
2. When you’re writing an email, type in the address last. - It took me a ridiculously long time to figure this one out but it has saved me a world of pain and embarrasment. It's a little trickier when you have to answer an email, but you can get used to that, too. I usually will compose my reply in an empty email, cut and paste.
3. Be careful what TV you let little kids watch. - The gods know I watched WAY too much television growing up, but I like to think that so much of it was PBS kids programming that it did me more good than harm. However, I have recently come to the full realization that if my parents hadn't let me watch Stephen King's Cujo and a shockingly vulgar Tom Hanks' movie called Bachelor Party at a tender and impressionable age, I would probably be significantly less fucked up right now. 
4. If you go on a celebrity's Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/etc. just to tell them they are ugly/fat/slutty/etc. you are a sad and terrible person. - I learned this from following Kim Kardashian on social media. I wouldn't say I'm fan at all (I started following her because she posts pictures of my friend Kanye) but the abuse she gets is appalling. People call her things I wouldn't think to call my worst enemy just because they don't like her blouse. 
5. Try every new food you encounter once. - Unless the smell of something is truly nauseating to you once it nears your face, come on - why not? The world is full of so many amazing tastes and textures, most of which we'll never get a chance to try. Who knows? You might discover something you LOVE.

6. Motorcycle Drive By - Third Eye Blind 

   I go home to the coast.
   It starts to rain.
   I paddle out on the water, alone. 
   Taste the salt and taste the pain, 
   I'm not thinking of you again. 
   Summer dies and swells rise, 
   the sun goes down in my eyes. 
   See this rolling wave 
   darkly coming to take me 
   home.
   And I've never been so alone.
   And I've never been so alive.
   

All my silver dreams bring me to you.

There are literally a dozen new albums queued up for me to listen to but all I do is breeze and skip through them, then go back and listen to this song again and again:

Ceilings - Local Natives

It is so incredibly beautiful. It is sad and lovely, lost and dreamy, and there is no combination I love more. It's the kind of song I would have listened every night when I was younger, lying in the summer darkness, thinking and hoping. 

Hold the summer in your hands
'Til the summer turns to sand.
We were staring at our ceilings.

Thinking of what we'd give
to have one more day of sun.
One day of sun.

Silver dreams bring me to you.

Trouble Will Find Me

The new album by The National is so good I'm not sure what to say, or do, or think.

I think they're the only band who makes me realize that I don't know a damn thing. And yet, they are one of the only bands that makes me feel like I shouldn't expect to, that it's alright not to; that we can just look out across the void and appreciate the space it makes. 

Trouble Will Find Me is out May 21st, but you can stream the album up til then on iTunes.  

I Should Live in Salt - The National

Graceless - The National

Everyone is clever these days.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how overusage of the internet and smartphones and the other perks of modern technology have left our brains enfeebled. We're being warned more and more not to multitask and we've been told that Google makes us stupid (or smarter?). I believe all of it.

It frickin' kills me that I can't watch a baseball game on TV without also simultaneously scrolling through other fans' reactions on Twitter, messaging with my sister, reading my emails the second I see a notification and trying to find a great recipe for chicken drumsticks. It makes me insane that while I'm cooking the chicken drumsticks I feel absolutely compelled to also listen to podcasts, check texts on my phone, put dishes away and scroll through Tumblr. 

It's like being a jack of all trades and a master of none (a quality which I am all too familiar with). I try to do everything and not of it means anything. Do you guys find yourself torn in a million aimless directions, too?

Never Wanted Your Love - She & Him M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel are back with more tunes and I'm back with my utter ambivalence about her voice. Volume 3 is actually the best she's ever sounded, but her stylings are still so froggy at times that I'm astounded. I will simply plead again that M. Ward take over some of the singing duties!

Everywhere I'm Local - Har Mar Superstar If you like the sweet retro sound that She & Him always bring, I gotta tell you that Har Mar Superstar is bringing it, and his Bye Bye 17 is a LOT better than the aforementioned duo's. The lyrics are smart, adorable and funny and the melodies are irresistible. I love this record.

Winslow - Annuals This is a plea to support a great band by buying their album Time Stamp on Bandcamp. Annuals have been around for 10 years now, always putting out nuanced and wonderful indie rock. This album is upbeat and charming and it is so worth the $8 they're asking.

Wanna Feel It - The Olms Just when I was wondering what had happened to Pete Yorn, KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic played a song from his new project, The Olms. It's an awesome song and I'm looking forward to a full-length release.

Loving every minute cause you make me feel so alive,

Don't stop, get it, get. Hope everyone is surviving this Monday, and making it count!

Alive - Empire of The Sun

She's up all night 'til the sun.

Hey guys, I've got a few cool things for you to look at and listen to. Anything to get through this week, ya know:

Healthy - Emily Gordon is one of my favorite podcasters and writers. With her husband, Kumail Nanjiani, she hosts The Indoor Kids, and I'm a big fan even though I don't play a lot of video games. Emily was also formerly a family and couples counselor, so she always has insightful things to say about a number of topics. I'm really enjoying her tumblr and this brief piece on eating and dieting really struck home with me.

The 3 Agonizing Stages Between Talk-Show Pilot and Talk Show - You guys know how much I adore comedian Pete Holmes, who's slated to star soon in a late, late night talk show following Conan on TBS. I agonized along with him as he was awaiting word on whether he was going to get the show. His podcast is so personal that in a very short time I've become deeply invested in his success and happiness. That's why it's cool to hear in his own words what was going through his head before he got the good news. 

Man spends life saving to win stuffed animal - And it's a banana with rasta hair, you guys!

Martha Stewart's match.com profile - I can't believe she actually did this, but I guess Martha needs love, too.

Get Lucky (Radio Edit) [feat. Pharrell Williams] - Daft Punk

Keep Cool feat. Shaggy & Wynter Gordon - Major Lazer

Despair - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 

Holy Roller - Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

Pull up to the scene with my ceiling missing.

Awwww, yeah. I got my party manicure on. My friend Jen is in town and we're going up to Napa for the day, so you know there will be good food, good wine and much revelry. Here's hoping your Friday deserves a party manicure, too. 

While I'm Different (2 Chainz vs STRFKR) - The Hood Internet

Suit And Commercial (Justin Timberlake vs Daft Punk) - The Hood Internet

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out.

I'm doing some experimentation with my sleep issues this week, so basically I'm like this at the most unexpected and inopportune moments:

image via Sizzle on tumblr

But you know, you gotta keep on with that hustle and flow. 

The one thing that has me brimming with excitement (and therefore wakefulness) today is one of the new tracks of the Vampire Weekend double A-side release. Love, love, love. I cannot wait for their new album to come out! Vampire Weekend, don't ever leave me, okay? I'd be a stumbly kitten fool without you.

Step - Vampire Weekend

I love how the rhythm composes you.

My spring fever has broken. Hallelujah! I'm now inordinately excited to read stories, talk to people. I look forward to designing things, sending out cards and presents, and cleaning up a bunch of junk that we have around the house that we should really let go of. Damn straight.

Instead of freaking out that a third of the year is almost gone, I'm more excited that i have two-thirds of the year left to get shit done. This is a really important shift in attitude for me. Epic, really. I've always got one eye on the trickle of that hourglass in the back of my mind, you know. And there is an astonishing amount of great music to listen to while this all goes down. Gotta love that. 

Wind Up feat. Elephant Man & Opal - Major Lazer You guys, this album equals super hype party time and it came at just the right moment. Free The Universe is out now, and trust me, you want this in your arsenal. Hello, good glorious fun.

The Desert Babbler - Iron and Wine This new album, Ghost on Ghost, is my favorite Iron & Wine release in years and years. It was instantly clear, refreshing and beautiful and has grown only more so with each listen.  

Shake, Shake, Shake - Bronze Radio Return An absolutely wonderful song from a solid indie band just doing their thing. It's the title track off their 2011 album, and it has an understated but infectious beat. It's about that magical moment when the audience starts to dance at a concert and I think this song captures the happy thrill of that moment in a very sweet way.

Rhythm Composer - Villagers Villagers are a young Irish band and this is the final track off their debut full length, which is called Awayland. Awayland - don't you just love that? It's just the perfect name for that quiet place we all need to get to sometimes. This song is lovely, as the whole album is, but the way it meanders and arrives and leaves as soon as it touches ground again, is so soothing and moving. This one is a grower, and it's well worth your time and effort. 

Wisteria Season

Last month I paid a visit to Patrick's work and someone asked me if I had seen the wisteria. 

I hadn't. But since that visit the desire to see the wisteria was always in the back of my mind. So one day last week, when I had to pick Patrick up from campus, I decided to get there a little early so I could finally lay my eyes on these flowers.

They were gorgeous. They covered and draped a long pergola in a graceful, sun-dappled courtyard right behind the Santa Clara Mission. It was a bright warm day and the wisteria was lovely as a dream. 

Walking under a tunnel of spring flowers. I could have stayed there for hours.

Ballad of the Golden Hour - Widowspeak

I have sprayed you into my eyes.

Why do I not go to my favorite bar more often? It's not close by, but it is so worth the drive. I swear the drinks get better every time and we've been going for years. Forbidden Island, you are a treasure.

And why do I not buy zucchini more? It's fantastic grilled, you can make an awesome salad out of it, and of course it's great in bread. The turtles go absolutely wild over it. We can never have too much.

And why, oh why, did I not listen to the Alt-J debut album, An Awesome Wave, last year when it got so much buzz and won the Mercury Prize? It is amazing, and this song? It's ridiculously good. I am completely and totally obsessed:

Taro - Alt-J

Bloom

I've been working on the garden a little bit each day, cleaning up the plants that didn't make it through the winter and figuring out which succulent cuttings should be replanted together. It's fun work though I don't really know what I'm doing. It makes me feel like I am helping spring find its right place.

This litle yellow bloom epitomizes why I'm obsessed with succulents. When you buy the little starters you often have no idea whether the cactus will flower and what its blooms will look like. What a sweet, delicate surprise.

I've got a couple of fuzzy varieties going on right now and they're so fun. I call them pettables.

Can you believe these long vertical stalks started from one little cutting that was three inches high? Now there are literally dozens of them and they grown at about five times the rate as all the other plants. I almost don't know what to do with them.

My tiny, baby cuttings experiments have gone pretty well. I've got lots of survivors and thrivers. It's cool to grow new plant offshoots without seeds and crazy planning. 

Overgrown - James Blake

I was a lonely soul, but that's the old me.

I gotta get some of these radio tunes out of my head and hopefully sharing them here will do the trick. These are a few tunes which I'm sure you guys have heard for the past few months doing there thing on either satellite or FM radio. So sweet, so catchy, so infectious! They make me want to go hang out in the sun and take some pictures. Which, yes, I think I will go do just that.

Feel Again - One Republic 

I Love It - Icona Pop 

High School Lover - Cayucas

In a Certain Kind Of Light

How do you take a world of heartbreak and transform it into something fearless, true and genuinely beautiful? Josh Ritter knows how. 

I told Patrick just weeks ago that, although each of Ritter's albums is enjoyable, his masterpiece was 2005's The Animal Years, and that he would never be able to capture that depth of emotion again. I'm so glad I was wrong.

His latest album, The Beast In Its Tracks, chronicles the breakdown of his marriage and tells the story of the person he's become in the aftermath of that. It is almost dizzyingly honest in its appraisal of her, of him, of new loves and old haunting memories.

New Lover - Josh Ritter

I got a new lover now, she knows just what I need.
When I wake up in the night she can read me back my dreams
and she loves them though she never needs to tell me what they mean.

I hope you got a lover now, hope you’ve got somebody who
can give you what you need like I couldn’t seem to do.
But if you’re sad and you are lonesome and you got nobody true,
I’d be lying if I said that didn’t make me happy, too.

Joy to You Baby - Josh Ritter

I hope you'll get this album for yourself and take the time to go down this winding road with him. Your heart will break along with his, and heal along with his, over and over again. He's so bitter you can taste it, so grieved you can hardly keep listening. He's so relieved you want to tell him, someday you'll actually mean it. 

I'm just a junkie for your love.

I'm still recovering from last week's spring break activities. It was one of the best spring breaks I've had, which is pretty neat considering I haven't been in school for a good decade. My sister came down on the train last weekend and together we took in a Lakers/Warriors game, put together a Pineapple Night in honor of the 100th episode of Psych, finally played the train game that I gave as a Christmas gift to Patrick three years ago, and threw a little Doctor Who viewing party. Patrick planned a really fun day for us in San Francisco, which included an epic Beauty and the Beast singalong event. More details on that later. Now it's time to get back to business.

Pusher Love Girl - Justin Timberlake This song is eight minutes long but I'm still like, can I get some more, baby? I need more! Seriously addicted to this smoove track. 

Oblivion - M83 feat. Susanne Sundfør The title track from the soundtrack to the upcoming Tom Cruise film is beautiful, grand and epic, but what else would you expect from M83? Norwegian singer Sundfør's voice is a lovely addition to that M83 sound. 

Recover - CHVRCHES The more I hear from CHVRCHES, the more I'm completely won over by them. Honestly, her voice is exactly up my alley. This is from their latest EP of the same name. 

Digital Lion - James Blake This guy keeps getting better and better and I simply can't wait for his upcoming album, Overgrown. His songs are somehow hot and winsome at the same time. What an amazing sound.

Carry me over mountains to the end of love.

Super excited today to dig out my horde of paper and stickers and other quaint goodies, because I have a new pen pal! She is Canadian and she loves comic books and video games and all sorts of nerdy goodness. In her emails she is infectiously sweet and fun, and I'm very much looking forward to exchanging letters and other fun things with her. It's always fun to have a new person to talk Harry Potter and such with, you know. If you are a cool lady and that kind of thing sounds like it would be up your alley you should check out the International Geek Girl Pen Pals Club, too! 

This week I have a lovely Americana mix for you guys. These songs are some of my faves from some recent and upcoming releases and I think they go together swimmingly:

Sing Loud - Alpha Rev 

Grace for Saints and Ramblers - Iron & Wine 

Days of Our Youth - Brave Baby 

Bonfire - Josh Ritter

Got My Whole Crew Blowing Like A C4

There is no way I would've survived the past month without these three:

Thank the gods for best friends.

Crew Love - Drake feat. The Weeknd

Also That Spring Has Sprung

Some new favorites for this week:

• Mini Cinnamon Churros cereal for that cinnamony-sugar goodness that doesn't melt into a goo pile when it gets within five freet of a milk carton. See ya, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I wouldn't want to be ya. I don't mean to hate, because CTC is my long-time love, but why you got to be slimin' like that??

• This piece from one of my favorite tumblrs. Please, gods of the internet, let me brain generate thoughts like this again and let me articulate them half so well.

• Veronica. Mars. Movie. To say I cannot wait is a cavernous understatement that makes the Grand Canyon look like the crack that you stepped on to break your mama's back. I want massive amounts of Logan Echolls. That is all. 

• Chicken Suit Guy Lego Minifig. Also the bios for every one of the other minifigs.

• The new Telekinesis album, Dormarion. Absolutely smokin' hot. Instant love.

Dark To Light - Telekinesis 

Empathetic People - Telekinesis

• New post-wedding haircut. Feels good, man.

Love is a dress that you made long to hide your knees.

So we are finally back and settled back in to our post-wedding life and I have to admit I'm kind of relieved. Although it was the best to get married to Patrick, and it was cool to pull off the biggest party I've ever thrown, all without collapsing and without anyone being carried away in a paddy wagon, the week leading up to it was nutso. I'm happy to be back with my morning tea, Twitter, stacks of paper and all day NCIS marathons.

I would love to share some wedding things over the next couple of weeks along with the regular scheduled programming because I poured a lot of my creative heart and soul into those details over the past year. First up is the ceremony music. Patrick rather suprised and delighted me when said he was leaving all the music selections for the wedding to my choosing . I tried to pick songs not just with personal meaning, but with messages of love that I hoped would resonate with everyone. 

I was quite impressed by the Wayfarers Chapel music director who played all our songs on the Clavinova electronic keyboard that is the Chapel's main instrument. He told me through email that he was quite flexible and could accomodate basically any of my choices. On the day of the ceremony he played his own arrangements of these songs (with the exception of the Peanuts theme, of course) without any sheet music or notes, and he captured them perfectly. Talk about a Clavinova uber genius!  

Love and Some Verses - Iron & Wine Processional - Truly the sweetest song in the world. Simple, honest and genuinely pure. 

Say Yes - Elliott Smith Bride's Processional - I chose this song because it so clearly expresses how I feel about relationships. Love is tough, even the best kind of love with the best person. It's nearly impossible getting there, and you will fuck up goodness knows how many times, and there will be things to challenge you constantly, no matter how glad you are to work on them. But you will learn about yourself and you will keep hope in your heart and it will be so much more than worth it. Just stick around and see.

Better Together - Jack Johnson Unity Candle Lighting - This song is for my best friend John, who copied a bunch of Jack Johnson cds for me at what was probably the worst time of my life. I don't know if I ever told him how much that music did to get me through those terrible months. I relied almost entirely on these gentle tunes and on John's persistent, patient support and incredible advice to tell me that everything would be okay eventually. And this song always makes me think of his own inspiring marriage to my maid of honor. 

Linus and Lucy - Vince Guaraldi Trio Recessional - Okay, if this song doesn't make you smile, then I feel like there is some inherent evil lurking in your soul. Patrick and I are both Peanuts fans, and were excited to make the trip up to the Charles Schulz museum in Santa Rosa last year. I was hoping this would be the happiest sort of note to end the ceremony on. 

I'm on my way to believing.

I have wanted to blog every day over the past weekend but tomorrow morning Patrick and I are packing the majority of our wedding decor and all our luggage for the week including my poufy gown and his suit and tie, etc. and heading down to L.A. That means I've had to print, finalize and organize EVERYTHING in the past week or so which means basically non-stop wedding shiz. Detailed musings on the new Cool Ranch Doritos Taco Supreme (meh) and the new Josh Ritter album (glorious) will have to wait. 

But, I was super excited to find the iPod that I used from 2007-2010, which I'm bringing down to listen to while I get ready for our wedding next Saturday morning. It is a full 80 gigs of music so, as you can imagine, there is some truly amazing stuff on it including these two gorgeous songs that I wanted desperately to work into our festivities, but just couldn't find a place for. They both say pretty much the same amazing thing:

Reservations - Wilco

I've got reservations
About so many things
But not about you. 

The Only Exception - Paramore I couldn't use this song because I start bawling about ten seconds in every time I hear it and I'm just a wreck the entire time. I honestly am gonna lost it just thinking about it.

And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance.
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content
With loneliness.

Because none of it was ever worth the risk, but
you are the only exception.

Don't Hate The Player

Someone needs to slap me because instead of working on our wedding escort cards and ceremony programs like I'm supposed to, I can't stop playing Pixel People on my iPad and solving mysteries in my Invisible Ink game book. What is wrong with me?! Pixel People is the biggest culprit. If you ever played Tiny Tower, it's that, but even more addicting and a lot more interesting. Okay, gotta go build an 8 bit cemetary and help "Jenny Appleseed" find her missing loot. 

Nothing Arrived - Villagers

A Charm / A Blade - Phosporescent 

Bourgeois - Phoenix 

On Blue Mountain - Foxygen

Ooh you make me live.

It's pretty unusual for me to recommend children's albums here; in fact I think this is a first for Movies of Myself. Renee & Jeremy's collection of rock and pop covers for kiddies, A Little Love, has charmed me so much that I find myself listening to it just as I would any other album. 

Renee & Jeremy's voices go together perfectly, and their music is full of a sweetness and purity that isn't cloying and, most importantly, isn't annoying. I'm sure most of you know this is a quality of almost astonishing rarity in the world of children's songs (cue, "I'm the map" repeated 6,000 times with no other lyrics, wat??) Obviously, darling acoustic versions of Queen and Simon & Garfunkel are my favorite works of Reneey & Jeremy's, but their original albums are also a delight. As an added bonus, the artist who illustrates their records and some of their videos, Hsing Pin Pan, is beyond wonderful. 

You're My Best Friend (Queen cover) - Renee & Jeremy

In fact, the duo have a knack of showcasing great illustrators. If this Jon Izen video for their cover of Coldplay's "Yellow" doesn't make you a little misty, then you might look into removing the stone casing that's built up around your heart. It definitely made me think about the song in a whole new way:

I'ma Ball Til The Day I Fall

It's almost the freakin weekend, babies. That made me so happy until we remembered that Patrick has a three day work conference to attend in San Francisco. Luckily, my sister is sweet enough to take the train down from Davis this evening to help me with unfinished wedding tasks and also to take care of some much-needed eating and TV watching. Good times will be had! Hope you all have a great weekend planned, too.

Good Kush & Alcohol (Bitches Love Me) - Lil' Wayne feat. Drake & Future

On we march 'til we meet the dawn.

Lately I've found
When I start to think aloud
There's a longing in the sound.
There is more I could be.

I woke early today, unusually alert. As I was eating my egg souffle-in-a-mug breakfast I felt strangely light and elated. It was nice, but it rang foreign and strange in contrast, I suppose, with that "the whole world is closing in on me" feeling that's been much more common as of late. It's like being at Chuck E. Cheese's and you're sure that you've used your last token, but you stick your hand into your other pocket and somehow there's still a couple left.

This mental game is so hard to learn. Hand after lousy hand flipped towards you and then a Full House, dealt so quick you almost don't recognize it, because you've barely got a grasp on the rules. It makes me mildly suspicious, as if I only won this pot so that something can steal it from me later on in the afternoon. Perhaps a regret over something I said a couple of years ago which the other person doesn't remember at all anymore, or some other self-induced pity party.

I do know that the easiest way to lose the game is to dismiss your good luck, or waste your time questioning it. So I'll just deal myself a fucking good day, all-in, no limit, and keep playing.

In darkness I leave
For a place I've never seen.
It's been calling out to me.
That is where I should be.

Lanterns - Birds of Tokyo

Get This Awesome Cat Some Cake

When I was little I thought that the best freaking thing in the world you could do when you were an adult was to buy as much cake and candy as you wanted and eat it all. AT THE SAME TIME. And no one could say anything about it. 

I didn't realize how you might want to take an awesome nap post-cake. Remember how naps were devilishly boring when you were young and you'd rather be doing anything else? In kindergarten I'd lie awake and outraged during naptime every single day, listening to my classmate's breathing in the semi-dark.

I also never thought that the person saying something about all the junk food hedonism might be yourself. You bought a cake with your own damn money, then you eat it - duh! Why do adults ruin everything with guilt and self-rigtheous acrimony.

Ingenue - Atoms for Peace

Dramatikk - The Ruby Suns

Moth in the Incubator - The Flaming Lips

I Wanted To Say More - ON AND ON

There’s much more star dust when you’re near.

I saw a piece of paper fluttering under my car windshield wiper yesterday and flew immediately into an anxious fury. If that is a ticket, I thought, the city is going to hear it from me. The car is neatly and squarely situated in my regular parking space, which just happens to be located directly in front of the terrible crack in the sidewalk which caused me to perma-break my foot three years ago, and which the city has made no attempt to fix whatsoever.  

But it wasn't a ticket. It was this:

I stood there and looked at it for a minute, and then I looked around, half-expecting the person who put the note there to be watching and waiting for me to discover it. They'd be waving big with both hands at me from an upstairs window and I'd wave back and say, "Thank you! Thank you for everything!" But there was no one there. 

I was so utterly delighted, though. I bounced up the stairs to our place. "Look at what someone left for me!," I exclaimed to Patrick. It's exactly what I needed, I thought. I'm not gonna lie. The past few days hav sucked, as much or more as any day has in a long time. But suddenly I wanted to be nice to everyone and smile at strangers and tell someone how proud I was of them. I wanted to tell all of you to love yourselves and forgive yourselves. I hoped that nothing bad ever happens to anyone I love. 

Why would we not be kind, when it takes hardly any extra effort? Why do we waste energy attacking people and tearing little angry holes in them and in ourselves? Why not tell your friends and family that they are dazzling and that something they did counts. It would take five seconds. Why not remind someone that they are awesome, even if you don't know them. It might mean everything.

A New Life - Jim James

All the Dark Words Pouring From My Throat

This week I am:

• Mad craving chocolate.It's probably because of all the Valentine's dessert recipes and candy ads I've been seeing, but some Dove hearts would really hit the spot right now.

• Wishing I knew how to sew.

• Working out like crazy. I'm going H.A.M., basically, in a last ditch effort to get all Gwen Stefani'd since I'll have to dance in front of 175 people in a sleeveless dress in four weeks. I don't know how successful I'll be, but better late than never, I supppose.

• Talking with my sister about chips.

• Reading Harry Bosch crime novels with pleasure. Boy do I have a soft spot for loner Vietnam vet detectives who make the streets of Los Angeles safer, one perp at a time. 

• Thinking about sending lots of emails, but sending zero emails. 

The Oil Slick - Frightened Rabbit Don't worry, the deep emotional angst of Frightened Rabbit is still there, but this new album, Pedestrian Verse, is remarkably restrained and lovely and polished in a way that this group has never been before. This album is my latest, dearest love. 

Wooly Mammoth - Local Natives There is a beautiful, powerful energy on the latest Local Natives album, Hummingbird, which I desperately need in my life right now. I want to bottle it and drink it up. 

Open - Rhye Very sexy, very intimate. This is the title track from the upcoming album Woman. Perfect for those late nights whether you have company or just want to think alone.

Flammarion - Blue Hawaii This boy/girl electronic duo are making very chill and perfectly sweet electronic music on their second album, Untogether. They're on the same label as Grimes (Arbutus) and if you like the one, I definitely think you'll like the other. 

Speak right, be strong, act nice, take so long.

This is a little gift for you guys because it's Friday. I'm not sure if I've shared this song before, though I'm almost certain I have. Every single person I've ever shared it with has absolutely loved it and many have even reported that it actually became one of their favorite songs:

Scared Straight - The Long Winters

The album it comes from, 2003's When I Pretend To Fall, is a golden treasure, but "Scared Straight" is the scarred and tarnished history-laden diamond tiara on top of the heap. I'm not at all sure what John Roderick is singing about but when I hear it I get it and I think, thank goodness, he gets it, too.

For a year after this album came out "Scared Straight" featured prominently on all my mix cds. I don't know if I made a single one that didn't have it. The song always fit. It was always perfect. I didn't post mixes, or even many songs, on Movies of Myself then, but I was always copying and passing these mix cds out. I printed nifty custom artwork and people seemed to look forward to them, but I was never sure what they thought. And I didn't care. Music was my life and I wanted everyone to hear these songs.

Then one afternoon my friends Kate, Jason, Chris Hagan and I were driving down Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena. I'm not sure where we were headed, but it was a beautiful day, the windows were all rolled down, and it was good to just be with friends. There wasn't anything good on the radio so Jason put in a mix that I'd given to him a few months back.

"Scared Straight" came on a couple of songs in and everyone in the car was like, "fuck yeah, this SONG!!!" "You guys know this song?," I marveled. "Yes, because you put it on your last mix!", Kate explained. "Actually I think you put it on my last two mixes.", Chris said.

But I could tell they loved the song. I could tell because we all sang it at the top of our lungs, every single damn word of it. Friends in the car together, on our way to nowhere in particular, all our troubles flying out the window, singing and shouting, "Let me breathe fire down on you."

I remember singing and being unabashedly and absurdly delighted that they had embraced the little gift of this song. I was proud and happy and astonished. That moment is one the main reasons why I love sharing songs and talking music with people.  And the memory of it is why I want to keep doing it forever.

Shock Corridor

If this voice sounds familiar, it's because it's Will Sheff, of Okkervil River awesomeness. A while back Sheff rented a little basement room in New York City and recorded some songs on his own, songs that didn't quite feel like Okkervil River tunes. He plans to release them for free as he finishes touching them up. If the rest of them are as brilliant as "Shock Corridor" we are in for quite a treat.

I was going to put this song in with my regular weekly mix, but the lyrics are blowing my mind so intensely that I had to shine a spotlight on it. 

Shock Corridor - Lovestreams 

I’m the light from a star that deserved to implode, and did, six million years ago.
I’m the faded Orange Crush can in the woods,
and the kid who tossed it's now going through his third divorce.

I used to lie back in my teenage bed
and feel love, so much heart-bursting love,
just this surge of love, this surge of love
for everything, everything, everything.

Now I lie on my couch with my brains bashed out
and my tools and my toys all lying around,
and I wish I could feel that way about
really anything, anything, anything, anything…

Buy the whole bar, pop bottles, go hard.

Comet McNaught Over Chile 
Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard

To give you an idea of my mental state this week, let me just tell you that my future father in law posted on Facebook today that some comet was going to come kind of close to Earth in the near future and my gut reaction was, "dear gods, I hope I get smashed by a comet." 

Ball - T.I. feat. Lil' Wayne

Fu***n' Problem (feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar) - A$AP Rocky

& It Was U (Elite Gymnastics Remix)

All I want to know is, can you come a little closer?

I don't usually push pre-orders for an album, but for Tegan & Sara, you bet I will. The Quin sisters have said they want their new album, Heartthrob, to have a huge sound that a more mainstream audience can embrace. They want to sell more albums and play to larger crowds and I am happy to do anything I can to aid them in achieving this much-deserved goal. 

The songs in the player below should give you more than a taste for what we'll hear on January 29th. "Now I'm All Messed Up" is just killing me, it's so good. I simply cannot wait! You can pre-order Heartthrob on iTunes.

And when I dream, it's not of you.

Image by Springs Dandelion on tumblr

Posting has been infrequent here lately because I am busting my ass trying to finish up our wedding invitations. Patrick has been helping me with them every evening but it's taking a bit longer than expected because of a higher than estimated quantity which had to be made and because they require about 47 steps each. I'm really pleased to see them coming together though, and I'll be sure to post some photos once they're out. On the plus side, I'm watching classic Doctor Who episodes, catching up on other tv shows and listening to a lot of wonderful new music while I work. Here's a few tracks from some upcoming albums that I just love:

When I Dream - Ra Ra Riot

Cornelia and Jane - Yo La Tengo 

Follow Me - Memory Tapes 

Harm In Change - Toro Y Moi

Be calm, be brave. It'll be okay.

Dorothy moves to click her ruby shoes 
right in tune with "Dark Side of the Moon".
Someone, someone could tell me 
where I belong.
Be calm, be brave. It'll be okay.

Come Downstairs And Say Hello - Guster

 An ex-boyfriend of mine taught me this song. He taught me to listen to every word of it, though I already knew and loved the amazing album it comes from, Keep It Together. This was right around the time that he decided our happily ever after wasn't actually very happy, and that he'd prefer just the after, thank you very much. This song is about change, and that's what he needed. Change was coming for me whether I wanted it or not. He told me that with a song.

Years later I taught this same song to a different boyfriend, after we had broken each other's hearts several times over. He had also listened to this Guster album dozens of times before we even met. And now he finally understood it. It's never too late to start again, even if it's as far away from each other as we can manage. I said as much to him, with this song. 

No more messing around and living underground 
and New Year's resolutions.
By this time next year I won't be here. 
I turn on MTV, the volume's down. 
Lips move. They say 
it'll be okay.

And both of those situations turned out okay in the end. More than okay. But I had learned to turn to "Come Downstairs and Say Hello" whenever a big crisis or a turning point came in my life. Despite past circumstances, this song has become my anthem of hope. I have listened to this song on repeat when I didn't think I would ever be happy again. I have leaned on it when I've had nothing else left. I have sang it at the top of my lungs while I drove down the freeway at 90 miles an hour with tears streaming down my face, reminding myself with the fiercest determination that the only place to go is forward.  

Over the years this has become one of my favorite songs, and I like to hear it right after the New Year. "Come Downstairs and Say Hello" makes me dream of all the things I can do to make myself and my life better a year from now. And it sets all my hopes for the year alight. Wake up and run like hell towards what you want. This song tells me that every time I listen to it. 

This is the time of year when a lot of us make promises to ourselves about all of the new things we're going to try, and all of the terrible old shit we're going to let go of. So I wanted to tell you about this song, because there is so much sympathy, mercy and consolation in it. It has an endless supply of affection and encouragement. This song has played its part in several goodbyes. Now it's time I used it to say a warm and marvelous hello. 

To tell you the truth I said it before,
tomorrow I start in a new direction.
I know I've been half-asleep.
I'm never doing that again.

I look straight at what's coming ahead
and soon it's going to change in a new direction.
Every night as I'm falling asleep 
these words repeated in my head.  

Double Full-Length Release

You guys, I have not laughed this hard with this much genuine glee in a long time. Thank you, My Dick! Yes, it is an album of fabulous covers, all of which have been rewritten to include dick lyrics. I know it sounds silly and laughable, and it is. But it is also ridiculously enjoyable and listenable, and I am totally loving it. My Dick's Double Full-Length Release reminds me of something you'd do while you hang out just joking around with your friends. The songs give me that same sense of carefree, laid-back and hysterical fun. 

Track six, "Baker Dick" is their masterpiece IMO, but all of the songs are pretty damn great and I highly encourage you to download the whole album. It's pick your own price and well worth throwing down a few bucks for. Groove to these tunes and start out 2013 laughing out loud. 

What would you do if I stole you tonight?

2013 so far:

• Eating up leftover mini candy canes. Yum!

• Telling myself I should really start putting Christmas decorations away.

• Also telling myself I really should be editing the photos from our wedding shower. Soon, I hope!

• Trying to convince my mom that I don't need mass quantities of fine jewelry. 

• Working all day with Illustrator and glue and books. It's been a lot of fun. 

• Thinking about cake.

• Feeling like this:

And listening to these songs. I've been trying to play catch-up on albums that I missed last year that people absolutely raved about. From the sound of these songs, I can see why:

It All Began With a Burst - Kishi Bashi 

I Belong in Your Arms - Chairlift

The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids

All of Me - Tanlines

Best of the Rest 2012

Two albums were given the sneaky shaft (okay, that sounds weird) on my Top Ten list this year. They didn't quite make the cut, but it would be absolutey criminal to not rave about them and encourage you to to fall in love with them, too.

The first is from my beloved Pinback. It's from their fifth studio album, Information Retrieved. I don't know what happened when I first got this album. I listened to it a couple of times and was simply not in the mood for it. Nothing about it stood out to me and I was vaguely disappointed. Cut to a month ago. I left my music player running and this track came on:

And I was like, holy cannoli, this song isgreat. It's freaking incredible. My head must have been all sorts of fogged up not to hear it before. Like all the best Pinback songs, it's a neat package of instant feeling. I could listen to it over and over again (and I do.) I quickly warmed to the rest of the album, too. I think it might be their best yet. 

The second album that almost slipped through my fingers was Lost In The Trees' A Church That Fits Our Needs. To be completely honest, I skipped this record at first because of the cover:

I mean, come on. When I saw that I was like, dude NO. I can't handle that shit right now. But I should've known better. My favorite music tumblr, Perfect Midnight World, recommended Lost In The Trees, and I could not describe the album any better than he does:

"A Church That Fits Our Needs” is an album celebrating his mother’s short, chaotic life. It’s a sad, emotionally draining tale of a woman who battled cancer, lost twin daughters at birth, a crippling depression, and ultimately succumbed to suicide shortly after her son was married. The strange thing is that the moody, atmospheric orchestral productions actually offer up a cinematic and celebratory take on the subject matter. It’s the kind of music that you just don’t hear so often these days. Big, adventurous, gorgeous, haunting, and completely accessible.

Truly, the album is dramatic and glorious. It's one step away from being overdone, but as it stands, it's epically beautiful. Start with the song "Red". It's breathtaking, and the video is just about perfect.

Top 10 Albums of 2012

It took me ages and ages to narrow down the albums for this list because there was a shocking amount of great music this year. Although I didn't make a big effort to seek out new artists, I did make a concentrated effort to set aside time for the albums that came to me, and I was richly rewarded.

I thoroughly enjoyed so many records in 2012, and really, this list could have been at least twice as long. As other Top Ten lists and Best of lists come rolling out, I've been making note of lots of great music that I missed. I can't wait to get to explore it all in the coming weeks. For now, here are the ten albums that meant the most to me this year. 

10) Synthetica  Metric - As a whole, I'm not sure this album shows a lot of progress (which is alwasy something I look keenly at) from Metric's previous work, but damn if it doesn't have some amazing moments that cut straight to the heart. Of the hundreds of songs I heard this year, the opening lines of "Artificial Nocturne" were the only ones that made me think, yes, that's it plain and simple. That's it exactly: "I'm just as fucked up as they say. I can't fake the daytime." Synthetica inspired me to design a series of typography art pieces, one of which is shown above.

9) Fear Fun  Father John Misty - I was ready and waiting to love a number of folk rock albums this year (Band of Horses, Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, etc.) but this is the one that came around and surprised me and swept me completely off my feet. As I wrote earlier this year, "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" brought me back from a sort of personal purgatory, and this record has been there for me ever since.  

8) Channel Orange  Frank Ocean -  The R & B album that took the world by storm this year. If this album only had "Thinkin Bout You" and no other songs, it would've found a place on this list. By my last count I think I've listened to that song 80 or 90 times since July, and that is a conservative estimate. This record flows beautifully from beginning to end, a cohesive and fascinating listen.

7) Adventures In Your Own Backyard  Patrick Watson - Most years I invest myself heavily in music that sounds like it's from another world, a quiet, swirling dream. A much better world than this one. In 2012 that part of my heart was captured almost completely by Patrick Watson. The man is a true genius.

6) Confess  Twin Shadow - This is my feel-good album of the year. Although it's got a gritty, love lost and found understanding at its core, the sound is big and sweeping and the mood is feeling finally free on the the last good night of your life, and don't you just want to dance til it's all over?

5) The Heist  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Never has a hip hop album made me laugh like this and absolutely bawl like this. From irresistible beats in a song about a thrift shop to the almost painfully honest confessional of relapse, this album is exquisite.

4) Moms  Menomena - How do I begin to eplain Moms? Menomena's album is flawless. I hear Moms hair is insured for $10,000. I even hear that Moms does car commercials ... in Japan. Seriously though, this album is so cool, so crazy fucking interesting, and always clamoring for my attention which I am more than happy to give. Menomena are not fugly sluts, they are the real deal and I am so grateful to have this album in my life. Truly, it punched me in the face...and it was awesome.

3) The Haunted Man  Bat For Lashes - I don't understand how this happens. How does one woman have the strongest and the most absolutely vulnerable voice I've ever heard, all at the same time? I have been slavishly devoted to Natasha Khan for the past few years but she has completely surpassed my lofty expectations with The Haunted Man. We hurt, she says.  We're broken and lost, and we keep pushing on. What else can we do?

2) Total Loss  How To Dress Well - It is astonishing to me that I've only had this album for three months, because I feel like I've known it for years. I knew this album would be well up there on this list pretty much the first time I heard it through. Tom Krell keeps creating these masterpieces and it just brings me to my knees. This music is life-changing, I tell you. If there is a heaven, this is its soundtrack. 

1) Lonesome Dreams  Lord Huron - I never believed in love at first sight, but this Lord Huron album might have changed my mind. I pressed play on this one knowing little to nothing about him and ten minutes in I was like, Lonesome Dreams, stay with me forever, okay?

It wasn't just a "wow, this album is fantastic, so cool!" kind of feeling either. It was a heart-crushing instant obsession, an "I've come home at last and now I'll go anywhere you go" devastating kind of love. I've listened to it five times as much as any other album on this list and I still love it to bits and pieces. I told everyone I could about it and couldn't stop singing its praises. I became such a fool for this album, and it makes me so happy that I did. 

If you haven't given it a listen yet, then please, you are in for a sweet, moving and beautiful treat.

....-----....

You can listen to any or all of the ten albums in entirety here, or get a taste of them in the sampler below:

Wonderful Christmastime

I'm so excited you guys - I finally had enough little trees and holiday miniatures this year to put together a little Christmas scene. 

I love seeing the yarn and paper trees I made over the past few years grouped all together, but my favorite parts of the display are the tiny vintage ornaments I bought at the thrift store. Like this angel with his brass horn:

As Patrick says, he's very special. The lovingly hand-applied detail on some of the ornaments just makes me happy. Look at the bottle bristle mane and tail on this rocking horse. So cool!

Of course, a couple of the ornaments are on the bizarre side. I'll admit that I am worried about my beloved Christmas angel.

Because she is being creeper stalked by a super freaky malevolent clown.

Stop it, devil clown. Take that Santa hat off. We can see right through that shit. Clearly you are not a sweet, wish-granting toy maker. You are not jolly. Except when you're batting your incongruously long eyelashes and thinking about murdering the other ornaments. So wrong. 

P.s. Inspired by my holiday display, I put together a little Christmas music mix for you guys. It's a pretty hot mix, if I do say so myself. Hall & Oates, Queen, Barking Dogs, NKOTB - it kind of has it all going on. The mix is especially fun to listen to while you're baking, wrapping gifts or writing holiday cards. You can listen to it right here, or over in Spotify. Feliz Navidad, amigos! 

Just sing little darling, sing with me

Is it next year yet? 

I've been working non-stop, and while I am very, very grateful to have the work to do, my eyes are also starting to glaze over a bit while I'm peeking out behind all these stacks of prints. Christmas and New Years will be all the sweeter, though, because it will feel like a true little vacation. 

At least this is all giving me a good chance to listen to some albums from earlier in the year while I review the music from 2012. Here are two absolutely gorgeous songs that I was truly remiss not to share before now. They are very different; First Aid Kit has a honey-kissed touch of alt-country about them and Porcelain Raft is cool and ethereal, but I think you will find them beautiful, each in their own way.

Emmylou - First Aid Kit

Shapeless & Gone - Porcelain Raft

No goodbyes and no time for mourning.

It has been an extremely busy, fun, and tiring few days. I wish I could just sit back and read and relax and not do a thing before Christmas things really kick into high gear. Hopefully soon I'll be able to take a chillout day. In the meantime, I have some pretty songs to keep me humming along. 

Priscilla - Sea Wolf The new Sea Wolf record, Old World Romance, is seriously lovely. If you like little bits of melancholy empathy and upswells of feeling, you will love this (and the album cover is pretty great, too.) It has me scrambling to move things around in my Top Ten albums list contenders.

I believe in springtime.
I believe in dead leaves in the wind.
And I know that endings are the best place to begin. 

But when I watched you coming 
and I saw you brush up against the ferns,
all I could think of was
if they're wet will they ever burn? 

So, Priscilla this is a warning
trying to tell us this is a war.
No goodbyes and no time for mourning.
Now we'll see what this love is for.
What's it for? 

Running Back (Thin Lizzy cover) - Mike Doughty This is my favorite track from Doughty's very eclectic new album of cover's, The Flip is Another Honey. There are a couple of pretty bizarre tracks, but overall it's a fun listen. This cover is just dandy. 

Hush - Calexico Seriously, this song is so beautiful. It's got that quiet, desert loneliness that Calexico does just a little bit differently than everyone else. It's a grower, but I think you'll end up loving it. 

I'm Not Talking - A. C. Newman I am to the point with the New Pornographers artists where even their new songs feel like home. I am very excited to get to know this record, Shut Down the Streets, a little bit better. Don't ever change, Carl Newman. Stay happy and free.

Bringing your heart, breaking the shell. Bringing your heart, but break it yourself.

11/22 - When was the last time that you cried?  Why?

First of all, woah, this is some pretty heavy shit for Thanksgiving, right? What exactly is this supposed to mean? That being said, I'll answer: it was three days ago. Monday.

I was listening to music and thinking about what albums I would put on my annual Top 10 list. I realized that I'd have to put that list together pretty damn soon, because it was just about the end of the year. Another year gone by. I was so overwhelmed that a sudden tear came to my eye.

But that means I did it, made it through another year. In the grand scheme of things I guess it's not that big of a deal, but some days I'm not so sure it will happen. It's something worth crying over, happy and sad tears alike. It's definitely something to be very, very thankful for. 

Eyeoneye - Andrew Bird

All My Gold

Continuing the discussion of things I am thankful for, it would be remiss for me not to mention that I am grateful to have Patrick in my life over and above all things. About ten bazillion times over, to be honest. This year he has not only been the person I love whom I'm planning a crazy wedding with, but also an absolutely incredible friend. 

He's super funny and I'm always interested in what he has to say about things going on in the world today. He gives me lots of great advice and helps me figure out technical questions and logistics as I try to get my business off the ground. And he talks me down from the ledge (quite often)when I am about to smash my printer with a hammer and makes me feel a lot better about everything. You could not ask for more out of a partnership and a friendship. 

There was a long stretch of time, a few years ago, when Patrick and I were just friends. I was in and out of a really stupid relationship and had gotten really messed up in a lot of ways. It took me a good, long time to dig myself out of the wreckage of that, and clean all the muck off to find myself again underneath. In the aftermath I almost lost a lot of very important things, and one of them was my relationship with Patrick. Not a day goes by that I am not literally staggered for a moment by how lucky I was that we got a second chance. 

This song reminds me of that time. It's about a person who knows that someone else has robbed them of their good qualities, their sweetness. Even worse, it's about how they allowed it to happen. But I think it's also about moving past that, rebuilding better and stronger, and getting it all back and more. SO much more. 

Here's to everyone who has been hurt before, and lived to smile at the tale, and grown to be thankful that we have the bones of that story to stand on. 

All Your Gold - Bat For Lashes

But baby there you go again, there you go again, making me love you.

How are you guys doing? I'm just sorting through the piles of ads and catalogs we seem to be getting now that we're on the cusp of the holiday season. I have no idea why we started getting most of these things and it's extra gross because a lot of the stores send doubles, one to me and one to Patrick. It's such a waste of paper. Do we really look like the kind of people who are sending Wine Country gift baskets to our friends?? Even the catalogs from companies we've purchased from before make me shake my head. It causes me physical pain to know that we get two Toms Shoes catalogs every month.

One More Night - Maroon 5 Most of the time I can't stand Maroon 5. Get thee behind me, "Moves Like Jagger"! However, once in a long while they'll put out a song that is so insanely catchy and is so full of desperate feeling that I'm hooked immediately and have to listen to the track a hundred times before I get it out of my system. "One More Night" is my jam right now. 

Keep it Together - How to Destroy Angels Here's the first track off the new EP from Trent Reznor's current project. The vocalist is his wife, former lead singer of West Indian Girl, and her voice is quite lovely. The EP has a great trip hop sound.

The Mother We Share - Chvrches If you've enjoyed the Grimes and Purity Ring songs I've talked about this year, you are going to want to get on this Chvrches scene so hard. I love the few tracks I've heard so far from this Scottish band and their vocalist, Lauren Mayberry? I need to marry her.

Golden Light - Twin Shadow I'm so happy my friend Jen wrote to me about how much she was enjoying this Twin Shadow album, Confess. I'd given it a cursory listen and liked it but got busy with other things. Revisiting it again, I saw the genius in this synthpop magic. It gives me the most wonderful feeling of buoyant happiness.

Tonight

Got super excited and went to see Skyfall! The line was too long so we went to get consolation Thai food dinner instead. We were the only people in the restaurant the whole time and I had a sore throat by the end. So we went to get consolation spiced apple cider and came home to watch two episodes of Forbrydelsen (The Killing). I walked into the bedroom around 11:50 and realized I had forgotten to blog all day. Decided to give up. Sat down at the computer and turned on this song:

Hole In The Ocean Floor - Andrew Bird

Decided not to give up after all.

Small Thoughts: It Occurs To Me

Note(s) to self:

1. Drink more water.
2. Next week, take a day just for reading.
3. You cannot get a Christmas tree the second week of November. Seriously, you can't.
4. Things are just getting good.

FORGIVENESS - Charli XCX From the Super Ultra Mix Tape, available for free download now.

I don't know what will happen next, but I'll wait for you.

I didn't realize how much I miss Interpol until I heard Paul Banks' new solo record. I almost skipped it, since I wasn't super into his solo work under the name Julian Plenti, but I am SO glad I gave it a chance because it's a great listen and the sound is so fucking cool, in a way that only Interpol ever captured. The part in "Arise, Awake" where he sings, "Here we go it's all happening," sends a chill up my spine in the most deliciously chilling way.

The two songs I've picked for you actually sound rather similar, but they are both awesome, so surely it doesn't matter. I'm happy that this sound is still as vital as ever. It's kind of comforting, if anything this mesmerizingly untouchable can comfort. 

Arise, Awake - Paul Banks

No Mistakes - Paul Banks

You can buy Banks here. 

Tardis and Restored Jesus

I wasn't planning on carving a pumpkin this Halloween, but after seeing the Restored Fresco Jesus carving template on ThinkGeek, my friend Caysie and I knew we HAD to get on this. We are a little bit obsessed with Restored Jesus and, come on, look at it! Opportunities like this don't come around that often. Patrick picked a simple Tardis design for his jack o' lantern and it turned out great. Maybe next year we will make a lineup of Doctor Who pumpkins. 

We had Halloween nachos, beer and hot cocoa while we carved our pumpkins and we listened to a ghost stories podcast that I've just discovred. It was a good night. I hope everyone had a fun Halloween! 

Blood of the Lamb - Billy Bragg & Wilco 

The Ghost Of You Lingers - Spoon 

Dead and Gone - The Black Keys 

Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts - Wolf Parade

We won't destroy you, no we will not destroy you.

This isn't a very obvious Halloween song, but it is from the wonderful album from Dead Man's Bones (yes, Ryan Gosling's band) that came out three Septembers ago. That self-titled record was an instant classic, and I love to listen to it at this time of the year. Because it was recorded in collaboration with Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir it's also n album that kids really love (this song especially). If you have little ones around I highly recommend it as a slightly eerie, kind of cheerful and very cool listen.

Pa Pa Power - Dead Man's Bones

It's just me among the weeds, among the ghosts, among the leaves.

Fall color! I have been on the lookout for it, but it is nowhere to be seen around Santa Clara. Today we went up to Healdsburg for a wine club release party at Dutcher Crossing and I was beyond excited to spot a few signs of autumn. Of course wine country would have fall color. Everything is prettier up there. 

Our wine club winery isn't that big, but it is absolutely gorgeous.

t was pretty toasty in Dry Creek Valley, about 80 degrees and much warmer sitting in direct sunlight. 

There wasn't actually that much fall color, even in wine country. Just a couple of trees worth, really. But depending on how you look at things, sometimes a little bit is enough.

Among the Leaves (alt version) - Sun Kil Moon

Begged the thunder bolts to strike and mark me as alive.

Now that Doctor Who is on hiatus until Christmas I've been trying to catch up on some classic episodes through Netflix. I listen to the Who AfterBuzz AfterShow each week and I've been following along with the classic episodes they've been discussing. The classic shows have been interesting so far but I have to admit it can be hard to get into them. Maybe I've just watched way too much Mystery Science Theater in my time, but throughout the hour-and-a-half duration of the old school episode arcs I keep expecting Tom Servo or Crow to pipe in with an amusing zinger. 

Speaking of Netflix, I noticed that an absolutely wonderful three-part series by psychologist and best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert, is available to watch instantly now. It's called This Emotional Life, and I can't recommend it enough. 

Oh yeah, Undeclared is on there now, too. And yes, so is Freaks and Geeks.

Lilies - Bat for Lashes - Natasha Khan is my dream girl. Her talents continue to impress and I love seeing her songwriting improve and to hear her singing style become bolder and more intriguing with each album. She is the strongest and most vulnerable singer out there. The combination is astonishing. The Haunted Man is out now and it is a must-listen.

Starting Over (feat. Ben Bridwell) Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - I previously posted a Macklemore and Ryan Lewis video for "Same Love", which told a beautiful story for marriage equality. The story of this song is addiction and recovery and it is equally as moving and tear-rending. 

Follow Through - Freelance Whales - Diluvia is another beauty of an album from the Freelance Whales. I love the uplifting M83 sound of this track. 

So Many Foreign Homes - Foreign Fields - This is from the spare and lovely debut album from a newer Wisconsin band. It is all echoing loneliness, perfect for autumn, perfect for winter.