tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277541742024-03-06T20:09:16.879-08:00Ramble OnCollected musings on music, adventure, and other things. Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-12003085168819582472022-05-26T11:32:00.003-07:002022-05-26T19:15:09.976-07:002021: My Year in Music<p></p><br />It took me getting Covid-19 to give me the margin I needed to actually bear down and complete this, 5 full months into the year. I'm recovered, isolation is complete. I'm about to re-enter the world again. I'm changing jobs, changing a lot of things, and trying to plan with little to no information required for planning. But I'm leaning into the mystery and trying to enjoy the space I have for now, because time like this doesn't come around very often. <div><br /></div><div>I have the benefit of extra time between the writing of this post and the selection of the songs. I have been thinking about these songs for so long, it feels good to finally get the thoughts organized and out of me. I finished up a big redesign on my apartment. I had a good streak going for most of the year where I spent the night of the first day of every month away from home. So I explored some great new places and have a great new permanent space too! </div><div><br /></div><div>A list of 20 songs follows this short intro. I'm glad to finally get to share some of what I listened to last year. Thanks for being patient with me, in ever so many ways. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3rRm9TENMIbBgfoTbqSbkR?utm_source=generator&theme=0" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9hu-Jwo9lI">Little Flower</a> by Peter Bradley Adams</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I remember first hearing this song on a cold, rainy February morning. I can’t remember the last time a song made me cry but this one did. I've listened to it so many times and I don't cry anymore but it always strums my heart strings. The metaphor of the little flower trying to grow and struggling through seasons of life, and the person singing both "I won't walk beside you" and also, "a voice in the distance, a love that never let you go". I think that's the best hope I have for how I'm being loved by people who aren't here anymore. </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJlcUszh-ysa4sGsfTuzmNy23qHP1fM_7spW1JGJqTW-9-PhGyX_19k09tVLPW8XRCdDVIJIWcCrpnLVHC8srTtmeVyOCapVXkZ5gfqGGiiacrioQDb_UgP4cQF6pKexE8JdMpoDAX8ak7W4X_y3tyRo52Lw6DhhrhrRFfCDkqElT77bq9Q/s4032/C0108303-5E8E-4DCF-A8A3-FABFCEC5C440.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJlcUszh-ysa4sGsfTuzmNy23qHP1fM_7spW1JGJqTW-9-PhGyX_19k09tVLPW8XRCdDVIJIWcCrpnLVHC8srTtmeVyOCapVXkZ5gfqGGiiacrioQDb_UgP4cQF6pKexE8JdMpoDAX8ak7W4X_y3tyRo52Lw6DhhrhrRFfCDkqElT77bq9Q/w400-h300/C0108303-5E8E-4DCF-A8A3-FABFCEC5C440.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Morning Sedona in January<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pNOkk0Wow">Southeast West Virginia</a> by Virginia Coalition</b></div><div>My heart leapt in delight when I saw that VaCo had released an EP in 2021. I can’t hear the sound of this band without thinking of one chilly fall evening, as a freshman, when they played the small terrace on my campus. It was quintessential college. I physically traveled to southeastern West Virginia in early autumn visiting New River Gorge NP and doing some fall camping. This served as the perfect soundtrack for some of the moments of the drive through that hilly, familiar heartland. They have been through different iterations of togetherness since the early 2000s when I got to know them but this song brings me right back to all that is great about the music they play. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/xVfzriupFjU">San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)</a> by Daniel Herskedal, Emile Mosseri, Michael Marshall</b></div><div>A track from the excellent film “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”. I love that the horns gently carry the rhythm of the song. Daniel Herskedal is a Norwegian jazz artist and plays the tuba on the track. It’s a cover of a pretty cheesy song but this reimagining of it is beautiful. The strength of the Michael Marshall’s vocals creates this sense of melancholic urgency, and a perfect cinematic musical moment in the movie.</div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kHcWcg3K4aJkfLhxQCvxwEo2UqTIa3QtHYFXyJyfYDLcpoxkkByTXOYmktActDs7P4ald_Sa2H69aBH2g3paaffG4x6EuRGVTTYbfsRPt2dSn81oW0iaA5PnVxfhOMk_VJcjqXiPG5t5v9kECqm-fHB4TwA2iKI0xBpBvGB3BCVaevSRvA/s4032/1D52A1F8-AB49-416A-9F1F-FEE15D5BD7FE.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kHcWcg3K4aJkfLhxQCvxwEo2UqTIa3QtHYFXyJyfYDLcpoxkkByTXOYmktActDs7P4ald_Sa2H69aBH2g3paaffG4x6EuRGVTTYbfsRPt2dSn81oW0iaA5PnVxfhOMk_VJcjqXiPG5t5v9kECqm-fHB4TwA2iKI0xBpBvGB3BCVaevSRvA/w300-h400/1D52A1F8-AB49-416A-9F1F-FEE15D5BD7FE.jpeg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May in Great Smoky Mountain NP</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/FdzKagaiebo">Carry You </a>by Novo Amor</b></div><div>Try listening to this song late at night, driving across a freezing cold, snow covered and moonlit landscape. The desert lands of Arizona between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon and a huge dark sky sprinkled with stars above make it easy to surrender to the poetry of being changed forever by things larger than ourselves. I resonate with songs about carrying someone or needing to be carried because I feel that way a lot. I will also always think of CJB on that drive sitting through two entire Lord Huron albums and patiently awaiting the moment when we would change the music. We never did. She finally had to plead with us to play something else, when all of us were lost in a sort of reverie that the landscape and music like this created.</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/uBkN9y9zf9Y">Sanctuary</a> by Hiss Golden Messenger</b></div><div>The heart behind this song is an unassuming and deeply open and caring spirit saying, things are bad, you look like you need a safe place to be, so I’ll be that for you. Whether that is a literal place or a figurative place, I think 2021 probably was a pretty tough year for a lot of people, and so, this song played often in my mind and through my speakers.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/_SMIxlEbOxM">Running Up That Hill</a> by Car Seat Headrest</b></div><div>This is a Kate Bush cover from the mid-80s, which is a great song on its own. But the choice of a good cover is also the mark of a discerning artist. Car Seat Headrest write such interesting songs, sonically and lyrically, and they hail from my neck of the woods! This is a great exploration of a common sentiment of people who hold God in contempt for remaining above it all and not entering in to our suffering, but leaving us to deal with it in perceived isolation. The chorus is about asking God to feel what it feels like to live this life, in our Sisyphean daily tasks of coping and dealing with short term and long term hardships. In my own pursuit of faith I've tried to stop assuming the worst and instead assume that God cares and wants to walk in our hardships with us, and to see what he has to say about that. I don’t believe he is silent on that point, nor is he distant. And I wonder if Kate or Will or any of them ever got any answers about striking this deal with God. </div></div><br /><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cBkIN8WRE0HKn-Ls_6TIa6oNd8T1GLsIk23OlhiHozHCGfq2TwfkwGqK6aT_XgN5HLhviW5O7uKo8QAFM7ILz1zwCfB6o0Iili92GKGuvmvWfdcfkYY1sQfL7kQDsG-QMYCtY3fBqAf_BDIIew6hMJvYKC8CuVpN0qaMm_pYUGXqNNGeTA/s4032/177BA6D8-7F9D-4B15-809F-4A37A87372FC.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_cBkIN8WRE0HKn-Ls_6TIa6oNd8T1GLsIk23OlhiHozHCGfq2TwfkwGqK6aT_XgN5HLhviW5O7uKo8QAFM7ILz1zwCfB6o0Iili92GKGuvmvWfdcfkYY1sQfL7kQDsG-QMYCtY3fBqAf_BDIIew6hMJvYKC8CuVpN0qaMm_pYUGXqNNGeTA/w400-h300/177BA6D8-7F9D-4B15-809F-4A37A87372FC.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern Lights in Denali NP</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/ykgrmMPFQFY">The First Days of Spring</a> by Noah and the Whale</b></div><div>Charlie Fink’s hopeful song about rebirth into the person he might hope to become after losing someone he loves. I love songs and poetry and imagery about spring, and I love spring itself. Every time it happens, it helps me believe anew that what Charlie is writing about here is possible for all of us, because everything around is pushing and growing, just like we aspire to. I like that the song is so long with rambling orchestration and string arrangements. We all need good songs about spring to hold close, so we remember that we can be reborn and grace covers the damages we sometimes feel are irreversible. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/nqCM7ZmMFKM">Not a Complicated Person</a> by Down Time</b></div><div>A short, simple song which reminds me in pandemic times, and all times, that we desperately need to be real people to each other, and we need to be present, and that because people have thoughts and feelings and most of us withdrew into them for the better part of two years, we can’t stay there and be scared of other people who also might have feelings. Let’s be in each others lives with everything we are. And if we never did it even before the pandemic, let’s start now.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/9M5gMM0sURM">Talking to Myself</a> by Gatlin</b></div><div>I've never heard this as a song about missing someone. I associate this song strongly with Covid. With all the time that so many of us spent alone, our thoughts run on a little longer in perhaps unhealthy directions. Don't we let things loom larger than they would if we had the people we usually have in our lives putting them in check on a more regular basis? I think this goes for people who live alone or with other people. When we withdraw into our worlds whether for protection or necessity, it's harder to know what we're letting get the best of us. This has been a pretty common refrain from the pulpit at church recently: we're not ourselves by ourselves. I like how she acknowledges in the song that she's losing her mind but also that the "walls would never tell". They'll keep her secrets, and no one will ever know that she's being crazy, because she's all on her own. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://youtu.be/h22wn_qDWIw">Good at Being Lonely</a> by Medium Build</b></div><div>I could write and write and write about my trip to Alaska in August/September of 2021. I am forever smitten with the Last Frontier and, truly, I think about going back almost daily. I loved it so much. I have to thank one of several amazing hosts I experienced in that state. JH from Talkeetna introduced me to this song and it was far too on-the-nose about how we were all feeling when the world started to open up again. It’s also just a great sounding song. Alaska is a place for people who want to get away from something. It’s a place where people go to lose themselves, for better or worse. For me, I just discovered even more of me out there. But one of the things that I definitely discovered was that I have gotten very, VERY good at being lonely. And that it’s kind of the default state I have to switch out of, <i>not</i> being alone is now the thing that feels less familiar and actually harder. </div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf09XrQtasSZcylRYZAr8BEsIty6WfALF3v3RmvmREX_UHPH3WLmnXChPOlWZyd71NQBqZxfirkzQl2w0rXQdyN9RLmyAeZyZpCfsrTHCI6JSWxTBKLuKjZBnURSVWHK_54uow0hCOGDVl2svtK8b-BZw4Jov2i66d0JQxcZ9G8MAydfV0PQ/s4032/B58AEEC7-AC10-4590-99F0-BEA59F8EE15B.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf09XrQtasSZcylRYZAr8BEsIty6WfALF3v3RmvmREX_UHPH3WLmnXChPOlWZyd71NQBqZxfirkzQl2w0rXQdyN9RLmyAeZyZpCfsrTHCI6JSWxTBKLuKjZBnURSVWHK_54uow0hCOGDVl2svtK8b-BZw4Jov2i66d0JQxcZ9G8MAydfV0PQ/s320/B58AEEC7-AC10-4590-99F0-BEA59F8EE15B.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Denali</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/-o4KTcIFZIM">I Love You. It’s a Fever Dream.</a> by The Tallest Man on Earth</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In a Pitchfork review of this album, the subtitle included that Kristian Matsson is wondering “how best to move about the landscape of his life” through its lyrics. That is likely the sentiment I connect with the most in this song. I, too, have been thinking about the mystery as I’m driving through it all. The mystery of the sentiment of love in particular. Matsson wrote this album in the wake of his divorce a few years ago, wondering sometimes if the love we experience is all just a fever dream. Have I ever done it well? Were those feelings that were so strong just a fever, like Peggy Lee sang? Love has many forms, we know. And I like how things song wonders about the love that was there in the wake of loss. Matsson says that love and death are like Yin and Yang, there is a little of each in the other. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/iQ18DXg7b7c">My Father’s Daughter</a> by Olivia Vedder (ft. Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>I am my father's daughter</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Come hell or high water</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Never gonna leave him</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Despite the rights or wrongs</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>I got you and I hope that you know</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>And I'm right behind you</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>There's a light, there's a light</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>That shines wherever you go</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>I am my father's daughter</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Come hell or high water</i></div><br /><br /><b><a href="https://youtu.be/m6EYWDexOKs">Freedom (Yeah Yeah)</a> by San Fermin</b><br />Almost every important conversation I had in 2021 had something to do freedom or permission. I believe there is right, and there is wrong. I also know that I don’t always get those two things identified properly. So freedom feels completely irresponsible to me. I often don’t want it because it forces me to take ownership of my actions and their consequences and live with them. That is also the true essence of adulthood, if you ask me. I love songs about freedom, that sound free, and I love running through Alaskan wilderness and other places where I don’t feel borders, or boundaries and the world is so big and wide and open. But the freedom of my own adult life is, all at once, the most beautiful set of wings and the weightiest responsibility. While it can seem a bit flippant, and sort of skewing on the tired mantras “Live your best life now”, and “you do you, boo”, I think this song is a good reminder for people like me, for whom freedom can often feel dangerous.<div><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8TCysrQ2P7iGujkgGfFhZCYU0zSX5HdQ5r6T88ZxFZNWRyZqQEoJdq-xU1OBd3cNw8cdSatOtTw6ezEi1JfVKSq1IZbMVZ7pgos26RP3ElgPDYvyuF5pkBqkwLKmWbelnf8Ru4fX6AReqSptwSYc1YnEA4sJTNEQHlU7W4zGM4lzVIYq5w/s4032/15B109CC-1A31-473C-938A-F362600233E6.jpeg"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8TCysrQ2P7iGujkgGfFhZCYU0zSX5HdQ5r6T88ZxFZNWRyZqQEoJdq-xU1OBd3cNw8cdSatOtTw6ezEi1JfVKSq1IZbMVZ7pgos26RP3ElgPDYvyuF5pkBqkwLKmWbelnf8Ru4fX6AReqSptwSYc1YnEA4sJTNEQHlU7W4zGM4lzVIYq5w/w400-h300/15B109CC-1A31-473C-938A-F362600233E6.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Great Basin NP</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/XKzT8A3juTk">Hot & Heavy</a> by Lucy Dacus</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A perfectly written song about that high school love. There will probably always be one song on these playlists tacitly (not in this case!) dedicated to the men who live in my memory like this. And I think many of them have become those fires that can’t be tamed and others know the secrets that they were to themselves and the world is better for it, and them. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/uXGj6OLieU8">Maintenant ou Jamais</a> by Catastrophe</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It’s now or never! I love the disco throwback feel to this song. It’s fun, retro, danceable, catchy, and infectious. </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/MeRWZIlc52U">Pelota (Cut a Rug Mix)</a> by Khruangbin </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Since I’m writing this so so late, I now have a funny story about attending a Khruangbin show a few months ago that was full of terrible decisions. We were, in the end, richly rewarded, despite abandoning all our senses concerning going to this show. I am also now a crotchety concert-goer who wants all the youngsters to shut up and listen to the music instead of talk. Why would you talk all the time during a thing you paid good money to see? Even if you are talking about the band itself, I don't get it. In fairness to myself, I am old now, but I’ve never been one to talk much at concerts. And none of this has anything to do with why I love Khruangbin. I’ve been following them for a few years, and my younger brother said their show he went to was one of the best of his entire life, so I paid attention! They were awesome, and I love that they have a distinct sound that is both new and old, and has a ton of different musical styles influencing it. They are such a cool band and I love almost every song they have, and especially that they have done a bunch of collaborations with Leon Bridges, who I am VERY excited to see live later this summer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/-Nm7cFv_dQo">Tu Es Beau</a> by Yelle</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My sexiest song of 2021, although it was released in 2007. You don’t need to understand the words to feel it. That’s how you know. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfzFv0yHFOU_Xw_FZ6BSbVkH3JHTb8LqAazvrM6xgMIdfb6lq5osZUbWePWVmwKoIm2Q5UqzQK29JFsmsDgUUEYZprKMZTqhDevNuh96B-VmsxvWxdZcgZQbG-a0xA5dMWDnZ7RvG5FGojOcB2UZjCBKfwBgMvsK6SqkJAfwRO7Xp_bAqNQ/s4032/A5AC1337-C1F3-45EF-8294-41C7E6FCC927.jpeg"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfzFv0yHFOU_Xw_FZ6BSbVkH3JHTb8LqAazvrM6xgMIdfb6lq5osZUbWePWVmwKoIm2Q5UqzQK29JFsmsDgUUEYZprKMZTqhDevNuh96B-VmsxvWxdZcgZQbG-a0xA5dMWDnZ7RvG5FGojOcB2UZjCBKfwBgMvsK6SqkJAfwRO7Xp_bAqNQ/w640-h480/A5AC1337-C1F3-45EF-8294-41C7E6FCC927.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kenai Fjords NP</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/qgLvyFcRqPc">Aloha! (Main Title Theme)</a> by Cristobal Tapia De Veer</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This song is the title theme to a darkly captivating mini-series from HBO called The White Lotus. The complexities of the theme music are echoed throughout the show’s plot and characters, and as I explored more about the composer and this particular commission, I learned that the producers of the show had asked for something that “sounded like human sacrifice”. It’s more than a little bit astounding to me that someone can take a concept that specific and creepy and put it into music (flawlessly, in my opinion). I watched the title credits two or three times before I’d even get into an episode of the show so I could try and pick out all the instruments and sounds layered into this crazy, short little piece of music. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/YBjwaQzHUoA">A World So Full of Love</a> by Shakey Graves</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A classic broken heart song, first written and performed by Roger Miller. I included this one because I finally made it through Ken Burns’ incredible Country Music documentary last year and loved every minute of it. So many incredible stories and people and sounds. I believe some of the best songwriting in the world is hidden underneath deeply accented speech, and simple guitar strumming from the early days of music in America. This song has updated well, still can ring very true, and I love this interpretation of it, playful in the depths of despair. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://youtu.be/DlbdyNRO3gs">Crossing to Jerusalem</a> by Rosanne Cash</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I saw her in concert late last year and it really completed my full-circle journey on the country music documentary journey. This song is great for a lot of reasons, not least of which because I heard it performed with people I first traveled to Jerusalem with. She writes truly beautiful songs, full of feeling and relatable sentiment. It’s a song about finding a true home, but also feeling at home where you already find yourself. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a tumultuous time for sure. But it's punctuated with great company and steady souls to keep me anchored in the storm. I'm so glad for all these disruptions and even a little bit glad for this forced time to sit down and rest for a while. Isolation isn't fun, and I definitely appreciate all of you who give me reasons to want it to be over. See you soon. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIasW3HXidXJclW3c_qOTv9bm4gQ-kCIOAARXhoQUxeBDT_few9_Vxibd9d0G_COVQPFJOJOBMPjnfuWMWaOXxLEBu13sJivyUFLM7uP5TxkddPWrXHV8-1iRjJ0-p4YczhYLWlwHk-YeIYxPsz3hCijQQLI_CurJWGfBhT8r9J7twf1yGyg/s4032/AFFEDCB9-20D0-449F-BAFC-272CC87D706A.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIasW3HXidXJclW3c_qOTv9bm4gQ-kCIOAARXhoQUxeBDT_few9_Vxibd9d0G_COVQPFJOJOBMPjnfuWMWaOXxLEBu13sJivyUFLM7uP5TxkddPWrXHV8-1iRjJ0-p4YczhYLWlwHk-YeIYxPsz3hCijQQLI_CurJWGfBhT8r9J7twf1yGyg/w640-h480/AFFEDCB9-20D0-449F-BAFC-272CC87D706A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catalina Island in December</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-32124593244197717022021-03-09T06:49:00.010-08:002021-03-09T07:03:38.010-08:002020: My Year in MusicPerhaps the best way to sum up my 2020 is to say that my world got smaller but more focused. When time is given back to you in a way you never expected it would be, figuring out the right ways to spend it and with whom are vitally important. We're still holding our breath collectively as we wait for the vaccine to be more widely available. We're wondering about the untold long-range effects of this pandemic on our interior lives, our relationships, our governments, our economies, and many other aspects of our lives. But I will say that the pandemic sharpened my idea of what home is, helped me hone my concept of adventure, and brought immediacy and urgency to understanding the idea and necessary components of meaningful connection (like with my sweet new nephew and the rest of my immediate family, who now reside all in one geographic area.) <div><br />2020 also allowed for a concentrated study on desire, both as a concept and an effort to inventory my own. Music proved once again a revelatory constant in that study. As I listened to others sing about what they want, or don't want, I mused on the same questions. In the midst of everything that happened this year, I was looking for constants. In my own soul, I feel increasingly untethered to things but I still want tethers. The real trick of it is to find the right ones. And we may need a lot more, or a lot less, than we think in certain areas. <br /><br />The songs that reflect this year to me are listed below, grouped loosely by theme and not in any particular order. I'm so grateful to have you faithful friends to listen with. Here's to a new year and the speedy return of communal, live music experiences! <br /><br />Listen to my 2020 playlist here:</div><div><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/4dXk6vqYTL6u0rl09LMire" width="300"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">Without Desire by The Wood Brothers</h3>This song asks some good questions. Shout out to RW for taking me to see these guys in 2019 back when concerts were possible. I had decided that 2020 needed to be about figuring out what I want, and examining desire in my life, and I think the next morning this song came up randomly and it quickly became the theme song for the year. To me, desires get in the way, and are messy and convoluted. That's why I don't really want to deal with them. It's sometimes easier to just want the things that other people want for you instead of having to face what you really want and then be vulnerable enough to go after it. Desire, whether ours or someone else's, is certainly a powerful motivator and animator. And having a good handle on what drives us can help us understand where we're going, and if that's a place we actually want to get to.<h3 style="text-align: left;">Canyon Moon by Harry Styles</h3>I've loved both of the albums he's put out since separating from One Direction and this one is better than the first, in my opinion. I enjoy the whole album but because 2020 began with a very ambitious outdoor adventure backpacking rim to rim (to rim) of the Grand Canyon in early January, I had to pick this one. The boundary-breaking adventure, deep wilderness, freezing cold nights, and drama of the entire adventure left a deep impression on me. My time under the canyon moon was unforgettable, just like Harry’s seems to have been.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ0L74sTrF_ioL3kwX0cpVM5WneX2u8Q1VbCoCzXl0yCF2POL2tvPZFWMgslQrbvrdSudsvCELzaVL7B7sL9G2EXbtZieTPoDnQ61-Bh7Lwt-2DzpMatlE_GIJwt_N16XXjw4/s2048/205CAA79-36E9-459B-9C18-491974E699D3.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ0L74sTrF_ioL3kwX0cpVM5WneX2u8Q1VbCoCzXl0yCF2POL2tvPZFWMgslQrbvrdSudsvCELzaVL7B7sL9G2EXbtZieTPoDnQ61-Bh7Lwt-2DzpMatlE_GIJwt_N16XXjw4/w400-h300/205CAA79-36E9-459B-9C18-491974E699D3.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Jan 2020</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Barbed Wire by Tom Grennan</h3>A fantastic song with a robust brass arrangement and a distinctively talented lead vocalist. I love the lyrics: I meet people surrounded by figurative barbed wire all the time, it just sometimes takes a bit to figure out what it's wrapped around. And Tom here is right, don't touch it. But also, see if someone's willing to dismantle it too. That's always an option that I try, which is probably stupid but I can't help myself. And it likely has a lot to do with my own barbed wire defenses. Shout out to TB who introduced me to this song, and embodies it.<br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">COVID SONGS</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">So Quiet in Here by Van Morrison</h3>When COVID first set in, this is the song that I kept thinking of. I remember biking into DC one day and the downtown streets being deserted of cars and people on a sunny Saturday in early spring. And I thought how lovely and stately the city is, how devoid of stress without the traffic. It was so quiet. Van talks about the paradise of quiet he is experiencing, but in many ways the quiet of my normally bustling metropole life was deafening. It was a signal of everything that wasn't happening and why. Sort of like innocuous elevator music playing in a horror movie.<br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Loner by Dehd</h3>Whether we liked it or not, we all were faced with the idea of being loners this year. Either in a house full of people or with no one else around, we all had to face the idea of being alone in new ways this year. I'm not sure how I feel about the repetitive almost-yodel of the lead singer's vocals. It's certainly unique. But I love the guitar sound in the background, and the chorus of this song probably went through all our heads at some point or another: <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Well I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it<br />I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine I'm fine<br />I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it<br />I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine<br />Won't stop, won't draw the line (I'm fine)<br />Won't stop, don't want to go outside (I'm fine)<br />Won't stop, won't draw the line (Loner)<br />Won't stop, no self-survive (Loner)<br />Won't stop won't draw the line (I'm fine)</i></span><br /><br />Certainly sounds familiar to me.<br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">SONGS ABOUT GOD</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Maker by Daniel Lanois</h3>I’ve only ever come across Daniel Lanois as a producer, and while it’s maybe not the greatest song ever written, the concept and lyrics are beautiful. I love the melodic and harmonized bass line. It’s immediately clear the influence he had on U2’s sound when he produced for them. To me it sounds like his personal vision of what it would look like for him to meet God, and perhaps a dream he had. The imagery is vivid, biblically influenced, but also with his own personal elements (like Jean-Baptiste). Many, if not all, of us have probably thought about what it would look like to meet our Maker and I enjoyed Daniel Lanois’ sharing of his vision through this piece. <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Morning Light by Josh Garrels</h3>I gravitated toward songs that sounded like hope to me this year, for obvious reasons. I don’t think I ever lost hope about things getting better, but certainly there were dark times, and songs like this helped with that. So many of the songs in this playlist contain lines like “It’s going to be alright”. Words I think all of us needed to be true at some point. <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Revival by Gregory Porter</h3>One of my all-time favorite voices, and a <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-my-year-in-music.html">repeat</a> "Year in Review” <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-my-year-in-music.html">offender</a>. Given all the racial unrest this year and the continued fallout from that at so many levels, I love that Porter can sing of not being afraid, of an intrinsic value, and of a hope for salvation. “You give me meaning”. I appreciated songs this year that point at things outside of what we see because seeing only those things would generally lead us down a path of hopelessness.<br /><br /><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6DcW-kZ2OUaI9aTsVRrQ36H67V7TTwckDzY25772mySnuU2u3p18kzyHeQLPBT9Hd3sxwdqQC711gn1W1yKDFN6ypwciaYPtbLkfz-ShcupfAM5dM3oDZilQ66cgQrIyaPkP/s2048/DC370CE4-89E4-41FE-A19C-C35E9B9F90E7.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6DcW-kZ2OUaI9aTsVRrQ36H67V7TTwckDzY25772mySnuU2u3p18kzyHeQLPBT9Hd3sxwdqQC711gn1W1yKDFN6ypwciaYPtbLkfz-ShcupfAM5dM3oDZilQ66cgQrIyaPkP/w320-h240/DC370CE4-89E4-41FE-A19C-C35E9B9F90E7.jpeg" title="Glacier National Park" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glacier National Park - Tune-Up Trip 2020</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">SONGS OF ADVENTURE</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">To the Great Unknown by Cloud Cult</h3>Another tune-up trip theme song. When KG and I met up at the airport to depart for our trip and set off the chain reaction of ridiculous events that made up the trip, start to finish, we said to each other with defiance, joy, and mirth: let’s get lost. “You were made to sail on meteors”. “God gave us thirst and it’s a hunger for the universe.” Isn’t exploration written into us? There is a sentiment of gratitude in this song, as well as a calling forth into deeper adventure that we can’t know the depths of until we embark on it. “God gave you brains don’t go drowning in your own thinking.” “Let’s run away just know your troubles tend to follow. “ I’m still honing my adventurous spirit. It’s hard to adventure for the right reasons sometimes. It can feel a lot like running away and sometimes that’s okay, but it won’t make the trouble go away either. Especially if you’re planning to return home. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, adventure doesn’t make sense without home. <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Pilgrim by John Mark McMillan</h3>Perhaps my most-played song of 2020. So many moments I can associate with these notes. Most memorable among them was driving into Glacier National Park on the Going-to-the-Sun Road with the clouds lifting off the massive peaks all around me with KG on the tune-up trip in late August. I insisted on playing this song as I needed a song big enough to fill the cavernous glacial planes opening up all around us and something to call our hearts forth from our smaller, selfish worlds into one of bigger imagination, big skies, and the sense of this not being all there is. KG and I walked over 100 miles together in it. And I also appreciate the temporality of the “for a while” phrase that repeats because how do we know what walking and loving look like on the other side of this life? We can't make promises beyond that, but we can say "I'll walk with you for a while." <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">River by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit</h3>Jason Isbell’s songwriting continues to improve as he shares his experience of being a dad and a husband and growing older. I am always drawn to songs about rivers (see <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2019/11/2017-my-year-in-music.html" target="_blank">previous</a> <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-my-year-in-music.html" target="_blank">playlists</a>). I love the harmony of the guitars in the last few measures with the organ in the background. There's also a very clever little moment at the end of the second bridge right after he sings "last night I woke up screaming at my wife" where there's a beautiful high tremolo on the fiddle which is played by Jason's wife Amanda on the track. But as with most Jason Isbell songs, what really gets me is the lyrics. He personifies the river (all rivers?) as things that wash us clean, things that save us, that carry us, that must go on, are meant to go on, that started as something different (clouds, he sings) but are now changed, and still leave their indelible mark on souls and the land they inhabit. Most of us are looking for something to receive everything that we are, including all of the bad things that we've done, all the secrets, and still carry us to rest within. <br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Sailor’s Grave on the Prairie by Tinsley Ellis and the Heartfixers</h3>This song caught my ears’ attention because it sounded very different than most other things I was listening to at the time. Also, the title caught my eye. I always pay a lot of attention to words and sometimes it's nice just to listen to good music and be taken into a soundscape rather than into my head or someone else's. I like exploring different sounds and this was a fun sonic adventure in that respect. </div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JX_BZe8MKYSDLLRKTcgshTKlG4QsLVZu2Bk6JghtxsODNuWvqeEdFh_4wzJ5XclvErZOmaAF4j17XNFoCfWKfL2UcE0cihOsUQAndaX7ZpI7o6BxB7vW67bwpzA11Gf7EdWs/s2048/98BEEEF1-F7D0-4DD6-BF5A-647AFE71878C.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3JX_BZe8MKYSDLLRKTcgshTKlG4QsLVZu2Bk6JghtxsODNuWvqeEdFh_4wzJ5XclvErZOmaAF4j17XNFoCfWKfL2UcE0cihOsUQAndaX7ZpI7o6BxB7vW67bwpzA11Gf7EdWs/s320/98BEEEF1-F7D0-4DD6-BF5A-647AFE71878C.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL</h2><div><h3>Kaputt by Destroyer</h3><h3><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: 400;">I was at the gym on an elliptical when I first heard this song and I lost time. It ended and a new song began and I was shocked back into reality. The steady, trippy rhythm drew me to imagine walking around in a strange landscape, very sparse but very spacious, like another planet. Then little saxophone and trumpet cadenzas float in and out at various times, it sounds like a good idea coming in the middle of a steady stream of concentration. I like how in the first lines of the songs he concedes that, okay, he was lying about chasing girls, he was really chasing cocaine.</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Recuerdos by The Mavericks</h3><div>I don’t speak Spanish but I’m trying to learn it. Other languages have ways of expressing ideas and sentiments that comes across with more force and poetry than English sometimes, even if I don’t really understand it and I’m using Google translate to try. The Cuban and Mexican influences in this song come through immediately, the lyrics are almost as beautiful in English as they are in the original Spanish. "Our paths will part / Our story has come to an end / Beautiful memories will remain in me... Your memories will accompany me". <br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Nada by Lido Pimienta</h3><div>Singing as one haunted by the ghost of a lover who left her with nothing, our heroine courageously claims her womanhood and her ability to carry pain. She feels "no shame, no doubt" and with sincerity mourns her loss from a place of strength, even if she should die of heartbreak. I love the instrumentation, especially the subtle saxophones in the back of the chorus, and the fact that the beat isn’t just the regular reggaeton or bachata beat that is so ubiquitous these days. Long after the song is over I hear her voice stretching out certain words with beautiful cadences and quarter tones. If you tune out the lyrics or just focus on Spanish and try not to translate, this is my pick for sexiest song of 2020. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Full Stop by Matt Pond PA</h3>Stand-alone beauty on this track even though the whole album is good. I’m not sure how it came up in my musical wanderings but the album came out in 2017 and even though I’ve been a Matt Pond PA fan for years, I just never listened to it. It’s a beautiful summer love song. “Way up in heaven, Stars streak over the Hudson” and the harmony he sings with Caroline Reese when they repeat those lines over and over…nostalgia for whatever summer loves we all had washes over us with every refrain.<br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">In Between Houses by The Paper Kites</h3>I took so many walks this year and sometimes listened to entire albums during them. I really loved getting to know this band better through listening to their albums. “All you want is a little truth” is a line that rang in every part of me every time I heard this song. In a world of fake news and conflicting viewpoints, all my other cravings pale in comparison to my craving for truth. I don’t want fake rain while I’m sleeping. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pr8S6g9_FYxta624kWNaqLUpeQgTe9sHPaNwS_kpae10BskHvFNNRs9s0tWVidfePZLJ-jyNvUOLCfLOTLYx2ULNU6M2IsYhAr9Y2UEScwyVPVRLOKDClmfSBIEGFKpHYriq/s2048/70AC1CEB-BE16-4C9F-A080-D48BE8AC6C57.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pr8S6g9_FYxta624kWNaqLUpeQgTe9sHPaNwS_kpae10BskHvFNNRs9s0tWVidfePZLJ-jyNvUOLCfLOTLYx2ULNU6M2IsYhAr9Y2UEScwyVPVRLOKDClmfSBIEGFKpHYriq/s320/70AC1CEB-BE16-4C9F-A080-D48BE8AC6C57.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glowing emerald waters of the Colorado River</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">RELATIONSHIPS ARE HARD</h2><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>You're the One by Paul Simon </b></h3>This song describes the crumbling foundation of a relationship due to doubt, misunderstanding, and blame. There are problems with control and expectations, but it's clear that both sides really love each other too. And the subtle genius of these lyrics is woven into incredible African-influenced rhythm guitar and percussion. So many layers to enjoy in this song. <p></p></div></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Better off Without a Wife by Tom Waits</h3><div>This song makes me laugh and shake my head. "All my friends are married...you must be strong if you're to go it alone." Yes, Tom. You must. It's a little bit tongue and cheek about being single and also just sort of not being fit for marriage, or enjoying the bachelor life too much to want to change. I've encountered this attitude in myself, and in many people on the other side of the table from me on dates. There seem to be fewer and fewer enticements toward marriage, although during this pandemic the statistics about dating and especially marriage reveal the opposite. So who is lying? Science to us? Or are we lying to ourselves about being happier alone? I know what I think. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Can't Fight by Lianne La Havas</h3><div>I love the smooth rhythms and Lianne's beautiful vocals throughout this song. I identify with feeling trapped by strong feelings for a thing that you also feel like you should be fighting against. "It seems that I won't be warned..." This is where this whole quest about desires comes in again, because what do we do when we want the wrong things? Do we fight against them, or do we give in and then come what may? Should the heart rule? It's not a hard and fast yes all the time. Which is why the struggle here, for me and for Lianne, is very much real. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8MufXoKL64YNToxgwXG7vT00ludO-_NPC_H2Ua8KK_3hU3JjqhPU5Th0OPY62XdogN7syxRR7WD0cTfDzHjk1QPky3JOVC2gWDe5QgJSwe2hCD035H6XHEfF6v1yacK0_wVs/s4032/IMG_20200612_110927.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8MufXoKL64YNToxgwXG7vT00ludO-_NPC_H2Ua8KK_3hU3JjqhPU5Th0OPY62XdogN7syxRR7WD0cTfDzHjk1QPky3JOVC2gWDe5QgJSwe2hCD035H6XHEfF6v1yacK0_wVs/s320/IMG_20200612_110927.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secret Lake in the High Sierra Mountains</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Options Open by Kathleen Edwards</h3><div>It's really just the chorus of this song that gets to me, "For 39 years, I've been keeping my options open." It sounds like she's exhausted and regrets having done that. I can't help but wonder, is that what me and other people in my same age and stage of life are also doing? Are we fighting to keep our options open because that's what feels the most like freedom but we're actually being subtly destroyed by that very practice? In many ways, keeping our options open just makes sure that we never arrive or land anywhere. And even the best adventurers are only seen as accomplished because they actually did make landfall and find a PLACE. It doesn't have to be that we land on a person, but we need commitments in our lives, we need things that hold us because I think we all have a deep need to be held. How can we find that if we're always hedging and non-committal? </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">I'm Just Your Man by Graham Parker</h3><div>A sweet, simple song, reminiscent of Dire Straits or just Mark Knopfler. I discovered it when I was reading a book by a music nerd about songs that shaped his life. I just enjoy the humble offering of one person to another. If we could simply do that for one another as humans, I think we'd have a lot fewer problems. He's not apologetic, he's just explaining some of his faults but he's also being confident in his assertion of what he definitely is. And I think that's what makes this such a good love song. </div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">WRAPPING UP</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;">Mama Tried by Merle Haggard </h3><div>I think of this song every time I get in the car and my mom is like "is that what you're wearing?". She really did try. Some of it stuck, I promise. And, in my defense, I did not turn 21 in prison. But not wearing lipstick might have a mandatory minimum of 10-15 years according to my mom's penal code. It's cool. She still loves me. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Stupid Love by Lady Gaga</h3><div>I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan, but I'll be damned if she isn't one of the best pop songwriters and performers in the biz. This song never fails to get me pumped up and car dancing, a spot of unadulterated pop joy the middle of a tough year. </div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Next Year by Two Door Cinema Club (RAC Mix) </h3><div>This mix is far superior to the original in my opinion. There is something hopeful and something going somewhere in the sound of this version. This quickly became my anthem for 2020 because by about May 1 we all basically wrote off 2020 as a wash. Who each of us became this year isn't necessarily who we really are, and this year didn't really happen. But we'll come back to ourselves, somehow. This song gets at that sentiment a little bit. <br /><br /><i>Maybe someday</i></div><div><i>You'll be somewhere</i></div><div><i>Talking to me</i></div><div><i>As if you knew me</i></div><div><i>Saying I'll be home for next year, darling</i></div><div><i>I'll be home for next year</i></div><div><i><br /></i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq8tyYz6h7DqIKvflG8wPMNGgeKHAjN1jBxaEjDvADTi8272VkZgk5Bq6paXZ1hiUov3bcp6ntWHhLO3-mWShJNUiV2819cdRwCrDv-_yOrZev4N1qBDzeWXqdfKCvgcRaBvO/s1600/image.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq8tyYz6h7DqIKvflG8wPMNGgeKHAjN1jBxaEjDvADTi8272VkZgk5Bq6paXZ1hiUov3bcp6ntWHhLO3-mWShJNUiV2819cdRwCrDv-_yOrZev4N1qBDzeWXqdfKCvgcRaBvO/s320/image.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humpback Rocks Sunset, July in the Blue Ridge Mtns</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>See you next year, friends. Thanks for listening with me! </div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Albums of 2020</h2><div>Reunions by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit</div><div>Notes on a Conditional Form by The 1975</div><div>Folklore by Taylor Swift </div><div>Women in Music, Pt. III by Haim</div><div>The Slow Rush by Tame Impala</div><div>Ever Since I Lost My Mind by Susto</div><div>22 Dreams by Paul Weller</div><div>Still Summer by Matt Pond PA</div><div>On the Train Ride Home by The Paper Kites</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIXNTgDuEgcxrSPbSbTgf5vCD5070WUUOSfQrlhNgUNlG89TYipj0yihzolzZbplWGS4HK_RJoz-UWJwGjbTzzEjhd_mK-vuvzk-HbxaKQS8xGdOlWPIXBScazNIqpnovg_faR/s1024/image+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIXNTgDuEgcxrSPbSbTgf5vCD5070WUUOSfQrlhNgUNlG89TYipj0yihzolzZbplWGS4HK_RJoz-UWJwGjbTzzEjhd_mK-vuvzk-HbxaKQS8xGdOlWPIXBScazNIqpnovg_faR/s320/image+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nephew and I in our matching outfits</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-34122679144616336722020-02-04T14:43:00.000-08:002020-02-04T14:58:02.768-08:002019: My Year in MusicI'm on a roll, folks. I may just get this post completed before another year passes!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOumex_qQkcfRHr6Cc5RyvP0ksV8c_bgN1-U8wLEwB78YShmmKe28PbmmqVet7jdc_NEstJA9tbwvRzfvLdnGWEWiSrVIk2ss60qb8ONzSEHQtcCBTKohaGmmElOBoyqRV6gDm/s1600/IMG_20191023_054906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOumex_qQkcfRHr6Cc5RyvP0ksV8c_bgN1-U8wLEwB78YShmmKe28PbmmqVet7jdc_NEstJA9tbwvRzfvLdnGWEWiSrVIk2ss60qb8ONzSEHQtcCBTKohaGmmElOBoyqRV6gDm/s320/IMG_20191023_054906.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panajachel sunrise</td></tr>
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I've detached from old rhythms and really lots of things over the last couple years, but I think I'm finally able to start thinking about some (the good ones?) again. I had to put down this kind of writing for a while and I've missed it. It feels so good to be writing about music again.<br />
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2019 was a banner year. I traveled to 6 countries and 9 states, redesigned a website, finished a graduate program, led another Camino pilgrimage, three reading groups, read lots of books, went to not as many concerts, and fell in love<span style="font-size: xx-small;">...</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">with my brother's rescue dog</span>. I feel like in some ways I am coming back to myself, or a renewed version of myself that is more me than I've ever been. And the best way I know to tell you about it is to let others sing you the story.<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3NK9avkjMBJjyZAA2oBA8e" width="300"></iframe><br />
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As usual, they are arranged thematically. Also standard operating procedure: not all the songs were released in 2019, they were just the ones that meant the most to me this year, or that I associate with some of my favorite moments from this year*.<br />
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<h3>
Songs that Sing Directly to Me: </h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGO-0OKhXsI">The Wanting - J. Roddy Walston and The Business</a><br />
This song is about loving, or trying to love, your f'ed up family. The lyrics are brilliant. It reminds me just how complicated families are. Mine was/is pretty great in the grand scheme of things, but we're not without our moments of total dysfunction either. "<i>I'm made of good wood, bend but don't break, but there's only so much middle [daughters] can take</i>."<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvHt7X8CxHM">The Restless - The Lone Bellow</a><br />
I am so very restless. This song raises significant questions for me about not sitting still long enough for anyone to have a fighting chance at getting through. <br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DFp00tnSv4">The Wind - Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens</a><br />
Originally release in 1971, the beautiful guitar intro is what caught me. It sounds just like what a nice breeze should be, musically and personally speaking, and Cat/Yusuf's voice is just so sweet and gentle. It's a silver-toned pilgrim's song.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPbDv__noY4">The Quiz - Hello Saferide</a><br />
To all potential suitors:<br />
"<i>There are things you need to know about me<br />I'm weak right now, so weak right now<br />I need proof before I dare to open this heart<br />So I prepared a quiz for you...</i>"<br />
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<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5OpvDdVtYU">The Heart is a Muscle - Gang of Youths</a></div>
<div>
An aspirational anthem of actually being open to giving and receiving love in all its forms, imagining, perhaps, a day when administering a test to someone applying for room in one's heart wouldn't seem so... helpful. Working on making my heart less protected and more strong.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_s4hgfsEhyphenhyphenF9l_uxpxMAur_VuJEIOSRBDlFFfDRaqqPLmarNANBtLl0DUeVQm6dTBbd8wR4vlVa-7D46vDPd5JIpKPJfwR2PxGK5EYK_syyNXOq2423zERCDKHY2Upaxub_Q/s1600/IMG_20190814_094230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_s4hgfsEhyphenhyphenF9l_uxpxMAur_VuJEIOSRBDlFFfDRaqqPLmarNANBtLl0DUeVQm6dTBbd8wR4vlVa-7D46vDPd5JIpKPJfwR2PxGK5EYK_syyNXOq2423zERCDKHY2Upaxub_Q/s320/IMG_20190814_094230.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scooting up a volcano on Pico</td></tr>
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<div>
<h3>
Songs for the Road</h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn27g_eKP5I">New Birth in New England - Phosphorescent </a><br />
This song is just so fun. The album accompanied me on a road trip to North Carolina and I listened to it in heavy rotation for a while. It's <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-my-year-in-music.html">not the first time</a> Phosphorescent has appeared on my year-end round up either.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36GhNNoYfOU">Somebody's Daughter - Tenille Townes</a><br />
I love how this song gets at the injustice and confusion that can come from just the sheer randomness of poverty that we see sometimes (or all the time). There are so many factors at work when it comes to what creates the life situations of the people we see on the street holding cardboard signs asking for money. But I love that Tenille takes the time to think about this woman, and imagine what her life might have been, and how it probably wouldn't have been or maybe even isn't so very different from her own.<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/MEl0Chq36lc">Your Silent Face - New Order</a><br />
There is a subtly beautiful poetry in this song and it goes so well with the driving beat and that steady synth chord progression. New Order has got to be one of my favorite bands of all time. To my dismay, I just discovered this song this year. But at least we did meet, finally.<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/QxJhrwyn0M4">Superposition - Young the Giant</a><br />
Little bro and I were in a total mind meld on this one, except he chose the reprise version. I like the one with the sexier beat, obvi. There was another <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3h6uSdESKMKvWFm7pBBzpf?si=aP1grXyKQTGPfjViSc8I6A">significant overlap in our 2019 listening</a>, and that was Miss Maggie Rodgers, but we'll get to her. I love when he says "in any universe, you are my dark star..." like there is some sort of inevitability and yet randomness to it all. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGtR7jq86WQrPhyphenhyphen242ZPXfzMl-MleGRoPpwIRsibJHBR2xIIG5_2oXMp5isDldRLXEwu6NPS_3gD4kWUugrWw_8O1d9Y4FvIJ_jeFj41uA4rFuR_DvJunsdVYqxTE1M8_M3nW/s1600/IMG_20190724_204009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGtR7jq86WQrPhyphenhyphen242ZPXfzMl-MleGRoPpwIRsibJHBR2xIIG5_2oXMp5isDldRLXEwu6NPS_3gD4kWUugrWw_8O1d9Y4FvIJ_jeFj41uA4rFuR_DvJunsdVYqxTE1M8_M3nW/s320/IMG_20190724_204009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrightsville Beach lantern release to remember our loved ones</td></tr>
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<h3>
2019 Travel Moments</h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIHMAhIe9es">Homecoming - Josh Ritter</a><br />
A song about coming to terms with love for the place where home is for you, regardless of what it has held for you in your life. And then going back there, and staying there, giving yourself to it in a rooted way. There is a struggle here, but the way he comes around to it is encouraging. And I like how there's a description of being on the road too, but there is always a homecoming on the horizon.<br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/Ag8YNGZBLhQ">Hot for the Mountain - Natalie Prass</a><br />
This is both a fantastic song and makes me laugh every time because of Karen and I's escapades on our summit attempt of Mt. Whitney in June with record snow levels. So many things happened. Search and rescue was called. And then we moseyed on over to Yosemite, like nothing had happened. We'll take you on, mountain. Yeah, we're gonna take you on. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DJIE-Koe3rw2SfNH_TKv8nek3emv2lUR5-JPcAX6BbqFCyFPxCZ45L1K60m8AfN7RvWSmOlFx1uN4UqRAvCcu6sEl6KJNXR_9kjST6TnHgKCM9RkWgomrq9QMazoXFumsyOe/s1600/IMG_20191230_114452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DJIE-Koe3rw2SfNH_TKv8nek3emv2lUR5-JPcAX6BbqFCyFPxCZ45L1K60m8AfN7RvWSmOlFx1uN4UqRAvCcu6sEl6KJNXR_9kjST6TnHgKCM9RkWgomrq9QMazoXFumsyOe/s320/IMG_20191230_114452.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Central VA road trip with Erica </td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPb2Y9Ob_tY">Chasin' Wild Horses - Bruce Springsteen</a><br />
This song was released two days before Karen and I left for our annual tune up trip, which included the aforementioned mountain escapades. We arrived at Las Vegas so late at night and then had to drive 4 hours to get to Lone Pine, CA. It was one of the most memorable drives of my life, just because of the stark beauty of the desert at night. It was cold and I knew the next day it would skyrocket to over 115 degrees. Such extremes. Such wild beauty. And this song playing while we drove the open road, each of us chasing something, and we're not quite sure what. <br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqnRTfNfUvg">Silver Moon - Roo Panes</a><br />
When we were hiking up Mt. Whitney in the middle of the night, before the day broke we hit the first lake of the trail, and the moon was full and reflecting on the surface of the snowy glacial bowl of water. It was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever stumbled into and this song fit perfectly.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVopZM-aTWLEHe3vsgpQSzPIv1yfEo6gFyceMK4P5O5Xlk6XpJg8ua1ahpoP4T6nJST5z4IWCidVSbbMe91g0WANOfOJQn2k_lfIKOLcUf8ZWbShISldxiOKZwTsr43q7iRHd8/s1600/IMG_20190619_043705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVopZM-aTWLEHe3vsgpQSzPIv1yfEo6gFyceMK4P5O5Xlk6XpJg8ua1ahpoP4T6nJST5z4IWCidVSbbMe91g0WANOfOJQn2k_lfIKOLcUf8ZWbShISldxiOKZwTsr43q7iRHd8/s320/IMG_20190619_043705.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"the silver moon that shines for you" on Mt. Whitney</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McfO0bm7cI8">Rise Up - U2</a><br />
I got a chance to go to Guatemala this year, and it really affected me. I saw a lot, and learned a lot more. I was totally taken out by the amount of brokenness and difficulty in the world, and how a lot of it in Guatemala directly relates to courses of action taken by US-run MNC's as well as the government. To me this song is about being unsure of the next steps, but walking forward anyway, with hope.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO_Ej2SbIWE">Bound - JMR</a><br />
I delved deeply into Virginia's history of slavery this past year, leading a weekend pilgrimage exploring different sites related to different narratives in that history. This song sounds like an updated version of an African-American spiritual or, as they were known back then, "sorrow songs". There is a sadness in the fact that the binding exists in the first place but like Paul in Prison, there is rejoicing despite the chains because their souls never belonged to an earthly master.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIN1O4VlAk7nlA-nMAeta83DsHbd4VuMXuR1zwkXunBMqLaYbVxOgjuJIUms61MqrCYRFHPWjGDPFzmPTvENbIUeBR1xztOoQJIqFyyKBSFeybCUaJSOOHZ7Lu6kopYNC4azhw/s1600/IMG_20190810_100314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIN1O4VlAk7nlA-nMAeta83DsHbd4VuMXuR1zwkXunBMqLaYbVxOgjuJIUms61MqrCYRFHPWjGDPFzmPTvENbIUeBR1xztOoQJIqFyyKBSFeybCUaJSOOHZ7Lu6kopYNC4azhw/s320/IMG_20190810_100314.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning light and serenity on the Portugese Camino</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DczqTCQh8Dk">Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium) - Ola Gjeilo, Tenebrae</a><br />
I listened to this album on repeat every morning on the Camino in Portugal. Every time I would hear this track, anything I was looking at would be imbued with its beauty. I would see the world differently. I was invited deeper into the mystery through the beautiful, ancient words. It's nothing short of a transcendent piece of music.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQOUJ0w9UD4">The Dreamer - Che Apalache</a><br />
A gorgeous bluegrass song about immigration policy in the US? Yes please. I visited the US-Mexico border in October and it was on the heels of seeing many of the townships and villages where people who end up detained at the border are coming from. We heard first-hand accounts of the harrowing desert crossings people attempt, like the one recounted in this song.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8FHGJrJ04N6TC_A0m2pItpHlX86ehHUFVE-uC6zVldPKgBi0pUBF245-Wu0Rz33A-7AkI0ShbiTUk69eKgTTnG1kaE8LuhlF6kJeGAA6hqgoPeWF4GZJhxTYPh_x68qHM6DG/s1600/IMG_20191027_112318_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8FHGJrJ04N6TC_A0m2pItpHlX86ehHUFVE-uC6zVldPKgBi0pUBF245-Wu0Rz33A-7AkI0ShbiTUk69eKgTTnG1kaE8LuhlF6kJeGAA6hqgoPeWF4GZJhxTYPh_x68qHM6DG/s320/IMG_20191027_112318_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greeting children in Mexico from the US side of the border wall in El Paso, TX</td></tr>
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<h3>
Albums of 2019 </h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA6sDKKDx9Q">Stuck - The Aces</a><br />
Love this chick pop rock. I also really appreciate people who will make the move, say the words, define the thing, whether it's bad or good. I'm a person who is usually in control and I often feel stuck in situations where I absolutely don't want that role, I want to see action and ownership in others to know I'm not out there on my own.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYpYtCEc2IE">Unbearably White - Vampire Weekend</a><br />
One of the best albums released in 2019 in my opinion. Strong throughout, I found this track cryptic and fascinating, inimitably Ezra Koenig's handiwork. His newfound faith is something he is clearly still trying to get his head around, and I love how this song is sort of a roundabout way of doing that.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBUF-MdjbLQ">Retrograde - Maggie Rogers</a><br />
My album of 2019 hands down, no contest. My steady companion for most of the year, and enjoyed seeing Maggie perform at the Anthem in the fall. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Yosemite Falls - June</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO2Y5j_X_fU">Pools - Tim Baker</a><br />
Not totally sure how I even came across Tim Baker, but what a great album and what a great writer he is. I love all the stories he tells, and the way you get to meet characters in his life through these songs. He seems like a friendly, regular dude, but so deep too. I recommend giving this whole album a listen.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOOsXRrhEro">Stay - Sharon Van Etten</a><br />
A song about the singer's relationship with her child and mother/child relationships in general. This whole album is deeply thoughtful and sometimes hard to listen to because of that. But another powerful release, and this track really hits home with me because of the new dynamic in my relationship with my own mother over the last two years.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0-mjAB_Mig">Make Art Not Friends - Sturgill Simpson</a><br />
Greetings from the new frontiers of cutting edge alt-country music. Sturgill Simpson is always pushing the envelope with sound and genre and I love it. This album is all power, just like the sweet muscle car that revs up in the opening track "Ronin".<br />
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<h3>
The Dark Side</h3>
<a href="https://sleaterkinney.bandcamp.com/track/hurry-on-home">Hurry on Home - Sleater-Kinney</a><br />
A strong comeback for this incredible rock group this year. I'm almost a little afraid of how much I like this song. It's got that same post-punk, in-your-face, girl-power thing happening for it, but it's also got a dark edge to it. I love the driving, dissonant sound, the heaviness of it. These chicks are badasses, that's for sure.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDfgMOUjCI">bad guy - Billie Eilish</a><br />
Again, there is a dark appeal to this song. She talks about being in control but also about desiring chaos and mayhem, destruction. That disaffected, insolent sound is what is so interesting. The music video has notes of The Exorcist and other horror movies. It's a little scary, but undeniably catchy. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little roadside overlook in the Azores at Sunrise</td></tr>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/l7ZuQsCNlRU">The Prince of the Hanging Gardens - Beatenberg</a><br />
This song captures the ennui, the confusion, the romanticism, and the utter directionless existence of a modern-day millennial trying to make life and relationship decisions. It gets at restlessness. It's not without strong feelings, but it is like a compass spinning without a needle. The lyrics in the song are painfully self-aware and yet remorseless. It's a lethal combination, and a very realistic rendering.<br />
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<h3>
A fitting end...</h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBx76N9tudQ">Where Rainbows Never Die - The Steeldrivers</a><br />
Always late to the party, I have seen The SteelDrivers live, but never with Chris Stapleton at the helm. And I just came across this song this year. What a beautiful song about walking towards the end of life. I find myself ever more attuned to these songs and especially ones with such hope and desire as is on display here. <br />
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<h3>
Last but not least... Sexiest song of 2019 </h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD6kYk0_Gjk">Evergreen - Yebba</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early sunset in Bora Bora</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*These include, but are not limited to: that night in Asbury Park, learning to use an ice axe, driving through Death Valley in the middle of the night under a full moon, getting drenched in the spray of turgid waterfalls at Yosemite, a quiet morning sunrise in the Azores, snuggles with a pit bull, scooting around an island on 120 CCs of pure joy, bonfires, road trips to central Virginia, second-date karaoke, my brother's ordination, movies with my mother, a sunrise run in Santiago Atitlan, walking across the US-Mexico border, late night swimming and talking in perfect waters, the bungalow, reunions with old friends, wedding dancing, rooftop and porch barbeques, biking to Mt Vernon, swimming with sharks, when Bishop Guernsey knocked on the door of the new sanctuary and entered it for the first time, Jenn's fancy dinner party, Dan's fancy dinner party, my not-so-fancy dinner party, drinking too much Midsummer Solstice Gin and watching "Purple Rain" in Minneapolis, paddleboarding at Wrightsville beach and dodging jellyfish, lantern lighting, breaking oaths I don't need to swear by anymore, unleashing the power of no, two bottles of Veuve Cliquot, late night walks under the bridge, February beach retreat, dinner with my boss at a biker bar, Easter-sunrise motorcycle ride, Hallmark movie bingo, walking through vineyards in Portugal, poisson cru, and so much more. </span></div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-60814967666013736922019-11-28T19:29:00.004-08:002020-02-04T15:23:22.120-08:002018: My Year in MusicThe year started out a blur, trying to dismantle a household built over 4 decades. Trying to get my head around the fact that I even had to do it and why.<br />
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I tried so many times to write this post, but every time I would pick it up I just wanted to throw it away. So now, at the end of 2019, with a little time on my hands, I picked up the question of writing it again. I managed to complete 2017's entry a few months ago. And then it only seemed right to complete this one. The playlist was there, and I kept thinking about what I would write if I ever got around to it. And now, I think it's time to face the music (ha!).<br />
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So, here it is. My songs of 2018 with all the beloved color commentary and neuroses you've come to expect from me below the playlist in case you'd like some context for the choices. Enjoy, friends!<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/54OunQEYNrOU3IsxPfjyj5" width="300"></iframe><br />
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<h3>
What I Needed to Hear...</h3>
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"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t5gGm3NWU4">I Know A Place" - MUNA</a><br />
I so needed a place like is being described in this song in 2018. I liked thinking about safe places where I could lay down my weapons and protecting myself all the time and, as cliché as it may sound, to be completely free of responsibility -- untethered. KG and I did our first "tune-up" trip this summer on the heels of a wedding I went to out in Colorado and it was the first time I had felt that untethered feeling in a long time. It healed me in ways I cannot express in words. Big skies, no walls, and the open road feel like the safest places for me these days.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jqY33OeY80">Hearts Beat Loud - Keegan DeWitt (from Hearts Beat Loud OST)</a><br />
I watched this movie on a flight from Nepal to Doha in October at the end of a month-long intense journey that started in Italy and took me through Switzerland, Germany, Kuwait and into the Himalayas. I can't remember a movie that pushed more emotional buttons in me. It's about a father/daughter bonding journey and it revolves around music. I was emotionally weak when I watched it, exhausted and exhilarated from the grand adventure, and this movie and its soundtrack was like a warm blanket of comfort.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CneMUoqpebo">La Marcheuse - Christine and the Queens</a><br />
I have developed a deep, abiding love for very long walks. In the summer, when it's dark and a bit cooler, I would leave my house around 8 and not come back for hours. Something about the rhythm and the movement has been so helpful for me to start to unknot some of the very messy things in me. The Camino was the first time I realized the grace and peace of a long walk, and taking a long time to get somewhere. I think this song gets at that same sentiment, when there are hard things, "easy violence", that have come into your life, sometimes the best thing, or the only thing, is to walk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLyk7p93Wm6pWzIotgnuiJCSkOr_LdWjZMv31SfnsyXUmr1WGsh9qmOc2Z55826dhtczF0BD6sjHvseRwEwfs-GpBwdbexzjhLAkC_vyd-7yjnBbX2totHRxrLF91OoIdgE0N/s1600/P1010169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLyk7p93Wm6pWzIotgnuiJCSkOr_LdWjZMv31SfnsyXUmr1WGsh9qmOc2Z55826dhtczF0BD6sjHvseRwEwfs-GpBwdbexzjhLAkC_vyd-7yjnBbX2totHRxrLF91OoIdgE0N/s320/P1010169.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kilimanjaro Summit Day</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt0QFoqNlBk">Do I Have to Talk You Into It - Spoon</a><br />
I love how Spoon never sounds like anyone else, and that's been true for the 2+ decades they've been at it as a band. Good on ya, boys. It's no easy feat to preserve a unique voice and sound for that long and be committed to it. I admire it so much, and hope for that very same thing in my own life.<br />
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<h3>
Stop you in your tracks beauty...</h3>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRBDbVhYfoQ">Signals - Júníus Meyvant</a><br />
I love the steady beat of this song. I listened to this on the tune-up trip while in the wilds of Utah's canyonlands in high summer and it was perfect. Remind me to tell you about the time on that trip that Bruce Springsteen got me out of a reckless driving ticket and almost got me a date with a highway patrolman.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGvXZ7lv2Oahi5ZjLUPAM62tPhcv_adM3SAsen73LDC_krfjb8KEdBZDo5HnzUF6WITrFuFmYJ5zZpDmcGZZmQlWRyeN8bky5YgB6ej0t2NatVEtArttp0rJRwbwHlmtB9MpI/s1600/P1010232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGvXZ7lv2Oahi5ZjLUPAM62tPhcv_adM3SAsen73LDC_krfjb8KEdBZDo5HnzUF6WITrFuFmYJ5zZpDmcGZZmQlWRyeN8bky5YgB6ej0t2NatVEtArttp0rJRwbwHlmtB9MpI/s320/P1010232.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt Flats - Bonneville Speedweek at Sunrise</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ4B13ngUrY">Ekki Hugsa - ólafur Arnalds</a><br />
Ah how beautiful this song is, an intriguing blend of symphonic and electronic, nostalgic and hopeful. Perfect for listening when staring at a beautiful landscape, preferably one that stretches out endlessly before you that includes water, or lots of snow. Something in it makes my heart swell and lifts me up each time I hear it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAkL-qUHKEs">Songs of Travel 4: Youth and Love - Ralph Vaughan Williams feat. Bryn Terfel</a><br />
Possibly the most gorgeous piano introduction I've ever heard. To me, it sounds exactly like the ephemeral glisten of youth and love. And Bryn Terfel's beautiful, rich baritone above it's dulcet melody is other-worldly.<br />
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<div class="poetry" style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 34.2188px; margin-top: 0.75em;">
<i>To the heart of youth the world is a highwayside.<br />Passing for ever, he fares; and on either hand,<br />Deep in the gardens golden pavilions hide,<br />Nestle in orchard bloom, and far on the level land<br />Call him with lighted lamp in the eventide.</i></div>
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<i>Thick as the stars at night when the moon is down,<br />Pleasures assail him. He to his nobler fate<br />Fares; and but waves a hand as he passes on,<br />Cries but a wayside word to her at the garden gate,<br />Sings but a boyish stave and his face is gone.</i></div>
<div class="poetry" style="margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 34.2188px; margin-top: 0.75em;">
-Robert Louis Stevenson, 1908 </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poon Hill Sunrise - Himalayas</td></tr>
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<h3>
You Get Me...</h3>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlCSW2ICJjQ">Every Time I Hear That Song - Brandi Carlisle</a><br />
Those that love music, and sometimes even people that don't, often have songs associated with moments or people. Music is really special that way and it can also be a curse. I completely feel for Brandi and people in this same boat. There are so many things that I hear in the normal course of life that when I do I am instantly put back into a moment or completely enveloped with thoughts of a specific person I associate with whatever music it is. It's a beautiful thing but also sometimes kind of hard. I've gotten better at the distractions now, but if you ever see me get a faraway look in my eye when we're deep in conversation, you should just tell the place where we are to turn the music down. And, I'm sorry in advance. I promise, if you ask I'll tell you the story. It's usually a good one. And in closing, let's all take a moment to appreciate Brandi Carlile's consistently fantastic songwriting.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qSPYxjBWoE">Lift the Lonely From My Heart - Courtney Marie Andrews</a><br />
In the tradition of the grandes dames of country music like Dolly, Loretta, Patsy, Linda, Bonnie, this song harkens back to a bygone era. I love the retro sound and the unabashed emotion on display. It's perhaps a little too over-the-top for every day listening but every once in a while you just need a good heartbreaker of a song. I read Loretta Lynn's autobiography in 2018 and completely loved it. I also recommend the eponymous biopic starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiNBswDcIHQ">Traveling Alone - Tift Merritt</a><br />
Something I'm getting a lot of experience in these last couple of years, and that I've developed a pretty serious taste for. I first saw Tift Merritt in the pouring rain of <a href="https://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-april-in-country-taught-me.html">a bluegrass festival in western North Carolina</a> with my brother and father in 2013. She caught my ear then and I've been listening to her beautiful voice, pedal steel, and kindred spirit for years.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assisi</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Ve-9vt_54">Wild Fire - Laura Marling</a><br />
Another incredible songwriter, with a powerful, poignant and gorgeous song. "Wouldn't you die to know how you seem? Are you getting away with who you're trying to be?" Those two lines have been rather convicting for me. It's lilting and easy-going sound belies the depth and cutting truth of the sharply observant lyrics.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sfYpolGCu8">Motion Sickness - Phoebe Bridgers</a><br />
Just the right amount of detatched and jaded, Phoebe Bridgers and I got along very well in 2018. She sings raw and revealing lyrics that create evocative imagery but don't force emotion. I like when she sings "I can hardly feel anything, I hardly feel anything at all". The sound of this song was/is to me the sound of struggling with being numb and trying to shake yourself loose from its grip.<br />
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<h3>
Interesting Philosphizing...</h3>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8fVX41-Njg">Keep Yourself Warm - Frightened Rabbit</a><br />
I have thought a lot about where and how sex functions in global culture and experienced so many fascinating and disappointing dynamics around it personally, through friends, and observing in places where I've traveled. I heard once that a functional definition of addiction is trying to meet a legitimate need illegitimately. I think that's kind of the point of this song. Even amidst all the f-bombs and blunt imagery, I think their point is well-taken. Sometimes we expect sex to meet the deeper needs we have, and the act alone cannot really meet them in a way that heals or satisfies, despite the relief it may provide. I tend to take sex pretty seriously and I know that mine is an uncommon viewpoint for the most part, but I appreciate that these guys are at least asking interesting questions about it in their music.<br />
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<a href="https://lucydacus.bandcamp.com/track/nonbeliever">Nonbeliever - Lucy Dacus</a><br />
Another amazing female songwriter, observing the change taking place in a person leaving behind a way of life and a worldview. Those can be painful relational shifts and trying journeys that sometimes lead to the end of a road. I love that it raises questions about her own beliefs and perceptions, but that ultimately she seems unconvinced and also the questions the "nonbeliever" too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swayambhunath - Kathmandu</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxbUpjQoZgw">I Spend Too Much Time In My Room - The Band Camino</a><br />
Perhaps a little too on-the-nose, this song reminds me of how I did a lot of withdrawing in 2018. My room/apartment can function, at different times, like a super fortress (not good) or a sanctuary (good). I like how this pop song stumbles into a deep truth about how depression or sadness can look.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-E8VcIiPtc">No Ordinary Blue - John Prine</a><br />
A beautiful song from a man who is looking clear-eyed at the end of his life. The blue seems to be regret, but also the orange on the horizon speaks of a hope that overtakes the blue. There are empty spaces, but the hope of what lies ahead leads us beyond them, and creates a peaceful expectancy for the great beyond.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nroy1s6VIMw">Wedding in Finisterre - Jens Lekman</a><br />
I love every single thing about this song. It's silly, heartwarming, observant, so fun to dance and sing to, light-hearted and yet thoughtful. I have also found that most of Jens Lekman's songs are like this and they are delight to the ears, the heart, and the mind. He tells great stories in his songs that reveal unexpected jewels of humanity.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6pMBRASfTo">And Death Shall Have No Dominion - Paul Kelly</a><br />
A genius setting of a Dylan Thomas poem to music. I was looking for hope anywhere I could find it in 2018 and I was so grateful to find it in this form. Mr. Kelly has apparently been making music for decades and I never knew about him. A gem. So glad to have him in my life.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ZUrxbyvc8sUTEggnpgQ4RgF7kGAeSlnkhct3S4ryM9Q7jUxueN2rFGTNK_T_sPs71xP6O98qWbWO7OtCOtUCS5Oo577cVSie_Uvq7w6d8EjDOkgWFizv4POkwcvJjPxw5L7/s1600/P1010420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ZUrxbyvc8sUTEggnpgQ4RgF7kGAeSlnkhct3S4ryM9Q7jUxueN2rFGTNK_T_sPs71xP6O98qWbWO7OtCOtUCS5Oo577cVSie_Uvq7w6d8EjDOkgWFizv4POkwcvJjPxw5L7/s320/P1010420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roma - NAC rooftop with the fam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C8BjBG8Kec">Memoria - Sunflower Bean</a><br />
A good song about being a little haunted. I think when we miss someone we sometimes want to feel that space because if we don't feel it, we forget that they're gone. I like them pointing out that there is meaning in the past, whether or not we're completely sure of what it is in the present moment.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Oldies but goodies...</h3>
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQBKUPwG_Gk">Skateaway - Dire Straits</a><br />
Mark Knopfler is probably my favorite guitar player... ever? I don't know. That's a bold claim. Not 100% on that, but I seriously love him. Also, I am somehow deeply connected to the girl who this song was written about, and I kinda wish it was me.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOK3rqVgN2I">"Space Age Love Song" - A Flock of Seagulls</a> <br />
It's the most quintessentially 80s song, but somehow it stands the test of time for me. I heard this because I was watching a TV show and it came on in the background and I loved it, never having heard it before. I am a student of 80s music and that this one slipped past me for so long was an unexpected and welcome surprise. Don't let Mike Score's hair distract you from the amazing synthesizer loops and guitar on reverb (eat your heart out Angels and Airwaves!).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitobyLnn1-aZ_DAyDk1tPdIrRP2ukjb23DAxL9mSebO4LXWnt122pWgCHDkF3u53T5LBsx_RXxbgd936CyGNqeJtFLuJLYDl_7Jl-8KPaZnLYBDWNpfOwlifYivdJPIy5w3MAc/s1600/P1010573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitobyLnn1-aZ_DAyDk1tPdIrRP2ukjb23DAxL9mSebO4LXWnt122pWgCHDkF3u53T5LBsx_RXxbgd936CyGNqeJtFLuJLYDl_7Jl-8KPaZnLYBDWNpfOwlifYivdJPIy5w3MAc/s320/P1010573.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Eibsee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
I desperately need to freak out in my car...</h3>
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EWqTym2cQU">If You Want Blood (You Got it) - AC/DC</a><br />
My "turn it all the way up, get outta my face, go nuts, freak out, dance around, putting on my leather jacket, fire up the Triumph for a cruise, I'm about to lose my mind" anthem. I dare you not to bang the drum beat on your steering wheel.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Oed0UF-t0">A Brand New Life - Panama Wedding</a><br />
I mentioned being "untethered" earlier. This song gets right at that. Don't we all kind of have dreams like this? They're not right for everyone, but in some small way, it's nice to know that other people have this call of the wild in their heart too.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjT9iO-VTcQ">Late Night (It's Okay) - VHS Collection</a><br />
I listened to this on every single car ride back home at night for at least three months. Again, a song about hiding from the world and what it feels like late at night when you can't sleep and things just don't feel right. I like that it says "it's okay". Sometimes I just needed to hide and tell myself exactly those words when I was overwhelmed, overthinking, or freaking out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbS0bywz99gAYTV-UKIMkuwo8XDLnkGhCWY2Zx1sQjgL0hsFzHgaeU9A-AtvCLs88TBUHEoStLLUKyt86tWqy2K3PDrwtGngN7kJDoR3gzv_7AcM1Z03osJHn3z188yuTgOuc/s1600/IMG_0212+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1080" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbS0bywz99gAYTV-UKIMkuwo8XDLnkGhCWY2Zx1sQjgL0hsFzHgaeU9A-AtvCLs88TBUHEoStLLUKyt86tWqy2K3PDrwtGngN7kJDoR3gzv_7AcM1Z03osJHn3z188yuTgOuc/s320/IMG_0212+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuttgart Volksfest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
Sexiest song of the year...</h3>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt--PFwe2Ww">Un Tabaco Para Elegua - Orquestra Akokán</a><br />
No year-end song review from me is complete without my pick in this category, which this track won by a landslide.<br />
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<br />
I'll hopefully be along shortly with the 2019 picks, y'all. Thanks for listening with me!<br />
<br />
<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-81082771160677009492019-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:002020-02-04T15:03:45.474-08:002017: My Year in MusicI did a lot of writing in 2017 but none of it was for public consumption (except for the stuff for <a href="http://inthecoracle.org/author/karla/">Coracle</a>, my side-hustle).<br />
<br />
It is an understatement to say that 2017 was a rough year. And I believe that most of the world would agree with me. So much loss and mayhem, personally and globally, including the sudden and tragic death of my father, I can't make sense of this year fully. I will say that my watchword for 2018 (while 2017's was "faith") will be hope. I am chaining myself to hope for more and better, despite and resulting from the wreckage of 2017. And I hope this not only for myself and my family, but for the world. Despite the colorless debris I continue to sort through, there remains in it a strong sense of invitation that I cannot ignore.<br />
<br />
It is an ominous beginning to the 2017 playlist for sure. Some of the selections are actually fun, I promise. Because that also reflects what this year has been. I traveled all over, including Israel, Canada, and all over Spain, experienced feelings I thought I couldn't feel anymore, and learned so, so much about what it means to live this life. And I'm grateful to be able to narrate the year through music, although for parts of this year music and I had to go on a break. I'm thankful for poets, artists, musicians-- the feelers of this world. I am none of these things and I need them to help provide a sort of map to my own soul, reveal things that are inside, simply by presenting what is inside their own.<br />
<br />
So, here we go.<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/1kpNoOJlvUYb3QJleCxo5S" width="300"></iframe><br />
<br />
<h2>
Songs about Death</h2>
I looked back at lists from previous years and realized that I've been drawn to songs about death for the last couple of years, and the joy that can be associated with it, as well as the sorrow.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-aB5orbG0">Old Churchyard - The Wailin' Jennys</a><br />
A setting of an old hymn of hard-to-trace origin. I went on a wild goose chase to try and find out when and where it was written. I couldn't quite get it save to say that it's old and rural. The Jennys do it again with their gorgeous harmonies and I couldn't stop listening to this once the album was released. The lyrics were a soothing balm.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4jTn51kKLs">Mausoleum - Seryn</a><br />
It was a couple of years ago at a concert that I went to when Seryn debuted this song and I was immediately taken with it. Appropriate, affirming, and life-giving.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkyt-Mb2iiQ">Echoes of Eden - Matthew Perryman Jones</a><br />
Initially what attracted me to this song was the driving beat behind the music. I put this song on my "2017 possibilities" holding playlist (from which I whittle down to create this final cut playlist) on February 7, 2017, 5 months before Dad died. I loved the idea of being whispered to through a shroud -- that's what my dad's voice feels like now. Sometimes I dream about him and I walking and having a conversation. I take these as little gifts, a could-be glimpse into the next realm.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMQFsC0SACo">Death in Reverse - John Mark McMillan</a></div>
<div>
"You love me like death in reverse". Those words have ministered to me time and time again this year. That's an incredible way to describe God's love. And the line about "all the things I do to feel young, they only make me old" convicts. God loves in a way that restores us and affirms who and where we are, and that reverses the curse of sin and death. He is the opposite of those things. It's a beautiful way of stating that. </div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZp-tMk8DQ5GrQP4BsllvU7yyghZoZ6eRs8JgHLzL-RIK2CxNF_s6fGzbCxWkj88e3un_LVl1sPR8IHeUrSGg4TPHsM_lQdDvha-2eBiPw9NVUzF3Zu_N7leHXx6NPDVmzbos/s1600/P1000694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZp-tMk8DQ5GrQP4BsllvU7yyghZoZ6eRs8JgHLzL-RIK2CxNF_s6fGzbCxWkj88e3un_LVl1sPR8IHeUrSGg4TPHsM_lQdDvha-2eBiPw9NVUzF3Zu_N7leHXx6NPDVmzbos/s320/P1000694.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Praia des Catedrales</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Women Who Seem to Know What I'm Feeling</h2>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDiIhwGBIig">Recite Remorse - Waxahatchee</a><br />
"For a moment I was not lost. I was waiting for permission to take off..." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This song seems to me to be about a woman who cannot figure out why she loves things that don't love her back. She always regrets them and yet, she sees very clearly exactly what she is doing every time. This is a feeling I know well. I think this song sounds like a turning point, in that it slowly builds and gets faster and more determined at the end. The regret doesn't feel like it's the end of the story. I think she might actually be learning her lesson now. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejzzO51e4xI">Mythological Beauty - Big Thief</a></div>
"If you wanna leave/You just have to say/You’re all caught up inside/But you know the way"<br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
It's not the lyrics that I connect with in this song. It's the tone: bleary and indifferent. The the flat, driving, disaffected sound of this song is kinda what my emotions have sounded like: detatched, quieted, observant and unmoved. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBzsjga73s">Tilted - Christine and the Queens</a></div>
<div>
I was drawn in to this song by its quizzical structure. She sounds bored ("le tired"?) - the very definition of ennui. I mean, she's french, so I'm not that surprised. And God knows I am bored. I know I'm connecting with the dismissive chorus. "I'm actually good, can't help it if we're tilted" is something I feel all over. There is a boredom and a dissatisfaction with how things are right now, a knowledge that I can't change them, and I just keep going. I'm fine. Things are just tilted, and not as they should be, because of the way the world is. </div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlP99GannuBc7v65HT8F3oyoE8aEWT5mMqu7NhdajDGb6d7NCbM0fOKgO9AWsirSAKatdbPeeRHNeoSUmAEjKH4AzmeVW6PXYaYYRrROUT1KnhTsEe6Rkwy6DqkyCq_uiJ5AH/s1600/P1000426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKlP99GannuBc7v65HT8F3oyoE8aEWT5mMqu7NhdajDGb6d7NCbM0fOKgO9AWsirSAKatdbPeeRHNeoSUmAEjKH4AzmeVW6PXYaYYRrROUT1KnhTsEe6Rkwy6DqkyCq_uiJ5AH/s320/P1000426.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nat and I in Vancouver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TPqUvy1vYU">New York - St. Vincent</a></div>
<div>
Apologies for the explicit lyrics in the chorus. It seems like the person that Annie Clark is singing about is probably an old friend/lover. She's singing about a loss. But sometimes the people we love the most we call mother f***ers and it's because we love them so much. When you can call someone that, but you still genuinely love them, it comes from a hard-won understanding and intimacy. She at once calls them that name but says, you fill this special place in my life and I need you. I've lost many wonderful humans in my life this year, not all to death, and I know losing their presence in my life has affected me. But I wouldn't trade any moment of any of knowing them, despite the pain of loss. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6WRSvpOawSwtBFHkaTgdO6">Watching the Waiting (Jim Eno Sessions) - Wye Oak</a></div>
<div>
I love this version of the song, more stripped down than the original album version. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
"<i>When I move to stand</i><br />
<i>My muscle memory is keeping me up</i><br />
<i>Real memory is also similarly cruel</i><br />
<i>To see his face in front of me</i><br />
<i>Out of the blue, for no reason at all</i>"<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I am waiting for things to even out. Waiting to feel the full force of all that has happened. Waiting for things to reach a different sort of equilibrium on the other side. What even is the other side? Later in the song the lyrics say "And I wonder how this moment could possibly be/ And how much was of my choosing/ And what chose me/ And I couldn't care less/ When it all adds up/ And I feel I am closest to what I really am." This is bizarrely accurate. I know this year is drawing me in to my truest identity. I could never know <i>how</i> that's possible, but I think it is.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYoTcNt01lo41SL3MCgG1qkJM7wvsrTNNkulIFSJrWzDiqFPgw4Jm1clhJGIp6Si_ilwQinVckKz67rKjgeRUyobm78SGsyJ4FLb-TYWYbQ_1RzB4zOWkKG3NPxjd6htgh44H/s1600/P1000112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnYoTcNt01lo41SL3MCgG1qkJM7wvsrTNNkulIFSJrWzDiqFPgw4Jm1clhJGIp6Si_ilwQinVckKz67rKjgeRUyobm78SGsyJ4FLb-TYWYbQ_1RzB4zOWkKG3NPxjd6htgh44H/s320/P1000112.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mallorca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
Songs for Restlessness</h2>
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPbiklLnDQo"> Fire - Beth Ditto</a><br />
Even if this rest of this song was flat and dispassionate, the beat that drops in at the 1:03 mark is enough to make anyone sit up and take notice. Fire indeed.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3kXDMPwfMc">White Flag - Joseph</a><br />
"Burn the white flag." Oh yes, there have been times and situations aplenty when I was ready to wave it high and surrender over the last year. This song reminded me of those choices that we make and how sometimes we just have to yell NO SURRENDER.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1qlK5dF5s4">Thirty - The Weather Station</a><br />
Tamara Linderman says "I wrote the song about that precise moment – joy balanced on the cusp of despair." I left 30 in my rear view a while ago, and I haven't looked back. But I like how in the song she is struggling to make sense of the internal shifts all hitting her at once. She seems attuned and to be highly sensitive to everything around her but also strangely detached. It's an observant, thoughtful song.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqLdOD2yQv4f-NRTR5UAyEMYUNW3Pvd13DKJc6O7Sv4ODH1M6pjPOmj9JPcQZCNH7Nyai0rG3LfN4tI7FlQQFSxNPU8v0AzCrRyKHjQppUQ0QXeY3izIrRngwCJm8J-yR5lJL/s1600/P1000597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtqLdOD2yQv4f-NRTR5UAyEMYUNW3Pvd13DKJc6O7Sv4ODH1M6pjPOmj9JPcQZCNH7Nyai0rG3LfN4tI7FlQQFSxNPU8v0AzCrRyKHjQppUQ0QXeY3izIrRngwCJm8J-yR5lJL/s320/P1000597.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua Tree NP day trip</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<b>Songs for Sadness</b></h2>
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH6Ad8q-kas">The Stable Song - Gregory Alan Isakov</a><br />
I'm not totally sure what he's talking about, or the story behind it, but I can feel this song. I would listen to it late at night while driving home on the GW parkway past the city on the other side of the river. This song always makes me think of wandering, searching, and seeking.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk1rKbb8Ewo">Yellow Eyes - Rayland Baxter</a><br />
What gets me is the entrance of the electric guitar about 5 seconds into the song. It's like a voice coming in and crying before the song even starts. Yes, it's another sad song about someone leaving. LET ME HAVE THIS.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJClIWvVYEhftaGYXmgUr8I2T5xHkMHfO_TAjuQHBqZNZRr_NngHZftNyR7zXesf0pCTHDf7SlXeXNY7Fp5nreeqNJOT-dbKLgKbakyg3pTOBHDm6EsRQCl7NPc_7Q9PpxIsZ/s1600/P1000228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJClIWvVYEhftaGYXmgUr8I2T5xHkMHfO_TAjuQHBqZNZRr_NngHZftNyR7zXesf0pCTHDf7SlXeXNY7Fp5nreeqNJOT-dbKLgKbakyg3pTOBHDm6EsRQCl7NPc_7Q9PpxIsZ/s320/P1000228.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerusalem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<b>Songs to Bring Me Back to the Land of the Living</b></h2>
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hegd4xNfRo">River - Leon Bridges</a><br />
There are lots of songs that use the image of crossing a river, and a hope for forgiveness and wholeness on the other side, signifying the end of a very long journey. I think Leon Bridges' voice is so beautiful and what he's singing about is a good description of the hope I feel surrounding death.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://soundcloud.com/peterbradleyadams/05-my-arms-were-always-around-you">My Arms Were Always Around You</a> - Peter Bradley Adams<br />
My first day on the camino I hiked the hilly pass over the Pyrenees from France into Spain. The day was cloudy and a little bit rainy, especially at the top of the mountains, and it was especially windy up there. It's a strenuous climb up there and I had my rain jacket hanging off my head and draped over my shoulders and my pack, but it was too hot to have it on all the way. I spent a lot of that day missing my dad and having lots of feelings about being alone and needing to be comforted but unsure about reliable sources for comfort. At the top of the pass, shrouded in fog, a brisk wind picked up at just the right angle to pick up the two loosely dangling sleeves of my coat at either side of me and to wrap them around me. It was a mysterious, unmistakable, and much-needed reminder of a God whose arms were always around me, and still are.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BQyok4REkU"><br />
</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BQyok4REkU">The Dark Before the Dawn</a> - Andrew Peterson<br />
A more direct interpretation of the message of hope I needed to hear over and over and over this year. I do believe that pain has purpose. It is not meaningless or arbitrary in its uses. That is a message I clung to, and continue to cling to in 2018.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQ6iRazzco">If I Should Fall Behind (Live at MSG)</a> - Bruce Springsteen<br />
I introduced my dad to this song putting it on a mix CD I made for him for Christmas one year. I listened to it this year thinking of my dad having gone ahead into another part of living and me sort of falling behind. So much departure and me always feeling like I'm not keeping up, it is sweet to listen to words of promise about someone waiting for me for as long as it takes.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP1m28ALWT4">Land of the Living</a> - Matthew Perryman Jones<br />
This is the tone I've wanted to maintain in my life moving in to 2018. It's determined and hopeful but aware of the pain out of which the hope was born. I was living my life with this same awareness before tragedy struck my family, but now it's like I have stepped into this new existence or crossed over into a new land where it's much deeper. I feel the tension between good and evil in me all the time, the tension between mortality and eternity, between real life and little deaths. This song is the song of a man who is well traveled in this land, and who brings songs of encouragement for newcomers to its borders.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Lt00EhQiXTVpbW6YkTOWpZ_wl27wNIjxA_B03vwsn8bkl_g9AgbQ9qv7CDPmLad7w0nQCP2YJ0DFbY-wKP9BkJ4JYO4V-P_7Y539wX2SxaTnG_raKWBSM6OXQ76TpyLPf7tH/s1600/34205849343_cd8eda9583_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Lt00EhQiXTVpbW6YkTOWpZ_wl27wNIjxA_B03vwsn8bkl_g9AgbQ9qv7CDPmLad7w0nQCP2YJ0DFbY-wKP9BkJ4JYO4V-P_7Y539wX2SxaTnG_raKWBSM6OXQ76TpyLPf7tH/s320/34205849343_cd8eda9583_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mooney Falls Ascent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now for some bonus categories. You know how I love these.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Songs Tied to a Place</h2>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQgf50elvZE">Exit - U2</a><br />
Because I went to the Joshua Tree Tour concert at Fed Ex in June with my brothers, my cousins, my boss and his son, and a few other dear friends and it was amazing. I also went to opening night of the tour in Vancouver with Nat. I fell in love with Canada all over again and Mumford and Sons opened.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUFLbEUVJCc">Arizona - Frances Cone</a><br />
Spending Memorial Day weekend in the wilds of Arizona at Havasu falls hiking and camping with a group of strangers who all became friends. I had a ridiculously fun time and loved that I had a song that helped me solidify the images of that gorgeous weekend.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc9rYioj2QM">Barcelona - George Ezra</a><br />
In my second visit to the city in early 2017 I started listening to this song a lot. I like how Barcelona feels more and more familiar to me, and when I go there, I'm not trying to kill myself to see things, I'm just going to hang with friends.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeaDE1magRk">Thinking of a Place - The War on Drugs</a><br />
Listening to this on an evening in the Quantico Haus living room for one of Greg's listening parties and just letting myself flow along with it, and enjoying shared experience with amazing friends. I also saw the band live in 2017, it was my first show at The Anthem, DC's newest live music venue. "I'm moving through the dark/of a long black night/and I'm looking at the moon/and the light it shines."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpETwqOh-LduIxxccEtVokHjUC03J3n5B3BE2LSYeP39aWORhmCFr_Dpi7IvIMPz2i9UfeXaYaDsH1mh9D9LU6INbeFI59QO7vWk3ag-Tx2oTqfzB-Gy7FO9KH-CSKmsvwL8u/s1600/IMG_20171006_093430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpETwqOh-LduIxxccEtVokHjUC03J3n5B3BE2LSYeP39aWORhmCFr_Dpi7IvIMPz2i9UfeXaYaDsH1mh9D9LU6INbeFI59QO7vWk3ag-Tx2oTqfzB-Gy7FO9KH-CSKmsvwL8u/s320/IMG_20171006_093430.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camino Frances - Day 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and everyone's favorite pick...<br />
<h2>
Sexiest Song of 2017</h2>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlDNmkm5cPM">Afterthought - Close Talker</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for following along friends. Sorry I was so late in posting this. I had almost all of this written in late December of 2017, ready to post but for reasons I cannot put my finger on I couldn't bring myself to post it. I simply couldn't do it. It was great to revisit this with the new perspective the last two years has given me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLbYqSEeXoNMIoHhMpvP3XuympQWu7YKzXfrJobDT0lJ5w5pHd4gqP4E0s7h6nQcYsENe5hMz-kur4jGs2AW9EAJZ4tY0rJ8dgNTSm7jlZ4Lxn9U1zBqT54xNnOQXbOlXRqQt/s1600/IMG_9266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLbYqSEeXoNMIoHhMpvP3XuympQWu7YKzXfrJobDT0lJ5w5pHd4gqP4E0s7h6nQcYsENe5hMz-kur4jGs2AW9EAJZ4tY0rJ8dgNTSm7jlZ4Lxn9U1zBqT54xNnOQXbOlXRqQt/s320/IMG_9266.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bocuse D'Or</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
</div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-66507543843523505852018-09-06T19:38:00.000-07:002020-01-02T16:36:21.807-08:00My Mardi Gras ExperimentWhen I was a sophomore in college, I visited one of my best friends who was in school at Loyola New Orleans. I made sure to time my visit to him during Mardi Gras because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I can't think of worse accomodations I have experienced. They were cheap, because I was just a guest of my friend, but I was in suite-style dorm room of 4 college guys who lived in various states of filth. My friend, Brian, fortunately, had a girlfriend at the time so I got to sleep in his bed and he would stay with her. And he had a fairly clean room. But the common areas were...not great. What follows are bullet points I wrote down during the trip and I will try to piece together memories and stories from these bullet points and expand on them as I'm able to, decades later.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k0oM-gwSO8gwCarkYzwbaho9GHH2Rt-sy82107sDhFAss_evnCvLkVpYh-upcUV4VY-YOd8kq2xcF6Gb6RPBIIghdF3v9vtM9ToZyoX4JojUAzYvYp1bi-1DRim0j43uqLP3/s1600/Bourbon+St+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1127" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k0oM-gwSO8gwCarkYzwbaho9GHH2Rt-sy82107sDhFAss_evnCvLkVpYh-upcUV4VY-YOd8kq2xcF6Gb6RPBIIghdF3v9vtM9ToZyoX4JojUAzYvYp1bi-1DRim0j43uqLP3/s320/Bourbon+St+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Day 1 </b><br />
I arrive in New Orleans and take a cab from the airport. We all meet at Brian's dorm and hang out for a bit. Two other girls who we knew from high school were also coming. We all met up and then went to a party at Brian's fraternity that night.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Erica, wasted, pours out her heart to me before passing out under a mattress cover</li>
<li>Brian covered in Jungle Juice could not stop saying "honestly" and "old school"</li>
<li>Brian incapable of walking in a straight line</li>
<li>Erica hitting on Nick Diaz of the Nick Diaz Experiment/Experience. I'm still not sure which one is right. I think it was his band, though I'm not sure about that either. </li>
<li>Erica peeing in someone's front yard</li>
<li>Colin (Nick Diaz's friend) and I bonding about old-school rap tracks. </li>
</ul>
<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttSFvRkPftmTlSYsoXoyLZKhCOE79BIv6p8FaNm_yiNiyYy7loQQltiGYEFLggBPTgZ20-Z17N237sTfGAImUu75k1ltINP6CvM6dy4zXR9XDCZbLOHrkhMBW03kvLLChgMW7/s1600/Sig+Ep+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1127" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttSFvRkPftmTlSYsoXoyLZKhCOE79BIv6p8FaNm_yiNiyYy7loQQltiGYEFLggBPTgZ20-Z17N237sTfGAImUu75k1ltINP6CvM6dy4zXR9XDCZbLOHrkhMBW03kvLLChgMW7/s320/Sig+Ep+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The frat party</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That was such a strange night. Almost immediately, I could see how out of place I was in that environment and with Mardi Gras in general. But I knew I was getting what I bargained for. I really wanted to see if all the stories were true. William and Mary is pretty tame as far as party schools go. And I'm sure that's part of the reason I chose it. I guess I just wanted to see Brian in his native environment and see what his life was like down there. And I definitely wanted to see full-throttle Mardi Gras. I don't ever need to see it again though. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is an interesting theme emerging. I notice that in many aspects of my life, especially when it comes to travel, if someone tells me about a thing I have to experience, I take them at their word and I will do all I can to try and experience it. I have gone FAR out of my way, many many times over, on many different trips, to do things that I remember someone, from somewhere, telling me about one time. Of course this is true with very meaningful people in my life, but I have bent over backwards to do things that people on airplanes told me to do, and I never even knew their names. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is a craving for experience that is prevalent in my life. It still manifests itself today often. I'm not sure what to do with that, but I do think about it a lot.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Day 2 </b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Erica and Brian remember absolutely nothing about the night before</li>
<li>Suzi got smacked in the head with beads</li>
<li>Krewe of Midtown and Bacchus were the parades we saw</li>
<li>we couldn't get a cab to save our lives</li>
<li>Bourbon Street...let us never speak of it again</li>
<li>trying to get real food at Rite-Aid</li>
<li>Metallica and flying down St. Charles downtown</li>
<li>the man in chaps and nothing else on Bourbon St. </li>
<li>Freestyle Simon</li>
<li>Where's Brian?</li>
</ul>
<div>
I remember very little of this day, other than walking to Bourbon Street from campus and seeing the absolute mess the city was in. I'm most sad about not remember who Freestyle Simon was. He sounds like he was probably pretty cool. This was pre-Katrina New Orleans, by the way. Everything smelled, the streets were filthy, so were most of the people, the air was damp and moldy because of stale beer everywhere... it was kinda gross all the way around. Not to mention my living quarters. Sometimes exploring things just isn't all it's cracked up to be. Also, I was doing budget Mardi Gras. College-try Mardi Gras. It was never going to be good. Let's be real. </div>
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Day 3 </b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Riverwalk (boring) </li>
<li>crazy cab drivers</li>
<li>bad waiter at Cafe du Monde</li>
<li>pralines (bright spot!) </li>
<li>Decatur street (beautiful)</li>
<li>poured rain all day</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MUBmxYsA0HoWGsGzTHFFANc6RZ1v7INQ8PFdf-MuhyphenhyphenjRaSLPVyITx-AOd27mS_Z4RoJ32bi5Rl8-gLoprNTitGJG9eNxwVyO67nNF5h8rIdy5tQ45JoFo96-IVBX_tNfWH2l/s1600/parade+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1127" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MUBmxYsA0HoWGsGzTHFFANc6RZ1v7INQ8PFdf-MuhyphenhyphenjRaSLPVyITx-AOd27mS_Z4RoJ32bi5Rl8-gLoprNTitGJG9eNxwVyO67nNF5h8rIdy5tQ45JoFo96-IVBX_tNfWH2l/s320/parade+day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Day 4 </b></div>
</div>
<div>
Actual Mardi Gras</div>
<div>
Beads in all the colors of the rainbow</div>
<div>
I got a Coconut from the Zulu parade!</div>
<div>
there was a guy who was catching beads for me</div>
<div>
CRAZY costumes</div>
<div>
my flight got cancelled. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don't think I've ever been so relieved to leave a place. Suzi and Erica stayed longer in NOLA but I was so glad I was leaving when I did. I got to enjoy a little more of my Spring break at home. And feel clean. I don't think I ever need to see another Mardi Gras. Anywhere. The Caribbean version I experienced, Carnaval, was much better. I'll see if I can add some pictures to this entry to round out what memories I have. But I'm pretty sure I don't have much to offer. I'm not sad I did it. But I'm really glad I went back to NOLA for Brian's wedding a few years later and got to see non-Mardi Gras quiet, and enjoy the city in a different light, with lots more friends, and in a normal hotel room. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-77314072819454370732017-01-18T20:26:00.000-08:002020-02-04T14:16:47.927-08:002016: My Year in MusicHere we go again. I've been curating my playlist for this post since January 1, and now we're already in 2017! We've come a long way, 2016. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The songs of this year fell pretty easily into clear categories. I don't know if my year could be categorized so easily, or even into the same categories, but it was helpful to see how these themes just naturally came forth when I started taking a hard look at this year's selections. And some of them are pretty accurate reflections of my thoughts about what the year has led me through. I've culled this list WAY down from 79 songs, so count yourselves lucky. I could have written about all 79 of them, and many of the ones I cut appear on my "<a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-albums-of-2016.html">Albums of 2016</a>" list, which, I fully admit, is sort of cheating. I tried, really tried, to get it down to 25 songs. But I just couldn't do it. In many ways, this list serves as an archive of my memories for the year, so if a song has a specific memory tied to it, I didn't remove it because I want to remember. This has always, from the beginning, been a project to document the soundtrack of my year, and I'm always so grateful to share it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you think of it, would you share some of your soundtrack to 2016 with me? I'd love to know what you've been listening to. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's my list... </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Auser%3Akjpetty%3Aplaylist%3A6oc0Axz4Ndd6V0XVscZhmK" width="300"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Organized by theme:</div>
<h4>
1) Admitting you have a music documentary problem is the first step to recovery</h4>
<div>
Polk Salad Annie - Tony Joe White</div>
<div>
What Kind of Woman is This? - Buddy Guy</div>
<div>
Sittin' on my Sofa - The Kinks</div>
<div>
Everyday Should be a Holiday - The Dandy Warhols<br />
<br />
Early on in the year, I tackled the Foo Fighters series on HBO called "Sonic Highways". I loved hearing how the different cities inspired different songs for Dave Grohl, and how he could respond so accurately to the culture and musical traditions represented in a given place. So many different stories and personalities could be represented and shaped into new forms by collaborating. I can't get enough of witnessing the way musicians create, and the creative process in general. So it started with the Foo Fighters and Sonic Highways, which led me to dive deep into Tony Joe White and Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters and Allen Toussaint. Then I just started watching all the music documentaries on Netflix and Amazon Prime. So I watched one about the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dandy Warhols feud called Dig! which was a crystallization of the 90s indie rock scene, about which I knew almost nothing. And I watched one about this Boston Globe reporter trying to reunite The Kinks (<i>Do It Again</i>), which you could easily continue your life without seeing. I <i>can</i> and <i>do</i> highly recommend the PBS documentary series <i>Soundbreaking. </i>AMAZING. So, yeah, I have a problem. But it did lead me to some great new genres and artists, and to rediscover or learn more about semi-unfamiliar bands or artists, and that was a very rewarding journey this year. I also have a much deeper appreciation for the people around the music too, producers, studio musicians, engineers, etc. There's too much to say about the different sounds represented in the songs in this section. Too much to say about the bands and the times in history that they represent. I only hope that having the songs here will help me remember all the things that these songs and the ones they are pointing to make me think of, make me love about music, make me appreciate about what people have put forth and how they translate what is in us as humans to sound that people understand on some mystical level. And that we can commune through that across the ages and different histories, understandings, and cultures that we represent as listeners.</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fpqhrsYZ89rwwxogz9enpVvQWXK3R_B7NF48nI4vz1gDx2b3UystiPRHkGWHWm-tghZUO2_60q0Ai6La3el5-RI-zrppypvB35B_vpInVruoTl9nzkCeRNvnQETvWFGbpBNU/s1600/IMG_20160216_114344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fpqhrsYZ89rwwxogz9enpVvQWXK3R_B7NF48nI4vz1gDx2b3UystiPRHkGWHWm-tghZUO2_60q0Ai6La3el5-RI-zrppypvB35B_vpInVruoTl9nzkCeRNvnQETvWFGbpBNU/s320/IMG_20160216_114344.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delaware Water Gap in February</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h4>
<h4>
2) Angry Chick Rock</h4>
<div>
People Have the Power - Patti Smith<br />
A Day for the Hunter/A Day for the Prey - Layla McCalla<br />
Emotions and Math - Margaret Glaspy</div>
<div>
I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore - Lucy Dacus</div>
<div>
Orange Flower - Angelica Garcia</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
At a certain point in the mid 2000s Counting Crows and I broke up because I was so sick of Adam Duritz complaining in his songs. I wanted to pull his dreadlocked head out of the sand and say to his face, "Hey man, ain't nobody got time for your whining! Find something to be grateful about!" I think the difference between these songs and Counting Crows is that there's a fire behind this discontentment that I think belies a hope and pursuit of something better that I never heard in Counting Crows songs. I only heard resignation. These songs engage the anger and the longing. They are funny, passionate, and true. And maybe I feel it more acutely because I, too, am a woman who has problems with men, and the world around me. All of the conflicts represented in these songs, I've had them or I have them or I will have them. Patti Smith's poetry! I believe that her well-crafted words can help "wrestle the earth from fools". Leyla McCalla's cello channels her Haitian folk heritage and plaintively wonders why was she spared from the 2010 earthquake? Why is she still here? And what is she supposed to do now that she is still here in the wake of all that destruction? Pray. Hunt for goodness and call it forth. Margaret Glaspy's emotions and math! We've all run the numbers of exactly how long 'til the person comes back, feeling lots of feelings and thinking too much about things in the space between, and sort of stewing about being in that position in the first place. Lucy Dacus "do[es]n't wanna be funny anymore. [She's] got a too short skirt, maybe [she] can be the cute one." OH man. What witty girl who's been passed over for an objectively hot one hasn't felt that feeling? Angelica Garcia received an orange flower from a guy, who took her out to dinner, paid, and then called her "dude" the next day. So much confusion and ambiguity. So much reticence to commitment and clarity. This is the best lyrical representation of the modern dating scene I have come across. There is edge and power in these songs and still femininity. They were never mutually exclusive and they've never been on better display than this year in music.</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkxDnJqZyaalntPEeb_DG1nap8_zyBFVKpMP-6lE0BALBvHvnzatafo9D4hs9PdOvDbpJGr-QGBQVR5an5iFdFdIrtlpoHTN3mhCP7FIt0IxWuENhevQwNR4mfTGGwogfjq8o/s1600/IMG_20160122_071335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkxDnJqZyaalntPEeb_DG1nap8_zyBFVKpMP-6lE0BALBvHvnzatafo9D4hs9PdOvDbpJGr-QGBQVR5an5iFdFdIrtlpoHTN3mhCP7FIt0IxWuENhevQwNR4mfTGGwogfjq8o/s320/IMG_20160122_071335.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-Blizzard Sunrise - Old Town ALX</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h4>
<h4>
3) Soul, Soul, Soul, Sweet Soul</h4>
<div>
How Long Do I Have to Wait for You? - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings<br />
Good to You - Jonny P</div>
<div>
The Three of Me - William Bell<br />
<br />
If you can sit still during these songs, something inside of you has died. And speaking of died....RIP Sharon (2016 was a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/26/entertainment/musician-deaths-2016-year-music-died/index.html">rough, rough year</a> for losses in the music industry). What a voice and a soul you brought to the stages you performed. These beats, these horn sections, these incredible voices, these smooth sounds. I feel <i>everything</i> about them. And if I could sum up a lesson I want to take away from 2016 it would be this lyric from William Bell: "There was the man I was, the man I am, and the man I want to be...the three of me. I've got to figure out who I wanna be. It took losing your love to make me see, oh, there ain't no room for the three of me."</div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-h4KGkVqg85N8MngEL6q8byOzMyHCD8JMGkobmY2HbIHNEWZSH9hjgPfROcjDDlZc-HHUpeDNXkmjOmQ-ffXfbtwQSt0f6bDnkuKQI04GTy6TfDsLVf6tRwKyOMW3ydbfB-bh/s1600/IMG_20160101_171401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-h4KGkVqg85N8MngEL6q8byOzMyHCD8JMGkobmY2HbIHNEWZSH9hjgPfROcjDDlZc-HHUpeDNXkmjOmQ-ffXfbtwQSt0f6bDnkuKQI04GTy6TfDsLVf6tRwKyOMW3ydbfB-bh/s320/IMG_20160101_171401.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Years Day on the Chesapeake Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h4>
<h4>
4) Country Coming Out Party</h4>
<div>
Springsteen - Eric Church</div>
<div>
Made Up Mind - Tedeschi Trucks</div>
<div>
You Make My Heart Beat Too Fast - Wynonna, Cactus Moser</div>
<div>
Shine a Different Way - Patti Griffin<br />
<br />
This section goes out to SCP! That was this year. I went to see Christ Stapleton and Jason Isbell in concert, for crying out loud. And liked it! One of my favorite memories from this year was sitting on a boat late at night with a bunch of friends over Memorial Day weekend and having a "round robin" DJ experience where we would pass the phone around and everyone would pick a song to play for the group to listen to together. SCP played "Springsteen" and I immediately fell in love with it, just like I did with my high school/college love, the story of whom this song describes perfectly, right down to the Springsteen songs. And, thankfully, how I feel about it now, the distance and the sweet nostalgia of it. Then we go straight into Tedeschi Trucks and THE SEXIEST guitar hook I heard all year. I am also obsessed with Susan Tedeschi and I want to be her. Cactus Moser's slide guitar riff in the next song is so raw (and a close second to Derek Trucks' for sexiness). Wynonna's sassy vocals over it, plus their <a href="http://theboot.com/wynonna-judd-cactus-moser-country-love-stories/">sweet love story</a> behind the whole song, so good. And finally Patti, that lovely vibrato in her voice and those beautiful words she always sings like these: "I’m gonna let it be the moon/ Let it play the tune/ The one that keeps repeating/ I’m gonna let it be your will...". Yeah, if this is country music, I'm really okay with it. </div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
5) Wild Heart</h4>
<div>
Into the Wild - LP</div>
<div>
Alaska - Maggie Rogers</div>
<div>
Wild Animal - Michael Tolcher<br />
Painting (Masterpiece) - Lewis Del Mar</div>
<div>
Chillin' On the Beach with My Best Friend Jesus Christ - Susto</div>
<div>
Canary Cage - The Whistles and the Bells<br />
<br />
Something inside me woke up this year. It's always been there. I've known about its existence but never felt it activated. But this year it woke UP. I've had an insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure, especially as regards my faith and the lengths of where God is and wants to be on earth. I crave the wild, especially after possibly the best 5 days of my life camping and hiking solo in the wilds of Banff and Jasper National Parks this summer. LP always sounds epic and this song is just the anthem I want to play every time I grab my shoes and hit the trails. Maggie Rogers' song is just beautiful. "I walked off you, and I walked off an old me". Yes. So often when we go on journeys, that's what we are trying to do. The Michael Tolcher song basically sums up how I felt when I got home from China. I was so fed up with inauthenticity and sameness. I felt acutely the crushing weight of things that aren't living into their truest selves, and the burden of saving face and keeping up appearances. I don't think the song is produced particularly well but I just really appreciate the chorus: "Don't dress me up like a puppet, no, I'm an animal. Runnin' wild on this planet, dammit, burnin' from my soul." I saw him perform it live and I think it was better in the stripped down, acoustic form but the sentiment is the same. Burn from your soul! And if you're doing that, then watch out world! I connected with these songs so much because of that. And also, not taking myself too seriously and feeling okay, within the freedom of Christianity and a loving God, to doubt and to talk to him about it. Lewis Del Mar's "Masterpiece" makes me happy to think of getting a vision and throwing paint on the walls, because I see the colors and they just have to be there. I think the last songs speak of an untethered comfort with Christ, in which we trust so fully that we can then act and move freely and see him as a friend with whom one can enjoy Bud Light! I don't think Susto is in any way being offensive or facetious about their words, though the song might sound a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's real, and it's fun and Christ is both of those things too! He CREATED laughter, and, if you want to go there... beer. "Canary Cage" talks about that doubt, and Job, and bad things but faith through them. God is wild, and fierce, but understands too, and can stand up to your doubt. Come with your questions and God will welcome you in all the same.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7riUjoLaSimdHT_WPZLLM2MW3E0GbJONLkbtJPww3DPfwWmIoXML_uukynNiOC1D2js7uu-vUzzNfoElXS3GX7jZ_6YS3pbVdUB3_eGld7wcSW2V5d58EPDGNQMpU_2SpHNwb/s1600/P1020606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7riUjoLaSimdHT_WPZLLM2MW3E0GbJONLkbtJPww3DPfwWmIoXML_uukynNiOC1D2js7uu-vUzzNfoElXS3GX7jZ_6YS3pbVdUB3_eGld7wcSW2V5d58EPDGNQMpU_2SpHNwb/s320/P1020606.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mongolia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h4>
6) Self-destructive behavior</h4>
<div>
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk - Rufus Wainwright</div>
<div>
Perfect - One Direction</div>
<div>
I'm Not Feeling It Anymore - Van Morrison</div>
<div>
I Need A Forest Fire - Bon Iver, James Blake<br />
Turn Our Eyes Away - Ruby Amanfu, Trent Dabbs<br />
<br />
The reason I'm almost a month late with this post is because of this section right here. As soon as I recognized that this was a theme of 2016 (and these were the songs that showed it to me, loud and clear) I didn't want to own that. I got to this section to write it and just stopped cold, and couldn't pick it up for three weeks. It's too true and I don't want it to be an accurate description of where I am. In college I used to love the lilting piano, funhouse sound of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk".<br />
Listening to it again this year it felt painfully accurate. "Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me...". And then I heard the song "Perfect" by One Direction which concurrently made me very angry as well as making me sad because I know that what the singer(s) of the song is/are offering is something meaningless, with high social-media/selfie value, reckless and ultimately destructive....but probably at least a little bit fun while it's happening. Maybe a lot fun. I really want that but also really don't want that. How do both exist at the same time? That's something I'm thinking a lot about in 2017. Van Morrison gives an honest rendition of what I think fame must be like. And probably what it feels like when you come down on the other side of a relationship like the one described in One Direction's song. The harsh light of reality glaringly reveals the emptiness of what we get caught up in when it comes to fame and celebrity. What Van is talking about in this song is that disillusionment that comes when you can finally free yourself of the confines of caring what other people think and pursue truth, and truth alone. That's admirable, and I want to be able to do that. I think one of the first steps of that journey is what James Blake and Justin Vernon talk about in "I Need a Forest Fire". I absolutely love this song in large part because of the recurring image of the forest fire. I think about how important forest fires are to keeping a forest healthy and how they're so destructive and awful during them, but they need to happen! Rangers set controlled burns to keep forests thriving and I cling to that metaphor when I feel like there is something in me that I know needs to go. I like that it doesn't just say just because it is in you it must be true or good. We do have things in us that aren't good and need to be cleared away, maybe even with a metaphorical fire. And I had to end the section with the bittersweet ballad of sad hope by Ruby Amanfu. It acknowledges the brokenness in us, but it is also brave and confident too, which is sort of how I feel about my own personal situation, mostly because of grace. </div>
</div>
<h4>
<b></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMGQU3Lq1WDOxao_koBpVL_yc2_J51E1zbFaOhzr7ZlHOcSg2mIMOaPeAG-OhyphenhyphensF7MQBRuormz0igLDCg0nRw1xvTaDnGi6zbBiyyjBn6kWxcSMDrdfzwUhbMUpk-KWWKdODB/s1600/P1020439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMGQU3Lq1WDOxao_koBpVL_yc2_J51E1zbFaOhzr7ZlHOcSg2mIMOaPeAG-OhyphenhyphensF7MQBRuormz0igLDCg0nRw1xvTaDnGi6zbBiyyjBn6kWxcSMDrdfzwUhbMUpk-KWWKdODB/s320/P1020439.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Moraine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><b></b></h4>
<h4>
<b>7) Nothing New Under the Sun/80s child forever</b></h4>
<div>
A Change of Heart - The 1975</div>
<div>
Oblivious - Miniature Tigers</div>
<div>
Love is a Stranger - Eurythmics</div>
<div>
Atmosphere - Joy Division<br />
<br />
If I listened to all of these without any contextual knowledge, I would be hard-pressed to separate which songs came from which decade. The first two are from the 21st century, the second two are from the illustrious dawn of the synthesizer, and I love them equally. More evidence that music is just doubling back on itself, (in addition to the new retro, and newgrass) I can't be mad. I have always had a soft spot for the strange sounds of experimental 80s synth-pop and I've never appreciated the Eurythmics more. I really DON'T like "Sweet Dreams", probably because of strong association with Marilyn Manson, but "Love is a Stranger" is awesome! Annie Lennox's voice is a force to be reckoned with. And I am awarding The 1975 the quirkiest lyrics prize for 2016. I am continuously amused by these lines:<br />
<br />
<i>You smashed a glass into pieces/ That's around the time I left <br />When you were coming across as clever/ Then you lit the wrong end of a cigarette <br />You said I'm full of diseases/ Your eyes were full of regret <br />And then you took a picture of your salad / And put it on the Internet</i></div>
<div>
<br />
It's a sardonic and removed look at what I'm sure was a real interaction that took place with the writer and a girl at some point. The overall callousness of this song doesn't sit well with me but I'm oddly fascinated by it. The Miniature Tigers could literally be a hit band 30 years ago. However, they are a band today! And I really like this song for its 80s overtones. And then Joy Division. Well, many of us owed a large portion of our entertainment in 2016 to Stranger Things and I was very appreciative of the soundtrack, which included this song. It's rare that a song is led by a bass line and such a strange voice becomes so captivating. I love how weird and interesting it all sounds. So thankful for the break from Drake, Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Ariana Grande, and J. Beebs who are all pretty much sounding the same to me these days. </div>
<h4>
<b></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9xqHmAUU_VtFxhP0_Jrg2zcBKS6Pgw3II6Y_oXMk0tFUtX9VfEM1mgyQo8PObDKOPRECJJNCMEFtIOUokNBC3vv7SKPr6uG0hn9lqG11O4MiUVGgGdzpjLGjNwVIKkL5v_IM/s1600/P1020410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9xqHmAUU_VtFxhP0_Jrg2zcBKS6Pgw3II6Y_oXMk0tFUtX9VfEM1mgyQo8PObDKOPRECJJNCMEFtIOUokNBC3vv7SKPr6uG0hn9lqG11O4MiUVGgGdzpjLGjNwVIKkL5v_IM/s320/P1020410.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h4>
<h4>
<b></b></h4>
<h4>
<b>8) Ear Candy</b> </h4>
<div>
Warm Foothills - Alt-J</div>
<div>
Side Pony - Lake Street Dive</div>
<div>
Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya</div>
<div>
Jonti - Wild Cub</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These are just fun picks that sounded innovative and fun to me this year, that I really couldn't stop playing. I don't really have much to say about them other than that. They are infectious, layered, and wildly different from each other. Variety is the spice of life, n'est-ce pas?<br />
<br />
As always my friend, wishing you a year filled with amazing music, in which you find truth, beauty and joy. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-68936835330809873972017-01-18T20:25:00.000-08:002017-01-18T20:27:21.396-08:00My Albums of 2016<div class="tr_bq">
And so here are the albums that played a big part in my year in 2016. They aren't in any order or organization. I just loved these bodies of work and the artists who made them. Let's dive in, shall we?</div>
<br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Auser%3Akjpetty%3Aplaylist%3A7fFfTZi0cqNi17T5RQ8XfA" width="300"></iframe><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Bon Iver - 22, A Million</b><br />
Sonically, I think this was probably the most interesting and beautiful album released this year. Justin Vernon has a head for laying down tracks and paints these rich canvases of sound that I can listen to over and over. It took me a while to get into this record but once I finally put it on in my house on a cold winter night and spent some time with it, I really heard it and started to love it. It was 8 (circle) that initially grabbed me. The horn arrangements on this record alone. Haunting. This is an expected choice. This was on everyone's list this year and I believe it deserves a place among the best musical contributions of 2016 for sure.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Lori McKenna - The Bird and the Rifle</b><br />
Definitely my favorite album lyrically of 2016. You have likely heard Lori McKenna songs, but someone else was singing them, like maybe Tim McGraw, or Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Alison Krauss, or Faith Hill? I hadn't heard anything she had written until I came across this album this year. I listened to the first track, "Wreck You" and my jaw dropped. I don't know if I've ever heard such an honest set of lyrics. On her website, Lori is quoted as saying<br />
<blockquote>
<i>My words are front porch, kitchen, there's always a car in there... but that is where our greatest conversations happen––sitting in the front seat of someone’s car in the driveway when we should have gotten out 15 minutes ago.</i></blockquote>
It's rare that I connect so completely with a sound and lyrics but hers really hit home with me. And maybe, I almost hope, that she personally hasn't walked through everything she writes about but goodness can she put words to a feeling. And her voice isn't perfect. I love that there is imperfection and insecurity in her voice -- makes me love it all the more. <br />
<br />
<b>Front Country - Sake of the Sound</b><br />
I lose track of where I am in time when I hear this record. It's stripped down, full of pure country bluegrass, and sounds like it was recorded in someone's bathroom. It has a fantastic raw quality to it, but the songs are classic, rooted in tradition. Beautiful banjo, fiddle and mandolin arrangements sound like clear mountain streams and make me want to run away to the mountains and leave this city life behind every time I hear them. <br />
<br />
<b>Tedeschi Trucks - Let Me Get By</b><br />
One of the few bands to be on both my albums and <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2017_01_01_archive.html">songs of 2016</a> list. Susan and Derek just really got me this year. Susan's voice is absolutely incredible, sounds like what bourbon tastes like to me: smoky and complex, with a sultry quality to it. Their show at Wolf Trap this summer was one of my favorites of the year. And Derek Trucks' guitar riffs are enough to make anyone sit up and notice. One of the most talented players out there today, IMHO. Not a track on this album I don't really enjoy listening to.<br />
<br />
<b>Shovels and Rope - Little Seeds</b><br />
Another favorite show of 2016 at 9:30 club. The harmonies and the country/rock marriage of Michael and Cary Ann work together so well. I listened to this album a ton as I was cleaning or cooking in the apartment this year. It feels jangly and loose and would relax me at the end of ridiculous days when I was too uptight about my to-do list. <br />
<br />
<b>Jared and the Mill - Life We Chose</b><br />
A sweet band of beautiful men from Phoenix, AZ. I saw them at Jammin' Java by myself on a Sunday night in summer and they played way past they were supposed to be shut down due to noise regulations in Vienna, so they just unplugged and played a whole acoustic set on the floor with all of us around them. The plinking banjo sound and beautiful melodies, with relatable lyrics. I know what that search in your 20s for meaning and self-realization feels like. Some people never come out of it. But this is the sound of it, without a doubt. And I love it, both for its nostalgia and the sweetness of its tarnished but still intact naïveté. <br />
<br />
<b>Frank Turner - Positive Songs for Negative People</b><br />
Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls actually opened for Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton at Merriweather Post Pavilion this summer. Yeah, I was surprised to. Frank has a pretty great story about being a punk rocker and then kind of turning the tide to his current sound after his post-hardcore band Million Dead broke up. He cites Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" album as a big influence in the change in his career and I think you can hear it. He's got a great message in his music and I just loved his stage presence and the way he approaches his career. He's funny and writes really good, fun, and honest songs.<br />
<br />
<b>Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter</b><br />
A great show enjoyed at the Hamilton with KG. She sings her heart out and since I have just returned from Nashville where I toured the Ryman auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame, I can see exactly where she gets her sound from. She has gone back to the roots of the old female greats of country like Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette, perhaps without the domestic abuse problems. She has stepped back in time and I liked listening to this album. I should try listening to some of the originals next to Margo and see how they compare side by side. 2017 project idea!<br />
<br />
<b>C.W. Stoneking - Gon' Boogaloo</b><br />
Because it's just so swampy and dirty and fuzzy. If you can figure out the time signature during the verses on The Jungle Swing, you are a better person than I, my friend. What the heck is happening with those rhythms? Whatever it is, I want more of it. <br />
<br />
<b>Gregory Porter - Take Me to the Alley</b><br />
Oh Gregory, sing to me. Anything. Sing the <i>phonebook</i> to me. But sure, if you want to write a song about how Jesus looks for those in the alleys and not in the gilded houses, and says "take me to the afflicted ones, take me to the lonely ones that somehow lost their way", that's okay too. Or you can also sing beautiful original love songs too. I accept. <br />
<br />
<b>River Whyless - We All the Light</b><br />
Not quite bluegrass, not quite country, not quite rock, not quite The Beatles' <i>Revolver,</i> but certainly heavily intertwining all of the above. There is a lot going on in their songs and this was another stellar Jammin' Java show I went to this summer. They played with heart and soul and have a unique sound that is really hard to do in an era where everything sounds like a remake of something else, old or new. They're from NC too, which I have to tip my hat to. <br />
<br />
<b>Julien Baker - Sprained Ankle </b><br />
One of my biggest live disappointments of 2016, I saw Julien at U St. Music Hall and she was great but the sound system was terrible and really got in the way of her performance. She soldiered through like a champ but didn't do an encore and practically ran off stage at the end without saying anything. I could barely hear her and there was tons of feedback. But her album, thankfully more professionally produced, is full of songs about struggling to find faith, and meaning, and love in the midst of sadness and addiction. It's beautiful. I can't wait for more from her this year. She's so young, it's hard to imagine having lived what she has by the tender age of 21. <br />
<br />
<b>Andrew Peterson - Burning Edge of Dawn</b><br />
Andrew Peterson is one of my favorite poets, and just happens to be great at putting poetry to music. I LOVE his lyrics, and I love how he "smuggles in the light" to a world where there is a lot of darkness. I love how he sees the world through which he walks, and how he is moved to tears often by brokenness but is never discouraged for long, and always returns to hope. Sometimes the sound can get a little cheesy and Christian-y for me, but by and large he is one of the most consistently good Christian artists and I return to him, if not just for the sheer beauty of the sentiments expressed through his lyrics.<br />
<br />
<b>Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book</b><br />
Listening to this album is like going to a church where they love curse words. I definitely get the sound of the Sunday choir all throughout this, but it's not shying away from language and raw expression in lyrical flow. I love how this guy thinks and rhymes and I love how this album was produced. It's full of great questions and honesty and he just lays his life out to consider with us via these tracks. I felt like I was having a conversation with him while I listened to this album. I felt invited in to his world and that is not easy to accomplish.<br />
<br />
<b>Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger</b><br />
I saw Paul this summer at Wolf Trap and it was one of the top five best concerts I have ever seen in my life. He is one of our best songwriters, ever. His band is incredible and he infuses so many different world musical traditions into his songs and writes such interesting lyrics, he is just on another level. I can't remember the specifics of the concert that night really, other than I was sitting there on a perfect summer night just hoping it would never, ever end. I love the themes he explores in his music, both sonically and lyrically and he never fails to break ground in what he's doing.<br />
<br />
<b>Honorable Mentions:</b><br />
Anderson .Paak - Malibu<br />
Raury - All We NeedKarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-9768460873024193082016-12-19T12:01:00.001-08:002016-12-19T12:01:04.551-08:00Jesus at the 9:30 clubI've been to over 100 shows at the 9:30 club in DC. It's my most-attended venue and one of my favorites in the city. It's a venue that artists love to play as well. Many of the bands I've had a chance to talk to always list 9:30 club as a "we've made it" gig, and often comment on the special feeling they get playing there.<br />
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Tonight was one of the best shows I've ever seen at the intersection of 9th and V St NW. The Lone Bellow brought spirit, the Holy Spirit, to that already spiritual room. I felt like I was in a revival tent. I've seen the Lone Bellow in three other venues in DC: DC 9, the Hamilton, and the Landmark Festival. Each time they thoughtfully constructed their set list and played to their strengths given their environment. But this gig everyone was firing on all cylinders. The 9:30 club was doing what it was created to do, and Lone Bellow was doing what they were created to do, and the audience was treated to a show of power and beauty such that everyone there, spiritual or not, knew something special was happening. <br />
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I had a rough night the night before the concert. I ate too much before going to bed, and I was groggy and super tired from hosting an event. The thought crossed my mind multiple times to cancel. To the point where I picked up the phone and started the text message, TWICE. But then my friend who bought the tickets beat me to the punch and sent an excited e-mail to our group of four ladies about plans for the evening. It was a rare treat that these particular four ladies would come together. We had a great group and it's such a great band, I gave in. I sent a lame e-mail hedging that I would probably leave early and that I was in low spirits, and that were it not for their collective awesomeness, I would have waved the white flag of surrender with no regrets. <br />
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I'm so glad I didn't. It was a night steeped in deep meaning and God and I were talking the whole time. And it came on the heels of a day that felt so dry, like a wasteland, all day. Just bitter tasting, and with no respite.<br />
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Specifically I remember during the song "Watch Over Us" the whole club was humming the background part while Brian, Zach and Kanene did their harmonies and put all of their souls into the words. Brian just about lost his mind on stage he loved the audience singing so much. and we could all feel it out there in the crowd too. We could all feel the same united spirit. We were humming the same notes together and it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. I was talking with someone recently about being at two <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2010/06/catching-fever.html">world</a> <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2014/07/world-cup-brazil-2014-recife.html">cups</a> and soccer as this crazy uniting force in the world. People come together around things and when they do, it is insanely powerful. I've seen this so often in music. When I talk to people about songs they love that I love, I feel a connection with them on a level of understanding that goes beyond words. I feel like our souls are literally being bound together. God was really there at the 9:30 club. I know I've felt crazy things happening there before but I've never really felt Him like that there before. It was amazing. I would talk about the whole set list, I would rapture more, but I just wanted to record what that night felt like, humming with 1500 other people to the same notes, harmonizing and connecting in a shared moment. There is beauty in this world. Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-10914977012097444532016-12-19T11:49:00.000-08:002020-02-04T15:25:50.665-08:00Are we listening? <div style="max-width:854px"><div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/meklit_hadero_the_unexpected_beauty_of_everyday_sounds" width="854" height="480" style="position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><br />
To me, the above video is 13 minutes of proof that God is everywhere and in everything. Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-29111741725567229562016-09-30T08:39:00.000-07:002020-05-30T08:39:45.405-07:00Into the Mongolian Wilderness<br />
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We left the city and that took quite a while, but once we got out, we were on a highway, passed a GIGANTIC monument to Genghis Khan, and then turned down a gravel road and into the highlands of Mongolia. We drove for two more hours through some of the most sweeping and gorgeous, remote landscapes I have ever seen and arrived at our ger camp just before dinner. We pulled up a hill to a grassy overlook area and parked the car. We were greeted by staff, and then, I kid you not, a yak was fetched to bring our luggage to our tent/room. I should take a moment to say here that I found the Mongolian people all to be very beautiful. They have high cheekbones and a ruddiness to their complexion that is gorgeous. Their faces are round but structured and they have uniformly kind eyes, slanted up and out. Everyone I saw seemed like they had been born in the region except for two people at our camp, and it was truly lovely to interact with such beautiful people, inside and out. Our beautifully appointed, round felt structure with wooden floors greeted us with colorful accents and a wood stove in the middle of the room for heat. We got settled and then went into the dining room for a surprisingly delicious dinner with a dessert that was like a delicious coconut cashew bar, reminiscent of halvah and other middle eastern delicacies sweetened with honey.<br />
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We had a roaring fire in our ger that night and were both super tired from not getting a lot of sleep on the train. We went to bed fairly early. The next morning I woke up in time for sunrise and a misty morning with clouds resting in the valley. After a sweet time in a still morning, I went in and had breakfast and then Cara and I walked around the gorgeous valley by the river. I had arranged for a horseback ride that afternoon and around 3pm I set off with a guide who spoke not one word of english. He would look back at me every once in a while and check but we couldn’t talk about anything and Cara wasn’t there so I was basically just kind of stuck on a horse at the mercy of this guide for three hours. It was beautiful countryside and I did enjoy the ride but I wish I could have asked where we were going, what we were seeing, negotiated our route, etc.<br />
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I came back that evening and two new guests had arrived, two Norwegian women, Barbara and Janet. Cara had already met them and we chatted with them a bit at dinner. There is a communal dining ger, and everyone eats together at the same times. There was a group of 10 people traveling in Mongolia for birdwatching. They were there the same nights as we were and it was one of the highlights of my day each evening when we had all finished dinner to see them all take out their sheets and compare their sightings and tallies. They were so adorably dorky and passionate about their birds and which ones they saw! I loved it.<br />
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That night I asked for a bonfire to be built in the fire pit just a little ways away from the gers in the meadow. That got going after dinner around 9pm and it was far and away the best night of our stay. The skies were absolutely clear and once it got dark, there was a sickle moon and a sky exploding with stars. I have never in my life seen a night sky like that. I couldn’t look away and my neck hurt the next day because of it. I could see the milky way clearly, and so many constellations, and the stars twinkling in their beauty. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. It was perfection under that sky by a roaring bonfire on a cold night. Our Norwegian friends came and shared the bonfire with us and we enjoyed a continued chat with them, and we were also joined by the leader of the birdwatching group who has quite an interesting story to his life. This trip has been so great for meeting people. Cara is the best at that. In Beijing she was connecting with cab drivers, random people in airports, people in shops, vendors, waiters, it’s pretty amazing. I went to bed that night under my heavy pile of thick wool blankets to the sound of a slowly dying fire in a state of deep gratitude.<br />
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I had one of the most pleasant awakenings of my life the next morning. It was still dark outside and I awoke to the sound of the fire attendant coming to our ger to start the fire at 6am. I could feel that the room was very cold and she started the fire very quickly and quietly and left softly as she came. Soon there was a crackling, roaring blaze in the stove, pumping heat into the room. In darkness I watched the fire blaze through the grate on the stove, and throw dancing orange shadows on the felt wall. I listened to the beautiful music of the crackling heat burning, and enjoyed the weight of the covers around me, feeling safe and warm in a desolate and cold, but beautiful place.<br />
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When I could see the light starting to grow I woke up in my nice warm tent, and bundled up to go outside and watch the sunrise. I walked to the place where we had built the bonfire the night before and sat down on a log. the gray light turned to rosy pink, then to flaming magenta, and then the golden sun started to shine on the hills in the valley around the camp. There is at least 10 miles of visibility in every direction except south where we were. The sweeping views and big sky make my heart beat with renewed strength. After watching the sunrise I went and chatted with Cara as she woke up and got ready for breakfast. Then we had another delicious meal that included a fried bread that looked a bit like Naan but had the texture of a very light funnel cake. It was kind of chewy but light and just a touch sweet. It was so delicious. Might have been my favorite thing I ate all week.<br />
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After breakfast Cara and I and the Norwegians set out on our Yak cart rafting adventure. We hiked about 4 miles to the spot where the rafts get put in. The yak cart followed us, carrying the raft and we had two guides with us. Barbara and I chatted the whole way about about range of topics, and Janet and Cara did the same. Barbara shared with me that she’s into shamanism and was partially in Mongolia on a quest to find a shaman. She has three spirit guides, one of whom is an indian man who walks directly beside her always, and two of whom follow her often. She’s also a healer and has studied the art extensively. We reached the river and the guides unloaded the cart and put the boat in. Janet made a comment about how it should just be called “rafting” because the yak cart really didn’t do anything except pull the boat down to the water and we didn’t really interact with it beyond that. We had seen pictures were the yak actually pulls the raft down the river but I guess that was not our lot this time. We took our places on the raft and the two guides sat on the back with their feet in the frigid water, and we set off back down the river. Janet was hilarious. On the boat we were talking about men and she was lamenting the shortage of good men in Norway. I told her I thought pretty much all Scandanavian men were good looking and she was like, "no WAY. Only Swedish guys are cute, Norwegian guys are no good." And then she said all the Asian guys were too short for her (she’s very tall, over 6 feet) and she said, it would be a shame to have a meter and a half of mismatched space in the bed, too cold in a Norwegian winter. Cracked me up. Also at one point our guides starting singing, and then all of us decided to sing. I selected “Proud Mary” because we were, after all, rollin’ on the river. The water levels were fairly low so in a few places we got a bit stuck, but we did move along at a nice clip and it was fun to paddle and steer the raft. It was a lovely morning! The river and the views from it were gorgeous and I could have imagined taking a much longer trip on the raft and it being amazing.<br />
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We got back to the camp around 1 and ate a hot lunch which felt great after the cold wind and the cold water around us. After lunch we arranged to have a visit to a ger sauna that evening down by the river at 5pm to give us a free afternoon. I went for a long run deep into the southern valley all the way back until the road went up into the mountain pass. I ran for almost two hours and never saw another person, just cows, horses, gophers, chipmunks, and magpies. The morning had been overcast with little bits of rain, but the afternoon the sun broke through every once in a while and each time it did it set the hills shining with the most beautiful glow. And the sky was SO blue. I was in heaven. I could have run forever. It felt amazing to go back and back and back on that road further into this unknown place and it opening up before me. I got back right at 5pm and saw Cara, who was ready to go down to the ger sauna. Our camp was at the top of a plateau at a middle altitude in the surrounding valley, the hill leading directly down to the river. We walked down the hill and reached the bank of the river and found a man there waiting for us by the tent which was pumping serious heat from the looks of the chimney in the roof. The attendant guy showed us the sauna and Cara and I entered. Much to my delight, it was very hot and felt just like a regular sauna. The wood stove in the middle of the room was going at full force and I started sweating almost immediately. After a long run and some hard and hilly hiking, it felt absolutely great to be in there and relax. I could hear outside that the man and one or two of his friends were just hanging out there, waiting for us to see if there was anything we needed or to tend to the fire. My idea for the outing was to be, like most times I find myself in a sauna, unaccompanied, especially by men. I really wanted to take a nice dip in the river without any clothes on, since skinny-dipping is my favorite. I also didn’t want to wear many clothes in the sauna either and I was afraid that the guy was going to come in to check on us and get more than he bargained for… so although I was worried about seeming rude, I put on my clothes, stepped outside and asked if he would go.<br />
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One of the biggest problems with the more off-the-beaten path destinations is communication. In Mongolia, we encountered so few english speakers that we couldn’t really ask any questions or express our desires or thoughts to anyone around us. It’s a difficult place to be in. So when I interacted with the staff at the camp or with any of the local people I encountered, not just in Mongolia but in Beijing too, I largely had to use gestures. I found myself thinking what I would use to ask this man to leave. I came out and he was sitting there with two friends, lazing around and napping by the yak and the cart from earlier that day. He seemed immediately concerned and motioned about the fire inside, I think asking if the temperature was okay and seeing if I wanted him to come in and tend to it. I motioned to the tent and gave a thumbs up, saying no no no. Cara would have been mortified to have him enter. Then I motioned and then waved my hands towards the hills, saying “you, go?”. I was so extremely self-conscious doing this. I felt all high and mighty, telling this man to leave me be but I would have been so sad if I hadn’t been able to get in that river unencumbered. So I asked and he almost immediately understood. He nodded and said, “Yes, bye!” and then he and his friends left. I was elated.<br />
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After about 5 minutes more in the sauna, I was ready to take a plunge into the river. I steeled myself for the bracing cold I was about to feel. Then I ran outside and plopped straight down into the swift but shallow current. It took my breath away it was so freezing! But it felt amazing. I could barely stand more than about 5 seconds or so, and I didn’t go all the way under because it was so shallow but I went in up to my shoulders by doing basically a push-up plan on the rocky riverbed. Then I ran back into the super-hot tent and warmed up, laughing hysterically and feeling the pins and needles of my skin and blood reacting to the extreme temperature change. What a lovely sensation. I convinced Cara to try it too. We did it together two or three more times, each time I felt more an more brave and stayed in a little bit longer. Each time the warmth of the sauna welcomed us back and each time I laughed and laughed at the joy of being able to have such a fun experience.<br />
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After the ger sauna we climbed back up the hill to the camp and had dinner. The night was overcast so there were, very sadly, no stars to gaze at. It was very cold and windy in camp that night and Cara and I spent a long time in the dining hall with the big fire in it, waiting for the fire in our ger to be lit and warm it up in there. We chatted and puzzled through our transport to Ulan Bataar the next day, and finally retired to a nice, warm tent. The only problem about the warm tent is that the bathrooms are outdoors and it’s kind of a long walk to them. One is always dissuaded from drinking too much water, even though it’s a very dry climate, because no one wants to make that cold walk to the outhouse in the dead of night! I, however, drank a ton of water anyway because I can’t stop myself, and many times bundled up in darkness to take the walk to the outskirts of the camp.<br />
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It’s amazing how beautifully appointed our ger was, very luxurious, but how primitively we were living. There was no electricity in the camp except a few solar-powered lamps, no running water, no heat except the wood stoves, and no non-animal transportation. I took bucket showers for the first time in my life. They make one deeply, deeply appreciative of water pressure. Especially girls with long hair. I only washed it once while I was there because it took an incredibly long time to get the shampoo out. But I have to say, showering in the shower ger was one of my favorite parts of the camp. It was akin to the sauna ger in that there was a wood stove and it, most of the time, was nice and toasty warm in the tent. They heat the water by putting a large wok directly on top of the stove and then they fill the bucket with a shower spigot inserted into the bottom of it. You turn the knob on the spigot and the water comes out, very very slowly. I really liked having the whole tent with candles and warmth and a little wooden grate to stand on for drainage under the shower bucket. I’ll admit it was kind of a sexy experience for me! It’s definitely about the proximity of the walls around me when I’m naked in the tent. At home, my shower is very small. It’s fine, and has ample space for me, but nothing else. I know I’ve showered in other, larger showers, like at my parent’s house or fancy places with palatial bathrooms and it always feels a little bit more adventurous and sexier in those situations. The bigger showers and the more space around me, especially outdoor showers, are just amazing! I wonder why that is, or what that correlation is.<br />
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Cara and I talked for a long time that night in our tent and that’s been one of my favorite parts of this trip. Just being able to be with her and see the things that she’s been seeing day in and day out for the last 2.5 years. I know it’s been a great assignment and a tough assignment for her in Beijing, especially for the first years of her marriage to Luke, but it’s been so great talking to her, talking through things with her, and just becoming closer cousins. I enjoyed on the train when our New Zealand friend and I were chatting, he made it clear that when he first met us he thought that we were a couple. Judging by the crunchy clothes we were both wearing and how we look nothing alike, I get it. I told him I didn’t blame him. Cara and I joked about who would be the butch lesbian and who would be the lipstick lesbian. We couldn’t decide. Each of us has tendencies in both directions.<br />
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We woke up that morning, planning to depart around 1pm that day. I got up before the sun and decided the climb the ridge just outside of camp that had been taunting me all week. I set off with my camera and some music and had one of the most beautiful morning devotionals I’ve ever had. It was chilly and damp but the clouds were breaking and there was going to be sun, you could tell. I started up the very steep ridge in the overgrown grasses and hit the tree line where it smelled of fresh evergreen and the grasses got thicker, ground a bit spongier. Up and up the incline, past the edge of the trees up to the bald summit at the end of the ridge closest to the camp. I had been wanting to stand at that point for days! I got there just as first light was starting to paint brilliant colors on the edges of the gray clouds around me. I could see the ridge extended for a ways up and it hadn’t taken me very long to summit so I kept walking the ridge up. I must have walked another mile along the ridge with a steady but gentle incline to a point at which I could see really far in every direction, even to the south. I got to that point as the sun finally broke through the clouds and started to warm the earth and bask its rays on the hills I was walking. Oh what a gorgeous site and walk that was! What a truly blessed experience! The music accompanied me and oriented me towards praise.<br />
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I still can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to travel to these places and see these things and interact with the people that I have. God has so richly blessed my life in these ways. And he knows me so well, knows what I will love and puts me in the way of beauty. What a sweet, loving father he is. I was also thinking how crazy it is to be born an American. Talking with Cara about the people she meets through work and the stories she hears, and the lives that people are born into just simply because of where they are is insane! To be born an American and to live the life I have, one of great privilege and comfort, is a truly incredible thing. I hope I am never desensitized to it. I am also so glad to be coming home to America. I always am. The comforts I enjoy, the standards of cleanliness, the products available to me, the reliable plumbing, electricity, access to and ease of communication, good roads, fast cars, information always available, and the truly astounding beauty of just the good ol’ 50 states. I am continually bowled over by the fact that my experience is one of America, and that that is my country of citizenship.<br />
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After the morning hike, I came back and had a lovely breakfast with lots of hot tea and warmed up with Cara. Then I decided I would go for one last run through the hills of Mongolia. I wanted to soak up as much of that landscape as possible. I ran down the road we had hiked the day before and occasionally had to run between herds of cattle, sheep, goats and horses that were running all over the road and hills around it. The sun was shining and all was quiet. I passed a few truckloads of people who had what seemed to be all their belongings strapped to the flatbed of a pickup. The English guy who had been the birdwatching group leader told us that these were families who spend the summer on the steppe, about 2 hours away, and come into the valley for the winter because it is more protected from the winds. The cold on the steppe can kill entire herds. So they were making their annual move. Pretty amazing. The families were unabashedly staring at the crazy American running on the dirt roads like an idiot. They’ve probably never even thought about running for exercise. I was thinking about that as I was passing them. Gyms, exercise, working out, staying fit, it doesn’t even enter into their thought process here, and yet it is so forward in the minds of my culture, and even my own person. I think about staying in shape all the time. They simply exist. Their mindsets are not marred by comparison. Being American and living in a developed country isn’t all blessings, after all.<br />
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After my run I had scheduled a massage (they were only 15 dollars for a half hour!). Janet and Barbara had both gotten one and said it was really really good so I wanted to try it. I entered the beautiful, warm tent and was greeted by the sweet masseuse who does a lot of other jobs around the camp as well. She and I were again communicating through gestures. She started pointing to different parts of her body and I figured she wanted to know where she should work on me. I asked for shoulders, neck and back. It was a very nice experience and she did a good job. I can always use more pressure but she massaged my head which was lovely. And she mysteriously worked on my feet which was absolutely wonderful. I hate it mostly when people rub my feet but I really loved that part even though my feet were dirty and I felt really bad that she had to have such a close interaction with them. She did a great job.<br />
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Then I took my last sexy bucket shower, and threw the rest of my stuff in my bag and then headed to the dining room for my last mongolian meal. It was delicious of course and then our transport came and we started the long drive back to Ulan Bataar. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive. We went a different way back than how we had come, we drove mainly through these grasslands with herds of wild horses and sheep and absolutely NO people whatsoever. At one point because I had yet again consumed way too much liquid before getting into a multiple-hour activity, Cara stopped the car to get out and take pictures in the middle of a sweeping valley and I had to pee so bad that I just squatted behind our van and went. There was no cover, and everyone within about 15 miles could have seen me, but I didn’t have to worry because there was absolutely no one around. It was a very strange experience. Our driver did the same thing so I didn’t feel so silly.<br />
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On our way to the airport we stopped at what I think may be the greatest tourist trap I have ever encountered: Chinggis Khaan National Monument. It is a towering, gleaming statue, made of stainless steel of the great Mongolian warrior. It is in the middle of nowhere, a ways outside of UB and it is the only thing around. It is fantastic in the way that all roadside eyesores are. It is a paragon of nationalism and commercialism. They recently obtained a Guinness World Record for “largest mongolian shoe”. Not just “largest shoe” mind you, largest MONGOLIAN shoe. What a trip. You can climb up into the horse part of the sculpture and get right up in Genghis’s grill and take a great picture of his face as it looks out over Mongolia. Also, they are constructing 10,000 horseman to attend Genghis Khan on the grounds surrounding the statue and for the low, low price of $3000 (considered a donation to the monument and its governing body) you can have your likeness on one of the horsemen. Cara and I were talking about how it would be a pretty hilarious practical joke to donate $300,000 and submit a photo of Mao Zedong for the likeness and insist that it be done. I bet they would return the money!<br />
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We made it to the airport probably with more questions than when we arrived in Mongolia. It’s a strange, wild, and largely inexplicable land. On the road after the airport, when we started getting closer to the huge sprawl of UB, we saw two or three housing developments that looked very American: tight, close together lots, two story homes with stucco outsides, two-car garages, driveways, and little green lawns. We couldn’t figure out who would buy those and why they were so far away from the center of the city, and why they looked like they did, etc. We saw another development of industrial-cool loft-style condos right by a river with huge glass windows in front and cement on the other three sides. Looked expensively designed. I know almost nothing about the government or industry in Mongolia. How does one become rich, for example? Do all rich people in Mongolia live in Ulan Bataar? What does the middle class do? What does the government look like? How is it structured? See? Lots of questions. Cara and I decided on two hash tags for this trip: #whatsinthebox, and #unansweredquestions. Oh the stories.<br />
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I was really sad to leave Mongolia. I was starting to get to that point I get to in all my travels when I can feel real life imminent in front of me and I know I have to re-enter it soon. I had an idea when we were driving back to the city from the camp: what if I started a developing nations tourism seminar for countries who want to get more tourism business but don’t really know what they are doing. I feel like that’s where Mongolia is. They have so much to offer, especially the outdoorsy, adventurous set. But they need a lot of work on their tourism infrastructure and they need help developing it.<br />
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We made it to the airport and again I was starting to feel the weight of the crush of activity that awaits me when I get home pressing in on all sides. I am really glad to have this plane ride to process a bit and catch up on a few things that I just didn’t do while I was away. It will be good to get to the other side of this coming weekend, past the triathlon and the retreat. Then the office is closed Monday - Wednesday and I will have a lot of good time to catch up and process everything that’s been going on in the last few months leading up to this.<br />
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We had an uneventful flight back to Beijing from Ulan Bataar to Cara’s beautiful apartment. It felt a bit empty without Luke there to greet us but it was awesome all the same to have electricity and water pressure and to be back in the city. We had a quiet night, Cara has a lot coming up for her and I just wanted to get ready to head home the next day and enjoy the creature comforts of the big city. This morning I got up, did laundry, Cara and I exchanged pictures and then I went to the airport. It’s been an amazing trip and I’m so glad I got the chance to visit Cara. I hope to find myself in Asia again soon.Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-12881529745116391712016-09-30T08:31:00.000-07:002020-05-30T08:50:55.441-07:0028 Hours on a Train into Central Asia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cara and I left the calm oasis of her apartment in Liangmaqiao at about 9:45am Saturday morning and headed into the thick of Saturday traffic in Beijing, which Cara explained to me is extraordinarily bad. It took us about an hour to get there, and when we did the crush of people outside the station was overwhelming. It took us a while to figure out that we had to go through a ticket check outside the station to actually get in and get to our train. We were stressed because we were getting close to our train’s departure time and we still needed to get food. We had heard the train food was pretty terrible and though we had an epic snack collection with us, it wouldn’t be enough. No one was answering our questions, or taking our orders at Subway. It’s strange, we were asking for the things one always asks for, and Cara was asking for them in Chinese, and her Chinese is excellent. But people just sort of could only hear and see “foreigner” and they either willfully chose to ignore or misunderstood everything she was saying.<br />
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So we got on the train with our hard-won sandwiches and took our seats/beds in our little cabin. There were two bunks, a small table, a WC shared with the cabin next to us, and a little chair in the corner opposite the bottom bunk and table. We quickly discover that no one involved with the running of the train speaks English or Chinese, only Mongolian. This did not prove to be a problem initially. We enjoyed the first few hours alternating between fast, slow, and glacial paces through the Chinese countryside. It proved to be lovely, and varied. As we worked our way north and further inland, the mountains flattened and the fields and sky opened up. We passed wind farms and small rivers, lots of fields and agriculture. Shepherds on motorbikes were tending their herds. People were fishing in suspect bodies of water outside super-industrial complexes spewing unbelievable amounts of pollution.<br />
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Cara and I walked the entire length of the train, scouting out the different cabin arrangements, standing out on the caboose balcony and getting asked to come back in because “we weren’t supposed to be out there” but really the dudes running that car just wanted to smoke out there. We then retired to our cabin after inspecting the whole train and finding where we could get water that was not boiling hot. All water is served hot as a default in China, I’ve found. It is sometimes served room temperature, and never ever served cold. Cara even said that women are not supposed to drink cold water while menstruating because it is considered EXTREMELY hazardous to your health in China. We found the dining car which I think hasn’t really been touched since it was produced in the late 1940s. It had seen better days but it was also like a time capsule, so in that respect it was cool.<br />
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We headed back to our cabin and hung out and talked for a few hours. These long, drawn out catch-up conversations, and being stuck on a train together for 28 hours, really allows some amazing rabbit-trails to be followed. I wonder what would happen if I had that kind of dedicated time and space in a lot of my other relationships. It was sweet time. Then I started falling asleep and Cara did some more exploring and met a bunch more people on the train. Cara came to get me around 7pm saying that most of the food was gone from the dining car and if we wanted to get dinner, we would have to hurry. So I dragged myself off the top bunk and down to the dining car where we sat down in the train car that time forgot.<br />
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The menu was handwritten on the back of a piece of an 8.5x11 advertisement for a restaurant in Ulan Bataar. Only 2 of the original 8 menu items were available 5 hours into our train ride. Our waitress came up to the table, folded the menu in half, and pointed at two things, rice and soup, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and asked which one we wanted, reiterating that everything else was gone. Cara discussed the offerings with the woman in Chinese and there were some negotiations. We ended up splitting the egg and tomato thing and each getting rice and soup. Nothing to write home about. Another couple who sat down after us were given different offerings. Cara and I both noticed this and Cara, ever the inquisitive mind, asked our server about it. She received some of the most blatant and patronizing snark she’s ever been given in Chinese. “Oh, well that’s the meal for the staff, but if YOU want it, you can have it. But it’s supposed to be my meal.”<br />
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Wow. Okay. So Cara had wanted a beer at that point, but the woman was clearly very angry at being called out about the serving of the good food to someone else. And then we were definitely put on the black list. So we didn’t order the beer and quietly slunk away to our cabin. We met a New Zealander on the walk back who was traveling with another Kiwi, two Aussies, an American, and a French girl. We were immediately accepted as hip foreigners who travel to out-of-the-way destinations, and invited to their cabin party in Carriage 4. Sweet. We made it back to our cabin in Carriage 7, and then I offered to go back and purchase the beer from the dining hall dictator. When I got there, she clearly recognized me as the accomplice and pasted a sickly sweet, forced smile on her face, and brought me the two beers I asked for. I returned to the cabin, we hung out for a bit longer then went and joined the Carriage 4 party, which was actually a serious party. There were like 8 people in their group, not everyone who was hanging out could fit in one cabin, and there was lots of beer, and music, and a toy helicopter drone. Aussies and Kiwis are, as a rule, hilarious and charming. Men and women, young and old, without exception. I find it unbelievable. But we had a great time until we were approaching the Mongolian border and the attendants told us go back to our cabin to get our documents and stay there to have them checked. Thus began the 5-hour saga that took place between about 10pm and 3am.<br />
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We waited for a knock that came with the passport control officer at our door. Chinese passport patrol took Cara’s passport and mine and started questioning her pretty heavily. She has a different kind of passport and has to travel to a bunch of different places for her job, so they raised some eyebrows at her. They largely ignored me. They left with our passports and we weren’t really sure what was going to happen. Then the passport control officer came back with three other people and another guy questioned Cara. Then they left again. We were very uneasy about what was going to happen and waited in tense confusion. Then another knock came, and our carriage attendant lady showed up asking us to leave the train and take a break in the station we had stopped at. Cara does a ton of research whenever she travels and had read a travel blog about this very moment. You CAN get off the train when it stops at this particular point in the journey. It stops at a station but the station is closed, and dark, and cold, and there is nothing around. And if you get off for a short time just to stretch your legs, you could end up stranded for three hours because the train pulls away to a special hanger, quite a ways away, where they change out the bottom of the train to fit the Mongolian tracks. Confused? I was too. More on that later. So we knew we shouldn’t get off the train. So the lady goes away. About 10 minutes later, she comes back, this time with a large dude. She opens our cabin door, turns on the lights, (it’s almost midnight at this point) and asks us to step out and to allow the gentleman to come in. We just sat there with blank looks on our faces and didn’t move, dumbstruck by the ridiculous nature of her request. Then she motioned for us to let the man in, I thought, to use our bathroom. I said no. Then she motioned for me to stand up and sit on the bench in the cabin. I had no idea why she wanted me to do this, or why I complied but I did. Cara and I were completely confused and our jaws were gaping open. She then proceeds to go over to the chain I had just been sitting in, unscrew it from the wall and the floor, and lift it up. The guy with her came in behind and grabbed a huge box that had been hidden under the seat and took it and left. The woman screwed the chair back in, kept saying the Chinese word for apple to Cara, asked us if there was any problem, gestured that we probably shouldn’t mention this to the Chinese passport controllers, thanked us profusely, and then left. WTF. We peeked over to our next-door neighbors because we heard the same thing happening in their cabin. Sure enough, a box was produced from under the chair in their cabin too (also a pair of Americans) and the cabin next to them. We came to the conclusion that we had just witnessed the retrieval of smuggled contraband from our train cabin! Unreal. So many unanswered questions. What was in that box??<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE CHAIR!!</td></tr>
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Now, probably you have lots of questions at this point, and probably the least pressing one is, why were were even stopped for three hours in the middle of nowhere to begin with? Unfortunately, that’s really the only one I can answer. Because national pride knows no limits and manifests itself in very strange ways, the gauges of the trains tracks in China are different and incompatible with those of Mongolia. So the bottoms of every single car in every train that crosses the border has to be changed out for ones that fit the tracks in Mongolia. This process takes over three hours. They take every car apart, and split the train in half, the wheel it out to a special hanger where they have the hydraulics. They put the train cars up on lifts over the tracks and then detach and wheel out the old ones. There are many, many men with flashlights who wander around the train peering under it and looking at things, seemingly inspecting, but I’m not sure that’s the whole story either. It was pitch dark outside and we saw lots of people far off in the distance, nowhere near any trains, also surveying the area with flashlights. There is extremely loud clanging and sounding of horns associated with the cars separating and coming back together and detaching and reattaching to the undercarriages with different wheels. Sleep was a physical impossibility. Also, the passport saga was not over yet so we were just generally on edge.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Switching the wheels on the cars</td></tr>
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The train also does not allow passengers to use the restroom while the train is stopped and to enforce this policy, they lock the door 30 minutes before stopping without warning. And you can’t really get off the train! So basically, you are captive from 10pm to 1am while this switch is taking place, and you better hold it! There are no good options for you.<br />
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After we had finished the switch out and were moving again, actually crossing the border into Mongolia, I really started to feel pinched. The attendant said I had to wait until after the had collected our documents and stamped passports at the Mongolian border. Judging by how long this process had taken on the Chinese side, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it. Our train did finally move forward a few miles and we crossed the border and pulled to a stop in another station, where I hoped to find relief. Surely they would at least allow me out to use the facilities here. Nope! I finally had to beg one of the attendants in my car to unlock my bathroom about 30 minutes into our next 2 hour stop.<br />
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While I was jumping from one leg to another waiting to see what kind of progress was being made by the second person who absconded with my passport sans explanation in the space of 3 hours, the train just started slowly going forward, and then stopping, and then going backwards in the train yard. This process was repeated countless times over the two hours we were there. Also, at one point a large Mongolian man banged on our door, entered our cabin, turned the lights on, and searched our cabin and our bathroom. Good thing they got that weird box out of there before the border! Although he didn’t look under the chair. Again, so many unanswered questions. Anyone but the most highly skilled somnambulists, or with pharmaceutical assistance, could never possibly have fallen asleep.<br />
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Finally, our passports were returned and our train started moving forward again at 2:45am, fully 5 hours after we had first stopped. The bathroom, I must report, is still locked at the time of writing.<br />
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The rest of the train ride was much less eventful. I got about 4 hours of sleep and woke up to the huge skies and sweeping plains of Mongolia passing by out the window. We saw yaks and camels, lots of herds of horses, and a whole lot of nothing. We hung out in our cabin a bit more and then decided to scope out the dining car, which had been switched to a new one when the train bottoms had been switched out. Upgrade! The attendant here had 1990’s high-energy club music remixes pumping and had funny demeanor about him. We went and ate around 11:30 am when the menu switched from breakfast to lunch. We sat down in the midst of the pulsing music and enjoyed the huge windows and great views surrounding us.<br />
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We weren’t very hungry because we had been making good progress on our epic snack collection, but we did order one lunch to split between us, saying multiple times that we only wanted one serving for two people, the man repeated back to us what we said and nodded, then went about preparing the meal. Out came two plates of vegetables, and one sizzling skillet of sautéed beef and onions. Because of the two plates, I felt it important to make clear once again that we only wanted one lunch to split between two people. We finished our mediocre meal and hung out in the dining car for a while, our next door neighbors came and sat at the table tent to us and we chatted. Then it came time to pay. Our guy brought us the bill and of course he had charged us for two people. The same thing happened to our neighbors. We talked to him about it and he just said “two people, one lunch each” and kept pointing at the number. I will say that lunch was not cheap either. I had a 10 course dinner in Beijing for the same amount this guy was trying to charge us. So we decided, corporately, that we would give him 60% of his asking price and we handed him the money, and he didn’t even flinch. I guess he knew what he was trying to do, and he conceded that this turnout was fair. I was very pleased. I felt, for the first time since being in Asia, like I had “w” in my column over people trying to take tourists out for a ride.<br />
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We went back to our cabin and our New Zealand friend walked by and stopped in for a chat. We got to tell him all our crazy stories from the night before. He told us that they had had good fun in their car until about 4am and were sad that we had not come back to join them. Also, since we were getting close to our destination, the attendant came to clean our bathroom and then, of course, locked it. However, she was in the bathroom for over 45 minutes. There is no WAY it takes 45 minutes to clean that bathroom. It is 2 square feet in area. As the three of us sat there talking and she kept banging around in the bathroom, it started to get weirder and weirder that she was in there. Then we thought maybe she’s freeing more contraband from hidden compartments to bring in country. Maybe not too far away from the truth! Our neighbors pointed out that Mongolia is landlocked and the train would be one of the most reasonable and accessible ways to transport goods.<br />
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We were approaching Ulan Bataar. Contact info was exchanged with our friends, and one of them drew us a tongue-in-cheek map of where New Zealand is so that there are no excuses for us not to come and visit. We pulled into the urban sprawl of the world’s coldest capital city, and saw lots of colorful roofs and squat residences. Arriving at the train station, we were met by our driver for our Ger camp and he took our bags and set off for the car at a pace that would have impressed Olympic speed-walkers. We made a beeline for the bathroom, which the entirety of the train did as well, and then we hopped in our Land Cruiser, and into the crush of UB traffic, worse than DC’s!<br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-77227900182042074152016-09-30T08:06:00.000-07:002020-05-30T08:09:50.894-07:00Explorations in Beijing<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLj791bXcFi05P2qFD6U-xQ9vhH59Cn2lDTT0iUtt2lUlxtlo2athirmKFryKrE6Uj1rolT1jXxHhFDV78BhtKr9umj3bb99_3qn4nqVMZrzRaC8C56iSkhN2RKb4uq0WLZYA/s1600/A5BB984C-25D7-4545-8376-F36270BE3B40.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLj791bXcFi05P2qFD6U-xQ9vhH59Cn2lDTT0iUtt2lUlxtlo2athirmKFryKrE6Uj1rolT1jXxHhFDV78BhtKr9umj3bb99_3qn4nqVMZrzRaC8C56iSkhN2RKb4uq0WLZYA/s320/A5BB984C-25D7-4545-8376-F36270BE3B40.jpeg" width="320" /></a>I arrived in Beijing on Tuesday night, August 30. When I came up to the airport and started walking through, I noticed how similar everything felt. So many of the things I find in every airport, in every city everywhere were there in Beijing. Of course, there was a different feel to it all but there was also something very familiar about everything too. Cities are strange, the more I see the more I realize that there are certain commonalities between all of them and its a rarity to see very distinct character in a city. I did find it in Beijing but you really have to go looking for it. Cara met me at the airport and I was so very thankful for that. She navigated me back to her neighborhood. <br />
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We sat down at a restaurant after getting off the airport express subway line and arriving at her metro stop and had a quick drink and a snack and then walked to her beautiful apartment a few minutes away in the diplomatic residences right across from the American Embassy in Beijing. The bed I slept in was one of the most comfortable beds I have ever experienced and it felt amazing. Also I had my own huge bathroom and big windows and I was just so happy to be there. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, although just to make sure that I slept for at least a few hours, I did take some Tylenol PM to make me drowsy. I fell asleep almost instantly. I woke up early the next morning and was ready for me hike along the Great Wall of China, my first foray into Asia. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV8efB7y-Ghvd5BxZ5-s_0t7ZZuaKQhaRPq43a-tcjRF5LZAKGJ7OFIa-4gtD9bCFE187O4g7jZPOSWcjRsK6mBwwtc7XomCSEU7x1aHM99xRR5DGgietZGqFNPDSbUdNCWXa/s1600/673C07D5-56C5-42AA-9C97-5D0583BCAE58.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwV8efB7y-Ghvd5BxZ5-s_0t7ZZuaKQhaRPq43a-tcjRF5LZAKGJ7OFIa-4gtD9bCFE187O4g7jZPOSWcjRsK6mBwwtc7XomCSEU7x1aHM99xRR5DGgietZGqFNPDSbUdNCWXa/s320/673C07D5-56C5-42AA-9C97-5D0583BCAE58.jpeg" width="320" /></a>The next morning I woke up and filled up my water vessels, brought a few snacks with me, and headed out to the meeting point for Beijing hikers. I met an African-American lady from the US who was working for the company and her name was Millicent, but she asked to be called Millie or Mill. It was me and one other American on the bus so far and we drove to the other pick-up point at Lido Mall, and picked up about 12 other people. I didn’t meet any of them but we started our three-hour ride out to the trailhead for our hike, way out north and pretty far west of Beijing. We past two other points on the Great Wall and they were completely overrun with people, wall to wall tourists. We stopped for a break at one of the points and I was glad to be leaving pretty quickly. We then drove a while longer way out into the countryside, went up and up a winding, very narrow road and stopped at the opening of an apple orchard. Sure enough, this was our trailhead, although I will say that there was no trail to speak of and that was kind of a theme for the day. <br />
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It was an absolutely crystal clear day. Cara said it was completely unheard of to have a day this beautiful in Beijing and she mentioned several times how extremely unusual the air quality was for my time in China with her. It was consistently sunny and clear and the AQI never went above 50 which is absolutely crazy. We started our ascent up the side of the mountain and once we existed the apple orchard, there was a bit of a trail up but mostly we were just walking through forest and undergrowth. I was wearing capri pants that didn’t fully cover my shins and I was feeling the grass and small bushes scrape against them. Before it got too bad, the trail cleared up again and we were on the wall! The views were spectacular and I could see for miles and miles and miles. There were absolutely zero other people on the wall and, really, anywhere around us. The wall walk was beautiful. It was very steep and in places I was literally climbing. The part we were on was unrestored, crumbing, and overgrown but still easily walkable for those with some moderate level of fitness. <br />
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I kept imagining what it would have been like to be a guard on that wall in winter, or any time really. There were lots of lovey smelling herbs growing indigenously on the wall and around. I could smell them. I was thinking no wonder these guys got good at making tea. It would have been hard to get anywhere to get anything, so they definitely would have used what was around. And how hard it would have been to get water and food up there. We were in the middle of nowhere, on top of a mountain, and they built a wall on top of the mountain! It’s such an impressive feat of engineering. And it’s incredibly beautiful out where I was too. It was a fantastic hike on the wall. I wish we had been able to go a lot further on it. But we hopped off after too long and then we headed back down into the forest. My shins were taking a beating from all the scrub and grassy undergrowth on the way down. there was absolutely no trail. We did have a local guide with us who was brought along with a machete “to clear the overgrown parts” but he did literally nothing with his machete. I have no idea why he had to come. It was very steep going down and we all had to watch our footing. At points I was just sliding down the mountain’s dirt slopes, sort of like skiing and hoping I would come to a reasonable stop before gaining too much speed. <br />
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At the end of the hike I was pretty relieved and my shins looked pretty terrible and were burning a bit. I was very glad to get home and cleaned up. I ended up taking the subway back to Liangmaqiao and wandering back, sore and tired but really pleased overall with the day, to be greeted by Cara and Luke who were both home from work. We decided to go out and get soup dumplings at a nearby place and had a yummy meal there. Pork and mushroom soup dumplings, pork steam buns (baozi), vegetables, these delicious cucumber things with a vinegar and hot chili sauce on them that I couldn’t get enough of, and some cheap chinese beer. Excellent. <br />
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We got back to the apartment and I stayed up way too late figuring out where I was going to go the next day. I basically had to see all the major touristy sites in Beijing in one day. It was a tall order but I knew from previous experiences that I could do it. <br />
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I left the house the next morning at 7:30am and headed toward Tiananmen Square. I saw the famous portrait of Mao and the crush of red in the square, all the glorious monuments to the hardworking people of China, the people are the power, labor is the source of life and peace, etc. All these slogans were everywhere. It was really interesting to see it all in person. Then I headed into the Forbidden City. The buildings were ornate and beautiful but it struck me as a crumbing relic surrounded by a uniform and largely uncreative new culture. China really values its history, they talk about it all the time and they rely on it for tourism and in how they talk about their culture all the time. It’s a touchstone for their national identity, but it’s very clear to that the past things that were valued in the Forbidden City are not really valued any longer in China. When China builds, they build fast and cheap, they build without creativity and without beauty. They are always building new things and tearing them down and rebuilding because they don’t build things well and nothing is built to last. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlkrumoZRIJEvZrr0M1awIMLARE3dGRKpliaO-NJKgHjDWy6RuoXXClg_YXEnvl0CXkn3fKorZyr_VyT4Kc_gk1m_rScus089CdzdMsPvZ0ZJtUG_zI_PufwjVUX6SfKx6Z5l/s1600/ADFAC685-1251-400F-9D26-043A4805F951.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlkrumoZRIJEvZrr0M1awIMLARE3dGRKpliaO-NJKgHjDWy6RuoXXClg_YXEnvl0CXkn3fKorZyr_VyT4Kc_gk1m_rScus089CdzdMsPvZ0ZJtUG_zI_PufwjVUX6SfKx6Z5l/s320/ADFAC685-1251-400F-9D26-043A4805F951.jpeg" width="240" /></a>I was left with the question: what actually is being built here? In the Forbidden City all the buildings are for harmony, beauty, peace, union, balance. In modern China, although they hate capitalism there is a sense of uniformity in greed and hunger to impress and dominate, subsume individuality in its population and become like a well-oiled machine as a nation. It feels very very strange. But the things that were brought to mind while walking through the Forbidden City were the things of ancient China. I have a certain fascination with the values of Eastern Religion. What is true about them? What is right and good about the way they value beauty and art, balance and harmony, healing and wholeness? They did a lot of things right and many tenets of ancient Chinese religion are not too far off from Christianity. I wonder where God is in all of that stuff. That would be a good question to pursue. <br />
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There is a lot of propaganda in everything too. Not that this doesn’t happen in America but they are just always trying to reinforce the greatness of China in its athletes and all the achievements of this incredible, and historically incredible, society. Another thing that I’ve found very jarring here, it started on the plane ride over, is that Chinese men are constantly clearing through throats and coughing up awful amounts of phlegm all the time. It’s loud and its super gross, and everyone does it. I am very thankful for the over-politeness that awaits me back in America in this respect. <br />
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After the Forbidden City I walked to Jingshan park and up to the viewpoint that overlooks the whole of the Forbidden City. They say there are 9,999 rooms in it, though there is debate about the accuracy of that count. I learned that the crane is a symbol of immortality, and I have a lot of questions about the rituals which all the bronze and porcelain vessels were used for in the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties. After Jingshan park I walked over to Beihai park which was fantastic. There was a dance exercise class going on, people were doing calligraphy on the sidewalks and a street cleaner was sweeping right over it, there was an epic game of senior citizen hackysack being played, groups of women strolling in the park together were singing. It was full of weeping willows and on a lovely lake with dragon boats and other pleasure craft that were colorful. It was also FULL of people. Cara had warned me that you can’t go anywhere in Beijing that is not crowded. She was right. You really can’t be alone or have personal space anywhere, and everywhere you go the crowds are like US crowds on the busiest holiday of the year, times 10. There are just so many more people doing all the things that people do in this city that everything is always overrun. It’s an exhausting prospect for me. I don’t know how Cara does it. <br />
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After Beihai park I was getting really really tired. My legs started to feel like jelly but i had three more things to see and I was going to do it all, dammit. So I went hopped on the metro and went out to the Summer Palace which was quite a ways away from center city Beijing. I arrived and took a short walk out to the expansive grounds on this beautiful lake. I saw more of the same kind of architecture that the Forbidden City offered, and that crazy marble boat that everyone is always talking about. Also the very very long walkway through the grounds at the Summer Palace with 250 different paintings on the lintels in the overhangs. There is so much attention to detail and craftsmanship in these ancient buildings. It’s beautiful. I loved the green and blue malachite and azurite accents on all the roofs. It looks beautiful against the predominant red. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9t9sPac4FQnCKt_we6zskgc1pb0fZuxuC7CBSAkjkHBJd9CLgHPHlufOL4vHEGLfBSQCNjwEp3RwRPw3o7gxtz1wpV2qtaQeuA4GoZyR8sdWPqXHWXhIqw62TrO-gygVdBZM5/s1600/DCC9C52F-E97B-4975-97C1-A907E8F18DB6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9t9sPac4FQnCKt_we6zskgc1pb0fZuxuC7CBSAkjkHBJd9CLgHPHlufOL4vHEGLfBSQCNjwEp3RwRPw3o7gxtz1wpV2qtaQeuA4GoZyR8sdWPqXHWXhIqw62TrO-gygVdBZM5/s320/DCC9C52F-E97B-4975-97C1-A907E8F18DB6.jpeg" width="320" /></a>I had to sit down a few times as I had already walked a few miles and was going to walk a few more. My legs were really tired at this point. I made my way back to the subway, which is clean, and incredibly easy to use. It’s just super super crowded. I got on and made my way down to the Temple of Heaven Park. That was another gorgeous green space, full of lawns and a grove of ancient cypress trees, and a rose garden, and some old buddhist structures that are landmarks in the city. I enjoyed walking around there. And after exploring for about two hours, I finished my tourism day at the Pearl Market. I was way too tired do engage with it at that point though. Cara had told me there was a good view from the roof so I went up there and sat and collected myself for an hour or so. I browsed the wares they were offering but nothing really caught my eye. I’m not a big pearl person and I already have pearl earrings I really like and wear a lot so I didn’t have much use for the market. I couldn’t get a hold of Cara so I decided to head back to the apartment and we would figure out dinner from there. <br />
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We ended up going to a fantastic restaurant called the Dali courtyard which is in the hutongs near Nanlouguhshian, and it was one of those places where you pay a set price and buy your drinks but you don’t have to order and food just keeps appearing in front of you. It was all delicious and we ate outside in the courtyard and had a really great time together. Luke was leaving the next morning to go back and start his job in the US so it was a great way to close our his stint in Beijing, although he will be back to help Cara with the pack out in October. <br />
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The next day, we said goodbye to Luke early in the morning and then Cara went back to sleep. I went for a run and then tried to answer a few e-mails. Cara and I started our Cousins Do Funky/Hipster Beijing Day around 11am by heading out to the 798 art district. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANgk113iLn4GcqL9y_PbEABEgsfa8i9vkAMTZfX73ls2ObhdJ-JwnYzADWueFKqcuJhmqo0lB-w9mTIdOR2INuHvanvtnUoWNjYvxpyN6qXKhmf0E3otB_J2nMcYp134pXUCx/s1600/D5D9DF25-38AE-42DF-8466-86409A45984B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANgk113iLn4GcqL9y_PbEABEgsfa8i9vkAMTZfX73ls2ObhdJ-JwnYzADWueFKqcuJhmqo0lB-w9mTIdOR2INuHvanvtnUoWNjYvxpyN6qXKhmf0E3otB_J2nMcYp134pXUCx/s400/D5D9DF25-38AE-42DF-8466-86409A45984B.jpeg" width="400" /></a>That was a really cool space. Cara said that creativity is largely dead in China but in the 798 district it feels a lot like Brooklyn. There are a lot of foreign companies represented there, lots of little strange shops and great little pop up spaces. Tons of art galleries, cafes, and photoshoots happening all the time. It’s a really cool place. There are raised walkways, similar to the Highline in New York City, and it’s just fun to meander the post-industrial chic spaces they have created out there. The food and the shopping were great and we found lots of weird, funky things. Then we took a taxi to the hutongs in center-city Old Beijing. We walked through these little alleyways and Cara was telling me how this was her favorite part of Beijing. She said it felt real and authentic and I got that. These were some original structures that had been there forever. It felt a lot like Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh. Tiny, narrow streets, crammed full of people and dwellings, and I wonder what it would have been like when this was the center of life in the ancient Eastern world. We had a great time wandering through the streets. I bought more little gifts and things and loved hearing more about Cara’s experiences in China. She said that each one of these little neighborhoods in Beijing has a “Neighborhood Watch” which literally spies on the neighborhood for the government and keeps track of what’s going on and reports it. They have a bulletin board and Cara said that she is always asking people about that when she interviews them for her job. If they are a part of that neighborhood watch then she will definitely deny them. It’s such a controlled society in China, I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in it and abide by its stringent and confounding policies. <br />
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We strolled and strolled and got little snacks at street vendors. Cara showed me some of her favorite places, and we discovered some new ones. After we had a huge amount of frozen yogurt, we took a cab back out to near where Cara lives to a brewery called Arrow where we were waiting to meet my friend from American Councils, Doug, who now lives in Beijing. We had a great time with him, his cousin Nate and Nate’s wife Karen. We were all laughing and drinking and catching up. Nate and Karen had just arrived and they were super jet-lagged. I was starting to hit the wall and Cara and I were leaving for Mongolia the next day, so after about 4 rounds, we called it quits at 11:30, but Doug wanted us to hit up another bar. We declined but we did have a great time catching up. It’s so fun to see friends who live in foreign places. Cara and I headed back to her apartment, made granola and final packing decisions for Mongolia, and then we went to bed. <br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-9135150021065063232016-01-08T12:58:00.000-08:002020-02-04T14:30:36.488-08:002015: My year in music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's that time again folks! I don't have a really long introduction to the music this year like in previous years. I'm just excited to share with you the songs that have been making the rounds in my ears over the last 12 months. I would love to hear your songs of 2015 and what's been meaningful to you, so if you're keeping a list, would you share it with me? I would love to hear it.</div>
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Here's mine. <br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify%3Auser%3Akjpetty%3Aplaylist%3A59d8bIwjjjZ8kC3m9fSPGq" width="300"></iframe><br /></div>
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<b>Songs that just sound cool</b></div>
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<ol>
<li><i>Entropy - Grimes/Bleachers</i> <br />First heard this track on an episode of "Girls" and loved it. 2015 was a year for very distinct female vocals. Grimes is one among 4 on this list of 7 tracks. I like Jack Antonoff a lot as well, and his producing is behind a lot of songs I liked this year. </li>
<li><i>Fade Away - Susanne Sundfør</i><br />Another beautiful voice. It's so clear and pure. My favorite part of the song though is the retro microwave "ding" in the middle of the song. </li>
<li><i>The Bells - Lowell</i><br />It's so pretty! I love that little voice that asks for a beat at the beginning and then when it comes in it gives those ringing tones an edge. It's an unexpected juxtaposition that turns out very well. "Hey, where'd the beat go?" </li>
<li><i>2 Time - Architecture in Helsinki</i><br />I really got into this band this year. Every time I listened to them it was a dance party - in my car, in my apartment, at work, anywhere. Unstoppable. </li>
<li><i>Alligator Years - Twinsmith</i><br />The loose guitar riffs in the middle of the verses and the throwback sound made this one of my most listened to songs this year. It's got a playful sound to it. </li>
<li><i>Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat - Beck</i><br />One of three amazing covers I came across this year. The original is my favorite off Blonde on Blonde and Beck does a fantastic job with this reboot. </li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland</td></tr>
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<b>The Motorcycle Diaries </b></div>
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<ol>
<li><i>Downtown - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis</i><br />Another incredible music video and more hilarious lyrics from this irrepressible duo. This almost made me want to trade in my motorcycle for a moped. (Well... no, not really). </li>
<li><i>Bad Betty - The Sonics</i><br />It's about a woman who rides a Bonneville, which is a Triumph bike, which just happens to be the make I have. My bike's name is Lucy, in case you were wondering. </li>
<li><i>80's Mercedes - Maren Morris </i><br />In October of this year, I replaced my beloved 2002 Golf with a newer model GTI. Its peppy engine, responsive acceleration and nimble handling make me feel like a million dollars every time I get behind the wheel. It's not a classic car but it does make me feel "ready to roll". My new car's name is Lola. Lucy and Lola are an indomitable duo and these tracks are dedicated to them and the untold miles we will ride together in the coming years. </li>
</ol>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gulfoss, Iceland</td></tr>
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<b>Memories</b></div>
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<ol>
<li><i>Hold On - Alabama Shakes</i><br />One of my best concert moments this year was in a light rain <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2015/06/heaven-on-jersey-shore.html">on the Jersey Shore</a> on an evening in early June which was unseasonably cool. Brittany Howard was on stage in a fantastic pink dress making her guitar emote and singing her heart out. The purple lights shone in the mist coming down on us and we swayed and held on with Brittany as she told us of her conviction that there "must be someone up above" telling her to keep going. </li>
<li><i>Photograph - Ed Sheeran</i><br />It started with my trip to Iceland in February. X was basically the soundtrack for the whole trip for me. I know this album is over a year old but 2015 was the year I got into it. I got to see Ed in concert in September and there was a transcendent moment during this song. He looped his voice over and over in woven harmonies that were unbelievably beautiful. I found the YouTube video of the song from the show I went to and watched it hoping to relive a little of what it was like, but it was a faint, muddy echo of what I heard live. Time stopped and it felt like forever that I was hearing those heavenly voices singing together. </li>
<li><i>Loch Lomond (Traditional)</i><i>- Arr. Ralph Vaughn Williams, Performed by Chanticleer </i>This year I was lucky enough to go to this very loch in Scotland. I had the song queued up in anticipation for my first glimpse of it. I pushed play when it came into view and it was the exact musical moment I was hoping to create. The gorgeous snow-capped Trossachs and lakes resting in between with this song playing as I drove the shore road were some of my more magical moments of 2015. </li>
</ol>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWCQlsQdq5AvQYetEEEZmldS5SAPkQx0kgDj3E72VM6zNBDFW_USeL-fGsqW26GKaMNxI8qNfhV0j4ojwKIQ7m5H5VFm7oBwtKU4k4WEreoeCasDotuJ9oM6nKJV5Br7EJwDF/s1600/P1020130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1600" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWCQlsQdq5AvQYetEEEZmldS5SAPkQx0kgDj3E72VM6zNBDFW_USeL-fGsqW26GKaMNxI8qNfhV0j4ojwKIQ7m5H5VFm7oBwtKU4k4WEreoeCasDotuJ9oM6nKJV5Br7EJwDF/s320/P1020130.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glencoe, Scotland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Deeper Dive</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><i>Drive All Night - Glen Hansard (ft. Eddie Vedder and Jake Clemons)</i><br />While the original Springsteen song is just as achingly beautiful as this, something about the sax solo and Hansard's voice send this over the top. I love both versions equally but just could not stop listening to this. Did I mention the sax solos? Oh man. </li>
<li><i>The Beigeness - Kate Tempest </i>Socially conscious hip hop from an English girl who has a cherubic face and a heart on fire with justice, pain and hope. I like her usage of the word "Beigeness" and her disdain for it. Life should be full of color. </li>
<li><i>Between Me and You - Brandon Flowers</i><br />A song about struggle and questioning the reason for the struggle. I think his sentiments carry weight and a relatability accessible by many. </li>
<li><i>It's All Just Pretend - Ivan and Alyosha</i><br />Kind of like Mr. Flowers above, these guys are writing about the struggle to be happy and that happiness is basically just pretend, this side of paradise. "Never trust that man whose been smilin' all his life, his fears will catch up in the end". I think they are saying that there are things to be afraid of and that's okay because if you are pretending they aren't there, that's not authentic. The older I get the more I see both the darkness and the light and this song does a great job of talking about recognizing but not being defeated by fear. </li>
<li><i>Story of an Immigrant - Civil Twilight</i><br />Little bro has been campaigning for this band for a long time. Their show I attended this year wasn't well attended but their album translated well live. The more I listened to it after the show, the more I liked it. This is one of my favorite cuts off the album. I like the strong percussion and the refrain of "ready to begin". I feel like it's a song about surrender and giving over to a larger path that you know is there but is somewhat unclear. That is a sentiment that defined a large part of this year for me. </li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsr9PQicY50bfocLXN1u2TdMtOs18pJuXYCAXu8vu2jBKK09UNJ1jIe3JGzUrjOuEhumZqqKnfAuyDyJopyhYH7KBK3v6vkyG8YHcoqNOmjg0RQStgAa-RTMXsuaPsK33WYykf/s1600/P1010725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsr9PQicY50bfocLXN1u2TdMtOs18pJuXYCAXu8vu2jBKK09UNJ1jIe3JGzUrjOuEhumZqqKnfAuyDyJopyhYH7KBK3v6vkyG8YHcoqNOmjg0RQStgAa-RTMXsuaPsK33WYykf/s320/P1010725.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A frozen Deep Creek Lake, MD</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Wince</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li> <i>Wildfire - Scavenger Hunt</i><br />As I scanned back through my memories of old flames (which I did an awful lot in 2015 and spent lots of time doing <a href="http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/alice-face-palm-featured.jpg">this</a>), this song seems to capture what that feeling is like. It talks about how quickly and hot it burns, and how that's fun, but there's a knowing edge to it. I am thankful to look back on all of those memories through the lens of Grace All-Sufficient. </li>
<li><i>Pierre - Ryn Weaver</i><br />"Still we had some fun 'til I came to". I love that line. Sounds like a few of my relationships. I like how she's looking back over this catalogue of people she has known and seeing the fun parts, but also the bad parts and knowing she was always waiting for something better. </li>
<li><i>Exeunt - The Oh Hellos</i><br />This song says goodbye to all those old affairs and alluring charms of days and people past. It takes a positing of strength against them and even calls it, my love, an opiate, wine. All these things that are seemingly good and give good feelings but can be so destructive too. Brilliant song and the exact sentiment I had to come to terms with in saying goodbyes to all those people that have been in my life over the years. No more wincing. "Even when you hunt me...I have set my mind and my will: I am leaving."</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFVmVKRbr6LNBJ7JsMGaLYkRXrTJlZ6DEmQGq0joKevOC803HLj0jZ7186xGwHuLGmIAA8icax6Z4M4u_jWiMFVAh6qWCYXwi45eUxSNS1jREYvPjyP5BW5n_b7bs1xYh2D2_/s1600/IMG_20150808_195511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFVmVKRbr6LNBJ7JsMGaLYkRXrTJlZ6DEmQGq0joKevOC803HLj0jZ7186xGwHuLGmIAA8icax6Z4M4u_jWiMFVAh6qWCYXwi45eUxSNS1jREYvPjyP5BW5n_b7bs1xYh2D2_/s320/IMG_20150808_195511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The One Direction Concert - Baltimore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Theme of My Song</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Don't You Want to Thank Someone for This - Andrew Peterson</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There were probably three or four months this year when I couldn't start my day without listening to this song. Its words stay with me as a prayer and a reminder to always look for God everywhere in gratitude. It's 10 minutes long and I'm always sad when it's over. It tells the story of why we need redemption and why there can be beauty in a fallen world, and how we can still be grateful for all of it. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvXL99glxe888uP3jy1aa5KP_1e7oWvKl1RqLnjKJ_cKfUdHUDx-buivPFnwwMvg33w8EjL_AlrAPsgEMbfmT7OXHYIO9dxLyYAqVKQrBrCjbhuUG-VVzR-_uy03g1yBAoUPs/s1600/11696329_10152998228443181_2167787319242017492_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvXL99glxe888uP3jy1aa5KP_1e7oWvKl1RqLnjKJ_cKfUdHUDx-buivPFnwwMvg33w8EjL_AlrAPsgEMbfmT7OXHYIO9dxLyYAqVKQrBrCjbhuUG-VVzR-_uy03g1yBAoUPs/s320/11696329_10152998228443181_2167787319242017492_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gentlemen of the Road at Point Pleasant, NJ</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Jamz</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<ol>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Make Some Room - The Suffers</i><br />Soulful and smooth, I love pretty much everything about how this song sounds. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i>Three Women - Jack White</i> (adaptation of <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3RizOpVNE3a5zx2xSaQUrj">Three Women Blues by Blind Willie McTell</a>)<br />Admittedly not the best subject matter, but I'll be damned if this song doesn't completely take me over every time I hear it (especially the moment that happens at 3:26... wait for it). Such swagger, so raw. This song is the equivalent of the guy from the wrong side of the tracks that you can't help but have a major crush on. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Gooey - Glass Animals<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
Sexiest song of the year for me (though released in 2014). It barely beat out Jack White for this coveted award. It's nonsensical and weird, and sounds (to me) like what a lava lamp looks like. </div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-36062470087592603982016-01-02T13:57:00.001-08:002016-01-08T12:57:41.027-08:00My Favorite Albums of 2015This year, it felt important to do a separate post for just the albums of 2015 that occupied my thoughts. There were a few that were released that were complete works- truly had a story arch or a clear narrative, and to publish the songs off the albums in my year-end list without the rest of the album as context felt wrong. And there were just a few albums I needed to recognize as complete works, with no particular stand out songs on them for the regular year-end list but the album as a whole being the more impactful piece for 2015. <br />
<br />
I hope you will enjoy these selections. <br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7a78GiEowpaCa7ZJs44xUU">Hans Zimmer - Interstellar: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</a><br />
It is very rare for an original score in a movie to catch my attention but this score was so good it almost distracted me from the movie (which I thought was amazing!). I cannot get over the organ. I read a bunch of interviews about the soundtrack and Hans Zimmer says he used the organ because at one time, the organ was considered the most scientifically advanced piece of machinery ever. This soundtrack has made me weep this year simply because of its beauty and power and mystery. <i>Favorite Track: "Detach"</i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5HU6Z7afYcN23XAegZ3EQA">The Lone Bellow - Then Came the Morning</a><br />
I got to see this band twice this year and both times, in very different settings, they knocked my socks off. This album is so beautiful, start to finish. Full of great stories, beautiful harmonies, and powerful, heart-swelling songs, I haven't stopped listening to it since it came out 11 months ago. Favorite track: If you hold a gun to my head... "Fake Roses"<br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3y0v7w0LytPhOxV8zXGNNV">Seryn - Shadow Shows</a><br />
When I went to their show in April it was the start of a very tumultuous three months. But they continue to be one of the most exciting and uplifting live music acts around. I hate the idea of them getting so big their shows no longer fit in weird back rooms of clubs in DC, but I also want their soaring music to reach the masses that I think need to hear it. I can't wait for their next album. <i>Favorite Track: "The Fire"</i><br />
<br />
Taylor Swift - 1989<br />
Because no person on planet earth was not affected by this ubiquitous album or TaySway herself in some fashion this year. After much cajoling from my friend Sarah, I finally got into her music this year and, I have to tell ya, it's pretty good. She is a great songwriter already and has some of the best in the biz making her songs even better in production. And even if I hated her music, I would still like her because listening to her music has opened the door to conversations and new bonding with people in my life, both strangers and friends. The second best thing about this album is the covers it inspired, first an <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0MVK1j7wrUkBZ09ZuMURJA">entire album from Ryan Adams</a> and then a single-song direct response from <a href="http://www.stereogum.com/1832459/father-john-misty-covered-ryan-adams-cover-of-taylor-swifts-blank-space-in-the-style-of-the-velvet-underground/mp3s/">Father John Misty</a> which kills me every time I listen to it. <i>Favorite track: "Style" or "Out of the Woods"</i> (pre- seeing the music video)<br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0U8DeqqKDgIhIiWOdqiQXE">Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell</a><br />
This is on everyone's best of 2015 list. Once again, this weird genius creates a study of death in musical form that interweaves religious musings, true and profound statements human existence, and his gorgeous layered sound that is quiet and yet rings so loudly. I may not have put this on my year-end album list though if I hadn't seen him perform the whole thing live. He played a show in Baltimore and he didn't introduce himself or say any words at all, he just started playing the album and didn't stop at all until they played the whole thing through. Behind him were beautiful images, art and lighting effects that highlighted several themes of the album. It was sort of like watching a play. It was a very meaningful show. Sufjan also has trouble with himself when he's not singing or playing an instrument on stage. He does these strange dance moves that I don't think he can help himself from doing in the in-between times. Goes to show that, even if you front a band and are a genius, you can still be awkward. <i>Favorite Track: Should Have Known Better</i><br />
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Jon Foreman - The Wonderlands: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/32KJbleDeuZJEhvkvvE1Yy">Shadows</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7G3XbC5S6SQg1nbj4cJjFn">Sunlight,</a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5CtRJ7mKfz0Mnl0wFa4IWR">Darkness</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6ne4G044ExK5OaFZc04caS">Dawn</a><br />
Jon released these albums over the course of 2015 and one of the themes I became very aware of this year was darkness and light occupying the same space, good and evil, sin and redemption. I think this set of four EPs does an amazing job of exploring those themes. Jon's voice isn't my favorite but I love the content he explores and some of the songs fit his voice perfectly. He's been cranking out really great musical project exploring other themes too, like the four seasons, and I appreciate his creative vision for these projects.<i> Favorite Tracks: "She Said", "Run Free", "Your Love is Enough", "You Don't Know How Beautiful You Are".</i> (I decided I get to pick one from each EP)<br />
<a href="spotify:album:6WgGWYw6XXQyLTsWt7tXky"><br /></a>
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6WgGWYw6XXQyLTsWt7tXky">Paul Simon - Graceland</a><br />
I've long danced around this album. I've heard a few songs off it, sure, and heard lots more about its critical acclaim and innovation, but this year I finally took the time to really listen to it. Mostly because my older brother loves it so much. I listened to some of Simon's commentary on how this album came about and was fascinated by the creative process he went through to arrive at the finished product. I also just love love love the sounds on this album. he said he recorded half of it in South Africa and half of it in Louisiana and you can hear the zydeco on it as well as the the traditional "gumboots" sound of South Africa. It's an astounding album. It's probably in my top ten of all time now. <i>Favorite Track: "Under African Skies"</i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6ElM03eht4CjA1tuy5bZZQ">Dawes - All Your Favorite Bands</a><br />
Saw these guys twice in 2015 and completely loved their new stuff. This album is just as good musically and lyrically as their others. They haven't deviated from their sound but it's never boring and Taylor Goldsmith's lyrics just seem to get better the more life he lives. And those guitar solos? Keep 'em coming, boys. <i>Favorite Track: "Somewhere Along the Way"</i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/630zfSVYXJydI1vkUShGWn">The Oh Hellos - Dear Wormwood</a><br />
One of my most anticipated releases of 2015. Another album that is a complete thought - a conversation between tormentor and tormentee with a beginning and and end. In many ways it continues and improves upon themes from their last full studio album - <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7cJyN85qjzHZBjeo9LRry8">Through the Deep Dark Valley</a>. I love them because they speak so candidly about the initial sweetness of sin, the alluring danger of darkness, of the remorse on the other side, and the beautiful hope we have in conquering sin once and for all. Maggie and Tyler Heath are some of the best songwriters out there these days, IMHO. <i>Favorite Track: All of them. I pick all of them. </i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2uRTsStAmo7Z2UwCIvuwMv">Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin' down...</a><br />
Just listen to the lyrics. This guy is a brilliant songwriter. Simple production and stripped down lyrics make this album incredibly compelling in an unassuming way. His music feels to me like taking a leisurely stroll through his head and seeing what's really there. It's sort of leisurely and even, and the way he speak-sings a little bit, in the style of Lou Reed and Bob Dylan. <i>Favorite Track: "Wheelhouse"</i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3Gy0FCDIx9MoliXd3YcTBt">Belle and Sebastien - Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance</a><br />
Just because if they release something, it will probably be among my favorites for the year. You have to find the right moment to listen to this band, but when you do, it's oh so right. For me, it's early morning car rides (preferably in spring with the windows down) with sun breaking in through my windows or cool calm evenings at home while cooking dinner. They always give me something to chew on with their songs and I love them for that. <i>Favorite Track: "Ever Had a Little Faith?"</i><br />
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<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/3K5jW2vkunhourPeQ3DiwV">Jukebox the Ghost - Jukebox the Ghost</a><br />
I've been listening to these guys since 2010 and it seems they have really found a groove here. I remember loving Something Corporate/Jack's Mannequin because they billed themselves as "piano rock". This group came together in DC (their GW alums) and Ben Thornewill's voice and piano skills are not to be missed. I love their clever lyrics and I think they say some true things. They're funny too. Just listen to the song "<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2vnM1GudpO5GH1oOg0qgxr">Hollywood</a>". It's all there. <br />
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<br />
Honorable Mention -<br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5RJU9n0gTryjqZnV77ZVEu">Stereophonics - Keep the Village Alive</a><br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/20y1G5gR3UHrPsLgNi43km">Bronze Radio Return - Light Me Up</a><br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/2UCyiayMoJOwBilPLQPQvK">Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats</a> - Eponymous<br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/5N1pMV9Kyw14aOF0ntLS8M">Eagle Rock Gospel Singers - Heavenly Fire</a><br />
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6xsmGWFDOdSRjyZ7QBBGEx">John Mark McMillan - Borderland</a><br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-78501137274827960862015-08-18T14:10:00.003-07:002015-08-19T08:24:34.511-07:00I Unironically Go to a One Direction ConcertThis is all Matt Wertz's fault.<br />
<br />
If he hadn't put "Steal My Girl" on his #WertzWednesdays playlist last year it would have been something I heard but never <i>really </i>listened to. Then I never would have ended up in Baltimore on a Saturday night amidst the deafening screams of 50,000 fangirls. But he did, and I did, and that's where my story starts. <br />
<br />
I originally toyed with the idea of going to see One Direction, sort of because I was curious about what the show would be like, and sort of because I really, really liked some of the songs off their last album (again, <u>all Matt Wertz's fault</u>). I saw the ticket prices and immediately tossed the idea. No way I could excuse that kind of spending on a personal experiment. But back in February I got a call from a teacher friend of mine who, in her voicemail, simply said "Hi! I have a crazy idea... call me back. Bye." Her crazy idea was that she wanted her 2015 Frivolous Tax Refund Check Expenditure to be two tickets to the One Direction show in Baltimore in August, and she wanted me to go with her. So, through circumstances clearly bearing the mark of destiny, I found myself sitting in the third to last row of M and T bank stadium on a beautiful summer night, eagerly awaiting my time with the four remaining members of One Direction.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfJyKIFSteeyooCWoq08yqfLlwe3nRXeLAJmF2XpyulnagXopjwLS-q2SKZY9v8QAzfHDqkgfZl0rS5pZXFdlvMk6XcPWf4-wFg91vsSLECg-wDHEdqO2XHfrs3pnsp6iqs0C/s1600/IMG_20150808_195511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfJyKIFSteeyooCWoq08yqfLlwe3nRXeLAJmF2XpyulnagXopjwLS-q2SKZY9v8QAzfHDqkgfZl0rS5pZXFdlvMk6XcPWf4-wFg91vsSLECg-wDHEdqO2XHfrs3pnsp6iqs0C/s320/IMG_20150808_195511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the nosebleed section of the nosebleed section. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While unrivaled people watching opportunities drew me in initially, I ended up engaged and strangely affirmed by One Direction's performance. My friend makes a great point about the importance of bubblegum pop music. Sometimes you just need a silly pop song. I have to agree. I keep a playlist that I call the Twinkie playlist. It's full of songs that have zero musical value and might even be bad for me, but can't help loving. One Direction are not actively bad for me, I don't think, but taken in incessantly and obsessively, it could (like anything consumed that way) end up doing some pretty serious damage. Often if something isn't making me think, or doesn't have any redemptive value to it, I feel guilty for spending time on it. Songs in which 50% of the lyrics are monosyllabic singing are what I would classify as pretty low-hanging fruit. One Direction really delivers in that category, much as the Police did with "De do do do, De da da da". Sometimes you just need to eat a Twinkie. Given the success of both The Police and One Direction, I am sure I am not alone. <br />
<br />
First off, the openers: the ultra-high energy Icona Pop. It's genius for ladykillers like One Direction to have a girl band warm up the crowd screaming things like "All the Ladies in the house make some nooooiiiiiiissseee". They're hype girls; meant to ramp up the female empowerment level through their sassy pop songs...kind of like the Spice Girls. In fact, so much like the Spice Girls that they even LOOKED like them (Caroline Hjelt was totally channeling Scary with her hair that night). My big takeaways from their set were that I could take over the world if I were hot and dancing all the time. Also that fun trumps everything and justifies any means, and it's every young person's right to have it. Basically their songs are all a modern day spin on "Fight for Your Right to Party" without the clever rhymes and Brooklyn accents. It was humorous to have someone tell us that we can rule the world with a shimmy and a shake, only to then bring on the dreamy manflesh to turn us all into drooling crazy people immediately after. Who's actually in charge here? I don't think the Icona Pop Rule of Life applies to those over 30... but they had microphone stands that looked like light sabres that were pretty sweet. <br />
<br />
As an aside, I wish club beats didn't overpower every other part of the songs they are in. I know you are supposed to get lost in the beat and the whole point is escapism and awesome dancing, and maybe drug use, but we swallow a lot of crap down with those beats without tasting it. Not least of which: Icona Pop ripped off the chorus of Tupac Shakur's "Me and my Girlfriend" for their hit "Girlfriend" and no one batted an eye. I should probably consider that a substantial percentage of the audience was not alive in 1996, or even in 2003 when Jay-Z did the same thing in "'03 Bonnie and Clyde". So there's that.<br />
<br />
Between the sets, we sat up in the stands for an hour talking about things we were seeing in the crowd and looking up facts about One Direction and Icona Pop on our phones. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3i362GgvR045QyQHzdmeUdSeA3NAunwvPpET_0me9PIREh39l2sdTkGGBUX5Q6ubRfXSjgovIqx1xOtZQhBfZVrlPtaFtvfepFvHH84mn5F_95Bn7wePTC2muc2awm9_oSCx/s1600/sumo+1d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS3i362GgvR045QyQHzdmeUdSeA3NAunwvPpET_0me9PIREh39l2sdTkGGBUX5Q6ubRfXSjgovIqx1xOtZQhBfZVrlPtaFtvfepFvHH84mn5F_95Bn7wePTC2muc2awm9_oSCx/s640/sumo+1d.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No room for ageism at a 1D show. Everyone's a fan. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We saw grandmas, grandpas, sullen dads, moms who were as excited if not more so than their daughters, myriad midriffs, jeweled high-heeled sneakers, signs begging a band member to spit on them, and more things that kind of made me sad. My friend was a wealth of information on some of the trends I was seeing. I corroborated all her information and added some of my own findings. Here are some of the things we found out about 1D subculture:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/cut-zayn-malik-trends-twitter-after-he-quit-one-direction-1861210">#CutforZayn</a> was an internationally trending (and horrifying) hashtag on Twitter in March after his announcement of leaving the band to "be a normal 22 year old"</li>
<li>There was a Teen Vogue piece entitled "<a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/one-direction-concert/13">What to Wear to a One Direction Concert</a>"</li>
<li>An Emergency announcement went out on the official <a href="http://onedirectionfanfiction.com/">One Direction Fan Fiction Website</a> after Zayn left, assuring contributors that "<i>All fanfiction regarding Zayn will be remain unaffected. We encourage Zayn fics, because here anything is possible</i>!"</li>
<li>There is a staggering amount of 1D Fan Fiction, and there are annual official awards for it, with a slew of categories.</li>
<li>From <a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/news/a43331/one-direction-fans-who-shipped-larry-are-absolutely-melting-down-over-the/">Cosmopolitan</a>: "Larry is the nickname given by people who 'ship' (i.e. fantasize about a relationship between) Harry and Louis. (Larry Stylinson is a mash-up of Harry's and Louis's names.)"</li>
<li>Fans know that Harry Styles is partial to bananas; (he's <a href="http://www.sugarscape.com/lads/news/a1069160/harry-styles-wears-an-actual-banana-costume-for-one-directions-show-in-charlotte-heres-his-best-ever-banana-based-moments/">worn them</a>, had them <a href="http://www.sugarscape.com/lads/news/a1079113/harry-styles-banana-launch/">thrown at him</a> and has occasionally even <a href="http://www.sugarscape.com/lads/news/a1079113/harry-styles-banana-launch/">ridden one on stage</a>) and they wear banana costumes to concerts in solidarity with him. </li>
<li>The #bandanaproject gives fans a way to show favoritism for a member of 1D by wearing a specific color of bandana. A fan movement started in early 2014. Harry = green, Niall = white, Liam = red, Louis = blue, Zayn (faithful departed) = yellow. </li>
<li>I have now successfully learned the names of the men who make up the band and can associate the correct name with the correct person. Please don't quiz me. </li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJlGtbto7qrF5zfYPkco5UOIqsyvb6ZE0-hPdtrih-zw7lsqAFVz-LOywq9_Vh-gbhyZc1ujH0pHFSfN-4itv_lXNuFwRIQ4sW0QbJgGqOZWDgBaQquv_NPmSeuAVCan0hoEd/s1600/IMG_20150808_192505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJlGtbto7qrF5zfYPkco5UOIqsyvb6ZE0-hPdtrih-zw7lsqAFVz-LOywq9_Vh-gbhyZc1ujH0pHFSfN-4itv_lXNuFwRIQ4sW0QbJgGqOZWDgBaQquv_NPmSeuAVCan0hoEd/s320/IMG_20150808_192505.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bandana Project on display in the crowd at our show. Someone's hanging on to Zayn's memory. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Also in that interim hour we were bombarded with cross promotional music and commercials from Honda. I had never heard of 5 Seconds of Summer before Saturday and now I am more familiar with their music than I would have cared to be. They kept showing clips of 5SoS and I kept turning to Laurel excited that showing a video of the band probably meant that One Direction was coming on stage soon. Sadly, the bands are just that similar (looking, sounding, you name it...) that I couldn't tell the difference between them. 5SoS have a song called "Kinda Hot" which affirms that if you are a kinda hot girl it makes anything you do awesome, even if it's actually terrible. Another band we heard from often was Little Mix. They, too, follow the Spice Girls formula but with less of the girl power and more reliance on power chiefly derived, it would seem, from extensive use of eyeliner, hair extensions and metallic spandex. I was really, really bored by the end of the interim and did not want to hear any more Honda Civic Tour music. I am obviously not their target demographic. I was quite impressed, however, with the overall marketing synergy in terms of the band lineup, Honda Civics, car financing, and education loans. There were a lot of bored dads there who probably had nothing better to do than crunch numbers about student and car loans for their little girls.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAZb5LMu-Z9N0UezI_PhXJVd2tAikHAZdq31WEu8fUwjDJBhF6IFP8A5I_PYUixx6DAwx5a1BDaL3lJhEJH_FfUpD_-iFcz_Sy0jJakp8xZ8iUD5_gQzuiAbNUYqgxXehUM7W/s1600/1d+dad+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAZb5LMu-Z9N0UezI_PhXJVd2tAikHAZdq31WEu8fUwjDJBhF6IFP8A5I_PYUixx6DAwx5a1BDaL3lJhEJH_FfUpD_-iFcz_Sy0jJakp8xZ8iUD5_gQzuiAbNUYqgxXehUM7W/s1600/1d+dad+shirt.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90HmFGpU2Ju6NJjW-iZFUxcKY5dcKe4B0QP-FCBcYFuc7WnfvEVTzGYrF1hKRzKzI_WvlAoGnpvW0srI9SZMr0QDnIz3SqdLIQf1x_j-QeLAxzES67rJv1NXczvNSyvLHciLD/s1600/1d+dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh90HmFGpU2Ju6NJjW-iZFUxcKY5dcKe4B0QP-FCBcYFuc7WnfvEVTzGYrF1hKRzKzI_WvlAoGnpvW0srI9SZMr0QDnIz3SqdLIQf1x_j-QeLAxzES67rJv1NXczvNSyvLHciLD/s320/1d+dad.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best(?) of the 1D dad shirts. </td></tr>
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<br />
Our wait was almost up and we heard the sound of anticipation:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218674970&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
...and then the lights went down:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218674565&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
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<br />
and THEN they took the stage:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mzaht55YcPw" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
I was both astounded by and immediately infected with the power radiating from those four men. After the first song they stopped, casually sauntering around the stage, knowing that their audience was waiting with wrapt attention for any morsel they might want to throw us. After some words of greeting, the only one who wore semi-normal fitting pants said, "I see a lot of sexy Americans out there..." The place erupted. I was surprised to find myself blushing and not a little bit flattered by the tiny figure way down below. Later on in the set, one of them said "People in the back, we SEE you!". They were talking about us, way up in the bad seats. Again I felt a wave of good feelings wash over me. I have read before that women really need to feel seen; being seen is a huge part of feeling loved for us. Even though I knew they couldn't actually see me, I was surprised at how good it made me feel; how an impersonal comment felt very personal. One girl with Down Syndrome was sitting about three rows in front of us. She had on her bandana (yellow... maybe she's still in mourning?), carried her sign, and was ecstatic to be there. One Direction's uncanny ability to make everyone feel special, and specifically to make women feel beautiful really mattered. I thought that a night like this must be a real gift for that girl, who might not feel that a whole lot. It certainly felt like a gift to me.<br />
<br />
Like I said, these guys ooze charisma. But the cynic in me suspects their message is practiced and honed by their undoubtedly amazing marketing teams and collected audience information. In this electronic age, where we are always leaving a trail of breadcrumbs of our likes and dislikes with every click, do we indirectly tell them what to say to us and they have the good sense to say (or sing) it?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaoHwuEBfrtHLOGLtD0YYxeNWcfR1u3g6UUcQDfUwJrtouZwrDGg6cgWXn1kfjoMCv3PdsJHQvE1z19IyPEyC5TlgeKpuM-tCIGwvxzOZc-zWwkIPmEeO6YR7ub2OyuBjHcMf/s1600/IMG_20150808_210229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaoHwuEBfrtHLOGLtD0YYxeNWcfR1u3g6UUcQDfUwJrtouZwrDGg6cgWXn1kfjoMCv3PdsJHQvE1z19IyPEyC5TlgeKpuM-tCIGwvxzOZc-zWwkIPmEeO6YR7ub2OyuBjHcMf/s320/IMG_20150808_210229.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everybody wanna steal my girl...</td></tr>
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Here are <a href="http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/one-direction/2015/m-and-t-bank-stadium-baltimore-md-2bf7ace6.html">all the songs they played</a> in the order that they were played. All those screams you heard in the recordings? Multiply it by 1000. I was woefully unprepared for the amount of screaming that the night demanded. I really enjoyed dancing, and when they played "Steal My Girl", the second song, I went just about as crazy as everyone else. My favorite song of the night was "Where Do Broken Hearts Go". I had heard what I wanted to hear by song #6 and enjoyed the rest of the evening totally uninvested.<br />
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I felt a little bit of distance from the band because while they co-write on a majority of their songs, a large portion of the writing is done for them. They played their song "Eighteen" and as soon as they played it I heard Ed Sheeran. I asked Laurel if this song had been written by Ed, and she said it had. It was the guitar intro that tipped me off. I understand how important the right packaging is for a successful product. The four men on stage are the absolute perfect package for the product being conveyed. Those looking for anything more than odes to youth and young love, and danceable, carefree, quintessential pop music should look elsewhere. Although Ed Sheeran's music qualifies as pop music, I think his lyrics are pretty substantial. I kinda wished it was just him singing his own song to me, instead of these other guys. Ed does cool things like quote Dylan Thomas and processes some pretty big ideas in his music. Not to mention he can write a <i>killer</i> hook. But he also has talent enough as a songwriter alone to keep the whole world in great love songs for a few decades, so why not share the wealth?<br />
<br />
Maybe it's because I came of musical age in the 90s, when angst ruled the airwaves, that I inherently distrust any music that doesn't make me feel a little pain. (Grouplove's 2011 album entitled "Never Trust a Happy Song" is coming to mind...) Smashing Pumpkins really did a number on me. Pop music is a solipsism, a genre that defines itself. Truthfully, pop music encompasses many of my favorite bands: U2, Springsteen, Mumford and Sons, etc., simply because they are listened to by a large number of people, hence, they are popular. But the way I am defining the One Direction sound points to a carefully engineered popular music. There are bands that arrive at popularity because what they create from their own artistic vision simply finds a place in the hearts of many. I am unsure that One Direction has an artistic vision outside the one that we, as their consumers, give to them based on telling them what we like and what we want to see through social media and consumer patterns. <br />
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My favorite music (and my favorite things and people, come to think of it) draws me outside of myself. My own unexplored, surface desires don't necessarily lead me to the things that are best for me. More often the opposite is true. Underneath my surface desires is one big, all-encompassing desire that, I think, everyone shares in. It transcends this world. I think if we're all being honest, our <i>real</i> desire isn't met by the things this life has to offer us. I walked away from this concert with some of those surface desires met.<br />
<ol>
<li>1D actually made me feel beautiful. When they sang those songs like "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Steal My Girl" they were singing words that I needed (need) to hear more than I do. And for a moment, I let myself believe, along with the rest of the stadium full of listeners, that they were singing them just for me. </li>
<li>I had a lot of fun: unencumbered, silly, carefree fun. And largely because the music doesn't require thought. Its happy, easy, major-chord progressions, and catchy rhythms make it accessible for everyone. </li>
<li>I didn't feel alone. Besides being in a place with 50,000 other people, I also felt united behind a common purpose, which was to enjoy fun music. </li>
</ol>
However, there was another common purpose at work: veneration of One Direction. On that point, I felt more like Ulysses tied to the mast of his ship in The Odyssey when he passes the Sirens. In fact, that might have been part of the motivation for going to this concert at all. Could I withstand the charms of this all-powerful boy band and keep my musical virtue intact? Part of me wanted to give over to the worship of these four golden-voiced men. The combination of their insanely catchy songs, the well-placed compliments from the stage falling on ears that desperately need to be affirmed, and the beautiful things delivering them made this desire almost irresistible.<br />
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<div>
Maybe what kept me tied to the mast is age and experience. I'm old enough to know the space that One Direction occupies and to keep it there - the Twinkie space. They need to be there to keep me from being too serious. They are a reminder that good things don't always come with a side of pain, or deep introspection. But in the long run, real fulfillment is found in things with lasting truth, and I think the message of One Direction is one that works for a while, but no real answers come from it. So I will continue to listen to, and thoroughly enjoy their flawless pop productions when the time is right for them. But I will not look to them as songs that point towards something bigger than me, and thus to something truer than our own feelings. I am deeply appreciative of the generosity that made this concert possible for me, and for the kind souls on the stage, who while full of charm and pretty words, were also full of seemingly genuine gratitude. 1D, keep doing what you're doing. You're alright in my book. </div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-27484096796862033172015-06-28T17:38:00.000-07:002015-06-28T17:38:01.288-07:00Heaven on the Jersey ShoreIn preparation for this past weekend, episodes of MTV's "reality" show Jersey Shore came to mind. Mostly what kept popping into my head was that sound byte from the opening credits where Snooki yells, probably to no one in particular, "We're going to Jersey Shore, BITCH!". What happened this last weekend on the Jersey Shore was restoring and draining, gorgeous and ugly, challenging and easy as pie, or rather, donut. This is my tale of the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Seaside Heights, NJ.<br />
<br />
My tickets for this musical event were purchased with little other thought than 1) I know people in Jersey, 2) Mumford and Sons are playing within a semi-reasonable distance for the first time in 2 years. I bought two tickets lickety split and the rest fell into place gradually over the next three months. Within about a month, MandS had booked a show at a local venue, albeit one that I hate, but I was still very happy with my decision to drive 4 hours instead of 1 to see them with the rest of the amazing lineup they had assembled. My little bro's in-laws, who live about 30 minutes north of the Stopover location in Seaside Heights, were always saying "come visit any time". So I decided to take them up on their offer. DC book club pal Katie and I hit the road on Thursday afternoon, ready to explore the sights and sounds of the Jersey shore in the early part of the season. It was unseasonably chilly and rainy. Slogging through normal traffic up to Baltimore, once we went through the Harbor tunnel it was pretty smooth sailing. This drive, I even hesitate to admit it, is starting to feel familiar and almost homey. We decided we should head straight to Seaside Heights to get the lay of the land and to see if we could catch the Springsteen cover band scheduled to play on the downtown stage that night.<br />
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Our route got us off the Jersey turnpike earlier and led us down a gorgeous road smack through Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Memories came flooding back again and it was nice to drive that quiet two-lane road of scrub pines and rolling hills with a sense of peace and fondness, even joy. We were at the beach in less than an hour from there, and found out that the cover band didn't start until 10pm. We decided to find some unhealthy boardwalk delicacies, walk around, and catch the beginning of the set. We noticed that the boardwalk and Seaside Heights in general was largely empty. There were so few people around that it was almost eerie. I love off-season beach precisely because of its emptiness, but it felt strange the night before such a huge event. We had read that something like 35,000 people were expected to come to this festival and knowing the influx of people expected over the next 24 hours and seeing it so empty with all the structures in place to welcome them was both exciting and a little ominous. It was cold with the sea breeze on the boardwalk. We stopped in Jimbo's and got fajitas and listened to a local band tear up the stage covering everything from Counting Crows to Sublime. <br />
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After warming up at dinner a bit, we checked out where the festival would be the next day. The stage was directly on the beach. Barriers for the right side of the stage actually extended into the surf. It really hit home to me then how great this event would be. I was thinking what a logistical nightmare that must have been for the engineers to get a stage of that size and complexity set up on sand though. Sheesh. <br />
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After marveling at the location and excitedly chattering (or maybe that was just our teeth from the cold?) about how awesome everything was going to be the next day, we walked over to the Springsteen cover band who had just taken the stage a few blocks away. They call themselves "Tramps Like Us" and they were fantastic. The lead singer may have gone a little bit overboard in his Springsteen vocalization, but such a fun time. There were maybe 50 people there. And there were some local kids, late teens, early 20s who were hanging out celebrating someone's birthday. They were absolutely out of their minds, and one of them had this amazing huge tattoo of the state of New Jersey on his arm. It became my goal to get a picture with him, but, as Katie said, it was like approaching a wild animal. We had no idea what he was actually going to do or if it was safe. <br />
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We took a picture of his tattoo from afar, and stayed for 5 songs (Thunder Road, Atlantic City, Radio Nowhere, Prove it All Night, and Because the Night). We were quite cold and decided to head up to homebase at that point. We arrived at the pretty little beach house about 20 minutes later after a drive on completely empty streets. We were greeted by a chalkboard message over the fireplace saying "Welcome to our home Katie and Karla!" and sweetly decorated little bedrooms with warm, soft beds. <br />
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As I snuggled down for the night and started to think about the day behind me and the two days ahead, a goodness crept over me. I woke to the sound of a heavy, steady rain in the morning and went back to sleep. I woke up much later to gray, chilly air and Katie emerged around the same time. We went downstairs to say hello to Chloe the dog and Bruno and Cathy, our hosts. We chatted for a while and then we ladies went for a long walk down by the ocean. After returning, Cathy made us breakfast and then Katie and I headed to Asbury Park. She's a good friend and was kind enough to accompany me on my long-awaited Springsteen pilgrimage.<br />
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We got there and I was absolutely giddy. As we walked onto the mostly empty boardwalk I vivdly remembered the view from an episode of <i>The Sopranos </i>(season 2 finale, as it turns out. See video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8hUcqtRNWs">here</a>.). I walked, drinking in all the history and making connections to the places I was seeing to their acknowledgements in cherished Springsteen songs. It felt like the perfect way to enter into the musical spirit of the weekend. Then, we walked a few blocks to the Stone Pony. THE Stone Pony. Not exactly where Springsteen and Bon Jovi got their starts but certainly integral to their success, and a platform for many others. Stepping inside, empty with the grey light from the door creeping into the dark, storied interior, I was overwhelmed with all the amazing music that must have happened here over the decades. All the pictures, signed guitars, cymbals, banjo covers that line the walls, each one telling me a story. The stage wasn't set at all, it was just a blank canvas, dirty and beaten up, ready for greatness. A musical communion of saints, concerts past and future, surrounded me.<br />
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From there, we drove to Point Pleasant for a diner lunch, good conversation and then donuts. It was National Donut Day (NDD), after all. We went to Top That! donuts which are small batch, made to order, and make your own flavor combos (like those serve your own yogurt places where you get to pick all your toppings). We went a little crazy. At one point, the guy asked Katie: "are you sure you want all that on one donut?" referring to her creation of maple glaze, crumbled bacon, pecans, and bavarian cream filling. I got chocolate glaze, peanut butter chips, MandMs, and mini chocolate chips. The donuts were still hot from the fryer, crispy on the outside, soft, light and cakey on the inside. The guy in the store seemed a little bit overrun. They were offering free donuts to kids under 10 that day due to NDD and they had a lot of business. We even saw the guy's parents come in to help. We know they were his parents because at one point the older woman was making boxes and the proprietor said "Thanks Mom!". The father walked in, went to the back, and immediately came out again with a broom and started sweeping up and doing what he could to help out. It was sweet to see family in action, coming to the rescue when lots of children, promised free donuts, were clambering up to the counter and gleefully shouting their preposterous donut orders (MORE FRUITY PEBBLES!). <br />
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After waiting a pretty long time for our donuts, we went back to homebase to regroup and head in to the festival from there. We got to the shuttle area, hopped on a school bus, and entered the festival. They had the gates and all these flags set up to usher us onto the boardwalk and into the festival grounds. We got there around 5pm and walked up a much more crowded and lively boardwalk. Everything was alive, but it was chilly, and the clouds were very, very low. So low that one of the rides on the boardwalk that spun its riders up about 75 feet was almost lost in the clouds at its highest point.<br />
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We staked out a great spot on the sand right at the end of The Very Best's set. They were the first band to play and we only caught a few songs but they brought great energy to kick off the music and amazing beats. Our spot afforded perfect views of the next musician, Blake Mills. He took the stage and my knees buckled. Just my type. Scruffy, unassuming, absolutely incredible guitar player and he started off with a Les Paul and a glass slide. I was done in before he had finished the first measure. He used to play with Dawes, and produces for a bunch of amazing artists while releasing his own solo music. He's a little rough around the edges vocally but writes great songs. Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith (of Dawes) joined Blake on stage. They're still friends and collaborate often. <br />
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Dawes' set was next and did not disappoint. Our concert neighbors were getting more and more drunk and stoned around us. Any spaces where blankets had been were being swallowed up by the crowd as more and more people arrived. Dawes mostly played stuff from their newest album of which I am a big fan. Blake Mills came on stage again with them at one point. I couldn't really see the beach at our spot in the crowd, but I could hear the ocean. The sun was setting, the temperature was dropping, a fog was settling over the festival, and a fine, misty rain was drifting down, adding atmospheric enhancement to an already amazing set. Dawes ended with "All Your favorite Bands" and, as always after hearing them live, I love them even more. <br />
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The crowd was pushing forward to position for Alabama Shakes. It was hard for Katie and I to stand our ground and keep our amazing sight line to the stage. Fortunately, this group of short girls in front of us had put out a blanket so there was a large blank spot in front of us and we could see the whole stage despite being a little bit back from it. We were up pretty close though. Alabama Shakes's frontwoman Brittany Howard took the stage in a billowing pink dress and the wind picked up and made it flow out majestically behind her, the stage lights shone out purple into the crowd and the mist over us and reflected beautifully. Her voice cut through the chilly evening with its energy and power and everyone responded to it. From start to finish their set was awesome. I liked them much more this time than the first time I saw them at Sweetlife festival two years ago. I love how personal the songs are, and how Brittany is talking to herself when she sings them in front of tens of thousands of people. </div>
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After their set, we stayed on the boardwalk in search of the perfect decadent fried treat to end the evening with. We settled on a vintage sweet shop that had long been a fixture on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, I got a cupcake and Katie got a macaroon. As we were working our way down the boardwalk in search of the shuttle bus loading area, we ran across our friends from the night before, and that awesome tattoo! Katie spotted our guy while on the phone and pointed him out to me. He was in fine form again and so were his friends. They were milling about a decorative piano and dancing with beers in hand. Katie, now off the phone, said it was destiny and I had to get a picture with the guy and his tattoo. Still too shy to approach the wild animal, Katie thankfully took charge of the situation and approached him. Drunk as he was, he was only too happy to oblige my request. Katie started getting her camera ready and the guy lurched towards me, asking if I wanted to see his other tattoos? Without waiting for an answer, he lifted up his wife-beater tank top and said if there was anything else I wanted to see, anything at all, he'd be glad to show me. *blush* Katie was mercifully quick to snap a photo and I have to say that it was 100% worth all the trouble we went to get it, and the drunken advances of a Jersey boy on the boardwalk. Check out this magnificence:<br />
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We then continued trying to find the shuttles back to the parking lot. We were instructed on the way over that the buses would pick up in the same place where we had been dropped off, but inexplicably our bus driver got lost on arrival and dropped us off in the wrong place. We didn't know where we were supposed to go and it turns out NO ONE else did either. We must have asked at least 7 or 8 different event staff and no one knew. Finally we got almost to the end of the boardwalk and some cops down there did know. We made it to the buses, shuttled back and headed home exhausted. <br />
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Late the next morning, I woke up feeling woozy from a strange dream about being stuck in a mall. But the sun was shining and there was a whole day of music in front us! We went for a walk down to the beach and out along the jetty at the south end. It was a much different walk because everyone was now there for their shore weekend. People had started to wake up and there were even more people. Families were starting to take to the sand for their beach days (even though the water was 56 degrees, brrrrrrr). Surfers were out and the ambient temperature was much warmer. Katie went back to the house and I kept walking up and down the boardwalk a few more times. I couldn't get enough of the beachy air and people watching. I realized I needed the relative solitude to be able to dive back into such a huge crowd that day. It was fun watching what I imagine to be many different Saturday morning rituals taking place - looking at the back porches, grills being fired up (it was 10am), the cornhole games starting, people washing their decks, sitting on chairs, and the sights and sounds of a summer weekend unfolding. </div>
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We had a leisurely morning, went to lunch in Toms River, and then we headed back into Seaside Heights. We beelined for the beach and had brought blankets and set up camp this time. We were right by the surf which was at low-tide. We had missed the first two bands, Little May and Jeff the Brotherhood, but caught almost all of the Maccabees' set. They were great. The Vaccines came next and rocked out like the Ramones. Then Jenny Lewis played. She had an all-woman band and led it well with her great voice. I really enjoyed the stuff she played from her new album and she threw in some Rilo Kiley hits as well. The Flaming Lips did not disappoint in terms of weirdness but I just don't get them. I can't tell if the reality they live in actually <i>is</i> the video game they make it seem like it is from the stage, or if it's all an act. Anyway, they certainly don't sound like anyone else and that is always hard to do, so props for that. <br />
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Then came Mumford and Sons. Anticipation was riding high since many people had come just to see them. The crowd stretched almost the entire length of the boardwalk, wall to wall people. Marcus took the stage and asked for the lights to come up, and bellowed "SIIIIIIIICK" when he saw just how many people were there, gathered and waiting for their music to play. Many in the crowd, myself included, were somewhat unsure about how their new sound would translate to a live show. They started off with Snake Eyes and Ditmas. They sounded just as good as they ever did, and I didn't miss the banjos, even though they came back in full force with the next three songs in the set list. What I've always liked about Mumford and Sons most is their lyrics. They continue to write penetrating, thought-provoking songs and this album is no different. This effort has a darker tension to its sound, more conflicted and struggling. You hear about aging, thirst, loneliness, soured love, and rage again and again. But it's never without hope. There's always a maybe, a cry out for more. I don't think you cry out to things you're not at least hoping are really there. <br />
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For me, the concert experience was an answer to a lot of prayers. I was hearing God in some of the lyrics, talking to me about being upset with him over the cancer battle of a beloved family member, hearing my frustration and comforting me in it. Everything seemed bigger than me and I felt keenly the agony of being so small and limited and believing in and having to trust a God who is so much greater and can see everything I can't see. I could feel where a lot of the tension in these songs was coming from because it was and is present in me. I remember when they sang the line "Say something, say something, something like you love me" And it felt like a dagger of truth piercing me. What an honest supplication to God! How hard it is to trust especially in those times of doubt and suffering. How much we just always, all of us, want to hear that we are loved. Lovers Eyes gets me every single time, and so does Lover of the Light. I couldn't believe I was getting to hear those songs, those heavenly songs, being played by the ocean. I gave myself fully over to praise because that is what the moment called for, upward-turned hands and heart. <br />
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Watching the sun set behind the boardwalk, the lights of the attractions of Seaside Heights became more vivid, and the passion emitting from the musicians on stage wasn't lost on anyone who was listening, I hope. It's the mark of a band that believes in their songs that when they sing them to a crowd, they seem to be feeling them too. Mumford and Sons, Dawes, Avett Brothers, U2, and a few other bands I have seen live have been the ones to teach me this. I love them for that. <br />
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Katie and I made our way slowly away from the waves, which were coming up within inches of our feet now that the tide was coming in again. During the encore we worked our way back up onto the boardwalk and then slowly backed our way down the line towards the buses. They brought all the day's bands up on stage for the last song, a cover of Atlantic City. That's the song they closed the Patriot Center show with a few years ago too. <i>I've got debts that no honest man can pay</i>. <i>Down here it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line</i>. I kept hoping that Bruce was going to make a surprise appearance with them. I don't actually know what would have happened to me if that had been the case. But mercifully, (and also sadly) I didn't have to find out. <br />
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Katie and I headed home, closing the chapter on a great weekend full of music, food and memories. All the things that New Jersey always brings to mind are present with me while I am up there, even a lot of the music played recalls it to my mind as well. <i>Everything dies baby, that's a fact</i>. I have been thinking about that a lot. Thinking about what needs to die so I can grow. I know pain is coming with those deaths, and I don't look forward to it, but I know I have to face them. Lord, have mercy, and thank you for the beauty in death and another beautiful weekend in New Jersy, bringing to mind all the good and the bad that lives in every moment, and keeping me mindful that Goodness, Love, you, are the victor. <br />
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*Photo Credits to Katie Connolly</div>
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Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-11655745873145408982015-04-14T13:42:00.001-07:002015-04-14T13:42:52.582-07:00Church Ladies: Sweet and Sour<br />
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It dawned on my Sunday evening that I hadn't seen my Kindle in a while. I've been off e-reader for a few weeks because I've been reading books I've gotten from the library. I started to look for it in the usual places I leave it around my apartment. Then I started to look for it in the unusual places I might have weirdly left it in the apartment. <br />
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I started to get upset. This is the second time I have misplaced my Kindle. I think of it like a book, which it absolutely is not. But I don't have the same presence of mind with it as I do with my phone. Anyway, I texted a few friends whom I had visited in the last couple of weeks, and they hadn't seen it either. I usually bring it to church because I have a bible on it and I like not carrying the big book with me all the time. So I called the reception desk and a very sweet southern accent greeted me. <br />
<br />
I asked whether or not there was a "Lost and Found" for the church, and if so, could I be directed to it? The nice lady told me that there wasn't a body on staff dedicated to overseeing that but that SHE oversees it as much as she can and SHE would go look for the item. What was it she should be looking for?<br />
<br />
"My kindle, with a black cover."<br />
"Oh Lord, why on EARTH did you bring your Kindle to church?? You should be shot."<br />
......<br />
.....<br />
"I guess I'm just sort of absent-minded these days."<br />
"Well my best friend brought her Kindle to church a few weeks ago and she left it and she NEVER got it back. I want to tell you that we almost never recover these things. I don't want to say that someone took it... but it certainly could and DOES happen. I told her over and over not to bring that thing to church to use for her bible, but did she listen? No she didn't. She just kept bringing it and then she lost it. She was so upset about it. Well, I will go and check the box but I'm pretty sure I won't find it. But you know I could go and see if the ushers found it. We had to do a full-clean out because we'll be in a different location this coming weekend so that's another option. I will go and check the box now if you don't mind holding for a minute."<br />
"Of course."<br />
a few minutes pass<br />
"I'm so sorry to tell you that I did not find the Kindle in the box. I'm so very sorry I didn't find it for you. But let's just pray right now that we will find the Kindle. Lord Jesus, you know where that iPad, or device, thing, whatever it is, you know where it is. I know you know where it is and I think you want us to find it. I just pray that you would lead us to its location and that you would help us recover it. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen."<br />
"Thank you for praying for me."<br />
"You have a blessed day. Bye now."<br />
<br />
So at that point I was pretty convinced that I was not going to find my silly Kindle. I was also sort of shocked at the 180 she had just pulled. She sounded quite upset with me that I lost my Kindle at church, maybe moreso that it had been brought there in the first place. I was even lamenting the loss to a friend last night. Before I went to bed though, I suddenly thought what if I left it at the gym? Now, truth be told, I haven't been going to gym a lot lately, and it's been quite some time since I brought my kindle with me. So I woke up in the morning, and it was the first thought I had again, so I called over there and sure enough, they had it! Now, I do believe in the power of prayer, and that God cares about even the tiniest, littlest things. And this is just evidence of that. But I thought it was pretty hilarious that the woman who condemned me to a firing squad for bringing an e-reader to church ended up being the key to me finding it again, and a sweet reminder to trust God in absolutely everything.<br />
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Well, isn't that special. <br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-25528765296446991062015-03-09T12:26:00.000-07:002015-03-09T12:26:04.050-07:00A Sad Tale's Best for Winter<i>An edited version of this post appears in the TFCA Current this month, but I wanted to post the extended version here. </i><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I never look forward to winter. I cower under the dark,
bleak cold. It makes me draw inward. This past summer, I saw a production of
William Shakespeare's <i>A Winter's Tale</i>, which has both redeemed the
name of Winter for me, and also given me reason to reevaluate how I think about
the season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Long after I saw the play,
my mind kept returning to the final scene. It develops around the statue
of Hermione, the virtuous and long-suffering victim of her husband's
misconceptions. Leontes, Hermione's husband and King of Sicilia, and Paulina,
Hermione's faithful servant, enter with the rest of the characters. The
scene opens under the assumption that everyone in the room is gazing at
Hermione's uncanny likeness carved from stone. The guilt-ridden king
sincerely laments the wrong he has done:</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 13.5pt;">"I
am ashamed: does not the stone rebuke me</i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">/</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><i style="font-size: 13.5pt;">For
being more stone than it?"</i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> When the King reaches out to touch
the statue, Paulina threatens to draw the curtain back around the statue, and
Leontes implores her not to. Finally, Paulina bids the statue to move, and
Hermione, not dead but fully alive, wordlessly descends from her pedestal and
embraces Leontes. Paulina says: “</span><i style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background: white;">When she was
young you woo'd her; now in age</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">/</span><i style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background: white;">Is
she become the suitor?”</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hermione
takes her errant, tormented husband into her arms and the woman hardened into
stone comes to life again. The sweetness of this role-reversal,
forgiveness, and transformation is heartbreakingly beautiful.</span><br />
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<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 152.25pt; margin-left: 1.5pt; margin-top: 63.35pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 233.55pt; z-index: 3;" type="#_x0000_t75">
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</w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The season of winter can be
an emotional, mental, physical, professional or relational metaphor. I
remember particularly a pastor's words on the winter season during a prayer,
using the image of a tree. He said that even in winter the life of a tree
continues, that a tree doesn't hate winter, but in fact NEEDS winter.
During that time, the tree on the outside may look forlorn or dead.
But inside, it is shoring up strength and nutrients. It is growing,
changing, maturing. It is getting ready for the season in which it has
been appointed to bear fruit. This imagery came flooding back to me when
I saw Hermione, unfrozen and matured in years, step down from her pedestal,
ready to forgive her husband who had wronged her, causing the death of their
son, the exile of their daughter, and bringing her even to the brink of her own
death. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">St. John of the Cross says in his 16th century book <i>Dark
Night of the Soul: </i>"Even though this happy night darkens the
spirit, it does so only to impart light concerning all things." Still, how
can he call it a happy night? Simply because night, if we let it, is redeemed
into day through Christ Jesus. In my mind, Hermione forgives Leontes so
readily, wordlessly even, exactly because of her years of being
"frozen". The time she spent as stone was her winter season,
where she seemed void of life, color and all things good on the outside, but
inside was maturing, dealing with the business of seasons past, and preparing
for a new season of life to come at the appointed time. She held out hope that
whole time for reconciliation, and goodness. And Leontes, through the grace of
her forgiveness and invitation back into relationship, is freed to be a real
father and husband after his long winter of guilt. Permafrost melts,
crocuses push through the toughened soil, stretching for new warmth and light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokmDhtaFMt81AulqBU8pq2WMviquGJHmN2J7FNHuYrb9WGBdjfZWwr6GK8DClJ_ICW4HApD42tpoKitqJXF8Ri_5LY3T0FaUEdYPy-xeghJXaJZM8ruSKc1b7uprb108iXI5j/s1600/snow-snowdrop_2478128c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokmDhtaFMt81AulqBU8pq2WMviquGJHmN2J7FNHuYrb9WGBdjfZWwr6GK8DClJ_ICW4HApD42tpoKitqJXF8Ri_5LY3T0FaUEdYPy-xeghJXaJZM8ruSKc1b7uprb108iXI5j/s1600/snow-snowdrop_2478128c.jpg" height="124" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I used to dismiss winter as a cruel period through which I must
annually suffer, bereft of any intrinsic value. In many ways it felt like
everything was on hold during those first months of the year. Mamillius speaks
my heart best in one of the earlier lines of the play: "<i>A sad tale's
best for winter</i>." But it is right, and a good and joyful thing,
in these days of darkness and hard weather, to draw close to one another and
consider it a happy night because it will, in God's Providence and Sovereignty,
lead to the rejuvenation of spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-23710019124138321572015-03-03T19:29:00.000-08:002015-03-05T12:03:50.361-08:00Iceland Day 4 and 5: Snaefellsnes and ReykjavikWe woke up the next morning ready to tackle the last of our road tours: Snaefellsnes peninsula. The way we were pronouncing the name, it sounded more like Snapple-sneeze. We found out from our chef at the restaurant on Saturday night that it was pronounced Sn-AY-fell-snis. However you say it, it certainly held the most stunning views of our entire trip. We headed north out of Reykjavik around 8am, getting to our first stop on the Peninsula around 10am, just as the light was full and still low in the sky, creating a heavenly glow against the cliffs and the huge breaking waves in Arnarstapi's overlook. <br />
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It was dangerous to stand on the overlook for too long because, although it was clear and sunny, the winds were 50mph and it was hard to stay upright. When we opened our car doors we had to hold on to them so they didn't fly away from us. But my oh my...that view. That sea! </div>
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I wish I had more to write for you about what we saw, but basically we just stopped the car whenever we saw something pretty, or a road that actually wasn't covered in ice. The snowdrifts from the mountains on the inland side of the road would occasionally blow across the road creating a momentary white out, and some of the roads were completely coated in ice. I tell ya, I'm a pretty good hand at extreme winter driving conditions now. It also helped that in the 4 hours we were on the road on the peninsula, we could count the number of cars we passed on one hand. </div>
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Our next stop was the sea coast at the very end of the peninsula, our windiest stop yet! 65 mph. The big waves crashing in against the lava rocks were against the wind, so there was this great backcomb of spray in the opposite direction whenever the waves would crest. Sometimes the sun would hit it just right and make a rainbow. The glories written into this earth are sometimes overwhelming. </div>
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We drove the rest of the way around the peninsula and back towards the fjords on the northern side of it. We passed little fishing villages that were largely uninhabited or deserted for the winter season. Mostly we just enjoyed the sunny drive and the gorgeous scenery. I stopped at a few more places to get out and take photos. </div>
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Our tour ended early in the afternoon because it was too windy to get out and hike and do much of anything else. We headed back to Reykjavik, I squeezed in a quick workout which felt great after so much driving, and then we headed into the downtown area in search of woolen goods. Yarn in Iceland is CRAZY cheap. I bought a ton for some of my friends who knit. I almost bought one of those sweaters you see everyone wearing but ended up skipping it. </div>
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We had our best meal of the trip that night at a place called Fish Market. I didn't really want to eat anything other than fish the entire trip because during the days for breakfast and lunch we were eating out of the food suitcase exclusively. The inside of Fish Market was gorgeous. It looked like an enchanted forest downstairs where we were. They sat us right by the kitchen in front of the sushi station so we got to watch all the action go down. And we made friends with the sushi chef, who clearly likes to chat up the American lady tourists who get sent his way. Never caught his name, but when he found out we were from the US, his very first question was "Do you know Snoop Dogg?" Not the president, not any sports star, not any movie star, Snoop Dogg. I wish I could have told him yes. </div>
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My meal consisted of a starter of arctic char and salmon nigiri. It was fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. They gave us a canvas bag with a loaf of that brown steam bread in it, that had warm lava rocks at the bottom to keep the bread warm. And when the guys next to us ordered mussels it was one of the most interesting and beautiful presentations I had ever seen. They actually put dry ice underneath a bed of fresh sea kelp, and then put the pot of mussels on top of that, and when they bring it out, they pour water on the dry ice so that the vapor seeps outward from the kelp and down over the sides of the large deep plate holding everything. </div>
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My appetizer wasn't so impressive in its presentation but it was certainly delicious and the fish was very fresh. For dinner I had monkfish and Kristen had catfish, both of which were excellent. After chatting with the sushi chef guy a bit more, he convinced me to get the appetizer of minke whale they had on the menu, saying it was his favorite kind of meat. I tried it and he was right, it was very tender, had great flavor, and a color and gaminess similar to venison. Outstanding! I was sad to think that I had seen many minke whales in their natural habitat in Tadoussac in Fall 2013 and now I was eating one. But they are pretty delicious, it turns out. </div>
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The meal was flawless, start to finish, everything was excellent and beautiful and we had a great time rehashing the trip and talking to a viking... I mean an Icelandic guy. But we had one more order of business, and that was to see if we could find the northern lights. It was our last night, and the weather was clear, so we had our hopes up. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, and not wanting to drive very far again, we looked up a few spots around the outskirts of Reykjavik where we could go see the lights. We decided on a lighthouse, and after dawdling a bit more, we left and headed outside to the car. </div>
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As soon as we exited the hotel, I looked up at to my left and I saw a streak of green in the sky. I just about smacked Kristen and breathlessly pointed and told her to look up. We started to freak out and got really excited. We were seeing the northern lights! We saw another streak appear. We hustled to the car and I have never been so anxious to get anywhere in my life. It was only a 7 minute drive and it felt like an eternity. </div>
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Kristen kept her head outside the window as much as she could but the wind was still very stiff and it was freezing cold now the sun was down, so it was hard. We arrived at the light house along with every other tourist in Reykjavik who was either already there or was hightailing in there at that very moment. We got out and stood outside in the arctic wind and freezing temperatures staring up at the sky in awe. It was such an incredible thing to see. </div>
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Every time I have seen pictures of the northern lights, they seem fake to me. I didn't believe they are real. They don't look like they could really be a thing that happens. Especially the really intense, multi-colored ones. That night, we really only saw green, and we saw a few bands of them. I took a few photos and it's hard to see it, but they are there: </div>
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I had my camera on 30 second exposure for the first and 60 second exposure for the second. It wasn't the greatest display of Aurora borealis that has ever happened, but for me, it was a really special moment. I kept thinking of the Andrew Peterson song that describes all these beautiful images in each verse with the chorus, "Don't you want to thank someone for this?" and I thought yes, yes I do. And I thanked God for making such strange and beautiful things happen here on earth, and for the chance to see one of them. </div>
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So much beauty in one day left me plumb tuckered out. And we were saying goodbye to that beautiful island nation the next day, so we had some work to do as well. After the last of the green had faded from the sky that we could see, we headed back to the hotel. Before we went to sleep, we both made a pact that if the other woke up in the middle of the night and saw the lights, we would wake the other person up. Neither of us saw them, but both of us woke up several different times separately and we checked for them every time. </div>
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We didn't do much on our last day in Iceland. I went for a run, and then we headed down into Reykjavik to collect some more souvenirs and hit up a cafe before it was time to head to the airport. We wanted to go to church but none of the service happen before 2pm! I thought that was a pretty lenient allowance for Saturday night partying. They know their congregants in Iceland, I suppose. </div>
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I was sad to fly away from the island, and to say goodbye to our trusty 4x4, and the feeling of wildness and disconnectedness I had enjoyed while there. Leaving the country is so important for me. It helps to have that barrier in communication where I can't use my phone and my computer isn't always on and in front of me. I don't feel a need to respond to things constantly and quickly. But even on the plane ride home I could feel that shifting back to its normal place at the forefront of my mind. </div>
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I do hope I will make it back to Iceland someday, in verdant summer when it's a bit warmer. But Iceland in winter still did wonders for my soul and I am deeply grateful for the time I got to spend there, soaking in its untamed beauty and drama, written into every cliffside, every seascape, every grassland, volcano, and waterfall. </div>
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Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-35125505373389184182015-03-03T18:45:00.002-08:002015-03-05T10:37:42.486-08:00Iceland Day 3: Road WarriorsWe spent basically all of our third day in Iceland in the car. We were up by 7, hit the road by 8 and had a four hour drive along the south coast out to Vatnajokull glacier. We went in search of Svartifoss waterfall, which is a short hike, but mostly we just wanted to drive along the coast and see the territory out there. It was unbelievable. <br />
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I never realized how much I love driving when I have beautiful unknown territory around me. I was loving riding in our 4x4 on these roads, through a landscape that looked otherwordly in color and shape. Kristen played DJ and we chatted, and the 4 hours passed quickly. Here's some of what we saw:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The not-so-early morning sunrise in Iceland's winter (9:00am) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Country church in Vik</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Further east along the southern Ring Road - frozen ponds, glaciers, and volcanoes abound. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rt 1 near Eyjafjallajokull (yeah, THAT volcano that shut down Europe in 2010)</td></tr>
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We arrived at Skaftafell, which is at the foot of the Vatnajokull Glacier (see below) and just took in the scenery for a moment. I would like to add here that in the 4 hours we spent on the road driving out there, we MAYBE saw 6 other cars. Total. The entire time. Bliss! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vatnajokull glacier (largest in Europe) </td></tr>
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The hike out to Svartifoss isn't long, about 1.5 miles, but when we arrived at the visitor's center we saw signs that said that the trail was VERY icy and that the walk should not be attempted without crampons (ice picks that attach to your shoes). We didn't have those, and neither did the visitor's center (big oversight on their part I think!). So we decided it had been worth the drive all the same, seeing that amazing landscape, and so we turned around and headed back to hit all the sites that awaited us on the ride home. </div>
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Our first stop was the beautiful black sand beach of Reynisfjara. There is a gorgeous basalt rock formation that came from a volcanic eruption. When the cold water hits the hot lava it cool so quickly that it crystallizes in a way and forms a hexagonal pattern in the rock. Thus, there is wall which looks like a haphazard, hexagonal staircase. <br />
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I've never seen rocks form like this. From the above picture you can sort of tell how the rocks look like feathers on a bird, they formed in such intricate, fluid patterns. It's really beautiful. There's a cave there too and since it's so cold, it's full of icicles from the sea spray when the tide is high that look like fangs (think Sarlacc pit from Return of the Jedi). </div>
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The beach itself was gorgeous. Something out of a dream, really. IMDB just told me that part of the recent film <i>Noah</i> was filmed there. <br />
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I lived on an island with a volcano for the better part of a year and the black sand beaches in the north had similar features, caves, striking rock formations, but nothing like those hexagonal basalt columns and pebbly beaches. </div>
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We pressed onwards to Skógafoss, a big waterfall still further westward on the main road back to Reykjavik. In addition to seeing a beautiful waterfall, I fulfilled my goal of meeting and petting some fuzzy Icelandic ponies. They were wholly uninterested in my affection after they found I had no snacks to offer them. </div>
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Then we climbed a lot of stairs to the top of the waterfall to get this lovely view: </div>
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Then we climbed back down the stairs and got THIS lovely view: </div>
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Mmmm. Waterfalls. Is there anything prettier? The spray of ice cold glacial water on my face, beautiful icicles decorating the rocks. And we weren't even done with waterfalls that day. We had one more to go. We hopped back in the car and headed to our last stop of the day, Seljalandsfoss. </div>
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You can actually walk behind Seljalandsfoss when the path isn't covered in ice. It was beautiful but the real stunner of this stop for me was Gljúfurárfoss, which is set back about a 500m walk from Seljalandsfoss, and it's in a cave you have to shimmy back to. But it was so beautiful. I used to work at a an outdoors store in high school, and it had a little stream in it where you could test fishing rods, and it also had a rain cave, where you could test the waterproof jackets. This waterfall was a for REAL rain cave. </div>
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In order to get into the cave, you had to navigate a series of small rocks sticking out of the ice cold stream flowing out of the cave. The only problem was that because it was so cold, they were covered in ice, so that made their navigation all that much more exciting. I had a few close calls and almost went in the drink, and Kristen did, soaking her leg and one of her boots with near freezing water. We were glad it was our last stop. No one can handle wet clothes in that kind of cold and wind. </div>
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We were pleased with the day, even though it was a long one. We got home, cleaned up, rested a bit and then went into town for an earlier dinner. We ate a restaurant that was nothing to write home about but I did discover that chicken is more expensive than salmon in Iceland. Gotta love that. Chicken of the sea? It was great salmon too. Once again it was too cloudy that night to see any Aurora Borealis, but the forecast for Saturday said that the skies would be clear. We were ready to hit the road again the next day, but with a less ambitious itinerary this time. </div>
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Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-90985221588612703882015-03-03T13:35:00.004-08:002015-03-05T10:27:40.124-08:00Iceland Day 2: The Golden CircleI woke up a few times during the night since by body was still quite confused about what time it was, but ended up getting a pretty good stretch of rest in the end. I woke up around 9am on Thursday morning ready to take on the Golden Circle, the most famous sights within easy reach of the capital and a must for visitors. <br />
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Morning broke in Reykjavik much clearer than the previous day, giving us renewed hope in the possibility of surviving our trip to Iceland and actually being able to see things. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our hotel room window on Thursday morning. </td></tr>
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Kristen and I opted to rent a car and do everything ourselves instead of going the tour company route, although there are plenty of options in that category. As with most things, I just like to design my own itinerary and do it at my own speed and stop where I want to stop, and not have someone dictating those things. So we set off from our hotel, our suitcase of food in tow.* <br />
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We drove through the central highlands and Þingvellir National Park. It was cloudy and very windy up there. At times the snow drifts were blowing sideways across the road and you almost couldn't see the asphalt. It looked like I was driving across a white frothy sea with dry ice smoke underneath the car. We made it out to Geysir, which is the namesake for all other geysirs on planet Earth. I was messing around with the high speed burst function on my camera and caught an eruption in real time:<br />
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Being around here reminded me of being in Yellowstone. The terrain looks so similar. Though Yellowstone has Iceland beat for geysirs and hot springs in my book. Our next stop after Geysir was Gulfoss, a huge waterfall just a bit further northeast. I'll stop typing now and just show you the pics. <br />
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Waterfalls are my favorite natural feature. I've already mentioned many times over how I will hike any distance and travel out of my way many miles to see one, even a small one. This one was much bigger than I thought it would be, and the biggest of any we saw on the trip. The snow-filled canyon and icy trail leading down to it were so gorgeous, and highlighted the gray-blue water. <br />
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I knew that I wanted to go to Iceland in winter to be able to see the Northern Lights. I went knowing it would be very cold, dark, and knowing there was a very real possibility I wouldn't even see the Northern Lights. I also went knowing it was important to look for beauty in this cold and bitter time. I keep trying to use that as inspiration for when things feel dark and cold and barren in my own life. I try not to miss the beauty that is always around me just because the environment may not be my favorite one. Sure enough, I saw stunning beauty in the ice sculptures naturally formed from the spray of the waterfalls on the walls of canyons. I went seeing the dramatic cliffs made even more stunning by the white snow's contrast against them. I keep thinking I would like to go back and see Iceland when it's all green in the summer, and everything is mossy and full of life. But the ice and snow set the blues of the sea and sky off so beautifully too. No matter the season, there is loveliness to be found. <br />
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Driving home was a bit trickier than getting out there. At one point, when driving back through Þingvellir, there was a total white out and we had to stop our car because we couldn't see anything around us. We saw multiple cars slide off the road due to ice. It was adventurous driving for sure. I was thankful to get back to Reykjavik where the clouds were starting to roll in over the city and snow kicking up again. I knew our Northern Lights tour that night probably would not yield any sightings but we got on the bus all the same. It was included in our package after all, and it was our dinner ticket.<br />
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We were transported out to Laugarvatn to another outdoor hot tub area called Fontana. It's right next to a thermally heated lake as well. It was snowing again and the wind had picked back up to howling, yet put on our swimsuits and dutifully shower we did before we stepped back out into the subzero temperatures. We couldn't run on the cement because it was iced over, so we walked as quickly as our wet personages would allow us and it was so cold I literally jumped into the first pool I came to to keep out of the wind. After I had thawed enough, I got out and tried the very next closest one which was much hotter. Blissfully hot. My hair and fingers thawed, and I regained feeling in my feet quickly. I stayed in as long as I could stand it then went back to the lukewarm pool. Then I found the entrance to the thermal lake which was almost pitch black. I walked out across snow and ice in my bare feet and walked to about knee deep in the water. It was definitely not warm enough to merit a swim, plus being in unknown water in the darkness is scary to me, so I got out and got back in the lukewarm pool. <br />
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After swimming around a bit more, we got out and went to eat dinner at the buffet the place had set out for us. By this time it was 10pm. The buffet was amazing. They had this incredible brown bread that they bake in steam ovens heated by the geothermal pockets in the ground. The bread is dense, moist and sweet. SO good. You eat it with Icelandic yogurt sauce, pickled herring or smoked salmon. And the smoked salmon here is absolutely delicious. I tried Gravlax for the first time, which is basically just smoked salmon with herbs and spices on it. The pickled herring was also very good. Icelandic yogurt is delicious and the only dessert they had was Skyr (the yogurt) with coconut in it and it was incredible! I would have eaten it at every meal if I had ever seen it again. <br />
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Anyway, after the trip all the roads taking us home were closed due to weather so we had to take a rather extreme detour to be returned to Reykjavik that night. We did not stop to try and see the northern lights because it was so late and the roads were terrible. Our tour guide happened to teach geology and so she had lots of fun facts for us on the way home. She probably could have talked the entire 2 hour ride back but she got wise to the fact that we were all entering a food coma and stopped lecturing about volcanoes about an hour in. She definitely knew her stuff. She had seen the northern lights many times and talked about the most spectacular times she had seen them. I really didn't want to hear it. I wanted to see them so bad and I knew we weren't going to that night, so it felt cruel to hear about someone else's Best Of compilation, when I don't even have a debut album to work off. <br />
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It was blissful to arrive back at our hotel that night. We had our biggest road warrior day ahead of us and knew we needed to be up early. We crashed almost immediately. <br />
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*Kristen and I had decided that to save money we would bring some snacks with us. Food is very expensive in Iceland so we thought we could probably get by just eating breakfast and lunch from the stuff we brought and figuring out dinner on our own. Well, we had this generous baggage allowance and so we decided to just bring an extra suitcase and put snacks in it. We filled an ENTIRE suitcase with bars, bags of almonds and walnuts, 3 different kinds of jerky, freeze dried fruits and vegetables, and more. It was slightly out of control, but I tell ya, I don't regret it. It was kind of hilarious heading out each day and bringing a big pink suitcase with us to load into the car with our backpacks and things. I'm glad no one but us knew what was actually in it. <br />
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Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-32482785392321109312015-03-02T18:24:00.003-08:002015-03-05T10:18:32.759-08:00Iceland Day 1 : Gale force winds and getting in hot water<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=27754174" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>This trip has been a glimmer in my eye for so long, it’s hard to believe it’s now over. I’m on my way home from Reykjavik now. My co-worker Kristen and I are both avid travelers and when the amazing deals for Iceland started coming fast and furious to our inboxes, we couldn’t resist. We both decided back in November that we wanted to see the Northern Lights and so we booked a trip over a few random days in February our office gives us off each year. <br />
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<span class="s1">Even in late February, when I should be heading south in search of sun and some reprieve from the bitter cold and ice of this 2014-2015 DC winter, somehow this year it was very important to me to fully embrace winter. This means looking for beauty and joy even in the ice, snow and cold. I can wholeheartedly recommend Iceland to anyone in the Winter months. Hopefully you won’t need to read this whole thing, you’ll only need to see some of the pictures to agree. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">So we set off on a Tuesday to IAD, which we discovered is a relative ghost town on Tuesday evenings. We flew through traffic, baggage check-in, and security. Our flight over was easy and we arrived ahead of schedule. Which was a good thing, because soon after we touched down, all flights were grounded due to a blizzard. There were 60mph gusts and snow so thick you couldn’t see anything more than 15 feet in front of you. Luckily, although this makes it unsafe to travel by air, it doesn’t phase Icelandic bus drivers. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keflavik Airport during the start of that day's blizzard. </td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Kristen and I had purchased a bus ticket from the airport to our hotel which included a stop at the Blue Lagoon. We wanted to check it off our list early on. We headed there and after we dropped our bags off at the luggage station and then walked to the actual entrance to the Blue Lagoon. It was a long quarter mile because we were being pelted by snow and freezing rain, blown all over the place by the fierce wind, and trying to see the path which was icy. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Finally making it to the Blue Lagoon, we arrived exactly at opening time, and went right to the locker room. We were with many other tourists coming straight from the airport as well as a few other tour buses trying to make the best of the day. We found out later that many of the regular tours that run in Iceland were cancelled due to weather and so all rerouted to the Blue Lagoon since it was basically the only manageable tourism game in town that day. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">We dutifully changed into our swimsuits, showered like they told us to, and headed to the entrance area. The deck where we would normally enter was closed (iced over) and they told us to enter the pool through the covered area. We got in the water and it was warm, but definitely not hot. Then we opened the door and waded out into the blizzard, already wet from our shower. My hair froze instantly and I dropped down to my knees in the shallow water so I could only have my face exposed to the elements, using the water as warmth and protection. Kristen and I high tailed it for a cave where we found shelter for a few minutes, listening to the story of the Blue Lagoon’s geothermal wonders and the healing powers of the silica in the water that turns it that lovely milky turquoise color. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">We decided we should at least try to see more of the Blue Lagoon and we had been given a description of the facilities by my check-in lady. We had to take her word for it because we couldn’t actually see the whole pool, only parts of it at a time. The pictures you see if you google it all have a nice layer of welcoming, healthful steam coming off the water, and it’s usually sunny and the water is calm and glassy. In our case, the water in the pool actually had waves, and the steam off the water wasn’t rising, it was being blown horizontally and it was mixed with micro-grenades of freezing rain. My skin was trying to be pampered by the magical watery powers under the surface, but any part of me that was exposed, namely my face, was stinging from the rain and snow, and the wind chill was so low that it hurt to have it outside the water for too long. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blue Lagoon in a Blizzard, with some brave bathers.</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">After wading around the pool backwards to keep our faces out of the wind, we managed to find shelter against a rock outcropping on one side of the pool. We also found that the water over there was much warmer, and even uncomfortably hot in certain areas. We stayed there a long time. To our dismay, others from our bus and from other tour groups quickly discovered our secret alcove and it became crowded. We decided to try and explore other areas of the pool. We had very serious discussions, strategic ones, about what moves to make and when. It sounded like we were in a war situation. Okay, where are we headed next? That bridge? Okay on my count, go when this gust of wind is over and STAY LOW! Our main target is the steam room, but understand that you'll be exposed and completely out of water for at least 5 seconds while you run up the gangplank to gain entry. Good luck, and Godspeed. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">The covered real-estate was hard to come by and it just seemed a little silly to cower under bridges and in caves. We headed to the steam rooms and the sauna but good reason dictates one can only stay in those for about 10 minutes at a time. In between those sessions, the cold, wet, windy weather outside continued to hiss and spit at us. But w</span>e lasted about almost two hours in between bridges, the cave, the cove, the sauna and steam rooms. Then we packed it in, got cleaned up, bundled up and headed to the cafe area to wait for our bus to the hotel. The cafe was completely overrun with people because it was so bad outside. We did find a seat, thankfully, and then we dragged ourselves through the blizzard again to the bus. We felt woozy and unenthused about the rest of the day. </div>
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<span class="s1">So we took the bus into the city and checked into our hotel, where we thawed, and rehydrated. Even the people at the front desk said that the weather was really bad that day. We didn't want to seem like the pansies we felt like about the weather, so it was comforting hearing that this was very bad weather, even for natives. Though, that afternoon we did venture into downtown Reykjavik amidst the snow and biting wind again. We had a bit of trouble catching the bus and getting there, getting splashed by icy street water and getting passed by a few buses to begin with. Once we got downtown we had about a 20 minute walk ahead of us to get to the place where we would pick up our car. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">On the little shopping street we found that many storefronts were boarded up or closed. We also saw lots of quirky American pop culture themed bars, i.e. The Chuck Norris Grill, Lewbowski Bar (a whole menu of just white russians!), and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, to name a few. </span><br />
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We turned off the little narrow shopping street and into a wide open area and were hit with an arctic blast that cut right through the many layers of winter clothing we were wearing like a hot knife through butter. The gusts of this wind basically blew us in the direction of the car rental place and I was SO glad we didn't have to walk back to catch the bus. Getting the car made me immediately feel better about life in general. We turned on the seat heaters and drove home and crashed. Not a chance at seeing the northern lights that night, it was way too cloudy. Day 1 in the books. <br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-80668998645847971762015-02-11T13:56:00.002-08:002015-02-24T07:35:16.206-08:00On Riding MotorcyclesIn the wake of my most successful and probably most confounding Facebook post of all time, I felt compelled to expound on how a motorcycle fits into my life: what it is to me, and what it isn't. <br />
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I don't like to give weight to things on Facebook, but it's ignorant for me not to. Because we have this relatively new and prevalent platform for sharing things about our lives with 1000 of our closest friends I shouldn't dismiss the things people put on there as insignificant, or believe that the things I post and the way I communicate on Facebook aren't saying things about me. Things are always being said and read between the lines.<br />
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It should never be a bad thing to want to share exciting news with your people, and Facebook is a great way to do that. But still, each post feels charged, and exposing in a way. It felt good to have an event that actually merited a Facebook post. Sometimes I feel so behind my friends, never having had a baby, or a wedding, or an engagement to share. For me, this post was basically a substitute for an engagement or a birth announcement. And I intentionally worded my post like it was a birth announcement. I wanted it to be funny, and so much of humor is its foundation in truth. This is me trying to catch up to my friends a little bit. How astonishingly prone I am to the trap of unfavorable comparison of my actual life to the virtual lives of my Facebook community. It felt important to share my good news, but I went back and forth many times on that point because I wondered if I was just trying to prove to the online world that, hey, good things, BIG things, are happening in my life too!<br />
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I want to clarify and organize my own thoughts on a secret delight of mine that has just been given a real place in my life. <br />
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First, a little backstory: I have always had an undeniable adventurous streak in me. I really, really love being outdoors, feeling the sun on my face, and wind in my hair, and driving my car with all the windows down. It was almost inevitable that motorcycles and I would someday find each other. I was inspired to get my license one day when I was thinking about my dad. I know how much he loved to ride in his Air Force Academy days, and that he loves to ride still, though he seldom finds opportunity. I thought, wouldn't it be cool to surprise Dad one day by showing him my license with the Class M on it and then go on a Father-daughter bike ride? That's the whole truth. I got my motorcycle license simply because I had a vision of my Dad and I riding motorcycles together. While we love each other very much, my Dad and I have a tough time with one another. We needed a way to bond, and this was something that could draw us together, a way to relate without speaking, which doesn't always go well for either of us. So the spark behind this undertaking was father-daughter bonding time, a way to create space for our relationship to grow. But it appealed to me outside of that context as well.<br />
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I had never driven a motorcycle when I first stepped onto the training course range at Northern Virginia Community College on the hottest weekend of the summer of 2012. I had ridden behind my Dad when I was in 4th grade. I loved looking down at the ground speeding below me and feeling the lean of the bike going into a turn. But when it came time for me to operate my own bike I was nervous. I remember our instructors preparing us. We had spent the first part of that sweltering morning on the range learning how to turn the bike on and off, how to find the friction zone with the clutch, and getting a general feel for the operating procedures of the bike. We had all lined up on one side of the range and Neil said, "Some of you are about to ride a motorcycle for the first time." I remember that 200 feet to the other side of the asphalt parking lot like it was yesterday. It was absolutely exhilarating, even at 7mph. Back and forth we went, learning how to start, stop and shift. My favorite part of the skills course became the "S" curve section. You weave your bike through a series of close together cones laid out in a straight line. I loved how quickly my bike responded and how nimble it was. After that first day on the range, I knew that I loved to ride. <br />
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Or at least I knew I liked the idea of myself riding and the initial experience was enough to push me further. I rented motorcycles by myself every once in a while, one day at a time. I was exploring, building skills and experience, and figuring out if it was a real desire or if it was just rebelliousness, or daddy issues, or all of that, or none. The image of a motorcycle rider is one I associate with words like <i>cool</i>, <i>tough</i>, <i>rebellion</i>, <i>badass</i>, and <i>danger</i>. There is, admittedly, a part of me that wants to be associated with those words. It is appealing to project the image of a tough, fearless girl. So, I needed first to sort out if I ride simply because I enjoy it or if I want to create an image. I practiced discretion with my growing habit hoping to keep vanity at bay. <br />
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Every time I go out on a ride, I have moments where I can't contain myself and start smiling and laughing out loud. My ride out in the <a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2014/04/7-days-7-states-of-mind.html">Nevada desert in April</a> easily ranks among the top 10 most awesome things I've ever done. What I love is that I can feel everything. Every time I pass from sun to shade on a bike I can feel the temperature shift ever so slightly. I can lean into curves, go up and down hills, I am so much more connected to the road. And the scenery around me feels so much closer. It is like a rollercoaster. But motorcycles far surpass rollercoasters because roads go on, ostensibly, forever. It's not such a violent and sporadic thrill but one of long-lasting joy. That is much more suited to my temperament anyway. I can just hop on and feel so connected with my environment. Even when I was stuck in a traffic jam on 395 on a bike I remember thinking, I can really see people, understand the flow and motion of cars more, and make many other strange observations you don't get to make when you are inside the four walls of an enclosed vehicle. I am acutely aware of all my surroundings to a level I never am in a car. I treasure that. <br />
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And yet, I can't deny that the appeal of the tough-girl image is present too. I don't know that I can fully separate them. I only know that my love of riding is real, as is my brokenness as a human being, and wanting my friends and family, and random acquaintances to think I'm cool. I'm nearly 20 years out of middle school... old habits die hard, I guess. <br />
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I was trying to tell a close friend of mine last night about this conflict I have felt with this purchase and tangible investment in this love. I know that I love to ride and I know that it is a real love, but I also know that the image is appealing too. I'm just trying to make sure and protect against doing things because of how I want to look to people, and just the overall image it creates. I couldn't express myself well on the topic when we were talking about it, but as I mulled it over, I came to a surprising discovery. I think what all those words I associate with motorcycles, and the image of being a motorcycle rider connote is tough protection against, and a numbness to, feeling. But what really inspires me about motorcycles is actually feeling <i>more</i>. And that continues a trend present in my thoughts and introspection for the past two or three years.<br />
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When people commented to me about getting a bike the number one word I heard was "badass". Part of me enjoyed it, but I knew that it didn't entirely fit. Yes, that's what it says outwardly, it seems, when you buy and ride a motorcycle. But I know myself well enough, and badass is not a word I would use to describe me. This is not about a reckless disregard for convention or a need to shake things up.<br />
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Yes, there is danger in removing doors and seat belts and all those safety features which cars provide. I certainly don't disdain those things, not at all. I am grateful for them, especially navigating the angry conditions of DC rush hours on a daily basis. But if I'm trying to figure out what the motorcycle is really doing in my life, (and clearly I am!) then I have to extend the metaphor of the motorcycle to my inner life. I want to remove the enclosures and really know what makes me up. I want to go into things I've been trying not to feel for a long time because I was afraid of them, but no longer. I know it will not all be fun. It's dangerous and there is no guarantee of safe passage with any journey, but it is necessary. I will have fellow riders to help me along the way, I will not go alone. But I am trying to make myself more available, make the true self in me come out with no walls to hide behind, or any obstacles to that self coming through. I don't want any filters or doors, I just want to know what's in me, what God wrote into me, and how the choices I have made have shaped me and perhaps subverted that for a time. I also want to ask, where God is in all of this? and What's true about the person I am now and moving forward? And I want my friends and family to share in that, because they love me, and care about that. For a long time I liked to think that they didn't, but that wasn't very fair to them.God is very present in this whole endeavor. Each time I go out, I feel like its a leap of faith and I ride and pray and lift up myself and my surroundings to my Protector, Defender, and Savior.<br />
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Somehow, unexpectedly, riding a motorcycle is a part of all of that. As this season of motorcycle ownership begins, I pray that it would never be done apart from God, or in hiding or contempt or numbness. I pray it would always be about relating to my father, both earthly and heavenly, about openness, and certainly, constantly, joy and gratitude.<br />
<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27754174.post-41559639023154352432014-12-27T20:51:00.000-08:002014-12-28T14:52:14.486-08:002014: My Year in MusicTime seems to be passing more quickly than ever before. I look up and a month has gone by somehow. I was talking to a friend last night and she made a good observation: that the older you get, the less significant milestones you have to mark time and be present in its passing. I'm even more thankful now to have this annual musical tradition as a way to meaningfully mark the passage of time. Welcome back, friends.<br />
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Music seems to be growing more and more important to me as I get older. Certainly this year my love for it has deepened. I heard more in the songs and artists I love- my ears opened. I wanted to sing and play and have music on almost constantly in my apartment and at work. But I also sought silence. I saw very clear moments for music and for the absence of sound. <br />
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Out of the many music-filled hours in my car, at home, and at the gym, I have come up with the list of the songs I kept coming back to. Please note they are not all from the year 2014. Just, this is the year I happened upon my own love for them. <br />
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As you may know from years past, lyrics are more important to me than just about everything else. If a song isn't really saying something it can't amount to more than a passing flirtation. Also, guaranteed repeat listens are brought on by the following things: killer beats, hand claps, clappy-stompy group sing-along breakdowns, banjo, and particularly heavenly chord progressions. I wish I could be more specific about that. My little brother says that his wife loves any song in the key of A minor. I think I need to figure out what my chords are. I absolutely love that there is a retro feel to a lot of music coming out now. Big, Les Paul guitar sounds with bluesy rhythms, harmonies from a different era, notes that sound like they are coming straight from an Appalachian stream circa 1850. The diversification and beauty of it all continues to astound me. <br />
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<a href="http://vivacevie.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-my-year-in-music.html">Last year's album</a> separated into some very clear themes. This year has shaped up as more of a linear narrative, almost a Q&A session with God. These songs tell the story of my year. And I would ask a question, or hear a good question in a set of lyrics, and God would often answer me through music. So with that, let's begin. <br />
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<b>Q</b>: <i>Hey God, everyone keeps telling me that you really want to hang out with me, like, for real. They even tell me that you love me. I've been reading your book and it says that over and over and over. Is that really true? If so, do you, maybe, want to hang out sometime? </i><br />
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(This could just as easily have been Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door" but his version is not on Spotify and I cannot abide a bad cover.) This song is an invitation. Music has taken me further than ever before this year. I'm so thankful. Maybe there is an angel on my porch. I just have to invite them in. One of the things I worked on this year was trying to be more open. I realized I have a lot of walls and closed doors around me and it's humbling to try and take them down. People, I have found, respond to that. And they also, contrary to what I believed, know when those walls are up and respond with their own distances and defensive maneuvers. I thought I was getting away with it, but of course I wasn't. Maybe they can't give a specific name to what they are feeling, but they know on some level they are being shut out. Sorry, guys. I'm working on it. <br />
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<b>A:</b> <i>Yes. I'm right here and I've been waiting. I've been knocking. I've come for you</i>. <br />
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"You were right at my door, I didn't recognize". In light of my question, this was a pretty clear answer. What struck me about this song is how accurate the lyrics are when you feel for the first time the salvific and redemptive graces of really being loved by someone. Even the fear and need to retreat when you are confronted with it, or to misuse it somehow, before you know what is really happening. Her whole album has this epic sound, which it needs to in order to stand up under her incredible voice. I highly recommend the rest of the tracks on Forever For Now. And to listen to how good a writer LP is too. <br />
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<b>Q: </b><i>What do you have to say about this Love you are offering, God? </i><br />
<b>A1: </b><i>"Your love, my love, our love/ oh, it's like a mighty river, baby."</i><br />
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Sometimes you just need to jump into the current and let it flow. God's love can wash over you like a mighty river. I love that image. Also, that guitar that comes in at the 2:20 mark? Yes, please. This was probably the best show I saw in 2014. This band is <u>unbelievable</u> live. Because they were so good- amazing horn section, crazy frontman energy- it made me regret that I hadn't been alive during the 60s and could have seen Otis Redding or Sam Cooke or Wilson Pickett perform live. Although it did comfort me in that I feel like this singer was channeling their musical spirits in his performance and we all benefited from it. I like to think the Communion of Saints applies to music. <br />
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<b>A2:</b> <i>He comes like rain falling over us. </i> <i>Like a downpour dancing on the doors. </i><br />
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One of the great loves of my life is water. When I am near it I feel calm and centered and I also feel called forth into something greater than just what I see. It makes my heart sing a tune that is familiar and unknown at the same time. I love the image and joyful sound of this song and the picture it gives me of being in a downpour, covered and drenched with a love that quenches every thirst and washes everything unimportant away. (See also previous song, and many other songs, including *cringe* "The Rose", where love is likened to a river.) Water and love would seem to go hand in hand. <br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>Okay so you love me. What does that mean? </i><br />
<b>A:</b> <i>I got this love in me. But it's not just mine to keep. Like treasure that's buried deep, I come alive when I set it free. </i><br />
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I have felt more myself and more alive this year than in the past. And I contribute it wholly to the power of a renewed sense of identity in Christ. Even the tiniest moments- watching dawn break in my apartment when all is quiet- seem rich and full. It also can't stay contained, it is meant to flow outward. The natural response to a love so great, so transformational, is to give it away to others and watch what it can do in them too. I have had the very great privilege of getting to know a lot of new people this year and watching this Love grow in them, and receiving the same Love from them. I consider this one of the great joys of my life. <br />
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<b>Q:</b><i> But you love everyone, God. How can you care about me, specifically? </i><br />
<b>A:</b> <i>Everbody wanna steal my girl. Find another one, 'cause she belongs to me.</i> <br />
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Believe me, I'm as surprised as you that I have a superhuman boy-band, unstoppable, inescapable mutant hit on this list. But I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you that this song was significant for me. I blame Matt Wertz for my pop proclivities in 2014. I started following his #WertzWednesdays playlist at the beginning of the year and it became a gateway drug. On a serious note, when I imagined that it wasn't the dreamy teenagers of One Direction singing to me, but my Heavenly Father telling me that I belong to him, it took on a whole new meaning. When I have felt under attack this year, it's been a helpful reminder. And: it's.so.catchy.I.can't.stop.listening. (Clappy, stompy, group sing-along featured here too!) Ugh, boy bands. <br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>God, you and I have known each other for kind of a long time and we're just now getting to know each other. Shouldn't we be further along by now?</i><br />
<b>A:</b> <i>I can see it all, the longer we stay together. The mountains start to fall as long as we stay together.</i> <br />
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I love love love the lyrics to this song. Especially when I imagine it as a conversation between me and God. I ask God to prove himself to me all the time and it's so comforting to know that he sees that and is patient with me. I'm trying to prove myself to him too, but I keep forgetting that's already been done by Someone Else. I also love the image of the mountains coming down as long as we stay together. I see so much of myself in the probing questions and need for reassurance in this song. And I have thought that we should be further along in our relationship but this seems to tell me that that doesn't matter either, as long as we stay together.<br />
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<b>Q:</b> <i>How do we deal with darkness? </i><br />
<b>A1:</b> Identify it. <br />
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This song sounds like encounters with old darkness. My year has been littered with them. I became aware that I was actually fighting them for the first time. I love the beat behind the song and how it switches from minor to major chords a few times because it sounds like a struggle between dark and light. I constantly feel myself slipping backwards but then pushed forward again too. And these are dangerous days, for a myriad of reasons. But it's not without hope. <br />
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<b>A2</b>: Know that we can't be perfect but keep going anyway.<br />
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It's not just because of the banjo part in this song that I love it so much. It's also not because I got to meet Matt this year (thanks to Laurel! I'm forever in your debt...) and see him a few times live. It's a simple and honest ballad about feeling like you've come so far, only to slide all the way back down, and continuing to press on in spite of that. <br />
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<b>A3:</b> Hope<br />
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Because full life doesn't come without struggle. We have to choose all the time and it's hard. I love the lyrics: "A song's never just sad, there's hope, there's a silver lining." We have to remember that. It is there, but we don't see it if we don't believe it exists.<br />
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<b>Q:</b> Why do we have to deal with darkness?<br />
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I think Gregory Porter and Roseanne Cash have hit most accurately upon the best way to deal with darkness. It is that this world has things about it that we know don't sit well with us, and that are wrong and hard. Roseanne wrote the album Black Cadillac to deal her father Johnny's death. She responds by looking for meaning in whatever the path she is on brings to her. She finds God in it all. And one of the other sentiments this year is expressed more beautifully by velvet-voiced Gregory Porter. When Spring finally arrived in DC in 2014, I couldn't remember another winter that was colder, icier, darker, or longer. When the the earth finally thawed and trees finally blossomed I really understood the meaning of Psalm 96 when it says "Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy." I realized that they were actually doing that. All Creation around me was responding to a new season coming with joy. I think Wind Song is talking about a proper response to God's presence in everything (even the darkness) - gratitude. <br />
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I don't really have a question that goes along with this song except that it really does sound like rain at sunset. It's beautiful and I think it builds off of Porter's ability to make nature into music. I had the good fortune of seeing Chris Thile twice in concert this year, once as part of Nickel Creek. His talent as a musician is astounding. I'm so grateful for people with the gift to make instruments do amazing and beautiful things. I hear the eternal in this music. <br />
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This is just a great observational song about the nature of people. I was immediately drawn in by its awesome beat. Sarah's a folk singer and her albums usually have a much different sound but this time she used a hip-hop producer and I think got a fantastic result. Her sweet soprano with the battlefield beat underneath is fantastic. She speaks so much truth here... I've seen these lyrics reflected over and over again in my day to day interactions. <br />
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And then the obligatory single person's musical lament:<br />
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Geez Beck, did you have to lay it out so clearly in that first line? Can't we beat around the bush a little bit? As soon as I heard the mandolin and that line, I knew it was going to be a song of the year. Beck's a savant and his sound continues to mature and evolve, never formulaic. That is QUITE a task in today's market. Much respect, dude. This is a beautiful song about feeling lonely. I get that. <br />
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I love the opening line, "True, it's a dance, we know the moves/ the bow, the dip, the woo/ though the words are true/ the state is old news". That is <u>exactly</u> how I feel about dating in my 30s. Sylvan Esso's sound, like Beck's, stands apart. And it's not just innovative musically either, these lyrics are haunting: "Do you love me? Wrap me in your arms. I can't feel it, but wrap me in your arms." I think it touches on a paradox of relationships these days: We all long to feel close to someone, and more often than not it is physical closeness that precedes everything else. It's the quickest path to intimacy. But even when we achieve that, it doesn't always satisfy the way we thought it would, and without a more complete picture and foundation of intimacy, it fades quickly away. <br />
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A hilarious and oh so catchy airing of dating grievances from the female perspective. Maybe it's not all true, but boy it sure feels that way sometimes. Romance sometimes does feel dead and gone, so I took Chromeo's advice and downloaded all of Sam Cooke's available catalogue. It was very comforting, in fact. I always knew I fell into the Bob Seger "Still Like That Old Time Rock and Roll" camp and now I know it's not just for the retro sound, it's for the innocent sentiments of a by-gone era- it's for the romance.<br />
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100% how I feel about going out on New Years Eve now. Especially about champagne getting spilled on me. <br />
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Whoever you may end up being, this song is for you. <br />
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Damien, you beautiful, tortured, Irish poet. You keep writing these heart-wrenching and profound albums and singing them with your achy voice. I listen to it on rainy days (which have been seemingly endless this November and December) and it makes me desperate to swim across the cold Atlantic and heal your pain. The instrumentation on this song is flawless. Stripped down, acoustic guitar, simple piano melody... and then the longing cello, then melodica... then a full string section that swells behind the cello at the end... Damn you, Damien! I never stood a chance. *puts on goggles and swimcap*<br />
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Just in case you felt like you needed a stiff drink after that last song, here's a sweet, straightforward love song from a group I got to see twice this year thanks to some kindred musical spirits who like to share. I really hope they make it big because they are so talented and I love their Americana, fun, folk style and ridiculous covers. <br />
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Which of these songs is not like the others? J-Pop America Fun Time Now! ....But seriously, in the <u>very likely</u> event that my life gets turned into a video game, I will require that this be the soundtrack. 6 minutes of phantasmagorical adventure.<br />
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I present to you my pick for sexiest song of 2014. Somehow, this category has become an annual tradition. Just go with it. <br />
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Really loved this whole album. It's faded a bit in its initial sheen, but it feels important to acknowledge it since I did spend a lot of time on it this year. Listening to the lyrics it's easy to tell Jack Antonoff suffered huge personal loss in formative years of his life and is still processing that. I think he's done it very well through this album and it never sounds defeatist, it sounds hopeful. <br />
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I spent two months of my year in deep study of C.S. Lewis' book The Great Divorce. In that book, which deals with the concepts of Heaven and Hell, ghosts from Hell get on a bus and visit Heaven and encounter Bright People. Up there, the ghosts become aware that they are transparent and the Bright people are solid. I guess what this song makes me think of is that on this earth, we're all "walking lightly" and while it's real, there is a greater reality beyond this one. <br />
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I read a fantastic book on Bob Dylan and the Christian themes in his music this year. The book was the beginning of a long rabbit trail of other esoteric Dylan songs, biographies and philosophical readings. It led me to tackle all 11 volumes of Dylan's bootleg sessions that have been released progressively over the last few years. This song is over 50 years old and it has aged well in my opinion. A fitting end to a year, and lead off to the new year, in which I am sure more struggle will come my way, and the ones I am in will continue but not without joy and purpose and, hopefully, victory. <br />
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Thank you my friends, as always, for reading. It is a joy to share this with you. <br />
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<br />Karlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03160214070192116269noreply@blogger.com0