Wedding Weekend

I am taking Friday off work so I can dive into the wedding festivities of the weekend. I am INCREDIBLY excited.

We had a 'bye' week in pool, so nothing new to report there. Well, nothing besides the fact that I need to practice.

The weather seems to be turning around a bit, although we had a kickass thunder storm last night.

I've been listening to a lot of great music lately. I finally got my hands on Gaslight Anthem's new album, "American Slang." It is fantastic! Every bit as good as their first. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with it on my long drive this evening.

I wanted to post two songs this week that have been making me smile a lot lately. The first is from a band that is almost a bit too hipster for me to handle, but this song feels like 'magic melting down my spine.' (P.S. I have no idea what's going on in this video... just go with it... As unbelievable as it might sound, this video is actually less strange than the official version. Which is traumatic, to say the least. In fact, I'd recommend not watching either video at all. Just listen to the music.)




The second is from a French band that does not speak English (from what I hear). But they sing their songs in English. Which I find interesting. But their sound is unique and always gets my toes tapping. :) And as it happens, the video rocks, too.



P.S. April Smith will be IN SPOKANE TONIGHT performing FOR FREE! Compliments of 96.9 The River. I'm not sure of the location, but check out The River's website for more info. I'm sad I can't go! Please go in my stead!

Something Fresh

A friend of mine forwarded a link to music video for me to check out. She knows me well. :) I LOVED it. So much that I want to pass it on to you. I've checked out a few of her other songs. I'm impressed that she has a fair amount of acoustic stuff out there. Unfortunately, a lot of it seems to be teenage angst-ish. It might be worth looking at her other video "Cesar," but again, this bordered on the 'I'm young but trying really hard to show the world that I am raw and fierce." The song I'm posting, though, is incredible. The video is pretty darn amazing, too. Whoever directed it deserves quite a bit of credit for the fluid style and fashion conscience it has. I donno. Maybe you won't agree.

It's worth noting that the singer is Sting's daughter. You can tell she leans on his style in this song, although I couldn't tell it at all in the other stuff I listened to. In any case, I think that's why I like it so much; I have a tendency to enjoy music that has a touch of old-school mixed with new, fresh material.

She looks young still. I think she could have an amazing career ahead of her post this teenage angst phase.


I Blame Coco - Self Machine

This Is My Obsessed Face

PLEASE take the time to listen to The Gaslight Anthem's new album. It is all kinds of old school rock n' roll meets amazing lyrics. The album can be heard at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127405836

I hear the album will be for sale later this month. I'm getting it!

In other news, I lost my pool game horribly last night, but I played against a one who was obviously a two. If not a three. So that's helps a little. We lost over all, though, so that sucks.

I transplanted my sunflowers a few days ago. They haven't died yet! I'll keep you posted.

Rain? Still? Is This Seattle?

I apologize for not posting about the M&S concert sooner. It was a blow-your-socks-off experience that took a while for me to process. :) The venue was a bit crowded, but to be honest, but I think that's because M&S's popularity has been soaring recently, and it they probably weren't as well known when they booked the place; they were probably expecting a smaller audience. Anyhow, the opening band was an Australian band called The Middle East. I had heard a song or two from them before on Pandora when M&S's station was playing. I liked one or two songs... but overall, I would liken their sound to interpretive dancing... Full of meaning and emotion, but kind of all over the place, in a lamenting way. M&S were AMAZING live - their passion for each song they sing is intoxicating. They also sang TWO NEW SONGS! Both of which I loved just as much, if not more, than my favorites on their original album. Needless to say, I CANNOT WAIT for the new album to come out. (Speaking of new albums, Gaslight Anthem is coming out with another one the end of this month.) I've found one of those new songs and posted it before for your pleasure.



In other news, I won my pool game last week! I haven't been practicing, though, so I don't have high hopes for tonight.

Gem

I discovered many gems during my stay in Portland over Memorial Day weekend. I must say, however, one gem stood out amongst them all as I began packing for the trek back north. I watched "Crazy Heart" with a friend and fell in love with the movie's theme song, written by Ryan Bingham. The movie is touching and very well-done. The acting, in particular, is top-notch. It isn't the most uplifting movie I've ever seen, but a true portrait of human struggle. Anyhow. The song. Is beautiful. Give it a listen. Bingham has the perfect voice to deliver the song. While the lyrics may be simple, they certainly carry a great deal.

ALMOST SUMMER!

The warm weather is finally here! And I couldn't be happier about that. I'm attempting to grow four sunflowers this year. They have sprouted and look rather happy so far. I will try transplanting for the first time in a week or so. Wish me luck!

I spent the weekend in Lynnwood for a bridal shower - the first of 9 wedding events to attend this summer! It will be a busy one! But also, one full of celebration.

In honor of the 19th Street gals I spent the weekend with (and my trip to the west side, during which I revisited my long-dormant appreciation for hip-hop), I'm posting 'Break Your Heart' for your enjoyment. I'm posting it without watching the actual video, though, so I apologize in advance for any offensive content it may contain. Aside from the lyrics (which did not line up in ANY WAY with the bridal theme of the weekend), the song seemed to encapsulate the energy of the weekend. Cheers!

Races, Pool & Music!

I ran Bloomsday last weekend! We had the biggest turnout since some time back in the mid 1990s. Over 50,000 I believe. I ORIGINALLY thought I had shaved 15 minutes off my time from last year. Hahaha... But I didn't. I did improve by three minutes, and any improvement is great, but it certainly isn't the glory of 15 minutes!

I lost my pool game again this week, and I was pretty bummed about it because I've been practicing outside of pool nights to keep my skills up. I did have a few killer shots, though. Mike and Charlie lost, too, but Sieg and Cheree kept us in the game by winning the last two. We lost overall, but not by a landslide, so we still should be in 2nd or 3rd place in the league. One more regular season game left!

And as for music, I thought I'd revisit a musician/band I mentioned earlier. A friend of my recently went to a Florance + The Machine concert and was blown away by the stage present, quality and general fantasticness of the whole thing. Check out his review of the concert.