Gift of Gab

Foxes in Fiction + Weed: Teenage Dream (Katy Perry Cover)

Now, yes I could have done the original (because I cannot with a good conscience deny how much I love Katy’s version as well) but this cover (which was on Blalock’s back in last October) is too great to ignore. Now, sometimes I do groan on about the annoyingness of electronically-enhanced vocals, I really enjoy the effects on this one- they just seem to enhance the enchanting, nonchalance of their take on the song. They somehow manage to take what some might call a vexatious, pounding misery and turn it into an absorbing, emotional piece of real music. 

I love this song (specifically this cover) because it is so true. As tawdry as this sounds, this sound speaks to me— ignoring the fact that the teenage dream part is redundant given the fact that we are literal teenagers, my past month has slightly mirrored this sentiment (granted that mirror would be pretty old and warped and most likely cracked). I wouldn’t overstate the situation the way the song does (for example the phrase “you are my missing puzzle piece-I’m complete”- because obviously I’d like to think I’m never complete and can always change and improve) but it is nice to think that “this is real. Let’s take a chance and don’t ever look back”… I can’t deny that I’ve sung this song to myself on several appropriate occasions…and yet this version seems more real than Katy Perry’s (mostly because Katy Perry herself is so unreal and actually a teenage dream, whereas I fall more along the lines of a teenage…realistic hope or attainable desire I suppose) 

Death Cab for Cutie: We Looked like Giants

Alright now before you say to yourself (or most likely think to yourself since I assume you are reading this to yourself and not in some sort of group setting….) something along the lines of “Death Cab? Really? That’s so cliche. Bet she’ll defend herself by saying how she has loved them since before Seth made them mainstream by divulging his love for them on the O.C.” let me explain! Now while it is true that my love for DCfC goes way back to The Photo Album in elementary school (and true that I did love Seth’s numerous references and an appearance by Death Cab or what Summer called “one guitar and a whole lot of complaining”….can’t even express how much i love relationship….and Seth in general. He showed all the shallow girls in my middle school how hot geek really can be. A fact which I have known since my crushes on fellow nerds who attended lunch bunch in 2nd grade where we met in the library and discussed books). Anyway, Death Cab strikes a particular chord with me (pun intended?….perschnapps) because they really are what got me into “indie”-type music. Yes, I have always listened to non-pop music, it was mostly punk or rock or classic rock until Death Cab taught me that music doesn’t have to be loud and fast to be wonderful. 

If you’re wondering why I chose “We look like giants” out of all their amazing 100+ songs. It’s not that it’s my favorite but it is one of theirs that resonates most with me at this moment. Another thing I love about them (in addition to just Ben in general- not only husband of Zooey Deschanel who I lovelovelove- and not just because here eyes are gorgeous and her sister Emily is Bones - but Ben also had Postal Service who I lovelovelove- and not just because “Such great heights” is in the commercial for UPS (get it? get it?).) is that their songs are so…poignant, I guess? Yes, many are catchy and don’t seem to really hit home but just listening to the lyrics of some, I almost tear up. Can’t help it. I love how some are sappy and sad, perfect for those days when you see a former close friend who basically ignores you (yes, that was a personal example-bringin’ it back to me as usual) And then some are bouncy and fun (cough cough “The Sound of Settling” and “Crooked Teeth”) and perfect for a sunny day. But then you listen to the lyrics and are like- story of my life! “My brain’s repeating ‘if you’ve got an impulse let it’ but they never make it past my mouth” or “old age is just around the bend”….Cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve ranted about how I cannot wait to get old. 

But annnyyywayyyy, back to “We Looked Like Giants” I just feel like it is most relevant to my point in life- “the smell of springtime” and all the other stuff just hits home about the stuff that just reminds me of my time here in college and the bittersweetness of things that might not last but make memories in the time that they exist. And in that time, they are real. And the idea that we think we are so important—“giant” if you will—but are really not and looking back you can see that the things we elevate in our mind often are not all that “giant” in comparison (Chhheeeese alert, right? Some wine with my cheese perschnapps? Or some fries to go with that cheese?) 

So this is my one alloted Death Cab post (one per what- you may ask….we shall see. One per semester I think seems appropriate. Or season. It can be an assessment of where I am in life- Which death Cab song best describes my life at that point in time. i like that) and I apologize for the rant but I will never get over this love (obsession? nahh…only seen them once in concert so it can’t be obsession yet, right?). Also- if you haven’t please listen to “We laugh indoors,” “the new year,” title and registration, spring break broke, bixby canyon bridge, your new twin size bed, prove my hypothesis, and the other mentioned songs for a nice, well-rounded DCFC edumacation.   

90’s Kids: Oh No! Yoko

I loved this song once I heard the soundbite from “Saved by The Bell” at the 5 second mark. Not only is it catchy, they make so many good references- the kind that make you go “oh good that isn’t just me! That was so much fun!”-like Oregon Trail and “Who let the dogs out”.

Now disregarding their uber-Canadian-ness (and the fact that most of the kids who were really “90’s kids” were born in the 80’s not the 90’s like they claim, unless the mean that the 90’s kids were “born” in that the generation and culture was birthed as a whole), what is not to love? The band name itself is hilarious and witty. And they’re best friends from “grade-k” (which I can only assume is kindergarten since I don’t speak Canadian…just joshin’ I really don’t have anything against the Mounties. In fact Gilbert Blythe is up there in the long list of guys I would want to steal from their prospective storylines and bang)

I also was stricken by the first couple lines-“This is not a rat race, with winners and losers. This is a fast pace way of life.”  So true. You can live quickly and energetically without racing through life—stopping to smell the flowers doesn’t have to take all day. You can “swim with those gators” and go to a “very big bonfire!”  

Hold Your Horses: 70 Million

Just when I was giving up music videos (I honestly rarely watch them and usually pull them up on youtube and tab back to whatever else I was doing) this brilliant gem pops up. Combining various forms of art, the French-american members reenact various famous paintings, giving the viewer a little art history lesson in a sense. Basically, these guys are hilarious. Even reading their Profile on their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/holdyourhorsesparis) makes me laugh out loud (not necessarily the best idea given that I’m in class, but, to be fair, it’s journalism and our prof did just encourage us to make our own blogs….). Hold Your Horses (in addition to being one of my favorite under-used phrases, even though I sometimes tend to get it mixed up with hold the phone”) are one of the most creative bands out there and I can’t get enough of them. 

Even without the hysterically clever video, the song is catchycatchycatchy. It has so many lines that strike me...”And we dance dance dance like the children dance, Imply thought are we taking the chance?”….and reflect my ideas about various facets of life and living (and no, I don’t just mean that we both have a tendency to say things in threes)…”the city treats me, it treats me to you.” This song makes me smile and nod and think and laugh and I am dying for them to come here! 

New Young Pony Club- Lost a Girl

So ignoring the pretty weird music video, lovelovelove this song (which was on last April’s Blalock’s indierock Playlist….which is like the holy grail of free music- more than 100 songs every month. and usually some great new finds. mixed in with some older overplayed stuff). What’s not to love about a catchy tune that commingles the memorable repetition of “lost a girl” with deeper lines like “I want to pretend the shape of the past could walk in the present tense.”?  

Also- How can you not appreciate a band that admits that they chose their name based on unfulfilled childhood dreams and identifies themselves as a “band who is obsessed with food! Put it this way- 60% of the band are obsessed with sex, but 100% of us are obsessed with food!” It’s like they are the band form of my soulmate. They never pretend to be the most serious, deep band out there; they want to make music that is about having a good time. And I love a good time. 

You stay classy, blogosphere

Nighttiming-Coconut Records

So this song came up on my 8track mix “For One Man Dance Parties” (I mean what do you listen to when picking next year’s classes? Also- I love 8track. One of my favorite stumbleupon finds). So I was already diggin’ the jam when I realized that it is Jason Schwartzman, who I have loved since middle school when my friend and I went through a “renting weird movies phase” and fell in love with Rushmore (which is coincidentally where they got the name for my favorite Fall Out Boy song “Tell that mick he just made my list of things to do today”) Anyway, Coconut Records- Listen! I also like Any Fun by them 

(Shortest post of mine ever? I think yes. Kudos to me! I think I’ll treat myself to ice cream. jkjk Well not really, I will be eating ice cream but that’s a treat for getting back into running. To City Hall and back for a nice midafternoon jog. That’s ice cream-worthy for sure)

Lustra- Scotty Doesn’t Know

As I write this, I am watching Eurotrip (actually we’re at the awkward Amsterdam scene if you’ve seen it. If not, you probably should. right now) Basically, the song is sung by Scotty’s ex-girlfriend’s “new” boyfriend (Matt Damon. I know, right?) Anyway, this song takes me back to the early years of high school. I first saw it freshman year when I visited my sister at college. She wouldn’t take me out (I was pissed…but also 13 years old…so it’s marginally understandable) but we stayed in and watched this. Then I turned my friends on to it and we would sing this song allll the time (like entirely too much given the content matter and lyrics)

I honestly just love the epicness and interconnectedness of this movie. For example, they hear the techno version of Scotty Doesn’t Know in the random intense awesome stereotypical Eastern European techno Eurotrash club. Like everything about that movie just make me want to go to Europe and do exactly what they do (almost….I don’t really have a twin to make out with and wouldn’t like to have all my stuff stolen…but I could do for chillin with some soccer hooligans or getting in a robot battle in France). Regardless, I need to get back (it’s now at the scene with Mika’s family. and her Nazi brother) It gives me hope that I can have a crazy adventure at some point in my unfortunately boring life.    

Matt Doyle: Kerrigan and Lowdermilk’s Last Week’s Alcohol 

There are so many elements of this song I love. Kerrigan and Lowdermilk wrote it. They have been repeatedly called the greatest young composers and composers of our era. Brian Lowdermilk went to my high school (and hated it, apparently, but it’s ok I still love him). And their songs mix real life and musical theater. They call this one “adding emo to musical theater.” I love it because it honestly is what I would sing if my life were a musical. I mean, not  the exact words but the general idea. A lot of them are about love (and love-making without the love) in college and “young adulthood.” The confusion and complications, the trials and tribulations. I love this because there are so many songs (and stories and books and shows and movies) about falling in love but none of it is remotely accurate. “Last Week’s Alcohol” is the truest thing I’ve heard (or read) about the situations that we encounter. The avoidance, the drinking, the excuses, using drinking as an excuse, the fear. Yet this song too gives me hope that it can all work out.

Also, Matt Doyle- lllooovveee. You may know him as Jonathan on Gossip Girl (just recently reappeared. love it!) but he is amazing. So talented- he has an EP coming out this spring and is working on his 3rd Broadway show. Can’t wait. And added bonus- he’s adorable.

 Check out the rest of Kerrigan-Lowdermilk songs- my favorites are Run Away with Me (in particular the Josh Young version, which annoyingly is not on their recent CD, Our First Mistake which was pretty high up on the itunes charts!) and Two Strangers and Not a Love Story (and my Party Dress and  the other songs in Henry and Mudge, their off-Broadway production). Besides Henry and Mudge, their songs are beautiful expressions of the feelings and experiences young people go through all the time, which make them so relatable and emotional, but be warned if you’re not into musical theater because those hints are definitely still there and that can bother those that were not raised on musicals as I was. 

Super Mash Bros: @Lauren Conrad Get Us on The Hills

GOTCHA! Bet you were expecting all indie songs. Nope! I am actually into lots of different types of music (except country. blah. unless you count T-Swift as country becuase she is my guilty pleasure. minus the guilty part. I don’t feel the need to feel guilty about a love as pure as mine is for her) So I actually listen to a big variety of songs, which is why I love mash-ups, like Girl Talk has made famous, but I love Super Mash Bros. (and E-603) even more becuase they really incorporate more of “my music” (alt rock and punk and indie) with popular music. One of the guys from SMB or E-603 has some quote about how they like to make a song that you can dance to using songs that you would never hear at a club. Like how this song uses Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance (both bands of my childhood- yes I had an emo/punk phase- who didn’t?) or how The Sweet Years by E-603 mixes in some Vampire Weekend with BritBrit (another “guilty” pleasure from my childhood…and one of the best concerts ever. I’ll admit it. She can work it like no other).

Basically I love this shit. (And get ready for the bullshit metaphor crapolla) It reminds me of life, and specifically my own life. The mainstream with definite hints of various other genres… Yes, I will tune the car radio to Q102 and 96.5 (not gonna lie to you, Your Love is my Drug was my summer jam) but I also saw Vampire Weekend 4 years ago in 9th grade and consider the English Beat one of my favorite bands and frequently belt numbers from Rent and Singin’ in the Rain and rock out to Elvis Costello and the Temptations. I’m even a contradiction on a more general level— I love sports and scream my lungs out at every Temple Basketball game but will also spend all my money on indie shows at places like the FU Church and The Ox. I am easy-going and likable (I like to think…actually, don’t correct me if I’m wrong) but have strong opinions and follow politics and world news. I go out every weekend but can be content reading books with my mommy with hot chocolate.

Most people only see one side of me—the hipster or nerd or sports fan or obnoxious loudmouth or overly friendly hallmate or zumba fanatic (yes, thats right. I have no rhythm or hip movement and I kick ass at zumba errday…aka get my ass kicked. iz all good). I often wonder if it’s possible to reconcile all these sides or find someone who shares more than two of my interests. Then I hear E-603 seamlessly mix Modest Mouse, LL Cool J, Blink 182, Lit, Rob Base, No Doubt and Jackson 5. If that kind of blend is possible, I can successfully work with my “multiple personalities.” And hopefully someday meet someone who accepts, if not shares, this dichotomy