Goodmorning

The first thing I will say is that I'm incredibly lucky. I know this. I have a job, an apartment, a loving family, and a beautiful fiance. For these things I am very grateful.

So to complain of being alone seems selfish. To say that I'm bored a lot, that I wish I were closer to friends, it just seems mean. I know that a lot of people would trade me spots. Two months ago this was the kind of spot I was dying to be in.

Don't get me wrong. It's the spot that I should be in... the spot I need to be in. And the spot that one day I'll look back and recognize was the most important spot I could've been in.

But still I can't help but feel alone. My friends and family are several hours away. The one person who makes every situation in my life better, no matter the bleakness, will be away from me for several months. So for now, I'm left to be alone.

Of course, I'm not alone. And it's remembering this fact that keeps me hopeful, keeps me happy, keeps me company. Soon enough, I'll truly be in the company of friends, of community, of a home. But for now, I have the company I need.

I find that the mornings are the most difficult to feel this company. It's when I wake up that the loneliness of every day hits the hardest; that moment when I realize that the day ahead of me contains more or less exactly what the day before contained, and what the day after that will contain as well. It is that split second when I open my eyes and turn off my alarm that I most strongly feel the empty hole within that longs for the presence of friends and of family.

But that moment always passes. And for that, too, I am very grateful.

I found a beautiful song today that goes a long way towards fixing that lonely moment I can't help but feel when I wake up in the morning. It's called "Goodmorning" by William Fitzsimmons; read the lyrics, listen to the song, discover the hope that we are meant to feel at the beginning of every day.

Goodmorning - William Fitzsimm...

Moonlight will fall
Winter will end
Harvest will come
Your heart will mend
Good morning
Good morning
You will find love
Good morning
You will find love
You will find love
Good morning
Good morning

"Good Morning" by William Fitzsimmons

To Ohio

So here I am, in my roughly 6-foot-by-10-foot, no-windowed office, wrapping up my first feature for the magazine in anxious anticipation of the afternoon, when I head home for the first time since moving to Durham. I've got The Low Anthem's album Oh My God Charlie Darwin streaming in the background, my first listen of an album I can tell I'm going to like a lot.

And wouldn't you know it, this song comes on. I got goosebumps.

To Ohio - The Low Anthem

I left Louisiana on the rail line, oo oo
I left Louisiana on the rail line, oo oo
I was trying to get to Ohio
Trying to get to Ohio

Lost my love before her time, oo oo
Lost my love before her time, oo oo
On the way to Ohio On the way to Ohio

Now every new love is just a shadow, oo oo
Every new love is just a shadow, oo oo

'Cause once you've known love you don't know how to find love, oo oo
Yeah once you've found love you don't know how to find new love
All the way to Ohio All the way to Ohio

Heard her voice come through the pines in Ohio
I heard her voice singing in the pines in Ohio

She sang bless your soul you crossed that line to Ohio Bless your soul you crossed that line oo oo All the way to Ohio All the way to Ohio

~

I'm coming home, Ohio. I'm coming home.

Grizzly Bear, "Ready, Able"

Killer performance of my favorite Veckatimest song on Letterman.

Out of the Dark

(Didn't have much to go with in terms of picture, so this will do.)

Graduation. Job offer. Moving. Engagement. My last month has been, well, insane. Between my last post and now, nearly everything in life has changed. And, thanks to the "timeliness" of Time Warner, I finally have cable/internet in my apartment, which means I can once again post to my blog.

I don't have much to say here now. There are many things to say, sure... like how I accepted the position of Associate Editor at QSR magazine, graduated from Ohio University with a degree in magazine journalism, moved to Durham, North Carolina, and proposed to my girlfriend of two years, Katie (she said yes). But those are not things I put here on this blog (at least, not all at once).

So instead, I'll tell you what music has sountracked this entire last month; the best albums and songs that have quite literally been all that I've listened to during this transition:

Best Albums


Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest - Forget Animal Collective; at the end of the year, this will be the album standing as the greatest of 2009. You can hold me to it, trust me; this is a gorgeous masterpiece, one that finds the Brooklyn acoustic mopers turn to a poppier, more "accessible" brand. And it's stunning.

White Rabbits, It's Frightening - Didn't know much about this band when I picked up their latest LP, but opening track "Percussion Gun" immediately hooked me. Maybe I'm biased, but the way these guys lace their indie/garage rock with almost tribal drums really stirs me in way I'm not often stirred (hmm... probably weird imagery).

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Another pick-up on a whim, this electro-pop French rock is catchy and fun to blare on a sunny North Carolina day (lucky for me, that's pretty much been my last three weeks).

Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca - The only way I know how to explain them is to say that they would be the love child of Vampire Weekend and the Talking Heads.

Passion Pit, Manners - Yeah, I've discussed them already, but so what? Maybe by mentioning them again you can get it through your head - THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS OF THE YEAR. Okay, maybe that didn't need all-caps, but I want to drive home the point so you go get it. Trust me.

Best Songs

"Ready, Able" by Grizzly Bear - I'll start by saying that my favorite song off of Veckatimest changes pretty much every day, but for now, I'll stick with "Ready, Able" (with "Two Weeks" a close second and "I Live With You" bringing in the bronze). These guys just found a way to create awesome melodies in every single one of their new songs, and every time I listen to the record, I'm floored.



"Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits - Being a drummer and all, I find this song to be an adrenaline-fueled fist-pumper that demands playing at the beginning of nearly every car trip I take nowadays. Didn't know anything about these guys when I got the new record, and this, track one, sold me instantly. I replayed it about ten times the first day I had it.

Percussion Gun - White Rabbits

"Lisztomania" by Phoenix - Pretty fun electro-pop song from these French dudes, and, I imagine, a lot of fun to dance to (my dancing consists of shuffling about in the driver's seat of my car, and still, this song gets the job done).

Lisztomania - Phoenix

"Let Your Love Grow Tall" by Passion Pit - My favorite song off of Manners is still "Little Secrets" (in fact, not 30 minutes ago I officially anointed it my newest ring tone), but I'll give a shout-out to this track as well. I don't quite know how to explain it - it's catchy, it's anthemic, it's dark, it's dancy... it's got a little bit of everything. All I know is when it goes into the musical breakdown before the chorus, I tend to start driving just a little bit faster.

Let Your Love Grow Tall - Pass...

Mind Your "Manners"

I have two weeks of college left, and a lot of my life post-June 13 has yet to be determined. I'm swamped this week with tying up loose ends, and am exhausted from, well, the last 4 years of academics.

Needless to say, I've not had time to post to this here blog (though, if I'm unemployed in two weeks, that will change quite dramatically.) I've also been in desperate need of some pick-me-up music.

Killing two birds with one stone, here is a write-up I just completed for the Athens News' Ear Buds section of a killer album I've been listening to fairly non-stop for the last three days. Go buy it and listen to it all summer. It's called "Manners," from the Boston band Passion Pit.

Passion Pit, "Manners": Melodic dance-pop albums are usually not my thing; the sugar coated catchiness of the melodies, the wandering fuzz of the synths and the cliche nonsensical lyrics typically drive me crazy after a third or fourth listen. Such albums are intended mostly for the dance floor, not for an iPod-assisted walk to work, and don't spend too much time trying to chalk up originality points. But "Manners" from Passion Pit is something quite different: a crazy-melodic record from start to finish, it laces each song with a throbbing tempo, inspired lyrics and an eclectic mix of synths and indie rock that avoids any kind of pretentiousness. Imagine mixing the catchy synths of M83 with the dance-rock of Of Montreal, and throwing in some children-choir vocals and fast-forwarded samples-a-la-Kanye West for good measure - that'll give you an idea of what this Boston-based band sounds like. In a just world, this entire album would be the go-to anthem for summer 2009.

Here is my favorite song from the album, "Little Secrets."

Little Secrets - Passion Pit

Snapshot

I'm currently taking an intro photography class at OU. I didn't need to take it; I wanted to take it. I've always been fascinated by photography, but beyond pointing and shooting, haven't had a clue what to make of it. So now I do. Here are some of my shots that I've taken in the last couple weeks, with some songs to soundtrack. Enjoy.

I Turn My Camera On - Spoon

Kamera - Wilco

Country Mile - Camera Obscura

American Hearts - A.A. Bondy

The Privateers - Andrew Bird

All My Friends - LCD Soundsyst...

Scenic World (Version) - Beiru...

Gentle Hour

Gentle Hour - Yo La Tengo

It's such a pleasure to touch your skin
To touch your skin
It's such a pleasure to touch your heart
To touch your heart
I can hardly wait

I couldn't bare it, to live for fear
Undressing you
You're in my heart all the time
All the time
I will wait till you arrive
To make it to the grave
And I couldn't have done
Anything else

A gentle love
A gentle heart
A gentle love
A gentle heart

All things that cause you trouble cause pain

It's such a pleasure to touch your skin
To touch your skin
It's such a pleasure to touch your heart
I can hardly wait

And I'm waiting to hear you now
To make it to the grave
And I couldn't have done
Anything else
I couldn't have done anything else