Things I Love, Vol VI: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

So...  Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are recording their second album!!!

This maketh me ultra happy.  I actually read this article the day it was posted, a couple weeks ago, but didn't think to comment on it here since I was being something of a blog slacker at the time.

As I'm reading this article, and being excited about the prospect of it all, and loving them a little bit more with every sentence, I get to this part:

"There's animals everywhere!" singer Jade Castrinos adds. Three orphan dogs that the band has named Angie, Andy and Precious -- as well as a still-nameless cat -- have wandered in from the thicket and made themselves at home.

I nearly spat out my water!  Seriously, of the 3 animals they've named, there is one named Precious (totally not a person name), and the other two are Andy and Angie?!?!  I know I'll sound crazy, but it's almost like some sort of sign....In any case, it made me quite happy.

I haven't officially written anything about Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros yet, but I did mention Jade & Alex in my post about couples.  I would have to say that, although I first heard about/saw them in 2009, ES & TMZ are probably my favorite band of 2010 (Speaking of which, I should do a post about my favorite things of 2010...).  Chances are you've heard them somewhere: Their song "Janglin'" was featured on the Ford Fiesta commercial, and "Home" has started to get a lot of radio play more recently (and has charted on Billboard), but was also featured on an NFL commercial, a trailer for Cyrus, and a viral video of a man walking across America.

My first experience with them was in the summer of 2009.  Emily and I had a trip planned to go to Monolith Festival (Please come back next year!) at Red Rocks (My absolute favorite concert venue) in September.  I was downloading some music by some of the artists I wasn't familiar with in order to determine what stages to hit up, when I found "Home".  It was instant love, and when I saw them live at Red Rocks it was increased exponentially.  They were my favorite performance at the festival, and I listened to them religiously afterward.  I bought their album on vinyl and the needle never stopped.

When they came to Kansas City in June, I dragged Andy along with me.  I don't think he was too excited.  It was the night before my colonoscopy so I couldn't eat or drink, and when I got home later that night all I had to look forward to was camping out on the toilet... I was pretty cranky, and the show paled in comparison to the one at Red Rocks, to no fault of the band - stupid high-schoolers shoving me and standing in front of me was to blame.  However, in spite of all of that, by the time we left Andy had become a believer.

For my birthday, he took me camping in Minnesota and to see them in Minneapolis.  It was glorious.  We were right up in front, I touched Alex, they opened for themselves - It was perfect.

Do yourself a favor and catch them live somewhere before they really blow up and start playing godawful giant venues.

Things I Love, Vol. Five. Annie Lennox.

Ever since I was much younger, I've had an undying love for Ms. Annie Lennox.  Besides the fact that she is HUGE into charitable giving and extremely socially and politically aware, I admire the way she keeps to herself and is as private as a celebrity can be.  Her humility is inspiring, and I think most people should strive to be like her.  She is an amazing individual, and I haven't even said anything about how talented she is! I actually wrote several papers on her during my college career - my obsession with her might have bordered unhealthy for a while...

She went to school at the Royal Academy of Music and is a classically trained pianist and flautist.  Probably another reason I love her so is that she is a flute player - for some reason, even though I haven't played my flute in years, I always seem to be drawn toward people who play or played flute, even if I don't know they do/did!  Anyway, she joined band after band, most notably the Stocking Tops and The Tourists (first band with Dave Stewart) before she and Dave started Eurythmics and exploded into popularity.  She picked up a number of bizarre instruments, and constantly pushed the envelope with her androgynous haircut and clothing.

Something I find strange is that my favorite of her albums is probably Medusa, an album consisting solely of cover songs.  As someone who is typically morally opposed to covers, it's odd that when I discovered that album I completely fell in love, and it was what led me to really pursue all of her music.  I believe I have nearly everything she's ever recorded - one of my most prized possessions is a copy of The Tourists' Luminous Basement on vinyl.  Anyway if you aren't familiar with her work, you should definitely check out Medusa - covers of some really great and underappreciated songs.

I simply can't say enough wonderful things about Annie.  :)

Anyway...She's a Christmas baby, and so it seems appropriate that this year (~2 weeks ago) she has released a Christmas album, called A Christmas Cornucopia.  I want it.

Here is a video teaser:

Things I Love, Vol. 4: Band of Horses

I know that I'm long overdue for a post, and I have good intentions of catching up, but maybe not today...

I wrote a bit about Band of Horses after I saw them in concert about a month ago, but I chose to revisit them today because it is the release date for the video for "Dilly".  "Dilly" is my favorite song off of their latest album, Infinite Arms.  It's upbeat and it makes me in a good mood.  It's my "The General Specific" of this latest album.

The video, however, confuses me.  For the most part I think I like the video itself, but I am not understanding at all if/how it ties into the song.  It's an odd video... Watch it here.  Tell me your thoughts!

Things I Love, Vol. 3: My Boyfriend

<3

This is admittedly a bit of a copout. I realized as I was watching the Sunday evening game that I hadn't snapped a picture all day, and here Andy was asleep and looking all cute. I should probably tell him I took this picture. I mean, it's creepy that I took it, but even creepier that he doesn't know I did, and I'm posting it on my blog.

However, this post will serve double duty as a Things I Love AND a P359.

Reasons I love my boymanfriend (in random order):

1. He's super adorable. I thought he was cute when we first met, and the longer we're together the more insanely attracted to him I become.

2. He's crazy intelligent. One of the first things that made me "like" like him was the fact that he has a sexy tattoo across his upper back. It turns out the symbol in the center is an Egyptian symbol, and he aspires to get more heiroglyphs on his back from The Book of The Dead. Being an Anthropology major with a particular interest in Egyptology, he has surely forgotten more about Egypt than I ever have known, and I love listening to him talk about it. I love listening to him talk about lots of the things he knows. He's a history junkie, and I don't know nearly enough about it. His intelligence is twofold, though, since it's probably part of the reason he's a gamer nerd.

3. He's thoughtful (sometimes). Once, when he left town for the week, he sprayed my Huggy pillow (yes, that is the name of a pillow I've slept with since I was a child - don't judge!) with his cologne. He also planned a trip to Minneapolis to see my favorite band since I was pre-colonoscopy miserable when we saw them here. For Valentine's Day, he had a beautiful dinner surprise. He sure knows the way to my heart - surf & turf.

4. Mr. Turtle. He too has something he sleeps with, although less so now that he "lives" at my house. Mr. Turtle, a turtle his grandma made for him. I believe the one he sleeps with now is the 3rd one she'd made, and he has a backup #4 for when the current one is worn down to next-to-nothing. For a while, Mr. Turtle stayed at my house, but he moved back to his house... I'm actually not sure why/when that happened.

5. He is an amazing cook. Maybe this shouldn't be part of why I love him, but what can I say? When we seemingly have nothing to eat in the house, he whips up delectable meals out of nothing. Mad skills, I tell you.

6. We share many important views. I have pretty strong opinions on a number of things. Factory farming appalls me, I can't stand people who try to force their religion on me, I believe I should do what I can to preserve the environment, I have little faith in Americans.... He shares all of these beliefs.

7. We have different taste. While I listen to music with hand clapping and whistling, he likes loud angry guitar riffs. I like movies that make me laugh, he likes historically accurate war movies. I hate wearing shoes, he wears boots every day. We both have learned a lot from each other in this respect - now I have him loving Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and I bought Them Crooked Vultures' CD the day it came out.

8. His crazy theories/thoughts on things. When we're in the car between home & work, he frequently tells me how he thinks things ought to be. People should be required to take classes in fluid dynamics before they are allowed to drive, people on government health assistance should be required to take IQ tests before they are allowed to reproduce, you should lose your license for any sort of traffic violation (duration depending on the offense)... Sometimes I find myself agreeing with his tirades.

9. I can tell him anything. This is one of the biggest things that makes me feel differently about him than I've felt about anybody before. I think we could tell each other absolutely anything, without fear of being judged or worrying that it will go beyond the two of us. I love that.

10. He has beautiful hair. Seriously, it's lovely. He'll tell you it's just "like that", but I know it's at least partly because he combs conditioner through it in the shower.

Here's to you, my dahling. Mwah!

Things I Love, Vol. 2: Broken Bells

Looky, looky, volume 2!  I don't feel like working today, so I'm splitting myself in half between some research I'm doing for work and writing this blog entry.

I remember when I first heard Broken Bells late last year, and got really excited about "the new Shins'" song.  I went to download it and saw they didn't have anything new, so I had to do a bit (not much!) of digging to find out that James Mercer (The Shins frontman, in case you didn't know) had teamed up with Danger Mouse to become Broken Bells.

Well, you can't go wrong with either of them, so the pair is of course wonderful!

You can find another cool thing here: \"October\" 3D Interactive Video

Things I Love, Vol. 1: Oatmeal

In an attempt to lighten the general mood of this blog, and prove that I'm not 100% bitch, 100% of the time,  I'm starting a "Things I Love" series.  When I say 'series', it's good to let you know that I might mean one entry.  Just because there is a volume 1 doesn't mean there will be a 2.  I don't like to commit to things and then underdeliver, so there's your disclaimer.

Today is the type of day when I'd love nothing more but to snuggle up in my bed with a variety puzzles magazine and my Huggy pillow, but since I am at work I obviously can't.  So instead, I use my lunch to get similar warm fuzzy feelings.

Yes, I'm having oatmeal for lunch.  I usually have it for breakfast, but I had a smoothie this morning.  And, as earlier mentioned, today is the day where I need to feed my spirit as well as my body and oatmeal knows just how to soothe my soul and make me warm inside and out.

Not only is it delicious, but it is also a great source of many nutrients and chock full of fiber to keep you regular!  Unfortunately this is something I have to consider, but fortunately I can find it here!

For the record, I love all of the crazy flavors it comes in, but there's nothing quite like good ol' maple & brown sugar.