Last night I had the chance to see Juno at the Champaign Art Theater – the pretentiousness of this theater felt right for this film. Since seeing the film I’ve had the above song in my head and thought I’d share it with you. Time is rather hard to come buy right now so this post isn’t to in depth, I invite you to interact with me about the film via comments or emails or in person. I really enjoyed it.
Archive for the ‘music’ Category
The Hope of Dreams to Come
I’m not in the habit of over-sharing on this blog, nor vagary – some might refute that. Life has been sweet as of late:
“There’s this girl.
That I know.
That I see
in my dreams at night.See her smile.
Hold her hand.
Touch her face
I know she cares.
She cares.”
~ Slingshot57
I haven’t listened to this song in years – probably since I was a freshmen in college. Yet, as sleep begins to swallow me, it has crept into my head.
It makes me smile and makes me hope for sweet dreams.
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Now playing: Slingshot 57 – Crystal’s Song
via FoxyTunes
Heading ‘Somewhere North’
Posted 21 Nov 2007 — by nick
Category Family, music, Volkswagen
Category Family, music, Volkswagen
I don’t miss the driving
Seems like forever
And I’m always driving in my mind
And wearing out the road that gets me thereAnd I’m driving till my eyes just can’t see straight
But I suppose that it’s getting lateI may never find the sleep
I’ve lost all feeling in my hands and
Feet may touch the ground but
My mind’s somewhere north of here
~ Caedmon’s Call “Somewhere North”
In about 5 minutes I’ll be making the familiar drive up Interstate 57 to the Chicago Suburbs and then out to my Mom’s place – all in the comfort of my beautiful VW. The drive is familiar, the house familiar, the people familiar – yet I always find it so hard to get out the door and head home. Maybe it’s wanting to avoid the stress and tension of family brokenness, maybe it’s just not wanting to leave what feels like home now, maybe it’s being scared of feeling lonely with people who are supposed to know me well. Maybe I’m just over dramatic. I really do love my family and I’ve missed them a lot, I’m just trying to capture some of the inner tension right now.
Either way, here I go.
Getting Cold Again or What I like about Winter
As I type my weather widget tells me the outside air has reached an almost tropical 41° today. A couple weeks ago I pulled out my jackets and sweaters from storage – I saw this coming, I’m still not ready for it.
I decided to make a list of a couple of things I am excited about now that it’s cold in an effort to better ready myself for the long winter. An exhaustive list this is not – it serves the point though.
Things I like about the Cold:
- Wool socks – Preferred Smartwool of course, although others will do.
- Warm drinks – Ok so this one is year round with coffee, but now I look less like a junkie. This includes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai and occasionally cider.
- Jazz music – Something about Jazz and the cold winter – the overcast skies, the barren trees, the way the night grows longer stealing away our days – just feels right.
- Cold Cheeks and Nose – The fresh cold air on your face feels good, as long as the rest of you stays warm (Amy pointed this out today).
- Snow – Beautiful, fun, white, essential for snowboarding
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Now playing: Thelonious Monk – Straight, No Chaser
via FoxyTunes
Starstruck
My roommate Matt is a stud. Last weekend some friends and I drove over to Illinois State University to hear him play at a Coffee House. He played quite a few songs, mostly his original stuff though he did include a fun cover of Counting Crows – Amy hit the atmosphere. One song I loved he is considering titling “Starstruck”. I’ve posted the lyrics below:
You move like a melody
Your skin is pure as a dove
Your eyes melt like summer rain
Your smile is sweet and disarming
This could be loveBut no, that’s not how this works
I guess that’s the trouble with falling first
Open your eyes
Come take a chance on meIf life was a movie then you’d be the star
How clever, how gentle, how lovely you are
Would you make me an extra in back of the scene
Or could I be your leading man
A king for the queenEvery time the telephone rings
I dream that it’s you
Calling just to hear my voice
And tell me how you miss me tooBut no, that’s not how this works
I guess that’s the trouble with falling first
Open your eyes
Come take a chance on meIf life was a movie then you’d be the star
How clever, how gentle, how lovely you are
Would you make me an extra in back of the scene
Or could I be your leading man
A king for the queenYou came to me quickly
And it’s no surprise
You’ve stolen my heart
With one glance of your eyes
The heart’s made for loving
So give it a try
Cause this could be everything
This could be everythingIf life was a movie then you’d be the star
How clever, how gentle, how lovely you are
Would you make me an extra in back of the scene
Or could I be your leading man
A king for the queen
“Starstruck” ~ Matt Wondra
Matt’s done a wonderful job capturing the early feelings of romance and attraction we experience as men, and maybe also for you women as well. I liken this to poetic genius – a gift evident in Matt and littered throughout his songs. I eagerly await the album he is recording, in his room, right above me. In the meantime check out his MySpace page for some samples.
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Now playing: Josh Garrels – Break Bread
via FoxyTunes
Moving Music
So I’m stealing this from Amy, check out her blog for the original post.
Music can have a strong emotional pull on me – invoking happiness or sadness, and not always related to a past experience. As I thought over my favorite artists I realized the ones a top the list have the strongest grip over me – Derek Webb, Counting Crows, Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne, to name a few.
Sometimes a song in it’s completeness – music, lyrics, vocals – draws out a feeling of joy. For me, worship music often follows this line, but as my previous post showed, fun ska or punk music can do it too. Other songs just make me want to cry. Here are a couple of those types:
“Fix You” by Coldplay – Coldplay is an interesting band for me, the vocals usually pull me down but the guitar and drums make me want to move and sway which makes me smile. This song though just makes me teary.
“Colorblind” by Counting Crows – I’m a sap for a sad piano song, well any piano song I guess, but the start to this song causes emotion to well up and my eyes to fill. Then the violin sets in and I’m gone. This song is probably the most consistent tear invoker on the list.
“The Blowers Daughter” by Damien Rice – Soaked in pain, you can hear the hurt in Damien’s voice and it moves my heart to morn with him.
“Black eye” by Jeff Tweedy – This one doesn’t always get me, but on days when I feel alone and distant from God, forgetting his grace and love, this song reminds me of all the walls I’ve constructed and how good they are at isolating me.
“Let that be enough” by Switchfoot – So worshipful, so prayerful, it centers me on God and illuminates ways I’ve chosen my way instead of His. It strips me down to a simple child like faith and puts me back together.
This was a lot of fun for me, what songs make you want to cry. Or if you like, what songs make you joyful?
Just For Fun – Lots of Music
Last night Josh put on some Five Iron Frenzy songs at the haus – I haven’t listened to FIF in like a thousand yesterdays. Reese Rooper has been tickling my ears as I smile remembering concerts of the high school and
early college years.
Tonight I’m going to hear my roommate and good friend Matt Wondra play some sweet tunes at a coffee house near ISU. Ben, Amy and I are driving over together. Check out Matt’s MySpace page to get some samples of his superpowers.
I used my emusic monthly quota to download Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (because I’ve respected Spoon for a while but don’t own any of their stuff) and Josh Garrels – Over Oceans (under Josh’s recommendation). Both albums are super sweet.
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Now playing: Five Iron Frenzy – Dandelions
via FoxyTunes
I Shall Not Walk Alone
Posted 27 Oct 2007 — by nick
Category Light, music, Poetry, Spirituality
Category Light, music, Poetry, Spirituality
“I Shall Not Walk Alone”
By Ben Harper
Battered and torn
still I can see the light
tattered and worn
but I must kneel to fightFriend of mine
what can’t you spare
I know some times
it gets cold in thereWhen my legs no longer carry
and the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk aloneHope is alive
while we’re apart
only tears
speak from my heart
break the chains
that hold us down
and we shall be
forever boundWhen I’m tired and weary
and a long way from home
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk aloneBeauty that
we left behind
how shall we
tomorrow findSet aside
our weight in sin
so that we
can live againWhen my legs no longer carry
and the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone
I’ve recently gotten into Ben Harper. He’s an artist I’ve heard a lot about and respect simply because friends I respect like him. Matt Wondra’s brother moved in with us a couple weeks back and loaned me one of Ben Harper’s Albums “Will To Live”. After listening through a couple of times I’ve come to really love this album. It’s beautiful and this track is pure poetry in it’s simplicity.
We shall not walk alone for the God of all creation walks beside us.
Music + Friends + Running = Fun
It’s been a bit since I last posted. Odd how compelled I feel to apologize and explain how life has been busy – only that would seem to imply I have points of non-busyness. It’s been quite the norm as of late though, packed days, long hours at work, early morning running – all along the list of people to catch-up with and things on the backburner boiling over. I just returned from Wilderness LT and I feel like I need another vacation. This weekend served as a bit of a break. I can’t remember the last time I got to work on a Monday and thought “that was a really fun weekend!”
On Friday Chris, Marla and I went to Mike and Molly’s to see Elsinore play – tangent: These guys are awesome, great song writing, great vocals, original style and feel. You should buy their CD Nothing for Design on iTunes and Ryan Groff Solo CD People In The Midwest from Parasol.
On Saturday I got up extra early and joined the Buffalo – the trail
running group of Second Wind Running Club. Marla has been inviting me out to run with them for over a year now, figured I’d finally take her up on the offer. We did a 10 mile loop around Lake Clinton. It was a beautiful morning, the temperature cool, the shade nice, and the trail clean. That evening there was a going away party for a friend who is moving back to Taiwan and then I caught up with some friends at Cowboy Monkey for a bit.
Early Sunday morning Darren, Marla and I joined the Second Wind fall marathoners for a long training run. Feeling a little beaten up by the trails the previous day I only did 11 miles instead of the planned 16. The remainder of the day was relaxing, some dinner and watched The Last King of Scotland. I fell asleep last night with a smile on my face – good music, good friends, good running.
