Watermelons and Acoustic Guitars.

Whistle Jacket - "Say Hello"

Whistle Jacket - "Knife Fight"

Tyler and I recently put together two potluck hootenannies in which we had touring bands, including a man named Michael from a band called Whistle Jacket.  

Michael showed up at my house with a friend, an acoustic guitar, and the biggest watermelon I'd ever seen.  We cut it up and savored its succulent flavor while he played, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, in a sole photographer's spotlight I used to light up my backyard.  

The abrasive positivity of his music truly shows Michael is a "whimsical ambassador of good cheer."

Select Images from my Travels To Date

Bay on Southeast side of Mount Desert Island, Maine, US - Summer 2008

Ascending Mount Cadillac, Mount Desert Island, Maine, US - Spring 2008

The Beehive, Mount Desert Island, Maine, US - Spring 2008

Kayaking Break, Bald Porcupine Island, Maine, US - Summer 2008

Stinson Beach, California, US - Spring 2008

The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California - Spring 2008

San Francisco Bay from a Hill, California, US - Spring 2008

Los Angeles Seen from Hollywood Movie Theater Roof, California, US - Spring 2008

Mount Tamalpais, Marin County, California, US - Spring 2008

Redwoods, Mount Tamalpais, Marin County, California, US - Spring 2008

Two Birds of Prey, Stinson Beach, California, US - Spring 2008

Florence (East View from Bell Tower), Italy - Spring 2007

An Exemplary Meal at Restaurant in Florence, Italy - Spring 2007

The Duomo Looking South, Florence, Italy - Spring 2007

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US - Spring 2008

How Am I Supposed to Know that You're High?

"Chips Ahoy!" - The Hold Steady

So I realize that The Hold Steady has a new album out, and that this is at least two years old.

I also realize that I don't really like The Hold Steady- not a big fan of the deeper voices- thats another post though.

This song is a pop powerhouse. It's reminiscent of a decade ago. It's like wearing flannel, drinking beer and pretending to be into baseball. It's all a great frenzy and the nights just starting.

Can't Shut 'Em

"I Can't Go to Sleep" - Wu-Tang Clan

This song is mysterious. The beat is totally unchanged from its original sample. It never has a chorus, just half a line "I Can't go to Sleep!" repeated in certain parts. The song changes unexpectedly. It has to be brought back, and done over, but its because of Ghostface and RZA's anxiety, not because of a mistake. They can't take a song straight through.

You're never allowed to get attached to a refrain or verse, replicating the inability to destress through the comfort of sleep.

Hip hop artists so rarely actually emphasize emotions other than bragging, but, especially in Ghostface's verse, you hear sincere distress, a proclamation, a demand for a release. Issaac Hayes's voice, warped and tectonically low, is the only comfort we hear telling us like a world-weary grandfather we admire, sitting on the stoop, telling us to just be a man. To get that jelly out of our spines, to keep growing, and take control of our lives and the world around us. We try.