live music is good for the soul

I don't know what I would do without live music. It's a vital part of life for me. After getting a taste of the otherworldly effect music has on you at the first concert I ever attended, (it was the American Idol tour 2002. Don't judge me.) I was hooked. The adrenaline, the euphoria of seeing the creators of the music that you hold so dear to your heart in the flesh, the communion of bodies all linked together by the music. For those minutes and hours, everyone has something in common no matter how different we all really are.

So this intrinsic need for live music may be my downfall, but I have taken to accepting that fact. For the week following Coachella, I was suffering from Post Concert Depression where everything about your life pales in comparison to the joy of the shows and the atmosphere of the place. I didn't put makeup on for five days. I sat in my room, lethargic, with no other desire than to watch the videos of Animal Collective's shows that I captured on repeat all night.

Things are getting better and life is looking up but there's still that pain when I think back to the wonderful times I had. It only hurts because I want to go back and know I can't. This will fade in time, I know. It always does.

So what do I do? Keep going to more shows of course. In a week, I'll be seeing the Fleet Foxes (SO stoked) and then three days later possibly seeing Wavves and then five days later seeing the Black Angels. And then...Outside Lands festival. MGMT. Round four baby.

And so for now, it's Friday night and nobody is doing anything so I'll put on a chilled out last.fm station and read old magazines. Maybe watch some mindless TV. Live my life in limbo between the moments where my soul really gets a chance to live.

tyler, the creator - yonkers

OFWGKTA
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All

A crazy bunch of kids from LA who are so so so good. Yes, white girls can enjoy good rap when they find it. I have a secret affection for rap music that you'd never guess on first sight of me. I only listen to it when I'm in the right mood, and since right now I am pissed off for no explainable reason, this is the perfect time.

Tyler, the Creator is one of the members of OFWGKTA and his song "Yonkers" off his upcoming solo LP Goblin is on repeat for me right now. I love the beat and how it's attack and release is so off-putting. It unconsciously gives you a certain attitude when you're walking and listening to it. Believe me, I just did so.

His lyrics are great too, my mainstream music-hating personality quirk particularly loves this little gem:
"I'll crash the fuckin' airplane that that nigga B.O.B. is in
And stab Bruno Mars in the goddamn esophagus"
His articulation is also full of personality, and that's something I really appreciate.

"Oh, not again, another critic writin' report
I'll stabbin' any bloggin hipster with a Pitchfork."

Please don't stab me. Though it would be an ironic death, yes?

Here's the music video, though the song is shortened. (I'm blown away by his performance. Being a psuedo-actor myself, I love his facial expressions.) It's macabre, but suiting.

Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers

last night at the jetty - panda bear

It's been awhile.

I think I need to do this again. I haven't written anything solid just for myself in a long time. Journaling sorta counts.

SO.

We begin again with my current obsession: Panda Bear.

I've been a fan for awhile now, even writing about it earlier, but now with Tomboy finally being released in April (I've already pre-ordered on vinyl. Hell yeah.) my interest has seen a resurgence.

Last Night at the Jetty. I've listened to all six of the already released Tomboy tracks and this one is my favorite. The electronic synth in the background is incredible. You feel as if you are riding on a wave that pushes you forward and then at the last second reels you right back in. Over and over and over again.

"Dreams that we once had
did we have them anyways
seems that we once had
now we'll have them all the time.

didn't we, didn't we
didn't we have a good time?"

Asking earnestly. Didn't we have a good time? Searching for justification. The song opens up and swallows you in. "I know I know I know I know..." Reassurance when there really is nothing and no one there. You know.

"And I'll call you my friend."

"didn't I have a good time?"

Now I don't even know if I can admit that I had a good time. I mean, I think I did. But what has happened in the past may have changed that. I just have to to tell myself. I had a good time. Right?

"Now who could say I'm not just as I was
No one could deny my mind."

I'm still here. That hasn't changed.


That's one thing I LOVE about Noah Lennox and his music. The musical soundscape is not only complex and layered and so intricate, but the lyrics are so poignant. Sometimes simple, sometimes a little vague, sometimes impossible to make out exactly what he's saying but always relevant. Lately I've dove in to his music and its spooky relevance to situations I'm personally living, and it's helped me move on.

I'll try to remember always, always to have a good time. (On that note, I wish to expound my theory that Last Night at the Jetty is a sequel to Comfy in Nautica. Comfy in Nautica is big, anthemic, optimistic. Last Night is almost a reflection years later. Revelations that life isn't always what we plan it out to be. But all that matters is that we recognize a good time and try to have on in the process. Just putting that out there.)

Tomboy will be released in its entirety on April 12th, with all of the current 7" single releases and the other tracks getting a polish and slight rework by producer Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 who is most recently known for his producing role in (my favorite album ever) MGMT's Congratulations. (So stoked about that.)

Last Night at the Jetty (album version)

and to test my theory: Comfy in Nautica