Moving out

So I am moving out of my freshman dorm room now. My roommate has already flown back to New York, and her side is entirely bare and blank, exactly as it was when we were first here in August except for the cable cord (mine) and a few things she's giving to a friend to keep. I have taken down all of my pictures except for the ones in front of my computer. On the walls around my bed, where there used to be a complete and protective corner of color, there is just the one Rosebuds poster (signed because I'm awesome). There are bags everywhere on the floor.

When I told Ben this when we talked earlier, he agreed with me that moving out of your first dorm room is horribly depressing. He told me to put on happy music. I have turned on the top 40 radio but it is also somewhat depressing so I might have to find something better. I think top 40 is really only a good idea in cars or dance parties. Anywhere else, it is an obvious trap. I am, for example, sitting here listening to "Imma Be," a truly terrible song, alone. I am turning it off.

I would make a mix for moving out, but that would be a time-consuming and potentially very glum task, despite the excellent advice of Ben. I have a lot of great mixes anyway already. (I just made one with the numbers 1-20 in the song names, but that's a different story.) So I'll just put up one song, which I like a lot, which is almost inarguably great, which you (for once) know. This video is not even a picture because the real video was disabled, but my copy of the song is in m4a format and I am lazy and don't want to change it, so here you go. If you're in college too, good luck with your moving out. Don't get sad.

I don't want this to stop, I want you to know.

If you've ever found yourself wondering, "Why is Sarah and Ben's music blog called 'Skeptic at First'?" this is the post for you. You probably weren't, but it's from a Hold Steady song, "Yeah Sapphire." The full line is, "I was a skeptic at first, but these miracles work." It's the vamp at the end, and it was also my senior quote. It's the first thing I came up with when Ben asked what our blog should be called, and he wrote it down without question, even though he's not a huge fan of the Hold Steady.

It seems to me like the Hold Steady is a band about which some people are somewhat ambivalent and others are intensely passionate. I am one of the latter. I get why you might not like them, and I don't blame you. Craig Finn's voice is pretty rough, and a lot of the lyrics are about drugs and alcohol and sex. It's harder rock than I usually listen to. I respect all of these things, but I love the Hold Steady. I love, love, love the Hold Steady.

I can listen to their most recent two albums, Boys and Girls in America and Stay Positive, over and over. (I don't like their two older albums as much so I won't focus on them, although there are some great cuts on there, and I know people who would say this is blasphemy.) Craig Finn's voice is rough, yes, but it's honest, and it blends like another electric guitar into the music. The keyboards are perfect - although not anymore because their keyboardist quit, but it's okay. The lyrics sanctify ordinary people in ordinary places, doing ordinary things. They recognize the terrifying crazed beauty of life that everyone feels.

I've seen them live twice and each time they put on fantastic, energetic, tight, loving shows. And each time, at the end, Craig Finn told the audience - I cannot remember what exactly he said leading up to this, so if you want to know you should go to a show, drive to go see them in another state because it's worth it - he told us, "There is such joy in what we do up here." He said it, each time, with the same simplicity and helplessness with which you say, "I love you," to someone for whom you feel something so enormous it is inexpressible in any language.

The song I'm putting up is a single from the Hold Steady's new album, Heaven is Whenever, out May 4th. I will be buying it and I think you should too. The song is called "Hurricane J," and it's actually one of the most pop-oriented of their songs, but the lyrics, as every other music blog I've read about this song in says, are classic Hold Steady. The line those blogs point to is, "You're a beautiful girl, and you're a pretty good waitress." But I'm going to point to others.

"I don't want this to stop

I want you to know

I don't want you to settle

I want you to go

Forget all the things that I showed you this summer

You're too hard already, you'll only get harder."

If you don't like this, don't worry about it. But if you feel that sense of wonder creeping over you after the guitars burst into the chorus, and find yourself listening to it again, and again, go buy their albums. Spend some money on these guys. They spend their lives pouring out these ordinary stories in clubs all over the country in loud desperate voices. I want to help them any way I can.

Hurricane J - The Hold Steady

Via Audio @ The End, Nashville

Right, well, I meant to write a nice post much earlier today, but Blogger was down, so here we are.

I went to The End Wednesday night with some friends to see Parachute Musical. I had seen them the last time they were in town, and I love their music, so I was pretty pumped for the show. The End is pretty small, so I was also excited to get up close and practice some concert photography.

I was pleasantly surprised, though, at the incredible music of Via Audio. They were the second of two acts before Parachute, and they put on a great show. Let's check out the list of ways to Ben's heart through music:

Sweet vocal harmonies: check
Groovy rhythms: check
Awesome dance moves: check
Songs about Godzilla: check*

Yeah so I encourage all of the people who don't read this blog (so the whole world) to go check out Via Audio on myspace. If you reaaaally want a link, here

Don't think I've lost my loyalty to Parachute Musical though! They also have a myspace

Let me know which band you like better. They are all wonderful people and I hope they come through Nashville again soon. Here are my two favorite Via Audio songs:

Babies

Lizard Song *yeah. this song is about Godzilla.

Every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied.

I kind of had a hard time starting this post, because I didn't know what to say that no one has said before, or what to write about that no one has written about before.  I think it's impossible, so in the immortal words of Nada Surf (which thanks to my fantastic Ben you can access in the post below): fuck it!  I'm gonna have a party.

Specifically, I'm gonna have a party with Josh Ritter.  If I had to name my top three bands or artists, I think he would be one of them.  (The other two would be the Hold Steady and - I'm not sure - maybe Frightened Rabbit, this is an impossible task choosing just three and I'm not sure why I set it for myself, I'm going to put it aside, get back to the point, here we go.)  He's an incredible lyricist, a talented musician, and from everything I've heard, his live shows are electrifying experiences.  I'm seeing him in May, and I couldn't be more excited.

Right now, I'm listening to his live album, In the Dark: Live at Vicar Street, and I would so highly recommend it.  It's one of the best albums I've heard in a long time.  Part of what I like about Josh Ritter's music is that you might call it indie, or you might call it country or folk - Wikipedia lists him as Folk, Alternative Country, and Rock - but when you listen to it, you just know that he doesn't care what it's called.  He is as in love with the music as anyone can possibly be.  You can hear it in his voice, you can hear the smile in his voice when he sings.

It's impossible to pick my favorite lyrics.  I think right now, I might go with the opening to "Kathleen," from the album Hello Starling, one of the sweetest teen love songs in the world.

"All the other girls here are stars - you are the Northern lights.

They try to shine into the window - you're too close and too bright.

They try and they try, but everything that they do

is a ghost of a trace of a pale imitation of you.

I'll be the one to drive you back home, Kathleen."

Josh Ritter's official site has these two and several more free sample mp3s up from five of his albums, and you can listen to those albums in full if you so choose.  Go and listen, go and buy all of them.  This is music for the end of winter, music for sunny days, to make you fall in love.

Kathleen

Snow is Gone (Live)

Love,

Sarah

Music on a Music Blog!

My friends,

Today marks a day in history.

Today, we have added to this blog the ability to stream music.

Never would I have thought of a music blog that plays songs.

Never would I have imagined the day when a humble person could search the Internet and find, of all things, a series of articles declaring a love for music, ALONG WITH SAMPLES OF THE VERY THING THEY ADORE!!!

I tell you, that day is here. Listen, and enjoy.

The Blankest Year - Nada Surf

(click on the little play circle to hear the song on our media player)

6-String Narrative

A good friend of mine, Carson Murphy, just released his debut EP on iTunes. It consists of 6 instrumentals featuring acoustic guitar, and is aptly titled "6-String Narrative". It is worth checking out; he is a fantastic guitarist. Sometimes I just don't want to deal with lyrics, and today is one of those days. While the acoustic guitar is clearly the dominant instrument, I can't help but appreciate the sometimes subtle and sometimes firm contributions of the piano parts. The beauty of "6-String Narrative" is that, sans lyric, it lets you fill in just what the narrative is.

You can hear a song off the album here as well as some other nice tunes. Rain is the Carson Murphy original, although I encourage you to check out some of the other music. Rain features more piano than some of the other tracks, but this is not a bad thing. Personally I am a fan of the percussive sounds; the shaker, the soft beat, and the scraping guitar strings.

As for the narrative, this song sends me soaring over green hills just after a spring rain, laughing aloud with my new found ability to fly. Maybe there are big white puffy clouds in this sky with me, and that could be a rainbow over there. It doesn't really matter, because I am too pleased with the fact that the sky is blue and the grass is green and I am alive to care about the pot of gold. And then, maybe, over the next hill, I see someone I really like. And now it's time to come down from the sky, down from the clouds and the blue blue sky and take that person's hand and walk away, into the sunset. But this end to my flight does not sadden me either, because I have enjoyed it and it has brought me a new perspective, and besides, it's a damn good story to tell.

Jose Vanders

If I write down a hundred things that I thought that I could do by the time that I was sixty-seven,

would that be another list of ninety-nine things that I missed, just because I had a fear of failing?

Would I have walked between two towers just like the man on wire even though he had a chance of falling?

Would I have opened up my soul and let inside that deep dark hole another human being capable of calling me back out?

And we can watch movies, and we can watch movies, where all ends well.

Man On Wire - Jose Vanders

Go listen to her!

Five songs I've been listening to a lot recently, in no particular order

1. Start a War, by the National

I like this song a lot.  It's good writing music, and it's racked up 23 plays in iTunes since I added it about a week ago.  I think the singer's voice is perfectly suited to this kind of song - wistful, sad, resigned.  It builds but never breaks, and there's an anxiety in that which fits in the context of the song.  I like the simplicity of the guitar throughout, and the simplicity of the lyrics, this line in particular: You were always weird, but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now.

2. Breakeven, by the Script

Probably the thing that bothers me most about this song is that "breakeven" is one word when it should clearly be two.  This is a radio song, and a sad pop breakup song, but I've listened to it a lot anyway.  It's incredibly wistful and catchy.  And I like the line, "What am I gonna do when the best part of me was always you?" It's a little trite, but whatever.  There's a truth in that.  Besides, radio is so awful this month that I feel excused in finding the best in the middle of all the bad.

3. Beaming, by Quiet Science

I first heard this song on a long car ride with Ben.  It was on a mix he had made for a friend, and the title was "Everything is gonna be alright (?)" with the artist simply listed as "?".  There's only one or two sites on Google that will turn up if you search for the lyrics.  But it's by a band called Quiet Science, and it's a very pretty song.  With very pretty, simple lyrics that are hard to find.

4. Look at Miss Ohio, by the New Frontiers (Gillian Welch cover)

I still haven't looked up the original version of this song, for which I feel kind of bad.  I also don't really understand it.  But it reminds me of the color palette of the mid-1900s, and I love the line, "I wanna do right, but not right now."

5. Drumming Song, by Florence and the Machine

This song is just mad excitement.  Louder than sirens, louder than bells, sweeter than heaven and hotter than hell.

By the way, we're sorry that we can't get mp3's up on this page.  We don't want to be sketchy and it's just difficult to find a good file hosting site.

Love,

Sarah

Get PSYCHED!

A few notes:
1) This mix is inspired by a TV series called How I Met Your Mother. If you've never seen it, go see it. One of the characters insists that a great mix should be "all rise, all the time". While I do not 100% agree with this, it has spawned the collection of songs you are now experiencing.

2) I made this as a mix for my sister, so no judging me on the Katy Perry or N'sync!

3) ARE YOU READY?!?!?!?!?!?

Tracks:

You Give Love A Bad Name
Carry On My Wayward Son
Don't Stop Believin'
Hot N Cold
Mr. Brightside
The Middle
Somebody Told Me
Jamie All Over
I Woke Up In A Car
19-2000
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Digital Get Down
Harder To Breathe
The Boys Of Summer
I Want You Back
I Believe In A Thing Called Love
Grace Kelly

Right, so other than that, I'm not sure what else there is to say about this group of songs. If you want to experience it properly, you will begin AND end it with Bon Jovi, because...well...why not?

For "Carry On" I have but this to say: My favorite experience with this song was when Rock Band 3 (I think) came out. I held up the expert mode bass part while a group of somewhat drunken friends performed (quite accurately) the vocals, guitars, and drums. Picture, if you will, a 300 pound man belting this song at the top of his lungs into a tiny fake microphone...

No pump-up mix would be complete without Don't Stop Believin'. You better sing along in your car.

Hot N Cold. Yeah, I know, Katy Perry, I'm a dude, how can I? Well, get over it.

I know I've broken some very dearly held mix rules by including two Killers songs. But they are both great, and they both get your heart going.

Pop-Rock, Arena Rock, Pop, Techno, anything with a ballin' beat and some screamin' lyrics, and it's all set for a "Get Psyched" mix. If anyone ever reads this, shoot me a comment with a track listing of what YOU would put on an ALL RISE ALL THE TIME mix!!!

Comfort music

A couple months ago, Michelle Branch was playing at a city event near me. I got really excited, but when I told my friends, their reactions ranged from indifferent to condescending. I can't blame them. Michelle Branch writes her own songs (or at least did originally) and is, I think, an at least relatively talented musician, but she's definitely a producer of radio hits, pure pop and country. Wikipedia tells me that she opened for Hanson in 2000. In 2001, I had no regard for Hanson one way or the other, but I loved Michelle Branch.

"The Spirit Room" wasn't the first CD I ever received, but it was probably the first one that wasn't a "NOW" volume or a Spice Girls album (the Sailor Moon soundtrack is its own entity, not subject to normal rules of classification). "Everywhere" was certainly the first music video I ever saw all the way through. I listened to it with my friend Jenn. She and I tried to record a cover of "Everywhere" together, sitting on the floor of the back room of my house singing into a boom box's tape recorder. But playing it back, our voices sounded thin and desperate without instrumental backing, and we abandoned the project. Her favorite song was "Something to Sleep To," whereas I liked the two singles, "All You Wanted" and "Everywhere," with "Sweet Misery" coming in third even when I couldn't understand the lyrics.

My most vivid memory of "The Spirit Room" is listening to it on my best friend's Walkman on the way back from the fifth grade trip to historic Williamsburg. We were on a charter bus, and I leaned against the window. The rainbow specks on the grey seats, no seatbelts, the wide aisles, and the chatter of everyone else; and I sat alone and happy, listened to the whole thing through twice.

Years later, I bought and listened to her second album, "Hotel Paper." I liked the story in the liner notes that she had written some of the songs on hotel stationery while touring. And I loved certain songs, with "Tuesday Morning" and (again) the single "Are You Happy Now" being my favorite.

But it doesn't touch me as much as "The Spirit Room" does. When I hear the first chords of "All You Wanted," I am comforted, I am safe. It might not be "good" music, and her lyrics might be a little trite. But it's the music that first introduced me to music, that led to the passionate love I have for music today and indirectly to so much else, including my having any interest in Ben in the first place, and the creation of this blog. And it's the music that introduced me to songs about love, which is an important detail in its own right.

You're everywhere to me, and when I close my eyes it's you I see.

You're everything I know that makes me believe I'm not alone,

I'm not alone.

Love,

Sarah

5:00 on a ... what day is it?

I am sitting here at 5 pm on this wednesday in a pool of gray light as the day ends. I am typing one-handed because Sarah is asleep on my arm. Currently the soundtrack of our lives is the achingly beautiful soundtrack for the game Braid, which Nathan (my oldest and best friend) is playing across from me on the couch. One might call this a perfect moment.

I don't have any particular songs today. I am not inspired to go single-handedly (literally) find an example of Braid's soundtrack. I have been trying to listen a bit less and write more. (I write songs) I am sure tomorrow or the next day or next week Sarah will have a thousand new songs to write about and love. I am just here to reflect on this moment, because it feels significant.

A few sidenotes: if by magic you find this, the original blog is over on wordpress; we are working on moving it over here. http://skepticatfirst.wordpress.com/

Also, this is a music blog, we write about what we listen to and love, so if you love music, check in occasionally and see if you find something new.

EDIT: the soundtrack to braid can be found here