Music

Well, I brought my microphone back home to Athens this weekend. So, I had a lot of free time to record some songs. I recorded all the songs outside, so there are a lot of crickets and passing cars. I happen to like the background noise.

Here they are, with a description of the songs.

To Be Alone With You
This is a cover of Sufjan Stevens' song. I just learned the song before I recorded it, so the guitar and singing could be better. I like it though.

I Love You
Another cover, this one is originally by a band, Sanctus Real. I've never heard of them either. A friend sent me an mp3, and wanted me to learn the song. It is a pretty simple song. I put the capo up to the 11th fret, because I like having the high notes in there.

Way It Was Meant to Be
You get bonus on this, because there are actually two songs on here. The first song is one I wrote, while being bored in class on Friday. The lyrics made me smile. The second song is improvised (and it probably shows.) I started messing around with a guitar intro that I had messed around with earlier this week, and I wasn't really intending to play another song, but I just kept going with it. I kept the chord progression incredibly simple. Of course, I was making up the lyrics as I went along, so that's always fun.

Jesus Walking on Water
Another cover, this time it is a Violent Femmes song. I really like the original, and I hope my version turned out decent.

Batter My Heart
I think this song is the weakest of the bunch. The words are from the famous poem, "Batter My Heart Three-Personed God" by John Donne. I wrote the chords some time last year, and they seem to go pretty well. I hadn't really played this song in awhile, so I was messing up frequently. I also was kind of unsure on how I had strummed before in this song, so the strumming is not a strong point in the song.

The thing is, I never changed. I just realized who I was.

I used to wet my bed when I was little, which I obviously did not like people to know about. I also used to be on the chess team in middle school, which I did like people to know about. Now, it is totally reversed. Well, not totally reversed. "Hi. My name is Stephen, and I used to wet my bed." is never a good pick-up line. But perhaps it should be?

I tend to doodle while I am in class. It is funny to me, because I try to hope that no one notices. Yes, I am a self-conscious doodler. I think it may be because the word, "doodle", is a very dumb word. Couldn't they have picked a cooler word than "doodle"? (For the rest of this post, I will refer to "doodle" as "clapperclaw", because every time I try to type "doodle", I start to throw up a little in my mouth. I would curse the person who coined the word, but he/she is probably dead anyway. By the way, clapperclaw was just the first word I saw from an internet search for "cool words". Ha.) While I clapperclaw, I still tend to pay attention well. I tend to draw mainly geometric figures/patterns, rather than trying to draw something like an apple.

Ok, I think that's enough random thoughts about myself. When I write a blog post, I usually re-read it, and my thoughts go something like this...."boring...." Haha. I've been thinking lately about how some people think they are great at things, but actually are horrible. (case in point, the guy who kicked me in the shins almost 20 times last night playing soccer.) Would you rather be great at something, but think you are terrible? Or, would you rather think you are great at something, but be terrible at it? I am not gonna say what I think, because I don't want to bias the results. (Ok, plus, I think my thoughts would be terrible! Haha. Kidding. Perhaps....)

Somewhere the soul made my days collide.

Catchy title, eh? I don't know what it means either. (All that means is that I could not come up with an actual title, so I had to go right-brain on everyone.)

So, while on a roadtrip with some friends to Indiana, we thought it was a great idea to make a sign that read "Going to Hooters. Follow us!", and show the sign to people in other cars. I thought the sign would bring joy to those people. Boy, was I wrong. The first person, an approximately 20 year old emo kid, reacted by getting extremely angry. I read his lips, and he dropped a few F-bombs at us.

That was fine, perhaps the kid was having a bad day. We showed the sign to about five other cars, and got zero responses. I could see the people read the sign, but I did not detect any facial muscle movement. (As the old adage goes, "It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face.") By then, the fun was pretty much over.

There was no moral to that story, by the way. So don't re-read it to find one. It was just a silly little anecdote. (Speaking of "anecdote", the definition of the word means that it is a little story, so does saying it is a "little anecdote" seem redundant?)

That parenthetical statement ended with a question mark, and I know because I made sure. I seem to lack in the "adding question mark at the end of a question" skill. I don't know who to blame, but I'm going to find out who did not care enough about me to develop that talent in me.

While I'm on the topic of punctuation, I've been thinking about pulling a prank at my school. Here's my plan: I want to punctuate the school. For example, on those roadside signs that say, "End Construction", adding an exclamation would totally change the meaning of the sign. It would now read "End Construction!!" Instead of a statement telling that construction had ended, it is now an emphatic cry to stop constructing. I love it. Also, I may be in the business of adding/subtracting letters from signs.

Examples...

No Parking - becomes - No Ark!
Wellons Hall - becomes - Schwellonschall
Jackson Hall - becomes - Michael Jackson Hall
Drum Hall - becomes - Conundrum Hall

I have not done a complete analysis on how I can fully punctuate the campus, but I'm hoping to do that soon. I'm not sure how the people (i.e. the man) will react to the punctuation. And, I seem to be horrible at predicting how people will react to something inane like punctuating a campus. Hopefully, I can escape detection when the plan is implemented.

untitled. (wait, isn't "untitled" technically a title?)

I'm gonna list random things about myself, for no apparent purpose.

• I prefer mechanical pencils over pens and normal pencils.
• My favorite Bob Dylan song right now is "Idiot Wind" (I have the song on vinyl, and it seems far superior to the CD version.)
• My favorite TV show is Ask This Old House, which is on PBS.
• I have too many pairs of shoes.
• I tried to teach myself how to write with my left hand, but I gave up after a few days.
• (This is a semi-secret) I'm "addicted" to baseball. I follow baseball way way too much.
• I was going to be a high school math teacher, but I changed to Business.
• I only know Pi as far as 3.14. (I googled it, the next ones are 15. (if you were wondering))
• I heart Wikipedia

Ok, I'm out.

The Fish Angler.

If I could be a professional at any sport, I think I would choose angling. ("Angling" sounds better than "fishing.") I bet those guys pinch themselves when they wake up in the morning.

Or, they're telling their wives, "I had a dream last night. It was the darndest thing..." Only their wives have to reassure them that it wasn't a dream.

Speaking of angling, (I think this is a joke from someone else, but I can't remember if I thought it up, and I'm too lazy to check. I think it was someone else's joke.) the worst job in the world has to be the editor of film for an angling highlight "reel" (pun intended). Try sifting through hours of mindless nothingness, and then getting 1 or 2 minutes of heart-pounding fish-reeling intensity. Then, back to the hour of monotony.

Ok, that last paragraph must have been a headache to read. I can't phrase a paragraph to save my life. By the time I've written the first few words of a sentence, I'm on the next thought. I either need a tape recorder to record my thoughts, or I need to type faster.

Ok, back to the angling part, this whole blog has been a lie. (Well, not the "whole" blog, but just this post.) I think the last thing I would want to be is a fishing professional. In fact, I've never caught a fish in my life. I don't own a fishing pole. And, I could care less about fishing.

i only wrote this because i saw a fishing commercial a few minutes ago, and i tried to imagine myself as a fishing professional. Let me tell you, it wasn't funny. (BTW what is up with me writing "i" instead of "I"? i don't know, i guess it looks catchy, like a Bukowski poem or something. (Speaking of Bukowski, i should get one of his books because he makes me laugh.))

Ok, I'm out. Hopefully I'll dream of something interesting.

There will be music in the streets.

Well, after giving it a little thought, I finally came up with something good that Youtube has given us...

Some French guy decided to record "street music videos" in France, and it has turned out that he's got some really good bands to come and play in the streets of France. I'm also surprised because the sound quality is pretty good too. So, here's my favorite videos that he's done...

Shins (2 songs) - Gone for Good & Turn on Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdonnGBygDk


Guillemots - Made Up Love Song #43
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXQytTxf8bY


John Vanderslice - The Parade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07e06AkZay8


The Low Lows - Black Bees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQBdmqigtwM


Tapes n' Tapes - Insistor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_sx9Fxva-Y

Home...

So, I'm at home, and pretty bored. It feels weird being at home.

Speaking of that "home" feeling, I got reminded of a poem I like. (I hope I can find it.)

Yep, found it. . . It's called "where we are" by Gerald Locklin.

i envy those
who live in two places:
new york, say, and london;
wales and spain;
l.a. and paris;
hawaii and switzerland.

there is always the anticipation
of the change, the chance that what is wrong
is the result of where you are. i have
always loved both the freshness of
arriving and the relief of leaving. with
two homes every move would be a homecoming.
i am not even considering the weather, hot
or cold, dry or wet: i am talking about hope

Anyway, there's something calming in that poem, and I really like it.

Weekends with Family...

So, I had an exceptional weekend. My brother Joe came down from Charlotte, and I spent a ton of time with him. It was pretty fun. We watched "The Darjeeling Limited" with my other brother Matthew. (Ironically, the movie was about 3 brothers on a "spiritual" journey.) I'd already seen the movie, but it was great watching it with my brothers. I love Wes Anderson movies, but I don't think Darjeeling Limited was better than the others.

While at my brother's house, I borrowed a book about Bob Knight, because Bob Knight cracks me up. I guess it's because everyone tells me I shouldn't like him, and I'm naturally opposed to people telling me what to think. For example, Michael Vick... I heard people telling me they "hoped he died" or "was a sick human being" or "never should play in the NLF again, or they'll boycott." And, to be honest, I think that's ridiculous. Yes, dogfighting is awful. But, have they ever driven by a chicken truck, and stared? Are these people that uncognizant of the terrible conditions that those chickens are kept?

Anyway, back to the Bob Knight book. I've only read the first few chapters, but it's pretty good. My problem is that I cannot read one book at a time. I'm always reading a ton of books at the same time. I think, counting the Knight book, I'm reading 5 books. It's funny because I usually have like one or two books under my pillow, but I occasionally knock them down, and since I live on the top bunk, they usually land on my roommate's head. (I'm not even gonna see how many fragments that last sentence had.)

Oh yeah, I'm listening to a song by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. They're an interesting band, but I'm not too keen on the lead singer's voice. My roommate tells me I listen to weird music, but that's funny because he only has like 4 songs that he listens to. (During my freshman year, my roommate did the same thing, where he had only 5 songs on his computer, and they were all by the Police. I now have an intense hatred of the Police.)

Besides, I haven't really listened to any of the weird music that I have.

Rambling...

Eh, I have no specific thoughts to express, but I figured I'll just ramble about totally random things....

I love driving. I really feel like I do my best thinking while driving (although I don't do my best driving while thinking.) And, gas prices suck.... I guess I should have been born earlier when gas prices were sub-$1.00. But, I guess I can't complain because I do have a car, and that's a really nice blessing. (It's a Civic, so another reason I can't complain too much about gas prices.)

Switching subjects...I've been in a really weird mood lately. Last night, for some reason I felt like tackling somebody. I guess the word would be "restless." I also really wanted to steal something from a store (never done that), not out of need, but because I was bored.

(Eh, this post is terrible, but I'm not gonna delete it....)

Haircuts.

Currently listening to: Rilo Kiley - Execution of All Things

Yesterday, I was thinking about my first hair cut that I can remember. All that I can really remember is that I was deathly afraid of my mom cutting my hair. She promised me it would not hurt, but I didn't believe her (I think I had already learned my lesson about scissors.) She promised me that I could have a piece of gum if it hurt, so I figured that was a fair deal. Naturally, the haircut didn't hurt, but I had already figured the piece of gum was as good as mine. So, when my mom asked me if it hurt, I had a big struggle to lie to my mom. I think I told the truth, but my memory doesn't go that far.

I hear of little kids giving themselves haircuts, but I was never that brave. I think my little sister did that one time though. (Speaking of my sister and haircuts, she used to have the "boy cut" when she was little. She says it was because she had three older brothers, and she didn't quite understand why she had to have long hair if we didn't.)

Lamps and Lullabies...

I absolutely hate fluorescent bulbs, and the only lights in my room are fluorescent bulbs. So, while I was parents' house, I picked up some pretty sweet lamps that I had in my old room. For some reason, I'm a huge fan of lamps. When I helped my mom clean out my great-aunt's possession after my great-aunt died, I found some pretty sweet lamps, and those are the lamps that I have put in my room. The light has really softened the room, and now I'm thinking about buying a bookshelf to put my books/DVD's.

I also spent like an hour on the Internet looking at art posters to buy. I saw some pretty sweet Van Gogh prints, but I'm not sure if I want to spend $15 a pop for the prints. I think I might drop by a thrift store and see if anything catches my eye. I guess I could put up some of my artwork, but I have only three or four masterpieces, and one unintentionally looks like Michael Jackson.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention lullabies, because I love lullabies. (A lullaby came on my iTunes playlist. I'm not this random...) In December of 2006, I got really sick with the flu, pneumonia, and gallstones. I felt horrible. The thing that also sucked was I couldn't sleep well, and all I wanted to do was sleep. So, I searched online for some lullaby music, and I found this ridiculously good lullaby CD. The artist's name is Susie Tallman, and her music is pretty awesome. I slept like a baby that night. (I think the strong medicine I took had a part in that too.) But, if you ever want to hear her music, I'm your man.

Eh....

I listen to way too much music. It's like I'm afraid of silence. I listen to my iTunes on random, and it's gets annoying because I have every Pixies' song, so every fifth or sixth song is a Pixies' song. I do like the Pixies, but I don't like them that much...

I think all blogs should be enjoyed with good music. Sure, I can say I'm listening to "Such Great Heights" by Iron & Wine (which I am), but if you don't know the song, then you can't get the full effect. (Now I'm listening to "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.)

So, I'm reading Walden by Thoreau, and it's pretty sick. I'm only 30+ pages into it, but I love it. My favorite quotes so far are...

"Birds don't sing in caves."

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

Reading this book reminds me of how much I love Nature. I really need to go and sleep under the stars soon. I remember after a breakup with a girl, I slept in a hammock outside for like 2 weeks. (Ok, it was probably closer to 1 week.) But, I freaking loved it, although my back was a little sore because the hammock wasn't extremely comfortable. When it gets a little warmer, I definitely plan on camping in the woods.

Eh, I think that's enough for today. (Crap, another Pixies' song is coming out of my speakers...)

Well...

I've created a box to store random memories/thoughts.

I like the concept of a box, because a box holds things. The box's whole purpose is to separate things, i.e. shoe boxes separate shoes from everything else. Boomboxes hold the boom. (Ok, I'm not getting off on the right foot, but at least I'm on my feet.... It's the thought that counts, right? Ok, that's the last cliche I hope to ever put in my box, but I figure I can get away with one. )

Back to the box....

I'm a sucker for nostalgia. And, whenever I find a box with stuff that evokes memories, I get this euphoric "high". Actually, I don't know if that is true, but I'd like to think that I do. So, I created this blog to put random memories/thoughts for nostalgic's sake. At least it should be interesting....