New life, new music

Well, today is day three of my brand new college experience, and let me tell you, it would be pretty godawful if I didn't have a fair amount of new music to get me through it. College is such an odd thing--everyone has told me that I would love it, that I was made for it, that it would be one of the best times of my life, and yet I haven't found myself to be one of those people who comes out of their shells and meets everyone the instant they get there. As a matter of fact, my count of people I know here has reached...five. So, in true shy-person fashion, I've found solace in some unexpected friends: Modest Mouse, Spoon, Kurt Elling, Ella Fitzgerald, the Fratellis, and Voxtrot. None of these are new discoveries, but with some new or newly purchased albums, I've been able to immerse myself in exploring some of these new tracks. There is a great recording, for instance, of "Cry Me a River" on the CD Love Letters from Ella, which I found at a great little music store on 4th street in Emeryville. Backed by the London Symphony Orchestra, it combines Ella's typical stylings with an almost majestic background. It's already an interesting song ("told me love was too plebeian", anyone?), but I really love this version of it. Kurt Elling is someone that has risen to near star status in the world of modern vocal jazz. This guy is incredible--I've seen him live twice, once at the Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Camp which I've participated in, and once at the actual Monterey Jazz Festival last September. He specializes in vocalese, in which he writes lyrics to well-known instrumental recordings or compositions. Thus a singer can take on Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Joe Pass, and others in the form of songs such as "A Secret I". It reminds me, actually, of how Miles Davis wrote songs over other songs, creating compositions such as "Ornithology", which was based on "How High the Moon". I could go on about Kurt Elling for quite a while. I actually wrote one of my college admissions essays on his performances and technique. I mean, he is truly a genius. Some of my other CD quests I'm still exploring; I have not, in fact, even gotten all the way through Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Voxtrot, or We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. But I seem to have plenty of time (read: an entire school year) to delve into these discoveries and others while I wander around an enormous campus feeling awkward.I'm off to explore the Rasputin store down the street. I plan to add the Cold War Kids CD to my new collection, which will give me something to do while my roommate is at a frat party. Oh, the college existence.