MOG - urbanwanderlust's Posts

read it, heart it.

urbanwanderlust — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:53:56 GMT

I rather accidentally stumbled across The Underrated Blog... but over the last week or so, I would say it is one of the first music sites I visit (I like her opinion better than pitchfork, and right up there with Tiny Mix Tapes).

So there. To read Underrated is to love Underrated.

following up random/mildly entertaining

urbanwanderlust — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 22:03:18 GMT

OK, no one bit on my challenge to name the artists/songs from last week. Ah well, I didn't forget (OK, I did forget, and then I remembered just now) that I promised answers. Here they be...

I Am smelling like a rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed. (Stone Temple Pilots... Dead and Bloated) I Want to be sedated. (The Ramones... I Wanna Be Sedated.) I Have roamed through the fields, only to be with you. (U2... Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.) I Wish I was a little bit taller. (Skee-lo... I Wish.) I Hate everything about you. (Three Days' Grace... (I Hate) Everything About You.) I Fear I have nothing to give, I have so much to lose here in this lonely place. (Sarah McLachlan... Fear.) I Hear noises in the darkness, I hear sadness. (Tegan and Sarah... I Hear Noises.) I Search myself. (Blondie... I Touch Myself.) I Wonder wonder, ooh, bah doo wah oooh. Who wrote the book of love... (The Monotones ... Who Wrote the Book of Love.) I Regret that I did it like a junkie when he's jonzin' (LL Cool J... I've Changed.) I Love you, love you, madly. (Duke Ellington... Love You Madly.) I Ache. Someday, you will ache like I ache. (Courtney Love... Doll Parts.) I Always get what I want. (Avril Lavigne... I Always Get What I Want.) I Usually do. and although i know it's a long road back i promise you... (I'll Be Home for Christmas.) I Am Not afraid, I am not afraid, I am not afraid! (R.E.M.... The Outsiders.) I Dance with you sleeping in the beetle bug... (Of Montreal... Cherry Peel.) I Sing “Get down here, dance with me. Wreck your life my way. Feel terribly clean and you’ll find the things that you say do not matter to me.” (Coach Said Not To... Word That I Employ.) I Never ever, ever loved somebody, the way that I loved you. (Rilo Kiley... I Never.) I Rarely wear a dress well... (Ani DiFranco... I'm No Heroine.) I Cry a river over you. (Diana Krall... Cry Me A River.) I Am Not Always that way. (A-Teens... For All That I Am.) I Lose my faith in you. There'll be nothing left for me to lose. (Sting... If I Ever Lose My Faith In You.) I'm Confused. Right now, I don’t exactly know what to choose ... (Natalie Brown... Confused.) I Need your love. Like a needle needs a vein, I need your love. (U2... I Need Your Love.) I Should stay. Or should I go? (The Clash... Should I Stay or Should I Go.)

random, but mildly entertaining

urbanwanderlust — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 14:18:45 GMT

I was sent this survey today... and I had this stroke of genius (or, if you aren't into hyperbole, a stroke of, meh, here's something I can do)... which got me into the lyric archives of my long-term memory.

Here's the deal: The root is all I [fill in blank here].... statements. The answers are all song lyrics. See if you can't figure out the songs. I'll post answers in a couple day's time.

I Am smelling like a rose that somebody gave me on my birthday deathbed. I Want to be sedated. I Have roamed through the fields, only to be with you. I Wish I was a little bit taller. I Hate everything about you. I Fear I have nothing to give, I have so much to lose here in this lonely place. I Hear noises in the darkness, I hear sadness . I Search myself. I Wonder wonder, ooh, bah doo wah oooh. Who wrote the book of love... I Regret that I did it like a junkie when he's jonzin' I Love you, love you, madly. I Ache Someday, you will ache like I ache. I Always get what I want. I Usually do. and although i know it\'s a long road back i promise you... I Am Not afraid, I am not afraid, I am not afraid! I Dance with you sleeping in the beetle bug... I Sing “Get down here, dance with me. Wreck your life my way. Feel terribly clean and you’ll find the things that you say do not matter to me.” I Never ever, ever loved somebody, the way that I loved you. I Rarely wear a dress well... I Cry a river over you. I Am Not always that way. I Lose my faith in you. There'll be nothing left for me to lose. I'm Confused Right now, I don’t exactly know what to choose ... I Need your love. Like a needle needs a vein, I need your love. I Should stay. Or should I go?

is this thing on?

urbanwanderlust — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:58:05 GMT

So, I've (finally) started a project with actual work and deadlines involved. (you may recall from earlier episodes that I'm a bit of a spaz about my career. I am a gigantic dork and really love the work I do.)

In the midst of a slow period at work, I seem to have lost my "on deadline" playlist. Any thoughts on good songs you would enjoy while working on a deadline (play along; pretend you like working on deadline.)

The floor is open...

I Voted in 89.3 The Current's Top 89 Albums of 2006

urbanwanderlust — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:19:10 GMT

And, in a preview of the highly unanticipated and entirely biased best of 2006 list I angst over creating each and every year, my votes went for:

voice your rock and/or roll opinion and vote on the current's website (follow the link in the icon above; could I have made this any easier?)

Just now coming up from the music hangover

urbanwanderlust — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:38:20 GMT

Hi. My name is Sarah, and I have a serious problem with music.

I haven't been to a show since October 25th, because the last show I attended was just. it. I cannot remember a time when I have been part of an audience who so completely appreciated a band's library, and when the band in turn so graciously appreciated their fan base. Nor can I recall a concert at which I have become so overwhelmed by raw, tangible passion from a band, turned back on the artists by show-goers - something you can almost taste, passion and malt liquor and metal and music. It's like fog, hanging like a blanket, thick in the air circulating through First Ave. You breathe it in: the energy, the drums, the keyboard, the guitar. Intoxicating, overwhelming, leaving us all breathless and begging for more. I learned about the Hold Steady when a friend recommended Separation Sunday to me. Immediate crush... I love the repeat characters, the not-so-veiled references to my hometown, the simple man's poetry of being a kid in the midwest, of finding and losing yourself in parties and people and urban space. I'll say that I'm pretty bloody stoked to have made some friends who dig the Hold Steady like I do (actually, way more than I do, in all fairness)... and to catch two shows with Craig Finn loving on his hometown, with Minneapolis loving on Craig Finn, and to be embedded in it all... well, can I just say that there ain't nothing like welcoming a hometown boy into First Ave when you know he and his crew have made a record that really could be the next big thing. And then Tad Kubler hops into the audience and lets some 15-year-old rip it up on his guitar, and I'm standing close enough to shake his hand, pat his back... and I'm immediately a 14-year-old groupie, standing starry-eyed and slack-jawed in rockstar awe. And I don't care, because the Hold Steady are a real band who write music about me, me and the real people I know and love, and they get it. They have written the soundtrack to my late 20s. Welcome back, and well done.

fill my cup and make me happy

urbanwanderlust — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:27:19 GMT

A perfect Monday evening, thanks in large part to my favorite musicians: Gomez.

The Fine Line is crowded and steamy, full of beer and energy as we push past college frat boys, aging hipsters, and dreadlocked hippies to catch the last few songs in the Matt Pond PA set. I immediately remember why I always regret bringing in my purse and coat. The Fine Line books decent artists, and on this particular night, it's Gomez, my favorite, but Jesus God, could the place use a little traffic reengineering. I think to myself: what I wouldn't give to see Gomez on stage at First Ave. Well, you know what they say about wishes being horses. It's not often that I show up on time to a show intentionally to watch the opener. But Matt Pond PA gets that honor, due mostly to the fact that they are so intensely connected to where I am in life. From their blog entry yesterday: We are within this experience so heavily that we don't have an extra second. This is the time of hints of sleep, grasps at cleanliness, and the inability to care about anything that doesn't immediately matter. We are directly connected with how temporary life is -- how perfectly hardcore it can be... hell yah. Matt Pond PA wraps up and we bob and weave like some sort of shrimpy boxer duo through a packed floor at Fine Line. Packed, I say. The show was sold out; it was totally no worries to unload my 2 extra tickets at the door (too bad you weren't in town, Sweet Dave). We plant ourselves right of center stage and wait patiently. I remember why it's a blessing and a curse to wear heels to shows: blessing - I get an extra couple inches height; curse - I am in excruciating pain by the time the show's over. Height's on my mind, and a massive giant frat boy (he was 6-8 if he was an inch tall) manages to be right in my line of sight. Thankfully, there are some tiny, shrimpy heckler girls who aren't afraid of a doughy boy giant and harrass him til he moves to the back(ish) area of the floor. Silly tall boy; let's allow the tiny girls to be front and center, shall we? So, sound checks and roadie work complete, the lights dim and the gentlemen get on stage. They are as consummately understated as ever: slightly unkempt, booze in hand, a little unshaven, a little unshowered, a little evidence that no one - no one - in this band ever goes to the gym. I love it. Real boys playing real music. They play an intense set, two-ish hours in total. There's the usual songs, all chock-full of wicked guitar and drum goodness, and I realize that I fall in love a little more everytime I watch these guys play. They are so musically solid - so incredibly tight, meshed, just... ah. Bluesy and lonely and intimate and sensual. And they obviously are having a ton of fun in the meantime, and I realize that Gomez is one of the few bands I follow who has been making beautiful things for 10 or so years and just keeps getting better and better at it. The best part of the night: acoustic solo time with Tom (a heart-wrenching, poignant version of Sweet Virginia), Ian (a lovely little ditty about, ahem, failure...) and Ben (who did the most wickedly amazing acoustic version of Get Miles. He prefaced his performance with the story of how Get Miles was his audition song for the band, which later became a completely different song... but damn if it wasn't equally powerful and perhaps even more beautiful.) Wrapped up in a neat little encore, that as always, ends in Whipping Piccadilly, to which the entire, elbow-to-elbow crowd at Fine Line bounces in time. Yah. I cannot envision a better way to enjoy a damp and cool October night than in the company of fellow music lovers, listening to a band of true musicians who gel completely each time they step on stage.