While I really want to recap the festival, school just keeps getting in the way. Until I can fully dish out the details here are some sneak peek pictures from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zero’s set. Let me just say…. MIND=BLOWN. As always, all pictures from the events I shoot are on my Flickr!
Last time I saw Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros I was standing on a polo field in Indio, Calif. with Andrew, my boyfriend. I barely knew them- only had heard their single “Home.” That song has stuck with me since. My dad loves it, it’s my ringtone and I can’t get enough of their take away show of it in San Fransisco. It was on that field that I really first connected with the band.
This weekend, I’ll be seeing them again and hopefully getting an interview. I would love to talk to these guys.
I also plan to catch Brandi Carlile, John Prine (my dad’s idol,) Andrew Bird, Blitzen Trapper, Sharon Jones, April Smith, The Avett Brothers, The Swell Season and Edward Sharpe. Anyone else I should check out?
I’ve been on co-op for almost half a year now, and it’s definitely had a profound affect on my person. It’s amazing how being stuck in one place and allowing it to become who you are can cloud your perception of the future and what you are capable of. Each day is a constant struggle to find the positive. Tonight, I’ll see my Dad and my sister, Mary for the first time since Christmas and I hope I’ll be able to find the strength and spirit in them to feel awake again.
How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies
And now my heart stumbles on things I don’t know
This weakness I feel I must finally showLend me your hand and we’ll conquer them all
But lend me your heart and I’ll just let you fall
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep, totally free
Har har, har har, har har, har harIn these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your lifeAwake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
You were made to meet your maker
Last summer, I worked at the Live Nation offices in Cincinnati as a marketing intern and eventually became their current graphic artist. Working with great women, I quickly learned a lot about how both large scale and small scale venues run and everything that’s involved with maintaining them. I also sharpened my Illustrator and Photoshop skills and honed my ability to express creativity while working within guidelines. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with at Live Nation.
This is a long overdue sampling of the work I completed while there.
Since She & Him’s Volume One was released almost two years ago, I have been anticipating Volume Two. When I found out that Zooey Deschanel could really sing, my already overwhelming girl crush basically imploded. The album quickly became the only one on rotation in my car, on my iPod and in my head. If I had been smart enough to buy the vinyl, let’s just say it would have been reduced to dust right now.
I know this may seem really creepy and a bit much, but it’s not just Zooey that makes She & Him one of my favorite groups to date. The vintage sound of the album called to my Motown side; M. Ward’s folky plucking spoke to the rootsy, Ohio girl in me; and Zooey’s voice was something I could pretend to actually sing to. None of the songs begged for my approval either. Unlike many of the bands on top of the industry, She & Him weren’t trying to be #1 or be the next cool thing, they were trying to make music that they enjoyed and that made the album worthwhile for me.
As the release of Volume Two neared, I was at first worried. Could they really make me as happy with the follow up as they did with the debut? But then I heard “In The Sun,” and knew everything would be okay. With a little help from another one of my favorite bands, Tilly & The Wall, Zooey and M. Ward did it again and stole my heart.
If you haven’t checked out She & Him yet, I urge you to do so. Take a break from trying to stay on top of whatever Indie artist is, like, so sick and listen to something honest. Other streaming tracks include the haunting “Thieves,” and the lovely “I Can Hear Music.” Watch for the album to drop 3/23!
so today i went to the dentist to find that the veneers they put over cavities a while back were slipping off. then they found a cavitity or three on my mollar where the root was exposed from getting my wisdom teeth, and so began a very painful five or so hours.
as i sit in my bed watching christmas movies both new and old, i figured this was a great time to recall my top five favorite films for the holiday season. this is no easy feat, mind you. i mean, how can a christmas movie not be great? they recall times that make you warm and fuzzy inside and evoke emotions that you haven’t felt since waking up at five am on christmas morning to see what santa brought the night before. granted, some movies warrant less than mediocre reviews. but, there’s still that fairy tale ending where family comes together and celebrates love, happiness and good old american consumerism….
so here they are in no particular order:
1. elf
“i just like to smile. smiling’s my favorite”
this movie will always be near the top of my things to do around christmas for many reasons. for one, zooey deschanel is in it (albeit as a blonde) and she is my biggest girl crush of all time, so far. another reason this movie is perfect is will ferrell’s commitment to making people smile. some lines will never fail to make me laugh. and it’s not overdone in terms of being cheesy. but most importantly, zooey sings in it. NOT NOW ARCTIC PUFFIN!
2. a christmas story
“well, it’s just me and my trusty old red ryder carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle. lucky i got a compass in the stock.”
because tbs has played this movie for the entirety of christmas day as long as i can remember, it’s safe to say that i have seen this movie over 50 times. it features the perfect disfunctional family and makes timeless plays at their dynamic. i feel like this is the classic that you don’t want to like because you’ve seen it so many times, but you still can’t help but giggle everytime ralphie comes down the stairs in his pink bunny suit (and then get quiet really fast when you remember the time you had to wear a fuzzy pink sweater in front of your extended family on christmas day. thanks aunt linda!)
3. how the grinch stole christmas
“and the grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day”
i will always love the original animated version of this movie because of the way my dad used to know every line and sing the song to my sister and i when we were little. and for max, the perfect puppy that i always wanted. (now i have sugar, who looks a little like max.) now all kids will know of the grinch is jim carrey- which is fine, but not the same. either way, the grinch will always have a place in my heart.
4. love, actually
“General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… love actually is all around.”
this is such a great story of love centered around the holidays. it’s well written and under-appreciated and i love this movie.
5. holiday inn/white christmas
“yesterday, she couldn’t sleep. today, she won’t eat. she’s in love.”
both of these movies warrant a spot in my top five movies, so i’m extended the list to six. my family watches them both together every year and we’ve even seen them on the stage at one point or another. with classic plot lines, they both feature singers and dancers that could never make it in today’s industry which makes them all the more refreshing.
of all of these, there’s the common factor of people being brought together by love. this is something we, as a people crave during this time of the year. taking off work and school has given everyone time to think back on another year ended and these movies reflect that culmination of thought.
the next week or so, i’ll be spending with family and old friends and i wish you all are doing the same. take time to let life happen and enjoy your surroundings.
happy holidays!
When the spent sun throws up its rays on cloud
And goes down burning into the gulf below,
No voice in nature is heard to cry aloud
At what has happened. Birds, at least must know
It is the change to darkness in the sky.
Murmuring something quiet in her breast,
One bird begins to close a faded eye;
Or overtaken too far from his nest,
Hurrying low above the grove, some waif
Swoops just in time to his remembered tree.
At most he thinks or twitters softly, ‘Safe!
Now let the night be dark for all of me.
Let the night be too dark for me to see
Into the future.
Let what will be, be.
since being back in school, life’s been pretty straightforward- class and work and work and class. but, it seems as if everything i’ve been participating in has been undergoing changes. especially tastemakers, which got an entirely new staff writing team this past semester and is working on a brand new website (up very soon!) as i sit in the library tonight working on music theory homework (okay, or writing instead), it’s clear there is a lot about to change for myself as well.
my co-op class alone has been putting me through a pretty rigorous examination of where i am in life. in searching for jobs in the industry i was forced to chose an aspect of music to focus on. luckily i found a place that will offer me a great experience with awesome people and connections with other important people in the industry. come january i will be working at ourstage!
classes this semeseter have also been extremely challenging. journalism II has definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone both in good and bad ways. i’ve been interviewing many people for different assignments (found under writing) as well as coming up with my own ideas for stories outisde of the music relm. in this, i’ve found definite lines i never want to cross in journalism. for instance, one piece in particular called upon me to reach out to a victim of domestic abuse and get her side of the story. i don’t believe this kind of journalism is anywhere near the kind of writing i want to be involved with and thus the decision to continue on with my journalism degree has been a struggle, but i want to pursue it nonetheless.
my other classes have dealt with the creation of music and analysis of it in classic terms. both music theory and principles of music literature have proved difficult, but interesting. i wish i possessed the talent necessary to write lyrics and music good enough to be listened to more than once, but i don’t and that’s alright with me. i do think that sight singing will forever haunt me, though….
on a brighter note, i’ve been starting to consider my plans for the summer and where i will live next. my sister and her friend caitlin, both seen in earlier pictures, are planning on coming to boston for the summer to intern in various places and get a taste of the city. i’m so excited to have them here and feel like boston is my home again. last year, even though living with a floor full of girls was hectic and often annoying, i had a strong sense of community. i’m very much looking forward to that feeling again. i still have a group of friends here- just spread out and just as busy as i am.
busy as we may be, my boyfriend andrew and good friends kelsey and zivi (describe the fauna) got together to celebrate halloween and andrew’s birthday a few weeks back. here are some pictures taken by kels and zivi from the weekend:
you can check kelsey and zivi’s work out here. they’re both talented photographers!
stay tuned for more holiday updates, writing and photography.
After a long summer of trying for spurts of five minutes to get this working, I finally got myself to get going on this. This being a testament to my daily feats and failures as student in Boston, Mass.. Born in Providence, RI, and growing up in Loveland, Ohio, I’ve always had a passion for writing, music, film, and all other art really. My sophomore year at Ursuline Academy I took my first steps towards achieving my dream of working with the arts by attending a summer program in Los Angeles, Calif. Ever since, I’ve been on a journey to figure out how I’ll fit in the world doing what makes me happy.
I considered all kinds of schools when applying to college- art schools, communication schools, and liberal arts schools. In the end, I chose Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.. This was not only for the location and Music Industry program, but also for the Co-Op program as being ahead of the game and finding my niche are extremely important to me. And so it started… I began my college career as a Digital Arts and Music Industry double major. Now, a year and an amazing internship later (check it out in my writing section)… I’m a sophomore Music Industry and Journalism student about to start Co-Op in January. I’m applying to different locations in the city and a couple ‘reach’ employers for this Co-Op, which should last 4 months so I can return to school for the summer semester.
Anyways, I’m looking forward to chronicling my days as a struggling student in the city. Hope you enjoy it/don’t laugh at me!
