What You Know

I can't embed the actual music video, but here's the live version. Such a great song. I can tell just what you want...
It's not that I'm forgetting to blog, but right now, I'm actively choosing not to. The opportunity for a month of self-reflection, a month to tune out the noise and listen to my doubtful heart, has given me more clarity than I could have ever imagined. And I'd be greatly diminishing the value of this newfound clearheadedness if I tried to spell it out in writing. It's not something to be shared, but to be held tightly, like a hand of cards. All I can say is that I'm grateful for everything that's happened, including the events that led up to this month of "me." Just me. Me and my stubborn, arrogant, childish heart. This month was exactly what I needed, and, before things could have spiraled downwards even further, could not have come at a better time. If there are a few pearls of wisdom that I can humbly share, it's these: 1) Don't be afraid of being alone, 2) Read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and 3) Be honest with yourself. It's the hardest yet most rewarding thing you can possibly do.

Mine is Yours

This album came out a few weeks ago, and it's just...it's just perfection. Especially this song. It fits like a glove. Well, as much as a song can fit like a glove anyways. Hope that was somewhat coherent. Question: when you listen to a song for the first time, are you listening to the lyrics or to the track? I, for one, always end up listening more closely to the lyrics. A good song is nothing if it's not well-written. And this one is just right. Just...perfect. Maybe I'll do a "currently playing on my iTunes" post later since I've acquired a slew of new music recently.

Fireworks

Looooooooooooove thissssssssssssssssss songggggggggggggg. Just wild.

I'm Gonna Stay

I can't stop listening. This song is hurting me in a place that I forgot existed. It's the kind of hurt that you tucked away a long time ago. That, when you felt it, you knew you couldn't ever bear to feel it again, so you folded and folded and folded it into the tiniest square, and tucked it away in the depths of your body where nobody, not even you, was supposed to find it again. But it's here, right in front of me. I feel every stab. I embrace it, though. I know that if I don't, it will always be there, this tiny pain. So I embrace it, in the hopes that slowly it'll become less of a square, less of a burden on my small heart, and more of a dot that, over time, will dissolve away, fray and erode into nothingness. And it won't hurt anymore. I won't hurt anymore.

Lovage

Here's another one for you all. This is some seriously silky shit right here. How you could listen to this song without nodding your head or falling into a trance-like state, I don't know. Also, a particularly righteous jam to play while showering. Next up: cookies. Stay tuned!

Listening To: 12.30.10

I was trying really hard to find a song that would sum up 2010 for me, and "Street Lights" just kept coming up. Aside from being one of the most played songs on my iTunes, it pretty much says everything I could possibly try and say about this year as a whole. 2010 was a tremendous year, and the lessons that I learned often came at a terrible price. I can honestly say I've never hit such highs and fallen to such lows before. But it's okay. I am surviving, and that's really the most important part. Here are a few more songs that have been on heavy rotation lately. 2011, please be good to me. Please.

We Used To Wait - Arcade Fire

Mushrooms & Roses - Janelle Monae

These Worries - KiD CuDi

Wildflower - Cee Lo Green

Ondule - Mathieu Boogaerts

Nocturne in G Major Op. 37 No. 2 - Frederic Chopin

Sans Soleil - Miike Snow

Zebra - Beach House

Everytime We Say Goodbye - Ella Fitzgerald

Shutterbugg - Big Boi & Cutty

Lalibela - Caribou

I'm The Best - Nicki Minaj

Lovesong Of The Buzzard - Iron & Wine

Lucifer - Jay-Z

For The Summer - Ray LaMontagne

The Co-Dependent - Sia

The Only One - The Black Keys

Ay Mi Vidita - Pedro Luis Ferrer

Arabesque No. 1, in E Major - Claude Debussy

Got Nuffin - Spoon

Heroes of the Sidewalk - Two Hours Traffic

Half Mast - Empire Of The Sun

Carved You Like a Stone

Song of the moment. It feels like how waking up should feel. Going to put this song on loop, and go out for a morning run now.

Monitor

One of my favorite songs.

Stellar

I can't get Brandon Boyd's crooning out of my head. There's something timelessly perfect about a boy writing a love song about a girl. I'm almost positive that when I stumble upon this blog ten years from now, I'll feel the exact same way. How do you do it, Incubus? Make me feel like I do...

Lissie

One of my favorite covers of all time, no joke. Just KILLIN' it.

Flume

I need to see a neurologist this week...

Listening To: 10.17.10

6pm at Ko Olina, Hawaii

Love Love Love (Love Love) --- As Tall As Lions

High Fidelity --- Jurassic 5

Definition --- Black Star

Old Ways --- Chiddy Bang

Don't Look Now --- Far East Movement

Buggin' Out --- A Tribe Called Quest

Little Golden Age --- Wolf Parade

Just Ain't Gonna Work Out --- Mayer Hawthorne

Boy --- Ra Ra Riot

Lovely 2 C U --- Goldfrapp
The People --- Common
Big Lost --- Diplo

This Is The Life --- Two Door Cinema Club

Make It Take It --- Amanda Blank

Islands --- The XX

The Richest Man In Babylon --- Thievery Corporation

Full Clip --- Gang Starr

Shooting Stars --- Bag Raiders

I And Love And You --- The Avett Brothers
Open Your Eyes --- Dwele

Lemonworld --- The National

(Another Song) All Over Again --- Justin Timberlake

Fall Hard --- Shout Out Louds

Modern Man --- Arcade Fire

Gettysburg --- Ratatat

I Can't Get Enough --- Rooney
Six Days (Remix) --- DJ Shadow ft. Mos Def

She Don't Wanna Man --- Asher Roth

Pussy, Money, Weed --- Lil Wayne

Sweetest Thing --- Lauryn Hill

I've Got Your Number --- Passion Pit

Hot Thing --- Talib Kweli
Good Things --- Aloe Blacc

Mirrors --- Wale

Neil

He says everything I feel.
Sorry about the lack of writing this month! I've just been having too much fun to be all introspective and thoughtful. Hoping my musical selections will suffice for now. Recently I've been listening to country/folksy music in a whole new light. Never thought I would say this, but something about that "twang" really hits a nerve in me these days.

Introduction

I love the feeling I get when a song surrounds me and makes me feel smaller.

500 Days

Ray

That lone, singular sigh at the beginning of this song. It makes me clutch my heart, every time.

From Our Own Separate Sides

This song feels so right. I don't feel rushed.