Weekly Recommendations, Week 31: The Promise Ring "Skips a Beat (Over You)"

Every once in a while I go through a strange phase during which I listen to lots of 90's emo music. I'm not sure why exactly, it's just the way of things, I guess. The Promise Ring is one of my favorite bands from this era/genre, which shouldn't come as any big surprise; aftera all, they were quite popular at the time. Anyone familair with the Promise Ring would certainly agree that as their career progressed, they got poppier, The epitome of their poppiness came with the album, Very Emergency, in which they seemed to abandon their emo-punk roots and embrace their indie-pop sensibilities...completely. The following video will demostrate that. It shows just how poppy they became before they mellowed out and disappeared. I like how different this song is from the rest of their stuff, and how great they were at being a pop band despite their roots. By the way, this is not an official video, it's just something random from you tube. But it's entertaining nonetheless, and I recommend it because it pretty much proves my point... 

Weekly Recommendations, Week 29: Jason Anderson Live

I go to a lot of rock shows. It's one of my most favorite things to do. The best part of seeing live music is being part of the experience, being pulled into the music and participating in something singular...a moment in time that can't be repeated. Whether it's dancing like a maniac to the music or just bobbing your head, singing along at the top of your lungs or just mouthing the words, live music is all about the experience...and it tugs at every sense. If all you want to see is people playing instruments and singing, you can turn on your TV or find a video to watch on the interwebs, but if you want the full experience, you absolutey must be there in person, present and available. Of course, some folks don't do live music well. They don't create an atmosphere where all senses can be involved, where the soul can come alive and get lost in the sound reverberating through the body. These performers are boring and offer little more than what a TV screen or computer monitor can offer. Jason Anderson is not one of those performers. Jason Anderson endeavors to create an unforgettable experience, replete with crowd participation and energy overload. His shows are extreme with emotion, passion, courage, and heart. He gives everything he has regardless of how few people are there to see it. Whether it's a completely acoustic show in a stranger's living room or a poorly attended show at a hipster bar, Jason Anderson comes completely alive when he performs. He bears it all with heart on sleeve and guts hanging out. If you ever have a chance to see him, I implore you, do not miss out of the opportunity. For information on upcoming Jason Anderson shows, go here.

"the gift of memory is an awful curse..."

"...with age it just gets much worse." -Death Cab for Cutie

I have a love/hate relationship with memory. It rivals the one I have for poetry. There are times when memories can make a moment a million times better, and there are other times when they can make life considerably worse. I could be engaged in the most mundane task, such as driving in my car or sitting in a boring lecture and out of nowhere, a random memory will enter my head. It could be a good one or a bad one; I don’t usually get to decide for some reason. If it’s a good one, a smile will burst across my face and my whole body will feel lighter. The world will appear conquerable. If it’s a bad one, my heart will sink and everything will go dark. The universe will be filled with despair. Certainly, the good memories help to prop me up when I don’t seem to have anything else that will do the trick. I can think about where I was a year ago, five years ago, or even ten or fifteen, and I can see how far I’ve come while simultaneously longing for a more innocent age and time. The good times help put life in perspective, like things aren’t so bad after all. My life hasn’t been so terrible. A plethora of great memories help confirm that. But then there are the bad memories, the ones that are filled with regret and sorrow. The woulda-coulda-shouldas and the if-onlys, like if only I could have known then what I know now I would have done things completely differently. But obviously there’s nothing I can do about anything that happened in the past be it good or bad, so why does the past have to stay with me? Haunting me. Lifting me up and then stomping me back down. I don’t want to have to get rid of the good memories, but I sure wouldn’t mind forgetting the bad stuff. However, I realize that if I got rid of all memory, I wouldn’t get to have those random and spontaneous moments of elation however fleeting and unpredictable they may be. Also, bad memories often come with a lesson learned, and so they serve as a reminder never to do that again or not to be such an idiot next time or whatever the case may be. Every memory has its value and purpose, even if it’s just to distract me from the tediousness of life and help remind me either that things aren’t always as bad as they seem or that they could be demonstrably worse. There’s beauty in forgetting, but remembering can be pretty great, too. I don’t want to lose my memory completely; I just can’t decide whether to love it or hate it sometimes.