M-E-L-O-D-Y

I think Kate & I should be BFFs... officially.
http://www.myspace.com/kateearl


No matter what has ever come to me
I got my own brand of company
I got da da da inside my head
And i play songs back to back until i got to bed...

...Wandering, waking in an empty wood
It is quiet here, I am powerful
I look down below serenade the world
From inside my soul

My top 3 according to itunes...

There's nothing better than waking up after a full nights rest on clean sheets... Now I've got my coffee and I'm listening to some music in my itunes library. Just curious, I clicked the play count tab to see what songs I've habitually gravitated to over the years. I was impressed (but not surprised) with what the numbers revealed. Here's my top 3 according to itunes:

1. In Your Atmosphere - John Mayer


2. I Still Care For You - Ray Lamontagne


3. Secret - Maroon 5

Battle Studies Premiere

Ok, so this is my first album review... here goes!

During my first run through of the track list, I'll have to say that only two songs really stuck out to me. The rest seemed like one giant blur of calm, simplistic sounds... Definitely not what I was expecting after devouring his previous bluesy beast of an album:Continuum.

One of my immediate favorite tracks was Assassin & after immersing myself in Battle Studies for the past two days, I feel that an assassin is exactly how this album operates. Simple, genuine, soft spoken... then WHAM! You're done for.

His 2nd track, All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye, brought out emotions in me that have obviously been lying in wait. That's where I think John gets it right every time. Honesty always prevails... An artist brave enough to broadcast his vulnerabilities will always draw out honest emotions in the listener. John never fails to uncover all those things I work so hard to avoid & bury deep within myself. His music is infectious because of that.

As the tracks progress, I feel as if it subconsciously draws out more & more of me with it. An immensely mature sound, paired with his heartbreakingly honest lyrics leave me wanting just that: more!

I drift & die during tracks like Heartbreak Warfare, Half Of My Heart, Perfectly Lonely, & Edge of Desire. Truly great music pushes us to explore & question the depths of our own lives, love stories, & self sacrifices. Simply said, John Mayer's art validates & sustains me throughout all the transitions in my life.

I live for music that makes me sink & swell into a restlessness for something more... & Battle Studies is doing just that.

The only fault

It's a rainy day & I've got my usual coffee, pancake, & music goin on... Then I came across this song, or rather this song came across me. Half listening, the opening lines hooked me & I immediately searched lyrics. Rachael is a refreshingly free artist as well as a graceful lyricist. The only fault I found in this song is that it only lasts 4 minutes.

Tuesday Oct. 13, 2009

Photo from atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris. summer 08'

Life's storms are bound by nature to rumble and threaten rain, but a soul that has weathered the storm before knows this. And if there's one thing this soul has learned; it's endurance. Endurance with a thankful heart brings grace... To be ambushed by adversity is a blessing.

My memories museum

I think we should all strive to live richly. Never overlook an opportunity to create a memory. The legacy of a life truly enjoyed will reverberate across the walls of time the same way the melody of a transcendent song bleeds over into new generations.





Pics taken one fall day with my sister back in my hometown of Newton, NC. Good memory. :)

Drake: Fear

Dont believe the lies.
Look me in my eyes.
Please don't be scared of me.

I remember you.
This feeling isn't new.
So please dont be scared of me.

The Sultry Escape

I was supposed to study all day... this is what happened instead.


The Sultry Escape

Cold feet, dark bottles, & heat
she taps to the street's
seductive bold beat.

The moonlit march sinks
summer wishes, & hopeful spoons
in dirty dishes.

Fuming with rush &
childhood blush, frail flowers must crush
in the tread of contingency.

Old faces were flushed as the
sensuous strut left an honest lush
on the kitchen floor.

Not studying paid off... this poem will soon appear in UNC-Greensboro's bi-annual arts magazine ! Ka-Ching :)

Rootless Tree

Damien Rice may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the way he plays is just so fearless. Every word is drenched in passion and intensity...

I think that's the main thing that draws me to this artist. He bares all. Unafraid of hurting those who have hurt him. Unafraid of exposing himself for his art. Unafraid of using his pain to fuel his fiery music.

Your Mother's Quilt

Another summer rain
trickled over the stain and
sent me steeping
into older kettles.

Another severed season,
August themes stir
autumn dreams
that will fade into winter.

The changing leaves brought us back
with stained socks and heavy breath,
that raggedy couch our sanctuary
sacred exchanges beneath your mother's quilt.

Another evening storm stained
my transparency white, like
the paint under my fingernails.

Another fated fall
left its mark,
on the only part of me
that is brittle and clear.

(photo courtesy of Concrete Cowgirl)

Yogi T

My absolute favorite Yogi Tea tab-message ever.

My Twin

Inspired by In my craft or sullen art by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, I try my hand at poetry... it's also the prequel to a poem I've been working on called Your Mother's Quilt.

My Twin

Someone once said
that lover's lie abed
on spendthrift pages and
stanzas ridden with guilt.

My youthful flowers wilt
on your mother's old quilt,
toxic with words once
whispered and spilt.

Never again to be tangled in
another lover's covers,
my Twin is my twin alone.

Born to suffer that cast-iron fate,
we cast out all others and
test the solidity of our will.

And so this lover lies abed
with the warmth of her quilt alone,
a dream of ashen petals on her bed
leaves a quilt long set in stone.

Let it die

One of my favorite break-up songs:



"And after all, it won't take long to fall in love. Cause now I know what I don't want... I learned that with you." BURN

Kings of Convenience

1. If i had a time travel machine you better believe I'd find my way back to this exact show...snapping my fingers with everyone else.
2. I can't begin to describe the musical genius that is Kings of Convenience.
3. Check out their lyrics!!! Apart from the 2 songs in this video, my favorite is Parallel Lines.


The 1st song is Riot on an Empty Street. The 2nd is Singing Softly to Me.

Lightning

I was blessed to wake up to the sound of rain this morning...

Lightning -Bud Caywood (NC poet)

I was caught
in the moment of conifers
rushing through rooms of granite
like midnight strobe lights
slamming cut nails
that echoed me wildly

It ripped over the tent of leaves
and arms like angry pointed words
and the currents of pressed rain
hammered its beautiful elegance
into my fear and awkwardness
of what I did not know
about sudden storms,
and it kissed me madly.

May Sarton

photo snapped From May Sarton's Well

Aqueous Transmission

Photo: The Tetons and the Snake River (1942) Ansel Adams

"Im floating down a river
oars freed from their holes long ago
lying face up on the floor of my vessel
I marvel at the stars
and feel my heart overflow"
Incubus-

I believe we each have a responsibility to float down our own rivers. Sometimes alone is the only way, the best way. You'll quickly learn that the root of all romance & passion comes from within. Emotions become amplified to those sincerely in tune with themselves...

Explore your own cryptic canals, marvel at the stars, & feel your heart overflow.

An Angry Blade

I've recently discovered this song & fallen in love. Hearing it reminds me so much of my Southern adolescence.

I had two playgrounds growing up; the woods & the horse barn... The woods have always been my secret, holding my most vivid memories. Just down the road from my house, sanctified canopies envelop my innocence.



"Who left you so?

Striking a match for the keyhole
Dark as the evening laid
When he left you all alone

Turning to fade through the sawgrass
Tall as the only love
That you'll ever really know

Who left you so?

Grace is a gift for the fallen, dear
You're an angry blade & you're brave
But you're all alone

Turning a shade of an angel born
In a bramble ditch when the doors
Of heaven closed"