a show 5 years in the making

you all know by now my obsession with music. i've mentioned it more times than i have fingers and toes for.
and you may also know that one of my all time favorite bands is Brand New. i bought their second album on a whim, and haven't looked back (i've just overlooked Daisy, because it's not that great. sorry Jesse. but you know you've done better)
Friday night Brand New performed with Manchester Orchestra at the U's annual Redfest. As soon as I saw that announcement on their facebook page, I knew I had to be at that show. it had been a good 5 years since the last time I had seen them in concert. (2007--crazy to think it's been 5 years) and in fact, I'm pretty sure that was the last time they had played with Manchester Orchestra as well (all their shows kind of merge into one. i can't even remember how many times i've seen them. 4? 5? whatever, it's a lot)
after i purchased tickets, i found out that U students got 2 free tickets. boo. i have at least 4 friends that all like Brand New and call go to the U that would've given me their extra ticket. oh well.

listening to them again, and live, was like re-living my high school and college days. all of the memories and emotions from those years came flooding back and i was reminded why i loved their music so much. it spoke to me. and funny enough, Jesse's words were exactly the words that i needed to hear, that i wanted to say out loud to the doubters, the haters, the jerks and the non-believers.

their set list was perfect. (minus the fact that he didn't play Quiet Things, which is the one song i love that i've never heard live because in all the shows i've attended, they didn't play) similar to the set list from 5 years ago. being there, in a crowd of over a thousand plus people, all singing along to Jesse's words was as incredible as it had always been.

I'll leave you with some of my favorites (mostly from Deja Entendu, because let's be honest, that's their best album)

really, you just need to listen to them all. i've got over 100 tracks, come over, i'll set you up.

also, i took a few videos at the show, i'll try to post them on this later.

music

the other night, a friend and i were discussing various topics: movies, tv shows, jobs, and my favorite, music! it's always interesting to hear what another person's music tastes consist of. I believe it gives a really profound glimpse into their personality, or their mood at any given time.
fortunately, this friend and i had a lot of the same favorite bands/artists.
but it got me thinking about what my favorite music is, and what i'm currently listening to.
it's been a while since i've done this. but i'm currently on an "indie" kick, if you can call it that (that's what my playlist on my ipod is designated as, at least)

here are a few of my current faves: (plus, any random top 40 hit on the radio, most likely)

Imagine Dragons

loooooove them. thanks to steve hale for introducing them to me. saw them play at velour last year, as well as at the rooftop concert series. they're coming to salt lake in a week and a half, and you can bet your bottom dollar that i'll be there!

Gotye

this one is self-explanatory. i'm pretty sure i've posted about this one already. but i really can't get over it.
nor can i get over the dozens of remakes that have come out. i particularly like the pentatonix version, as well as the version that darren criss and matt bomer did on Glee last week (are you surprised?)

joshua radin


no video this time, but i think i could listen to joshua radin all day, every day, so not only is he in my current list, but he may just be part of my top 5 artists of all time.

ellie goulding

love her. currently obsessed with this song as well

and finally, he is we

though they haven't quite had the airtime on my ipod as the others, this song ^ in particular has been a regular in my recently played list for at least a year.

a couple other songs that i'm currently listening to:

Of Monsters and Men

Brendan James

Kate Walsh

Nicki Minaj

you can see (and hear) other music posts here, here and here

songs on my mind

{minus the fact that selena gomez's "love you like a love song" is stuck on repeat right now...grr....over that song} here are some of the tunes that are playing in my head right now, that kind of describe my mood (and may or may not have made me shed a tear or two tonight while driving to the institute for FHE. no bigs, right?)

Adele--"Make You Feel My Love"


Wakey!Wakey!--"Brooklyn"


Gavin DeGraw--"Not Over You"


The Fray--"Heartbeat"


Adele--"Someone Like You" (the one that made me shed a tear, possibly)


And a newly rediscovered song thanks to my obsession with re-watching all the seasons of One Tree Hill:
Jana Kramer--"I Won't Give Up"



{a couple more:}

Christina Perri--"A Thousand Years"


Gavin DeGraw (I just love him!)--"Follow Through"


I'm sensing a sort of pattern here...

the beatles

so, i'm sitting here waiting for my pumpkin cookies to bake and watching the history channel's coverage of the beatles. maybe it's the reintroduction of them to the music scene (thank you itunes) but i've started listening to them again (i have most of their albums on my ipod) and have realized that although i can't call myself the BIGGEST beatles fan, i DO know most of their songs. it probably has to do with the fact that i grew up listening to KEARTH 101, oldies radio in california. i knew the songs, but probably didn't know (or didn't understand) who sang it, and the importance and significance of it.

i told caitlin on thursday though that i really started listening to them again after Across the Universe came out (and subsequently the soundtrack for the movie, whose songs are ALL beatles hits). i love their versions of the songs, and it's reminded me of how great the rest of them are as well.

maybe this is the start of my thanksgiving post? i'm thankful for {music}, reintroduction to good music, and the beatles, for creating such a following of music.

songs that explain my life

Most people that know me know that I'm a HUGE music fan.

My ipod (original 30 gb video) is maxed out with just songs.

my itunes has 8500+ songs.

And I'm always searching for more.

As I've also posted before, music plays a huge role in my life.

I listen to it constantly whether it be while driving in the car blasting the radio, or listening to my ipod while running errands and doing chores.

I'm pretty sure I have a record for number of playlists I have on both my ipod and my itunes. It's seriously to the point of absolute ridiculousness.

This is my current playlist. Listen and it just might let you in on thoughts in my head.

(Not to mention they're great songs and super fun to sing along with)

If You Would Come Back Home - William Fitzsimmons

Chasing the Daylight - Phillip LaRue

Tore My Heart - Oona

Someday - Rob Thomas

Live Like We're Dying - Kris Allen

Hot Mess - Cobra Starship (mostly just for fun)

Two Is Better Than One - Boys Like Girls

Fell In Love Without You - Motion City Soundtrack

Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble

Breakeven - The Script

If It Kills Me - Jason Mraz*

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum*

Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

I Never Told You - Colbie Caillat*

The Only Exception - Paramore*

I'd Rather Be With You - Joshua Radin*

ALL of SafetySuit's album "Life Left to Go"

Droplets - Colbie Caillat*

The Fear You Won't Fall - Joshua Radin*

I Won't - Colbie Caillat*

Under Control - Parachute

Hazy - Rosi Golan (feat William Fitzsimmons)

Set the Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol


you should also add John Mayer's "Battle Studies" to your music repertoire if you have not yet done so. It is musical GENUIS.


*Denotes FAVES right now

music and life

there's something about good music that puts me into a great mood. especially when it's really upbeat and i'm listening to it late at night. I don't really understand it, but I really appreciate it.
It helps when there's a few good moments in life that just make me happy. :)
It's interesting though that when I do start to become happy, people start asking WHY. do i have to have a reason to be happy? can't you just accept the fact that i'm happy and content with life? why question it...just GO WITH IT. it might not last. haha.

i really am quite content with the way things are going right now. I feel calmer, happier, and stress free. Which is a surprise because I have a 310 theory paper due and a physical science test tomorrow. But, I feel good about my paper and the test, like I did well, did my best, and I know what the textbook is talking about. For once, I actually understand it.
All i needed was a change of events, for me to feel like I was important to someone, anyone, that they were making an effort in our friendship and now i do, so i'm happy. that's all i ever wanted from the beginning.

today

Today was a good day. Not because anything exciting happened (that's rare in my life) but because I had some things to do at work, no one bugged me (too much, at least), and i found my new favorite author's website and learned much about her series of books that I've recently fallen in love with. (Twilight) There were "outakes" of her books, mostly chapters or sections that she had written, but left out of the published book for one reason or another. I read those and fell even more in love with the stories. I'm glad she thought to post those for us avid readers to appreciate. That kept me busy for a good couple hours. In fact, when I looked at the clock, I realized it was almost 2 and I had yet to take a lunch break. I wasn't hungry for food though, I just wanted to satisfy my thirst for reading. Most grudgingly I left the comforts of my desk (which I spend most of my 8 hour day at) and went across the street to get something to eat/drink. It's a nice warm day, warmer than yesterday, so I ventured to the back patio of my building to read more of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (even though I read it in the 10 hours after I had purchased it, on the night of the release). How comforting it was to sit in the sunshine, drinking my mahalo mango robeks and read Harry Potter.
Now, I'm debating whether I want to stay for happy hour at work, considering the friend that was going to stay and then take me home isn't going at all anymore in order to get home to Santa Barbara earlier. My only motivation to going is to hang out with AJ one last time before he's gone from OMM forever. (morbid, but it shouldn't be. Today is his last day of work) However, if I do plan on staying, I could only stay for 15 minutes before having to leave to catch my train, which would get me home later than I would like. What a dilemma. I really like the idea of leaving early, vegging on the couch and falling asleep. I'm in desperate need of sleep.

On another note, I've recently discovered that billboard.com has a radio section that allows one to type in a favorite artist or band and then it will find (according to it's music genome project) other bands that are similar in musical tones, instruments, sound and then playing it for you. You can then state whether you like it or not and from that it can recommend other bands for you to listen to. It's quite enjoyable, plus it opens me up to new music, according to my preferences. Quite the project.
I also found project playlist which my younger sister has been using for a while. It lets you search for and add music to your own playlist which you can post on myspace, facebook, anything. I took some time out of work to perfect mine, only to find that it's all the same stuff I listen to regularly on my iPod. I tried to post it here earlier but it didn't work, so maybe I'll try later when I'm not being watched from behind.
With that said, I'd like to get your suggestions to new bands/artists/genres/albums. Anything you enjoy. I want to hear about it. I'm getting semi-bored of the music I have right now and would like to open my ears to new sounds.

.music.

[Here's the promised playlist. Hopefully it works.]
The following playlist is a listing of my favorite tracks right now. (not exactly listed in order, but the first 3 are definitely at the top of my faves list. lunacy fringe is actually the most played song on my ipod. a whopping 62 times. fantastic.)
anyway, enjoy. comment on some of your favorite tracks/artists/albums. i'm in need of some new ideas, new jams to download because i tend to get bored quickly.