People look well in the dark

I decided my musical thoughts of the day needed their own separate post but first!
I apologize for any and all grammatical/spelling errors on this blog. I suppose I should try harder, but I've never been a perfectionist, so this is just kind of how I roll- sloppy.

ANYWAYS
I've been meaning to post this video for a really long time. It's an acoustic version of Winter Never Stops by one of my favorite bands, Deerhunter. It's been around for awhile but I only recently discovered it and I feel compelled to listen to it every day.

Deerhunter - Winter Never Stops (Acoustic) from Bradford Cox on Vimeo.
Yes, another one of those "deer" bands that people can't keep straight, but I have to admit I'm a sucker for their sort-of-experimental "shoegazy" ways. Plus I have a completely serious and probably unhealthy obsesssion with Bradford Cox, the lead singer and, as a solo artist, Atlas Sound (I posted a link to a song off of his amazing new album Logos a few months ago). He's been accused of having a huge ego blah blah, but he writes great music, knows everybody (he collaborated with Karen O for the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack), and is fucking hilarious, as is evidenced by his blog and this Pitchfork video.He posts mixes and covers on his blog all the time; he's basically always working on music, and in every interview I've read he just comes across as having a great outlook. He's just a super huge music fan.

It's because of Bradford that I fell in love with the song I'll Be Your Mirror by the Velvet Underground. Though I've been fans of their music for many years I hadn't really paid much attention to it's beauty and simplicity, but Bradford mentions it all the time, and now I'm convinced. People hate on Nico's involvement since she was basically placed in the band by Andy Warhol (I believe?) and "can't sing," but I've been sold on her strangeness since the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack changed my life in high school.



(song around the :45 mark)

(Sidenote- how perfect is Alec Baldwin's narration? Wes Anderson just nailed it with this film on so many levels...I need to watch it again)

Anyways, I highly suggest you give "I'll Be Your Mirror" another listen.
I also got a craving for the Velvet Underground song "Jesus" on my commute to work and in listening to a few tracks in reverse order I suddenly noticed something I should have noticed from the get go: The Velvet Underground self-titled album completely has an ephiphanal (real word?) arch to it: Jesus turns to Beginning to See the Light turns to I'm Set Free....ok, so maybe it's not that cool or in depth, mostly I was just amazing that it took me 4 years of listening to the album to even notice that transition.

So listening to "I'm Set Free" got me thinking about how much I like songs about freedom, like "I'm Free" by the Who and the Aretha Franklin song "Think." Freedom is something so desired and emphasized by people, especially people I know, and myself, who like to believe that they know better than to be trapped by convention. But in reality, we are so far from being free. I'm still enrolled in a major university and working a part-time retail job, etc. etc. Wanting to work in the arts is different from Wall Street maybe, but does it  make me less free since I have to work so much harder to make any money at all in comparison to other professions? One of the most reasonable lamentations about New York is that so often you end up working to live, and I would never want to end up like that, but wouldn't it be great to make a boatload of money and then have that out of the way and be able to do what I want? Maybe that's freedom but it seems like you have to give up a part of yourself in order to earn that kind.

Going to All Tomorrow's Parties in September made me have an ephiphany about music. It's certainly not completely true but I do believe that the closest you can get to complete freedom is to be able to play music, even if you aren't successful. At ATP there were so many great collaborations (No Age with Bob Mould playing Husker Du songs, even one with Bradford, Caribou playing with Four Tet, so amazing) and I felt like there had to be even more happening behind the scenes. Musicians just have a language all their own with which to communicate with each other, and even if everyone can't play it always (cheesy, I know) brings people together. Muscians are always the ones with those great stories about travelling the world to study different traditional instruments or to tour with bands they admire, and what an amazing way to express yourself- to pick up an instrument and just make something happen.

Basically, I wish I played something. I know that elements of the music scene are just as mired in money and power etc, but I like to keep my innocent view of how much can be done with that awesome talent. 


What was this post about? No idea.Rambling. I slept four hours but for some reason still wanted to get this out now? God. Anyways here's a present if you made it through, an old/creepy/awesome video you've probably seen of a time-lapse mural.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.