But lately it's been a little different. It's a playlist I've called "For Marlan." Well, because, I created it so I could burn (to DVD) a playlist for my friend Marlan (surprising, I know) after he asked about what I was listening to lately. It started because after I accompanied him to a Trances Arc show at The Earl (I'm not really a Trances Arc fan, but I wanted to spend some time with my friend and I love The Earl) I told him that he now needed to accompany me to a show. The show? Shearwater at The Earl (coming up next Wednesday, 03/24/10). So, the playlist started as an introductory Shearwater compendium, but then it turned into my entire Shearwater library (who am I to decide what tracks are deemed worthy for him to listen?)
After I imported all of the Shearwater I own (a Daytrotter session from 12/09, their newest The Golden Archipelago, Palo Santo (Expanded Edition) and then Rook), I decided he needed to hear two other artists: David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion) and Clem Snide (including Eef Barzelay's solo stuff).
Here's why:
All my music has a back story. It has a history greater than its notes. And not only does my music have a history and a story, it's a history and a story I want to share with others. I feel compelled to share my experiences with others. Hence, the For Marlan playlist and really, this blog.
I love Shearwater because it's a split-off band of Okkervil River, a band I learned of through NPR one of the first time's I ever listened to NPR music with Bob Boilen.
I avidly follow David Bazan because a coworker kindly gave me a burned copy of Pedro the Lion's "It's Hard to Find a Friend" when I felt my world was falling apart several years ago. That coworker and I have parted ways, but Pedro's frontman, David Bazan, and I still have a love-affair that has grown personal and irrevocable. I firmly believe there are people in our lives for a reason, and she gave me him and I can't articulate how much that's meant.
Clem Snide and their mastermind Eef Barzelay came to me through an indie movie called "Book of Love." Do I recommend the movie? Well, it's about a teacher, his student, and that student having an affair with his wife. Very indie. Redeeming factor: music by Clem Snide, especially a song called "Joan Jett of Arc." It's a tale of a young man's first love and the writing is so clear, honest and striking that you remember why songs were ever written in the first place. "My black heart was heavy, but her mom's Cougar was fast/As Little Pink Houses were whistled/It was all-you-can-eat at the Sizzler that night/My steak-burnin' Joan Jett of Arc."
So back to this playlist: it has consumed me. These 160 songs have become all I've wanted to hear for weeks on end now. It goes from songs I don't really understand from Shearwater but have hauntingly breathtaking musical compositions that keep me riveted, to post-Christian musings from the recent David Bazan release, to the in-the-thick-of-wrestling-with-faith-and-life-and-God of Pedro the Lion, to the simple, yet gorgeous commentary on life as he sees it from Clem Snide and Eef Barzelay. Music speaks to me...it's not always profound (I unabashedly own some Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, and Carrie Underwood), but I feel like once I hear a song, or an album, or a collection, it then becomes mine. Isn't that why musicians release their art? Don't they want to affect people in a very real way? My music becomes a part of my life, something that I live and breath in beat to.
So here we are. I'm an underemployed music addict that has started a blog. I go to rock shows and I take pictures and I love those pictures, regardless of composition, lighting or bluriness. They're art to me, so they should be art to you too. And if I could figure out a way to make a living out of my musical addiction, I would. Until then, I have to go to work at a grocery store (don't get me wrong, I actually love it) and figure out what I want to do when I grow up.
I think I'll officially review the new albums from all three aforementioned artists, just not today.
And I dedicate this blog to my dad who took me to my first concert at the age of five (just guess what it was), who took me to see Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Chicago, and my favorite: Pink Floyd and for all those that believe in me and want to hear what I have to say. This one's for you, Mr. Harwell. Come back for album reviews, show recaps, and random musings on what it means to be me with music that is my lifetrack.
Up next: Andrew Bird and Mike Doughty. Maybe.
