writing again

i've gone away from writing stories for a while, and it sucks. my problem has never been starting, but saying "what's next?" and answering that question. i have a million three-page stories that go no where.

i've always wanted to be a published writer, not just a writer. when i was younger, i wanted to be a pulitzer-prize-winning published writer. i think that idea has gone by the wayside. these days it would be a massive accomplishment to finish something. so i'm trying. you can't write nothing, i read somewhere once. it might be crap, but that's not the point. it's getting written.

current writing inspirational song: bon iver, "holocene"

music diversion: mumford & sons

i went to a wedding in august and got into a slightly wine-induced argument with an old friend about one of my favorite bands, sigur rós, and their penchant for singing songs in a made-up language. he couldn't get over this idea and after listening to a link i sent him, grudgingly said they "weren't as bad as i thought they would be." yeah, whatevs. then of course he had to throw in a band of his own for me to sample. the song was "little lion man" by mumford & sons.

this isn't a new band or even a very unknown one - several of their songs from their first cd "sigh no more" have been featured on popular shows (including one of my favorites, "grey's anatomy"). it took me five months to download the entire album, and it's probably one of my favorite cds - ever. it's easy to listen to, but emotional and engaging, the lyrics personal and beautifully written. one of my favorite lines comes from "winter winds": "and if your strife strikes at your sleep/remember spring swaps snow for leaves." i love the soft piano, trumpets, sweeping melodies and loud crescendos of their songs.

it helps they're british. come on, an accent never hurt.

summer playlist #1

april is close enough to summer. when you've suffered through an indiana winter, you'll understand. if you're in a state more north than indiana, my sincere apologies.

1. la la lie, jack's mannequin
2. take your mama, scissors sisters
3. go do, jonsi
4. if you c jordan, something corporate
5. ldn, lily allen
6. rainy day, coldplay
7. songbird, eva cassidy
8. strawberry swing, coldplay
9. time of your life, green day
10. tree hugger, kimya dawson & antsy pants
11. folding chair, regina spektor
12. animal arithmetic, jonsi
13. everywhere, michelle branch

photo via fine little day

a love letter to jonsi

ok, he's gay and has been with alex for forever. but i don't care. i love this man. he's a genius. his new album is out today, and i'm listening to it right now. i have a headache and am being propped up today by this man's creativity and genius via music. it's like a child's dream world in a song - or nine songs, in this case. beautiful doesn't begin to describe it. do yourself a favor and sit down with this album. the world is more lovely because of it.

jónsi's new song is amazing

i feel like i have to scream about it, because i'm so excited - jónsi birgisson, lead singer of sigur rós, one of my all-time favorite bands, is releasing a solo album in march, "go." but if you sign up for email updates, you get his first single, "boy lilikoi," free. and it's AMAZING. it's so good, i'm using caps, and y'all know i don't do that very often.

he's also on twitter. it bummed me out that he only had 2500+ followers - though he did ask to follow me!!!!! this man is talented. listen to his music. you'll thank me later.

bless this band

coldplay and something corporate will always be favorites. but there is no band like sigur rós. they're from iceland, so i can't understand what they're saying. but even if i spoke icelandic (it's really a language), i still wouldn't be able to understand them all the time, because sometimes they speak vonlenska, or hopelandic - basically a nonsense language. lead singer jón Þór "jónsi" birgisson made this language up specifically for his music. most of their songs are long, six to eight minutes usually, and a lot of times they're just instrumental. their albums range from way out there - ( ) is fascinating in that it's different than anything i've heard (and yes, ( ) is the name of the album) to more traditional (i use that word loosely with this band), like the one i just downloaded, Ágætis byrjun (translated: "a good beginning"), which has some of the most melodic sigur rós songs i've heard.

one of the best things i love about sigur rós is that they're completely open to interpretation. every song on the album ( ) was untitled, though they did include nicknames for each song. the pages in the album cover were blank, so people could write in their own lyrics (as most of the songs are instrumental). even the name of the album is available for each listener to decide for themselves.

but probably the best thing is that sigur rós is just so different. there is no comparison i can point out to this band, no one out there i've found who comes close (though if you have ideas, please let me know!). i am not one to go for "out-there" music, but there is something about the way they string notes together with random instrumental combinations and jónsi's haunting falsetto. it's the most evocative, emotional, powerful music i've ever heard. i don't know what they're saying, and more importantly, i don't need to. it doesn't matter. the sounds are enough.

* under the did-you-know category of the day, "bless" is actually good-bye in icelandic. i love that the word for farewell is also a lovely word in english. and also that's probably the only word i'll ever be able to pronounce in icelandic. vonlenska, anyone?