Ear Candy: The Chateau de Liz

As I am the sole inhabitant of my downtown abode, I find I need music on at all times to keep my place feeling like me. Over the past few weeks, here's what I've been spinning...it's a quirky, fresh mix of old favorites and new gems that's just as perfect for dancing around while folding laundry as it is for impromptu social gatherings. Enjoy!

Shakey Graves - "Dearly Departed"

Robyn - "Dancing on my Own"

BØRNS - "10,000 Emerald Pools"

Annie Stela - "Lovesong"

Parov Stelar - "Chambermaid Swing"

Misterwives - "Reflections"

Cherub - "Doses & Mimosas"

Johnnyswim - "Home"

Vance Joy - "Riptide"

RAC - "Cheap Sunglasses"

Yuna - "Rescue"

Rusted Root - "Send Me On My Way"

Little Joy - "Brand New Start"

CHVRCHES - "Recover"

Empire of the Sun - "Half Mast"

A Friend in London - "The Light"

WE ARE TWIN - "Don't Tell Your Parents"

Caroline Smith - "Half About Being a Woman"

Matt and Kim - "Let's Go"

Regina Spektor - "Hotel Song"

Ear Candy: "Once"

Every so often I go through a phase where I get stuck on an album on repeat. As soon as the last notes of the last song end, I'm looping right back to the beginning and starting all over again. Last month, it wasn't even an album...for a solid week, "Shake It Off" was the sole song of my commute (I've gotten REALLY good at the spoken portion in the middle). This month, I've classed it up a bit and switched over to the soundtrack to one of my stealth favorite musicals, "Once." 

I was fortunate to receive free tickets from some family friends to see "Once" this April when it was at the Orpheum, and invited Hannah to join me. After a round (or two) of delicious sangria and (very) small plates at Solera with my parents and Aunt Kris, who were also seeing it that night, we raced over to the Orpheum early because of the unique pre-show activity. "Once" takes place primarily in an Irish pub, and for half an hour before the show starts, the bar on stage functions as a real bar, serving the theatergoers drinks and letting them mingle. Every actor in the show is also a musician for it, so Hannah and I grabbed glasses of white wine and watched them perform jigs, reels and medleys galore. I got really bold and snuck a photo of the Orpheum from the stage, because, let's be real, that'll never happen again. I love how you can see the other theater patrons sitting in the balcony! Talk about an amazing experience!

The show itself couldn't be more different than the usual, stereotypical musical fare. There are two main characters, who, nameless, are referred to only as "Him" and "Her." They both have other loves, but the story chronicles their unlikely falling as they come together to make music. All the actors are onstage at all times, and like I said, they all form the orchestra and ensemble. It's intensely engaging, and the music reflects that perfectly. 

Driven by strings...guitar, violin, mandolin...and hand-drums, and piano...the music is evocative, plaintive and riotous by turn. As the show takes place in Dublin, the Celtic influence is overt at times and subtle at others, subsumed by the Eastern European influence brought in by "Her" and her family. And the lyrics! The lyrics slice away at heartstrings and create peace and just completely, entirely capture the sensations of falling in love, facing frustration with a partner, questioning what's right. My favorites are "Leave," "Falling Slowly" (duh), and "Gold." Lyrics: 

Leave: "And the truth has a habit of falling out of your mouth, and now that it's come, if you don't mind, leave."

Falling Slowly: "Take this sinking boat and point it home;" "Raise your hopeful voice."

Gold: "And if a door be closed, then a row of homes start building, and tear your curtains down, for sunlight is like gold." 

Simply writing them can't encapsulate how stirring it is to hear them. That sense of synergy is what's kept me coming back to the soundtrack for over a week now...if you get a moment (less than an hour will do), I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. 

Shaking it off

Is there anybody else out there who has been thrown into a (grossly exaggerated) existential tailspin by the release of the new Taylor Swift single? 

It's so damn catchy. I've watched the music video three times today and listened to the song at least eight. Every time it starts, I can't refrain from bopping my head around in classic clichéd working-girl-in-her-cube-with-headphones-on fashion. So far, my boss hasn't caught me. It's only a matter of time, though. 

But I'm so conflicted. This single is making me question so much about my latent, passionate devotion to TSwift. Since college, I've identified deeply with her. I even drove five hours with a guy friend summer before our sophomore year to see her in concert (the "Fearless" tour). Her CDs have been the soundtrack to so many dance parties...and they are so weirdly appropriate for specific epochs in my life. Hi, duh, I have exes named Stephen and Jo(h)n. Cue "Hey Stephen" and "Dear John" on repeat please...

One of the best things about Taylor is how she has managed for the better part of a decade to come off as refreshingly real and relatable. A vindictive little part of me LOVES the fact that she's built a glittering career on getting to very publicly trash anyone who's done her wrong. She's flawed, she's genuine, she's vulnerable...or at least she's carefully curated this persona that she is all those things, anyway. 

Maybe that's why this song/music video feels so disingenuous. She's clearly been moving in the direction of mainstream pop stardom for years now...just juxtapose her overtly twangy first album against the barely-there country undertones of "Red," and it's painfully obvious. That said, her first four offerings all sound like her...there's that distinctly earnest, diary-like, confessional aspect to individual songs in addition to the albums as a whole. I don't feel that with "Shake it Off;" given she's stated that "1989" is her "most musically cohesive album ever," I fear we're in for 13-15 more glittery, packaged pop tracks come October. 

I don't NOT like it, clearly, given my shameless contribution to its video views. I just don't really like the contrast between the message of the song, which is classic Taylor "Omg, I'm a cute charming klutzy outsider girl-next-door just like you!", and the song's overall vibe. It sounds and feels so produced and try-hard that the novelty and niche of her special-unicorn uniqueness vanishes completely. The nuanced, confessional lyrics that made "Red" such a standout have been replaced with saccharine phrases like "this sick beat," "got nothin' in my brain," and of course the chorus's "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." It's kind of sad...I know that this is an inevitable part of her growth as a musician and twentysomething but it's making me seriously nostalgic for the days of "Everything Has Changed," "All Too Well," and "State of Grace."

OMG, guys. Seriously, can we all take a step back and laugh at how hard I'm overanalyzing this? I'm going to admit it...despite my weird dissonant internal spaz over Taylor Swift's identity as a musician and icon for the ages, I love this song. Can't wait to bust it out at the gym, and I'm calling it already--it's going to end up in a Notre Dame band halftime routine for suresies. 

Off to go invest in red lipstick and a black turtleneck. Oh, and if you spot someone twerking in a tutu in downtown St. Paul later today...don't tell my boss. 

Sometimes, it's the little things.

These days, I get up around 5:45 to get to work by 7:30. For a girl known for bemoaning anything requiring a wake-up time in "the 5's," this is no mean feat. Lately, insomnia, weird dreams and general p.m. restlessness have made that alarm clock seem less and less tolerable, and cutting potent brewed coffee out of my morning routine (to help with migraines) isn't helping either. 

Today, though, I woke up happy. I took the time to straighten my hair. I applied eyeliner and wore a favorite blouse-skirt-ballet flats combo. My mom packed a lunch that looks pretty damn delicious (no, I am not in elementary school; yes, my mom packs my lunch these days; yes, I am aware of how lucky I am). I had a few spare minutes to chat with my parents before leaving for work, and I think we're going to do something fun in St. Paul after I'm off the clock for the day. When I left the house, it was bright enough for sunglasses, and traffic seemed to be clipping along a little faster than usual. 

And then, joy of all joys, my song came on Cities 97. You totally know what I'm talking about, right? The one song that you can recognize from the first four counts and that instantly fills your entire insides with happiness...an auditory memory trigger, maybe, that throws you back to a place or time or moment of significance. Or maybe a song you've just loved for so long it's worked its way into those moments by accident. Either way, it's YOUR song.

For me, it's The New Radicals, "You Get What You Give." My first boyfriend used it in a high school speech video, and I just instantly adored it. Since then, I've played it on every single major event day...high school graduation, the day I made the marching band, the day I left for London, the day I got my job offers, the morning of college graduation. It's going to be my alarm clock on the morning of my someday-maybe-wedding, guys. That's how deeply I adore that song. 

And so I did what any rational 25-year old girl would do. I cranked up my car stereo to 40, I rolled down all four windows (good hair day be damned!), I opened the sunroof and I had a straight-up seat-dancing, hand-gesturing, singing-at-the-top-of-my-lungs jam sesh. In that three minute span, I just kind of decided I was going to be happy, whether my happiness was construed as hyperbole or not. Because you DO get what you give in life, and I'm never going to give up on giving everyone a little bit of sunshine. Why the hell not? 

Ear Candy: Spring Ahead

I'm currently looking out the window of our apartment at lots and lots of actual natural light. It's 7pm. How awesome is Spring Ahead? Having light later in the day makes me inherently more happy. I'm more alert in the evenings, my workouts feel better, I smile more...this is the first tangible sign that winter is on its way out and summer is waiting just a few flips of the calendar away! Couple that with Minnesota's warmer-than-usual forecast for the next 5-10 days, and you can put me in the happy camper corner. 

I was such a struggly mess this morning though. Taking an already-not-a-morning-person and throwing the whole "GOTCHA! It feels like 5am but it's actually 6!" thing at me just comes off as cruel and unusual punishment. Not proud to admit that this morning, I hit snooze til 6:30 am, got ready as fast as humanly possible, and got back in bed until five minutes before we had to leave. Time, therefore, for an up-tempo, happy playlist to get me going these next few spring-ahead days! 

Here's what's blasting through the ol' earbuds lately: 

-Smallpools, "Mason Jar"

-Ingrid Michaelson, "Girls Chase Boys"

-Walk the Moon, "Quesadilla"

-Night Terrors of 1927, "Smoke Signals"

-Prince, "7"

-Regina Spektor, "Hotel Song"

-Little Daylight, "Glitter and Gold"

-Bronze Radio Return, "Up, On & Over"

-American Authors, "Hit It"

-WE ARE TWIN, "Keep On Lovin' You"

These songs are all so great for a morning pick-me-up, and each has something special and quirky that keeps me listening. I love WE ARE TWIN's lead singer's raspy, smoky voice. Prince is just timeless and effortless in every way. Regina Spektor's sweet lyrics make me smile, and Smallpools feels like a throwback to high school in the best of possible ways. 

Hit it up! Let me know what's spinning through Spotify for you these days too...I'm a fiend for new music.