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to a god unknown

I once read that our spirits, after they have passed from life, live in the trees. that it is not ghosts that live in them because ghosts are "weak shadows of reality" and, if anything, that we are more ghostlike than the spirits living in the trees.

it really got me thinking about trees.

what is the oldest, most sprawling, wrinkled, weathered tree you have ever seen? where was it? was it mangled or chopped in places or were the roots growing from the ground? when you walked up to it did it feel as though you instantly felt more calm and reverent in the presence of something so huge and old? I wonder if it's naive or pretentious to think about trees this way. granted, I've taken to second-guessing all of my thoughts these days and usually wind up labeling them as "unoriginal."

in any case, it is something I entirely don't understand but cannot deny, the existence of such feelings when I'm in close proximity to an old soul such as that of a tree. perhaps God lives in them.

Someday, I want to buy my dad a house.  On the top of a hill.  Near the Pacific Ocean.  In rural Northern California.  I will have made it financially if one day I can drive him out there someday, present him with a set of keys, and say "Thanks for everything."  What vindication!

over the last month, my blackberry has exploded with notes of bands I stumbled upon to look into further.  some you have likely already heard of, but nevertheless they should be listed, because they are awesome. just saying.

matt & kim

woolfy

dent may

beirut

the black lips

handsome furs

nasa - not the space exploration you thought

alice russell

andrew bird's latest album, noble beast

bela fleck (the africa sessions are excellent)

crystal castles

slightly stoopid

gogol bordello - if there is such a thing as gypsy punk, this is it.  channel your inner slovakian accordian player and rock out.

the voodoo glow skulls - west coast ska with a hint of "fuck you!" - fabulous.

late of the pier

dan auerbach (who knew the drummer for Spoon can produce so well?)

wanderlusty brainstorming during class

studentuniverse.com - super cheap flights for students and teachers!

ex: austin-dublin (one way) $543

jobsabroad.com - finds available job opportunities/listings in virtually every country.  totally comprehensive.  ranges from unskilled labor-TEFL-resumes/college degree specializations. also searches everything from internships, volunteer opportunities, hostels, and universities to phone cards, scholarships, and student ID discounts. awesome.

http://www.iagora.com/ - like monster.com, but global. woohoo!

who knew zooey deschanel could sing?

current playlist: blue scholars, the kooks, johnny clegg, what made milwaukee famous, dan auerbach, amos lee, iron and wine, the blue van, she & him

current word: bamboozled

songs to like: dan auerbach - I want some more/dan auerbach - whispered words/she & him - magic trick/bon iver - re:stacks

newfound band to like: shorty the president

to name a few

mark this shit down.

4.7.09 - ratatat & great lake swimmers @ stubb's

4.21.09 - spoon @ red scoot inn & la zona rosa

4.22.09 - guster @ stubb's

4.24.09 - south memphis string band @ antone's

4.25.09 - franz ferdinand @ la zona rosa

4.28.09 - cake @ stubb's; mae @ emo's

4.29.09 - george clinton @ stubb's

5.1.09 - death cab @ austin music hall

5.3.09 - sonny rollins @ bass concert hall

5.7.09 - flight of the conchords @ bass concert hall

5.8.09 - toadies @ stubb's

5.12.09 - 311 @ austin music hall

5.19.09 - the crystal method @ la zona rosa; the offspring @ austin music hall

5.26.09 - manchester orchestra @ emo's (inside)

6.5.09 - animal collective @ stubb's

6.15.09 - camera obscura @ antone's

6.27.09 - ben kweller @ emo's

newfound artist:

- devendra banhart (song: pumpkin seeds) folksy, young voice, good summertime lullabye

SXSW, week of total smackdown epicness

shows of note. or at least the ones I favor.

Wednesday 3.18

- Club 115 has a bitchin lineup of world music, so get out your bongos and didgeridoos. Bands from Trinidad, Buenos Aires, Montreal, Belem, and Melbourne all tonight.

- The Decemberists @ Stubb's

Thursday 3.19

- Stubb's all night: 3oh!3, Gomez, Andrew Bird and Ben Harper. electro-country-punk-hip-hop overload followed by a great indie-folk lineup for dessert - who could ask for more?

- Landon Pigg @ Maggie Mae's Gibson Room

Friday 3.20

- Bob Schneider @ Auditorium Shores

- The Bar-Kays @ Dirty Dog Bar (remember the Superbad theme song? That's these guys. hell yes.)

- Peter Bjorn and John @ Emo's

Saturday 3.21

- Silversun Pickups @ Antone's

- Explosions in the Sky @ Auditorium Shores

- THIRD EYE BLIND @ Stubb's

anybody know when the Blue Scholars are playing?

hmm.

are there any good hostels in Austin? I hear about all these great co-op places to live for students, but no hostels.  After all, Austin is essentially a destination now, not just a hippie college town.

UT Catholic Center launches gay support group

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/1.1361510-1.1361510

more thoughts on this when I get out of class...

gadabout

a little girl sobs on her bedroom floor

cries, "Daddy why don't you love Mommy anymore?"

he stares at his feet, a tear on his cheek

slowly disappears from her door

a teenage girl saw her life in a flash

of the ocean eyes of a boy who

brought her to life, they dreamed together

they dreamed

got caught in the bedroom with maps and guides

playing punk rock music, everything to hide

but their love was true

it was true

back of a train, ocean eyes strains

searching the midnight sky, what to wish for?

teenage girl pretends to sleep in his lap

stealing peeks at the boy who brought her back

ocean eyes smiles down on her, no need to wish anymore

adolescent girl sobs on her bedroom floor

cries, "Baby just tell me you don't love me anymore"

five years gone, she doesn't understand

ocean eyes stares at his feet, tear on his cheek

slowly disappears from her door

a girl hears the rumble of her plane

stares blankly at the earth below, wondering who's to blame

looking for home in dozens of countries, she runs

she runs, all grown up now

an older woman stirs and wakes

voices tell her "arrivals at gate 8"

tiny lines on her face, blank stare remains

trail of bitter tears in the men she left home, she runs

she runs

a spoonful of slavic folk with a dash of punk rock

I stumbled upon the musical stylings of DeVotchKa this morning and had to share.  I know, I know, I'm sure you've heard of them, but I get so giggled up over the stuff that's a new find to me that I have to write about it.  so... their music.  it's like this big hodgepodge smoothie of russia-meets-greece-meets-indie/folk-meets-punk.   how could you not want to check out a multi-instrumental band with a dude playing the theremin?  the theremin, man!  this unique band is finally getting more buzz, thanks to their appearance at Bonnaroo and more notably, their Grammy nomination for the Little Miss Sunshine score.  baller.

if you haven't heard of this band already, check them out: they're playing tonight at 8 at La Zona Rosa.

http://myspace.com/devotchkamusic

cabin fever

Do you ever just feel stuck?  I've had this creeping feeling for a year or two now.  LIkely the result of a combination of attending a university in my hometown, getting burn out on taking too many classes every semester (and accordingly having several nervous breakdowns a year), and not having the finances to travel as much (and as far) as I want to.

A friend of mine revealed to me the other day that he just up and withdrew from classes this semester so he could tour with his band because they booked so many gigs that he just "would have missed too much school."  Had he told me a few months ago, I likely would have had a reaction something resembling "what the...!?" and judged him as some kid making the wrong decision and needing to get his "priorities" straight.  the only feeling I had when he told me on, however, was total jealousy.  How liberating!  Just up and taking a semester off to travel and pursue your passion, and get paid to do it.  I am stuck in the same town - don't get me wrong, Austin is great, amazing, an awesome place to live - but I've lived here my whole life.  Stuck in the same town, doing the same thing I've done my entire life - going to school, making plans constantly making plans, playing and teaching music (but not the kind I actually want to play) and being surrounded by my past daily.  I feel a complete and utter lack of perspective.

I need a break from the school of read-books-sit-in-class-listen-to-the-omni-rational-professor-talk-about-all-the-shit-you-don't-know/haven't-experienced-and-boy-do-they-make-sure-you're-reminded-of-that.  I'm ready to see for myself the countries and people and architecture and literature and learn with my other senses.  I'm dying to start this new life that I'm preparing for in school.  Law school can wait, graduation can wait, I just want to leave and be able to say that I did this all on my own.

"the use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are."

 - samuel johnson