Living In Rhythm

David Nail.

Honestly, I could just leave that here, a link to his site, and let you guys discover him on your own, but...I just can't.

That said, I don't know if I can explain this properly either. This is my attempt...bear with me.

I was listening to a random song from 2006 yesterday (Josh Turner's Your Man) on Youtube, and one of the 'related videos' was a song by David Nail. I'd heard the name thrown around from time to time, but our exposure to really good acts out of Nashville is limited up here in Canada. I listened to his song Red Light.

And then every other song I could find.

Then one of my fave artists (Josh Hoge) tweeted about David Nail.

And then I bought his album.

Every once in a while, you buy music that, before you're even done listening to the album in its entirety, you know that it's going to be a favourite of yours. I'm trying to remember the last time this happened (other than The BP3). I have a feeling this album, I'm About To Come Alive, is going to get me through to January. Sure, there are albums slated for release before then (notably, John Mayer's new one) that I'm looking forward to, but I have a feeling this one is going to be a standby.

It'll be one of those albums that you just put on any time. Driving, working, reading, writing, doing housework. Whatever. It's got a good vibe to it. At the risk of sounding like a total weirdo, it feels warm somehow. It feels like Nashville (a city I've been trying to get to for years and years). There are a few country artists who feel like Nashville to me. Miranda Lambert is one (she sings backgrounds on this album, by the way). Chuck Wicks is another, to a degree. Lee Ann Womack is another. And there's a difference between being country and sounding country, and being country and sounding like Nashville.

That sounds completely absurd.

I'm going to shut up now and just let the guy's music say what I can't.

David Nail - Red Light (official video)

This post is archived under david nail, josh hoge, music

So we all know I can cry big ugly tears over music/songs/lyrics.

Almost every musician I know can also do an odd high-pitched laugh that is born from complete awe and admiration of something they hear. It's something that is absurd, really, but the most common reaction to some kind of musical brilliance is to laugh. And it's a great sound. Sitting in a roomful of musicians and listening to Pino Palladino's basslines on The RH Factor's Hard Groove album was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. Just laughter. It's almost like we don't know how else to express ourselves in those moments when we're amazed.

I also tend to get a big, wide, ridiculous smile on my face. Probably the biggest kind of smile you'll ever see from me. Teeth and all that.

Very, very rarely will one song elicit all these responses from me. Very rarely.

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room is one.

And this: Patty Griffin - Let Him Fly (Live)

Let Him Fly was the first Patty Griffin song I ever heard, and it was like something shifted in me. Literally, something changed. I wasn't the same after that. I think I've listened to this song a thousand times (no joke). Often imitated, never duplicated. This song is just so, so damn perfect. Literally, one of the most perfectly constructed songs I think I've ever heard.

Youtube just took me to this live version, and I had a little moment in my office. Smiling, but tears in my eyes, then I laughed a little. My best friend, who works in the same office as me, walked by and asked if I was okay.

More than okay.

This woman changed my life. I will never forget sitting in my basement apartment in Toronto, my computer set up in the little corner in my bedroom, listening to this song for the first time.

I know I talk about Patty a lot. Don't expect that to change.

This post is archived under music, patty griffin, pino palladino, the collection, the rh factor

Every so often, I'll be listening to music and I'll have a thought that blows my mind.

(For example: What if Julian Lennon and Stella McCartney got married? What if they had a baby? I know I sound like a total stoner, but that right there is freaking craziness.)

Anyway....

I have been listening to a lot of rap lately, specifically Common, Jay-Z, Kanye, Lupe (basically, the best rappers around, in my opinion...and my standards for rap are pretty high). I was listening to D.O.A. today because I am hopelessly addicted to The Blueprint III right now, and the line "Only rapper to re-write history without a pen" stuck out to me. (So does "The more space I get the better I write, Oh, Never I write. But if ever I write, I need the space to say whatever I like.")

Now, I've heard producers - I think it was Kanye, actually - talk about just being present when Jay-Z is in the booth. How during 99 Problems, they just started the track and Jay just started rhyming, and he was doing all the voices on the spot without writing anything down. That's effing ridiculous. That's genius.

So I was thinking today about Jay-Z just being this brilliant artist and amazing mind, and I got to wondering. I wonder if Jay-Z is ever listening to the radio and someone else's song comes on and he comes up with his own shit in his head, you know? Like, I wonder if he ever listens to Kanye's records and has a hundred different things in his mind that he would have put on the track instead.

When you think about all the things Jay-Z says, you have to wonder about all the things he doesn't say.

...Or maybe that's just me...

Doesn't matter if it's a writer, a rapper, a musician, a painter, whatever, there's always a million things going on in an artist's head - I think I can safely say that. So that's why I carry around a pen and pad of paper wherever I go. I'm always looking for that quote, or listening for that line in a song. Or I'm thinking of something that I need to write, and I have to pull my car over and scribble it down. I do this a lot. Before I invested in what I affectionately call my 'Hook Book', I used to write on receipts or pay-parking slips. Or my arm. Once I wrote on the back of my Blockbuster card because I had nothing else.

Basically, all this contemplation today lead to the idea/thought/confirmation that the most complex place on the planet is probably inside any artist's mind.

This post is archived under common, jay z, kanye west, lupe fiasco, music

Finally finished the A's in my collection. I think I underestimated how long this experiment is going to take. I might have to up my game a little bit. Especially considering there are over twice the amount of B's as there are A's.

So here are just a few notes on the first leg of the journey; things I thought and had the sense to write down in my little journal so I could share with you.

- Aaliyah's self-titled 2001 album could be released and every single track on there would/could be a hit. Absolutely brilliant. She was the one who worked with Timbaland before working with Timbaland was cool.

- Ryan Adams is the coolest weirdo ever. I say weirdo with love. Cold Roses is one of those albums in my collection that I can always put on. Always. If I don't know what I want to listen to and I put on that record, it becomes what I want to listen to. I don't know if I've explained that well, but it's true.

- Most people would probably say Cryin' is their favourite Aerosmith ballad, but mine is Angel. Love that song. Love the album it's on.

- Jann Arden With the VSO is an incredible live album that anyone with ears should listen to on headphones. Make yourself some tea, light a couple candles, put on headphones, enjoy.

- India.Arie. Pure love. Uplifting. Spiritual. Beautiful.

-Augustana is one of the few bands that I would rather not listen to on headphones. There's something about putting their music on real loud in the car, or real loud in the house and just letting it swallow you. Sweet and Low is one of my all-time favourite driving songs.

And now, on to the B's. There are easily 35 albums in this section. This could take a while!

This post is archived under aaliyah, aerosmith, augustana, india.arie, jann arden, music, ryan adams, the collection

I very rarely ever remember my dreams. It just doesn't happen often. Maybe (mayyyybe) once every three months, I'll remember something I've dreamed.

Now I've remembered two nights in a row, and they've been shockingly similar. The same person was in both, in completely different situations, but with the same outcome. I honestly don't know what to think about this. Part of me wants to just ignore it and chalk it up to a very emotional week, but I don't know if it's just that.

I tend to get just a little neurotic, especially concerning the unknown. Because as I recall these two dreams, I can't help but wonder if there have been others. Maybe I've been having the variations on the same dream for weeks, or months, or hell, years. Who knows? Not me. That freaks me out. Because what if these dreams mean more than I think they do? I don't necessarily believe in dream interpretation or any of that, but it is really odd, at least for me, to have essentially the same dream - and remember it - two nights in a row.

I really don't want to over think this. But like everything that comes with the particular person in these dreams, I can't help but over think. That's the way it's always been. I'm not sure if that's the way it should always be.

Last night, for the first time in ages (literally, since I can remember) I cried over something that wasn't a song or a television show or a movie or a commercial.

It just hit me all at once, and I realized that now there's another thing connecting us, but it's still not enough.

And crying isn't fun when you have something legitimate to cry over.

A few songs got cut out of the image. They are:

Cold Desert - KOL
Butch Cassidy - Josh Hoge
Now That You're Gone - Ryan Adams
Forgive Me - Missy Higgins
Stay - Gavin DeGraw

So many people say that life is short. Maybe it is.

It doesn't feel like it though, does it?

Maybe it's just me, and I'm totally okay if it is, but life feels really, really big to me. A huge unknown with a million questions that can't be answered and maybe shouldn't be asked. And it's easy to say that it sucks and to think that it sucks, but it only sucks if you let it. It sucks if you can't see a silver lining anywhere or focus on the positives. It sucks if you let yourself think that it sucks.

But you need to laugh and blush and take deep breaths and pray and believe and love and hate (the good way; the passionate way, with reason and explanation and purpose). You need to cry and feel your heart break and then put it back together because that's what it takes to find the one who won't break it again. You need to smile and you need to close your eyes for a second when something hits your heart unexpectedly. You need to sing along with the radio when that song comes on, just because you can't not sing to it. You need to suffer through songs that tear out your heart, because you'll be stronger in the end if you can just get through them. You need to take chances and take risks and scare the hell out of yourself every once in a while. (And maybe let someone else scare the hell out of you every once in a while). You need to write and talk and keep your mouth closed when you don't know what to say. You need to sleep in late and wake up early and drink three cups of coffee instead of two just because you feel like it. You need to find the good and hold onto that and open your heart and let yourself think that you're worth every damn second that you're on this planet and living this life.

Because in the end, none of it matters if it didn't make you feel something.

Okay, so here's the thing...

(You know what I'm going to say is going to be a rant when I start with those words.)

The people who live above me have a 10-year-old daughter who plays piano. Their piano is right above my living room, so for the past two years, I have listened to her practice. Every day. Loudly. This is fine. I took piano lessons for close to 10 years. I understand the need/desire to practice your little behind off to get those songs perfected. This is not the problem.

The problem is that she feels the need to try to play everything as fast as she possibly can. Fast until she hits a difficult part, then she slows down, then speeds up again once she's comfortable. No matter how it's supposed to sound. And hey, I used to do this to, to a degree. Every kid did. Hell, my brother learned to play The Entertainer from memory while laying backwards on the piano stool (he's special).

However, she also doesn't stop when she makes mistakes. She just keeps going each time she stumbles. This is fine in a performance, but how is she to learn the song if she doesn't address the mistakes?! I almost want to call her teacher and ask how she's telling the girl to practice. Mine (Sharon, a wonderful woman and great teacher) always told me that any time you make a mistake, you start over at the beginning of the song. I can't tell you how many times I had to start over, or how many hours I spent going over the same songs until I got them committed to memory and perfected. But I got them perfect.

And yes, (to quote AI) we're talkin' 'bout a practice.

And now she's learning scales. I'm impressed, actually. A lot of instructors, unless the student is learning conservatory, bypass scales altogether. This is mind-boggling to me. Absolutely insane. How any self-respecting music teacher could bypass teaching the scale is beyond me. I just do not understand. Anyway, she is learning scales, and again, she's playing them as quickly as she can, making mistakes and not correcting them. There's no point to learning scales if you're not going to learn them correctly.

It's driving me insane! I want to buy her a metronome and teach her how to use it. I think it'd be out of line if I did that very thing...

And yes, I did used to teach music. I taught saxophone and flute to several students, and I ran a children's choir when I was in high school. I'm not an expert, by any means, but I do think I know what I'm talking about.

A musician is not a musician if they cannot keep time.

Do you ever get the feeling that every person you talk to is just waiting for you to finish talking so that they can talk about themselves? That's kind of what I'm dealing with right now. And the thing is? I'm the one feeling selfish! It makes me feel bad to want to get a word or two in. It's not like I want a stage and a microphone and a captive audience, I just don't want to feel bad for bringing up my own points.

But as my friend put it today when we were talking about this (she's going through the same thing): "Didn't you realize you aren't allowed to have problems?"

I'm a relatively private person. I don't like to share all my business, and I don't exactly offer up information about myself unless I'm asked (this blog excluded). That doesn't mean that I don't want to talk about anything ever. It's exhausting - legitimately draining - to listen to people talk about themselves all the time.

I could never be a therapist.

I know that I probably shouldn't love this show nearly as much as I do, but I don't care. I don't care who knows it, and I don't care if it makes me a total nerd to admit it (that's never stopped me before).

This show is so fantastic. It is hilarious, for starters. The humour is understated and just perfect. These actors are perfectly cast. It's not as unrealistic as most shows on television today.

But that's not why I love it. Obviously, I love it for the music. This show makes singing cool again. I remember being in high school and in choir, and we had to beg and plead for people to join. Of course, once one of the popular guys joined, six of the popular guys joined... But Glee makes it okay for people to enjoy singing. I adore it.

I cannot wait to see the changes this is going to bring to kids in high schools all over. High School Musical has done it's part. Glee's going to take that over and do one better. I bet you'll see glee clubs popping up in schools that never had a real music program. It'll be great.

And no, I'm not over-exaggerating. Not at all.

Someone (Jo) asked for my 'workout playlist'. It's a bit bi-polar. That shouldn't surprise you. It's about 80 songs long (not bad for someone who doesn't work out, huh?) so I'll just pick the essentials - the songs that I always seem to gravitate to when I do in fact go for a run or whatever (doesn't happen often.)

You Belong With Me - T. Swift
Shine - Laura Izibor
No One - A. Keys
Love Don't Live Here - Lady A.
Blame It - Jamie Foxx
Touch the Sky - Kanye
A Lot Like Me - Dave Barnes
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy
Respect - Aretha (I mean, come on...)
Just a Memory - Jason Blaine
Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
From My Heart to Yours - Laura Izibor
Real Good Thing - Marc Broussard
Getyourway - David Ryan Harris
Bad - MJ
Dirty Diana - MJ
In Love With a Girl - Gavin DeGraw
Get to Know Ya - Maxwell
360 - Josh Hoge
Tattoo - Jordin Sparks
Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away - Vince Gill
Love Song for No One - John Mayer
Señiorita - JT
Irreplaceable - Beyoncé

So there you go. A little taste. But here's the thing, you have to know what gets your own heart going and your adrenaline pumping. Apparently for me, that's a little bit of everything.

I drank three coffees today before 9:00. I am wired. I am listening to mellow music in an attempt to calm myself down. It's not working. Apparently, caffeine highs are immune to the effects of Damien Rice and David Gray.

Who knew?

Maybe I'm going about this wrong. Maybe I need to listen to something that's going to make me chair dance (I do this a lot and don't care who sees; besides, my coworkers are used to it by now). I need to work off the caffeine. My stomach hurts. I have no attention span. It is very, very counterproductive.

Now...Where's my playlist of 'workout' music.

Note: I don't really work out. I just made the playlist because I thought it might motivate me. That plan didn't quite pan out...

As you have probably guessed from previous posts, I have an intense connection to my CD collection (I say connection instead of obsession...it just sounds nicer. And it's probably more accurate). Today, as I was slipping some albums back into their rightful places after swapping out some of the albums in my car with new ones (this happens about once every two weeks), I decided to do something fun.

Recently, I haven't found any new music I've felt like buying. Nothing has really spoken to me lately, and so I've been listening to the standbys (those being, Continuum, Little Voice, Everything She Was, Carencro, Chasing Mississippi, et. al.) instead of buying new albums. I spent a half hour in HMV yesterday looking for something - anything - new to listen to, but nothing grabbed me. I came home empty handed. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I left a record store without buying something. It just doesn't happen. Which explains why I have 400 albums (give or take) sitting on the shelf next to me.

So I decided that I need to reconnect with the music I already have. Instead of searching for something new, I should search for gems (albums, songs, lyrics) among my existing collection. The problem with this is that I always seem to gravitate towards the same albums or artists. The failsafes.

So how do I propose to remedy this? Funny you should ask!

I'm going to listen to my entire collection in alphabetical order. Aaliyah (she's playing now!) to Hank Williams. Every genre, every artist, every song. I will skip nothing. Of course, I'll listen to other stuff in this time period. For instance, at work, I'll listen to myTunes on my laptop, obviously, and deviate from the plan, but I'm allowing myself that. It's when I'm at home that I'll stick to listening to my albums this way.

It'll be fun. This will take me weeks of time. I am excited about this.

And really, that's what I've been searching for these past few weeks; something to get me excited about music again.

Had a very strange day today, and it threw me off balance. It happens sometimes. Weird encounters and weird phone calls and just...weirdness.

I needed something to restore the balance, and I needed something I could be in control of. So I grabbed my keys and got in my car. Driving always clears my head, and something about having my hands on the wheel and being the one who makes all the choices (with very few variables) is ridiculously empowering and soothing to me.

I drove my favourite route along the ocean with the windows down and John Mayer playing. I don't exaggerate when I say that his music can get me through anything. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to Continuum. I honestly don't know. A staggering amount, whatever it is.

Tonight, I turned Gravity up real, real loud and let myself believe that maybe I finally know the place JM was in when he wrote that song; a song I've loved since first listen. (It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees.)

Tonight, Stop This Train seemed to hit my heart a little more than usual. (So scared of getting older. I'm only good at being young.)

Tonight, In Repair was kind of like a promise that (not now, but soon) I'll be able to listen to that song and have it mean what it's supposed to mean. (I'm not together, but I'm getting there.)

So the music did exactly what I hoped it'd do. I didn't have a lot of hope that it would, to be honest. I should have had more faith in John.