I love Wilco so dearly, and this song makes me happy.
I left you behind I know its been along time, but I’m not over you
Don’t forget the flowers someday, I hope I do
You’re tryin’ my patience, try pink carnations, red roses and yellow
daffodils
Don’t forget the flowers someday
I know I will
Don’t forget the flowers someday, I know I will
Reading the lyrics I realized it’s actually kinda sad.
Dire Straits think they sound like Dylan, but Dylan is just starting to sound more and more like Dire Straits.
Today was another beautiful Northern California day, and I’m a little sad to be moving to the big city so soon. This song came on and brought weird, complex, not easily describable feelings.
I saw Brand New with Modest Mouse at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA on Thursday July 28. Here are my thoughts. (Disclaimer: written at 3am)
Brand New and Modest Mouse are embarking on a tour together as co-headliners which is an interesting concept. There are no opening bands which I’m definitely okay with, and both bands play headlining sets. It seems like a great idea for fans and for marketing purposes, but in reality it’s a bit awkward. The tour managers should have realized that Brand New and Modest Mouse do not have the same fan base. Brand New is simply far more emo/punk rock/generally louder than Modest Mouse.
It also appeared that the majority of concertgoers were there for Brand New, and so the Modest Mouse set was very mellow and not all that enthusiastic. The band actually tried to punk-up their music probably to blend better with Brand New. Everything went a lot harder than in the recorded version, but still the crowd wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.
I actually really did enjoy Modest Mouse’s set. I thought it sounded great and was super fun. It was just conspicuously less exciting than Brand New’s set. There were a few people around me and my date in Modest Mouse shirts who left partway into Brand New’s set. Whether they were unaware of how emo Brand New is or simply had only bought a ticket to see Modest Mouse I do not know, but regardless I felt bad for them. The tour was advertised as two bands playing equal sets, but this was obviously not the case. The Modest Mouse fans got short changed.
The energy of the crowd and the stage changed drastically for Brand New’s set. Roadies wheeled huge panels of LED lights onstage providing us with awesome visuals throughout Brand New’s set, and the mosh pit was extremely (perhaps terrifyingly) energetic for Brand New.
Brand New’s set was really everything I hoped for. I’d seen Brand New three times before and heard them play the majority of my favorite songs. The only songs I hadn’t seen and desired to hear live were a few songs off Deja. And they played them! I was so freaking excited! (Please read my previous posts about Brand New to hear more about the band’s music and my personal connection to/thoughts on the band).
My date and I hung back a little so we wouldn’t get pushed which was a good call. I go to a lot of shows, and I totally love to get sweaty, pushed around and feel the crowd. However, the first time I saw Brand New at the Fox in Oakland the crowd up front was so aggressive I couldn’t even stand up (I’m a small person and stand O chance in a pushing match with big male concertgoers). When I saw Brand New in Barcelona and Paris the crowd was rowdy but much more mellow and perfect for me. I didn’t want to deal with fearing for my body this time around so we hung back. I’m glad we did. I’ve never seen the Greek that rowdy. The pit was totally insane (there was even a huge meathead guy who took his shirt off), and crowd surfers were flying every which way. There was even a rogue fangirl who jumped up on stage and got tackled by security! Basically it was really exciting and a typically rambunctious & punk rock Brand New show that I was happy to watch from a comfortable distance. Also we had a perfect view of the stage from where we were.
It was a great set. The crowd was into it. Jesse was into it. Vin was fucking crazy into it. The sound was good. The lights were dope. And everything had this exciting but sad feeling of finality. Goodbye tours tend to be the best.
I promised a Mobo post a long time ago and never delivered. I’m sorry! Here it is.
I honestly don’t remember how I discovered Modern Baseball. I think I got into Tigers Jaw (post will come) first and then just kept exploring the Run for Cover Records family. Sidenote: RFC is the freaking best record company in the universe. They have wonderful bands that they treat well, and the record company itself is composed of the coolest guys ever. I stopped watching Tuesdays With Tay, but my god it used to be my favorite Tuesday ritual. Bean Dip and Alex are the coolest guys ever and Tay is so funny. If you don’t already support RFC please consider checking out their bands, buying their merch and watching their funny videos.
So I found Modern Baseball somehow. Then I hardcore fell for Sports. The whole record is perfect. The lyrics said exactly everything I was feeling as a sad little sophomore in high school and the music is fun and upbeat and quirky. “The Weekend” literally articulated everything I was feeling while also being fun and happy and way too catchy. Also Brendan’s vocals are just perfectly pop punk but with a fun nerd rock twist. IT IS SO IRRESISTIBLE.
Also their image is just too perfect. I mean some pop punk bands simply aren’t believable because the band members all look like god damn male models with chiseled muscles and frat boy clothing (talking about you Parker Cannon of The Story So Far). Modern Baseball is believable. Ian Farmer is a total ragamuffin nerd, Brendan is quite pudgy, and Jake is a nerdy looking short guy. You know these guys really were miserable in high school. It just makes the music feel that much more honest. The lyrics are all quite introspective and actually come off as extremely emotionally mature and self aware, but you also know they’re teenagers. I think I like pop punk because it’s generally (maybe surprisingly) so genuine, self reflective, and honest as a genre.
Anyways Sports is a perfect record. I was going to pick out my favorite songs, but honestly I like every song on that album. Hours Outside in the Snow or The Weekend or Coals or Tears Over Beers likely my favorites.
Then I discovered their old EPs and splits and COULD NOT STOP listening to “It’s Cold Out Here.”
Then they released “You’re Gonna Miss it All” right before I saw them on a super small stage in Oakland with a bunch of other more punk bands. YGMIA never disappointed for a second. I think it’s a wonderful record, and I love tons of songs off of it (namely Apartment and Rock Bottom). However, it never really earned the same place in my heart that Sports inhabits. I think that’s mostly due to timing and when I discovered Sports. Anyways, the show was awesome. Modern Baseball looked so funny and cute and not punk compared to the other bands playing the venue that evening. It was before they kinda blew up and you could really feel the excitement of the crowd. We knew that they were good and that people would know about them.
And they did blow up (for a pop punk RFC band). You’re Gonna Miss it All sold a lot and “Your Graduation” was a big hit. I actually even occasionally see it on Apple Music playlists!!! Also the New York Times recently did a piece on the band so you know they’ve basically made it.
Anyways I love them dearly and only wish the very best for Brendan, Jake, Ian and Sean. Thank you guys for always liking my tweets about your band and being nice cool people. Thank you for being nerdy guys in a pop punk band who don’t care about looking cool. Sending much pop punk love your way.
P.S. I have the Into It Over It shirt Brendan is wearing in the picture above!
UPDATE: I was just reading an AV Club article about MoBo’s desire to create a safe place at their shows and came upon this quote from Jake: “I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be a 16-year-old girl and love music and really want to play music—but go to a show and see four men on a stage, followed by four men on a stage, followed by four men on a stage. They have to think that the chance of becoming part of that feels so slim.” It’s so damn cool that he realizes how white and male pop punk is and wants to change it.
I’ve loved the Arctic Monkeys for a very long time. I saw them two years ago and was fully satisfied by their live performance. Alex Turner’s obsessive hair combing and pruning drove my ex-boyfriend insane (I also found it a bit obnoxious), but beyond that it was a great show. This song is so god damn hot and great. Favourite Worst Nightmare has to be one of my all time favorite albums.
Good morning lovely followers! I’m off to LA for the weekend and may not be posting much. Sending much musical love your way.
I discovered Bright Eyes when I was pretty young (before high school) and totally loved them. I worshiped Dylan and saw Conor as a similar beast. I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, LIFTED, and Fevers and Mirrors (later) were some of my favorite albums. Conor’s lyrics were always so introspective and brutally honest, and his melodies were always folk-punk-indie-bluegrass-rock magic. And then I discovered Conor’s 2008 solo album as a Sophomore when I was going through a tough time. Some of the songs were so brutally heart-wrenching, and I loved it. It felt more sincere and real than most things I’d heard.
And then Conor released his new solo album Upside Down Mountain the summer after that sophomore year. I vividly remember me and my ex-boyfriend being so excited to hear his new music and us listening through the whole thing on the 1-California late at night coming home from a show. What immediately struck us when we heard the first song, “Time Forgot,” was “holy shit Conor isn’t sad anymore.” We were happy for him! Really happy. I felt like I’d been there with him during the depression of his self titled album, and it was wonderful to see him move on to happier times. I love Upside Down Mountain. I think before that album I felt like good lyrics had to be either sad or about romantic love. Conor’s lyrics in that album showed me what else could be good fodder for song. Below are some of my favorite verses from “Hundreds of Ways,” the third song on the album.
What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ashen remnants of our love
It came before and I’m still looking for that now
It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was
“Take your pictures folks it’s late, try your best please to remember what was done.”
Don’t look so forlorn
Don’t you look so scared
Don’t get so upset
This world was never fair
But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one
I think part of my problem was I felt like happy lyrics were never legit. Conor’s lyrics in the album are honest about how fucking difficult it can be to be happy, but that it’s POSSIBLE and WORTH it (also, of course, we know from his past albums about his sadness).
Anyways. Conor Oberst is wonderful, and everyone should listen to him beyond just the Bright Eyes stuff.
I feel like “beach music” sounds a bit degrading, but I mean it in the best way possible. When I go to the beach I just lie there looking at the waves for hours doing nothing. I bring my portable speaker, put on an album and just listen and space out. It’s actually pretty concentrated music listening time.
Sidenote: I am a HUGE believer in concentrated music listening time. I think it’s super important to occasionally stop what you’re doing and actually LISTEN. Listen to the harmonies, the bassline, the drums, the timbre of the singer’s voice etc. We have a bit of an epidemic of listening to music only as background music. I think it partly has to do with the ease with which we can access and play digital music. We just shuffle a playlist while working or cooking or showering or driving etc. In the days of vinyl it took more time and physical effort to listen to something, and so we were more focused on the music. This whole phenomenon also contributes to an album-less culture. We don’t listen to full albums anymore since the invention of digital music. Anyways. I wrote an article about this recently for my school’s newspaper. I will post it.
Back to Paul Simon. Today at the beach I listened through most of Graceland. Paul Simon has been touring and working with a group of African drummers and back-up singers for many years now, and their presence on Graceland is really what gives the album the slightly bouncy and extremely happy mildly sacred feeling. It was really perfect for the waves and wind.
My favorite lines from the album:
Paul Simon’s lyrics are actually really funny sometimes. They’re lighthearted and amusing but also poetic genius. Can’t really get better than that.
