R.I.P. John Lennon. October 9th, 1940 - December 8th, 1980.

I don't know if I've just been over-emotional lately, but it's gotten to the point where every time I listen to a song by the Beatles, or see a video of them on the internet, or watch "A Hard Day's Night," "Help," or any documentary on DVD, I start crying. Not like how the girls during Beatlemania cried with excitement or joy. No, these are emotionally draining, actually sad tears. It isn't just that today is the anniversary of John Lennon's death, as sad as that is.

What it really is, I think, is the slow realization that as phenomenal as they were and are, I will only understand on a basic level their influence on culture because I've lived during everything that has happened after them. Although I know the history of the 1950's and 1960's and I love the music from that era, I will never actually fully understand what it was like to be a part of that time. I've listened to the Beatles my entire life so I will never know what it's like to hear one of their albums for the first time and be completely blown away. As much as I love the Beatles, they don't sound as ground-breaking or different to me as they did to everyone else when they first came out, because I've heard all the music they've influenced since then.

I will never be able to say I saw them live. They formed, broke up, and John Lennon died all before I was born, and George Harrison died when I was in middle school. Anytime I see them or hear them, I'm blown away by how charismatic they were together, but I will never get to see that play out in real life.

I know millions of others share my pain, and those who were around in the 1960's most likely feel sad not because they didn't get to experience them, but because they did get to and now they know what they are missing by not getting to experience them anymore.

The Beatles as solo artists never could reach the same success they did when they made up the entity of the band. They forever were and are defined, and sometimes haunted, by being a member of The Beatles. I can't really think of any other bands who were so tightly defined that they couldn't break ties with their musical past. The four of them pushed each other as song writers, musicians, and innovators, and their competitiveness with each other made them as strong of musicians as they were. In the end, their differences broke them, but they never found the same push from anyone else. Or the same type of charisma.

Rest in peace John Lennon.

The Etymology of The Grateful Dead's "Ripple"

Driving in the car the other day, I was listening to my "Top 25 most played" itunes playlist, the 25 songs that have gotten the most hits on my ipod. Naturally, my all-time favorite song appeared, "Ripple" by the Grateful Dead.

I first heard this song at summer camp at thirteen or fourteen years old when the two music directors sang it for the talent show. It has stuck with me ever since then. I sought it out when I got home from camp, discovering it on one of the Grateful Dead's most known albums, "American Beauty." The song then single-handedly turned me on to this entire album, which remains one of my favorite albums of all-time. Well-known tracks on this album include "Box of Rain," "Friend of the Devil," "Truckin'," and one of my other favorite tunes, "Attics of my Life."

My twelfth grade English teacher was a hard-rock and heavy metal kind of guy, always playing songs by Metallica or AC/DC on Music Day (a talent show soley devoted to playing and singing music). He commented one day in English class about how he heard a Grateful Dead song playing at REI and how their songs always seemed really boring - slow and minimal with not a lot of guitar or drums. I didn't really see the need to argue back since it was only his opinion and just a slight comment side-tracking from Hamlet or The Bell Jar or something similar that we were discussing that day. However, with that comment, I immediatley thought of my favorite song, "Ripple," and I realized, although quite randomly, that it was the perfect song to put on my senior yearbook page. It was a slow song, but it wasn't minimal; it was my entire world.

Seniors decorate their yearbook page with their graduation photo as well as other photos from childhood or with family and friends. Oftentimes, a senior would decide to put inspirational quotes on his or her page often about moving forward or always remembering his past. "Ripple" is about finding your own path without the help from others, no matter how scary that journey may be. It was the perfect song to use. And I didn't just want to use one lyric, I wanted to use the entire song, because they were words I often repeated to myself in times when I needed to be strong. I wanted to forever commemorate the advice I tried to live by, so I dedicated half of my entire yearbook page to the lyrics that follow:

"If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine,
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music?
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps they're better left unsung.
I don't know, don't really care,
Let there be songs to fill the air.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.

There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.

Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone,
If you should stand, then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way, I would take you home."

The song says it all: even when nobody throws a pebble into the water and there is no wind to blow, a ripple can still form in still water. It's hard to do, but when it does, it does it on its own. I was trying to be that ripple - I was trying to move forward from high school and form myself into who I was going to be in college. If I fell down, I would fall alone, and have to pick myself back up. Nobody would be there to completely guide my life, because everyone has his or her own path, and my path was for my own steps, and "my steps alone."

My favorite line of the song is the very last line, "If I knew the way, I would take you home." The singer would guide me back home if he was able, but unfortunately, he doesn't know the way. I'm on my own, but it isn't sad; it's empowering.







More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/g/grateful+dead/#share

More Song Quotes I've Used As Facebook Statuses

Almost all of my facebook statuses are song lyrics. Sometimes people have commented on my "poetry" and I've had to explain that I did not in fact write them. I use facebook in the same way that I use my blog in that I try to express my taste in music. I previously posted a list of song quotes I've used as facebook statuses, so here is a new list comprised of songs I've used since that last list.

To see the original list, click here.

- "Where did all the shadow people go?" - "Shadow People" by Dr. Dog

- "When I wrap my arms around you , Every mistake we made crumbles, When I wrap my arms around you, Everything echoes a new song..." - "To Be Surprised" by Sondre Lerche

- "I know we've come so far but we got so far to go...." - "I Know We've Come So Far" from Hairspray the Musical

- "And I don't want to ball about like everybody else, And I don't want to live my life like everybody else, And I won't say that I feel fine like everybody else, 'Cause I'm not like everybody else..." - "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" by The Kinks

- "Even though I'm crazy, I'm still a fool for you..." - "Wild One" by Those Darlins

- "I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round..." - "Watching the Wheels" by John Lennon

- "And just because you just don't feel like coming home, don't mean that you'll never arrive..." - "Move On" by Jet

- "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." -"The Sounds of Music" from The Sound of Music

- "We represent the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild, the lollipop guild, and in the name of the lollipop guild, we'd like to welcome you to munchkin land!" - "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz

- "So kiss me hard, 'cuz this will be the last time that I let you..." - "The Best Deceptions" by Dashboard Confessional

- "Just like the plans you make, one day the dam will break..." - "The Dam Will Break" by Jesse Harris

- "And I say hey! What a wonderful kind of day, where you can learn to work and play, and get along with each other..." - Theme song from the kid's television show on PBS, "Arthur"

- "Let this be our little secret, No one needs to know we're feeling, Higher and higher and higher, Higher and higher and higher..." - "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit

- "Old glasses clinking and a new order's blinking, and I should be floating but I'm weighted by thinking..." - "What Would I Want? Sky" by Animal Collective

- "I got the magic in me, every time I touch that track it turns into gold..." - "Magic" by B.O.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo from Weezer

- "I don't give a damn about my bad reputation..." - "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett

- "‎'Cause what's so simple in the moonlight by the morning never is..." - "Lua" by Bright Eyes

- "I wanna be a billionaire so freakin' bad..." - "Billionaire" (radio version) by Travie McCoy

Songs for Break Ups: Men vs. Women

A while back, my friend was going through a tough break up and asked me to put together a playlist for her of breakup songs. I went through my entire itunes library (thousands of songs) and compiled a playlist of 100 or so songs. I found songs about regret, songs about revenge, lost love, the celebration of single life, infidelity, sadness, longing, and so on. Going through my entire song library took a few hours, and I was so proud of the result, that I added the playlist to my ipod to play in my car. It took a few car trips to get through the entire list, but once I did, I realized something:

Most of these songs were written and sung by men about the women they have lost.

Even Elton John, an open homosexual, sings about a woman rather than a man in his song "Tiny Dancer" (singing ,"blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for a band...) An exception is when Thom Yorke from Radiohead sings about what appears to be another male in "High and Dry" (addressing who he sings to as "boy").

There are a few women musicians who do appear on my playlist, but they are in the minority. Included is Sheryl Crow singing "Strong Enough", "My Favorite Mistake" and "If It Makes You Happy", as well as Beyonce singing about the joys of being single in "Single Ladies." The Indigo Girls also appear, in the song "Blood and Fire".

Even after a break up with a man, I wonder why I seem to take comfort in, connect with, and enjoy more male singers than female. I can safely say that most of the bands in my itunes are lead by men. Even though I have always been attracted to men who can play an instrument or write songs, a lot of the music I listen to sincerely has nothing to do with that - I don't even know what some of the artists I enjoy look like and I truly do just enjoy their music. I wouldn't dare say that men can write or sing better than women, because I know that isn't true. Is it just that there are less successful female musicians? I know that the music business is mostly dominated by men.

When I spent the summer networking, I met with a few women who told me that they were excited another female was trying to make it in the music world since most companies and businesses in the field are lead by middle-aged men who don't necessarily have a grasp on current or "hip" music. I didn't even realize that women were in the minority until I was told that. Being a woman has never been something that I've needed to "struggle through" or "get past" in order to find success. Perhaps attending a women's college helped, but more importantly, I've always loved music, and I let that knowledge steer my path. I never let the fact that I am a woman in a male-dominated profession stand in my way because I never even once considered it something to worry about.

Although none appeared on my break up mix (although now that I think about it, they very well should have), three bands that I immediately think of with female leads and male back-up musicians are Garbage, Blondie, and The Pretenders. I could have easily put Garbage's song "Special" in the playlist, which very closely resembles any song Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders has written and sung. Debby Harry from Blondie embraced the punk scene of the 1970's, also seemingly dominated by men, and continues to make music to this day, while the men in her band sing the backup vocals to her lyrics. On the rap/hip-hop end, Fergie leads the otherwise male cast of the group The Black Eyed Peas, and rap music is another example of a genre made up mostly of men. However, because I am not a huge rap fan, I did not include Black Eyed Peas in this itunes mix. Let's also not forget about all-female rock groups like The Runaways (arguably the first all-woman rock band), Heart, or The Donnas, although unfortunately none of these bands appear on my playlist either.

I'm not sure if I have an answer as to why I seem to connect more to male musicians, as evidenced in my playlist of break-up songs. Maybe women, for fear of being "sappy" and "emotional", have started bands to show how tough they are by how hard they can rock, whereas male musicians don't fear being labeled these terms because they know that once they start a band, "women will fall head-over-heels for them." Even I admitted earlier that I fall for a guy who can play a guitar. This begs an entirely different question: do men fall just as hard for women who play guitars?

All I know is, if I were going through a break up, even if I did listen to some hard-hitting revenge songs, the slow, teary, sad songs would resonate more with me, because I would take comfort in crying my eyes out for a few weeks or so. Eventually, I would become a tough girl again, shouting and yelling to all of those who have wronged me, and that's when I would make a new playlist: "songs from women you don't want to mess with."

The Underground Velvet Show with DJ Greer, September 2009 to May 2010

To Whom It May Concern:

When I joined the staff of Claremont's radio station, 88.7 FM KSPC "The Space," I was interested in working in the promotions department because I had previously worked promotions for a classic rock station over the summer in Seattle, 102.5 FM KZOK. At the time, I had no interest in becoming a DJ because I was intimidated by it, and would have rather participated behind the scenes than have to be directly in the spotlight. However, I had always enjoyed being in charge of the music at parties or road trips - I would plan in my head what songs and in what order I wanted to play songs off of my ipod in the car, or I would make playlists on itunes with various themes ("songs for summer", "songs for when it rains", "songs about traveling", "anti-love songs") and continuously re-organize the order in which they appeared until I felt like it was absolutely perfect. I secretly envied those at the station who were brave enough to have a live radio show, so finally I decided I was going to make myself become one of them too.

When I became a DJ for KSPC, I wanted to devote my show to 1960's garage and psychedelic rock, calling my show "The Underground Velvet Show", an underground/indie show playing off of the name of the 1960's band lead by Lou Reed and produced by Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground. However, one of the most important guidelines of the station was that it was necessary to play 50% new music on each show. The KSPC library has thousands of records and CDs to choose from, and you had to pick music from its library and not bring your own music into the station to play.

What I decided to do, then, was still devote half of my two-hour show to the 1960s by playing whatever music from that era that I could find, and then for the second hour, play "new" music (music that had come out in the last year or so) that sounded like it could have come right out of the 1960s. Now, it's probably true that the 1960's were the most influential time for music and pop culture, and anything you listen to today is in some way connected to the music from 40 to 50 years ago. However, the music I chose would either have a reference to the 1960's in their band or album name (i.e. the band Harlem's album "Hippies" directly references the culture of that era) or would sound very distinctly like a band from the 1960's (the band Dr. Dog doesn't just sound like it was influenced by the Beatles, since pretty much any band is, but their songs sound like a modern day interpretation of anything that could potentially appear on "Rubber Soul"). I also found many modern day artists singing covers of 1960's songs (Cat Power's covers album called The Covers Record has both songs by the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground, and the Japanese band Shonen Knife has a version of Paul McCartney and Wing's song "Jet" on their album named Super Group.) I also found cover albums of The Troggs (of "Love is All Around Me" and "Wild Thing" fame) and The Shaggs (an all-girl group of sisters whose dad took them out of school and made them start a band, paying for voice and instrument lessons, so that they could self-fulfill what a psychic told him, that his daughters would find fame in a band. "Philosophy of the World" was their most popular song, but it was never actually popular. Frank Zappa dubbed them, hopefully jokingly, "better than the Beatles.")

However, I also found that it was important to play music that influenced the music of the 1960's. I discovered in the KSPC library a lot of Americana bands to play, from country to bluegrass to blues, folk, and mountain music. Bob Dylan so openly discussed his love for his idol Woody Guthrie, so I found several Woody Guthrie albums I played weekly, as well as versions of the song "Rain and Snow" (a mountain song the Grateful Dead often covered) and the original recordings of songs otherwise heard in the film "O Brother Where Art Thou", like Dick Burnett's song "Man of Constant Sorrow." Many of these Americana songs could be found on compilation albums put out by labels like Smithsonian Folkways (the non-profit label of the Smithsonian Institute) or Putomayo, a label known for finding songs from around the world and putting them together for compilations.

An important aspect of having a radio show is learning how to successfully make each song flow into the next - it would be too startling to a listener for the DJ to play a quiet, harmonica-filled folk song, and then all of a sudden blast a punk song heavy on the drums and amps. Thus, I would start my radio show each week with a Velvet Underground song, continue with 1960's garage and psychedelic rock, end that section with a Johnny Cash song, flow into Americana, end that section with a song by a band like She & Him, which is heavily influenced by 1940's and 1950's music (made up of the actress Zooey Deschenal and the solo artist Matt Ward, who also plays as M. Ward and joined up with Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and Jim James of My Morning Jacket to form Monsters of Folk). Because She & Him is a modern Americana-type band, from there I could easily flow into the "new" artist section of my show.

Because I wanted to maintain the Velvet Underground theme of my show, I would play three VU songs each show (the maximum number of songs you could play from a single band each show), one at the very beginning of the show, one at the top of the next hour, and one long song to close my show. The Velvet Underground has always been an interesting band to me in that they had various types of songs, some sounding psychedelic, some sounding like early electronic, some sounding extremely poppy, and others sounding very brash, fast, loud and heavy, like garage rock (For examples, see "Heroin" from the album The Velvet Underground and Nico, "White Light/White Heat" off of the album of the same name, "Sweet Jane" from Loaded, and "The Murder Mystery" from The Velvet Underground self titled, respectively.) Thus, it was relatively easy to find a Velvet Underground song to mix into the genre of music I was playing at any given moment.

Recently I had the KSPC program director, Erica Tyron, send me four of my shows so I could use them as samples in case needed for my resume in the future. These serve as good examples of how I was able to make the songs flow. One can also hear how I had to think quickly in certain instances when a record or CD would skip, or I would unknowingly play a song with explicit content and then have to fade out. These types of mistakes were more prominent in my earlier radio shows (September to December 2009) than in my later ones (January to May 2010), yet even an expert DJ has to deal with these types of problems from time to time. I always made sure that I had three songs set up to play, so that if I had to fade out on one, I could right away play the next one without being too obvious about the mistake I made. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't learn how to play a record until I became a DJ for the station. It always intimidated me, for whatever reason, and I was proud to be able to experiment with vinyl on my show, mimicking the  DJs actually from the 1960's (today's mainstream DJ's use mp3's on a computer. It was exceptional that KSPC required CDs and vinyl.)

Having some idea of the type of music I wanted to play each week did help, otherwise it would be hard to navigate through the thousands of options available at the station. I would first go to the older music, all alphabetical, and search under "V" for Velvet Underground. From there, I would go to the compilation section and pick albums with a blue sticker, blue standing for "Americana." Then I would move to the "new" music section and look at the album covers and read the review of the artist. I would normally get to the station an hour before my show came on to give me plenty of time to pick out all the music I wanted to play. I didn't always sample the songs before I played them, sometimes leading to songs I wasn't fond of, but after a few months of practice, I had a good idea of what the music sounded like, and I would also go by listeners' requests. I would recommend, if ever becoming a DJ, to definitely listen to the music you are considering playing, unlike what I did.

I loved being a DJ, and I wish I could find a station that would so openly accept me in the same fashion that KSPC did. Unfortunately, it's difficult to become a DJ outside of college, although I would love to do it if given the chance. My only regret is that I didn't become a DJ sooner, so that I would have more than one year of experience to show for myself. That one year, my senior year of college, will always be one of my fondest memories. Thankfully music will always live on.

Sincerely,

DJ Greer of the Underground Velvet Show

A few updates

A few things to note before I update my next post:

I was active at my college radio station, KSPC, throughout college, doing promotions work. I went abroad to Paris for the spring 2009 semester and was not able to participate at the station while I was gone. Instead of applying to be the Promotions Director for when I returned, I decided instead to apply to be a DJ and host a radio show. In earlier posts on this blog, I complained about the library at KSPC and how I hadn't heard of most of the bands. Turns out I loved being a DJ, discovered a lot of great bands, and found my "sound" for my show, dubbing it the Underground Velvet Show, an homage to the 1960's band The Velvet Underground.

I graduated in May from Scripps and spent the summer networking and looking for jobs within the music business back in Seattle. I met with a lot of people, but finding a job became more and more difficult. I have now started to look into internships or any other possible music opportunity I can find.

I have been thinking a lot about my goals for the next few years. I haven't been writing much and I haven't been reading much, but after attending a neighbor's book signing party last night (her first published book!) I realize that it is time for me to get back in the game. Instead of spending my free time on facebook or reading about celebrity gossip, I should really be doing things more productive that will help me with my career in the long-run. I seriously need to get back into writing - not just blog writing, but fiction and creative nonfiction, which I also have always loved but took a break from once I graduated. I felt burnt out after college - as an English major, I was tired of reading and writing - but it has been a few months and it is time to start up again. I know I keep saying that I will be better about updating this blog, and I haven't been. But now, more than ever, I have to make myself. I wish I knew more about html and graphic design, because the layout and format of this blog is very basic, but I will really have to make the writing count. I have a few ideas for blog entries that I really have to start on, and when I am not doing that, I need to be working on my creative writing too.

So, here goes nothing!

Bands to Check Out

You know what's cool about interning at a record label?


Well okay, lots of things are cool about it. But one thing in particular right now is all the music I am exposed to that I otherwise wouldn't know about.


One of the projects I am currently working on is finding artists on http://www.last.fm, a website where you can create playlists and network with other music lovers, and right now I'm looking for bands that have similar styles to the bands at Sarathan. All music, no matter how original it is, is still influenced by other bands, styles, genres, and sounds.


Thus, most of my day consists of listening to artists that appear on the playlists I have created on last.fm. I can type in "'60s garage rock" and bands like the Kinks, Rolling Stones, LOVE, The Beau Brummels, and others will pop up. When a band appears on the playlist on last.fm, you can then read their biography and what other people have said about the song that is playing. To experience more recent music, today I typed in "Grizzly Bear, Local Natives, and No Age", three bands said to have similar styles to Feral Children. The list of bands that I discovered could go on forever, but some of my favorites I heard were The Morning Benders (try the song "Waiting for a War"), The Wavves singing "Convertible Balloon", Volcano Choir's song "Husks and Shells" (cool fact: the musicians in Volcano Choir also make up the band Bon Iver) and FanFarlo singing "Harold T. Wilkins or How to Wait for a Very Long Time." I'll leave it up to you to decide how similar these bands sound to Feral Children, but even if you don't agree, hopefully you'll still enjoy the songs!

From GaGa to the Underground

As the new intern here at Sarathan Records, I was asked to write a blog post about anything my little heart desires. I decided, then, to write about the people here at Sarathan.

There's something to be said for Sarathan's motto on the blog: "The best music from the nicest people in the music business."

As somebody who is eager to pursue a career in the music industry, I've met my fair share of people through networking meetings, interviews, and phone conversations. I can safely say that I've talked to almost all of the music elitists in Seattle, from record label managers to radio station personnel to music venue owners. One person told me that I wasn't right for his position and then proceeded to get the name of his radio station wrong as he walked me out the door. Another person told me there was no hope in finding a career in music business and that there was no money to be made anyway, and of course, as he said, it is all about the money. I'm not here to bash or rant on what the music industry has become, I merely wish to make the point that today, with the economy where it is and with technology consuming our lives the way it does, the people at Sarathan really are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

Not only does this hold true - which is a big claim to make but I am happy to back up if needed - but they actually know about music. Surprisingly, it isn't as common as you would hope that those that are working in the music industry actually have a passion for their work. Of course Sarathan knows about the bands it's promoting, but those that work here, their knowledge goes far beyond their own music.

Because I was born in 1988, my middle school and high school experience coincided with the rise of mainstream gangster rap (50 Cent) and the teeny-bopper craze (Nsync, Backstreet Boys.) I'm not trying to belittle this music - on the contrary, I danced to it at my school dances, went to concerts and screamed my head off, and blasted it in the car on my way home. However, none of my friends were as interested in learning about other kinds of music and actually resented the music that their parents listened to simply because they thought it was necessary to be rebellious. I prided myself in learning about all kinds of music from different generations and genres. I thought it was important to know about not only mainstream music but also independent, and not only contemporary but also classic. I longed to discuss how one band was influenced by another, how the chorus of the rap song we were dancing to was actually a sample of a song from thirty years before, how the idea of putting on a dance performance and creating an image while singing a song didn't start with Britney Spears but actually was experimented with years before.

I didn't find this musical common ground until college when I started working at my campus's underground radio station. I worked with people who knew and understood music the way that I knew and understood it, where I could psycho-analyze Eminem and they would totally get it. I knew when I graduated I needed to find another group of people similar to those that I had finally discovered in college after years of searching. Then I found Sarathan Records.

Here at Sarathan Records, they know what they're talking about, whether it comes to Lady GaGa or The Velvet Underground. They care about music; they love it, they experience it, and they make their lives about it. This is what I've been looking for.

Check out the bands from Sarathan Records: Feral Children, War Tapes, Two Loons for Tea, and Thunder Buffalo, or go to http://www/ sarathan.com!

-Greer, the new Sarathan intern!

Nineteen Favorite Albums and Tracks from 2010 (In No Particular Order)

Nineteen Favorite Albums and Tracks from 2010 (In No Particular Order)

1. Polka Dot Dot Dot - “Nijewel” from Syzygy
2. The Generationals – “When They” from Con Law
3. The Tallest Man on Earth – “The Wild Hunt” from The Wild Hunt
4. Dr. Dog – “Where’d All The Time Go?” from Shame, Shame
5. The Magnetic Fields – “Always Already Gone” from Realism
6. Those Darlins – “Wild One” From Those Darlins
7. Apples in Stereo – “Dream About the Future” from Travellers in Time and Space
8. Balkan Beat Box – “Smatron” from Blue Eyed Black Boy
9. She and Him – “Gonna Get Along Without You Now” from Volume 2
10. Animal Collective – “What Would I Want? Sky” from Fall Be Kind
11. Harlem – “Poolside” from Hippies
12. The Raveonettes – “Breaking into Cars” from In and Out of Control
13. The Antlers – “Kettering” from Hospice
14. Thao and the Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better, Learn Faster” from Know Better, Learn Faster
15. The Dutchess and the Duke – “When You Leave My Arms” from Sunset/Sunrise
16. Monsters of Folk – “Dear God (Sincerely MOF) from Monsters of Folk
17. The DoDos – “Time to Die” from Time to Die
18. The Clean – “In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul” from Mister Pop
19. Mouthful of Bees – “Round Dance” from Mouthful of Bees

List of song quotes I've used as facebook statuses in the last 6 months

(Because I love song lyrics...and I love facebook):

1. “July, July, July, it never seemed so strange…” – “July July” by the Decemberists

2. “If you fall for me, I'm not easy to please, I might tear you apart, Told you from the start, Baby from the start, I'm only gonna break break your break break your heart...” – “Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris

3. “Here comes the sun, and i say, it's alright!” – “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles

4. “I get high with a little help from my friends” – “With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles

5. “Linger on, your pale blue eyes…” – “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground

6. “I wanna do bad things with you” – “Bad Things” by Jace Everett (True Blood Theme Song)

7. “The day the music died” – “American Pie” by Don McLean

8. “Olly Olly Oxen Free” – “Dimmer” by Bishop Allen

9. “What's up Sea-town, what's up? Seattle, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it!” – “Jump On It” by Sir Mix-A-Lot

10. “Girl, I want to be with you all of the time, All day and all of the night...” – “All Day and All of the Night” by The Kinks

11. “Last dance with Mary Jane, One more time to kill the pain, Feel summer creepin' in, And I'm tired of this town again...” – “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Tom Petty

12. “Hey! you've got to hide your love away...” – “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles

13. “Two of us wearing raincoats, standing solo, in the sun, You and me chasing paper, getting nowhere, On our way back home, We're on our way home. We're on our way home, We're going home...” – “Two of Us” by The Beatles

14. “Yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today!” - Novelty Song by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn from Broadway’s “Make it Snappy”

15. “I'd like to make myself believe, that planet earth turns slowly...” – “Fireflies” by Owl City

16. “Must be the season of the witch...” – “Season of the Witch” by Donovan

17. “I know we'll be just fine, when we learn to love the ride...” – Theme song from “United States of Tara” by the Polyphonic Spree

18. “Well let the poets cry themselves to sleep, and all their tearful words will turn back into steam...” – “Poison Oak" by Bright Eyes

19. “I am just living to be dying by your side, But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road...” – “Moonlight Mile” by The Rolling Stones

20. “They say every man needs protection, They say that every man must fall. Yet I swear I see my reflection, Somewhere so high above this wall...” – “I Shall Be Released” by Bob Dylan or The Band

21. “Ooo-oh what I want to know, is how does the song go?” – “Uncle John’s Band” by The Grateful Dead

22. “Oh, the rich people want what the poor people's got, And the poor people want what the rich people's got, You can never please anybody in this world...” – “Philosophy of the World” by The Shaggs

23. “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, actin' like a foo' with your pants on the ground!” – “Pants on the Ground” by General Larry Platt

24. “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see...” – “Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles

25. “Why it was Jubilation T. Cornpone, unshaven and shorn-pone....” – “Jubilation T. Cornpone” from the Musical “Lil Abner”

26. “So I'm headed for New England, or the Paris of the South, Gonna find myself somewhere to level out...” – “If The Brakeman Turns My Way” by Bright Eyes

27. “You're my favorite mistake...” – “You’re My Favorite Mistake” by Sheryl Crow

28. “I know the sky is what makes the ocean blue...” –“Love Me Like the World is Ending” by Ben Lee

29. “What would I want? Sky.” – “What Would I Want? Sky” by Animal Collective, sampled from “Unbroken Chain” by the Grateful Dead

30. “If I knew the way, I would take you home...” – “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead

31. “The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you...” – “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles

32. “Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight...” – “I’m Looking Through You” by The Beatles

33. “I'm tired of fighting, tired of fighting, fighting for a lost cause...” and “Baby I'm a lost, baby I'm a lost, baby I'm a lost cause....” – “Lost Cause” by Beck

34. “But tell me does she kiss, Like I used to kiss you? Does it feel the same, When she calls your name? Somewhere deep inside, You must know I miss you But what can I say, Rules must be obeyed...” – “The Winner Takes it All” by Abba

35. “Se bella gio satore, je notre so cafore, je notre si cafore je la tu la ti la tua la spinash o la bouchon, cigaretto portobello, so rakish spaghaletto ti la tu la ti la tua senora pilasina, voulez-vous le taximeter? le zionata su la seata Tu la tu la tu la wah” – song from the Charlie Chaplin film “Modern Times”

What are your favorite song lyrics?

I'm not a girl, not yet a woman

Please excuse the Britney Spears reference for the title of this post.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let me just say, that graduating from college sucks. Really sucks. No longer a student, not yet employed. Because I want to go into the entertainment field but also stay in Seattle, I have limited resources. The music scene is small but there is still a strong following of independent music. So, I have begun to network and try to make connections. This is easy and yet it isn't. It's easy because the industry in Seattle is so small that everyone seems to know everyone, which helps when you are trying to make your name known around the city. It isn't easy because even though they now know your name, it doesn't mean they are interested in hiring you for anything.

When I was in New Orleans, a fortune teller took my tarot card reading and I asked her about my future (this was all for fun, of course.) I told her I was debating between staying in Seattle because it is where I grew up, it's where my family is, and I could become a part of the small, independent scene, or staying in LA after college and trying to work at mainstream music companies since there are more entertainment opportunities there. She told me I would struggle more staying in Seattle but that once I made it to the top, I would appreciate everything I went through. If I stayed in LA, however, she told me I would more easiy find success. I guess I'll have to decide what is more worth it to me - the struggle to stay in the city that I love, or the instant rise to the top (this is all assuming the fortune teller was right, but I can play it as a self-fulfilling prophecy, I suppose.)

I love music. There's no better way to express that thought than to say it that way - I LOVE MUSIC. I can't imagine having a career that doesn't involve it. I'm doing what I can, so stay tuned. (And look for posts quoting emo songs, which is how I'm starting to feel about this whole process lately - sad and angsty.)

PS

The name of this blog is a lyric from the band Rogue Wave, from their song "Kicking the Heart Out" off of the album "Out of the shadow." The lyric goes, "if music is my lover, you are just a tease, You make love to a shadow, Whose face is hallow money." It was an itunes free song about four years ago, and since then, Rogue Wave has been featured in many soundtracks.

I thought the lyric suited this blog.