More poetry

I like this one.

Awake at 2:00 A.M.

Pt. 1

A sliver
of light on the floor
is keeping me awake.

Examine more closely to find
it's two or three smaller
beams crisscrossed, much
like the lines
on my cheek
in the morning.

There's an invisible
silver knife
cascading primary colours—

a slice
of moon on my floor.


Pt. 2

The couple above me is making
noise and perhaps a baby.

Twenty feet from my head,
a symphony of cars crescendos
and quickly fades
like ocean waves.

Two sentences wander
aimlessly around the ceiling,
end face-to-face on the same
period, and have
nowhere to go.


Pt. 3

It happens late at night.
When the clouds hold desperately
to silver light, when your fingers
swell and tingle as you rub them together
and you shiver as your car slowly heats up,
when you yawn and tears creep
up around your eyes, when only
sad music sounds right,
it sinks in.

Another Music Post

This one will be fun. It's about all the great songs you've never heard of, but are written by really good, semi-popular bands! They're usually pretty deep cuts, but definitely worth trying to get your hands on.

1. L. Wells by Franz Ferdinand. - Easily the most uplifting song I've ever heard from a non-Christian band. It's absolutely charming. Only available on the double A-side single, The Fallen, the entire thing is worth buying (which I did because I'm a hopeless FF fanboy) simply for this one song. It even has a sweet music video! And because she's in it (and pretty), I would marry that actress just for that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJM2iCH_XR8

2. Edit the Sad Parts by Modest Mouse - What a gem. In my opinion, it narrowly surpasses Tundra-Desert and Custom Concern for the best song Modest Mouse wrote before The Lonesome Crowded West's unsurpassed Trailer Trash. It's got all their best qualities: a brilliant loping bassline, complex drumming that's not showy, a gorgeous lead guitar line, atypical verse progression, and heartbreaking lyrics. The feedback at the end is a perfect way to finish. Available on the Interstate 8 EP or on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qD-ssGhX7s

3. Dry Drunk Emperor by TV on the Radio - Here's another long song that's worth digging into. I don't know much about where you can find it, but it's the first TVOTR song I ever heard, and I still think it's one of the best. The heavy, buzzing low end is incredibly satisfying to listen to at high volumes. Kind of depressing lyrics, but it's a good example of this remarkable band's overall aesthetic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKxSLfHN3uw

4. Cardinal Song by The National - The first cut from their (in my opinion) criminally underrated second album "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers," this might actually be my favourite song of theirs. It's got a gloomy, plodding, but simultaneously chilled-out feel, with a gorgeous violin interlude to separate the coda from the rest of the song. The lyrics are a sort of cautionary tale about opening up yourself to another. The line, "Jesus Christ you have confused me/Cornered, wasted, blessed and used me/Forgive me girls I am confused/Stiff and pissed and lost and loose" just sticks with you. It's so miserable, but so beautiful. I love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOk5OFXHD5E

5. Island of the Honest Man by Hot Hot Heat - Okay, the last three songs were pretty long, so here's a snappy tune for y'all. I know "Make Up the Breakdown" is the only really good Hot Hot Heat record, but I think this is their best song. It's just plain fun, what with the way the chorus just feels like it's bursting out of a dark room into the sunlight and the silly quasi-pastoral lyrical accompaniment. (This live clip is a lousy half-time version, but it was all I could find. Sorry.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NRBIUyQlDY

6. Specialist by Interpol - Off their self-titled EP, this offers nothing sonically that any Interpol fan hasn't heard before, but it's just another great freaking song. It's got a great bassline, off of which the jangly, understated guitars are able to build and build and build throughout the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-B2ipW8eaQ (lyrics in the video are a little wrong)

7. Dinosaur Bones by Showbread - If I keep listening to this song in the car, I'm going to blow my ears out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFL1Vi8cQR4

8. Why? by Andrew Bird - This one stems back to his days with his Bowl of Fire, but he still plays it live, which makes me SO FREAKING HAPPY. It serves as a fantastic showcase for his jaw-dropping, violin-shredding, loop-pedaling, spastic-gesturing performance that makes an Andrew Bird show such a great experience in the first place. I also like the bluesy feel to the music and lyrics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZBoZ0sUT3k

9. Tracy by Mogwai - Oh, it's so beautiful. I can't believe how often people talk about how they love songs on the same album, but ignore this gem in favor of Mogwai Fear Satan, Like Herod, or Summer. I suppose it's because Mogwai fans attach to different particular songs, and this one just happens to be the one I like. Anyhow, it's gorgeous - a perfect song to fall asleep to, whether it's the voices having a telephone conversation, the immaculate bassline, or the dreamy glockenspiel motif. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCw1eHEL2A

10. Pressed in a Book by The Shins - I don't know; I just like this song a lot. It's catchy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3LonXfRDMs

11. Lake Somerset by Deerhunter - Now, I'm not entirely sure how many people know about Deerhunter, but I've heard some folks are big on their newer stuff. In any case, they SHOULD be popular. This song is off the earlier Cryptograms, though, and boy is it creepy! The bass, the skewed vocals, the increasing chaos of the guitars, the insistent percussion, it all just builds into a manic whole that is the stuff of nightmares. On top of that, it's coupled with a surreal video that just adds to the delicious sense of unrest I get when I listen to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EuzC_eOdAE

I'm sure there's more, and I might get around to it later, but right now I'm tired. Enjoy.

My Life!

1. Intro to Biochemistry
2. Environmental Microbiology
3. Genetics
4. Senior Portfolio
5. C.S. Lewis
6. RA Job
7. Newspaper Editor Job
8. Wastewater Management Job

...

Oops.

The Dumbest Poem in the Universe!!!!

It's called Writer's Block. Subject to change. This might be the most indulgent thing I've ever written, but here goes.



The thought to think
occurred to me when my
thoughts to think were exhausted.
When I think to think I think
of things I think
I'd not have thought of-
like this poem.

I'm Torn

I should probably be reading about AIDS for my class. But I've got this Sherlock Holmes anthology sitting to my left that's awful tempting...


Maybe I'll just write something instead.

I Can't Tell Whether or Not Caffeine Affects Me

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Something I Wonder About, But Would Rather Not Test...

Do antilock brakes work in reverse?

I like this one.

Reminds me of home. I actually wrote it 'cause I was a little homesick. And because I had to write for class. It's called "Cloudy" and it's really super and I hope you like it!

Cloudy

"Jake, where the hell are we? This isn't the way we came."

"Quit griping. We're almost there. I still can't believe you haven't even tried to enjoy this."

Alex wasn't convinced. All he wanted was to get back to the truck. He couldn't understand how anyone could love a place like this. They had been hiking all afternoon, just the two of them, with only sagebrush and rocks for company. Everything looked grey. There wasn't even anything alive to be seen, save a couple birds that they occasionally startled. No rabbits, no coyotes, not even any of the cows whose dry, whitened droppings Alex had trouble avoiding. The closest thing they found to a mammal was a skeleton or two, bleached by the oppressive summer sun. Only now, it was early October and starting to get cold. As far as Alex could tell, this was a dead expanse, a wasteland, not worth the trouble of driving to.

Jake had told him he'd love it, that it suited his morbid personality. Alex was hesitant, but he had eventually agreed to go on the hike because it was a sunny day, like a relapse of summer. He had to admit it was nice at first; the exercise and the sun on his face were refreshing. During the hike, though, some clouds moved in and the sun became patchy, along with the warmth it provided. It was then that Alex realized that there was absolutely nothing to see. He became chilled, and the sun was well on its way to setting by the time the two headed back to the truck after sitting on a cold volcanic rock, having a dinner of sunflower seeds. Jake had insisted that they take a different route back, that there was more to see, that he had been there before.

But Alex didn't see more. He only saw the same scraggly hills, the same streaks of St. Helens ash, the same dried-up bones, the same boot tracks in the brittle ground. It kept getting colder, too.

"There's the truck," said Jake, stepping over a pile of rusted metal. "I hope you're happy." Alex just grunted while Jake fumbled for the keys. The old grey and red truck was parked in a gravel circle. All around, the ground was littered with aluminum cans, shotgun shells, broken appliances, old tires, big concrete blocks, and a stop sign full of bullet holes. Jake climbed into the truck and Alex had a cigarette while they waited for it to warm up.

Jake had owned that truck for as long as Alex could remember. It was an old 1979 Datsun pickup, and ugly as death. It always took forever to heat up. Alex pulled up the seat cover made of rough woven cloth and sat down. There were holes burned in the cover and every time somebody sat on it, they ripped a little wider.

"When you gonna get a new one of these?" asked Alex, extinguishing the butt of his cigarette on the cloth, opening a new hole.

"Ah, whenever I have the spending money."

The truck had a manual transmission, which Jake always liked, even though reverse never worked too well. He said that he always wished they kept making stickshift trucks. Alex asked if they could turn on the heat. Jake flicked it on while Alex turned the radio knob, trying to find a good AM station.

They drove out the way they came in, on the dirt and gravel road by the irrigation canal, riddled by washboard stretches, past broken wooden fences that still managed to keep the cattle in, dodging the deep puddles that were fed by the sprinklers in the yard full of pigs and goats, turning left at the trailer house with a front yard full of relics from long-past demo derbys, straight past the slaughterhouse, and left again toward Stratford Road.

Just before they got to the main road, and just as they were starting to warm up, a little Geo hatchback flew out of the dirt driveway to their left. Alex only had time to shout, "Holy sh-" before he was drowned out by crumpling metal as the car hit thier truck, just behind the rear tire. The back end lost grip and Jake slammed on the brakes as they swerved toward the ditch on their right. They came to a crooked stop and both young men jumped out to see the damage. As it turned out, the truck did more to the little car than vice-versa. In the steaming, partly crumpled car was a scrawny teenaged kid with long hair and patchy clothes. Jake and Alex helped him out and tried to calm him down; he was shaking and kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you. Nobody ever drives on this road. I didn't see you." Alex offered him a smoke.

The three of them sat on the now-crooked tailgate for a while, smoking Alex's cigarettes, eating seeds, and trying to figure out what to do. A few curious cows came by to see what had happened. The sun was going down, shooting its last red rays over the Stuart Range.

"That's pretty," muttered Jake.

A few seconds later, Alex replied, "Yeah, it actually is..."

The skinny kid had finally settled down, so he walked back to his house and brought his dad. There hadn't been much damage done to Jake's truck, so he agreed not to bother about the matter anymore in exchange for ten bucks and three pounds of hamburger. Nobody had gotten hurt and the kid and his dad had more cars anyway. Jake shook the father's hand and then drove off with Alex, but not before they spent a few more minutes, watching the sunset.

Favourite Bands

Half of the reason for this post is to put a "u" in the word "favorite" for once. My English teachers tend not to like it, even though it's a legitimate spelling. But I thought I'd make a list of my favourite dozen bands. It's a tough one, but I think I can do it!

I'm gonna start with the honorable mention. Those bands that I love, but don't make it into the elite company of those about to be mentioned are: Newsboys, House of Heroes, Interpol, mewithoutYou, My Morning Jacket, Mogwai, Norma Jean, Haste the Day, Bloc Party, Iron & Wine, and Spoon. Yeah, that's a lot and there's definitely more that I was tempted to say, but if you want to see all of those, you can look at my Facebook page or something. ^_^

Anyway, here's the countdown...

12. Harvey Danger: I have to thank Robert Mason for introducing me to these guys. They're terrific! It's pop, but it's full of bile and attitude. I like it a lot.


11: The Blood Brothers: Sorry mom, but I love these fellas. They're vile, rebellious, nasty, profane, and angry, but I simply can't resist the bizarre imagery, bipolar vocals, manic guitar work, brilliant drumming, and underlying catchiness. Definitely a guilty pleasure.


10. Andrew Bird: He's kind of tied with the next guys. It's completely different, though, and I haven't know about him as long, so I put him one down. Anyhow, Andrew Bird is an incredible musician, witty lyricist, and amazing live performer. He gets big points for simply being awesome.


9. Showbread: I'm tempted to rank these guys higher: Their lyrics are gorgeous, their music intense, creative, and ever-changing. Easily the cream of the crop when it comes to any kind of hardcore music. Raw rock kills!


8. Sanctus Real: An old favourite, these guys constantly hit home with great lyrics, great melodies, and great sound. It's Christian music that can be blasted without shame, which, unless you drift into the world of hardcore and metal, is quite rare.


7. Animal Collective: Another band that I'd consider moving up the list; incredibly creative, they never cease to astound me by their expert manipulation of abstract sounds to make something more accessible and catchy. They're super! Only drugs could have produced stuff like this, though; just listen to their early stuff and it's easy to understand.


6. Brand New: These guys are terrific. They consistently change between albums, and the results are always terrific. They come from an interesting, quasi-Christian viewpoint, which allows them to explore some amazingly deep issues. The music is so good, too!


5. Explosions in the Sky: These guys are the classical composers for the rock era. The intertwining guitar work is constantly gorgeous and emotional, leaving words and singing completely unnecessary. As far as post-rock goes (depending on your definition of such), it doesn't get much better than this.


4. Radiohead: I really don't think I can say anything about these guys that hasn't already been said. They cover such a wide range of styles, constantly making music that no one else could pull off. Thom Yorke's voice is incomparable. Their music never gets old.


3. Modest Mouse: Even though Radiohead is incredibly creative, I put MM ahead of them because they are completely, utterly, and indescribably unique. Radiohead draws from Talking Heads and a bit of arena rock (though not so much on their later work), but Modest Mouse is incomparable. It's such a wonderful, distinctive style of music, tied together by talented musicians and Isaac Brock's ridiculously versatile voice. Their lyrics, although often explicit, are very relatable and powerful. They make for great listening on the road or at work. Also, for the record, old Modest Mouse is WAY better than new Modest Mouse.


2. Sigur Rós: The most beautiful music I've ever heard. It makes me cry from time to time. I want to learn a Scandinavian language just because of these guys. I really don't know what to say; their music is powerful, moving, emotional, life-changing, etc. If you don't like Sigur Rós, you don't have a soul.


1. Franz Ferdinand: Still my favourite band, these guys have simply brought it over their first three albums. I hope they keep pumping out more. I have to admit, I'm kind of a blind follower; I've bought EPs and singles from them. Of course, that's where some of their best music is to be found, so I don't feel bad. I simply love the angularity of the guitars, the intricate, yet catchy basslines, stomping drums, and ridiculously catchy choruses these guys produce. They've changed sounds a little bit between each album, but that keeps it fresh and exciting. Considering the quality that they consistently churn out, I can't complain. Also, I like the way they dress.

You know...

Someday, we're going to look back on Obama's election campaign and see it as one of the greatest acting feats in the history of the world.

Ugh. I don't want more taxes! Let me keep my expensive healthcare!