February 24, 2006

Nine GLORIOUS seconds

I am in such a *ridiculously* good mood today. The sun is shining, the honeysuckle is blooming at Santa Clara, I had a nice lunch with my grandpa, who tells elaborate stories which include sentences (in his Georgia drawl) like, “I surely would like a nice hot dog.” And I have been sauntering around campus with my iPod and listening over and over to one of my favorite songs EVER, one that I could listen to and NEVER get tired of it: Over The Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin.

Let me tell you why I love this amazing, unbelievable song. It builds from a lovely little simple bluesy riff at the start, the vocals gently start in, then at 1:15 (on the version I have) there is a little bridge, and you know, you KNOW that the burst is coming, the song breaks into glorious, insane, fabulous rock. I myself always get this enormous goofy smile of anticipation during those 9 glorious seconds between 1:15 and 1:24. I defy you to listen to it and not rawk out and FEEL IT deep inside your soul.

And then after all the beautiful sonic madness, wicked guitar solos, thundering drums, it deconstructs back down to the same perfect little riff, and you’re done. It is ABSOLUTELY one of THE best songs to listen to on a day like today. It almost makes me want to explode in its perfection.

Over The Hills And Far Away” – Led Zeppelin

From the How The West Was Won live CD (recorded in 1972)

February 20, 2006

A little California love

“Others may know where you’ve been, but honey I know where you’re from……you’re from California. . .” — Mason Jennings

While wasting time browsing other music blogs when I should have been sleeping (or something like that), I stumbled across this excellent little musical tribute piece to my old stomping ground, my Golden State, my roots, over on Trees Lounge blog. There are a whole bunch of songs about California (beyond the usual fare) that you can download and almost feel the sun and the surf. He says:

“Oh California, you glutton for publicity. You bastion of public relations and sunshine. The golden rays always cast you in a favorable light. You are honey-colored in perpetuem on every map ever made. Until you make that great swan dive into the Pacific you will remain the west of which there is no wester. You are always the destination, never the departed. You can shake people, suffocate them, burn them, leave them in the dark, and yet you are still at the top of every kid’s wish list.”

I LOVE it. Featuring tracks by folks like Led Zep, Dead Kennedys, Kings of Leon, Roy Orbison, Ryan Adams, Bad Religion, Elliott Smith, Neko Case, Arctic Monkeys, and even a little 2Pac and Dre. Zip on over.

So that is the perfect low-maintenance post for this afternoon. I was already thinking of posting Mason Jennings’ “California, Part 2″ in honor of my trip out to that great state this very afternoon, but Robert spared me the uploading because he’s got it on his post. This week I am *so* going to find my way up over Highway 17, into Santa Cruz or thereabouts, and onto the beach. I WILL put my feet in the ocean (in addition to work-related feats that need to be accomplished). Get rid of these land-locked blues. Off to the airport!

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Bio Pic Name: Heather Browne
Location: Colorado, originally by way of California
Giving context to the torrent since 2005.

"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel."
—Hunter S. Thompson

Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.

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