I'm taking cue from another friend Missy who for some days uses themes to help keep her blogging by giving her something specific to focus on instead of staring at the screen until inspiration strikes. So with Tuesdays being the day that new dvds and cds are released, it seemed only natural to post something music related. While I'll try to share some of my new discoveries with you, I thought who better to kick things off with than Guster, the suburban wuss rok band that I consider to be one of my favorite bands.
It's been 479 days...
...since I last saw Guster live in concert. This is the 4th longest stretch that I've ever gone, and with no tour in sight for 2008, this may top out as my longest break yet. Okay, I'll give you a moment to finish laughing. I think we've established before that I'm a little OCD when it comes to keeping track of the concerts I've been to over the years, so it seemed a natural thing to calculate the days between shows of the band I've seen the most times.
That leads me into the recent Guster news - that they have left Reprise/Warner Brothers Records for Aware/Columbia Records with a new album in 2009. For me, this is bringing it full circle. When I first discovered Guster, I bought their first two albums (Parachute and Goldfly) from Viv (once stranger, now friend) as well as the Aware III compilation that they were featured on. I listened to the compilation manyMANYmany times over Christmas break that year and it was the beginning of a musical path for me. I discovered quite a few bands via Aware and would later become an Aware Rep (that would be how I end up with so many free promos to give out to friends). Also along the way, I became a Guster rep (rep name = "Jorgensen"), because that's what we fan(atics) do. I don't think I ever sold that many albums, but I'd like to think that I've converted a few friends over the years into fans.
With that, I give you "One Man Wrecking Machine" off of their most recent release "Ganging Up on the Sun."
Yea, it's been a while again. I can't say that I've been at a complete loss of words because there's Twitter, but any time I've tried to sit down to form some cohesive thoughts on here I get distracted. My office is in utter chaos right now to the point of needing someone to come in to do a Clean Sweep of it. I have hoarding tendencies, which are evident throughout the house so I'm trying to work through those issues. That is to say, when I can get up off the couch. I used to say it was from procrastination, which maybe it is, but I also wonder if part of it is due to depression. Keely posted some similar feeling not that long ago and I meant to write then, but obviously never did.
I realize this is a blog which some use as a medium to spill the contents of their pancreas out for everyone to see, but it's hard to want to share too personal of details on here because that's just how I am. I'm the quiet one in the corner who holds things close to the vest. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve and I use sarcasm and self-deprecation as defense mechanisms. As the AA'ers next door would surely tell me, the first step is admitting you have a problem. I'm not the person who I want to be. I know I have a hell of a lot going for me in the way of a great family, great friends, and great job. I'm smart, funny, and have excellent taste in music (feel free to say the the Stuart Smalley quote in your head right about now), but I know I can be much more.
So by this time because of the photo you might be thinking that I'm about to say that I've given my love to Jesus so he can save me. Sorry, that's not the case and if it where I really shouldn't have illustrated the quote "the task ahead of you is never greater than the power behind you" with a drawing of a man trying to ride a hamster powered bicycle up Mt. Everest where an Ugg wearing Yeti was waiting for him. Not that there is anything wrong with Jesus and doing what he would do. Thing is, I know what I should do, it's just a matter of doing it and I know I have the German stubbornness to do it. I've been trying to make changes that will become habit. I struggle with being consistent with going to the gym and Body Pump class, but I remind myself that if I miss one class, that's not an excuse to skip the entire week. Instead, I set 3 tasks for me to do when I first get home. I'm making better choices when I go grocery shopping and try not to give into the urges (mmmm, Oreos), although after having Brussels sprouts as my vege at dinner tonight I kinda feel like I deserve a cookie. For me it's trying to find a balance. Yes I need to hit the gym, but I also need to clean house, do the laundry, read a book, watch a movie, or spend time with friends - both old and new. Oh, and let's also remember to sleep somewhere in there too.
Joined many a Houston photographer on Sunday evening to wander around the Houston Museum of Natural Science after hours. It was a very unique opportunity and I really should have taken a tripod, but still got a few good shots in. See more here.
It's been a while since I made a tangible mix cd for the car. Honestly, I would normally just make a playlist on an ipod, but it seemed to be a good reason to test out the new computer's burn speed (2 minutes compared to the 11 it took the old tower). The idea for the mix started with Jason Mraz' new album and the song "I'm Yours" which starts off with this mellow beachy vibe that makes me wish I was visiting my friend down in San Diego, grabbing breakfast at Pipes, and watching the waves roll in. The tracks just sort of fell in from there. Music has always held a placeholder for moments in time and events in my life so why should this summer be no different.
Here's the tracklist if you are interested (links lead to YouTube videos):
And I just realized that I left off Rogue Wave's "Chicago X 12" (see previous post). Yea...that's why I like ipod playlists. I can have as many songs as I like, and if I forget one I can easily remedy the error.
