This past March, I had the awesome pleasure of seeing The Flaming Lips in Denton, Texas. Even better--the concert was FREE and also featured Midlake! If you've never been to a Flaming Lips concert, you've missed a rare and wonderful experience. They put on the best candy-colored, psychedelic, happy happy show around. Here is footage from one of those people who filmed the show instead of rocked out to prove my point. I WAS THERE, but audience left. I picked confetti out of my hair for days.
The show became a free wristband-less event because the 35 Conferette predicted several thousand to descend upon downtown Denton. Quite frankly the police (imagine I said that like a member of Gang Starr) were freaking out. So they moved the concert to the fairgrounds. Talk about sharing the music at its finest!
I didn't attend the 35 Conferette last year as I was directing a show, but this year I am hitting the festival with full force! Look at this LINEUP, and they have even more to come! My big preggo belly is going to rock and hopefully my baby will get some good tunes in utero.
The 35 Conferette itself is still small, grassroots, and laid back. Kind of like SXSW was in its early stages before the advent of the film festival. Don't get me wrong, I am not bemoaning SXSW and its "glory days" before it got "commercial" and "large" and all "celebrity." I just like the festivals where I can see some good music and not wait in line for seven hours to hear it. That is all. It is a matter of my very selfish comfort. And, I will probably see about a dozen or so bands at a much cheaper price than if I were to see the shows individually. AAAANNNNDD, I will have the experience with my gal Mandy. Totally win win situation!
Been a little lax on the posting. The semester at school is ending and I have some grading to accomplish before December 17th. I also have a slew of "No Basement Maintenance" appointments coming up: baby tests, eye tests, chiropractor to take the semester funk out, massage, dentist, haircut, ritual killing, organ harvesting.
This mix is efficient so I can be lazy. Actually, my "lazy" these days is watching 30 Rock on Netflix with a box of Ritz crackers and a tub of cream cheese. In my pajamas. If I were cool like Liz Lemon, I would have a Slanket and sing "Working on my NIGHT CHEESE!" (Seriously, this show is genius.)
My phone has a genius app--Shazam. If you don't have this app and you are a music lover, I highly recommend it. It captures a song you hear and tells you the artist and the album. It is fairly good. I think the only time it could not capture a song for me is when I was listening to yet-to-be-released Avi Buffalo on the radio. Otherwise it will ferret out the answer, no matter how obscure.
I use the app all the time. I have it on auto capture while driving, I use it at the mall when some funky French bossa nova plays at Victoria Secret while I browse some sexy knickers, and at concerts when the interstitial music between acts captures my attention. Below is my mix of songs I've captured in the last six months or so. I try to also list where I captured them. Have fun!
MIX: Shazam! Playlist
"Blow Away" by A Fine Frenzy (car)
"Diablo Rojo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela (car)
"Walk Don't Run '64" by The Ventures (while watching Mad Men)
"Dance Me" by Telepopmusik (whilst shopping for blouses at The Gap)
"Stillness is the New Move" by Dirty Projectors (at the Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros concert)
"Tennessee River" by Alabama (in the car on the way to the in-laws. This tag was to settle a dispute between the husband. Doesn't he know after 10 years he shouldn't spar with me when it comes to music?)
"Will it Go Round in Circles" by Billy Preston (Arlington Ecofest 2010)
"Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas (Arlington Ecofest 2010)
"The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire (car)
"Bright Energy" by Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights (at a restaurant)
"The Ghost Inside" by Broken Bells (car)
"Las Vegas Turnaround" by Hall & Oates (car. This was after I heard the song and thought, 'This sounds like Hall & Oates. I wonder if it is Hall & Oates?')
"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People (on an episode of the BBC's Sherlock. Great show by the way.)
I am damn lucky to be married to a husband I find incredibly hilarious. His wit (and the fact I find him nerdiliciously sexy) makes him the best baby daddy and friend a girl could ask for.
About three years ago, we hit a terrible rough patch. Communication completely broke down. We did and said tremendously cruel things to each other. Why did this happen? We were both in an area of self-absorption--Nathan was starting a PhD program and I was desperately searching for a job. We ere also recent grad students living in such abject poverty we felt as if we had failed when really we were just starting our lives together. We worried so much about ourselves we forgot about the fact we were part of the same self. We forgot what a marriage is all about. This is what happens when two loners get hitched. They have to remember to interact. After a lot of work, all incredibly worth it, we are doing much better and stronger than ever. Time and forgiveness and screwing your head on straight does a lot for a life together.
One of my favorite times of the day is before bed. We snuggle under the sheets and talk about the most unusual things. We try not to bitch about work or money or stuff that gets one all agitated. We just talk. Lately I've kept record of the conversations. Below is a list of their subjects.
1: Isaac Hayes is so totally dead & somehow it makes sense he and Beck are Scientologists.
2: We should tell Iris we are naming the baby Raymond if it is a boy and Mama Odie if it is a girl. That will freak her out.
Raymond from The Princess and the Frog
Mama Odie from The Princess and the Frog
3: Iris wrestled my pregnancy pillow this morning like she was Jon Voight in Anaconda. Hilarious!
4: You DID buy maroon Converse sneakers to look like David Tennant on Doctor Who. Admit it.
5: Are you listening to me? Oh man, you fell asleep. Preggers.
Hey ya'll! I am back in action after directing a play at the college. I cannot wait to show you the photos from the production. Soon! Soon!
My return has some exciting news:
Let us hope the first ticker is accurate about how many more days I will be pregnant. I am just out of my first trimester morning sickness, tiredness, cracked-out, fuck-this-shit-attitude, and I couldn't be happier. I cannot believe I worked fifteen hour days directing Absurdist theatre through these last few weeks. My body itself was its own stage for drama!
In all honesty, the pregnancy has thus far been a breeze. I am tired all the time, but I rest when I need to. I am hungry all the time, namely for tacos, milk, toast, mint chocolate chip ice cream, lettuce, carrots, butter, steak, potatoes, bananas and applesauce. Thankfully not all at once. In the same dish. I had a bit of a stomach bug near Thanksgiving, but otherwise I have felt great. This is a sharp contrast to my first child. I was sick with her to the point of losing a significant amount of weight for my scrawny frame and didn't lose my ALL DAY sickness until the beginning of my fifth month.
So yeah, I have a case of the babies. Symptoms may include napping, wearing your husband's shirts, eating like a horse at a trough, a strong desire to watch sappy movies, pimples like a pubescent girl and a radiant glow of happiness.
