"...and in that moment I swear, we were INFINITE"

I love this song for all it makes me think about while listening to it.

It makes me think of;

glamorous women blowing out cigarette smoke between their red painted lips,

naive school children in the 50's that are curious and excited about the future,

thoughts of tyranny, French women swaying carefully to music on balconies, and lastly, those ritzy parties that you see going on in old movies where pearls, fur shawls, and endless amounts of booze always seem to make an appearance. One of my favourite lines of all time is within this song;

"I have the key in my hand, all I have to find is the lock..."

that is exactly how I feel about things right now.

I'm currently watching a gnarly storm roll in. I love the energy that big storms bring. You know, that moment just before it starts to rain where the air becomes saturated and you can feel the air surrounding you get colder. Here is what it looked like on radar from KLOT view. We live just NW of this huge squall line that is going on. We basically got the ripple effect of this storm, not the most severe, just the small repercussions of on the outskirts. No hail, just good winds and quick downpours. I didn't see too much lightning, but that doesn't mean it's not producing a ton of it.

This morning started off so beautifully too. I knew I shouldn't have spent my morning sleeping (regrettably until 11:15 A.M.), but it was just too glorious of a sleep to try and dash out early. I'm just glad I got my walk in before the huge raindrops were unleashed, you know, the kind that pound you as they fall? Always a sign greatness is rolling in when it goes dark at 4 P.M.

As this month continues to fly by, I can only hope for a good week to unfold ahead of me. The past week was full of ups and downs. I have a real tendency to let the little things get me down, but on the contrary I get lifted up and motivated by the smallest occurrences (like when Terri Hemmert played 'Call Me Al' the other day for her closing song as I was about to implode. Magically, it changed the scheme of things) It gets hard to strike a balance, but it is vital. The disappointment is heaviest in the subject of communication; when something you're trying to stress is being completely missed. Have you ever told someone a problem you were having and then just after you finish they try to convince you that it isn't so? Anything that proceeds this is useless, you just have to outsource your problem, send it away. Or bottle it up. Never shake this bottle.

Enjoy! (seriously, do a little dance)

Can I please express my disappointment that I did not get the chance to see Paul Simon grace the stage of the Vic theater last week?! Just...ugh

::slapping self::

Whenever I hear this song, I think of this scene in 'The Office' when...

That is the magic of it all. Music can change everything. It's kind of like when I go to a party and someone puts on the tunes and I'm up doing the shopping cart (the dance move, not the object) within 10 seconds or whenever I'm about to flip out and XRT plays 'There, There' to allow me to hold on to my sanity just a little while longer(XRT is a serious fixture in my workplace). Here, take a listen for yourself. One of my favourite Radiohead* songs;

Music just has an amazing ability to really take us on a journey. It can evoke endless emotions or make us stay content or amplify the ones we have. Have you ever been in the mood to listen to music that you know will make you cry, but it's the thing only you can handle? Or one that makes you feel like you should be in a certain setting? I live for that one moment in a song that I just cling to. There's always a part in a song that hits me hard, even if it is just a small addition to a note or a vocal fluctuation. My favourite is when music makes you feel infinite; when you feel that power being thrown in your direction and the feeling of ability is slapping you hard across the face-like you can truly do anything. When that energy surges through you, it's remarkable. Or when realizations become unfolded in someone else's lyrics...it's beautiful. When it comes down to it, these moments are too fleeting, but I assume that if they were there all the time, we'd just be overly cocky.

You can find this page in one of my favourite books, "The Perks of Being A Wallflower".

*The other day I told someone that I would love to be Thom Yorke. I'm sure that wasn't received as well as I would have hoped, but what can you do? To me, he is just brilliant; how he leaves me enamored by the sounds that come out of his mouth or the way he puts you in a trance when you watch him move. He is just an odd fellow and I always admire the oddities that surround us. I can also respect the environmentally conscience things that he does, like paperless tickets. Although, some of us would like to have a little memento from your concerts, Thom.

At the end of the day, skating is my favourite way to move to music, although there isn't any in this clip;

Hopefully you can see it.

It's a layback, backscratch, into forward scratch :)

2010 musical picks.

So let's talk.
More specifically, let's talk about this year so far and them music that has made it so great.

This is more so aimed for my taste and my own general opinion.
Also it contains music that was out before 2010, but just seeped into my eardrums after the turn of the new year or at least made a different impression on me in 2010. I think the sea of artists that have come through Chicago in the past 6 months has been amazing. There have been so many concerts that I've had to miss out on but I think that I held the tickets to the best shows that came around. Again, in my opinion. I feel so lucky to have seen some of these artists. Every show is a different experience and a new group of people. A show is something I can really lose myself in. I have so much fun and love live music.

I compiled eight different songs on...well, 8tracks.

HERE is the link. This way you can actually listen to them. These are really in no particular order.



1) Howl by Florence + The Machine: I saw Ms. Florence Welch herself along with her band back in April at the House of Blues in Chicago. If you look-up the shows reviews you might read that "she didn't perform her best". I don't know what her "best" is, but I thought she was fucking phenomenal. I was front row for that show (I blogged about it at length below a few posts so I won't go on about it here). Anywho, she opened with the song "Howl". I was actually able to see the setlist from where I was standing in the crowd. When I first saw it I wasn't thrilled. I liked the song a lot, but it wasn't one of my favourites. I wanted her to play 'Between Two Lungs' or 'Dog Days Are Over' as an intro (they just sound like opening songs, you know?). The way it was performed and how good it was made all the difference. It was so powerful that after the concert it became one of my favourites and I felt sheepish for glossing it over so quickly before the fact. It is one of my top 8 for those reasons, however it was released in the summer of 2009.

2)Got Nuffin By Spoon: I love this song AND it actually came out in 2010 AND I saw it live. All wins. Also it reminds me of something you might hear on "Gimme Fiction" which is a great album. I love seeing Spoon live. I'm happy, but more importantly, ERIC is happy. We have a great time at their shows and I hope we see them at least 5 more times in our lifetime. We have seen them at the Aragon Ballroom and at The Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. I love the lead singer, Britt Daniel, and his stage presence and voice. I love that he always sounds like he's got a cigarette in his hand but he has control over his voice and can carry tune. All in all, this song was a great one on their Album released in January of this year called "Transference".


3) & 4) Your Hands (Together) & Crash Years By The New Pornographers: Another bonus because these two songs both came out this year and make an appearance on their latest called "Together". These are two of my favourites on this album. It reminds me of our vacation we just took because we always had it in the car with us so we heard it on constant loop. I love having specific memories to an album. It makes it that much more significant. Another good artist that came out with an album this year. I really like The New Pornographers. Their last album 'Challengers' was something I really enjoyed but I feel that I didn't delve into it well enough. It deserves some playing. Perhaps I'll throwback and give their old album a listen today.

5)Feeling Good By My Brightest Diamond: I LOVE her voice and by her I mean Shara Wordon. It's jazzy and blues-y and I adore it. I really like it when new music sounds like older music. Older music was good. She has got a style to her music and a depth to her voice. Check this song out for sure. It appears on the album 'Dark Was The Night'. I haven't heard enough to rave about the album, just the song at this point.

6)Like Spinning Plates (LIVE) by Radiohead: Yes. This song came out in 2001. No I did NOT just here it a near decade later for the first time. But I did hear it come out of Thom Yorke's mouth earlier this year in April over at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. I was so stoked that I got to hear 'Eraser' in its entirety live (and the fact that Flying Lotus opened for him) but of course when you see Thom Yorke you just want to hear some classic Radiohead. He delivered with 'Like Spinning Plates' & 'Airbag'. Quite fantastic. When he came back and broke out the intro on piano I couldn't believe it. I was thinking "Holy shit, Thom Yorke is fucking IN THIS ROOM playing piano and singing. The room was pretty much quiet except for the familiar chords and his voice adding lyric over melody. It gave the song new life and new importance. What a show.

7)Leaf House By Animal Collective: This song is so funky. That is the exact reason why I like this song and many other songs by this group. This is one of those that you might skip over the first few times, but once you hear it through you have to keep hearing it. This song also came out way before 2010...but on the album 'Sung Tongs' in 2004. This band has been around a long time, but just started gaining more recognition with their songs 'My Girls' & 'Summertime Clothes'. I can't say that I like every song that Animal Collective puts out, but the majority of them capture me because they are so unique. I find myself putting a lot of their stuff on people's mix CD.

8)Sleepyhead By Passion Pit: This has to be one of my favourite songs. Eric says that this song reminds him exclusively of me. It makes me feel so happy. I also secretly (well not so much anymore!) want to do the little voice at the beginning and throughout. I saw this song performed live April 22 at the Congress Theater in Chicago. This was the song I went there hoping to hear. The show was short. This was due to the lead singer, Michael Angelakos, having a sinus infection. For the problem being present, he performed and sounded SO good. So of course they close out the show. They come back out and start the crowd back up with 'Sleepyhead'. I was ecstatic. I tend to lose my shit at shows. Meaning I get into the music with every fiber of my being. I love to jump around, dance, and just have a good time. This show was a perfect example of just that. We weren't concerned with being front row for this one. I just loved being there and dancing to this bands music. It was so fun!


Wow. What good artists that have made their way through here. I feel most lucky to live by a big city when it comes to the choices of shows. I think I saw 5 shows in just over a month. It had to be that way unless there would have been some major disappointments. 3 of them were birthday presents, but that made it easy on him. He knows some of those shows were must see, so it was easy to slap a happy birthday on that (who wouldn't!). Natalie Fucking Merchant. I still cannot believe that I get to see her. I don't care if I go and she performs the Alphabet. I am so amped. Thom Yorke and Natalie Merchant in my golden year. ON TOP OF THAT amazing happening, we also have some new information from Pitchfork that Radiohead might be dropping their new album later this year. What a treat! That would be so so so so great. You know who else needs to come through here? DAVID BYRNE! A TALKING HEADS REUNION? sorry. It just seems like everything I've wished for musically has come true this year.

I would REALLY like to see a few other bands and hopefully I'll get the chance. I would love to see The Decemberists perform 'Hazards of Love'. I love that the two girls that Colin Meloy chose to play roles in the album were from two different bands with similar names, Shara Wordon My Brightest Diamond and Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond. The Temper Trap and The New Pornographers would be be nice to see as well. The XX just announced a fall tour all through the US and Europe, but since they will be at LOLLA most likely I will not be seeing them. Interpol just announced North American tour

It seems like every time I flip through Twitter, Pitchfork is announcing the release of a new album. Arcade Fire and Zero 7 have new albums and Arcade Fire is having 8 different album covers for their new one. Dirty Projectors & Bjork recently worked together and are releasing the collaboration efforts. Again, I am just so thrilled to hear that Radiohead is working together. They are so close to being done with their new album and their guitarist Ed O'Brien talks so enthusiastically about it happening this year. We shall see.


Check out: http://pitchfork.com/


Shows I've seen this year so far: Spoon (12/31), Spoon (4/1/10), Thom Yorke (4/10), Florence & The Machine (4/10), Passion Pit (4/10), Metric (5/10), Phish (5/10). And I hold tickets to Modest Mouse at the Pitchfork Festival and Natalie Merchant at the Chicago Theater.

Get your hands on some tickets AND NEW ALBUMS!

-tessa

Florence and her Machines / Thom Yorke

Jaw to the ground.

That would describe the past two nights of music that encompassed every ounce of my energy and attention. Two of my favourite artists back to back;

Thom Yorke &

Florence + The Machine.

Ideally, I wanted to be front row for both, but the reality will unfold later and through pictures.

So Thom was GREAT. He is in a new band called Atoms For Peace which consists of members such as Flea from RHCP and drummers that played with Beck & R.E.M. aka these guys know what they're doing. The show was absolutely phenomenal. They played 'The Eraser' in its entirety and in order and after that set Thom appeared and played two Radiohead songs; "Like Spinning Plates" & "Airbag". This followed with a few Atoms For Peace song. It was great because it was mellow dramatic, yet very upbeat and enlightening--we were surrounded by good people. Unfortunately the place was packed, but it's Thom Yorke. What the hell else do you expect?

So after coming down from such a great show, the next night I saw Florence + The Machine with Cady. I introduced her to Florence's wonderful, wonderful music. I was extremely excited to see her live. Her voice is a powerhouse. I have got to say this is one of the best shows I have ever been to. I have been in absolute love with her album, 'Lungs' since August. If there is any regret from the entire experience it is that I did not purchase a ticket for each show of the tour. I snagged front row more than halfway through the concert and was like, a foot away. I got a set list as well! She played every song from her album, minus one which would be "Girl With One Eye", which would have been great to see live, but oh well. She played another song that is not on her album, "Hardest of Hearts", which was really good. What an amazing performer! She has this amazing energy when she performs and she talks to the crowd a lot which I really like. The crowd at this show was pretty good--I seem to get lucky at shows and make good with the people around us. It's just a better overall experience if you feel comfortable with people around you. This applies to all situations, but especially shows. I actually threw a little something up on the stage. Back in August when I first fell in love with her music I was in N Carolina--Asheville more specifically and I was in a little hippie shop and they had a huge basket of pins. I got about 5. I got one for the main reason of it looking like Florence. I loved that pin. But since I scored tickets to the show, I figured she should have it. So I attached it to a note and threw it up on stage just as the main set ended before the encore. A random set dude picked it up and put it by her water. I think Ill wonder forever if she ever got that pin. I sure hope so--she rocks. so anywho...here are the visuals!

I feel very, very lucky to have seen both of these artists!

Aside from shows--our big home repairs have neared come to a close! (crosses fingers). Hopefully this will last. I'm loving our new sink that gave us some major problems, but all turned out okay in the end. We just need to get some additional stuff cleaned up in the room/office. I really hope to tackle some gardening soon! I have quite a project ahead of me. Nothing a trip to Borders to purchase a gardening book can't solve! (I always end up walking away with a bargain section book)

ALAS! TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! I cannot wait. Casual Friday! Love it. I think that working in a cookie shop should be grounds to wear whatever you want. It brings out my artsy side so I always look forward to Fridays so I can ditch the polo. I got the sweetest pants today--They are purple velvet spandex! I love them very much and snagged em on sale! I feel like Johnny Depp, well wardrobe wise, in Willy Wonka when I wear them.

Today I received a great compliment!: "Tessa isn't normal..."

this wasn't said as a bad thing but isn't that a great thing regardless of how it's said?

Smile! :)

-Tessa

We have nothing planned for this weekend (I want to convince Eric to go to Lalo's! I'm in need of a good chips n' salsa fix along with a fishbowl size margarita. Man oh man! I hope he is down for it.

I might have to lose an eye!

2 different hardware stores in one day? Why yes, this occurred today.

Sprinting through Ikea to get "just what we need" (which turns out to be what I'd like to call A dream come true in the kitchen)--why yes, this occurred as well;

A faucet with a freaking restaurant style sprayer!

After working in food service for the working years of my life, living without a sprayer seems absolutely ludicrous. My darling made this dream come true after our kitchen faucet failed big time last night. We knew this was coming. When it rains, it pours...

So since this mishap went down, we did some research, decided to just get a whole new sink and do it up right. What a success. We went with a cast iron black sink from Kohler. What a freaking beauty. Eric is hard at work installing it now. Of course all was worth it when we went to our favourite local Chinese restaurant to take a break from all this jazz. BAMBOO GARDEN! Absolutely amazing. The couple that owns it is adorable and always fun to talk to. Every Chinese place you ever went to ain't shit compared to this place. If you're in the south suburbs of Chicago--GO HERE. Even if you don't live in the south suburbs of Chicago--GO HERE.

Man, we are whipping this place into shape. It's becoming live-able again!

So I have two big big big shows coming up. I may have mentioned this half-assed in my last entry. So tomorrow is Thom Yorke. For the unfortunate population out there that has no clue who Thom Yorke is, he would be the front man of Radiohead. One of my favourite bands of all time. His music makes me FEEL. It can really move my mood. After missing them 2 years ago at Lollapalooza (and hating myself for it each day after the fact), my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with two tickets to see Thom Yorke. It's solo Thom, but still the same effect as Radiohead. Not only is it Thom, but it is going to be a band compiled of random well-knowns. I cannot even believe my luck. Not only is this going to be an amazing experience (we will be front row at one of our favourite venues), but the next night I am going to be seeing Ms. Florence Welch herself on the House of Blues stage as part of FLORENCE + THE MACHINE! Another one of my favourite artists. Her album single handedly brings me back to August of '09. One of the most emotional months of my life for the best and for the worst. Her voice is a freaking powerhouse and I've been telling EVERYONE about this UK star. She deserves every ounce of fame. I do not get starstruck, but for YOU

THOM YORKE

& FOR YOU...

FLORENCE WELCH

I would gauge my eyes out.

{please do not hold me to doing so...I'm just saying}

;)

so for the next two nights my musical senses will be heightened as I am exposed to great great music. I am so excited I might cry during both concerts. How lame, I know, but DOESN'T MUSIC MOVE YOU?!?!

Please...tell me which artist/s move you!

shared spaces.

So let's make this all official;

It's official that I am moved in with Eric. Finally. After spending 8 months worth of weekends here, I no longer need to live out of a suitcase shoved in the corner. I now have things here that make it mine as well as his. We have things here that we picked out together and have made our own. Soon enough this house will be beaming with personality and decor more so than it already is. In a few weeks our biggest projects will come to a close. We have crossed so much off of our list in the past 3-4 weeks;

.. Knocked out a closet and made the master room bigger

.. Painted our "lounge/closet" room an awesome shade of royal blue

.. Painted our bedroom a fantastic shade of grey

.. In the process of painting the walls & ceiling in the bathroom

.. Sanded the ceiling in the bedroom/master bathroom

.. Set up numerous things from Ikea (we have a love/hate relationship)

.. Brought in all my shit from home (clothes, dresser, desk, & all my random crap) i threw out a ton!

There is way more than this that we have accomplished over these few weeks. We have a lot of determination to get things done and organized and we are so close to being there. I just want all of this to be over with so I can keep things consistently clean. Things get dirtied up so easily because of all the work that is being done all over the house, heh. It has been so worth it though. The moving in process has gone quite smoothly. Of course, there have been some near murder/suicides, but all gets resolved so quickly! ha ha. We compromise so well but most of the time we don't even need to. There have been quite a few things where the decision is made right away in agreeing, like our kickass curtains and carpet. Along with our huge Ikea closet organizer. Once its all done it will be fantastic. I cannot wait.

One unfortunate thing we have learned in this process is that city recycling does not come often enough. We have so much recycling it is absolutely ridiculous--probably enough to fill one truck. Clearly this place does not take Ikea into account because anything you but from there takes 2 hours to take out of the package and about 2-3x that time setting it up. Not a fan. But once it is all done it is wonderful.

So what do you do when your government refund check is a hell of a lot less than you thought it would be? Eh, take $100 out anyway and head out to shop.

I stumbled across a really great site last night & of course there is an intro story:

So people have asked me many times of I do any sort of art. I decorate cookies so people naturally think that transcends to paper. Now, I have never been a great artist. I am right brained, so my brain whips out cool ideas, but sometimes it's easier to conceptualize than to produce. Sharpies, pens, and frosting are my best friends when it comes to producing anything artistic. So I came across this site last night and was inspired up again. My sharpies are one of the things I still have at home that weren't as important to bring as other things. But last night they became important. Of course this meant a trip to the store to muster a few sharpies and poster board. In the midst of trying to find art for the place, I decided to try and conjure something up. Something is in the works. Hopefully this turns out well.

I have been LOVING this rainy/severe weather that has been passing through. Unfortunately it is pretty much moved passed by now, but rainy days just make me feel better about doing the slightest thing that day. Or it is a great excuse to be lazy or extremely productive.

It was one week ago today that we saw Spoon, one of our favourite bands. This show was phenomenal. We were front row, like usual for this particular venue. There have been so many good shows that I have seen in the past year and there are so many good shows coming up to look forward to!

For now, cleaning and super Target are calling my name. I want to enjoy this day off.

-Tessa

Listening to:

All For The Best by Thom Yorke

ten thousand maniacs.

Talk about the ultimate lazy day.

Gosh. Can I just say how much I LOVE laying around all day with nothing to do? Well, I love it a lot. It doesn't happen to me very often. I feel so sluggish today. Get this, people; I slept in until 10:30 am! That is like..amazing. I was knocked out. This morning I bummed around and played some hardcore drifties (fading in and out of sleep; basically avoiding waking up). I made a mediocre lunch around noon and decided that I needed to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather that we have been graced with. You wanted a steady breeze, folks, you got it! I took an hour long walk around my neighborhood and loved it. I felt so much more tired when I reached the homefront, but it was all good because I could go home and nap and do whatever I wanted. Plus, I need physical activity in my day and not having much these past days has been wearing me thin. So I went home after my walk and drifted off for two hours. Earlier in the day I had asked my mom to get me some tomato soup and all the fix-ins for Grilled Ham and cheese. I never have ham with the grilled cheese, but once in awhile I go a little nuts and add the ham.

I am now sitting watching shitty E! news specials and listening to Ray Lamontagne. If you haven't heard him, you should check him out. My grandpa told me about him years ago. I really like him and always go back to listening to him. My God. I would love to see him live. HEY NATALIE MERCHANT (that's technically 10,000 maniacs, but whatever), THOM YORKE, AND RAY LAMONTAGNE!? HELLO! I have just set up the dream tour '09!..or '10. I can be patient...

So-- A very cool thing happened today! I got a call from Melissa, my old manager at Jamba. I am so glad we have still kept in touch, but anywho she asked me my opinion for a musical selection for her wedding. I was so excited! I love putting music to occasion! I think of it as one big movie scene and what would be most appealing and what would hit what emotions. I sent her 22 songs that I thought would be good for her wedding music. Hopefully it will be something she likes.

I have a long night of nothing ahead of me. I think I will enjoy the pure laziness while it is here. I am kind of worried of how tired I am and how out of it that I am. Have a great night, drink lots of water, stretch, and sleep well.

sincerely,

tessabee.