Orange Sky

I love this song by Alexi Murdoch.  There is something about it's simplicity, orange skies, and that person who is our home.  I think that there is something beautiful about this thought, this song has something subtly Christian about it even though I don't think that was it's intention.

highlight

A highlight of this month was when I got to go see Josh Ritter in concert.  If you have ever seen him play live you know what a great experience it is.  You get this feeling when you see him play that you'd really like to be his friend.  You want him to be your new best friend.  He seems to LOVE what he does and he plays with so much energy and is so happy to be up front singing his well crafted song-stories to everyone. I love it.  After going to a Josh Ritter concert I always wish that I could have dinner with Ritter and his friends to get to enjoy some interesting conversation and more great music.

I never learned to count my blessings

Last night, I went to see Ray LaMontagne play and sing in Philadelphia. I heard someone describe his music as "Appalachian dust-folk" which is a pretty accurate description. I like the "dust" part, his voice is so husky and his music is so interesting. The best part of most of his songs is that they have such intricate and lovely words. In many ways, I identify strongly with some of the anxiety that he sings about. In one of his songs "Empty" he sings,

She lifts her skirt up to her knees, walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing. I never learned to count my blessings, I choose instead to dwell in my disasters. I walk on down the hill, through grass, grown tall and brown and still its hard somehow to let go of my pain.

It makes me think about how often I choose to "dwell in my disasters" instead of counting my blessings. It's just that it's so hard sometimes. Last night was one of those times when I found myself dwelling in my disasters. Actually, the past couple of weeks I've been there, forgetting to count my blessings. Feeling "so empty, so estranged" and wondering if I am always going to feel this way. It's crazy how lonely it is possible to feel even when we are surrounded by people, sometimes because we are surrounded by people.

He sang his song "You Are The Best Thing" that is on his new album Gossip in the Grain and I was happily surprised. I had told one of my friends that I didn't like the version that was on the album but, I had an idea that it was going to be very good live and IT WAS. He talked about how he changed it for the recording and he likes it better the way that he had recorded it originally. It was totally better that way. His music and his voice are fantastic, his commentary throughout the concert was kind of bland and unnecessary. I would have preferred if he would have just sung and left the rest to silence. Otherwise, it was a good concert, I'm glad I got to be there.

Music + Brazil = Love. Love. Love.

Recently, I have fallen in love with Brazilian music.

josh ritter

Today, I realized that I am going to miss two fantastic concerts and I'm kind of disappointed. So, I decided I'd chat about it for a minute. So, last year, I went to my first concert EVER and it was so fun. I got to go see Josh Ritter. Now, obviously, since it was my first concert, I didn't have anything to compare it to I am no authority on the subject but, I thought it was fantastic. He has such a great presence and he just smiles while he sings, it's so great.

Anyway, I'm going to miss two great concerts and if you live anywhere near either one of these venues you ought to go see them. The first concert that I'm going to miss is a FREE concert with Josh Ritter performing orchestrated arrangements backed by the fabulous New York Pops in Central Park. That is going to be so good.

The second concert that I am going to miss is Josh Ritter playing at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho with Blind Pilot. Ironically, I am going to see Blind Pilot in a couple of weeks, they've got some good music. But, Blind Pilot with Josh Ritter?! It couldn't get much better than that. Such a sad day for me! If you live in Idaho you MUST go see them, if nothing else for my sake!

enchanted by the Word

First, I fell in love with the Word, and then the spirit in it --the Inspiration-- and then (was it inevitable?) I fell in love with the Author who cannot be separated from the words and the spirit of the words because they are all mixed up and yet, they are all separate. "In the beginning was the Word."

It all started with the words that I read and loved. At first, I thought I loved the words but then I realized that it was the spirit of the words that captured me and filled me with wonder. Later, much, much later I saw that the words had an Author and that the Spirit came from and filled the Author who carefully chose the words. Without the Author the Words would not have been filled with the Inspiration that moved me.

Tonight, I had such a lovely experience. I went to see a documentary film called PALAVRA (EN)CANTADA (The Enchanted Word). In Portuguese the title is much more powerful because the word "enchanted" so obviously has the word "sung" in it. The film was lovely, an experience filled with music and nostalgic reflections on the power of story, poetry, and music. I loved the tensions felt about drawing from the richness of history and literature and the beauty of the colloquial, improvised music that is filled with rhythm, and makes you want to live, to dance.

I hope that I will always be as easily "enchanted" as I was tonight. I often feel captivated by the unusual things around me. I am particularly interested in what it is that gives people inspiration to create. The desert can be a source of inspiration, literature, a city, the masses of people, solitude... all of them can give you something wonderful. A glance, a spoken word, music played softly... the come filled with Inspiration from the Author.

I'm in love with the Word and the words...

uma vez eu tuve uma ilusao

This video is not really worth watching, the song is beautiful. Just close your eyes and listen. I love it. "Porque nao me deixei tentar vive-la feliz."

I forgot to mention that I'd like you to be here now

This is a funny one...

I got to see Mason Jennings the other day... "you are the love of my life..."

orange sky

Last night I went to a concert and it was really good. "Your love..."

Yesterday, I think I came to a really interesting realization about what I need "to do next."

Stand by me

I love this project. It is a collection of singers from all around the world recorded and mixed together to make one music production/video. It's so great.

I'll ask for the sea

"You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for the sea"

life is wonderful

It is so, so cold here right now! Oh my word, it is cold, about 12F! I am looking for work... I hope to find something sooner than later. I think of everyone out there who is in the same or worse position as I am, looking for work and not finding something. I hear people say, "Do you what you love" and yet, sometimes what you love doesn't really pay much. . . how do we do what we love and still live?

Panama Jazz Festival

Si yo estuviera en Panamá ahora mismo aprovecharía para ir al Panamá Jazz Festival.

"Leyendas vivas del jazz como el músico estadounidense Wayne Shorter y el cubano Chucho Valdés son dos de las atracciones confirmadas del Panamá Jazz Festival 2009, anunció hoy el organizador del evento, el pianista panameño Danilo Pérez."

How Can the Body Die?

First Aid Kit

Wanderers this morning came by
Where did they go
Graceful in the morning light
To banner fair
To follow you softly
In the cold mountain air

Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore

Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true

In the town one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don't see anybody that dear to me

Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true

Tiger Mountain Peasant by Fleet Foxes

Merengue... what??

You will probably find it a little bit hard to believe what I did on Saturday night. I went to a Juan Luis Guerra concert. If you don’t know who that is, it’s totally ok. He is a famous merengue singer from Dominican Republic. If you don’t know what merengue is, you can watch this YouTube video to get a taste. I remember when I was a kid I got tired of merengue really fast. I mean, ok, it’s dancing music and if you don’t like to dance then the songs themselves are kind of repetitive.

It depends on the song if they are good or not. Usually, they are somewhat sappy love songs but, I have to confess that I’ve liked Juan Luis Guerra’s bachata for a while. Bachata is a type of ballad, a little faster than most ballads but, much slower than salsa or merengue. Anyway, Juan Luis Guerra is a Christian so, in reality his songs are clean and they talk about love, faithfulness, and he even has some songs about Jesus (which I know some people who absolutely cannot stand those songs but, that’s another story for another day.)

The fact is that if you take it for what it is, it was a fun evening.

the mariachis, we and me

Last night, I saw some mariachis singing. Fun stuff.

Yesterday, I read the book "We are Smarter than Me" all about social networking how to use 'crowdsourcing' in business. Very interesting stuff. One thing that I noticed in the book was how important it was in many cases to still have a leader and someone guiding the conversation or direction of the business. The crowd all by itself is probably going to loose focus, but with the right leadership the crowd is capable of pretty amazing stuff. It's also amazing what people are willing to do for very little return other than a sense of belonging and importance.

Sinfonía!

The guest director was from Panama!




My new friends here in El Salvador.

Sarah and Christina!

dejame vivir...

I am almost too tired to try to put words together into coherent sentences. I had one of those days when you are doing too much and then you get home and realized that you're going to have to re-do part of what you thought you had finished the day before! It's the worst feeling. I've been thinking about violence, peace, and the military recently but, today I cannot fit my ideas together in a way that would be interesting. So, I'll share something pretty before I go to bed...

I learned to laugh through my tears.

jam session

I think a lot of people listen to music for encouragement in the midst of life and its craziness. Music is powerful, it can speak truth, it can remind us to celebrate, it can connect us to others in that deep emotional way, it's lovely.

I really like Ben Harper's music. So, with the help of YouTube here goes my job search jam session:
#1. "Fight Outta You" - I guess sometimes you do need a reminder to keep trying.

#2. "She's Only Happy in the Sun" - I've told more than one person how perfectly this song describes me and my need for sun. (If the sun sets you free... interesting.)
#3. "Give a Man a Home" - "Have you ever lost your way? Have you ever, ever feared another day?"
#4. "Take My Hand" - "Take my hand when you are worried. Take my hand when you are alone."
#5. "In the Colors" - It's good to find the space to just celebrate and maybe dance in the midst of it all...

"When your whole world is shaken from all the risks we have taken..."

#6. "Shall Not Walk Alone" - I don't really pray to Mary but, this song is beautiful.
#7. "Better Way" - Here's to the idealist in me that believes that things can be better.
#8. "High Tide or Low Tide" - "God guide and protect us..."

Ok, that was fun. Now I'm going to get back to work.