yeah!

I'm kinda not a fan of regurgitative blog posts...


...but I just really like this picture.

Rivers and Michael Cera hangin' on the soccer field...

(If you're wondering if I want you to)

I've probably listened to this song ten times today.



Few things make me as giddy as a new Weezer song.

But No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away on vinyl might be one of them.



On an unrelated note, I need some audiobook recommendations. I became a member of audible.com about a year an half ago and I have all these audiobook credits piling up. After the first couple audiobooks I downloaded I realized that I can't just download any book... it has to be something that I probably wouldn't normally read. And this really limits things because I'd rather read almost anything than just listen to it. But there are some things I'd rather just listen to (for example, I just downloaded Pride and Prejudice and Zombies); maybe if there is a good biography out there or perhaps some interesting non-fiction book? Any recommendations would be wonderful!

the effects of my three hour nap are wearing off

I'm ready to get some serious songwriting and some demo recording done. When I talk to people about things I'm working I feel a little bit more accountable and I'm more likely to make them happen, so this is the purpose of this post.

The other day I made a list of the songs I've written and I was pleasantly surprised that I've written about six and could have a few more done in not too much time if I really focus.

Ganymede
This song was inspired by the third moon of Jupiter and the mythological character for which said moon is named. This song is essentially complete though I'm thinking of changing the chorus.

Too Many Holes (Keep Him Out)
I really like song titles with parentheses (like the first single from the new Weezer record, out in October).

Phoenix
This song is about how I hate the winter, ostensibly. I need to nail down a few lines of lyrics on this song, but it's essentially done. I'd like to add some electric guitar parts -- maybe a solo between the first and second verses?

Then Why Don't You Marry An Ice Cream Sandwich
Thank you to Trev for inspiring me to name a song after an arrested development reference, and thank you to Arrested Development for being such a great TV show. I'm thinking about adding a bridge to this song. Actually, I might just keep it how it is. I feel like I've tried to re-work this song a few times but I've always liked how I originally wrote it the best.

Apology I
I'm working on a guitar solo for this one; I might change one line of lyrics. Other than that, I'm pretty proud of this tune.

Apology II
If The Police can do it (same name for two songs) then why can't I? (Seriously check this video; this one is pretty awesome too. What a great band. Probably tied with Journey for favorite classic rock band. I'm glad I got to see them live last year.) I have a ways to go on this one lyrically but I like where it's going.

Of Paper and Polaroids (Aron and Abra)
This one started out as an ode to my favorite Steinbeck novel but it's turning out to be something different. I'll probably drop the parenthetical "Aron and Abra" and take the first verse and chorus and make the "Aron and Abra Reprise" while tacking on an alternate ending. I really like reprises.

A, D Maj
This song doesn't really have any lyrics yet so it's working title is based on the first chord and the key signature of the song (which are usually the same, but in this case they're not). I wrote the guitar to this song a long time ago when I was listening to a lot of Neil Diamond; I think it kind of shows but without totally ripping off Neil.

G min
I also wrote this tune a long time ago but I've never finished it because the guitar part is hard to sing along to. That, and its tuning is different so I don't play it much. The guitar isn't typical of something I'd come up with (it reminds me a bit of Jeff's style) so it's a guarantee that not everything I write will sound the same.

A Maj, 7th fret
I might make this one an instrumental jam. We'll see.

I'm probably gonna purchase some recording equipment at the end of the month. All I really need is an interface for my computer (most of which come with pretty legit recording software) and a condenser microphone. Both of these items are pretty affordable, so that's great.

I'm also saving up to buy one of these:



The first is a Jim Adkins Telecaster (Jim is the singer for Jimmy Eat World). I tried out one of these guys at Milano's in AZ last weekend through a Fender Deville (the amp I own) and it sounded sick beyond belief. While it's a Telecaster in shape and name, it's really nothing like one. The pickups are super hot, and it has a set neck and a tune-o-matic bridge, which are features typical to a Gibson guitar (which makes sense since Jim was rocking a Les Paul prior to switching over to this guy).

The second is a Telecaster Deluxe. This guitar is probably a little more versatile that the Jim Adkins Tele but I'm just not as crazy about it. The biggest difference between this guy and a traditional Tele are the pickups and the wiring (and the Stratocaster headstock, but that has nothing to do with how it sounds). The Deluxe has two humbucking pickups, as opposed to the the single coils on a normal Tele. The result is a thicker, fuller sound rather than the plucky, twangy sound of the single coils. The wiring is more like a Gibson guitar, a volume and tone knob for each pickup.

Anyway, if you don't know much about guitars, all that was probably meaningless. Regardless, I felt like sharing, mostly because I'm super excited to have a new guitar.

play my little part in something big

After an eventful weekend in Arizona, I feel like I have a lot to blog about...

Our marathon band practice that spanned two bands and two days:



An extremely well planned and executed reunion show rife with nostalgia, free cookies, and the loudest, proudest rock n' roll Sweet Cakes has ever seen:






Launching Emiglio into the farthest reaches of our fair Earth's atmosphere via weather balloon:




And as collectively and individually awesome all of these things were, they would have been meaningless without these folks:


Friends.

location location location

I haven't had a serious blog post in a while, and by serious, I mean a blog post into which I put an exorbitant amount of time and thought, not one that is serious in content. But this blog post will probably end up being more of the latter than the former.

I've had geography on my mind lately. I've always excelled in geography. As a kid I loved studying maps and reading the atlas. In college (I say that like it was so long ago, like I'm so grown up now -- hardly the case at all) the physical geography class I took at MCC was simultaneously one of my favorite, easiest, and most rewarding classes (granted, the teacher was responsible for a great deal of that, but still). Geography has always interested me and it's always come easily.

But for something that I've been able to understand completely with little or no effort in a theoretical setting, I just can't seem to grasp it in a practical sense. I just can't understand why I get so hung up on location, as if there is always somewhere else I'd rather be.

Normally I'd apologize for being so vague but I don't feel an apology is necessary because my life right now is so full of vagaries (I love that word). But while so many frayed loose ends are tangled and unmanageable, I've got the important things battened down; they're not going anywhere even if I do.