Dancing About Architecture and Other Musings

"YOU CAN TALK ABOUT IT BUT YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT IT."

These are the words that came out of my favorite professor's mouth today while discussing music.

Granted, it was probably meant as a passing comment and it was during a discussion of Latin America's political framework but somehow he got off topic and dropped those words on my ears that stuck with me for the rest of the day. When talking about music, is there any way to actually talk about it?

In his example, he mentioned hearing a great song on the radio. You get the desire to talk about it incessantly with friends later on but is there any way to recollect the feeling you got when you first heard it? We are supposed to implicate that the answer is no, there is no way to explain that sensation to others, it is something that happens inside you and there are no words in the English language - or Spanish - to qualify as specific enough to express such personal feelings.

I love that he used music as an example but his true statement kind of refutes my entire career goal: writing about that same musical sensation that he deemed impossible to express. And unfortunately, I agree. The reason I want to write about music is because when I get that particular feeling about a song, I can't wait to share it with the world. I want everyone to hear the song immediately, understand why I love it so much and secretly I want them to give me accolades for finding it first. I think that's the underlying desire of many music fanatics.

My professor's wonderful insight brings up a lot of questions for me. While music is indeed one of the most passionate, erotic, expressive, thought provoking, and overall personal mediums one can think of, it is also meant to be shared. Of course in most cases, these are strangers making the music to begin with and then spreading it across radio waves for all of us listeners to enjoy and take in as our own. When Johnny Cash sings "I Still Miss Someone" his "someone" is not our "someone" but it sure as hell feels like it on some rough days when you feel like the words are there exclusively for you - but they're not. I have to remind myself sometimes that there are millions of people - both before and after me - who believe these words are for them too, and then there's the original writer and the original "someone".

While discussing a new favorite song, I have a tendency to say "it sounds like me" or "it sounds like my style". Recently I felt like this about Monsters of Folk's "Whole Lotta Losin'". When I first heard it, I went silent. The sound of the song blew my mind and I immediately wanted to post it right here, on this blog, and share it with as many people as possible. I'm not even sure how many people read this blog to begin with but the main reason I want readers is for moments like that. I want someone to comment on that kind of post and say, "wow! I completely know how you feel. You should check out...so and so." Passion, sharing, and music all go hand in hand for me - like three best friends if you will. One just isn't right without the other.

But how does this fit into my professor's statement? I'm not sure. I do believe to some degree, as Elvis Costello stated so bluntly, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" but I think perhaps in both of these statements, the point is being missed. Yes, it is impossible to convey such a strong emotion as how a piece of art makes you feel to another but sharing the actual piece of art with them and letting them get their own take OR trying to tell them how something made you feel and letting them tell you how they relate based on another piece of art that they love are two options that might help express this a little better. I think that is what music journalism is: giving what you love to someone else and letting them make a judgement for themselves. That giving should hopefully incite some type of reaction and set off a chain wherein they feel compelled to share with you something they love in return.

Maybe that's a very whimsical theory of music journalism but that's my dream. I want to start a passionate conversation.

My darling professor has evoked several other thoughts of music in my head before with casual comments regarding the art that at this point are best left for another post. He is obviously a deep lover of music himself and rarely do I get the treat of hearing someone passionately discuss my favorite thing in the world which is possibly why I took this particular comment to heart. But just another topic to think about: It's extraordinary how much easier it is to pay attention to words stated by someone you adore and admire than a regular person. I wish I could be around more people that get my wheels turning...

100th Post!

I started this blog almost exactly one year ago and have finally made it to 100 posts. Pretty exciting. Over the past year my interest in keeping a music blog has escalated beyond belief. I started it out of the longing I had to write about my favorite topic and as the months progressed it morphed into a forum for me to dissect my thoughts, divulge some personal secrets, and share my overwhelming excitment of finding a sensational new artist (which has to be my favorite thing of all).



I've managed to meet a few new people, find dozens of other fascinating blogs, and bother all my friends about the website constantly. On the eve of my 100th post I am making a pact with myself to write everyday when possible and spread the word a little further about this silly little blog because the thing is: it's not silly. I put a lot of work and thought into my posts and I'm proud of them. This is not the typical music blog by any means. I'm not in the business of reviewing albums or commenting on all the same music news that you can find in greater detail on the larger sites. I just want to bring my own spin to things you may have heard before but passed by. Whether a song is a day old or a decade old, I want to give it the proper due. I would never be able to post on something I wasn't completely enthralled with and that passion is hopefully being conveyed in every topic I cover.



I promise I will only continue to get better. I strive to make people interested in the music I love so very much. Even if this kind of music is not your thing, I hope you can laugh at my over the top enthusiasm. And I'll be honest, I really want more readers! I want to start debates about who the greatest singer/songwriter is or have contests where people can win crazy things like a poster of Earth, Wind, and Fire. Ha.

I just love this tiny blog so much. Why? Because I love music so much.



In upcoming posts, I will be covering the Paul McCartney concert at Citi Bank (Shea Stadium), All Points West music festival, and the craziness that I hope will ensue as I work the David Cook show here at my own venue. I'll also be working at Warped Tour tomorrow so there could be a few good stories there (I'm hoping not to see any of the bands though - I've been to Bamboozle before and wanted to kill myself). Bottom line: A lot of music is happening.

Here are some favorite photographs to commemorate this day:








(The cat picture courtesy of me: the owner of the most musical cat in the world, Charlie Margarita Chaplin)

Why Journalism is Great: A Third Grade Paper

Well, it's not exactly but I initially just wrote the first part of the title and it sounded too juvenile to not make fun of.

I was just sifting through some websites, wondering if I made the right decision applying to the Journalism major (finally) at my college when it dawned on me that journalism is the key to every door I could possibly want to open. If I was this clear minded while writing my application essay, I would be far more certain of my actual chances of acceptance.

I had been slightly skeptical of declaring a major for a while now because of my desire to do several other things and specifically, not be tied down to any one profession for the rest of my life. Earlier in my years I had considered acting (which I still consider everyday actually) and some type of hosting situation - along with traveling and writing short stories. I've also always had a deep rooted place in my heart for fashion of all kinds but never the ambition to pursue any particular career in the field. Lately though I've found myself obsessed with fashion blogs, photographs, and reading fashion-related essays both online and in magazines. Strangely, this first led me to believing journalism might not be the right track for me. How could journalism help me advance in any of these other areas I'm interested in?

I'm stupid.

Journalism is the only thing that can help me. When writing for a fashion magazine or blog, you get to completely indulge in all areas of that market and same for a music magazine or any genre for that matter. With a Journalism degree, I have the option of still focusing on any career I'd like, clearly not just the news. While I enjoy my style of writing which I think is kind of strange and personal, I definitely need to let go of some excess words I use and the frequent 'cliches'. I need my writing to become a little more succinct and direct. These stylistic problems are easily solvable with the help of a university full of excellent teachers.

To be completely honest, I'm not interested in the typical journalism career path. I don't think I have the capacity to do formal interviews with world leaders or write an entire article on one topic that may not interest me very much. I want to do what I want to do, if that makes sense. I most enjoy reading stories or articles that focus on a real human being. I like to hear people's secrets or little anecdotes about their life. My favorite books have always been non-fiction, specifically autobiographies, and I feel like those kinds of silly yet completely enthralling life tales are the ones I want to be a part of.

Chuck Klosterman's book 'Killing Yourself to Live' absolutely transformed the way I thought a book could be written and unintentionally defined what I want to do for a living - or at least part of my living. I need to write a book about my ridiculous, kooky thoughts on music that has shaped my life. And I don't want to be selfish either. I want to write another book (perhaps a sequel after the first one does so well) with individual chapters dedicated to other people's musical tales. If I were to do any interviewing, it would be with regular people who have these extraordinarily beautiful stories filled with their first kiss set to a cheesy song in an Oldsmobile or a first dance on their wedding night that had been planned for years in their head. Especially, I want to hear the really strange stories I can't even think up - maybe an album that changed someone's life or made them move to Ireland... whatever, you know?

I'm sure it's been done before and I'm positive it's at least been thought of before but since music is one of the most innate creations in our universe, I think it's worth exploring over and over again. I think these same thoughts on love as well - attraction specifically. For years, I've wanted to write a weekly or daily column dedicated to attraction of all kinds. As a person that has always been attracted to the wrong guys or at the very least, the weirdest guys, I want to find out other people's take on why they love what they love. Everyone finds something attractive or lovable and I want to know why. Once again, I know I'm not the first person to come up with this idea but I want to be one of the people to go further and listen to the everyday people that are just as fascinating as the celebrities we always hear about except there's way more of them and they're far more relatable. You don't need US Magazine trying to tell you that "stars are just like US!" when you have real, spectacular people with dynamic voices that actually are just like you and want to share their experiences as well.

I sat in Urban Outfitters the other day for probably more than a half hour staring at all the shoppers going up and down the stairs. Some were beautiful, some were lost, some were listening to headphones completely oblivious to their surroundings, etc. All of them told me a thousand things without saying a word. It's like... unbelievable. It is like nothing else. I love the elements we are all made up of. While I can't be a scientist or researcher, I can certainly put my own spin on some of the daily human quirks we all have and write about them in a sensitive, sincere way.

This directly leads to acting as well. I have taken acting classes for a million years now. Since the first day I was able to recall thoughts, I wanted to be an actor. Before I even understood exactly what that meant, I just knew I wanted to entertain people, get attention, and express emotions on a higher level. When I finally did come to understand what the acting industry equated to, I decided that deliberately seeking out competition is not in my blood and I would be better off sticking to being me. Lately though, I've been having second thoughts. I by no means want to audition for anything or be a part of an ensemble or have any freaking camaraderie with a 'fun group of wacky pals' or anything but I do miss simply acting - minus all the sideshow freak stuff. Talking about observing people's quirks and interesting habits makes me think of how much I love them so much and want to have a chance to be everyone I've ever met for even just a second. It fascinates me way too much.

This could also be why I so easily become obsessed with the people I believe to have the most interesting quirks and habits of all. They consume my entire brain with the curiosity that floods in.

So basically, as of today, some of my goals would be:

- write two books: one in a Chuck Klosterman-type style focusing on my own musical exploits (non-fiction, funny, possibly short story format, filled with phenomenal playlists, suggestions, and possibly a place for the reader to fill in their own life changing playlists as well); the second book focusing on other people's stories based in music. For this I would interview hundreds of people all over the country (I think I'd stick to just this country at first) and choose twenty or so to write detailed chapters on filled in with my views of their tales and descriptions I picked up within each interview.

- write a column in a newspaper or magazine focusing on attraction among all kinds of people. I would want to find out about everything, from the most common forms of attraction to the oddest couples you could think of (maybe even relationships that work involving more than two people). I'm so interested in finding out about other forms of love besides the conventional man/woman, same age, same background sort of love that is probably not as common as one would think. I'm sure there are tons of kinky, peculiar-yet-not kinds of attraction happening all over the world. I want to share those stories.

- Express big emotions.

That's about it. I think journalism is perfect for me. I hope my college thinks so too.

One more thought: I LOVE how a song creeps up on you when you least expect it. I have had the same playlist on this blog for months now and suddenly "Skinny Love" came on and gave me chills. I've heard it a bunch of times but the colder temperature in my office right now mixed with the eerie opening chords of the song just blew my mind. How can that be possible? The earthly elements surrounding a song change the song into something new. How absolutely hypnotizing.