Christmas Break Here I Come

          Alright, so I know its incredibly cliche to say this, but this semester has completely flown by. Seriously. Tomorrow is the last day of classes and it feels like I just moved into my apartment yesterday. Unfortunately, with the end of the semester comes those things that all college students dread: FINALS. Yep, finals are the only thing that stand between the student and Christmas Break. I honestly can't wait to get back home. Not that I haven't loved this semester, its just that I always look forward to hanging out with all my close friends from high school. Thanksgiving break was all well and good, but it was just a tease. It wasn't long enough to be able to make plans to hang out with everyone you wanted to. That's why Christmas Break is so great. Well, that, and Christmas, I guess.
           It has been a fairly uneventful month or two since my last post. Well, except for the fact that I turned 20 but honestly, I don't feel any different so I always forget that I'm no longer a teenager. Honestly, I still feel like I'm 12 years old in my head. It blows my mind thinking that I'm actually 20 years old now. That's so old! I hope that doesn't mean that I have to grow up now. I hate to sound like Peter Pan or something, but growing up is pretty scary to me. I'm not sure why, but there's just something about it that doesn't sound appealing to me. I guess I just want to be a kid forever, even though that's clearly impossible. Oh well, I can dream can't I?
          I've kind of been on a music overload for the last couple of weeks so it was pretty difficult trying to think of just one or two musicians that really stood out. Then I remembered that probably my two favorite artists of all time recently came out with albums and trust me when I say this, they're great. The first comes from Ryan Adams, who is easily my favorite songwriter of all time. That said, his incredible songwriting continues on his latest record, Ashes and Fire. Overall, it really is just a fantastic CD. Especially if you're as into folky stuff as I am. The second album comes from a guy named Jay Clifford, the former lead singer of my favorite band of all time, Jump Little Children. Unfortunately, Jump broke up back in 2006 but thankfully, Jay Clifford has continued to make music. His second solo CD, entitled Silver Tomb For The Kingfish, has far less production than his first solo album. This one focuses more on his voice and songwriting. I will always believe that Jay has one of the most unique and beautiful voices I've ever heard. He truly never fails to disappoint. The same goes for Ryan Adams. They're both incredible musicians and I hope they continue to make music for many years to come.

Camping (Blair Witch Style)

          So this past weekend I went camping with two of my roommates, Andy and Chandler, and another one of my close friends, Phillip. To be completely honest, we didn't do a very good job planning this trip. We didn't even know where we were going when we left, all we had was a map one of our friends gave us. Nonetheless, we decided we would have an adventure and just hope for the best. That always works out right? Most of the time, it doesn't, but we got lucky this time and actually found our way exactly where we wanted to go: The Stone Door. Yeah, it sounds pretty cool doesn't it? Well, it was VERY cool.
           We found our way to the campsite and set up the tent and everything. With nothing actually planned, we figured we might as well go check out this Stone Door thing and see what it was like. It was an easy hike and, before we knew it, we were overlooking some of the coolest scenery I had ever seen.

Just imagine this same view from about 500 feet higher. That's where we were.

          While overlooking some of these awesome views, Phillip decided that it would be a great idea to try to climb down the side of this incredibly high peak. I swear, that guy fears nothing. So obviously, I decided to follow him (while taking the safer way down, of course). It was well worth the risk. We found some pretty awesome caves down below the cliffs. So after we finished risking our lives, we decided to actually go find this "Stone Door" thing, which we had no idea what it was or where we could find it. We were pretty amazed when we came upon it.

It looks kind of like something out of Lord of the Rings

          It turns out that the Stone Door is a huge cavern type thing carved out of the rock that leads down into the valley below. There were even stairs carved out of stone. Pretty Impressive, to say the least. After that, we decided to head back to camp and try our hand at making a fire. And when I say "try OUR hand", I mean watch Phillip do it all by himself. It took him a while to get it up and going, but after a few hours we had it pretty solid.  We decided to roast some hot dogs and make some chili, which turned out delicious. Obviously, we had to make s'mores as well, which is always followed by an endless stream of Sandlot quotes.

          Before we knew it though, it was pitch black by about 6 o'clock. This made me realize that there truly is nothing creepier than a forest at night. Seriously, it completely reminded me of The Blair Witch Project (hence the title of this post), minus all the the witch stuff, just the creepiness. With nothing left to do really, we decided to call it a night around 9ish. This was easily the earliest I had gone to sleep in 3 or 4 years probably. Anyways, the next day, we packed everything up and headed back home to good ol' Murfreesboro. It was a successful trip indeed, and hopefully we'll do it again next semester sometime.

         Before I finish up this post, I'll leave you guys with a few videos from two incredibly talented female Irish folk singers that I have been listening to as of late. The first is Wallis Bird (awesome name, for sure) and the other is Lisa Hannigan, who kind of made a name of herself by singing alongside fellow Irish singer Damien Rice. Don't worry, I'll spare you guys all the extra stuff I usually talk about, and just let you hear them. Enjoy.

           

The Sophomore Slump

          I've always known the term "sophomore slump", but I never thought it would happen to me. Man, was I wrong. I don't even know why its happening, I've just kind of felt uninspired as of late. I couldn't tell you why, I just have the feeling that I'm not really doing anything that matters. I almost feel like I'm wasting my time in a lot of my classes. That's not to say that I feel like I'm too good for my classes, its just that I think that there's something more important that I need to be doing, but I have no idea what that should be. Its almost like I'm having a mid-life crisis, even though I'm only nineteen. I've never had this lack of inspiration before, so I'm not exactly sure what to do about it. All I know is that something needs to change, because I really don't like it.
           I think that, more than anything, I'm worrying about my future for the first time in my life. I've always been a fan of living in the present and just letting life happen but, for some reason, I'm starting to get stressed about what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. If you know me at all, then you know that I DON'T get stressed. Ever.
          Well, that's about all I've got. I just wanted to get that off my chest and out in the open. I guess I feel a little better, so thanks for letting me vent. On a happier note, there is an incredibly talented singer/songwriter has some of the catchiest pop songs I've heard in the last few years. Jeremy Messersmith is a Minneapolis based singer that has been playing music for some time now, and I'm just now starting to get into his stuff. I stumbled across his latest cd entitled "The Reluctant Graveyard", and I haven't been able to stop listening to it for about a month now. He has a very pleasant and gentle voice that is especially present on his softer songs. Many of his songs have very lavish orchestration in them, which is always a plus because I think that strings always sound great in any kind of music. All in all, I think he has some of the most well-crafted indie-pop songs that I've ever heard. He's just great. Enjoy.

Classes So Far..

          Now that classes have started up, it seems like I never even left for the summer. Everything just kind of falls back into place. Everything, that is, except for the whole dorm life thing. I'm glad that part of my life is over with. Anyways, I figured I'd just do this post about the classes I'm taking this semester and give you guys a little update.
          I'm taking Survey of the Recording Industry,  Speech, Math, American History, and Astronomy. The only real significant thing about my Survey class is that my professor is a musician and songwriter who has been doing his thing for the last 40 or so years. He's written hit songs for tons of successful singers (most of whom I have absolutely no idea who they are, but I'll just take his word for it I guess). The class is pretty interesting so far, so here's to hoping it stays like that.
         Now Speech, if you know me at all, is pretty terrible for me. I've always hated talking in front of any group of more than four or five people. I absolutely hate it. I mean when I was the best man at my brother's wedding, I was probably more nervous than I've ever been in my life right before I had to give the big toast. Apparently it didn't turn out too bad, but honestly, I barely remember any of it. So far though, this class hasn't been too bad. Unfortunately, I still have to do 4 speeches this semester. I'm really really not looking forward to it but oh well, you've gotta do what you gotta do. On the plus side, there's a guy in my class who looks pretty much EXACTLY like Matt Damon. On an even cooler note, he used to be a ranger in the Army, which makes him that much cooler.

Just imagine that I have Jason Bourne in my Speech class

          I really don't like math, so I can't really say there's anything good about that class. My teacher kind of reminds me of a mad scientist. A mad scientist, that is, that is an absolutely terrible math teacher. He has a really poofy afro type thing. He also looks vaguely like Steve Perry, which makes his class somewhat bearable, since its so hilarious.

          I'm trying to keep this post fairly short, so I'll just skip over my American History and Astronomy class. They're about as interesting as they sound. 

          Before I finish, I really want to tell you guys about this insanely talented Irish folk singer name James Vincent McMorrow. Once again, I first heard him on NPR's tiny desk concerts. That podcast is seriously the greatest thing ever. His music has a certain kind of soul that is really hard to find in lots of folk music. It is lavish and filled with beautiful harmonies that perfectly complement his equally beautiful songwriting. Along with that sense of lavishness, comes a sense of simplicity that truly makes folk music what it is. Enjoy. I know I did. 

Doing It All Over Again

          Once again, a summer has come and gone and I'm back up to good ol' Murfreesboro. I've missed this place. I really have. I've missed all my friends. I've missed living on my own. It really feels good to be back up here. Getting used to living in an apartment instead of the dorm really isn't that hard, quite easy actually. The funny thing is, that a ton of people who I lived around last year have moved into the same apartment complex as me, so it really doesn't feel too different.
          Unfortunately, looking for a job is still incredibly hard/borderline impossible. So far I've had ZERO luck but I'm still optimistic towards finding one. If any of you guys has any suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I'd love some advice.
          As good as it feels to be with my friends up here, I still feel kind of torn from all the people back home that I had grown close to this summer but hey, that's just life I guess.
          Honestly, I'm ready for classes to start. I've been up here for a week already and have found myself being super bored sometimes. Even though I'm ready for classes at this point, I'm not necessarily ready for the workload to start up again, but I'll just suck it up and do it as always.
         I figured I'd just give you guys a little update so I'm trying to keep this post fairly short. I'll end it by telling you guys about a band that I found out about just a few days ago. Warpaint is an all girl, Los Angeles-based band that has pretty much been on repeat since I first heard them. Their music can best be described as ambient, ethereal rock/pop. That's how I hear it at least. I honestly couldn't tell you exactly why I like their music so much, it just gets stuck in my head (in a good way). There are two main singers in Warpaint, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell because they basically sound the same. Their voices never really do anything crazy, yet there's a sort of hypnotic sense to them. Its just cool sounding music to me. Enjoy!

Almost There

         Well, that time of year is coming around again. The time when you're preparing to go off to college again. Its a strange time, indeed. Most of your hometown friends are already at college, which makes you look ahead to connecting with your college friends yet again. You look back on what (if anything) you've accomplished this summer and all the old friends you meant to hang out with but never found the time to. Then you feel guilty for not seeing said friends all summer. Finally, you just prepare your mind for getting back into the swing of classes, homework, and job searching (and hopefully finding).
         I've already said my goodbyes to many of my close friends and accepted the fact that I probably won't see them until Christmas break. Just like last summer. That said, I am incredibly excited to get back up to MTSU and see all my friends and move into my apartment. Dang, that sounds weird. MY apartment. It makes me feel like an actual adult. Let's face it though, I probably won't actually think of myself as an adult for another few decades. Its a fun thought though.
         Its been a good summer though. I had a good job and I worked hard at it. That, probably more than anything else, was what I'm most proud of this summer. Even though there were a lot of people that I had meant to hang out with but never did, I still got to be with my closest friends quite a bit. I wish I had the chance to be with my siblings more though, but I guess that's just what happens when they all live in different states. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait until Thanksgiving break.
        Its pretty much a given that everyone knows who John Lennon is (hopefully), but have you ever listened to his son Sean? If not, allow me to remedy that. Sean Lennon has been doing his solo thing for a while, but a few years ago he began a project entitled Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, which conveniently spells out GOASTT. This project is just Sean and Charlotte Kemp Muhl, a model-turned-singer-turned Sean's girlfriend. I first heard them once again on NPR about a year ago and had listened to them on and off since then. Last week though, I finally got some of their music and I really haven't been able to stop listening to it. Their style is like a quirky and cerebral kind of folk. The only way I can think to describe Sean's lyrics are whimsical, scientific, but with some sort of historical significance. They're very strange, to say the least, but a good sort of strange. Sean's voice sounds eerily similar to his father's, which is even weirder because they look almost identical (except Sean has some Asian in him from Yoko). Charlotte's voice is soft and soothing and it meshes incredibly well with Sean's. Enjoy!

Movies, Movies, and More Movies

           There are few things in life that I can truly say I have a passion for. Sports and music happen to be a couple of the bigger ones. The other is film. I already know that in my short life I've seen WAY too many movies, and I'm totally ok with that. I like to consider myself a bit of a movie buff (but then again, who doesn't?) Every once in a while I'll get in a conversation with someone else like me and I realize that I could literally talk for hours about films. That realization is a bittersweet one simply because, although I have ZERO shame in the amount of movies I've seen, all of that information is basically useless trivia fodder that rarely becomes relevant in real life. I will say though, that I can play a mean Trivial Pursuit.
           Anyways, last night I had a movie marathon with with a bunch of guys at my buddy Christian's house (the same Christian mentioned in previous posts). We watched a whopping five movies in the span of about 10 hours. Pretty pathetic I know but like I said, I'm shameless. I personally really enjoy horror movies so I was able to convince the guys to watch 2 fairly scary ones (Martyrs and Insidious. Seriously, DON'T watch the first one, you'll probably regret it) Luckily, we broke up the scariness by watching The Little Rascals in between them. There's really nothing like a little Alfalfa to cleanse your metaphorical film palate. After we finished watching all the movies at around 5, we finally decided to call it quits. Needless to say, I can't wait until the next movie marathon.

I swear, Christian's cooler than he looks

            A few months ago, I first heard of this band with this really strange name on the NPR Tiny Desk Concert podcast (which is an UNBELIEVABLE podcast. seriously, check it out). The band was called Ivan and Alyosha, and they played I think three songs. I wasn't really paying attention when I first listened, but I found myself humming the melodies later on that day. So I went back and listened to it one more time...and then another...and another, etc. That's what their music does to you. Its truly addicting. Their a folk-pop band based out of Seattle, Washington that was formed in around 2007. Their songs are a combination of solid songwriting, a very cool lead vocalist, and really awesome three and four part harmonies. As far as I'm concerned, Ivan and Alyosha are about as close as it gets to pop perfection. Enjoy.