bad luck lose you at your best

heading to new york city to see one of my most favorite people tie the knot. congratulations, coxys! may you always bring out the best in one another.

i have your will

true story: one time csj recognized the dodos at lollapalooza. they were hot, too, so they borrowed gold bond from our buddy. sweat confidence. here's a song from their latest album, carriers:

"confidence", by the dodos

still surprised

my fiancé thinks he's funnier than i am...i'm not so sure. but i do know that he is a wonderful gift-giver. besides the magnet and other treats, he gifted me the new washed out album for my birthday. yessss! i sure do love ernest. and i like what i am hearing.

here's a track from paracosm, "don't give up":

my heart is wild

in "song for zula," the lyrics speak of heartbreak, but the music is so lovely, the listen is light. one of matthew houck's previous projects was a willie nelson tribute, which makes sense, i hear a likeness. looking forward to seeing him live at acl.

"song for zula" by phosphorescent

fiesta forever

lionel richie, depeche mode, the cure, atoms for peace, tame impala, local natives, wild nothing, cat power, and more! oh, man. pumped for acl 2013!

time passes

i have decided that the hardest part about getting older is watching those that i love get older, too. especially when they are far away.

i am very thankful for the time i had with my grandparents this weekend.

wishing my parents peace and relaxation.

james blake's new track: "overgrown"

compassion it waits

i have been a grump! when it rains, it pours, i suppose.

a few weeks ago, the eldest of ten, my mom's brother, michael, passed away. simultaneously, my parents, aunts, and uncle were urgently trying to find a new home for my grandparents. and then one of my sweet aunts found out she had a brain tumor. 

i scheduled an impromptu trip home, and then i was struck with a four-day stomach virus and could not make my flight. 

my personal sadness, not to mention the horrific explosions here in texas and in boston, have put me in an foul mood. 

thankfully...
my big loving family will be together in july to remember michael. my grandparents are together. cindy's doctor was able to remove nearly all of the tumor and discovered it is a slow-growing form of cancer, which means with treatment they expect a full recovery. and i am headed to ohio next weekend.

"we all know the truth" by banco de gaia

little buddy

in honor of this sweet little buddy (his "angel-versary" is march 7th) and his family, here is a song from one of his favorite movies:

this american life

we dicksons had dinner with ira.

listening to this american life while i eat brunch reminds me of my childhood sundays. for the past two weeks, tal visited harper high school in chicago. the series was incredibly poignant. please listen.

you'll find it in the archives (#487 and #488): www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives

and to add a musical touch... this song is often played during acts on this american life. i find it to be lovely and motivating.

"perpetuum mobile" by penguin cafe

the sun will stay

what a beautiful day to run a marathon! (you go, amart!)

opened up my mind

i swear i tried to make sure that my favorite tracks from 2012 were actually released in 2012. but i blew it. 11 out of 13 isn't so bad, though.

believe it from somebody else

i'll admit it. i had kind of forgotten about these guys. (and how could i after their kick ass free show at waterloo and that oh so lovely day at cedar street?) lately i've been hearing one of their two pre-released tracks from the january 29th release, hummingbird, and i am pumped! delighted to hear they will be at sxsw again. it is almost that time of year!

"breakers" by local natives

fell into the fall

wanna slow-motion dance with me? my brother shared this track with me from mystery duo, rhye. the pitchfork comparison to sade makes sense to me. and considering the dickson children spent many hours lakeside with our mom and aunt listening to her sultry voice, i can hear why we like this.

"the fall"

too deep for tears to well

∆ (alt-J). real curious about these brits. should i consider acl after all?

"ms"

and here we are

lost lander is matt sheehy's latest project. you'll know him from ramona falls. producer, brent knopf funded ramona falls, and is a former member of menomena. this track, "cold feet" is blowing my mind with loveliness.

get it for free?

this is gonna be weird...

 ...this csj idiom means "these guys are gonna kill it." case in point(s):

"dark allies" by light asylum--yup, female vocalist. watch it, she'll kick your ass.

AND dan deacon. the man is a genius. instructions were to follow the interpretive dancer. look for c, r, a, s, & i straight ahead. 

other favorites at sxsw this year: built to spill, clap your hands say yeah, chairlift, andrew bird, youth lagoon, sharon van etten, and (totally surprised) fiona apple. here are a few samples...

"same mistake" by clap your hands say yeah

"sifters" by andrew bird

"i belong in your arms" by chairlift

we danced just as hard to this song on night two. "goin' against your mind" by built to spill

when the day is done

dang, bummed i missed poliça during sxsw. especially now that i am obsessed with the way former folk singer, channy leaneagh, manipulates her vocals on this track. that's some beautiful autotune.

"wandering star" by poliça

you built yourself a myth

good news, beach house will release 'bloom' in may. whoot!

here's "myth"

eleven for '11

favorite eleven songs of 2011

1. "amor fati", washed out. naturally.
2. "the broken places", moby. moby combined sounds just right to create a mellow mood.
3. "keep pushing on", john maus. john maus is so rad.
4. "posters", youth lagoon. love the whole album. give this song some time, once it really starts, you'll know it.
5. "raw umber twilight", WALLS. one of my newest favorite running songs.
6. "somebody that i used to know (feat. kimbra)", gotye. i'll admit it, don't know any other gotye. but i am going to explore on account of how much i love this track.
7. "steep hills of vicodin tears", a winged victory for the sullen. the ambient stars of the lid coupled with piano. a beauty.
8. "te amo", atlas sound. bradford cox is the shit. he made it onto my bests last year with deerhunter. keep it up, bradford, it's that good.
9. "towers", bon iver. hands down one of my favorite concerts this year. 
10. "we have everything", young galaxy. i'm not sick of this song, and i've been listening to it for almost a whole year.
11. "whole love", wilco. i'm usually not a fan of wilco. john said this song sounds reminiscent of the grateful dead. that explains it.

i keep gettin' closer

i love youth lagoon's whole album, the year of hibernation. you should get it. here's "posters". just wait until about 2:08, and you will be as happy as me.