song sung blue

After many hours of waiting for these videos the upload to Vimeo, here they are! I told Daniel that he had to video me playing open mic so I could prove that I actually did it, haha. I put down my name on the open mic list to go last because I thought that by then people would be tired and go home, thus leaving a smaller audience to have to sing in front of, but alas. This logic backfired and there was still a ton of people there! Plus, it meant that I had to be nervous for longer and had to watch everyone else perform before I went. Maybe next time (if there is one) I'll situate myself in the middle somewhere.

I don't feel like I have much of a "stage presence" at this point, so I mostly just got straight to doing my little songs. The first song I sang I was still suuuper nervous and kept playing the wrong chords, haha. The song was "It Ain't Me Babe."

The second song I did was "You really got a hold on me." I really adore Zooey's version of it with She & Him, so that's the version I covered. Dan was cute and wanted to video more of me so he flipped the camera vertical, so halfway through, you'll have to cock your head sideways, haha.

The last song I did was a jaunty, silly, folksy song I wrote. I felt like I had to do an original song and not just a bunch of covers and this is the only song I've ever finished. Unfortunately that means that I have to write another song if I want to do open mic again. Maybe that'll just be motivation...

I have more songs recorded that you can listen to at my music page, if you'd like. They're all just covers as of right now since, as I previously said, I have a terrible time actually finishing any of my own songs. I've been playing a bit with Dan, who is an amazing guitarist, singer and songwriter, and maybe one of these days we'll get our acts together and actually play open mic or something as a "band."

A musical tour...

Tonight I got the idea to make a playlist of all the places I've been. Obviously I'll be adding to this as I continue, but here is the playlist so far. I had to substitute a couple songs that they didn't have on the playlist site (New Mexico by Johnny Cash, Amarillo by Sally Jaye, Arkansas by Damien Jurado), and I had to put in some live versions (and Travel Song is just a clip), but it's still pretty intact. I couldn't for the life of me find a song about the Yukon Territory... so that one is still vacant. Well, here ya go!

(I added Georgia since I'll be there very soon tomorrow!)

The boat that rocked

"Governments loathe people being free"

If you guys have been following my twitter, you've probably noted that I've been watching Pirate Radio lately. I absolutely love this movie. Mainly just because I would like to live in that movie, on a pirate radio ship, living with a bunch of crazy people in love with rock and roll. Once again, it's probably my desire to live in a compartmental space. I would adore living aboard a ship in a little bunk. And a pirate rock and roll ship? Heaven. The people on the Radio Rock ship actually remind me so much of my friends from college, and it makes me pine for the days when we were all together. I never thought I took it for granted, but now I see that I definitely did.

I guess this movie makes for one more film I'm living vicariously through...

I love how their outfits are all very 60's, yet in a really colloquial comfortable way. I mean, pretty much everything they're wearing I can imagine myself or my friends wearing. There are definitely some more quintessential 60's outfits, especially seen on the girls coming over from the mainland, but I rather like seeing the more comfortable outfits that the margins of society chose to wear. I think some of my favorite scenes are the montages of regular British people listening to Radio Rock in their PJ's, work wear, hanging out with friends, etc. What a cool time to be over there, eh? Right when all the best music was coming out. Incredible.

Carl's love interest, Maryanne, has the cutest little outfits. My favorite was by far this anchor dress. There are only brief shots of it, and she wore it with white lace tights and some adorable Seychelles-eque shoes. I die! What a doll. She's such a blogger, haha.

Thick Kevin had the best lines.

"I've got a tiny knob actually... but I rather like it. Means I can wear smaller underpants"

"I find alcohol rather sharpens my mind, yes."

"Sometimes, just sometimes, I think I should be called 'Clever Kevin'."

Does January Jones not just play the part of the 60's woman so well? I don't even think I like her playing modern roles, she so fits that era for some reason.

And Felicity's love interest was adorable as well, and I loved her outfits too.

You guys should definitely check it out, if only for a great soundtrack. It's called "Pirate Radio" in the US and Canada, and "The Boat that Rocked" in the UK. Such a fun movie. The contrast between the pirate radio DJ's and the staunch government folk is just hilarious. Rent it!

I'm hopin' for Raleigh

I was so excited when Maria of Lulu Letty joined the Delightful Dozen. She has such great style and I couldn't wait to see what she put up for swap. I was so thrilled that she put up her Lulu Letty ModCloth dress! I remember seeing it on her when she was featured on ModCloth and I fell in love with the simple chambray dress. It actually reminds me a lot of the dress I styled up at the Revolve photo shoot, only way less expensive!

dress/lulu letty modcloth dress (via Delightful Dozen) :: boots/ minnetonka

belt/forever 12 :: scarf/courtesy of Rare Treasure

Secret time: I play guitar. I'm not that great at it, but I do the best I can. I don't really have enough time in the day to practice all the time. This guitar is actually my little brother's but he stopped playing guitar years ago, so I have "borrowed" it. Both of my guitars got left in Washington when I moved up here. I'm excited to grab them when I drive through Washinton on my trip. Hopefully I'll have more time to play, and maybe actually finish one of my own songs. I have a music myspace, but all the songs I've posted are covers. Nothing fancy, just recorded with my Mac and GarageBand.

A guitar is the best accessory, though. Anyone looks about 100 times cooler the instant they're holding a guitar. And boys become 100 times more attractive with a guitar, pretty much universally. Why is this? I am not sure. Maybe it has something to do with guitar players knowing what to do with their hands... haha! I think people who play music use their brains in a different way too. The visual mentality is pretty ingrained in me, and I try to make my brain think in a more musical way, but it's not natural for it to be like that. It's more of a second language than a first language. Consequently, I'm not very confident when it comes to my music. Hopefully with more practice I'll gain a little confidence.

said the waves to the sand

It goes on forever along the shoreline
It never will end on the shores of my mind
I travel along‘til the sleep takes me in
Where have I ended, where do I begin?

Sand blankets are littered with stones whipped across
Dead things in the water, forgotten or lost
The branches have surfaced and now they are lean
The trees have washed up here
Stripped bare, and washed clean

Romper/via Leproust Vintage from the Delightful Dozen

The waves kiss and gently caress on the shore
Kissing and winking, and calling for more
The waves like wagging tongues do adore
And whisper there softly to the sand on the shore

You would be nothing without me
I could be nothing
Said the waves to the sand
I could be nothing without you

Each ones shifts and weakens a little
Neither aware just how much they are brittle
Each one shifts and weakens a bit
Allowing the other to live and exist

O water and patience, pressure and time
Cuts through the faces of rocks we have climbed
The army of kisses, the lake never tires
The kisses that can put out all of my fires

dress & skirt/F21 :: shoes/thrifted

You could be nothing without me
I could be nothing
Said the waves to the sand
I could be nothing without you
Without you, I would be nothing
Without me, you could be nothing
Said the waves to the sand
I could be nothing without you