CONCERT: Sasquatch '09

I don't even know where to begin. (And by the length of this post, I don't know when to stop either.)
Except maybe to say, "Never forget your camera."
Followed by, "Don't stand too close to the guy with no pants."

Two adages I learned the hard way this year at the Sasquatch Music Festival.

Right now I'm in some pretty dire financial straits and in the weeks leading up to Sasquatch the $60 some odd dollars I spent on my one-day Saturday ticket months before seemed ill-advised. ($60 can purchase a fair number of Hot and Ready pizzas. 12 before taxes.)

Then the prospect of driving from Provo to the Gorge was pretty daunting. We've had a lot of good memories Idaho, but driving through your southern portion...not one of them. I only stopped to go to the bathroom there. Seemed like a fitting tribute...

At the Gorge I started thinking of the full day I was about to endure in the hot sun, craning my neck for a better view, all the while avoiding having the drunk co-eds who sneaked alcohol in plastic baggies stuffed into their bikini tops (point for creativity) from vomiting on me. I became prematurely exhausted and muttered to myself, "Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff." (For the record, I'm 25)

So that was my attitude going into this. Pretty crappy. (And $10 for a personal pizza didn't help my already cash-strapped self)

Then the music started and 800 miles suddenly seemed like nothing. A paltry distance to travel for what I was suddenly seeing and hearing.

I forgot about the sun, I forgot about the heat, and I forgot that I really didn't have the money to be there, but I was reminded why I love music.
I was entranced. I simply could not believe that there were people not fixed 100% on the stage. Were they not hearing what I was hearing or did they simply want pleasant background music to enjoy their $9 beer?

Why I love music and who reminded me of that love...playlist style.

How much crazy fun can music be? Whatever the answer is to that question Animal Collective is pushing that. They turned it up to '11'
mp3: Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

The Hazards of Love from beginning to end. Simply astounding. The Rake Song blew me away. Heck, the whole thing blew me away. (And as though you need any other reason to see them, they're touring with Blind Pilot. Another festival fave.)
mp3: The Decemberists - The Rake Song
mp3: Blind Pilot - Oviedo

The Kings of Leon were always meant to play the Gorge. Their huge arena rock sound deserves to be played at such venues. This song has been played in the back of my mind since. ("...given the chance I'm gonna be somebody. If for one dance I'm gonna be somebody.")
mp3: Kings of Leon - Be Somebody

And at the top of everything. The King of Whisper Rock and the Queen of the Taiga. Breathtakingly beautiful.
mp3: Bon Iver - Flume



Thanks for reading.

SONG: Be Somebody

When did I get old? I feel like it happened sometime in between the realization that cartoons are no longer funny and that I'm about to graduate from college.

Well, like everyone that enters the doors and walks the halls of academia I have high hopes of making something of myself. Changing the world and all that...

I guess only time will tell. I'll keep you informed.
In the meantime I have my self-contained support network in my iPod cheering me on. (And my parents who don't want to see their son living in their basement)(Again).

Kings of Leon - Be Somebody
from the album Only By the Night (Amazon/iTunes)

ARTIST: Caught me whilst a lyin'

As Chris said, it's the end of the semester and that means finals.
And unless someone wants to write a paper for me on determining the vegetation health of reclaimed mining operations outside of Terra Haute, IN using unsupervised classification algorithms, well then this is gonna be short. (You're impressed aren't you? Don't lie.)

Quite frankly, Kings of Leon rock.
Thats what they are, they're a rock band (with whisperings of Lynyrd Skynyrd) and you should love good rock music.
And Ragoo is a rock song and I've been loving it when my 'Finals playlist' cycles through so I can hear it again.

Good luck with finals or any of the other little tests life hands out. WIAC loves you.

Ragoo - Kings of Leon
from the album Because of the Times (Amazon/iTunes)