Sometimes, I really suck.

Like now, when I promised a post a day, and didn't deliver yesterday. OH WELL.

In all seriousness, I feel like sometimes I should just quit. Like... life. I moved eight hundred miles from my home, where I was born and where I grew up. Where I made a life for myself. Away from my family, and from Phil. My friends are all scattered around the country. Sometimes I'm pretty sure what I'm spending thousands upon thousands of dollars to study is exactly what I don't want to do with my life. I never have money, I don't have a car, I don't get enough sleep, and Greeley, CO sucks BALLS. I'm pretty sure this is all pretty standard for the life of a college freshman.

On the flipside, I have A LOT to turn my frown upside down. I have great friends up here, I am working my ASS off, I can still call my mom thirty-one times a day with question after question, I'm going to be on my own next year, and the greatest thing that has ever happened in my life is still putting up with me after a year and a half. He loves ME. As shitty as things can get, I'm still sort of in awe of the things that go right.

This particular blog is probably pretty preachy or whatever, but I think it needs to be said.

Everything is going to be just fine. When I forget that, I know I can call my mom and Phil in tears, or I can run up to Megan's room at two in the morning, or I can go spend three weeks at Stephanie's apartment. Being the music lover that I am, there are a few songs that, without fail, get my head out of my ass and put just how good I have it in perspective. Some of them are cheesy (Journey?), some of them helped me survive the summer (Ryan Adams. Surprise surprise), all of them are great. It's like a musical pep rally just for me, if you will. Anthems.

I always say that the beauty of music is that there is a song for every thought, feeling, or emotion a human being is capable of knowing. There's a line from this play I love, The History Boys by Alan Bennett. "The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead." There is no possible way there isn't someone in the world who isn't feeling, or at some point felt, exactly what you are. No one is THAT alone.

If you're already in college and having a hard time, are having a hard time picking a college, dealing with kids who are having a hard time in college (Hi Mom and Dad. I know you read this. Cute.), or whatever your deal is, just take a listen to these songs. Or call me up. I GET it.

Yael Naim - New Soul
Motion City Soundtrack - Everything is Alright
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby
Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
Ryan Adams - Goodnight, Rose (Easy Tiger Christmas Lights Session)
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'

Love, Lindsay

Day one.

Hey folks. Phil is currently on a ten-hour plane ride to Germany. Let us all pause for a moment to laugh heartily.



You definitely know Zooey Deschanel. Whether it's from Almost Famous, Elf, that weird as hell re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz on the Sci-Fi channel, or Jason Schwartzman's ex-arm candy, you know that lovely face. You might also know M. Ward, perhaps the less-recognizable, equally talented singer-songwriter. But do you know them as She & Him, a collaboration written in the stars? If not, we need to have a little chat.

There is something more than familiar about the songs on Volume One, the duo's first release. Deschanel, who wrote all but three of the album's thirteen tracks (a cover of The Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better", perennial favorite "You Really Got A Hold On Me", and album-closer "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"), is like a little bit of each well-loved female singer wrapped up in one. Helen Reddy, Ronnie Spector, Karen Carpenter... Deschanel fills a void that's been missing in, at the risk of sounding as cliched as their lyrics, the Danity Kane world we live in.

Volume One is a scrapbook, though not necessarily chronological or about the same guy, of what it's like to be in love. "Sentimental Heart" shows us a jilted Zooey, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" shows us a flirty Zooey, "Change Is Hard" shows us an "I done him wrong" Zooey, and so on and so forth, covering the spectrum of lurve. And who hasn't been there, in some instance?

The album is a little bit country, a little bit girl group, a little bit sad, a little bit sunshiny. Zooey on piano and banjo, Matt on guitar, some strings, and a sad, sad steel guitar. No synths, no over-production. For an emotion so powerful, this is an album about love that doesn't leave you weeping in solitude or vomiting pink bunnies and rainbows. Deschanel had these songs written for years, and they're just surfacing now? It's like her proverbial diary, and mine, set to music. There's something all too real about that, and about this album. It's finding camaraderie in the human emotion.

I don't mean to gush or wax poetic. The album is by no means perfect. Surprisingly, I agree with Pitchfork for once when I say Deschanel's lyrics can be charmingly clunky and childlike. Clocking in at just over thirty-six minutes, I find myself, album over, wanting more. Although the album is a tribute to the greatest musical classics of all time, I wonder what the two could do if they branched out, exploring different genres, different instruments, different artistic influences. Volume One is absolutely Deschanel's baby. As a fan of M. Ward, I'd like to see him a little more in the forefront. A little more She & Him Rocking Out Collectively, a little less She, & Him in the Background.

That said, it IS just Volume One. In an article on the duo in this month's NYLON magazine, Deschanel says, "The nice thing about Volume One is that we had no preconceived notions of how things were going to go, and I want it to happen that way again." Ward chimes in, "Zooey has a lot of songs. And there are about a million more that we want to cover. So I think it's safe to say that Volume Two is right around the corner." Let's hope.

Since we've already given you "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", here's my other favorite track on the album, for your listening pleeeeeeasure.

She & Him - Change Is Hard

Buy the album HERE!

Love, Lindsay

Source: NYLON Magazine, "The Story So Far..." by April Long, April 2008, nylonmag.com.

Goodbye, my lover... goodbye, my friend.

Philip's off to Italy. Forever. And by forever, I mean eleven days.

='[

Anyway, in his absence, I plan to write a post a day. You heard it right. We Have A Technical... is actually coming out of dormancy. You better believe it. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to write about. This and that, record reviews, lambasting of Pitchfork for incorrectly reviewing the new Ghostland Observatory album, themed mixes, and tasteful naked pictures of Phil.

That said, I'll miss ya, buddy. I hope you have a wonderful time and take lovely pictures and buy me lots of presents. Don't embarrass me in the pubs, and don't make out with ANYONE. Including, but not limited to, your host guy.

These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding
Daniel - Ryan Adams and Elton John
Dude, I Totally Miss You - The D

Love, Lindsay

Arrivederci, bitches.

I'm off to Italy, children. I leave early in the morning. 15 HOUR AIRPLANE RIDE.

I'll take a ton of pictures. Take care of Lindsay while I'm gone!

Leaving On a Jet Plane - J Mascis

Love, Phil

New Raconteurs song, video, AND album!!!

This came out of nowhere, but it's true. Best of all, it rocks...oh, so, so much.

This is the new video. Rumor has it the director used 2,500 photographs of Jack White and Co. to make it.

WE LOVE THIS SONG. Here's an mp3 for you to feast upon, sirs:

Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs

The album is available for about $11 at the link on the widget (!) above, and it's also on iTunes and in your favorite CD store. If you know either of us personally and you ask nicely, maybe we'll be able to hook a brotha up with some tunes as well. =]

Love,

Phil and Lindsay

P.S. Sorry we didn't deliver as many posts as we promised last week. We promised one a day, and instead you got a St. Patty's Day mix and some whining about college shit. Apologies. To make up for it, here's a special bonus track that you can download today. Thanks for reading! 

Stand By Me - U2

Happy St. Patrick's Day, you mick bastards!

Kidding.

Anyway, here's a mix of songs to get you in the mood. We've even helped you out by categorizing each song to suit the cavalcade of emotions you will experience on this awesome day. There's the drinking, the crying, the fighting, and, well, the Irish. Enjoy!

Drunk Songs:
Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced - Dropkick Murphys
Drunken Lullabies - Flogging Molly
Too Drunk to Dream - The Magnetic Fields
Whiskey in the Jar - Thin Lizzy

Fight Songs:
I Fought the Law - Colin Farrell
Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes Cover) - Damien Rice
Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy

Sad Songs:
Falling Slowly - The Frames
Not For All the Love in the World - The Thrills
If I Ever Leave This World Alive - Flogging Molly
Freedom Song - Thin Lizzy

Irish Songs:
Danny Boy - Johnny Cash
Into the Mystic (Van Morrison Cover)- Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - Bing Crosby
The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy

*BONUS TRACK: Jailbreak (Thin Lizzy Cover) - Dropkick Murphys

Happy St. Patrick's Day! =]

Love,

Phil and Lindsay

P.S. WTF?!?!?!??????

Okay, so...VH1 Classic broadcasted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last night. I usually only watch if one of my favorite bands (i.e. REM, The Clash, Elvis Costello, etc.) is being inducted. I dig John Mellencamp and Madonna, and Leonard Cohen has written some of the greatest songs of all time, but I frankly didn't care enough to watch this year. 

This video was posted today on Pitchfork. Fucking IGGY POP and the fucking STOOGES did a tribute to Madonna, covering "Ray of Light" and a bit of "Like A Virgin." The probability of disaster was potentially high, but I really think it worked out well. It's weird as shit, very messy, ugly, loud, and a little awkward - but, hey, that's fucking rock and roll, man.

Watch it now. Dig the Justin Timberlake cameo, and the uncomfortable look on Madonna's face the entire time. I LOVE IT.

We couldn't find an mp3 of the performance, so as a substitute, here's my favorite Stooges song, Guitar Hero style:

Search and Destroy - The Stooges

And you wanna know the sad irony of the whole thing? Madonna's in the Hall of Fame, and the Stooges aren't. Maybe this performance put them in the running for next year. If not, oh well. I'm sure Iggy could give a fuck. =]

See you next week!

-Phil

Quick little update...

Hey guys. Sorry we haven't posted lately - we're sad that our blog is starting to become a "one-or-two-post-a-month" kind of deal. We've been super busy these last couple of weeks (Lindsay is in shows at school, and Philip is dealing with the whole "get-my-ass-out-of-Vegas-and-into-college" thing). Next week is Spring Break, though - we will be reunited once again, and we promise that we'll be posting all week!

In the meantime, here's our new favorite song by our new favorite band. She and Him is made up of Zooey Deschanel (Elf, Almost Famous, etc.) and M. Ward. It's "very romantic" (Lindsay), "very kickass" (Philip), and "very fucking good" (all parties involved). It should tide you over for the rest of this week!

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She and Him

Thanks for hanging in there. We'll see you soon!

Love, Phil and Lindsay