Feel Good, Feel Bad, Feel Something

The other day, I was in a terrible mood. I didn't want to get out of bed. I didn't want to go to work. I didn't even want to listen to music on the way to work. I scrolled through my iPod, and tried to find a song that would put me in a better mood. But instead, I found a song that made me feel worse. Which in the end, made me feel better.
Have you ever done that? Purposely put on a song that you know will make you cry or make you more angry than before? I absolutely love that feeling. I don't enjoy making myself feel like shit or anything, it's more ... catharsis. These songs help me get out those pent-up feelings that I have without taking them out on anyone else. You know you do it.
On this particular day, I came across an EP that I had downloaded months before by a woman named Samantha Crain. I turned it on as sort of a background sound on the way to work. But then, Beloved, We Have Expired came on. There is a part in the middle of the song where the lyrics are ... "I want to be held again, To be close or dead, Sung to sleep again, That would be the greatest thing". Gut-wrenching! I had tears in my eyes! Before I knew it, I was full on crying! (Note: This is not a pity party... I'm just expressing how I love songs that move me this much) By the time I got to work, I felt great. I had gotten this negative feeling out of the way without taking it out on someone.
I have a list of songs that I listen to when I'm feeling shitty. I guess I could call it my shit-list. But I mean that in the best way possible. These songs, literally, move me to tears and eventually leave me feeling refreshed. Here's a short version of it:
1. Don't Be Scared - Andrew Bird
2. Biggest Lie - Elliott Smith
3. Saddest Vacant Lot In All The World - Grandaddy
4. We Crawl - The Polyphonic Spree
5. Rest Of My Life - Rilo Kiley
6. Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space - Spiritualized
Now, let's not focus on songs that make us sad/cry. Here's my list for songs that can, usually, no matter what make me feel amazing:
1. Glad Girls - Guided By Voices
2. The New Style - Beastie Boys
3. O My Soul - Big Star
4. The Party's Crashing Us - Of Montreal
5. Money In The Afterlife - Saturday Looks Good To Me
6. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone - Sleater-Kinney

So, what's your list? Songs that make you feel good, feel bad or feel something... anything. I really want to know.

My Recent Obsession

Friday night, my two friends, Kelly, Kristina and I went to the Metro to go see Dr. Dog. I had been excited for this show for about two months. Dr. Dog has been my most recent obsession. I'm not sure how most people are with their music, but about once a year, I get really into a specific band. Like, REALLY into them. The day Dr. Dog's new record, Shame, Shame came out, I bought it. (It's available on iTunes, if you're wondering) I listened to it everyday in anticipation for this show.
Why was I so excited, you might be wondering? I had seen Dr. Dog, probably about a year ago, at Taste of Randolph Street. Fate, the album before their newest one, had been out for a few months and I was pretty into it. Me and my boyfriend at the time, stood in the rain for two hours, just waiting. And it was worth the wait. Because of the rain, many people had left, so Chris and I were able to stand right in the front. The band came out in full force. What a show! They might be one of the best live bands I have seen in a long time. There's nothing really flashy about them. They all dress normal, with the exception of fedoras and sunglasses. But when they play, do they play. The energy that they have fills the crowd and makes you want to dance/cry/laugh/scream. Toby Leaman, the bass player and one of the lead singers, is amazing to watch. You can see he has a passion inside him that goes nuts. I guess it's not just him, it's all of them. They all have ... soul, I guess. Maybe soul isn't the best way to describe it, but they've got something. And it's working.
The Metro was completely sold out. The band came out and opened with Stranger, the first song off their new album. It's a sad song that tricks you into happiness because of it's beautiful harmonies in the background. That is, until you hear the lyrics "The good old days have passed and the good times after that", insinuating a lonely road ahead.
The soothing harmonies Dr. Dog is known for are apparent in the song Where'd All The Time Go. A four part harmony fills the background as Scott McMicken, the guitar/piano player and other lead singer, yells the chorus. Even though the album is filled with dark themes, the emotionally charged lyrics combined with the clear sounds of pianos, guitars, bass, and drums make you feel warm inside.
The night went on as they played a mixture of songs from their other two full length albums, Fate and We All Belong. The lights flashed different colors as each song climbed to a climax. The guys danced around the stage, like they do, letting their energy flow throughout the crowd (I swear, I'm not a hippie). Once they were finished and walked off stage, it only took about thirty seconds for them to come back.
They started their encore with the title track off the new album, which is explained as a "...harsh self-critique [...] a gnarled admission that sometimes it's best to admit your mistakes and move on..." on their website. (Just a small side note about the song, Jim James from My Morning Jacket and Monsters of Folk sings on this track) They followed it up with my favorite song, "Jackie Wants A Black Eye", a telling tale about a couple "falling apart". I'm not going to lie, after that song was played, I was in some sort of euphoric state. I can't even recall what other songs were played.
I do know that I left the Metro completely satisfied. I haven't stopped listening to Shame, Shame since the show (yes, I am listening to it right now). If you like chamber-pop folk rock, I recommend this album... THIS BAND to you. Get it! Get the album and tell me what you think. It's okay if you disagree, opinions are welcome here.

If you are like me, and you start to become obsessed in a ridiculous way, Dr. Dog has a facebook, a myspace and of course, their own website:
http://d.drdogmusic.com/
Be sure to check out the Daytrotter Session video. It's awesome!

This one time, I met a famous person...

Tonight, my dear friend Ben invited me to a show at the Empty Bottle to see a band called Pet Lions. The reason we went to see this band is because Matt Dahl is the drummer for the band. Matt is the son of Steve Dahl (remember Disco Demolition?) a local radio DJ. Ben loves Steve Dahl, I do not. We have gone back and forth on this for years, I'm a Kevin Matthews fan, Ben is a Steve Dahl fan. I don't know about any sort of real rivalry between Matthews and Dahl fans, but there is one between Ben and I (in a joking way, I guess). ANYHOW, I sort of followed Steve's radio shows, mostly because of Ben. I found out that Steve had three sons, one of them having a show that followed Steve's when he was still on WCKG. This was Matt Dahl.
So, Ben and I (mostly Ben) followed Steve from WCKG to JackFM to his podcast that he does from his house in Florida. To avoid a long story, that no one really cares about, we'll just say his son, Matt, followed suit and is now doing a podcast, as well. Both of these you can get from the iTunes store, if you're interested.
To get back to the main story, we saw Matt Dahl in person tonight. But before we got to the show, we (or maybe I) were interested in talking to Matt Dahl. Ben had heard a story from Steve's podcast that Pet Lions were on their way back from SXSW when their van broke down in Southern Illinois. After hours of waiting, they finally got a tow truck to tow them and their van all the way back to Chicago so they could play their free show at the Empty Bottle.
Let me tell you, it was NOT a disappointment. The place was packed for all three bands, which were Radar Eyes, This Is Versailles and Pet Lions. All I can say is Dance Party USA. It. Was. Awesome.
BUT, half way through the show, I began to think, would it be weird if we went up to Matt Dahl and told him that we knew about this show NOT because we were actually fans of the band but because we were fans of his dad... therefore becoming fans of him and his podcast? And because of this, we knew about his band's crazy van towing story? I mean, these podcasts reveal intimate details. For example, we know that Steve lives in Florida now. He does his podcast in his basement. We also know that Matt's nickname on the show is 'Mad Dog' because of some weird incident with a producer that couldn't really speak english. And his producer, Brendan, has been nicknamed Doc Rhubarb because of his love of rhubarb's as a child. Is it cool to reveal those things? I mean, at one point, we were seriously two inches away from the band. Ben and I, chatting away about some obscure reference or something, with Pet Lions right behind us chatting away about their own obscure reference. For some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to turn around and say, "Hey, which one of you is Matt Dahl? I listen to your podcast. You're funny." Because, that would be lame, right?
I think I felt this way because he isn't a HUGE celebrity. You know what I mean? He's a guy, who is in a band, and does a podcast from his or his friend's apartment. Maybe he would have appreciated it, but who knows? I thought about the other times I met some of my favorite musicians and sucked it up just so I could say hi.
Years ago, I met the bass player and the lead singer for the Old 97's. My friend, Dana and I watched their show, saw them backstage, said hi and took pictures with them. Not awkward at all. Then, this one time, some friends and I saw Rufus Wainright play and as we were walking back to my friend's apartment I saw him on the corner waiting to cross the street. I didn't even think about it. I just walked right up and shook his hand. I told him I saw him that night and he was great. He said thanks. He was pretty nice.
This other time, I met the other guitarist for Old 97's. He told me some crazy long story about how I reminded him of some girl who broke his heart back in Texas before the band went on their first tour. Awkward? NO WAY.
AND one time, I was outside the Webster Place Barnes & Noble in Chicago, where I worked at the time, with one of my manager's. We were taking a lunch break, when all of the sudden Jeff Tweedy walked out. We both gasped! And I think he heard us, because he turned around. We waved. He waved back. No awkwardness whatsoever.
So why did I feel so awkward about asking this guy about his personal life when he talks about it so freely in his podcast? I think it might be because I don't really know how to talk to normal people.

If you have any advice for me, or an awesome story about meeting someone famous, please do post it in this. I would love to hear about it!

And here are the websites that you can find info on Matt Dahl or his band:
http://www.mattdahl.com/
http://www.petlions.com/

Seriously though, all these bands tonight were pretty good. I danced a lot.

No fun in Kankakee? Pish-posh!

I'm taking this class right now at Governors State University called Television Production. Sounds interesting, right? Well, it's not. It's awful. The teacher is unorganized, has a weird lisp and talks for a really long time. The upside is that it gives me a chance for my mind to completely wander. So today, I was thinking about how I was at the bar last night and this guy I was chatting with said he had to skate this weekend. I assumed he meant skateboard, but then realized it was too cold for that and he said ice skate. I didn't really go into the conversation anymore than that due to the fact that I had knocked back a few too many PAAABBBBBSSSSSST. (side note: One time, my friends, Christine and Betsy, wondered if they called it Pabst because PAAABBBBBSSSSSTTTT was the noise it made when you cracked open a can.)
As I was slowly putting the night back together in my brain, I remembered this conversation. It was almost like an electric shock went through me. I thought, "Wait a second, there's an ice skating rink in Kankakee?" When I got home, I got on them interwebs and checked it out. And sure enough, there is one! It got me thinking... "Is there actually fun stuff to do in this town besides drink and be merry?" This inspired me to do some research and find out some more things that are fun to do IN Kankakee for cheap. One-and-a-half of them is FREE. (The one-and-a-half will make sense later.)
First things first, ice skating rink. This li'l fun spot is located in Oak Orthopedics, 1601 River Road. They have a public 'regular' skate on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm-4pm. It costs adults $6 plus a $3 skate rental fee. Now, I don't know what they mean by 'regular' skate, but I'm hoping it means that after 4pm they put on that sweet single by Whodini, The Freaks Come Out At Night and people skate-dance like fools. If you want to know more info about this awesomeness go to www.oakorthoarena.com.
The next cool thing in Kankakee you might not know about is the Feed Art Center/Gallery. Feed is the art baby of Christopher Clark and Michael Costanza, both residents of Kankakee. It's located in the Majestic Center Towne Mall, 150 N. Schuyler Ave. Michael and Christopher hold workshops that anyone can attend. It does cost some money, but the awesome thing is that they have a showing for the artists. So, you pay some money to attend the workshop, but then you can sell it and make your money back. How cool is that? This is considered the 'half' in 'one-and-a-half'. For more info on when the next workshop is coming up or the center hours, you can check out their blog at feedartcenter.blogspot.com and/or become a fan of Feed Art Center on facebook.
Now here is something that is totally free. The Kankakee Public Library. Duh, right? BUT, Nicholas Garcia, a cool guy that works at the library, holds a book discussion there once a month. This past month, he held a book discussion on Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. If you like books, and like to discuss books with intelligent people, I recommend talking to Nicholas. He also does special viewings of thought provoking films. Recently, he had a showing of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal. To keep up with the happenings at the KPL go to www.lions-online.org.
And finally, drinking and being merry isn't all that bad, right? (What would this post be if I couldn't do a little shameless plugging??) Do you like reminiscing about old movies from your childhood? Do you like doing a sort of MST3K-esque thing when watching these old movies? Do you like beer and pizza? If so, the first Tuesday of every month, yours truly and Hayley Anderson host an Interactive Brew & View at MacAmhlaoibh's Irish Pub, 12 Heritage Plaza. This month, March, 2nd we will be showing Ghostbusters. It's going to be un très bon moment. (I've been obsessed with the French language lately, I blame you, Kelly.) Next month, we will be showing Back To The Future. Just imagine all the things you can yell at the screen!! "Flux Capacitor ... fluxxing." FLUXXING!!?? To know when things are going on here, become a fan of Interactive Brew & View on facebook.
So there you have it. Just a few fun things to do, right here in your very own neighborhood. If you have any other suggestions of some fun things to do, please feel free to post them. If you don't have any suggestions, still feel free to post. Like you could tell me if I suck or not. You know, whatever.

Let's Talk Some Comedy

Well, here I am. Writing a blog about some stuff that I like. I thought it would be fitting to write about comedy, since that's what I enjoy the most. Is that how you do this? I write about things that I like... right? Whatever, let the narcissism begin!

So, anyway, about me: I really like comedy. I think I'm pretty funny, I can make some people laugh. However, I can usually only make some peeps laugh when I am making fun of myself. My friend, Michael said one time, "You save people the trouble. When you do something dumb, you immediately make fun of yourself." At first I thought that was cool, then I was like, "Wait, people really think I do dumb things as much as I think I do dumb things... This is not good."

But then I realized I could turn this into something. Maybe self-deprecation is my thing. I can put together a whole routine making fun of myself! It's perfect. I can tell stories and just make fun of myself the whole time. I've been greatly influenced by some podcasts I've been listening to lately. The Moth and RISK! podcasts are all about people getting up and telling stories. The Moth Podcast usually has some humorous stories and some serious stories. But the funny ones really make you LOL (as the kids are saying).

The Moth does these things in different cities called StorySLAMS. And guess what, there is one in Chicago! It's the last Tuesday of every month. And anyone can participate! The last Tuesday of February has passed, but the end of March will be here before you know it. Just go to http://www.themoth.org/storyslams_chicago to get all the information you need, if you're interested. This tells you about the storySLAMS in Chicago, but also gives you a link to the sweet podcast that comes out once a week.

RISK! is all about the funnies, ya'll. For real. It's hosted by Kevin Allison, a member of the now-disbanded then-hot 90's comedy group, The State. I am not joking when I say that this stuff is hilarious. People do not hold back when telling stories on this podcast. Hence the name. Most of the stories come from their live shows in New York and are told by comedian friends of Kevin's. So, you occasionally hear old State members like Ben Garant (Deputy Junior on Reno! 911) Kerry Kinney-Silver (Trudy on Reno! 911) Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black (Michael and Michael Have Issues). I cannot get enough of this podcast, it's a shame it comes out every other Tuesday. If you want to know more info about the live shows or you want to download the podcast or whatever, here is the website for that: http://risk-show.com.

So, if I ever have a one woman show about me making fun of myself, it will definitely be in the style of The Moth storySLAM and/or RISK!. I strongly recommend that you check out both of these podcasts. Now that I've talked about comedy, and built myself up to be a 'funny gal', I feel like I need to end this on a real funny note. But I got nothing...