i fascinate myself

i usually go to concerts that i think will be good. it certainly makes sense to live that way. i like music a lot. i like recordings, and i like live music. so it shouldn't surprise me or anyone else that my younger brother (a music connoisseur) would know what kind of music i would like to see. he succeeded. we went to watch andrew bird at the cedar cultural center (good place for a concert - a little stuffy, but really good sound system).

andrew bird's live show is amazing. just five days after seeing an amazing sufjan stevens concert, i see a musician with more talent and wondrous abilities than i can imagine (violin, singing, guitar, whistling, live sampling). sufjan's albums might be better as recordings, but not even sufjan could compare with the pure amazement i felt watching tonight's music. i didn't go into a state of shock, but i was awed beyond measure.

past that, i reflected on yesterday's events (fun times here at the house), threw a frisbee with my housemate, and worked on school stuff (reading/writing). it was a great day. mostly because of the concert. if you have similar favorite music styles, do what you can to hear this music. with just andrew and one other person (perhaps him by himself if he wanted), he could do what sigur ros can do in terms of soundscaping, and he can do what telefon tel aviv or dntel can in terms of sequencing. his sense of rhythm and harmony/counterpoint is amazing.

i do apologize - i rarely go this overboard here about any musician, but it was quite overwhelming. i wish you the best, and if you are going to listen to some of his recordings, i recommend lull. it was one of the three best songs he played tonight - dark matter was another one, but i can't find a recording of that.

lull

being alone it can be quite romantic
like jacques cousteau underneath the atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun’s never shone
and i fascinate myself when i’m alone

so i go a little overboard but hang on to the hull
while i’m airbrushing fantasy art on a life
that’s really kind of dull
oh, i’m in a lull

i’m all for moderation but sometimes it seems
moderation itself can be a kind of extreme
so i joined the congregation
i joined the softball team
i went in for my confirmation
where incense looks like steam
i start conjugating proverbs
where once there were nouns
this whole damn rhyme scheme’s starting to get me down

oh, i’m in a lull
i’m in a lull

being alone it can be quite romantic
like jacques cousteau underneath the atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun’s never shone
and i fascinate myself when i’m alone

i’m rambling on rather self consciously
while i’m stirring these condiments into my tea
and i think i’m so lame
i bet i think this song is about me
don’t i don’t i don’t i ?