On the last day of spring break…

I’m typing next to my living room windows.  It is sunny outside, and there is a steady stream of bike and pedestrian traffic providing me with a soundtrack of conversational snippets as people pass.  It has been spring for weeks, but on a day like today, it feels like spring.

My five-year-old has already brought out her bicycle and played at the park today, and we’ve indulged her whims perhaps more than usual because she has only just returned from a week’s stay at her grandparents’.  A week is a long time to be away from your little one.  Although, I swear she doesn’t seem as little today as she did a week ago when my parents drove away with her.  Did she grow so much in six days?  She did lose another tooth while she was gone.  Perhaps that’s the difference I’m sensing.

I had big plans for those six days, and I only crossed about half of the items off my to-do list.  I always have such big dreams for my kid-free days, like the freedom of not having a little one trailing after me wherever I go (or arranging for her to follow someone else around for a while) will make anything possible.  In the end, though, it’s the little things that make me that happiest.  For example, I spent one evening lounging around reading while my husband was at band practice.  I was able to finish a whole book in an evening.  That used to be a common practice for me, but these days it’s pretty rare.

It wasn’t all small stuff this time though.  There were a couple of big events I was very happy I was able to attend.  The first was Sigur Ros at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and I do not feel like I am over-hyping the event by saying that it would be on my top ten concerts in 2013 list, if I were to make one.  It was my second time seeing them live, and it was just as amazing as it was back in 2005 at the State Theatre–though I will say that the theater seating was more comfortable than the general admission floor at the Roy Wilkins even if it does make me feel every bit of my age to admit that.  There are some photos and thoughts on the show here, and video a friend took from the show here for those that are interested.  Photos and video can’t really do justice to the experience though.  I wholeheartedly recommend seeing Sigur Ros live if you can.

The second big event for my kid-free week was a chance to give back to my community.  Mikey Max Heals the World is an annual birthday charity event that features local music and supports local causes.  This year the lineup featured some of my friends’ bands, and the charities were organizations I was very happy to support.  My personal highlight was Fort Wilson Riot, who have been featured on this blog several times before.  It had been way too long since I had seen them live.  They have been touring an awful lot in the past year.  Great for them, not so great for me.  In any case, they played a great set of their indie-pop awesomeness.

I have yet to hear the final total of money raised for the charities, but there was a great turnout.  It is one show that I don’t mind when the audience gets a bit crowded.  I’ll endure a bit of crowding for the knowledge that we’re all there supporting organizations like the Neighborhood Involvement Program (provides health services for the uninsured), Perspectives (supports at-risk families trying to break the cycle of poverty), and the Chicago Avenue Project (a theater mentoring program).

Life gets back to normal tomorrow.  Fewer nights out, more time at the park.  That’s okay too.  There’s plenty of time to read while my girl bikes circles around me.  Maybe I’ll get through this book club pick yet…

 

I might not make it out to all the shows that some of my childless (childfree?) friends do, but I can’t help but think it’s a good life.  :)

Happy Birthday to Me

February is a good month for a birthday.  At least here in Minnesota, where it is cold and snowy, it is nice to have a reason to celebrate in the middle of February.  I am grateful to my lovely friends for celebrating with me with music at the Whole on the U of M campus on Friday night.  We just couldn’t resist seeing Now, Now play a rare show at a small venue here in Minneapolis, even if it meant being the oldest people there.  I am not lying when I say that I overheard a couple of students saying “she was at least 30″ when talking about weird it was to see a University librarian at a show.  At first, I tried to pretend I was not a 30-something librarian, but then I figured that at least I’m a 30-something librarian with good taste in music. :)

Speaking of my taste in music, Prissy Clerks opened for Now, Now, and they are a recent favorite of mine.  When I first played one of their songs for my husband, he put it best: “I think this is what it would sound like if you and I ever started a band.”  He has a point.  It’s cute and kinda girly, but it’s noisy too.  We like it.

Here is Prissy Clerks performing “No Sir” for Radio K in January 2013:

Monday Morning Music with My Bloody Valentine

In September of 2008, my husband and I crowded into the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago to see My Bloody Valentine, one of my husband’s favorite bands.  He was giddy to be there, and he was taken to another level of giddiness with the twenty minute wall of noise at the end of the show.  I’m not as big a fan as he is, but I have to admit it was an experience unlike anything else and my fan-dom has been growing ever since.

So, obviously, I was one of many (many) fans trying to get to the new record released this weekend on the band’s website when it crashed.  An inevitable circumstance, it seems, for a band with such a devoted following finally releasing new music after twenty years.

 

All’s well now.  You can buy the record here.  Or stream it here.

Thursday 3: New-to-me Music of 2012

Welcome to Thursday!  I decided to take a page from one of my favorite kidlit blogs and use Thursdays to feature three things that relate to each other in some way.  It won’t be every Thursday, and it’ll probably be mostly books, but this week I have some music for you.  It may not be new to you, but it was new to me in 2012.

It feels right to start the Thursday 3 feature off with music I discovered in 2012 because it was a year of re-discovering music.  I don’t know if it is getting older (only in my early 30′s!) or busy or what it was that distracted me from music, but I was thoroughly distracted.  One of my goals for 2012 was to pay more attention, to seek out new music the way I used to, and write about it on this blog.  Perhaps you noticed?

In any case, here are three Minneapolis bands I discovered and liked in 2012:

• Prissy Clerks – I was late to the party on this one.  When they were chosen as a Picked to Click band, I was clueless.  I also found myself going back even further in time to discover Clara Salyer’s previous band, Total Babe.  
• A. Wolf and her Claws - Aby Wolf is a singer-songwriter with a powerful voice and a diverse set of influences.  With “Her Claws” she creates minimal electro-pop.
• Now, Now – Okay, I’m cheating a bit on this one because I’d heard of Now, Now for a couple of years at least. But I’m including them anyway because this year, I actually paid attention to them.  Of course, a lot of people are paying attention to them these days, including Jimmy Fallon.   Here is the video for “The Pull”:

What new music have you discovered recently?  How do you find new music?

From another time…

Thanksgiving always makes me nostalgic for a time I never experienced when life was simpler.  Or maybe life just seemed simpler because there were no screens to distract us from our families and we weren’t rushing off to Black Friday sales.

In any case, it feels appropriate to offer Frank Fairfield as a soundtrack to my nostalgia.  My husband recently saw Fairfield perform at the Entry, and he couldn’t stop raving about it.  I have to admit, Fairfield does seem like an intriguing fellow.  Timeless, perhaps?

You can learn more about Frank Fairfield in this short documentary from American Standard Time:

On Being a Mother & an Artist

I’ve written before on this blog and in this zine of the creative block I experienced upon becoming a mother.  People have always said that having children changes you, but I didn’t expect that I would have to fight to keep my identity as a writer just because I had a baby.   It used to be easy to put words to paper, and I thought it would always be easy.  I’m a different person because I had to decide to keep creating myself as a writer.

 One of my favorite local artists, Haley Bonar, spoke of her transition to motherhood in this interview:

“She’s a really amazing baby, and she’s so sweet and smart, and I do everything because of her — including that time I have to myself. I use it very constructively, and I write songs way more than I did before I had a baby — which sounds insane — and I’m so inspired by it, because there’s so much joy and so much pain and so much everything that goes into that first year. Everyone that has a kid goes through that, and it’s not anything new, but you kind of grieve yourself a little bit, and you have to get over that, and you become the most strong and powerful and confident version of yourself, because you are essentially caring for this other person. Yeah, motherhood is amazing.”

I can relate to that.  It is pretty amazing, and so is Ms. Bonar’s music.  Here is a video of a song from Golder:

 

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Monday Morning Music with Deerhoof

In keeping with the recent theme of highlighting musical events that I have missed, I thought I would mention that Deerhoof recently played in Minneapolis.  Check out their latest, Breakup Song.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my introduction to Deerhoof came from a boo.  Rules to Rock By by Josh Farrar is a fun children’s book about a girl who is obsessed with the band Deerhoof.  She actually named her guitar Satomi after her favorite bassist.  She wants to play in a band herself, but it isn’t easy when you’re only twelve.  It’s a cute book that I recommend to tween girls who daydream about starting a band or obsess about their favorite indie rockers.

Or read about Satomi and the crew here.

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Hot Cheetos and Takis

I’m pretty sure I was the last person in Minneapolis to hear about “Hot Cheetos and Takis,” which, if you don’t already know, is a video of some Minneapolis kids rapping about their favorite snacks.  The video went viral, and these kids have been written about in all sorts of places on the Internet.  I actually heard about it on NPR.

The reason I mention this is that it turns out I must have walked right past the Y.N.RichKids getting ready to perform at Powderhorn Park as I left the Zinefest on Saturday.  I vaguely noticed that there seemed to be something going on in the park.  I thought about going to see what was up, but I had a bus to catch and wasn’t to be distracted.  *sigh*  Remind me next time that distractions are often totally worth it.

I guess I’ll have to live vicariously via this video shared on the Local Current Blog:

Monday Morning Music with the Roe Family Singers

If you follow my photo blog, you probably noticed this picture of the Roe Family Singers performing at the Minneapolis Central Library this past weekend.

 

The family friendly concert was at 10:30 a.m., which is far earlier than I usually like to be at a concert but the world–especially as it relates to families–seems to be designed for morning people.  I’m glad we made it though because the Roe Family Singers are great.  And they aren’t just for kids.  Bluegrass fans can catch them at the 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis every Monday night.

Monday Morning Music with Stars

I love Stars.  Set Yourself on Fire was the soundtrack to most of 2005 for me, and their latest is on my must-listen list for sure. But can it live up to SYoF?  NPR’s First Listen reported,

“With so many sounds and styles to run through, The North takes a little while to unpack, and its thematic intentions are generally a little cloudier than on its greatest albums, 2005′s Set Yourself on Fire and 2007′s In Our Bedroom After the War. But, like all the band’s work to date, it rewards exploration with moments that alternately swoon, seethe, swing and paralyze.”

I will concede that “can it live up to SYoF?” is probably the wrong question to have in mind as I listen to one of my favorite bands’ latest album. Am I the only person who feels nervous listening to new work from artists I love?  I want to like whatever they have created, sure, but I also get caught up in wondering about their creative process.  How did they move past their previous success to complete this new project?  Then I will probably seek out Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk on the topic.  Perhaps I am procrastinating that first listen?  I really couldn’t say.

In any case, this is “Theory of Relativity” from The North, released on Sept 4, 2012.

 

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