Category: rock Page 13 of 20

The answer has been lying in the palm of my hand

On April 13, 2007

I’ve been in need of a major attitude adjustment. I mean it. I’ve been pathetic and tired and aggressive and just basically reacting to everything and everyone around me in the manner of a Grade A Bitch. And who wants that.

I’ve given myself a talking to. You can imagine how that goes. And I’m not going to lie – I carried on this conversation aloud. Yep, like a crazy person. Here’s the thing though – I need joy. It’s as simple as that. That means dialing back the number of podcasts I subscribe to and upping my intake of music. I’ve been exploring the music snob tendencies that have been inside me for so long. I’ve been biting my tongue and keeping daily annoyances to myself, making the evenings about F-U-N. I’ve been meeting up with friends. I’m happy again. Finally.

Because I can’t truly act the part of a pretentious music jerk unless I preach about new music to you, here are some albums you should check out:

Beautiful World by Take That
Writer’s Block by Peter Bjorn and John
These Streets by Paolo Nutini
Memory Man by Aqualung
Yours to Keep by Albert Hammond, Jr.
Sky Blue it You by Wilco
Amy Winehouse by Amy Winehouse
NME Presents Essential Bands of 2006 – this will hook you up with 40 new artists you need to know
Corinne Bailey Rae by Corinne Bailey Rae
Nineteeneightees by Grant Lee Phillips
Costello Music by the Fratellis
Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika

Embarrassment on Ice

By Kate

On March 13, 2007

In rock

So I was on the phone this evening, on my way to class, in which I am the professor, talking to my sister about the Justin Timberlake / Pink concert we are seeing in a few days. I said it was at the local arena and my sister started wondering if she had ever been there. I was all, “Um, yeah. That where we saw Beauty and the Beast On Ice.” This guy who was walking in front of my turned around, looked at my and shook his head.

Embarrassing.

I told my sister and we both agreed that the only good thing was he was not one of my students.

Until I walked into class and there he was. Smiling.

Rock – it’s good for your soul

By Kate

On March 13, 2007

In rock

I am in the midst of trying to enrich my life through rock. Things are too busy right now and work and in personal commitments. I am trying to tread that fine line of being a good friend, beyoncé, employee, coworker, family-member, volunteer… Well frankly, it’s all become a little much and I am not being very good at any of them. Lately I’ve been relying a lot on my favorite support – Miller Light. But I have a girlish figure to think about and my reputation in the neighborhood. (What people must think when they see my recycling bin each week…) So for the week I have put a ban in alcohol. Except for Thursday. Thursday plays into the other half of my back-to-normalcy plan.

Over the course of my relationship with Wonder Boy, I have become more and more entranced by the power of music. Attending a good show is wonderful. Being lulled into a kind of trance while you stand in a sweaty crowd… well, it’s amazing. So while I am trying to brace myself from the lunacy that is charging at me at about 100 mph, I am trying to soothe my soul with music.

A few weeks ago I saw Guster and more recently Pete Yorn. On Thursday I am seeing Justin Timberlake and Pink and this weekend I am seeing the Hold Steady. (I know one show stands out and probably makes me so much less cool in your eyes but seriously, if you are thinking that, then you need to get over yourself.) I have at least there concerts I am looking forward to in the next month or so.

With some loud music bouncing off my eardrums and sweat pouring down my stomach, I will find that perfection that only music can bring.

Where has all the cleavage has gone

By Kate

On February 21, 2007

In rock

When I was in college I used to hang out at one of two bars during my freshman year. Really, that paints a pretty diverse picture when the reality was that 98% of my time was spent at one bar. The Greenery, aka The Cheese, so named because it was so cheesy. I recall weeks where I quite literally went to The Greenery 7 days a week. They served beer to people who were underage, had a cheap cover if you had to pay a cover at all and had a dance floor where I could dance to all the Boom-Boom and Bubblegum I desired.

In the post-grunge days during which I went to The Greenery, my typical attire consisted of some tight-ass jeans and a teeny tank. This was year-round, mind you. When it was cold I took one of my flannels – remember, this was post-grunge so I had a lot of flannel sitting around – and threw it over my outfit. As soon as I entered the sweaty meat market of the Greenery, the flannel was promptly tied around my waist. This way, see, I could display cleavage year-round. Sadly, while this worked in theory, I had no cleavage to show so really I was just showing off my collarbone. It’s a nice one.

As I progressed through college I became aware that the older students didn’t paint on their clothing. In fact, by wearing snug but not spandex-like clothing, they were better able to display their bodies in a way that was sexy but not slutty. (After all, the great girl dilemma in trying to dress in a way to pick up men is finding that careful balance between sexy and straight-up ho.) Even after, thanks to four years of drinking lots of beer, eating a fair share of Goodfellas and Mother Nature, I finally got cleavage, I still managed to be slightly more discreet with the show than my freshman self would have encouraged.

Last night I went to a Guster concert at Bogart’s, near the University of Cincinnati. Guster, though having started playing music before I began college, attracts a definite younger crowd. I am talking people in college and even quite a few still working their way through high school. While it’s slightly unsettling to realize I like the same music as these people I refer to as kids, they make for fabulous people-watching.

I saw leggings and skinny jeans in full force and done well. I saw girls wearing empire-waisted tops without looking knocked up. And I saw girls wearing tops that defied the slush and ice outside. These tops tread a careful balance of containing bosoms and displaying them in all their glory. I saw cleavage that harkened images of the Grand Canyon. Cleavage you could lose your money in. Amazing cleavage. Cleavage my freshmen self would have been jealous of and would have proudly displayed in winter months as soon as the flannel was tied around my waist.

Rock on the road

By Kate

On January 18, 2007

In rock

You know the sensation. The wait in a long line eyeing those around you and verifying that how you are dressed is appropriate for the venue, taking in new fashion trends and generally being catty about the impracticality of hipster kids and their outfits. You enter the room and claim your space, a space with ample room for moving your arms and feet without being singed by any nearby cigarettes. One of your friends goes to get drinks, balancing a many as she or he can carry in one trip to minimize waiting in line at the bar. You drink. You wait.

The room gets more and more crowded and maybe you see people you know. Maybe you see famous people from bands. Whatever you see, you do not give up your spot. You guard your spot like a mother lion guards her offspring in the wild. It’s your territory and you cannot give it up.

As the space fills, the temperature rises and you feel yourself sweat. First it’s some moisture in your pits, but soon you feel wetness on your forehead and upper lip. Before you know it, even your shins are sweaty. But still you stay.

You stay for the first thump of your sternum, the feeling of the bass line reverberating through your body, helping you keep beat before your ears even register the music. You stay for the sly grin as the lead singer steps onto stage – with one friendly look, the whole meaning of an album changes.

Good rock is worth traveling for.