Summer

Some people think of summer as this sassy thing that gives you an excuse to be loud and publically drunk, smoke cigarettes in the middle of the sidewalk and wear next to nothing whilst hanging out dancing, drinking, freaking out, shopping, mingling, joking and smoking pot in their spare time.  Others think of summer as this kind of peaceful relaxing time that feels so right because there’s simply nothing to do and that to them, is an amazing feeling.

I like both.

There’s just something about summer; the lovely feeling of sitting on the grass when it’s just getting dark (at around 11 pm no less)… waking up on a Sunday and realizing you actually don’t have a thing in the world to do so you decide to lay in bed just a little bit longer while the sun shines blithely through the window… wondering what concert/play/show/festival is coming up soon so you can scope it out (and eat ice cream while you’re there)… watching fireworks while wearing patriotic colours; it’s not the patriotism you care about, it’s the heat and the colour exploding, cutting perforated little darts in the black sky… watching tacky television shows and drinking iced tea… staying out until 4am when it’s already starting to get light out, drinking and partying and chatting blearily with your best friends…

This summer is already fantastic.  And I look forward to even more blissful days.

Tonight I Recommend…

Hotel Lights…

Hotel Lights is a band that has been around for a decent amount of time, fronted by the former drummer of Ben Folds Five, Darren Jessee.  They released their debut album in 2005, and I only just heard it today for the first time, admittedly.  The thing that I love about the album however, is everything.  And I consider myself decently knowledgeable about today’s independant music landscape and if you’re like me up until this point today and have never heard this album, you really really should.

It’s strange and appropriate when a band’s name matches the sound, style and cadence of their music, and Hotel Lights is definitely one of those cases.  The conjuring up of hotel lights reminds me of late blue nights on the road, and even the album cover art adheres to that image beautifully and simply.  The songs have a whimsical, light-hearted tinge to them but also a kind of stark simplicity that sounds like road trip jam sessions or smoky late-night bar band magic that only a few people in the world are fortunate enough to hear in that moment.  Each song rolls along with earnest honesty and heart, and though they don’t all sound alike (a common problem with albums today) they all fit together, as though each song could be a day or stretch of road.

Each tune is a perfect little moment in time that perfects ideas of romance, sleep, sunsets, touring, drinking, and a general love and appreciation of life, music and medium.  It’s a perfect summer and/or novel accompaniment and has, even only after one single listen, become the soundtrack to my summer, despite its release being four years ago.

Another thing that makes the album unique is that Jessee’s vision is so different from Folds’ and his individuality and approach is creative and completely independant from Folds’ first venture.

Buy this album.

Goodnight streetlight, goodnight… I’m sure I’ll be alright.

The world seems to lack a distinct originality these days.  Cover songs dominate the charts.  The big money-making films are re-hashes and sequels of older, better ideas.  Magazine covers all feature the same “celebrities”.  What happened to the thinkers and creators and the people who existed for the sole purpose of being and feeling original?

Originality is like love, or kindness.  Falling by the wayside in order to make room for things that are useless to me; mean-spirited cruelty, anger, banter, dishonesty, fakery, smoke and mirrors and lies.  There is no chivalry anymore, and all I want to see is chivalry.  There is no originality anymore and that too, is what I really, truly wish to observe in my life and the lives surrounding me.  Sometimes I wonder why I’m sitting here writing this when no one ever truly bothers to take the time to read it.  But what I wish is that there was someone reading, someone who cared about me in a way that everyone deserves to be cared about, enough to take my words into consideration, enough to understand their weight, their burden, their freedom, and appreciate that at 2:50 am on one of the last days of May in 2009, at the sort-of start of the last week before my graduation ceremony, I’m doing nothing but writing about them.  If you are there, and you’re the one reading this pseudo creed, I want to let you know that I appreciate that small and passive gesture of kindness.  Because I want to see it in my life, and others’ lives.

I hope you, the reader, the one who cares, is having a wonderful night and in your life, there exists a kind of wonder and discovery every single day.  And know that if for no other reason than you are reading my words, I really and truly love you.