Falling/Spring-ing into 2010

iTunes shuffle provided me with Malory's "Falling" from Not here Not now and it seemed like the best thing to gently ferry me into the night and into next year. Couldn't find a corresponding video on youtube, so I'm going with "Spring," the track that follows "Falling."

Clever, you German shoegazers.



Put on your headphones and drift away into the next chapter of your life. See you there.

My first blog crossover post! Like Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice, only without the hot actors and cheesy made-for-weepy-tv music!

Monte's iTunes Playlist Challenge

Last week I was on vacation over the XMAS holiday, traveling back to the Sierra Nevadas for some snow and some FitzFamFever (I got plenty of both)... while on vay-kay, @monterrific asked on Twitter:

What are the top 10 songs in your iTunes from the last decade?

I was away from my main iTunes library and couldn't really answer. On my travel laptop (which only held perhaps 200+ odd songs), pretty much every one of the top slots was held by Melissa Auf der Maur, who is stealthily but steadily coming out of a long hibernation... I have tracks from her two most recent EPs, plus a set of live bootlegs-- a sure sign that I'm in trouble with this woman. I hardly ever track down live bootlegs, but with so little to chew on, I found myself needing to get resourceful. And I was. And I am. Anyway, it didn't seem that stunning to share 10 tracks by MAdM, and to be fair, there were other artists who snuck into that top 10 list-- it wasn't all MAdM... just, you know, mostly.

Back at home now with a few moments to spend here in MISSFITZville and I've cracked open my iTunes to look into its information not as a music fan but as a data cruncher. Guess I'm not THAT surprised by the results-- considering this iTunes library is kind of bastardized. I host most of my music on this library and on this iMac-- but I do most of my listening on my laptop or iPhone, so the stats reflected here really don't reflect all that much-- only that I spent a lot of time playing guitar along to Madonna's most recent record:

Several of those 'most listened to songs' aren't even really truly FROM the 2000s, and frankly-- those 80s gems that pop up in the list are in the list because I had to learn them for last year's Cover Your Hearts fundraiser. Not to mention when I simply sort my ENTIRE library (which is a misnomer in itself because I don't have ALL my music digitized), several records/songs don't even have years listed:

I mean, still-- obviously I spent a great deal of time on Hard Candy, and I can honestly tell you that much of that time was spent with a guitar in hand, noodling around and figuring out different parts (and writing chord sheets for my Madonna-as-guitar-geek-website!)... Cardigans because I came late to the magic of Nina & Co and needed to make up for it (though weirdly I much prefer Long Gone Before Daylight to Gran Turismo, so kinda weird that there are so many spins on GT!). Air because I like to fall asleep to them. Much more interesting to me right now is the snapshot of what I've listened to RECENTLY-- and maybe THIS is what would be an effective talking point on Twitter--

Obviously I'm ramping up for another Cover Your Hearts, but this does a better job of saying anything about me at this moment in time than either of those other lists says about me over the course of  a)the decade  b)the history of my iTunes library (a period of time much, MUCH shorter than a decade!) ... I'm only sad that Kanye came in just off the page... Invisible, but audible-- metaphorically speaking that is exactly as the dude SHOULD be...   :)

Two Blogs, One Cup

Last month I got all "re-brand"y and registered a different blog addy -- missfitzpdx. Changed all my avatars to the same image so everything would be aligned. Not sure why. It's like it was practice for something bigger coming down the pipeline that may need rebranding. Like New Coke. Or Old Christine.

I guess I'll be two-timing blogger for a little while...I'm a Pisces-- each blog should reflect a different half of me...Hmm. That's worth more thought.

Anyway, just caught myself up on the content of this blog, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I still enjoy reading my own writing, so there's that. Wish I had the time to do more of it. Have wished that for a long time, and I always allow things to get in the way. There will be a stretch of a few weeks where I really try to carve out the time to SAY a few things, since God knows I'm thinking the shit all the time.

I'm pumped up on the new Melissa Auf der Maur music -- and I think that is inspiring me to check in with myself, so to speak. I'm consumed with thinking about music and how it passes from person to person, band to crowd, consciousness to consciousness... how effortlessly it can transform a mind, a life. I think about my own musical enterprise and I know that we have touched a few folks. Is it selfish to want to touch more? To get all touchy and touch you in touchy places???!!! {smirk and knowing wink here} 

Speaking of, if you wanna flirt with something, flirt with this:

 

Guess I'm Just Checking In.

Well, as per my previous post from...er, FIVE months ago, I guess I've been busy and totally ignoring this blog.

And as per the reality check in my head, it doesn't really matter-- I'm not really writing this because I've got readers. I'm writing it because I need to stay connected to the act of writing. I am better when I write. I am better at living... better at breathing...better at focusing...better at hopscotch, you name it!

I have chaotic tendencies. How ever do I tame them?

I came back to Blogger tonight to check in on my blog Writing To Reach You, in which I essentially drop letters to famous people who I'll never actually converse with. Tonight's inspiration and lucky recipient of a quick note from me? Mister Michael Jackson.

My emotional reaction to his death has been very measured, except in those brief moments when I stop to imagine how I will feel when M departs this world-- but tonight I finally shed some tears for what are probably mundane reasons... and yet, the most beautiful thing of all in this loss is what is being re-connected since his passing... Millions of people shared a moment together today remembering him; so many are re-embracing a man they shunned in the last decade; and me, I am reconnecting to my own thoughts ('thoughts' - my pet name for blog posts...)...

All those cliches are true, you know... one door closes, another door opens...

Long Time, No Blog.

I can only excuse it by saying I've been busy working on another blog! Last year, during the height of my Madonnamania, I met a fellow guitarist on a message board and we set out to create the world's first "Madonna the Guitar Goddess" blog-- or the first "Guitar Geeks Can Love Madonna, Too" blog -- or ... whatever dumb tag line you can imagine... So we've been working slowly and steadily on creating the site and building content. It is far from finished, and we've decided to not exactly start promoting it in the Madonna fan circles, since everyone is currently going apeshit about the tour extension. But who am I to prevent you, dear reader, from taking a sneak peek? Have at.

AXE STATIC PROCESS DOT COM

Dantes!

A sighting of santas at dantes! Waiting for Crosstide and longwave to
start!

A bad day for dairy.

A sad sight at my local big box grocer. Not helping my latte addiction.