"Holland’s papa wouldn’t stay in the ground, dead and buried and he walked into town. Lord God, what is Ma to do? Mama’s so mad cause he muddied up his suit, caught in a thorn bush, blowin' on a flute. Lord God, what is Ma to do?" ~the felice brothers

I've been listening to my recording of the last Felice Brothers concert I went to, and I fall even more in love with them every time I listen to it. I wasn't crazy about their newest album (Celebration Florida) at first, but now I'm obsessed. Hearing those songs live definitely had something to do with it. At first "Fire at the Pageant" (posted above) did NOT make me happy, but now I absolutely LOVE it. It's one of my favorite songs; I could listen to it over and over. And I do. Try it; you might love it, too.

This is one of the best things I've ever seen. I can't stop watching it. Have I mentioned that I love Kristen Bell? Lately I've been getting into her new show, House of Lies. It's funny. I'm not sure if I'd watch it if she weren't in it, but I am enjoying it. Anyway, this is amazing:


I'm still recovering from the end of Chuck. My friend Leah and I are going to see The Head and the Heart at Terminal 5 in March. She wrote to me, "I'm hoping between now and then, I'll be able to listen to 'Rivers and Roads' without sobbing" (that's the song that played during the last few minutes of Chuck's finale; it's in my last blog post). I feel the same way, but I think I should be okay in a couple of months.

What else? I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff I need to write about (movies, a few shows), but I don't have time. I bought an apartment, which is crazy, and I'm in the process of packing, which is not fun. I have a LOT of stuff.

I filmed the Felice Brothers show in September, so here's the playlist if you want to revel in their awesomeness like I've been doing (you can click on the rectangle-shaped button on the bottom to scroll through the songs).

"A year from now we'll all be gone, all our friends will move away. And they're going to better places, but our friends will be gone away. Nothing is as it has been, and I miss your face like hell. And I guess it's just as well, but I miss your face like hell. Been talking 'bout the way things change, and my family lives in a different state. And if you don't know what to make of this, then we will not relate. So if you don't know what to make of this, then we will not relate. Rivers and roads, rivers and roads, rivers 'til I reach you." ~the head and the heart



Thank you for the last five years, Chuck. There really are no words to express what you mean to me.

"I think I heard you singing, 'Oh poor sky, don't cry on me. Did somebody break your heart again? Oh poor sky, don't cry on me. Are you gonna fall apart again?' My head plays it over and over. All dolled-up in straps, all colored in. Now, love, where have you been? Dolled-up in straps, all colored in. Now, love, where have you been? Where have you been?" ~the national

My 15 favorite Movies of 2011

It's that time again, time to reflect on the previous year, and for this blog that means looking at what the entertainment industry had to offer. Today I'm focusing on movies. It's too difficult for me to rank them, so I'm simply listing my fifteen favorites in alphabetical order. Though if I were forced to choose my favorite film of the year, right now I'd probably go with a tie between The Descendants and Win Win (if you ask me tomorrow I'll probably have a different answer). Anyway, here are my favorites:

Bridesmaids - pure hilarity.
The Descendants - it just seemed so real. Incredibly affecting but also very funny. Beautifully acted and directed.
Drive - stylistically gorgeous, incredibly intense, captivating.
50/50 - a lovely blend of comedy and drama, and a realistic look at a tricky subject.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - fabulously acted, thrilling.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - a wonderful close to the series.
The Help - amazing acting, a solid adaptation of the novel.
Hugo - a loving tribute to the art of film, a faithful adaptation of the book.
The Ides of March - well-adapted from the play (Farragut North) and also very well-acted.
Martha Marcy May Marlene - clever, haunting, and featuring a brilliant debut from Elizabeth Olsen.
Midnight in Paris - absolutely lovely.
Moneyball - a beautifully made intelligent film about so much more than baseball.
My Week With Marilyn - an interesting portrait of an icon with a brilliant performance by Michelle Williams.
Win Win - I love everything about this movie.
Young Adult - sharp, hilarious, and uncomfortably realistic.

And an honorable mention goes to Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. So there you have it. There are a handful of movies I still need to see (The Artist, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Iron Lady, Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Albert Nobbs, and more), so obviously my picks are based on what I've seen.

"Now there’s no leaving New York. Now there’s no leaving New York. You’re so far around the bend. You’re so far around the bend." ~the national

I live in New York. It is January. It was over 60 degrees (F) today. Seriously. I walked around the city wearing this:
No jacket. 3/4 sleeves. No socks under my favorite TOMS. Rips in my jeans (letting the air in). And I was hot. Seriously. It was lovely. 60 degrees! In January!

Here is how I'm spending my evening:
Yes, I'm home alone on a Saturday night. Watching Downton Abbey (I've just fallen in love with it), eating pizza, and drinking Four Loko. And you know what? I couldn't be happier.

"You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery Citibank lights, arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under. Oh, you wouldn't want an angel watching over. Surprise, surprise, they wouldn't want to watch another un-innocent, elegant fall into the un-magnificent lives of adults." ~the national
Oh my freakin' goodness. I'm on such a high right now from a week of absolutely brilliant music.
It's been a crazy week. Five concerts in six days (while having to work during the days and get up super early for work) is exhausting. The experience was completely worth the exhaustion, though. I would do this every week if I could; it was one of the best weeks ever. Like I said before, I'm obsessed with The National, so a full week of them was heavenly. They usually don't vary their setlists all that much, but this week they did, and I couldn't have been happier with what they played. Each night I heard at least one new song that I hadn't heard them play live before but was one that I had always wanted to hear. Honestly, I never in a million years could have imagined hearing so many of my favorite songs played live in one single week. It's really unbelievable to me.

Saturday's setlist was seriously amazing. They played so many rarities that I was in constant disbelief and giddiness. It was their last show (out of six in a row) at the Beacon, it was the last show of their High Violet tour (which has been going on for more than a year and a half), and it was streamed live. All those factors meant it would be special, but I didn't realize just how special it would be. There were also some great special guests. Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire played with them on a few songs. There were a lot of other great musicians onstage at various points (Annie Clark of St. Vincent, Sharon Von Etten) but my mind is too tired to think of more of them now. I saw Will Arnett, John Krasinski, and Emily Blunt in the audience (they walked right past me).

I recorded all the shows I attended, so a few highlights (for me) are interspersed throughout the rest of this post. Download links for all the shows (full versions) are posted at the end.
I'm trying a new file hosting site, so let me know if these songs actually play. Some of the songs from Saturday are from the live stream, so the quality is better than my audience recording.

"Lucky You" is tied for my favorite song of theirs, and I had never heard it in concert before. I didn't want to let myself hope to hear it this week. They played it on Monday, though (the first night, so I didn't have to keep waiting for it!). I can't tell you how excited I was. I liked hearing them talk about it, too. An audience member kept yelling "Sexy" at Matt, and then Aaron said that the song they were about to play was a sexy song. Matt disagreed and said it was probably one of their least sexy songs, and he suggested that Aaron learn the lyrics. Matt's right. "Lucky You" is not sexy. It's totally creepy; it's basically about a stalker. But the melody is so beautiful that if you don't listen to the lyrics, you might be deceived. Anyway, it's one my absolute favorites. And they played it. And it was even more beautiful than the album version because of the horn section onstage. It was a few minutes of heaven.


On Tuesday "the song" was "Wasp Nest." Oh my freakin' goodness, I love "Wasp Nest." Again, I couldn't believe I was hearing them play it live.


On Thursday I was thrilled to hear "Driver, Surprise Me." That's another gorgeous song. It's one that took a while to grow on me but that really grabbed a hold of me once I listened to it enough times and let it sink in (I love that kind of song).


And now we get to Saturday. Oh, Saturday. I'd like to post at least half the set here because everything was so wonderful. But I'll stick to the rarities.

"SANTA CLARA." Yeah. "Santa Clara." I couldn't believe it. I LOVE this song. It wasn't even released on an album, so it's rare. They don't play it much. By Saturday I had heard so many songs that I was hoping for that I told myself if I heard "Santa Clara" the week would be complete. And when they launched into it, my heart leaped.

"90 Mile Water Wall!" Gahhh! Another rarity that is beautiful but doesn't get played all that often.


I've heard them play "Karen" before, but it's unusual and it's an awesome song. Tonight Matt said they only play it once a year (so I guess I've gotten lucky).


I've also heard "The Geese of Beverly Road" before, but again, it's a wonderful surprise when it gets thrown into the mix. It's one of my favorites.


"About Today" is my favorite closer. It's one of my favorite songs of theirs (tied for first with "Lucky You" and "Apartment Story").


Okay, those were Saturday's highlights. Here are some random highlights from the rest of the week:

They played some new songs which I've heard recordings of but which I was glad to hear in person. "Think You Can Wait" was a highlight. It was featured in the movie Win Win (which you need to see if you haven't already, by the way).

They closed the show every night with an unplugged sing-along version of "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" (with no mics). It's no "About Today" (that will always be my favorite closer), but it's kind of a cool way to end the show. If you want to listen to it, you have to endure my singing (remember no amplification; my mic picked up my own voice because it was closest).


Here are some other songs I loved hearing:
"Slow Show" (always a favorite, no matter how often they play it)

"Start A War" (a great opener for Tuesday's show)

"Son"


"Available" with the end of "Cardinal Song" (which I LOVE)

"I Need My Girl" (new song). Particularly gorgeous with the violin. This is from Saturday's show, and the audio is from the stream, so it's good quality.

Here are more photos.
Here's my recording of Monday (12/12)'s show.
Here's my recording of Tuesday (12/13)'s show.
Here's my recording of Thursday (12/15)'s show.
Here's my recording of Saturday (12/17)'s show.

I recorded a few videos and will try to share those later.