Cover Lover: High School Musical Edition

Waterford's alumni dinner was last night. That must be the reason for my recent case of nostalgia. I didn't actually go to the dinner though. Must have been there in spirit, I guess. In honor of 5 years out of high school,  here are some of my favorite songs from that period in my life. BUT THERE IS A TWIST! These are all cover versions. "Clever Gretchen," that's what they call me.

1. The Strokes "Reptilia," as interpreted by Punch Brothers


I've been obsessed with Punch Brothers as of late. OBSESSED. Their cd, Antifogmatic, has been in nonstop rotation. THEYARECOMINGTOUTAHINMARCHANDIAMSOEXCITED!!!! You can get tickets.

2. The Strokes "Last Nite," as interpreted by Adele


Obviously, I am in love with The Strokes. Every single Stroke. But especially Julian Casablancas. He is my favorite Stroke. He collaborates with cool people like Danger Mouse. I don't know much about Adele, but she is cool too. I actually like her interpretation better than the original (!). She won best new artist last year.

3. The Shins "New Slang," as interpreted by Iron Horse


I am also, obviously, on a bluegrass kick. YEEEHAAAAWWW.
Thank you Gilmore Girls. I found out about The Shins through their soundtrack, so I felt pretentiously ahead of the curve when the shins/gradenstate explosion happened. When I went to their concert at the U, I felt underwhelmed. I wish I had been cool enough to hear them play at Kilby Court in 2003. That would have been ideal.

4. Wilco "Jesus Etc.," as interpreted by Norah Jones


This song is always great.

5. Justin Timberlake "Cry Me a River," as interpreted by Glen Hansard of The Swell Season


hahahaha

6. Keane "Everybody's Changing," as interpreted by Lily Allen


I lost "Hopes and Fears," and have yet to replace it. Tragedy. I reallyreally liked that album.


7. Bloc Party "Banquet," as interpreted by Slowbear the Great


Oh my goodness. Do you remember when Bloc Party happened? That was a big deal. I think it is cool that even though this song was released over 5 years ago, it is still totally relevant.


8. Elliott Smith "Between the Bars," as interpreted by Madeleine Peyroux


The video makes me a bit disoriented, so you might want to close your eyes while you listen. This is the song that I found by serendipitous chance when I was 14 as a free download on Amazon. I was hooked on Elliott Smith ever since.

9. Sondre Lerche "Two Way Monologue" as interpreted by... Sondre Lerche


This is cheating, I know. But I felt like Sondre Lerche needed to be included. And in the video he IS kind of covering himself, right? I went on  trip to Europe with my high school, and I kept seeing posters of this guy all over the subways in France? Italy? I don't remember where. And then I came back to the states, and went to Arizona, and my cousin Lucia showed him to me. And then I came home to Salt Lake, and my friend Ingrid reintroduced me to him (she is Norwegian after all).
STORY TIME!
It was January of 2008, middle of the Sundance film festival. I had just received my mission call two weeks previous, so every minute felt like the-last-time-I-would-get-to-do-anything-ever. In that spirit, Ingrid and I decided to go to Park City to try and see Sondre Lerche who was scheduled to perform at the Music Cafe on main. He had recently been featured in "Dan in Real Life," so that's why he was there.
Never mind the fact we didn't have credentials.
Never mind the fact that I wasn't 21 yet.
It was a miracle every step of the way.
Parking is usually difficult during the festival, but we found a parking spot right away, even though it was far. We cautiously navigated through slushy streets, when a fancy black car pulled up alongside us. The driver offered to give us a ride.
1st moral of the story: ALWAYS accept rides form strangers.
We got in. Our chauffeur was obviously "not from around these parts," and he assumed we were from out of state as well. He was wearing LEATHER pant. Really. And spiky hair, stiffly gelled, bleached at the tips. He was probably older than my dad, weird. He railed against the "****ing cold" and the "****snow," but we appreciated his help regardless.
Finally we made it to the cafe. We had our plan laid out before hand. Ingrid had her Norwegian birth certificate, so she would use that as her I.D. and feign lack of proficiency in English. I would sort of try to get in on her coat tails. I left my drivers licence in the car so that I could truthfully say I "didn't have my i.d." without admitting the fact I was underage anyway. At the door, the bouncer looked at Ingrid's passport.
"So, you're from Norway?"
"Yah," she said. Her expression: blank.
"Ok"
2nd moral of the story: When in doubt, pretend like you don't speak English.

He let her in.
I fumbled; too slow.
I told him I forgot my ID. I told him I didn't have credentials. He wouldn't let me in.
I waited.
Meanwhile, Ingrid was inside. She called me a couple times trying to figure out what we were going to do.
"Oh wait!" she said. "I see Sondre! I'll ask him for help."
AWESOME.
She speaks Norwegian, so they had a nice chat. She says he was very friendly. He actually went and talked to his manager to see if there was anything he could do. But Patti Smith was playing after him, so there was already a line of 50 people that actually had credentials that they were not letting in. So he couldn't really help.
Ingrid told me she was going to come out because I couldn't get in. I didn't want her to miss the show, so I told her to wait; I would figure something out.
I left my spot as first in line, and walked down the block, trying to find a way to the back of the club. Success!
I found the back door, surrounded by chilly smokers. We chatted. I told them I was waiting for a friend. Then these guys walked outside:

They are rappers featured in the documentary "Slingshot Hip Hop".

 Apparently they had just finished playing their set. They asked me what I was doing standing in the cold; I told them I was waiting for a friend to help me get in. They smiled and said not to worry about it.
"You can come in with us."
"REALLY!?"
"Really."
I tried to act nonchalant as we walked in, sure that someone would stop me and send me back out; but my new friends were a good cover.
3rd moral of the story: A Palestinian entourage equals instant credibility.

Ingrid was surprised to see me. So we got to see Sondre play! It was great. Here is a video of part of his performance:



That's that.
Hope you enjoyed my blast from the past.

Christmas

Our holiday was lovely and relaxed. I got Ed Hardy air-fresheners and Juicy Couture perfume. I am a classy lady indeed. We had Christmas bread and a danish egg dish which I've always pronounced "ek-eh-cow", but apparently its full name is Flaeskeaeggekage. Then we were off to see The King's Speech, which was great. Dinner was at Billie Anns with the Troutners, and then we settled in at home.

Later that night, I realized I was due for a trip to the house on 18th ave (their christmas light are even bigger and better this year if you can imagine that!). So we packed into my car and drove up Virginia street. Soon after we turned onto 11th, when I saw something in the road. It was large, about the size of a beach ball, and black. We couldn't tell what it was, so we turned around to get another look at it. It was a porcupine! It guess looked something like this:

Except bigger and kind more weird/scary looking. For a while, I couldn't tell if it was dead or alive, then I saw it move in a sort of sad, half-hearted way.

I was so worried that it was injured, the poor thing. I tried to shine my lights on it so that people would see it when they drove. I was putting it in more peril with how I was parked, so I turned around again. When we parked, we saw that it was making gradual progress to the other side of the road. A car was pulled pulled over in front of us. A man got out and came over to chat. "We're trying keep people from running it over, " I said. "Yeah," he said. "I saw it while I was driving, and I came back and brought some fruit because I heard that they like it". Isn't that sweet? We were worried that it was injured, but the guy said that he read online that they just move really slowly. "I want to give it some fruit," he said. "But I don't want it to, you know, shoot it's spikes out at me". Yes. It was a precarious situation.

We turned off our lights (which I think were scaring it) and it began to make more progress. When it was safely across, we left. Our new friend said he would keep an eye on it for a bit more.

Yesterday in Relief Society, our lesson was on the Thomas S. Monson's general conference talk about gratitude. Aldous Huxley wrote, "Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted". So in the lingering spirit of Christmas, I want to thank you, dear readers. Often times, I am too independent to accept help; too stubborn to admit weakness.  Like the porcupine, I have a spiky exterior, and wander in the middle of the road, confident that I will be perfectly fine by myself. But you have been kind and patient with me. Although I seemed oblivious to your help, you kept me safe. I'm sorry if I shot spikes at you. I'm sorry if I didn't say anything before. I'm sorry if we haven't talked in forever. Your influence is felt, and has guided me for good. I haven't forgotten you.

Thanks.

Feliz Nochebuena

If you have ever been to the Broadway Centre Theatre (it's artsy, hence the centre and theatre) in downtown Salt Lake, you know Eli Potash. Every time I go to a movie, he is there, playing his cello. This Christmas, he got a gift. I recommend starting the video at 3:25:



Kinda nice.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone.

Subversion and Diversion

Lots of snow : Lots of time inside

Which means I finally got to watch Exit Through the Gift Shop.

Cool. 
"I think the joke is on... I don’t know who the joke is on, really. I don’t even know if there is a joke."
I read La Invencion de Morel for my spanish class about a month ago. It explores some of the same themes as gift shop does. *SPOILER, for like, the rest of this post* In the novel, Morel attempts to preserve moments, just like Thierry Guetta in the movie. Morel does this by creating a machine that projects holographic recordings(?) of a week with his friends. Thierry does this by obsessively video-taping every moment of his family's life. "This way, I can capture them forever," he says. One could argue whether or not Morel or Theirry's "inventions" are successful, or even real.
It is interesting that in the preface to the novel, Jorge Luis Borges says that he considers the novel "perfect". But part of the core of the novel is questioning what perfection is. Morel creates a sort of immortality that is so real, the main character wants to become a part of it. But is the new reality he has become a part of (which actually costs him his life) actually "perfect"? So maybe what Borges is saying is that this novel is as perfect as perfect can be. Maybe his endorsement is more like Banksy's endorsement of Mr. Brainwash: "[he] is a force of nature; he's a phenomenon. And I don't mean that in a good way." No, Borges really liked Adolfo Bioy Casares, I just like thinking that their endorsements have a similar tone.
So this documentary premiered at Sundance last year. Banksy stenciled it up around Salt Lake and Provo, and I got to see a bit of what he did:

ANYWAY
I had no idea that I had a poster by Shephard Fairey in my room. He is featured in the movie.
It is this one:

Also, I think that if Banksy were a music artist, he would be Das Racist:

If anyone finds a clean version of their single, "You Oughta Know," I want it.

Also again, I really liked 50 Wonderful Things from 2010 by NPR. Especially this:

All I want for Christmas is Carl Kassel's voice on my answering machine.

Snow

It looks likes this outside:

There is a lot of Snow.

"hmm. maybe we could jump off this? no? Well what about this?"

This is the way you think when you are surrounded by Snow have your choice of balconies, ledges, porches basketball hoops, and fences from which you can leap.

One of the perks of having Snow everywhere is that it makes you invincible. Crash anywhere, and there is a fluffy cushion to save you from injury.

Unless you are in a car.

Or that unassuming pile of Snow is actually hiding boulders of ice.

As a consequence of this snowy life, I have become snuffly. So I have been humming alot.

My life is dictated by the SNOW SNOW SNOW. Snow decides if I go to class. Snow decides if I go to church. Snow decides what time I wake up. Snow decides what time I go to bed.
All over the place. I spent 8 hours shoveling it Monday, 6 hours today, and many more countless hours of it till the spring. It is omnipresent.

But instead of becoming an enemy, I consider Snow a dear friend.

The more it snows 

(Tiddely pom), 

The more it goes 

(Tiddely pom), 

The more it goes 

(Tiddely pom), 

On snowing. 

And nobody knows 

(Tiddely pom), 

How cold my toes 

(Tiddely pom), 

How cold my toes 

(Tiddely pom), 

Are growing.

P.S. It's almost Christmas!

December Mix #2: Mellow Songs to Help You Feel Chill

After reviewing this mix, I found that it was more melancholy then mellow. That was unintentional. Here it is!

Mix #2: Mellow Songs to Help You Feel Chill

1. Winter Song - The Head And The Heart
2. Roses - Harlowe and The Great North Woods
3. Buffalo - Mountain Man
4. If I Had A Boat - James McMorrow
5. To Know You Is to Love You - Syreeta
6. I Want The World To Stop - Belle & Sebastian
7. When I Grow Up (Fever Ray cover) - First Aid Kit
8. Enchanting Ghost - Sufjan Stevens
9. Your Song - Ellie Goulding
10. À ton étoile (Yann Tiersen mix) - Noir Désir
11. On The Nature Of Daylight - Max Richter
12. This Is The Song [Good Luck] - Punch Brothers
13. California Sunrise - Dirty Gold 

NOTES:
3. You may know Mountain Man because they opened for Jonsi
5. Stevie Wonder also sings on this song
6. Belle & Sebastian have been around FOR-EV-ER
7. The real version of this, is creepy
10. This is what it says, supposedly:

 

Right under the light
and silent in the shadow
If you're looking for an unreachable shelter
Know that it isn't far, and that we shine there.

To your star

Little sister of my nights
I've been missing all this
When you saved face
For many others than me
Know that I don't forget anything, but that we erase

To your star

Always at the horizon
of the setting suns
as we don't have the choice, we still have the heart
You can spit, even laugh, and you owe it

To your star

To Marcos, to joy
To the beauty of dreams
To melancholy
To the hope that keeps us together
To the health of the fire and the flame

To your star

 

I don't know if this is really what it says. Maybe one of you out that could verify that for me? Regardless, it is bewitching, isn't it?

December Mix #1: Party Songs to Give You A Thrill

I found so much cool music while I was studying, I had to make TWO mixes to share them all! You can find links to download mp3's at to almost all of these tracks on Hype Machine, which they just redesigned by the way.

Mix 1: Party Songs to Give You A Thrill

1. "My Body" - Young the Giant
2. "Little Secrets (Plus Move Remix feat. Future Kiddd)" - Passion Pit
3. "Black & Gold" - Ellie Goulding
4. "Lost In The World (Feat. Bon Iver)" - Kanye West
5. "The Walk (Mt Eden Remix)" - Imogen Heap
6. "Second Lives" - Vitalic
7. "Drive Like You Stole It (Trowa Remix)" - The Glitch Mob
8. "Feel Good Inc. (RIOT 87 VIP Dubstep Remix)" - Gorillaz
9. "Wake Up (Arcade Fire Cover)" - John Legend & The Roots
10. "I've got that tune" - Chinese man records
11. "Georgia (Cee-Lo Green cover)" - Band Of Horses
12. "Cha Cha Cha" - Jimmy Luxury & the Tommy Rome Orchestra
13. "Heartlove-FISHING-Backyard-Bonding-Remix" - Alpine
14. "Sun of a Gun" - Oh Land
15. "Ambling Alp" - Yeasayer
16. "You Wouldn't Have To Ask" - Bad Books
17. "The Show Goes On" - Lupe Fiasco

P.S. So it turns out I like dubstep. At least that's what they tell me. Who knew? Kind of scary though. I guess that is the influence of my early years in London.