When I Went To Go See Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)

Neutral Milk Hotel has always been a classic in the indie music collection of people such as I. They are the weirdest of the weird when it comes to music and style. They broke up in about 1998 because of Jeff Mangum their singer. This was his first time on tour since the band split up. He hates fame. I could just see it in him when I saw him live. 

He played all Neutral Milk Hotel's songs acoustic, which is a lot different than the quirky instruments added into the recordings. I liked it a lot actually.

He wouldn't let anyone record or take pictures. He was just paranoid of fame. At the Depot there are projector screens and TV's on the walls so you can see even if people are in the way. Jeff freaked out when he saw them. He pretty much stopped the concert until they turned them all off.

He usually looks like this.

Jeff Mangum is Gandalf. (Stole this one from instagram @teresaflowers)

This was probably a once in a lifetime experience. I think seeing Jeff tour again is about as likely as seeing Elliot Smith or Kurt Cobain tour again.

It was a great concert and I loved it.

Sufjan (Soof-yawn) Stephens

So this week I have decided to share with you my new music obsession. I have rediscovered the sweet sweet sounds of Sufjan Stephens.

He even knits.

If you haven't noticed already, I have a really quirky taste in a lot of things. Sufjan is gloriously weird in every way and the best part of it is he gets basically no media attention for it. He isn't like the gross pop artists of today that bathe in the media shock that they get from the clothes that they wear. Sufjan is dead serious about being weird. It pleases his soul.

My favorite album has got to be Enjoy Your Rabbit.

The best part is his music. He makes really quirky song ideas into really great music. This man made two five disk Christmas albums. He's pretty dead serious about what he does.

So you should go check him out.

Have a nice day.

Penumbra

Shadows On Parade

Radical Face: Ghost

Today I will share with you one of my favorite albums of all time. Ghost, by Radical Face.

Ugh the album art is just so pretty.

When men with beards make music, it's just beautiful. I mean, just look at Bon Iver. Allow me to introduce you to Ben Cooper!

I just love how Ben is himself.

Ben made the album about memories that houses can have. Old houses are one of my favorite things ever but Ben puts a really eerie spin on them. This album is really eerily happy in places which adds to the haunting effect that his music contains. He just helps me connect with the darker side of my life through his lo-fi vintage instruments and unique voice. Right now I'm really digging Along The Road and Homesick. Ben just knows what it's like to be a real person if that makes sense. Artists that are always happy in their music just seem fake to me. Ben is just himself.

One of my favorites from Ghost, but you have to listen to the whole album to get a feel for it.


So go check him out!

Jack Johnson, One of My Role Models

This is supposed to be a photography blog, right? Right! Well I said the same thing to myself. But! While my film has still not yet been developed, (I'm so lazy. Grr..) my friend Madi tells me that I must post! Well today I have decided to share with you my love for this man right here:

Oh man, that voice.

My man crush you ask? Nope. It's just Jack Johnson, the greatest man in all of... Hawaii? Yeah, that's it. (I was going to say Western Hemisphere but I'm afraid he has competition like Ben Gibbard and Scott Shepard)

People come for miles to hear this man.

I am a great fan of his music, and not just the ones that everyone knows. Even though I love them just as much as all his other music. His voice just takes me back to my favorite place: The Beach. His relaxing voice, guitar riffs, and sometimes bluesy chord patterns just agree with my soul. I love all his albums, but if I had to recommend one, it would be Sleep Through the Static.

Yes, I am a fan of his style.

Although he is a great musician, I am a great fan of his style. He just reminds me of myself in the way he shares my passion for film and being in the waves.

He just seems like a normal guy.

One of the things I really respect about Jack is that he just seems like just an average guy. I have a lot of respect for icons like him who can keep a family as well as express themselves as creatively as he does. Jack, you're a babe. Thanks for getting me through middle school and now high school.

The Week In Music

Hey guys! So I have always been a fan of weird music. This week, my choices in music, and the fact that everyone, including me, seemed to be a little out of it, created a feeling that was not quite unlike having an extensive root canal! So, because my pictures from last week were all film and have not yet been developed, I have decided to share some of my recent choices in music instead.

My cousin Nick's group, Prolotariat came out with a debut album this week! It was gloriously weird and I wouldn't have expected any less from Nick. He's just that awesome. You can check it out here.

Me and my friends discovered Laura Gibson at a concert we went to a few weeks ago. Since then she has become a familiar sound in my daily routine. Actually I stole the title of this blog from one of the songs in this album.

This will always be one of my favorites. I didn't used to like his sound all that much, but, I have now decided that I love this album. It is a work of art. Whenever I go somewhere with just my camera, or just need to cool down a bit, this album is usually one of my first choices.

I have gained new appreciation for Death Cab's newest album. As much as I love their older albums, this newest one is really creative and different from the rest. Ben Gibbard, you're a genius and I'm freaking out for The Postal Service reunion!

Last but not least, Explosions In The Sky. I've always liked post-rock bands, but this album is one of my favorites. Instrumental music is just what everyone needs sometimes.

Some other albums that I would like to mention:

Illinoise - Sufjan Stephens

On Avery Island - Neutral Milk Hotel

Electric President - Electric President

Ghosts - Radical Face

Wake Up - Anesthesia

A Different Type of Fix - Bombay Bicycle Club

Sleep Through The Static - Jack Johnson

and of course,

All The World's A Stage - Book On Tapeworm

And.. yeah! That's how my week went. I really hope next week will be less full of weird.

What I Did Today