February Album Writing Month: 4 New Songs!

I'm doing February Album Writing Month again this year. I've written six songs so far this month, four with videos.

It's not too late to join in!




The way your laugh
always stands out in a crowd,
the way you always say my name,
so quiet yet so loud,
I wish these little things
could be enough for love.

We both know the way it goes,
this kind of thing,
a flash so bright and then the night,
it comes.
I wish I had a way to keep the light on
just this once.

If I was a different girl,
I'd just tell you,
but if I was a different girl,
I wouldn't have to be alone,
alone.




did you know when you go
there is always part of me that stays
just a little bit longer

did you know when you go
there is always part of me that stays
just a little bit stronger

and if you're looking for a way
to save this sinking ship
I'd recommend
I'd recommend

if you go,
you should know
there is always
part of you that stays




wake up, sandy
won't you join us for awhile
we never see you smile anymore

all your little things
your coats, your hats, your diamond rings
they're packed away in boxes on the floor
it's like you don't live here anymore

wake up, sandy
sunlight's coming through the blinds
you've still got the time to change

all your little things
your pain, your grief, your jealous rage
they're packed away in boxes on the floor
you know those things don't live here anymore

wake up, sandy
won't you join us for awhile
we never see you smile
anymore




You never believed in me,
but it's okay.
You never believed in me,
but I'll find my way.
You thought I was small
and I was holding you down.
Well, maybe I was.

New Song: We Went Through

WE WENT THROUGH
when the darkest tunnel was the only
pathway to the light
we went through
we went through
went through with you

when the longest night was the only
passage to the dawn
we went through
we went through
went through with you

New Song: The End of Things

THE END OF THINGS
I've spent my life waiting for a crystal ball
to know if it's safe for me to fall
but I wonder sometimes
if I would be as brave
if I could see the end of things

we go to the forest for the trees
we go to the coastline for the sea

New Song: The Wrong Side

THE WRONG SIDE
My mama told me
there's a wrong and a right side to everything
But she didn't warn me
that the right side of love would get lonely
So who can blame me
if sometimes I give into the melancholy
Sometimes

I haven't had a night at home in almost two months. I've been going and going and, like the Energizer bunny, eventually my batteries ran out.

Thursday afternoon, I went home from work with a cold. For the next four days, I watched back-to-back episodes of Law & Order and I did not take a shower. Today is Monday and I need a hair cut.

It turns out that four days on my lonesome are just what the doctor ordered. I feel more myself than I have in some time. Canned chicken soup has psychological benefits, I guarantee it.

In addition to watching more Law & Order than anyone ever should in one sitting, I finally buckled down and taught myself the ukulele. And by 'taught' myself, I mean I can play five chords, badly.





I am uploading this video as the OFFICIAL RECORD of my first ukulele cover. I'm rotten at chord changes and I haven't quite figured out how to strum. Someday, when I'm a ukulele virtuoso, we can all look back and laugh.

p.s. The song is "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy.

Give Me the Bad News First

I've been away for far too long. It seems I can only devote myself to one creative outlet at a time and lately it's been prose.  But the keyboard is there, looming.

This past week has been a blur of family, friends, and sunshine-- the best kind of blur. I was in Florida for purposes of pumpkin-pie-consumption and partying down at LK's film premiere.  The premiere was a smashing success and the after party was the stuff that dreams are made of.

Pretty people and good music make for easy video, even on a four-year-old Canon Powershot. This video was made by yours truly:

[music: "postcards from italy" by beirut]

And after a week of flip flops and suntans, I came home... to this:

[music: "tangled in threads" by ben & petie]

Oh, Wisconsin. How you sadden me sometimes.

On a brighter note, I was surprised and thrilled to learn that "Something to Humble Me" hit thesixtyone homepage again this week!

How lovely!

Vlog and You: A Musical Journey

Dudes and dudettes,

Well, it's snowing outside. It's not even Halloween and it's already snowing. I love Wisconsin, but I feel like we need to sit down and have a chat about this.

One advantage of the foul weather: more time for indoor projects! I've been working on a bunch of sweet projects lately and I want to share one of them with you today.

As back story, I'm part of a blog ring called Twenty-Something Bloggers. It's a great place to meet other bloggers, get ideas, and discover new addictions subscriptions for my RSS reader. The site regularly posts events and challenges like blog carnivals, essay contests, and Blog Swap Day. I always half-heartedly intend to participate, but life and procrastination thwart me at every turn.

The most recent of these events was Vlog Day. The word 'vlog' sounds like something you'd catch on Spring Break in Cancun, but it's actually just short for 'video log'. In other words, it's a blog post... on video! So twenty-first century! Next stop: personal jet packs and birthday cards that play Livin' la Vida Loca.

Vlog Day was last Wednesday, but as part of my ongoing theme of Personal Tardiness, I didn't finish mine until last night. It has nothing to do with music, but there is some great music in it. Andrew Bird, Le Tigre, and more!

And so, with limited further ado, I present to you...

Crafts & Cooking: An Ill-Advised Vlog

The New York Times calls Crafts & Cooking: An Ill-Advised Vlog "... an engaging, heartfelt romp through one woman's neighborhood and home. A triumph of the human spirit."

The Chicago Tribune says, "Two emphatic thumbs up! The best [curtain-related] vlog we've seen this year."

Michael Cera writes (probably), "I deeply regret not responding to Laurie's repeated requests to star in her vlog. It's so much better than Juno. Also, I love her."

My mother: "What's a vlog?"

Included within: wacky scene transitions, awkward camera angles, and approximately 900 instances of me nervously fiddling with my bangs. Also? Somewhere in the fourth quarter, I become convinced that I am Michel Gondry and/or stoned out of my mind. SO ARTSY.


PART I




PART II




Watch and discover for yourself why I have neither a home decorating show, a cooking show, nor a boyfriend.

Until next time,
MM

Rock 101: Still a Man's World

Saturday afternoon, some friends and I headed out to Madison Music Foundry for their Second Anniversary Party. Specifically, we were there to see some performances from MMF's Rock Workshop.

The Rock Workshop is an eight-week music program at Madison Music Foundry for middle- and high-school students. During the workshop, the kids form bands, learn songs, play live shows, and even record in a real studio. It's a rare and exciting opportunity for young musicians and I was excited to see what the kids were up to.

First of all, Madison Music Foundry definitely knows how to throw a party. Tasty snacks? Check. Fancy beer keg? Check. A lifetime supply of ear plugs for rock-your-socks-off volume levels? Check, check, check.

And the kids were awesome. There's something about thirteen-year-olds singing Van Halen that just warms my heart. Also, most of these kids had better hair than I do and they were definitely better at playing the drums.

One of the bands, a group tentatively calling themselves Four Pesos, even played a few original tunes. The original songs were some of my favorites of the night-- I swear one of the songs could have come from a Pernice Brothers album. You may or may not consider that a compliment, but I happen to really like that album.

I managed to snag a quick video of one of their Rock Workshop originals:





"All boys," my friend Clare observed at one point, nibbling a pretzel cracker between Ramones covers. It was true: there wasn't a girl in the whole group.

Amy Winehouse notwithstanding, rock and roll is still very much dominated by men. Which is part of why I was so enamored with the documentary Girls Rock! when I had the opportunity to catch it during this year's Wisconsin Film Festival.



Every person in the world should see this movie. It was so much more than cute.

photo courtesy hoodedfang, madison music foundry

The Joys of Songwriting

This is how I feel today...

The County Fair & The Ting Tings

Lately, I've become a little obsessed with the video function on my digital camera. If you haven't yet explored yours, I recommend against it. It's highly addictive.

As such, I've spent this beautiful Sunday afternoon in a sunny yellow coffee shop, editing footage from Friday's visit to the county fair. I'm super into this Ting Tings song right now, so I turned the footage into a little music video.



The song is called "Keep Your Head" and it comes from their album We Started Nothing, which came out last month. You can buy the album here and I recommend doing so. It's fun to bop along to on the bus.

Enjoy!

New Song - "Something to Humble Me"

Awhile back, I uploaded my songs to a new music-sharing website. And then promptly forgot all about it.

I thought to check my profile last night and I discovered that someone has written an absolutely glorious review of one of my songs:

'Smoke Signals' (Mixtapes & Meltdowns) is almost a modern day 'Brand New Key' (Melanie) with the vocal reservation of recording in the shared bathroom of a crowded apartment building ~ late at night. Charming and honest.

I've never had the guts to sing karaoke, but 'Brand New Key' is the only song I've ever seriously considered singing, so I'm particularly delighted by the comparison.

===

Also: New song!



Something to Humble Me

Lately I've been hearing voices
In my dreams
Telling me stories
About who I'm supposed to be

I've been taking chances
and I've been looking all around
There's gotta be something
Bigger than what I've found

Maybe I need something to humble me
'Cause I haven't fallen but I've stumbled plenty
and I don't know what's stopping me and--

Maybe I need something
Maybe

===

In other news, holy CRAP am I obsessed with Freddie Stevenson.



Isn't he charming?