Showing posts with label Thrice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thrice. Show all posts

Friday, November 21, 2014

A few of my favorite things . . .

Before I had James, I did a journal prompt that was titled "100 Things I Love." I recently revisited this list and enjoyed it so much, I wanted to add it to the blog.

Here we go:

100 Things I Love: (in no particular order)

Skinny jeans. Finishing an art project. Music. The feeling after working out. Candy. Surprises. Fruit. Painting. Pictures. Learning. Halloween. A clean kitchen. Cinnamon rolls. Nostalgia. Alphabetizing. Rain. Lemonade. Summer. Organized spaces. Dustin Kensrue. Spaghetti. Mean Girls. Psychology. Fireworks. Purple. Family. The smell of fall. Alaska. Sleeping in. Spice cake. The 4th of July. Tommy Boy. Being LDS. Neuroscience. Mountains. Presents. Harry Potter. Pad Thai. Reading. Mom. Singing in the car. Lists. The 90's. Sunshine. Temples. Warm concrete on bare feet after the sun goes down. Kissing. Crafting. Nieces and nephews. Picture frames. JACOB. The smell of laundry detergent. Laughing. Having the day off. Being outside. Vacation. Doodling. Thrice. Thunderstorms. Cuddling. Playing games. Trees. Volleyball. Buying small notebooks/journals. Mopping. Snow cones. Shopping (not grocery). Nail polish. Lemon meringue pie. Teal. Apple/cinnamon scents. Shaved legs + clean sheets. Guitars. Staying up late talking. Vans shoes. Hot tubs. Prismacolors. Christmas. Ron Swanson. Clouds. Garlic. Scrapbook paper. Walking barefoot on sand. Following through. Hanging out. Screen printing. Hermione Granger. Cardigans. Sushi. Mom's homemade ham & potato soup. Hugs. Screamo. Corn on the cob. Doner Kebab. Vienna. Virgin margaritas. JAMES. Volcom. Kayaking. Sour cream & onion potato chips.

I looooove making lists (obviously, it's in the above list), but this list has to make me more happy than any other list!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Epic end to an even more epic decade . . . (Tribute to Thrice)

About a month ago I went to my final Thrice concert. It was their Farewell tour, they are basically done being full-time touring musicians. I still have hope that they might make more music one day, but there's definitely no guarantee.

Basically, this was the greatest concert I've ever been to, in my short life of concert attendance. Such a good crowd as far as participation goes. I was a little bit out of the heat of it because we went upstairs on the balcony, but it was still a phenomenal experience. Not being in the middle of the crazy moshers gave me a chance to just sit back and listen when I really just wanted to savor the minute, instead of jump around a punch dance like everyone else. Truly, it was musical perfection.

Since the concert, I basically have felt like listening to only Thrice. I will turn on something else, but it will only take a matter of minutes before I start thinking about a Thrice song I would rather be listening to. This is the band that has ruined all other music for me.

You (as in the one reader I get a year with this blog) may be thinking to yourself, "What's so great about this band I've never heard of?" Well sir/ma'am, let me tell you why they are so friggin good and I could not possibly ever have another favorite band.

Mostly, it's Dustin. Don't tell my husband, but I basically love this man. He is truly amazing. If Dustin writes it, it is pure lyrical gold. I will give you some examples:

"The lesson you'd do well not to forget
Your life could be the one it's wisdom saves
At sea, where you're beleaguered and beset
On every side by strife of wind and waves
Despite the best of maps and the bravest men
For all their mighty names and massive forms
There'll never be and has never been
A ship of fleet secure against the storms.

When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves to masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Til they have learned that no one masters me.

But grace can still be found within the gale
And fear and reverence, raise your ragged sail."

-King Upon the Main

 Not convinced? Okay, we'll keep going.

"I've never been this cold, the fire's gravity compels
Like planets cling to sol, I feel my orbit start to fail
Like moths to flame I come, too close and all my oaths are burned
As star begin to run, all my accusers take their turn
And calling curses down, from my lips lies like poison spill
And then that awful sound, the sound of prophesy fulfilled
And then I met your eyes, and I remember everything
And something in me dies, the night that I betrayed my King." 

-from Like Moths to Flame

And there is so much more where that came from. He is so brilliant, I hope his pursuits now that he is not a frontman take him to the world of literature because I love reading everything he writes. He's capable of saying so much with so little:

"Tell me are you free
While the gallows stand
And bullets lance the bravest lungs

Will I fold my hands or hold my tongue
Or let the flames lick at my feet

Or breathe in fire and know I'm free
Flames will rise and devour me
Oh, to breathe in fire and know I'm free."


-from Firebreather

The second song example is also the second reason why I love this band so much. What other band could scream and make me feel reverent. NONE! I love that Dustin is so religious and his lyrics reflect that. I really do feel closer to God while listening to certain songs. Take this one for example (one of my all-time favorites):

"All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats
Politicians and entrepeneurs
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head that you're really rather small?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.

All you champions of science and rulers of men
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don't you know that all things hang as if my a string over the darkness, poised to fall?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all.

All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you'd be raised in a palace or live out on the streets,
Choose the place or the hour you'd be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing, not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing not a gift in this life
Can you hear what's been said?
Can you see now that everything's grace, after all?
If there's one thing I know in this life, we are beggars all."

-Beggars

Now if that doesn't convince you that they are amazing, I don't know what will, but I will keep going nonetheless. The next reason for loving this band can be summed up in one word: Teppai. This guy is so amazing. Not only does he shred like its nobody's business, but he just oozes style and awesomeness. I love seeing him live, he just grooves around the stage like he's in his room playing by himself.

Another thing I really, really adore about this band is their musical diversity. Album after album, I never get bored. There is something for every mood I am in. Feeling like head banging like a crazy person? Listen to The Illusion of Safety or Artist in the Ambulance. Feeling like getting deeply introspective? Vheissu or The Alchemy Index. Just chilling? Beggars. And if you ever need to get seriously pumped up, one word: Firebreather. I wish so much I had known about these guys when I was playing volleyball. It would have gotten me much more riled than any of that hip-hop nonsense we played during warm-ups.

I thing the last thing I have to say is that it just doesn't get any better. I can't explain it. I've just never listened to anything this good. And in some cases, I've never listened to anything so beautiful. I think this is exemplified best in this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYmxHN4z7k

So there's my long-winded tribute to Thrice. Hopefully, someone will listen to my constant pleadings and give them a try. But if not, I'll just keep my wonderful little secret hidden from at large and know that it doesn't get any better than this.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Lyricist . . .

Rhetoric can't raise the dead
I'm sick of always talking when there's no change
Rhetoric can't raise the dead
I'm sick of empty words
Let's lead
Not follow

Late night
Brakes lock
Hear the tires squeal
Red light
Can't stop
So I spin the wheel
My world goes black
Before I feel an angel
Steal me from the greedy jaws of death and chance
And pull me in with steady hands
Giving me a second chance
The artist in the ambulance

Saturday, September 24, 2011

If there's one thing I know . . .

All you great men of power, you who boast of your feats -
Politicians and entrepreneurs.
Can you safeguard your breath in the night while you sleep?
Keep your heart beating steady and sure?
As you lie in your bed, does the thought haunt your head
That you’re really, rather small?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

All you champions of science and rulers of men,
Can you summon the sun from its sleep?
Does the earth seek your counsel on how fast to spin?
Can you shut up the gates of the deep?
Don’t you know that all things hang, as if by a string,
O’er the darkness - poised to fall?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit,
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you’d be raised in a palace, or live out in the streets,
Did you choose the place or the hour you’d be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing - not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing,
That’s not a gift in this life?

Can you hear what’s been said?
Can you see now that everything’s grace after all?
If there’s one thing I know in this life: we are beggars all.

Dustin Kensrue

Monday, July 18, 2011

I Like Screamo Music . . .

Yeah, I really do. I am here today to defend it. Because I know the usual labels. "Emo." "Devil music." Etc. But I will tell you why I love it (you meaning the inside of my head because I have no followers.)

When I was younger, right after Britney Spears became a whore and I didn't know who to listen to anymore because I was NOT going to listen to a whore, I was super lost in the music world. I thought that listening to music was fun, there was just nothing out there that I really liked. Except blink-182. But there's only so many times that you can listen to the same album before it starts getting old. And there are only so many times that I can steal my brother's CD before he starts getting really mad.

So began my aimless wandering through the music world to try to find something I really liked. My dad had The Eagles, The Bee Gee's, Pink Floyd. My mom had Queen, Creedence Clearwater Revival. I wanted something that I really loved listening to. It took a while to find it.

High school consisted of piggy-backing off of my friends. They liked popular music. Things with a loud bumping beat and a woman trying to hit every note in an 8 octave range. Mostly it was irritating. I found Green Day but a lot of their stuff is, well . . . questionable. Continual emptiness of the music world.

When I was a Senior in high school, I finally found something I really liked. John Mayer. He fit my mood so well and he sang about things that mattered, much unlike the artists playing in my friend's cars. Okay, so now I have blink-182 and John Mayer. Still only amount to about 60 songs. There has to be more out there, right?

During college, I was introduced to the insanity that is screamo music. By a group of return missionaries, no less. It took some getting used to, but when I was with them, that was all we listened to. And I was finding that I really liked it. I know what you are thinking. . . brainwashing, right? No no

Reasons why I like screamo music:
*Energy: I have never listened to anything that has made me want to get up and move around and wakes me up and want to start punch dancing or something. I just love how excited I get when I listen to it. Its like a legal drug or something. (Yeah, that's me showing off my complete ignorance of the drug world. No worries.)

*Depth: I have never heard such amazing lyrics than while listening to screamo. These people don't just write about sex, drugs, and money (thanks, rap). They have so much to say on the most complicated and deep subjects. No one exemplifies this better than Thrice. Dustin Kensrue is not the immature, idiotic narcissist that other musicians are.

*Musicality: You can't be an "okay" musician and be in a good screamo band. There is no such thing as DDDD EEEE AAAA GGGG riffs with these guitarists. And I have never heard such amazing drumming in my entire life. I love the complexity and the talent that these bands have. This is especially true with The Devil Wears Prada (approach this band with caution, they are a little wild). "With Roots Above And Branches Below" is one of the most intricate, complex albums I have ever heard. I feel like I could listen to it over and over (like I already do) and find something new about the music that I had missed before.

*Worship: Though this is not true for a lot of screamo bands, a lot of the ones I listen to are Christian bands. These means no perversion and a lot of worshipful, thoughtful lyrics. I can tell that a lot of these bands have come unto Christ and love Him just as much as I do.

I know that many people think that these bands are awful, crazy devil-music. But, at least for the bands I love, that is far from true. The sound is hard and emotional, but there are many bands that are far from devil-worshiping. Don't get me wrong, they are out there.

Just thought I would share my message of how much I love this music and give you some solid reasons why you should, at the very least, not hate it.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Love is . . .

Love is blinding.
Love is crippling.
Nothing with can destroy your life like love can.

Love is intense.
Love is riveting.
Love can leave you reeling.

Love is not a crush.

A crush is blinding.
A crush is riveting.
A crush is fleeting.
A crush is momentary.
A crush means nothing.
Because it holds no weight.

A crush is a paper cup.
A crush lasts a week.
A crush is recyclable.
A crush is disposable.
A crush is flippant.
A crush means nothing
Because it holds no weight.

Love holds the weight.

Love is binding.
Love is complex.
Love is sure.
Love is steady.
Love is secure.
Because it can't be changed by a momentary glance.
A solemn moment in time.
Love endures.

Love perpetuates.
Love teaches.
Love entrances.
Love frees as it binds.
Love makes you better.

A crush makes you fantasize.
Love lives in the moment.

A crush leaves you wounded.
Love heals your bruises and scars.

A crush gives you sorrow.
Love makes you grateful.

Love creates.
Love simplifies.
Love equalizes.

"So come what may, I won't abandon. I won't leave you behind. Because love is a loyalty sworn, not a burning for a moment." -The Weight