No Doubt.

This weekend, one of my friends mentioned to me the she able to get $15 lawn tickets to see No Doubt. This is big, exciting news, and I almost immediately went to purchase my ticket. I have loved No Doubt since I was able to make educated music choices. Tragic Kingdom -- the whole album -- helped define my youth. I'm not kidding. Plus, Gwen Stefani is smokin' hot and used to wear a bindi on her forehead.
A thought then occurred to me... why are these tickets only $15? According to Wikipedia (which is the be all, end all source) No Doubt has not had a "mainstream" album since the 90s. Can this be true? I suppose it is, however it seems completely bizarre to me that this band, who I worshiped, is becoming obsolete. They are moving into an older generation of music. How could this possibly happen? Now, don't get me wrong -- I have always loved old music. I was raised to love old music. As a kid I never wanted to know what the top 40 songs of the moment were, I instead prided myself on knowing lyrics to bands such as The Beatles, Peter, Paul and Mary... even John Denver. It is just a bizarre feeling to know that a band who had so much influence in my life is now becoming... old? I'm not quite sure what the right word would be, but it's just a weird feeling.
None of this, however, deters my excitement! Super stoked.

Oh, and that...

While driving earlier today I had the radio on, as I often do, and a song caught my attention. Now, it is not a particularly musically memorable song, kind of your typical power ballad, but I really liked the lyrics, and felt that they were extremely relatable. So, I looked them up. Much to my surprise (and I'll admit, embarrassment) the song is written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, but sung by.... Miley Cyrus. No, I'm not joking.
Anyway, I liked the song and the lyrics enough to post some of them here... if you'd like to

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on



The video -- in case you're interested. This also apparently goes with a movie she just put out.

Crawling

Just had a great evening!

Met up with some friends in NoDa for our first Charlotte Gallery crawl. I was immediately surprised how difficult it was to find parking! Even in the chilly weather, every where seemed to be pretty busy. The Hub and I met said friends at a small coffee house, Smelly Cat, and were introduced to the guy who would be playing music for the evening. After grabbing a quick chai, we decided to peruse some galleries, promising the evenings musical act at the coffe place we'd return. The first gallery we stopped at was populated by college students showing their art. They all seemed nervous and over eager, but the art was surprisingly good. A piece with political connotations caught my eye, and after asking the artist about it I was dissapointed that he didn't have more to say about the politics of the piece... it seemed it was kind of a spur of the moment art work. Which I suppose is fine, Art does not need an agenda. The students were talkative and generously poured the free wine, overall not dissapointing.

We moved on to the next gallery, which seemed to have a more varied crowd, and more experienced art work. Overall it was enjoyable, but I certainly don't understand the price tags on many of the pieces! Not that the works of art aren't beautiful or moving or fun or interesting, but I can't see paying 8000 for an artist I've never heard of. I suppose it is considered an investment?

In the spirit of not boring my Hub, we decided to stop at a bar, Dolce Vita, where I partook in the fabulous and under appreciated Framboise! It was fantastic. Listened to a great guitar/violin duet there (part rock, part classical, I loved it). It was the kind of place that made you feel simultaneously at home and as if you were in a special, intimate place.

Back to the Smelly Cat. More Chai. Josh and Dane (who, if I could find his webpage, I would link it. Sadly, I cannot) was fantastic! The kind of chill, acoustic perfect coffee house music that I love. He played a mix of originals and covers, all of which were thourghly enjoyable. It made me miss my guitar. I enjoy the small, arts setting and definitely hope to hear them again!

Great night. Looking forward to catching up with old friends tomorrow!

For now, pug is snuggly, and I must comply with his furry demands.

Third

This weekend proved to be fabulous. It was really nice to spend time with new people, and just feel like we have friends! I do realize, though, that I miss my friends in Maryland A LOT. My sisters, C, and H and D especially.
Anywho, we went to dinner last night with M and C, and had a great time. Even if Adam did manage to drink an entire bottle of wine by himself -- which resulted in a very drunk husband. This morning, after convincing Adam that yes, he did have to get up, we met K and K for brunch! I actually felt busy, and it felt like part of our "new life" here. It was lovely. Took Simon to the dog park this afternoon, he only lasted about 45 minutes -- it was HOT here today. We have not had any hurricane issues yet.
Serious topic for the moment: Music.
I've really been trying to get back into listening to a variety of music. I feel that i forget sometimes how much I really love it, and how much it really affects me. Especially classical music. I can listen to a piece of music and feel happy or sad or a mixture of much more complex emotions. I remember how much I love opera, even if I can't understand any of it. Not only that, but I've been trying to revisit things like Ani Difranco, and some newer folk music (ie, Meiko -- lovely girl). I miss finding new music, and listening to the memories old music brings.
It feels good to be writing again, as well. I know most of this is useless, and lacking in entertainment value, but it feels good for me to just get things out there. While there are much more in depth things I would like to write about, I feel that this is not exactly my medium for such things.