Not Quite 52 Weeks

Okay, I'll hold my hand up. I didn't quite make it 52 consecutive weeks of music. In my defense, I had a major illness, and it was quite difficult to get back in the habit of writing. I'm planning to resume posts, but probably not weekly.

On a side note, here's a very partial list of what I've been listening to a lot lately:

All Day, Girl Talk

Showroom of Compassion, Cake

The Stranger, Billy Joel

I Feel Cream, Peaches

Life'll Kill Ya, Warren Zevon

The Slider, T. Rex

Ben Folds Live, Ben Folds

The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, Ben Folds

Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, Indigo Girls

Songs About the Golden Girls, Jonny McGovern

Ben Folds Five (eponymous)

Lots of Glee Cast songs from Season 2

I hope to be back to more frequent posts soon, but for now, listen and enjoy.

Some Kind of Creative Drought

To put it mildly, I have been neglectful of this blog, through a myriad of circumstances and distractions. I have been working on a few writing projects to keep me somewhat sane during the long harsh Hoosier winter. I have also been a perpetual bad mood, caused in part by my chronic sinus pain and sleepless nights.

Tonight, after I finished taking random facebook quizzes and reading a story or two on a blog or two, I just started grooving on my iTunes party shuffle mode.

Music usually puts me in a better mood, but I haven't even listened to music much lately. I've purchased four albums (two in stores, two online) since January, but I have hardly taken the time necessary to truly appreciate them. What follows are a few of my first impressions on my latest musical acquisitions.

Pink, Funhouse
I have been a fan of Pink for many years, and this latest album seems much more angry and introspective than any of her other work. I like the songs, but they deserve more attention and analysis than I have given them, so I can't say much more. I wouldn't know whether to recommend this or not, but the single, "So What" is a fun anthem for self acceptance.

Goldfrapp, Seventh Tree
I inflicted this on a couple of friends who like dance and electronica, but it's not at all a dance or electronica album in the traditional sense. The beats are somber and drift from cheery to melancholy. Overall, it's a beautiful collection, a virtual symphony of electonic music with lots of texture and understated beauty. I would recommend this and it's probably my favorite album of the set. It's also the one I've listened to most.

Adele, 19
This singer was recommended by a friend and I checked it out online, before she won the Grammy for best new artist. The music is soulful and solid. I'm also a sucker for great taste, especially when they cover good Bob Dylan songs. Adele covers "Make You Feel My Love," which has been recorded oodles of times, each time sounding progressively more pleasant than Dylan's original. Adele's was amazing and it was that 30-second sample alone that made me buy the disc at the store. The rest of the album does not disappoint at all.

Matt Alber, Hide Nothing
Of course, you all are thinking "Who?" and you aren't wrong. I found out about this singer on a blog post of all things. He has a great video for the song "The End of the World." I posted a link on facebook and added the YouTube video to my favorites and I bought the album. There are maybe one or two other songs on it that I like, but most of the time when a track of his comes up on the iPod or iTunes, I kind of regret the $12.99 download price.

So that's what I've been listening to. My advice for any readers is to just take a break every now and then and listen to the beauty of the sounds all around you.

By the way, the title of this post is a lyric from the Barenaked Ladies song "Brian Wilson."

Ben Folds Interview

Click Here to read my story on the News-Sentinel site. As usual, I will be posting the text on my other blog in a couple of days.

Typophile and Veer pages

I've updated my member pages at Typophile and Veer. With LinkedIn, Facebook, two blogs, my own domain name, plus these latest revisions, I'm fully entrenched in the web. Look out world.

Sharpening my Writing Skills

It's been a long summer to be sure. I've been slacking on my blog and have barely been writing. I spend so much time checking e-mails at my 5 different personal addresses and at work that I feel I've lost my spark.

Fortunately, I submitted a story to the News-Sentinel and it's scheduled to run in Friday's (8/8) Feature section or next week. It's all about Canada. So my loyal readers here probably know almost everything already. Still, it will be another great clip.

I'm heading back to work, so send me a message this weekend if you get a chance to read the story.

I Heart Grammar

I totally love the English language.

I just finished proofing a paper for a friend. You can learn so much by proofreading. I know way too much about the Church Arson Prevention Act.

Suffice it to say, reading and writing are so much more enjoyable than another rerun of a shlocky sitcom like Two and a Half Men. Blech.

I feel like this guy

"Write One Paragraph Per Day."

This was my mantra for this blog, but I seem to be slacking off. Things in my life are amping up for the holidays, and I'm suffering from a rather sullen mood as of late.

My checking account is in the hole, my internship at the newspaper is ending, and work seems to be getting more insane each day. I am grateful for the respite of a week off next week, but I have two stories I need to write for the newspaper before I'm done.

There seems to be a brick wall around every corner, and there is very little I can do to console myself.

So that's enough for the pity party, back to work.

today's apology

So much for my goal of writing a paragraph per day. Sorry.

Most of my writing has been at the newspaper lately. It's such a nice distraction from work.

Look for the byline S.T. Boyer at www.news-sentinel.com.

Back to the electronic grindstone.

my career

This internship is kicking my literal backside.

I am totally braindead from the weekend, but to be honest, I treated myself to some time with friends, family, and the first night of at least eight hours of sleep in roughly two weeks.

Indianapolis was great. I should sleep on floors more often I think. My knock off tempurpedic mattress is nice, but I think it must do me some kind of good to just be on a flat, hard surface.

Now I'm off to bed, for less than eight hours, of course, and I'm bittersweet about it because I have to give back the newspaper's laptop tomorrow. It's incredibly nice not to be tied to my hulking desktop machine. The laptop experience is so oddly liberating. I think it actually made me write a better story because I didn't have to drive to the paper and all that stuff. I think I'm going to try to check out used laptops and maybe get one after the tax refund season. I'd prefer a Mac, but for writing, which is what I use the computer for most, I would take a PC.

The newspaper's IBM ThinkPad is a very solid-feeling machine. It's heavy, yet light enough that I don't feel overwhelmed. It's amazing how far laptops have come since my dad brought the first one home 15 years ago. They are so small.

Anyway, I've got to get going. At least I know that I must be wicked because I get no rest.

yesterday's assignment

yesterday I covered the ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) 2007 State Marching band championship.

I am exhausted. I will write more later.