my sweater has pockets in the back.

that's what i tell people about my fantastic yazoo sweater.

and if they are a member of dawes or cory chisel & the wandering sons, i also tell them that their band sucks(ha)/i'd like to tour with them/do they have any extra 7" records i could ... purchase?

the day finally came. dawes was here. and, i wrote this yesterday, and i'm excited to comment on it now:
"if dawes for some godforsaken reason dawes sucks live, i vow to still love them and share their music with my unconceived children. the album is just that good"

luckily for them (and my unconceived children)-they do NOT suck live. in fact, both cory chisel and dawes were so impressive, that i felt the need to buy many of the band members whiskey and then 1. step on stage and play guitar with them 2. load all of their gear into their truck 3. offer to go on tour with them this summer.

and people call me invasive.

a couple of short vids from the show, but nothing fantastic because i couldn't fully be a fan while filming.

First, a short clip of a Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons. I'm not sure what this song is called, but it's amazing. He told a back story about how he was trying to write a dylan-y song, and this is what came out.

Dawes. The beginning of 'love is all i am.' i had to stop filming so i could dance.

there is one more vid to post that is taking too long to upload. maybs later.

And, for good measure, the song they cowrote with the lovely Brendan Benson (whose 4 foot album cover now hangs in our living room)

Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons: Born Again (buy)

local natives on a merry go round!

i think this is brilliant.

see you in april, local natives.




it's almost as brilliant as grimey's allowing me to see ben sollee and daniel martin moore in a couple hours, but i'm not sure.  i just had to put this up. mostly so i could visit my own site over and over and pretend like i filmed it and just watch it repeatedly.  great song, better video.

windbreakers are terrorists, yeah?

i hate the way eric taylor's dillon panther's windbreaker sounds as he walks through his living room. it scratches the ear. sort of makes me think about the true motivation of a windbreaker. anti american? insurgents? pure evil?

thank god eric now coaches the lions. i hate you vehemently, jd mccoy.

if you've completely missed this Friday Night Lights reference, you don't really deserve to be conscious right now, but we'll let it slide and hope you never contribute to any popular culture conversation in the near future. anyways, those of us with DirecTV (or those of us who sometimes stumble across the show elsewhere), season 4 is over and we must replace our time with other things. (after this great promo video)

Other thing number one:

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore. Playing @ Grimey's TOMORROW at 6 and then later at Mercy Lounge. Ben is a CELLIST and songwriter. From Kentucky. Album out on Sub-Pop. Also, did I mention he's from Kentucky? The bluegrass state? He's escaped! I don't know much about Daniel, but after we hang out tomorrow I will fill everyone in.

"If I wounded you, i'm sorry. it happens all the time." what a brutally honest line. This song is badass. That's all I've got. (I like to put pictures of artists up, because let's face it: everyone wants to know whether there going to see just ear candy or ear and eye candy. It's almost not worth it if you don't want to gawk at the stage)

Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore: Something, Somewhere, Sometime (buy)

Other thing number two:

The O.C. Enough said.

have you ever changed your pants while driving?

i'm not sure i would suggest it. just some sage advice from a world-renowned writer.

now, today, as my students watched O Brother, Where Art Thou? and attempted to grasp its connection to The Odyssey (and inevitably failed at doing so) I tried desperately to explain the connection between "Man of Constant Sorrow" and the super sexy poster of Bob Dylan on my wall.

As usual, I don't think they got it.

But, nevertheless, it reconfirmed my love for bob dylan, ray bans, and all those who can successfully cover a dylan song. that being said, if you like the tallest man on earth, but don't have this song: you don't like the tallest man on earth. you probably don't even like music. you should just go hide in a closet. it's a bit faster and brighter than the original, but no worries--not even jakob in all his brooding glory could replace bob. anywho, the tallest man on earth is actually a guy named Kristian Matsson from Sweden. and he has a mustache and what sounds like fluent english.

look at the way the light hits his mustache just right. the following song title takes the words right out of my mouth.

The Tallest Man On Earth: I Want You (buy)

I want to have (3-10) drinks with DAMIEN RICE

If i lived in Ireland, all I would do is walk around with a bottle of jameson and a sandwich board that read, "do you know damien rice? is he looking for a female companion? an alcohol provider? a dog groomer? will work for ...... "

fill in that last ......... with whatever is least appropriate. i've been waiting around since 2006 so hear something from damien rice. it's as if he didn't get my phone calls. but, just about a week and a half ago he performed the song he wrote for the movie When The Dragon Swallowed The Sun with a new girl singing with him. See ya out there, Lisa Hannigan. what's important here is that damien rice has one of the most devastatingly poignant voices today. he pretty much always sounds like he's singing to save his life, and the little bits of double strum we get to hear make it appear like he's usually playing to save his life too.

somebody pour him him a drink. also, i think the new chick's name is julia. here is a video of the performance (no microphones, no nothing, how raw and edgy and awesome) and an MP3 as well.... still, damien (first name basis) is almost always more powerful to watch. plus. he's really sexy.

Damien Rice live from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival:

I once heard that in order to make the recording of cannonball as emotionally charged and powerful as it ended up being on the final record, damien had the girl who the song was about brought in from across the country to sit in front of him so he could sing it with her sitting there. BRUTAL.

Damien Rice: What If I'm Wrong?

"ms. riggs, we gonna bring you a nickel sack"

that's what my kids told me after school today when they were studying for their unit test. i guess the drug trade between students and teachers is the least of our worries?

or, is it just cutting out the middle man?! make sure you note the disclaimer at the bottom of this earth-shattering blog.

so normally i don't like songs on the "most blogged about" lists and what not, but there are a couple that i just keep boppin around my apartment too. yeah, boppin.

(Check the bottom of the post for samples of Yeasayer and brakesbrakesbrakes)---

which reminds me--bopping-- how great is the game bop it? except when students bring it into class to play. that's just weird. you know what else is a bit strange?

the sparkle that floats down as a means of being an "obstacle" as competitors climb the AGGRO CRAG. Yeah, I'm talking GUTS. (OR, for you more cosmopolitan readers, GLOBAL GUTS) I've been contemplating this more lately as I've started rock climbing more regularly, and I have no light to hit at the top of the route when I get there. Nor do I have Mike O'Malley commentating or MO timing/judging me. My life sucks.

But, not as much when I watch this and secretly hope that someday the background music will be played at my wedding. Except at the end, instead of saying GUTS!, all the people in the world will shout, RIGGS!

brakesbrakesbrakes: worry about it later (Buy)

yeasayer: ambling alp (Buy)

tie a chicken to a desk! where do they all come from?!

do you know how much chicken is in a regular grocery store in a regular town on a regular day? now think about how much chicken is at the restaurant across the street. and then the one down from that. and then think about the chicken in your freezer. and the mcdonalds mcnuggets. and then all the other cities and towns and countries and houses and restaurants and mini marts that have ALL THAT CHICKEN TOO. where does it all come from!?!! something i've pondered for quite some time.

i think i'll ask my students. they usually have the right answers.

i can not stop listening to this song. i added it yesterday, but now we've got a download for SAMPPPPLEEE. i'm going to listen to this and dance around my apartment banging together pots and pans instead of grading papers. and then my students will ask, "ms. riggs, why ain't my quiz graded?" and i will say, "ms. riggs was busy." and i will hum this tune and pretend i'm not in a high school.

What's crazy about Steel Train is listening to a song of their 2003 EP (1969)--all covers of songs from that year. It's hard to believe its the same band. I want them to come to bonnaroo, and i want them to crash in our tent. it will be overcrowded. aka, perfect.

Steel Train: Turnpike Ghost (FREE DOWNLOAD ON STEELTRAIN.COM)

Steel Train: Hopelessly Hoping (CSYN cover) (BUY)

also, if you read this (yes you) and you like it, you should follow it. even though i'm not quite positive what that means. ask sam hughes, he's a follower. of this blog. i'm sure he could give you feedback on its benefits.

GOOGLE KILLED MY CAT

i don't have a cat. i f-ing hate cats. but i was told in order to get people to read your blog, you had to have catchy headlines. (or i guess i could just post things people actually want to read?) either way, murder is always catchy. even if it involves the keepers of the underworld--cats.

it's beginning to seem like blogging is actually my full time job, which is fine because i have about a million and six things i want to put up here. and, at my real job, i get pushed into desks by 14 year olds. anyways. i don't know where to begin. so let's just start with the most obvious. but, these are in no particular order...

1. i love this google commercial. i don't care who knows it. i don't care how cliche or overseen or underappreciated or overappreciated it may be.

2. i want to marry jeremy lister. i don't care who knows it. are we seeing a pattern? this is a shameless post. i saw him do a few songs last night at my house, mercy lounge, and it was --once again--flawless. i need pick up his album asap, and i also need to give him my phone number. and i need to figure out what song he was playing when i walked into mercy last night and i realized my musical life would never be the same again. jeremy, are you out there? it's me, liz. i really like this video because it includes some talk of tour hygiene and it's just him and his guitar. it's a sexy in-studio mini interview and song.

3. i am going to hunt down la blogotheque AND daytrotter and do my own "concert a emporter" and "daytrotter session" because both of those sites are so great. ms. stubner and i--when our band blows up like *nsync--we will have a concert a emporter on the roof of mercy lounge with jeremy lister singing harmony. anywho, this video of the low anthem in grand central station is not even fair. that guy's voice is so versatile and smooth, and the fact that they made a maraca out of rubberbands and pill bottles is nothing short of phenomenal.

The Low Anthem - Apothecary - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

4. i couldn't be more obsessed with the apache relay--and i just realized they are playing a show with frontier ruckus on march 6 @ the end. frontier ruckus-i believe these guys are playing at bonnaroo this year (see you there), and i believe their album the orion songbook has been out since late 2008. still, it's like a glazed donut with a cherry icee that bob dylan made while the avett brothers worked the cash register. and then someone dropped off a copy of east of eden and the score to the graduate and shit got a little crazy.

Frontier Ruckus: The Latter Days (BUY)

OH. and this STEEL TRAIN song is AWESOME. I've never loved them, but i will definitely be listening to this song on reeeepppeeeatttt: Steel Train: Turnpike Ghost

monday i drifted away with some coffee to keep me awake

it's beginning to seem as though i never work. at my real job, that is. which, thankfully, leaves time for this ever-important and widely read blog.

so as i sit here on the floor of my apartment and try to think of something clever to say, i have decided that the world needs a little bit more margot. and when i say the world, i mean the three people who may read this. and you, ms. stubner. (for those of you who don't know, ms. stubner is a phenomenal nashville-based middle school english and social studies teacher. she also writes songs on the side and has impeccable taste in music) she also happens to love margot and the nuclear so & sos almost as much as i do.

First of all, the song, "As Tall As Cliffs" might actually be my favorite song of ALL time. I apologize to you, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and everyone else who was hoping to score that win--but I have literally listened to this song on repeat for about 2 and a half years straight. The demo version, the non-demo version, the it-doesn't-f-ing-matter-what-version because it's unreal. the lyrics manage to make sense while being completely bizarre all at the same time, and the hand claps and random instrumentation comes together in an uncomfortably flawless manner.

Someone tried to tell me a few months ago that Margot broke up. A tale I refused to believe. I believe their lineup has changed, but they're still on the way to releasing a new album, and they are definitely still lining up tour dates. God bless their souls. So, what's in store today? 2 Margot rare demos I stumbled across, and of course, the one and only: as tall as cliffs

Margot and the nuclear so & sos: as tall as cliffs (demo) (buy)

Margot and the nuclear so & sos: open your eyes (demo) (buy)

Margot and the nuclear so & sos: things you shouldn't do (demo) (buy)

i know you're never gonna understand

I LOVE RICE KRISPIE TREATS! this is an unrelated note and a pretty insignificant and culturally unconnected detail, but at some point or another, the world needs to know this fact.

i also love this website (thank you, joe quille).

http://whitestuffpeoplelike.wordpress.com/

and this song

Andrew Belle: Static Waves (buy)

actually, i'm kind of obsessed with this song. i saw andrew belle at a madi diaz show a few weeks ago, and all i could think of was, wow, that guy is so hot. so hot. (but i suppose that's not the first time that's happened at a show? or in general.) anywho, turns out it's andrew belle. part of the ten out of tenn crew, he's one of my newest nashville loves. and since i've become a creepass on twitter, i've responded to far too many of his trivia tweets. if i ever meet him in real life, it's going to be embarrassing for me and uncomfortably creepy for him.

EH! WHO'S COUNTING!?

i love you, nashville

my darling tennessee

The Hollywood Ten. Yeahhhh. Playing tomorrow at the non-douchey melrose on 8th. From what I've heard(ha), they're pretty (profanity) good.

What makes them better? Another snow day. Thank you, metro schools, for rewarding my late night with a late morning where there is no snow on the roads. This will also give Nijay another day to cool off from me confiscating his rubber band ball.

besides the hollywood ten and the fact that the love of my life, evan p. donahue, has been added to the melrose show tomorrow, there's nothing much else going on in the next 24 hours except me standing outside the sommet center trying to befriend john mayer using only my pickup line, "i'm a high school english teacher."

i don't care how bad battle studies is, at least the douchemeister himself is willing to admit it. plus, anyone who wants to argue that john mayer isn't an incrrredddible guitarist should sit down, shut up, and come stand with me outside the sommet center tomorrow. i'll be the one wearing a jennifer anniston bodysuit.

John Mayer's super-ass slutty interview in Rolling Stone.

i love you, nashville.

we're here because of the music

there are a few reasons i love nashville, and my life outside of teaching is one of them. (don't worry, tfa....i love closing the achievement gap as well.)

like the lists i've become so fond of, im just gonna give a 1-2-3 rundown of why last night was "memorable"

1. running into one of the kings of leon at loser's (only the most counnntrrry borderline honky tonk ever)

discussing my pupil size with caleb followill and accusing him of looking important, he simply and continuously insisted he was donald trump. yeah. they look the same, no?

2. discussing the backstreet boys with josh hoge. (he cowrote one of their latest songs) i'm not sure why he first and last named me, but i suppose it was my accusation that he and mr. followill looked important. obviously i was wrong. (ha.) he is quite the songwriter, and next time he is playing in the nash, i will be there. hopefully not being quite as invasive as i was last night.

3. patterson house. i don't care how much money i don't make, i will still go here whenever possible. and the bartender will make me something that tastes like sunkist but somehow has absinthe in it. what a wonderful world. i mean, the place doesn't even have a sign that says what it is. and they hand you your check in a book. and the bartender makes drinks with eggs.

this would, of course, be the night that i don't have my camera with me.

i love that this video has such an egregious error at the beginning. but this is still a ridiculous and intriguing scene. and clearly the inspiration for the blog title.

In an effort to pay tribute to the night (and to shout out andrew koehler for his impeccable taste in music and charming hosting abilities)

Kings of Leon: Holy Roller Novacaine (buy)

and, josh hoge doing his unfathomably sexy cover of 'ain't no sunshine'

i love you, nashville.

also. if you are one of the 3 (ha) people who read this utterly groundbreaking blog, you should slut it around and follow it. whore me out. let's go.