Whatever tickles my fancy...

Happy Birthday, Katrina.

And Happy Saint Patty's, Boston! I feel like the parade in Southie needs House of Pain as a guest.

My favorite quote...

Is actually song lyrics from my favorite song...

"And this is what she said gets her through it...
If I don't let myself be happy now, then when?
If not now, when?"

My favorite book...

My favorite book is Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

My favorite television program...

The greatest television comedy ever. I will not hear arguments.

Arrested Development.



Although British comedies "Man Stroke Woman" (starring Nick Frost of Sean of the Dead/Hot Fuzz fame) and "The Armstrong and Miller Show" have had me quite in stitches lately.

My favorite movie...

This is similarly hard to nail down, but if required to choose one, I always have to say Ingmar Bergman's "Winter Light". It's a story about a small parish Priest who is steadily losing his faith. On a particularly hopeless winter Sunday, the weary Father only needs to tell a suicidal member of his flock why one must go on living... But he finds himself only venting his own deep-seeded anguish and despair. Distraught by the long-past death of his wife and the demands of an affair he has no affection for, he is tormented by "God's silence." It is a foreboding film that is often identified as a masterful argument for atheism. Indeed, Bergman was an atheist for most of his career, and arguably made this film (or the trilogy [loose term] it is part of) while he was first casting off the shackles of his strict Lutheran upbringing...

But this film has always oddly strengthened my faith. In fact, most of his very weighty films have taught me something about the beauty of humanity even in the most depraved or pathetic conditions. He's easily my favorite filmmaker and let's face it... Kurosawa is a hard one to edge out. When Bergman died a few years ago, I actually wept. Part of the why had to do with his last film, "Saraband", a touching, unusual "sequel" to an earlier film called "Scenes From a Marriage". "Saraband" had the unmistakeable ring of hope and love. He told a story remarkably similar to his own, and in the end... if I can borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis, he allowed his characters to be "Surprised by Joy".

I heartily recommend any and all Bergman films, but especially Winter Light.

My favorite song...

There are like at least 6, but I have to say it's really 2 songs constantly swapping places in my mind.

The first is Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds masterpiece "God Only Knows", which even two Beatles have called the most beautiful song ever written.

The second is Jimmy Eat World's "For Me This is Heaven" from Clarity.

Just a heads up that I'm gonna try and blog every day for a month.

These shirts COME dirty.

The studio has new T-Shirts. 10 designs available. Have just the logo or one of four phrases, including...

"Music done right, is music done DIRTY"
"Everybody needs a little DIRTY in their life"
"DIRTY never sounded so good"
"DIRTY and completely shameless"

Girly Tees in white or unisex in military green or chocolate brown. They're high quality fabrics. A bit pricey, but we're only makin 6 bucks per shirt so help us out and show your pride in Boston's best studio. Love that Dirty Water (Sound & Music).

Official Dirty Water Sound Merch Store. Dooo it.

Even more vinyl.

Now I just gotta get them home in my suitcase without bending them. Not sure if I should trust the TSA or just ship them. Deluxe Edition of Robert Plant & Allison Krauss' "Raising Sand", Pearl Jam's "Ten/Ten Redux" LP, and Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream". Be jealous of my analogocity.

Audiophile/Guitarist Pornography...

Jason and I used to joke that the Sweetwater Catalog that lived next to our toilet, was our version of porn.

...I was turned on pretty much all the way through this movie.

Hey everybody, this is my girlfriend...

And by everybody, I mean anybody in my life who hasn't met her... But of course, this post is actually for my mom, who, though she knows lots about Danielle, never quite gets tired of hearing it.

So Danielle is from Minnesota, about an hour West of the twin cities. She's a Senior at Wellesley College, an ivy league women's college about a half an hour West of Boston. Wellesley's campus looks a little like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During the Fall months it is pretty much the epitome of beautiful New England. She's a major in French and Cultural Studies with an emphasis in Africa. She has plans for graduate studies in Nurse Midwifery.

Danielle and I met at our recent Adult Education Conference. Neither of us stayed for very long, and we only talked for a couple minutes. I would have probably never asked her out actually, if our mutual friend Sean hadn't called me and told me she'd brought me up in conversation and that I should ask her out... cause frankly, she didn't seem at all interested when we met. He gave me her number and what do you know... she was really cool.

She came with me to the Do It Your Damn Self! Film Festival that my friend Lumina was organizing. It was really fun and totally relaxed. She was interesting and easy to talk to, so after the festival we went to Not Your Average Joe's for dessert and I asked her over after her meetings on Sunday. We watched a movie and then, as they say, I did my duty.

I have to say, I'm a little surprised that we've been dating a month. In most ways, it seems even faster than that. But we also have a surprisingly comfortable relationship for the amount of time we've been going out. Now we get to see how we handle not seeing each other for 6 weeks...

We Do WHAT?!!!

Kind of really want this shirt.

Awesomey Music Week.

So this week could've sucked hardcore. I worked obscenely late two nights, but I also ended up (by good fortune) getting to attend several concerts. On Wednesday I got off early enough to catch Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Paradise. On Thursday I worked late, but had enough sit time to run over and catch all of Jenny Owen Young's set and part of Mae's set at the Middle East. Then on Friday, my friend Linda invited me to the Swell Season show at The Berklee Performance Hall. You know who Swell Season is if you've ever seen the movie "Once". This was easily one of the best concerts I've ever seen... no joke, and I've been to a lot of concerts in my day.

Now I just need fun. to come back (they were last here in April) and my life will be complete. P.S. This video is lame until the pinatas start to sing. I want a video for At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)"

More Vinyl. Some for me, some for you.

Nate Ruess of The Format's new band is called "fun." On Dog Problems, Sam and Nate tapped Roger Jospeh Manning Jr. (a hero of mine from Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, The Moog Cookbook, L.E.O. and Solid State Warrior) to arrange a few songs. On fun.'s LP, "Aim and Ignite", Roger arranged the whole album. It's pretty wild, with huge Brian Wilson-esque arrangements, channeling other influences of Nate's like Queen, The Beach Boys, Bowie, or Electric Light Orchestra. Highlights are All the Pretty Girls and At Least I'm Not as Sad (as I Used to Be).

So, anyway, I purchased the vinyl from hellomerch and they mistakenly sent me two copies. I only paid for one. So I called them up and they said to keep it. I already own the album digitally, but like most vinyl nowadays, these came with download codes. So I have for those who may want them:

A cool 180-Gram transparent color vinyl of "Aim and Ignite". (Which I'd prefer to give to someone who actually listens to wax, or is already a fan of "fun.") Pay the postage and it's yours.

And two download codes for legal ownership of this album. Let me know if anybody wants.

Why do I live in New England? Why DON'T you?

After church in Mt. Auburn Cemetery. All just with my iphone camera.

Revival Tour: Jenny Owen Youngs

Monday night Ben and I went to the Middle East in Cambridge for the Revival Tour featuring, among others, Jenny Owen Youngs. It's been a couple years since I've seen her play without a band. She was awesome enough to play "Here is a Heart" for me, albeit reluctantly. Here she is with Revival organizer Chuck Ragan, former frontman of the punk band, Hot Water Music.

She also played "Voice on Tape" with Chuck's fiddler, Jon Gaunt, who frankly, tore it up all night.

She's back at Middle East on November 5th opening for Mae. Who's in?

Another music post, but it's my own.

I've been involved in the recording, writing, arranging, and producing of music for roughly 15 years. For about a decade of that I have owned my own recording equipment and for the last year, a full blown professional recording studio. I've worked on records for Willie Nelson, Billie Joel, Brand New, Muse, Dashboard Confessional, Ryan Adams, and John Mayer.

And this week I finally recorded some of my own music. Not music for a band I was in, not music I helped write or arrange, my own music...6 songs worth. It's just scratch tracks for now, but it's further than I've ever gotten before. Some of the songs are really old and most reflect stages of my life that no longer represent me, but they're things that came out of me as I was developing into the person and musician I am now.

Anyway, I've finally begun and I'm really proud of myself for having done this much. I have another 5 songs to scratch track and all of them to finish and who knows how long that will take me, but one day in the not too distant future there will be music for you to listen to. My music.

Jared

More records.

On conference Saturday I found a bunch of great records and like a man with no force of will, dropped a hundred bucks on vinyl. What is it about having to own beautiful recordings on analog?

Finally, some dog problems.

I've been after the Format's last LP "Dog Problems on vinyl for the longest time. It had a very limited release on vinyl and while I downloaded the album it's first day on emusic, and have since bought the CD at least twice, I missed the boat with getting the vinyl. Now the band is broken up and the pressing is out of print. I asked my sister to try and track one down at some indie record stores in Phoenix (the band was from the valley), but she had no luck. She did find me a vinyl copy of the Snails EP and made it my Christmas present. Thanks Erika! Anyway, the other day I finally convinced someone at vinyl collective to sell me his copy for way over market value. But overpaying or not, it's mine at last and it sounds delicious.

Transmitter 'Awesome'.

So sometime last week I ordered my favorite songstress Jenny Owen Youngs' new album. I bought it on Amie St. when it was released, but for certain records, I have to have the physical cd too. Since I blew my money when she came to Boston on a sweet 7" vinyl and poster combo, I still hadn't bought the cd. It came today with a note from her mom, that's right, her mom thanking me for the purchase. The envelope also burst open with little paper sharks, a shark sticker, a button, and some gummy treat that I'm fairly sure was a shark before it melted in the Boston summer heat into a gooey indiscernible mass of orange sugar. I only have one thing to say, "No, thank you Jenny Owen Youngs' mom. Thank you for the treats, and your daughter for the beats.