School, Songs, Pics

School has been absolutely magical this year. It's magical even with the incredible amount of work we have to do all the time. The weather's been amazing, my professors are awesome, and everyone came back way nicer than last year. Here are some things I'm really into right now:

First home football game -- Look at that sky! Perfect weather.

That's right. I just enjoyed an athletic event. If you don't know me personally, I think a girl in my Italian class described me perfectly the other day:

Non è pigra ma non è atletica. E non le piace discutere di sport.

Roughly, "She's not lazy, but she's not athletic. And she doesn't like to discuss sports." 

We're currently working with a lot of vocabulary that has to do with sports, and I think the other people in my class/professors are shocked by the fact I literally do not play anything. Not my cup of tea. But there are only so many times I can say, "Preferisco suonare la chitarra. Seriously."

Translated, "I prefer to play the guitar. For realzies."

When I haven't been "enjoying athletic competition"--a phrase one of my male friends uses to mock my behavior at sporting events--I've been listening to these songs on repeat:

Truth by Alexander
Alexander Ebert, lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, recorded a great album while on hiatus from the band in 2011. He goes back to his aspiring rapper roots in this song.

The Swimming Song by Loudon Wainwright III
Took note of this song while watching old episodes of Parenthood in preparation for the season premiere, WHICH IS TONIGHT, YAY! That show has a stellar soundtrack through and through, and this is a particularly happy little gem.

Johanna Soderberg of First Aid Kit at Lolla this year
I didn't get many good shots because I only saw the end of the set. It's my biggest regret of the festival.

All of First Aid Kit's album The Lion's Roar, but especially
King of the World
which features Conor Oberst (my all-time favorite) and the lyrics,

I'm nobody's baby /

I'm everybody's girl /

I'm the queen of nothing /

I'm the king of the world.

If that doesn't pump you up before classes, I don't know what will.

and Emmylou which is just beautiful and sounds like very old-timey country music.

And other than listening to awesome music, I'm spending time with extra nuggety people right now. I feel like everyone has each other's back so much that even if we're doing potentially stressful things, there's a lower limit to how upset we can be. I know that people say, "If it seems too good to be true…", but I actually think this school has just created a bubble of people who all want to get along and have fun with regular reminders that we're supposed to be using our gifts to help the world. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a version of "to whom much is given, much is expected," I could afford about a week of tuition (thanks, Mom and Dad!). Also I walk around this beautiful campus all the time, so how could I be upset?

This was not intended to be an advertisement for Notre Dame, I just want to give credit where it's due. And to think I didn't plan to go here…

I'm pretty much perfectly happy with everything and who I am. My only regret is that I can't put on my sunglasses with the fluid motion of a much cooler girl because COME ON HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?!

Also the new Avett Brothers album comes out today! Go get it!

Lollapaloozing*

On this one-week anniversary of the first day of Lollapalooza 2012, I am finally ready to talk about it. Here's a bit of what happened.

Heading downtown
The artsiest kid I know liked this picture on Facebook, so I'll probably frame it.

Early Friday in the park 

I saw these bands on Friday:

First Aid Kit

The Growlers

Yellow Ostrich

Dr. Dog

Metric

The Head & the Heart

The Shins

The Black Keys

The Head & the Heart

The Black Keys during Everlasting Light

To sum it up I was so completely blissed out after Day One that the next morning, I was sitting on the sidewalk before breakfast with a mutilated bloody toe and broken bag zipper when someone told me my fly was down, and I felt absolutely zero shame. Then things escalated.

I saw these bands on Saturday:

Delta Spirit

The Tallest Man on Earth

Franz Ferdinand

Bloc Party

Avicii

The Tallest Man on Earth

This guy shortly before being kicked out.

Franz Fredinand was excellent, but the pole climber stole the show.

The afternoon was broken up by a storm (hence the shorter list) but the during-storm time was one of the best parts of the weekend. I was reunited with one of my college roommates,

SO MUCH JOY SO LITTLE POSTURE

and the Tallest Man on Earth tweeted at me. 

Even though this tweet was 100% factual, I know it came from the heart.

I 'm sure he liked my response:

Ode to Lolla Bliss

alas, no shout-out at the show. He was still perfect.

As we left, my male friends got in a fist fight under a bridge defending my friend and me (we're ladiez). Basically some drunk kids started a verbal fight, things escalated, then my malefriend lunged out of nowhere and grabbed a kid by the shirt before he could hit my ladyfriend in the middle of a busy intersection while our other malefriend (my ladyfriend's boyfriend) held off two other guys. It was just like the one fight I saw when I accidentally watched Twilight + (terror) - (CGI) - (werewolves) - (infidelity--looking at you, Kristen Stewart).

THEN we were near our hotel when a drunk lady (Chicago pulled a total Milwaukee this weekend) let two dogs out a door of her building. They took off down the street, and it was a cute Lady and the Tramp moment until we realized that they were about to run into oncoming traffic. We caught them and returned them to their owner, who was not that grateful. I will chalk it up to my mud-covered body and Jenna Maroney-esque expectations. (No parade?!)

On Sunday we saw:

Bombay Bicycle Club

Trampled by Turtles

Sigur Ros

Of Monsters and Men

Florence + The Machine

Bombay Bicycle Club--check out that storm damage

Trampled by Turtles

My view for 90% of Sigur Ros because it's hard to look at things that beautiful directly.

JONSI

Sigur Ros was INCREDIBLE. Everyone was amazing (especially The Head and the Heart, Black Keys, Tallest Man, and Florence), but Sigur Ros was by far the best. It was actually my favorite performance I have ever seen in the history of my life. I've never heard a group live before that was so much better live than recorded. Usually if someone's great live, I think, "Wow, they sound exactly how I hoped they would!" (i.e. Ingrid Michaelson). But Sigur Ros (specifically, Jonsi's voice) is SO MUCH BETTER live than recorded. It sounded like what a whale call must sound like underwater in the best way possible. I realize that doesn't sound too tempting, but trust me. It made me understand why echolocation works. It was a sound so beautiful I just wanted to be as close to it as possible. From the minute they opened with Svefn-g-englar, no one wanted to move. And no one could speak intelligently for so long after it. If you get the chance to see them, DO IT. It's been four years since the last time they were in North America, so it could be a while until you get another chance.

Also my roommate overheard someone ask if it was Sigur Ros or Sugar Ray, which is the second most amazing thing I heard that day.

This was only a tiny snippet of the weekend, but it was ridiculous. In a nutshell, go to Lolla if you get a chance, see Jonsi if you get a chance, don't let the fact you like Elizabeth Olsen misguide you to watch Martha Marcy May Marlene (another story for another time).

*I resisted the urge to make that "Lollapalosing" for YOU. But it will show up in a future "Opportunities Carrie Bradshaw Missed" post. I promise.

Today's Top 5

1. This is an official shout-out to Laura, the middle contestant on Jeopardy tonight. Here's why:

• She dominated the 30 Rock category.
• She won a True Daily Double with the answer "The Natural," then did a celebratory squeal.
• She high-fived her fellow contestant when he got a tough question right at the last second.
• She rocked straight-across bangs.
• She told a sincerely funny story about her goat's death by QuickCrete. 

Laura, if you read this, you may have lost by a narrow margin tonight, but you're the best one-time contestant I have ever seen. If you're looking for a fellow Tina Fey-loving brunette friend, hit me up. Thank you for being a female who is good at Jeopardy and who isn't a crusty-looking librarian.

2. Five songs that are making me smile today:

• The Box by Johnny Flynn
• When I Go by Slow Club
• Oxygen by Willy Mason
• Boat Behind by Kings of Convenience
• All Tomorrow's Parties by The Velvet Underground with Nico

3. This Etsy seller. Just searched "giraffes" and ended up ordering this

sweet vintage giraffe pendant and this

cool skull bracelet because I didn't want the giraffes to be lonely on their long, long trip from China. 

4. One of my sisters and I made up a game today that is rocking my world. First, a note about her: she's really cool and pretty, and she writes for CNN, and she's living in Atlanta right now, and she picks up the phone whenever I call her, so I call her every day on my way home from work (HI, MARIA). 

ANYWAY, the game was born of one of those after-work phone calls. She was at the grocery store when I called, and then all of the sudden she was on her way home, and I had no idea she had checked out or made any shopping progress or anything. SO the game is to do stealthy things that require interaction with other humans without the other person having any idea what it is that you're doing. For example, I went into a Whole Foods I wasn't familiar with, found the gluten-free section, and checked out, and she didn't know I ever left my car. The game also applies to scenarios that are not grocery shopping. I am currently in the lead.

We still need to write concrete rules, but I have set rules for those rules:

1. They must be written using resolution clauses from Model UN. 
2. You get bonus points for wearing a high school Model UN participant's interpretation of  "Western business attire," while playing, which means boxy suits with greasy hair or bandage skirts with Uggs and bleached hair. Either way, 10 points Gryffindor. 

5. A new NPR Tiny Desk concert of Laura Marling was uploaded today! (Today's been a big day for people named Laura and me.) She is the coolest, and she ends her set with "Sophia," which is one of my favorite of her songs. She's also wearing an amazing ring in it. If you watch it today, you'll be one of the hippest kids on YouTube. Or, as this guy commented,

Being one of the first people to see a video like this with such a beautiful performer feels sort of like waking up when it's been snowing and seeing that your footprints are the only thing in the world.

(better than F1RST lol, huh?)

I live for people who take the YouTube comment section seriously. Also CraigsList.

Have a nice Friday!