So yes, I have taken a break from the CD-Rs for a little while. Winter was pretty bitter towards the end, I had an awakening moment with recognizing my depression, our apartment became infested with mice, weight was gained; there are numerous reasons I could dig up to explain the delay I suppose. There's no further need to go into those things though, and I have been able to overcome most of it (unfortunately, not quite over the mice roommates yet). The sun has been shining for a good few days now, Rachel and I have been going to the gym, I played my first show as a Seattleite, and in less than a month we will be bringing home our tiny little miniature dachshund puppy Murph to her new home in the hopefully not-so-infested apartment. Things are on the up-and-up, so it feels appropriate to pick this up again.
Enough about me: CD-R #9 belongs to my dear friend Carina Taylor. Artist, illustrator, host of the wonderful Southern California-based podcast The Living Room, and just a very kind and wonderful human being. I met Carina through our mutual friend Daniel Speer of one of my top 5 Southern California bands, Struckout. Daniel lived in Long Beach, went to CSULB, and introduced me to a really awesome community of musicians, artists, and ridiculously funny weirdos that I am happy to call my friends. If Rachel and I would've stayed in Southern California after we got married, Long Beach would've been the place. From what I gather it's starting to become a new hip hub for youngins, but I sincerely enjoyed the community of people that all lived around there. Carina and I would run into each other at shows, have funny discussions at house parties, and she had Fugue on one of the first few episodes of the Living Room. There was this whole world of art and community I felt like I had been missing out, and I was extremely happy to finally meet such wonderful and open-hearted people like Carina. It is nice to interact with a very sincere and real person, and I think from the first time we spoke to each other, it felt very natural and easy to be open and comfortable. I've found out recently that people like this are becoming more and more rare, so I honestly treasure the moments when you meet someone who is willing to help you feel welcome and appreciated. Carina is among three of my favorite artists from the Southern California area, along with Sophia Zarders and Jenny. The cool thing is that these three people all know each other and are good friends. I'm still amazed how lucky I was to fall into such an inspiring group of people that let me feel a part of it all.
Carina also has a strong eye and ear for art that is composed of real and genuine emotion. She has very real conversations with her guests on the Living Room, and her taste exemplifies this desire for the genuine and raw as well. In Carina's own words:
"I'm always afraid of making these types of lists. I always feel like they're never comprehensive enough, but even if I was able to list every song that has really truly affected me, I still probably wouldn't be satisfied. So I'll keep it brief. These are 11 songs (I tried to do 10 but, here we are). All of these songs have been dearly important to me at one point or another. These are all songs that I could show to a friend desperately hoping they like it. Hope they like it and still feel in the back of my head that they don't feel about them the same way I do. Each of these songs are deep in my core, and express a wave of a feeling. Some I'm able to yell in the car as I leave light-trails behind me down the 605 freeway, and others (other) leave me small, humbled.
These are ordered in an emotional arc ending somewhere in where I am now: tired, a little sadder, but still working. Many of these songs are memories. Some of them are people. I'll tell you, that one of them, makes me cry every single time I listen to it, filling me with such wells of grief. You probably won't feel that way, and that's hard for me. I want every one who listens to these songs to experience the depth of emotion I feel when I hear them. That's the power of this art. I hope I can make something like that someday."
As always, individual tracks are below for non-streamers:
1. DeVotchka - Queen of the Surface Streets
2. Janelle Monae - Q.U.E.E.N (feat. Erykah Badu)
3. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
4. Struckout - KEMF
5. Do Nascimiento - Vecchio
6. Øjne - Milano/Ogni Primavera
7. Bomb the Music Industry - Fresh Attitude, Young Body
8. mewithoutYou - O, Porcupine
9. Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
10. The Mountain Goats - Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise
11. Milo - Just Us (a reprise for Robert who has not been forgotten)
The Living Room Podcast can be found here. Many great bands have been on this podcast: Struckout, La Bella, VRIL, Leer, Young Jesus, New Balance; the list goes on and on. I will actually be a guest on the show on June 4th with my band Just, and it should be released to the masses later in June. Carina's art can be found here, and I strongly suggest contacting her regarding commissioning her for your album art, T-Shirt design, or even just a nice piece for your bedroom. It is also her birthday today, so if you know her (or even if you don't) find a way to wish her a good one!