Desert Close-ups

The title says it all.
Taken in Tucson, AZ.
September 2007

Guinea Fowl Crossing

I saw the sign first, and thought it was funny. What the heck are guinea fowls, and why do they need a "Caution" sign. Well, I'll be damned, 'cause I saw them in action couple streets from the sign.

First of a series of pictures to come from my Tucson trip.

I did it!

I'm too tired to write an afterthought for all this, but I shall someday. Now, I'm going to take a well-earned good night sleep that I truly deserved.

Ahhh... Life is good :)

Tucson again

I'm back in Tucson.

Tomorrow is my final dissertation defense, which will determine if the past 5 years' efforts go to waste, or earn me a PhD. We'll see. I'll go through my slides again tonight, then hopefully get a good night sleep.

This is it... It's still a little hard to believe...

Good luck to me...

Haikus

He said, "Tag, you're in!"
Should I run and don't look back
Or stay and be doomed

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How to act casual
Every time you say his name
Something in me dies

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Cross it off the list
A sense of accomplishment
Move on to the next

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Oh goody goody
I found some honey honey
For my bitter tea

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Way too much to deal
Sometimes we just need to learn
When to say: Fuck it!

What's on My Playlist? (Part Two)

Peter Bjorn And John (featuring Victoria Bergsman) - Young Folks (Writer's Block)

The song opens with drums and maracas, then the base and the whistle (so very casually, almost unintentionally, and slightly out of tune) join in. Then, Peter begins singing the same tune of the whistle, slightly nasally and definitely lazily, asking:

"If I told you things I did before
Told you how I used to be
Would you go along with someone like me"

Then, Victoria joins in with replies in her unique, smooth, and low register voice:

"It doesn't matter what you did
Who you were hanging with
We could stick around and see this night through"

Then comes the highly catchy chorus:

"And we don't care about the young folks..."

At the same time, the wonderful bongo begins... I always love the incorporation of bongo into music arrangements. That's one of the reasons why I love Guster's music. "Young Folks" has quickly become one of my favorite songs ever since I heard it on TV. The story about two young people meeting for the first time, the uncertainty, the curiosity, the self-doubt, and the fascination all occurring at the same time.

And the good stuff doesn't stop here. The video for this track is also a gem. The bobble-headed cartoon people socializing at a party in what seems like a small apartment. It's bizarre and mesmerizing at the same time. I like it.




Damien Rice - Eskimo (O)

Damien Rice came out with the debut album"O" in 2002, since then he has another album titled "9" out in 2006. Although I do really like his second album, but there are several songs from his first album that I absolutely love. "Amie" is actually my initial favorite song in "O". Nevertheless, recently I've been listening "Eskimo" a lot. On Monday morning 5:35 AM, when I typed the last word of my thesis' first draft, "Eskimo" was playing on my headset, and it was the part where the operatic section began. Ironically, Rice wrote the song about having writer's block, a phenomenon I'm fully familiar with.

" Tiredness fuels empty thoughts
I find myself disposed
Brightness fills empty space
In search of inspiration"

"I look to my Eskimo friend,
When I'm down, down, down"

The beginning of the song is slow and quiet, but the ending is incredible and powerful with the wonderful voice of the mezzo-soprano. The only video clips I could find for this song are all live performances (by the way, Damien Rice is a GREAT live performer), and they're all slightly different from one another, as well as from the original album version. In the album version, the female vocal part (the Finnish portion) was performed by Doreen Curran, a mezzo-soprano, and it's absolutely amazing. In most of the live performances, the female vocal was performed by Lisa Hannigan, who was a common fixture in Damien's songs. I prefer the original version with the more dramatic ending. Lisa is a great artist but her professional relationship with Rice "has run its creative course" and won't be performing with him in his tour anymore as of March 2007. Damien Rice is coming to LA on September 20th. Unfortunately, everything is kinda up-in-the-air for me right now and I don't know if I'll get to finally watch him live. There's always next time.

So, what's the connection between these two songs? "Eskimo" is about writer's block, and "Young Folks" is in the album titled "Writer's Block". Oh, and I had them on repeat the last hour of my thesis writing. Very different songs but sort of give me a good balance of music, and did the trick for me in terms of finishing my dissertation. Also, continuing on my multi-country music appreciation, Damien Rice is from Ireland, and PB&J is 3-guy band from Stockholm, Sweden.

Nostalgia

Reminds me of old times...
Taken in Tucson, AZ, Summer 2003.