Thank you Sweden for latest obsession

When your mind is full and constantly in overdrive, sometimes it's good to escape to a magical and mindless world right within the confines of the technology you swore you'd never buy.

300,000 WILL be mine.

Time with Friends

This weekend past I managed to get in some much needed face time with my beloved Winthrop/Laurens crew. There was also some much anticipated time with our newest 2011 member Ms. Riley Evers! Thanks to everyone as always for the hospitality and time spent. I cherish those moments with you!

(It's a Baby Evers!)

The one, the only - THE SC STATE FAIR

And so, the carnival came to Cola...and, true to form, the much anticipated annual visit was made.

The evening started with a run in with our favorite dolphins from 2010. Perhaps a tradition has been born?

We sampled the local "fare"....

and befriended the animals,

Pete and Jenna boldly took on their fear of heights,

and I embraced my lack there of.

However, in the end, we managed to find a ride that didn't make anyone feel that they were having a near death experience. Fair - WIN!

There was also of course the brilliant menagerie of interesting things to observe...

We even stopped off to view the local art work, which as you can see, was simply astounding in its splendor.

We were so overwhelmed with culture, we had to take an extra moment to contemplate its magnificence.

All in all, the whole experience was pretty un-clucking believable.

Thank you Jenna, Pete, and Eric for helping make this another award winning SC Fair experience! Already looking forward to next year~!

First Aid Kit - "The Lion's Roar"

My world has been officially rocked. If Townes Van Zandt had been born as two Swedish sisters and decided to start a side gig with Fleet Foxes, this might be something close to what it would sound like. Eerily and soulfully brilliant.

(check it out on NPR's First Listen preview!)

2011 State Fair Exposé

You might be at the state fair if:

Stay tuned...updates coming!

"Maybe one day soon...."

Fountains of Wayne, I managed to forget about you for almost half a decade. It wasn't until randomly hearing you again that it dawned on me just how comfortable your circa 1996 feel goodery felt...almost as good as my circa 1996 flannel shirts and skater jeans.

In reality, there isn't anything particularly over/understated about these guys. If anything, without "Stacy's Mom" to win the masses, perhaps they would have continued to fly under a lot of audible radars. However, they certainly aren't forgettable. I mean, I only forgot about them for five years instead of say, ten? I think it's the lack of pre-2003 offensiveness that makes it so likable, and even then, the mainstream explosion could have been a lot worse.

To assume a less than shocking sound can't possibly equate to anything good would be an ignorant assumption (remember the one-hit-wonder-crash-and-burn that followed The Darkness?)

There's so much melodic mess floating about the melodic musings that it's refreshing to hear something that doesn't offend or require my ears to go into listening overdrive. Way to go FoW. It's good to have ya back.

Mmmmm, whatcha say?

People ask me sometimes about the title of the blog. Obviously my posts aren't about locomotives or hemming garments, so I understand the warranted curiosity. In reality it all ties into this affinity I have for cryptic lyrics. It's great to hear a song that tells a story or expresses a feeling you can perfectly relate to, but sometimes even better to hear one that requires you to use your imagination. Since it's discovery, I've gotten all sorts of explanations about this tune, even a reference that this is some sort of homage to the way things were before the Industrial Revolution??? Maybe? I don't know! That's the beauty of it. I highly suggest taking a moment to put in on play (a bit loudly) in a quiet room, no distractions, and see what you think. It just might make about as much sense as this blog.