Who The Hell Do I Think I Am Talking About Music?

Like with the most important books post, I wanted to make a list of the albums that have had the most impact on me, whatever that means. These are in no particular order.

Proud Flesh by Husband&Wife: From their first self-titled album to this latest album, Husband&Wife has progressed as smoothly and melodically as any band I've ever heard. I was hesitant to put this one on the list since it's so new, but 1) I didn't feel like Dark, Dark Woods has the constant effect on me needed to be on this list and 2) this is already my favorite H&W release. YOU SHOULD TOTALLY SEE SARA AND I SING THIS ALBUM. CUTEZ.

Rock N' Soul Pt. I by Hall and Oates: I like to BOOGIE. It feels nice.

Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring: No singer seems more approachable on an album that Davey Von Bohlen on this release. Start to finish, this album taught me the power of a voice in art, whether it be music or otherwise.

Stale Champagne by State Champion: Another newer album, but in my unorganized mind-list of favorite albums, this one keeps climbing. If jangled into music, I feel like this is what my two families sound like smashed together. Also, some of the best rock n' roll lyrics I've ever heard.

Nouns by No Age: When I bought this album at VGR, I had settled into this groove of just listening to music I already knew and my friends bands. This album got me rejuvenated about the music being made today.

Recovery by Away With Vega: YOU WANNA SEE ME REALLY STOKED? LISTEN TO THIS WITH ME. This album taught me how to be comfortable with getting excited about things.

Life But No More by Frank Schweikhardt: This album taught me to calm down and relax and listen. I haven't heard a better album to listen to when talking to buds.

Turn It Around by Comeback Kid: Sometimes, this is the only record I'll listen to at the gym. Pure energy and heart.

Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi: I'm not joking when I say I like this album. I've never heard BIG ROCK music that sounds this close to cool. "Livin' On A Prayer" is one song I wish every band would cover.

Do You Know Who You Are? by Texas Is The Reason: I like fuzz and cool lyrics and pounding drums. PERFECT. I bought this on the first trip Sara and I took together like four years ago, so it's always a nice reminder.

Post Nothing by Japandroids: Another newer one. Another mind-list climber. THIS IS ARM SHAKIN' MUSIC. These songs are also attached to Tyler F. in my mind which makes them extra important.

Full Collapse by Thursday: The first band that I listened to with a girl. The first album I listened to when that girl broke up with me. The first album I go to when I wanna feel 15 again. IT HAPPENS AND THAT IS OKAY.

The Very Best of The Temptations: The soundtrack to my childhood oddly enough. The unity in the singing is still extraordinary to me. So many memories of trying to sing these songs with my dad on the way to hunting and fishing trips.

The Things We Carry by Have Heart: I have to be careful listening to this in public. I start shouting and stage diving off benches.

That Within Blood Ill-Tempered by Shai Hulud: When I need a reminder that loud can be beautiful, this is my go-to album.

The Moon and Antartica by Modest Mouse: I'm a sucker for quirky lyrics and wacky music. BOOYEAH. My go-to shower album.

Check Your Head by The Beastie Boys: I bought this album for four dollars, new, at a closing FYE like four or five years ago. I don't know if a week goes by without listening to it. I love how the sillyness can come through as cool. LESSON THERE.

Red Light District by Ludacris: I'm a big fan of association and Ludacris is the master. EXAMPLE:

Causin lyrical disasters, it's the master
Make music for Mini-Me's, models and Fat Bastards
These women tryin to get me out my Pelle Pelle
They strip off my clothes and tell me, "Get in my belly!"

Clarity by Jimmy Eat World: There is a perfect time/place/weather for this album that I just know when it's hear and that experience is something like meditation or yoga or other things that sound good for me but I can't do. Also, this album will always be the link that started my friendship with Layne.

We Make Our Own Luck by In The Face Of War: Another favorite shower album. MAY 7th will be ITFOW's last show, but this album has enough heart and punch to last me awhile.

The Sky Stared Down With Angry Clouds by Fire When Ready: The first time I saw Fire When Ready, I was like they are okay. A year later, I saw them again and was like WHAT WERE YOU THINKING DUDE THEY TOTALLY RULE. And then they broke up. This album is a reminder of how silly I can be when I'm paying more attention to babes than art.

OKAY THAT IS ALL I GUESS

THIS ISN'T A BORING LETTER; THIS IS ABOUT BOOKS

My friends Ben and Tyler prompted me to make a list of my favorite books, so I did. Of course, I’ve probably left some out or included some that I’ll go back and be like WUZZZZZZZZZZZZ? With the poetry, these books are ones that I revisit often for inspiration and lessons and/or I totally think shred. With the fiction, sorry I didn’t divide novels and story collections, I usually judge on enjoyment and/or sweet language/sentences. The Non-fiction are ones that made me think about my own storytelling (usually in person/socially) more deeply and/or had a huge impact on my human empathy. The Criticism (I’m not sure if this is a good title for this section) are books that made me look at writing and reading in a totally different way and/or significantly added to my knowledge of writing. I’ve included some sentences about each book. Really, the order is unimportant.

Poetry Collections
Poetry! Poetry! Poetry! By Peter Davis: My parents loved seeing Peter read from this book, and if that’s not a positive thing, then I don’t know what is.

The Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke: I read these aloud to Sara as we were driving through Utah last summer, and I don’t know if my voice has ever felt better.

High Water Mark by David Shumate: Prose poems are weird, but this dude writes them in a way that is okay-weird-awesome.
The Available World by Ander Monson: One of my favorite overall writers; I think I said Woo or Woah after 75% of these poems.

Leaves Of Grass by Walt Whitman: When I want to feel more like a human being, I reread this book.

Selected Odes of Pablo Neruda: Being emotional about and interested in things is cool.

Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams: Volume I: I’m still recovering from reading Spring and All, it’s beautiful connection of images and wildness.

A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti: I have a Ferlinghetti bio in my to-read stack. This book is in my reread stack and will probably get re-read first.

Strike Anywhere by Dean Young: WHY DON’T I OWN THIS YET? My favorite Dean Young poem is in here, Frottage. This book gave me permission to be energetic.

The Drunk Sonnets by Daniel Bailey: I’ve read this five times, probably more than any book of poems. A small press book that reminds me it’s okay to have feelings and love to drink.

Donkey Gospel by Tony Hoagland: The first book of poems that I remember cherishing.

Cemetery Nights by Stephen Dobyns: Yikes. The humor and the images are a catastrophically killer collision here.

Another Republic: 17 European and South American Writers edited by Charles Simic and Mark Strand:
My real introduction into translated poetry. Just a superb collection.

The Collected Poems of Allen Ginsberg: “Howl” is the first poem I remember caring about reading, and I know I’m not alone, and that’s comforting.

Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara: I’ve written so many bad “O’Hara” poems.

Favorite Fiction
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson: For years, people were like YOU GOTTA READ THIS BOOK. I was an idiot for waiting so long.

Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler: I’m gonna steal Christopher Newgent’s single sentence review from Vouched: You will drown in this book, you will not survive it.

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel: When people tell me they like fiction, I say HAVE YOU READ AMY HEMPEL?

The Collectors by Matt Bell: I go to this for reminders how to use language and images, more than any other book.

Flash Fiction edited by James Thomas, Denise Thomas, and Tom Hazuka, and Flash Fiction Forward edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas: I love passing these books around. My dad liked them. Again, a good sign, I think.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien: Reading this book changed the way I look at wars and soldiers and history. I’m pretty sure that’s a good feat for fiction.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The first novel I was like HEY WOAH I LIKE READING. I still don’t know what the green light at the end of the dock “means.”

A book by Dave Eggers: Velocity jumbled my understanding of what a story was, I love the short fiction in both How We Are Hungry and How The Water Feels To The Fishes, and What Is The What was just emotion wrenching. I’m not sure a single one of these books belongs on this list, but maybe as some kind of nod to Eggers’ impact on my sense of storytelling, they do?

The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories edited by Ben Marcus: I was sick of short stories until I read this book.

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut: This was the book that made me “get” Vonnegut. Really got me stoked about his writing. I even did a painting based on a scene in this book. You can have it if you want.


Favorite Non-Fiction
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers: Maybe, this book is enough to say my point about Eggers. I’ve never read anything that sucked me out of my selfish hole and made me be interested in others’ stories.

Halls of Fame by John D’Agata: Proves that nonfiction doesn’t have to be boring and full of narcissism.

A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace: I’ve never had so much fun having words crammed into my head. This isn’t a new statement: DFW was something special and it’s awful he didn’t get to reach his full potential.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan: The writing skill in this book is surprisingly fantastic. Like so many people I know, this book has completely changed the way I look at food.

Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke: I crave for someone to write me letters like this.

Can I Keep My Jersey?: Eleven Teams, Six Years, Five Countries, and My So-called Career as a Professional Basketball Player by Paul Shirley: I don’t remember if the writing was awe-inspiring, but no book has ever been this intriguing to me solely based on the story. I remember just being like DANG THIS STORY IS GOOD after reading it.

Making Stuff and Doing Things by Kyle Bravo: This book should be called, COME ON TYLER GOBBLE.

Favorite Criticism
The Art of Recklessness by Dean Young: Talking about poetry is cool. Talking about poetry and being kickass fun is even better.

Vanishing Point by Ander Monson: That one fancy award put this book under criticism, so I will follow. So much goes on within these pages, it’s just a rad tutorial on doing stuff with words.

Poetry and the Age by Randall Jarrell: I’ve never read anything this smart about poetry.

Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Flash Fiction edited by Tara Masih: I am curious about the Prose Poetry Field Guide (remember: prose poems are weird). This book might rule more because it’s so fresh, so first. It’s great and fun and useful.

Poet’s Bookshelf edited by Peter Davis: THANK YOU PETER DAVIS FOR GIVING ME INSIGHT INTO MY FAVORITE POET’S BOOKS.

A Relationship Is A List Is A List

My friend Megan Betz introduced me to listography the other day, and while I've yet to create one (OH IT WILL HAPPEN AND BE WILD IM SURE), it's been on my mind. I organize my mind in a bunch of lists all the time, like to-do list and friends lists and book lists. Here some that've been bouncing around.

MFA programs I'm planning to apply to (I don't think these are in any particular order):
1. Houston
2. Indiana
3. University of Texas-Austin
4. Virginia Tech
5. Alabama
6. Baltimore
7. Purdue
8. Arizona
9. Bowling Green State
10. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Some songs stuck in my head:
1. Truth by Chiddy Bang
2. Fever Dreaming by No Age
3. Red Cross Fever by Husband&Wife
4. Thanks Given by State Champion

A few cool recent moments:
1. Gaga dance party at Be Here Now/Halloween Dance Party at Be Here Now
2. Matt Hart Reading
3. The other day playing basketball when I didn't suck real bad
4. Watching Point Break with Ashley
5. Every episode of Grey's Anatomy that Sara and I ever watch together