coNsideR me destRoyed

this will destroy you opened for the deftones on monday here in pittsburgh. i was a little unsure of how i would feel about an instrumental band pumping me up for the seemingly requisite (in my brain/heart, anyway)welcome-to-fall heavy rock show. holy schnikes, this band did NOT dissappoint. i purchased a cd on the way out and proceeded to listen to it on repeat for the next three days.

i'll take this oveR floweRs aNyday

rob queued up this song to be the first i listened to on my ipod this morning.

music = WAY > roses.

this is magic!!

Fistful of Mercy from Fistful of Mercy on Vimeo.

joseph arthur, ben harper, and dhani harrison???

WOW.

thRowback thuRsday: Rage.

i forgot just how much i love to rock out to this song. feeling a little ready for a hardcore fall welcome and this hits the nail on the head for me.

bonus: rage against the machine's self-titled album was the first thing i ever shoplifted.

fill iN the blaNk fRiday: RaNdom

today's fill in the blank friday is filled with the randomness that is lauren's brain... works just fine for me! maybe one day i'll submit questions from interviews that i did in 9th grade for the school paper. poor mr. carson tried to answer me seriously and respectfully to questions like, "what kind of toothpaste would you be?" i showed no mercy.

on with the show:

1. the most adventurous thing i've ever done is...  really dependant on what one would consider "adventurous." is shoplifting adventurous? it's my first response, but i really just think that's because of the adrenaline rush that i got while stuffing ridiculous things like makeup and cd's into my pockets in jr. high. i only felt that way again when throwing rocks at passing trains (it's a federal offense!!!) behind a local restaurant. or perhaps it was sleep on the roof at a local school with my sister when she had nowhere to go. we were both so paranoid about getting caught that we had the most amazingly freaky (and similar) dreams and woke to the sounds of summer drama campers arriving and tried to figure how to get the heck out of there unnoticed... i guess by the technical definition of the word, the most adventurous i've ever been was going white water rafting for the first time on the arkansas river in colorado which included numerous class 6 rapids. we had an awesome guide and got through flawlessly! hmmm, that kind of pales in comparison, now...

2. if i were a pair of shoes i would be converse jack purcells. casual, a little unique... but quietly refined.

3. my preferred mode of digital communication is sadly, i think facebook. texting is cumbersome for long-winded me and email is too formal. i really love being able to check in with numerous people in just a couple of minutes. call it lazy, whatever... it works for me.

4. i feel happiest when driving around on back roads when the day (or night) is beautiful and balmy, listening to great music. my brain is a convertible car.

5. a little dream I have for my life is no big secret! i want to be my own boss. still haven't decided exactly what i want to do, but my love for fashion is pushing its way to the top right now!

6. the one modern convenience I could NOT do without is anything that lets me do things myself: pump my own gas (NJ, how do you stay in your cars!!??), withdrawal from my own bank account, check myself out at the grocery store... i love it all. being able to go about my business without talking to anyone? priceless.

7. music, movies, tv or books: if i could only choose one to enjoy i would pick music. it can really change / fix / affect my mood at any given time. everything else just helps you escape from what's in your head and it's still there for you to deal with when the movie/show/book is over, but music can simply change your mindset. that's some powerful shit there. books would be a close second, since you can learn and gain perspective from books, and this could also potentially lead to a new way of viewing the world. that and, who could really imagine their world without david sedaris narrating once in a while?


looking forward to an awesome weekend! going to see my morning jacket tonight. that's actually all that really matters.  :)

awww, yeah.

my boyfriend is putting out a new album in december!!  here is the first single... it's got me pumped already.

WARNING: the tiltle of this song is "f**k you" so, ah... it's quite explicit. in only the way cee-lo can do it. 

show stopperR

this may greatly change how i feel about haftahaftahafta going to see 30 seconds to mars in september.

hopefully that's more than enough time for jared to come to his senses. oi.

summeR conceRt kick-off

today is the first day of the three rivers arts festival here in pittsburgh. as much as i love visiting the artists market a few times during the ten days of festivities, what really gets me excited is the music. where else can you see the likes of guster, dirty dozen brass band, ingrid michaelson, and patty griffin (eeeeeee!!!!! FINALLY i get to see her!) for free?? sounds like a really fantistic start to the summer concert season...

i'm also really looking forward to some later shows this summer, including sleigh bells, rogue wave (including my buddy/one time rommate from high school, cameron), beth orton, my morning jacket and kings of leon with the black keys. these, unfortunately, are not free... no wonder i'm broke! but so worth it.

fill iN the blaNk fRiday: wow, alReady??

how fast was this week??!? good thing, too, because my sister is driving her way across the country today to come visit for a week and i simply can't wait! today's real fill in the blank (over at the little things we do) was regarding personal style and, while i lovelovelove fashion, i don't exactly have much of a style thanks to spending all of my moolah on a "professional" wardrobe for the last ten years. i dream of someday having a job / owning a business where i can be myself and dress any which way i like. then i will be able to have a personal style! until then, here is a substitute:

1. the first thing I do in the morning is snooze. usually for about 45 minutes... how ridiculous is that!! then, i get out of bed and sneeze. sometimes i think my life is laughing at me: morning routine = snooze + sneeze.

2. every night before bed i read. even if it's only for ten minutes, i can't seem to shut off my brain without reading just a little bit. this method is so effective, though, that it can take me a very long time to get through a book because i fall asleep while trying to get further.

3. my favorite thing to do when I'm having a bad day is get together with some friends and vent for a while, then just spend the rest of the time being goofy. it's really a great offset: get it off of your chest, and move on. life's too short to let all that stupid stuff weigh you down. i'm really great at preaching that, but not so much at practicing it... something i need to work on.

4. something that makes me cringe is when people are rude. whether it's people being jerks to others "serving" them, or people in customer service who have no people skills, people who interrupt or don't take turns merging... the list goes on and on and on! everyone is looking out for number one and they forget to be kind to each other. the thing that amazes (scares!) me is that pittsburgh is supposed to be one of the friendliest cities!!

5. social situations tend to make me freak out, generally speaking. i was a really, really shy child and have worked very hard at being able to shoot the shit with strangers, but i still have days when i just don't have the patience or desire to do so. i also don't deal very well with crowds, which is unfortunate for my love of concerts.

6. i like to collect music. cd's, to be exact. i know it's silly in this digital age, but i love the packaging... the smell of the inserts (though they're not quite as awesome as those for cassette tapes!), the artwork, the photos. i like to tell myself that they'll have a comeback someday and then, finally, i will be awesome.

7. weekends are for spending time with family, friends, and pets. and sleeping. sundays, especially, are for sleeping.

have a wonderful weekend!!

fill in the blaNk fRiday - fiRst shot

1. the very best thing about summer is being able to run around in bare feet. also, spending late nights outside talking and drinking with friends. this includes the following settings: decks, patios, restaurants, and campfires. unbeatable.

2. my first crush ever was boy george. this actually speaks volumes about me. i had a little bear that was named georgie that wore a dress. georgie was most certainly a boy bear. my little brain gender-bended without question... janice the muppet has also always been a boy to me. he just has long hair and wears lipstick! i have always loved pretty boys, especially ones in eyeliner.

3. this may sound really silly but i am afraid of marriage. actually, i am mostly afraid of being someone's wife. lucky person that i am, my partner (who hates being called my boyfriend after ten years) is willing to wait until i reconcile that shit with myself.

4. i squeeze my toothpaste from the bottom, if i'm feeling ambitious. you may find me squeezing from the middle if i'm in a hurry, but i'll have to fix it the next time i use it.

5. my absolute favorite "comfort food" is cheap chicken patties, kraft macaroni and cheese, and canned spinach. with a tall glass of milk. this is what my sister and i would make for our first meal every time we moved into a new place. which happened a lot. (speaking of...)

6.a random fact about me is that i have moved thirteen times since i was sixteen. the fact that i am about to celebrate my third year in my house is truly monumental. and a little confusing for my nomadic brain. instead of moving, i cut my hair. a girl's gotta have change!

7.the one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is anything that plays music, be it my ipod, my car stereo, a record player... i could live without my computer, my phone, my car, but not without music!

coloR me oNce

i forgot all about this one!!

could this weatheR be aNy betteR??!?!

definitely this kind of day

iN these aRms

Chills, chills, chills.

as we eNteR

Yes!!! I have been WAITING for this.

soNg foR today

some songs really make me wish my relationship was more tumultuous... don't play me hollow by caitlin crosby is one of them. weird, i know. damien rice makes me wish i was going through a breakup everytime i listen to him.

also, i freaking love her coat.

soNg foR today

where this takes me: walking + singing with kara - anywhere between 1995-2000