O'Reilly Home

Reading/Listening on the trip

Reading aloud:

Merle's Door - by Ted Kerasote (heard interview with author, looks like a wild story of the wild life of a dog)

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007  - edited by David Eggers, intro by the great Sufjan Stevens (great compilation of stories, fiction and non-fiction, reflecting the American life)

A Christianity Worth Believing - by Doug Pagitt (honest thoughts from a pastor with questions, concerns, and hopeful ideas!)

 

Listening -

The Weepies - Hideaway (can't go on a roadtrip without them)

Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs (have been saving the tunes to listen on the trip)

Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza (prodigy jazz bass player and singer - for the chill moments)

New Mexican Thanksgiving festival

by Shaun -
Tomorrow we head west, final destination = Ruidoso, NM.  Grandma has a little vacation place up there and my parents have rented another cabin nearby to chill at and hold some Thanksgiving festivities.  This is new for us - we usually don't travel like this on Thanksgiving, mostly staying home instead of going to desert and mountains.  We're looking forward to it!
The drive seems nice - weather looking okay right now, with snow scheduled for Ruidoso on Thursday!  :)
(I recently followed Ryan as he quick blogged his drive from DFW to California, heading home after a good road tour -- it made me look forward to our short drive across some of the same terrain)
For the 10 hour drive, the ipod has been made ready -

•     "Strawberry Jam" - by Animal Collective (dipping in for the first time)

•     "Marry Me" - by St. Vincent (from Dallas)

•     And some podcasts :  Dave Grohl on Fresh Air, Don Miller speaking at Mars Hill Bible Church, KERA's Think offers "Proust was a Neuroscientist" and all the other good info stored on there.
• On the way back, if we're in the Christmas mood - we might dive into RLP's great Christmas stories - do check them out!!

That's how we'll roll at 7am tomorrow.  May the 95 Accord travel fast and true, and may you be safe and your soul be warmed this holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving!

my first radiohead album

Yes, I've never bought one before.  Today I bought my first one for my own set price:  "in rainbows" for 3 euro.  Thanks Radiohead! 
Now to awakening the ears ...

Healing Sounds

well, I caught a cold bug earlier this week.  it was funny, cause I kinda feel like I knew the exact moment that I "caught" the thing.  I rinsed out a plastic Texas Rangers cup at work (one that I use, always just with water), and refilled it with water.  Within an hour, my throat was itchy and felt the "here comes a cold" feeling.  A day later, it arrived, and we've been hanging out ever since.  :)  I wonder who tampered with my cup and wiped the lip down with my current virus.  Interesting...
So I've been chilling out; and I've been trying to find things that fit my mood.  I've listened to a few podcasts as well as some chill music: Mum, Sigur Ros, and Explosions in the Sky!  (EITS are opening for the Smashing Pumpkins tour this fall ... nicely done) 
Anyway, these tunes have healed me!  And, having seen EITS earlier this year, I also saw some good online footage to get me further in the mood.  There is something really trance-like about this band and about their live performance.  Hope this heals you too!  It's theirs song - "Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean" performed in Austin in 2003!

Cobalt Season shows

Tour dates have been announced for a show I think you must go to!  I saw the Cobalt Season do a “house show” last year, and it was uniquely great.  It was actually my first “house show,” and I really didn’t know what to expect.  This uncertainty grew larger when I learned that the show would actually happen at a “church” and not actually in a “home.”  Still, it was called a “house show,” and I’m so glad I went out to see them. 

I went because I had known Ryan Sharp in high school (a bit), and we’d recently exchanged emails about Emergent Village and his involvement, and about his story as Jesus-follower, artist, husband, nomad, good guy, etc.. 
And, okay, let me be honest … not knowing what this “house show” had in store, I wondered if The Cobalt Season might play a couple of songs, but then if it might turn into a “who’s got a song for us?” kind of evening ... you know, where we pass the guitar around and such.
So, the night before, I brushed up on some late Rich Mullins (the Jesus Record he never fully recorded) and I’ll admit I was ready to bust out and play “You Did Not Have a Home” in a cool non-chalant, emergent-type key of D.  Alas, that time never came. 
Ryan and Holly took the stage (we’re at the church, remember?), and the stories and songs poured, and the night flew by in a wave of encouragement for me.  There really was a great life-story weaved into the songs and the sharing and the performance.  This was truly a LIVE show to me – the artist sharing life. 
And I met some good people that night too.

Well, now, not only can we all expect great community at the Cobalt Season shows that happen around DFW in October and November, but the new album, In Search of a Unified Theory takes amazing strides in musical creativity for the band.  The melodies are strong and layered, and when added to the personhood of the artist … well, it’s something special for sure!  Listen and buy – you’re supporting good music by great people and we need more of that. 

See you at the Dallas shows! 

Andrew (the genius) Bird

Watch this and smile.

Feist - new & live

I'm so glad Richard jumped on this album early ... it's taken me til tonight to get there.  But she is great, and I was forever won over on the night she opened for Kings of Convenience at the Gypsy Tea Room.  It was an amazing show, and if I had moved my old blog content over to typepad correctly, I might be able to link to it.  The old ohome is here - I just can't find my post about that concert!  :) 
But, here is a version of live Feist (reminiscent of LaBlogtheque take-away-shows) to warm us up!  She conveys everything I would have written about here in her song-

Cobalt Season, mum, OldCrowMedicineShow, theShins

really good music listening going on right now!

1.  Ryan Sharp - the Cobalt Season - has released a new, very good album - In Search of a Unified Theory.  I had the great pleasure of hearing some rough tracks of some of these songs and I thought there was good stuff going on then.  But hearing the polished/finished album is stunning!  I think there's some big steps in songwriting and GREAT collaborations, and it's so full of instruments and flow - it's better than anything I could have thought would finally be released!  Go get it, and take pride in knowing a guy so open, hopeful, and friendly.

2.  I bought the Mum album - Finally We Are No One. Finally I have the album I had heard so much about ... but never bought (for money reasons) ... then forgot about.  Mum has a newer album.  I'll prob. get that shortly, but I'm really enjoying the instrumental, poppy, but peaceful tunes of Finally.  Graceful.

3.  Brian dropped off another Old Crow Medicine Show album for me - Big Iron World.  It's fantastic.  We jammed it driving through hilly, small town sections of Ohio & Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago, and it woke us up.  They are unique - one of a kind for me!  I still haven't caught them live, but I really dig their music.  (thanks Brian).

4.  Finally, (HT: Dan Hughes) - I was tuned in again to a "take away show" by La Blogotheque.  They are amazing video shots of great musicians - most recently Andrew Bird and The Shins.  A while back I watched the one of My Brightest Diamond and loved it.   ... Now I'll stay tuned forever.  So go watch some impromptu shows happen on the streets of Paris, captured in beautiful cinematography and clear sound.  Go see those three at least!  As Dan put it, "be inspired"!

the end. -s.o

apple & the music industry

I enjoyed Steve's Jobs' thoughts on music. 
It just makes me like Apple even more.  They are thoughtful, careful, insightful and impressive.  I hope music does take some of the turns he suggests.

another U2 video

Okay, I did one post with the "Window in the Skies" video. 

HERE's another more incredible version!!

I'm not even the biggest U2 fan around, but this was so great.