I don’t think Brandon Flowers has gotten more honestly sentimental than this. The track starts will the type of easy beat you twirl your prom date to, then Brandon lays down the scenery of a lonesome thoughtful drive through the desert. Elvis joins the song as the doubts are told, and the song builds — as Killers songs only do —
If I go on with you by my side
can it be the way it was
when we met?
Did you forget about those lonely nights?
The drum slows down and you twirl again in a slow dance in the endless Mojave desert.
So I was looking at my brand new, post-concert Battle Born CD — the first one I’ve bought in years –, and one thing led to another, as they are wont to do on a rare lazy Saturday afternoon. I found myself squatting in front of our CD/DVD rack and there they all were: physical, non-digital, non-iTunes Compact Disks with actual cover art taking up actual space. The covers were not dusty because someone actually took them out for a good wipe, but the labels were upside down and the order was all wrong. OCD and fuzzy sentiment kicked in. I plopped on the floor and took inventory:
Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm Remixed
Brighter – 16 Killer Tracks from Today’s Hottest British Bands
Chicosci – Chicosci
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Defiant – Kerplunk CD Sampler 2009 (Kjwan, The Ambassadors, Faspitch, Angulo, Beach Head, Menaya, Enemies of Saturn, Blue Jean Junkies, Subscapular, Astrojuan, Favored Enemy, Sinag)
High School Musical OST – 1, 2-Disc Special Edition; 2, 2-Disk Collector’s Edition; 3, 2-Disk Premiere Edition
John Mayer – Room for Squares, Continuum, Battle Studies
Justin Timberlake – Future Sex Love Sounds
The Killers – Hot Fuss, Day and Age, Battle Born
Maksim – Variations Part 1 and 2
New Moon OST
Norah Jones – Feels Like Home Deluxe Edition
Sandwich – Grip Stand Throw, 4-Track Mind, Thanks to the Moon’s Gravitational Pull, Thanks to the Moon’s Gravitational Pull (Deluxe), Five on the Floor, <S> Marks the Spot
Silent Sanctuary – Fuschiang Pagibig
Snow Patrol – Eyes Open
Spongecola – Palabas
Sugarfree – Tala-Arawan
The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing
Twilight OST
Vertical Horizon – Everything You Want
It was a nostalgic activity, to say the least. By the time I had money to buy my own records, MP3 players and free downloads were the thing. So I took to buying only the music I knew I would love forever and happily install in my future library with the books that I will likewise love forever. (My future kids are going to hate me, getting moldy paper and scratchy disks for inheritance) The inventory revealed not a fool-proof list, and definitely not a complete one, but it’s a solid start.
I have to deal though with the itchy side effect of wanting to jump into a good gig right this moment.
“Thank you for not giving up on us,” charmingly begins the Killers‘ front man Brandon Flowers when he finally stopped dancing for an intro and a hello. I had the graciousness to feel guilty because I kind of did give up on them, nursing a hurt spot for when they cancelled the Manila leg – among others – of their Day and Age tour last January 2010. There is no pain like an excited fan returning a worthless ticket. After waiting in vain for “further details on tour scheduling”, I had to let go of the dream since the next few months saw the band taking a hiatus, Brandon launching his first solo album, followed by the band’s latest outing, Battle Born, records that I both ignored (out of revenge? ignorance? K-pop persuasion?). But then a new album means a new world tour, and hallelujiah, also meant that the Killers were (as Brandon said,) “sa wakas, finally” in Manila. A butt hurt fan cannot stay butt hurt for long.
No hosts, no gimmicks, and a bad ass opening actContinue Reading
Even glamorous indie rock-and-roll stars get down in the dumps too.
A good friend linked me a recent article on Yahoo! SHE, probably spurred by another long text-versation I had with her about another cloudy day in the office. I guess she knew me well enough to understand that where consoling words, nagging, and/or level-headed advice won’t reach me, a good article would.
The full prose is available here. But I thought I’d write down this list of 5 supposedly “instant ways to get out of emotional spunk” together with my personal musings. Just to let the lessons sink in deeper. I’d like a chunk of chocolate now to help with my mood, but I don’t have any at the moment, and THAT IS OKAY. Continue Reading
Instructions: Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can’t use the artist/band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think! Re-post as “My Life According to (artist/band name)”.
Are you a male or female?:
HEART OF A GIRL
Describe yourself:
HUMAN
How do you feel?:
THE RISING TIDE
Describe where you currently live:
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
FROM HERE ON OUT
Your favorite form of transportation:
JOY RIDE
Your best friend:
M(S) BRIGHTSIDE
You and your friends are:
SPACEMAN
What’s the weather like:
CHANGE YOUR MIND
Favorite time of day:
GOODNIGHT, TRAVEL WELL
If your life was a TV show, what would it be:
DEADLINES AND COMMITMENTS
What is life to you:
ALL THE THINGS THAT I’VE DONE
Your relationship:
FOR REASONS UNKNOWN
Your fear:
DON’T SHOOT ME SANTA
What is the best advice you have to give:
SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT
Thought for the day:
READ MY MIND
How you would like to die:
TRANQUILIZE
Your soul’s present condition:
GLAMOROUS INDIE ROCK & ROLL
Your motto:
EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT
Author’s note: Note repost from August 16, 2009, during a time when Facebook was all about quizzes and chain notes. Fun times. Reincarnated because picture below is finally happening.
Heartbroken Filipino fans who had to return their tickets when the Killers’ 2012 Manila concert was cancelled would want to go to TicketNet Online now. Here’s your official invite:
In this day and age, a broken iPod can take away so many things from you. For me, I lost my background music as I trudged through the day, the borrowed sanity needed during a grueling commute, and the thrill of fresh music blasting my eardrums. I have managed to replace the first two with incessant daydreaming and productive musings, but there really is no perfect substitute to an updated playlist. Thus far, below are the important musical moments that I am still missing. Blame it on my failed, blue iAngel-skinned, iPod 2G:
