Good Music Makes for Good Life

In the past few years I was starting to seriously loose hope in the musical talent showing up in the world. With "singers" like Miss Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff and even a few choice pieces by Paris Hil-:laughs uncontrollably:-ton, the music world was looking quite bleak.

But then, out of seemingly no where, a group of incredible singer/songwriters emerged that brought back that joyful feeling the wells inside of me every time I hear seriously great music.

The first of this group was someone not new but a return of an old friend in a new way. Extraordinary Machine, by my dear friend Fiona Apple, rocked my socks off. Before the album was released (a delay due to some corporate squabbling) a slightly different version of the album was leaked and I, being the super cool person I am (ok it was Jonny), got this version and had most of the songs memorized before the real album was even close to being ready. "Please, Please, Please" and the title track "Extraordinary Machine" have all the subtlety that Fiona Apple has brought me in the past mixed with a new bouncy flair that feels like a new serving of cereal in a bowl of old milk.

The next was my discovery of Feist (who I pronounced as 'feast' for a while) long after I should have discovered her. I will have to give thanks to the iPod Nano commerical for this one. "1234" brought me in, but "My Moon My Man" was what made it stick. Perhaps it is the whimsical quality in Leslie Feist's voice, or maybe it was simply the connection between her music and Apple, but whatever it was I will admit openly that I am a Feist-addict.

Sufjan Stevens. If you have not heard of this man you should go punish yourself immediately and then go listen to "Chicago". Believe me, it will change your life. With album titles like Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State and songs like "For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" there is no way that this guy can't peak your interest and make you check out every bit of his music.

I first heard Damien Rice while wasting time after closing at Chipotle one day. It took a while for me to catch on that this guy really had something happening but once I did I was completely hooked. "The Animals Were Gone", "9 Crimes", and "Cannonball" got me so excited to see this guy in concert someday. You can imagine my disappointment when I realized that he only tours in his hometown of Dublin....yes, that's right, in Ireland.

The following few artists can be all found under the name Hotel Cafe. Hotel Cafe is acutally a cafe in Hollywood that was a mecca for original indie artists. The group of artists that were regulars there decided that it would be fun to take the vibe on the road and show the world what real music was. Thus the Hotel Cafe Tour was born in 2004. The artists currently on the tour are some of the best out there: Ingrid Michaelson (Girls and Boys), Cary Brothers (Who You Are), Sara Bareilles (Small Voice), Joshua Radin (We Were Here....go listen to "Star Mile" right now), Greg Laswell (Through Toledo), and William Fitzsimmons (Until When We Are Ghosts) just to name a few. Not to mention the alumni of this tour....a nice lady known as Imogen Heap. I usually don't tell people to do this, but go to their Myspace music site (Hotel Cafe Tour) and listen to some of the clips....it will be good for your soul.

Lastly (mostly because this post is too long) is my newest favorite, Yael Naim (pictured above). This chick was raised in Israel and made it big because of our good friends at Apple (yet again). "New Soul" was the song they played on the commercial for the MacBook Air (which you can buy me anytime you want). You know the song, it's the one that made you say "who is singing this song?" or "where can I find this masterpiece of musical talent?" Her CD came out in the 18th and I am sad to say that I have yet to buy it...mostly because I didn't know it was out yet :(

I hope my insight into the world of music (one I have been told I know absolutely nothing about) was helpful in some way. I'm off now to listen to "9 Crimes" and fall asleep with a smile on my face.

The Urine Sample Story

The following story is not my own. It is, however, incredibly hysterical and thus I felt the need to share it with the world. The "owner" of this story has given me exclusive rights to publish it as long as I keep it anonymous, so I zip my lip and will never tell.

The Urine Sample
During a doctors appointment recently, a wonderful young woman named....Sue....was asked that oh so familiar favor: Can you give a urine sample? Sue was filled with glee because she had purposefully sustained from using the bathroom before the appointment just so she could give the best sample she could muster if the need arised.

So off to the bathroom skipped Sue where she filled that cup to the brim with the most fantastic urine sample ever to be expelled in the history of man kind. Satisfied with her sample she prepared to pass it through the door. Now if you have never experienced this process (which if you haven't, you might want to look into a check up every now and again) let me explain what the door is. Usually in the bathroom of spiffy doctors offices there is a little door in the wall next to the toliet. If you open this door there is a small space, like a cubby, to put your urine sample in. On the other side of this cubby is another door that leads to the lab area. This is so the urine sample goes straight from you, through the wall, and into the lab, reducing contamination and the embarassement of walking around the halls with your own urine in your hand.

So Sue, being a thoughtful and hygenic woman, decided that she would fold up a paper towel and place it below the urine cup to prevent any germ spreading. She gets her towel with her left hand and holds the urine in her right (pay attention now, this stuff is important). She uses her right hand to open the door and proceeds to place the paper towel in the cubby. During the short period of time between the opening of the door and the placing of the towel, Sue realizes that the door is infact spring-loaded. She realizes this fact because the door is quickly rushing towards her right hand....the hand with the pee. Though Sue is known for her catlike reflexes she is just not catlike enough. The door collides with her right hand which looses the grip on the urine cup. The cup smashes into the cubby and bursts open, spilling her fantastic urine sample.

A rush of thoughts race through Sue's mind. She isn't sure if her urine is now seaping through the cracks of the door and down the wall of the lab or just puddling in the cubby. She is still not sure what just happened. But most importantly, how will she create more pee? She quickly cleans up the urine soaked cubby and walls and starts to attempt the impossible. In the end she was able to come up with a semi-sufficent amount and walk out of the bathroom as if nothing happened having now spent 10-15 minutes in the bathroom.

Now you must know that I was told this story over dinner at Pei-Wei with people evesdropping all around us. Perhaps it was funnier then but I still believe that if you didn't at least muster a giggle during that sad tale that you need to go get a new sense of humor, because yours has obviously expired.