Sara Crawford

Unsent Letters album cover
Photography by Belenen
Cover design by Adrian Rhetts

Well, I'm releasing my album, Unsent Letters, and people have been asking me questions about it lately, so I thought that I'd write a little blog about it. My friend, Amanda, came up with a list of questions as well that sort of summed up all of the questions I've been getting lately. So, here they are.

How long did Unsent letters take, from start to finish? Well, that's sort of a complicated answer because some of these songs were written four or five years ago. So from that perspective, the album took four or five years! Heh. I've had the idea to make a solo album for years, but I kept thinking I needed backing musicians or to pay for time in a studio. I could never find the right musicians to help me with something like this, and I've somehow managed to always be pretty much broke. (Us English majors/artist types aren't so good with money.) I decided earlier this year (probably in March or April) that I should just go ahead and do whatever it takes to make the solo album happen. So what if I didn't have loads of money for studio time? I'd just figure out how to produce and record the album myself. I've been writing songs, really, since I was about 14, and I just decided it was time to get some of these songs down in a cohesive, tangible unit. I didn't start actively working on recording the album until probably August, so I guess the recording process took about four months, give or take. Of course, I also have a job, so I wasn't able to work on it every day.

Is there a message behind the album? Yes. I think every track on Unsent Letters is about the expression of an emotion right there in the moment. Most of them are love songs in one way or another. I think the underlying message though throughout the whole album is to just be true to yourself and true to what you feel. I tried to say that, I think, by creating an album that was really raw and honest. Each of these tracks are very in the the moment, and they're all very me. I'm a big fan of "writing what you know." When I'm singing these songs, I pour all of my emotions, my experiences, and myself into the songs, and I hope that someone somewhere will have the same experience that I have when I listen to Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins, or Morrissey. That "OH MY GOD! S/HE KNOWS! S/HE JUST **KNOWS**!!!!"

What was the most difficult part of making Unsent Letters? The actual recording process was difficult. I don't have much experience in that area. So I would spend hours fixing tiny little things or figuring out how to do things that a more experienced audio engineer would have been able to fly right through. Ultimately, I decided that even if I haven't gone to school to be an audio engineer or a producer or anything, I still know what sounds good and what doesn't . If there's one thing I do have experience in, it's listening to music. I know that an actual audio engineer would probably be able to find many flaws with the album, but in the end, I got the sound that I wanted, and I think that people who like my songs will enjoy it.

Are you planning other albums for the future? Definitely. I'll always write music. My next album might take me a few years, just because I'm the kind of person who likes to constantly be involved in many artistic projects. I'm always going to be doing something, rather it's writing music with other people, writing music by myself, writing plays, writing fiction or poetry, etc. My next big projects on the horizon are Long Absent Friends (the new band I'm singing/playing piano with), the publication of my poetry book (Coiled and Swallowed), and hopefully at some point in 2010, I'd like to get The Spins, a play that I wrote, on stage. But there will definitely be more albums from me in the future!

Do you have a favorite track on the album? That's really hard to say, because I have sort of a relationship with each song on the album, especially the older songs. I've been through so much with these songs, really. They've evolved and grown, and they're all just such a huge part of me. I think my favorite songs in terms of the album are "Cyclone" and "Wait," though. I wrote both of these songs around the same time, and they sort of feel like they fit together. I kind of think of "Wait" as sort of the sequel to "Cyclone" in a lot of ways. In terms of performance, though, my favorite song to sing is "Denied and Doomed." It's sort of like my anthem. A song about refusing to let go of people.

Can you explain the meaning behind the name "Unsent Letters"? The album name comes from the track, "Unsent Letters." I wrote that song like sort of a story. This person is just writing these letters to this other person, completely on the outside. I sort of used the song to write my own unsent letters. At the time that I wrote the song, I was singing about very specific people that I had strong emotions for that I just couldn't communicate for whatever reason. I decided to name the album that because in a way, each of these songs is like an unsent letter to someone, stashed away in my closet.


Once again, Unsent Letters, my debut solo CD, will be available here on the website, tomorrow, December 15th! It will be $5.00 for a digital copy (mp3s), $7.00 for a physical copy to be mailed to you. Also, I am playing a CD release show this Friday, December 18th at 11:00 at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room. I will be selling copies at the show for just $5.00! I'd love to see everyone there!

Unsent Letters will be available for purchase here!

Reticent by Gareth Botha


Well, December is upon us and there is a lot going on!

First of all, I have several announcements/upcoming events:

• UNSENT LETTERS CD release - December 15th - On December 15th, I will release my debut album! It will be available here on the website for digital download for 5 dollars or you can order a physical copy for 7 dollars.
   
• Unsent Letters CD release show at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room - Friday, December 18th - 11:00 pm - 8 dollars - 21+ - Come out to Smith's Olde Bar where I will be playing a set and selling my CD (for just 5 dollars!). Come shoot some pool, drink some beer, and hear some music! I would absolutely love to see all of you there!
   
• New Facebook Page - I have a new artist page on Facebook. So if you are on Facebook, be sure to become a fan for all of the updates, and suggest me to your friends!
   
• Long Absent Friends shows - I am in a new band called Long Absent Friends, and we are playing our first shows ever coming up! We will be playing on December 27th at 10:00 pm at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room and January 8th at 8:30 pm at Red Light Cafe. Come check it out! Especially if you are a fan of the Smashing Pumkins, Stars, Arcade Fire, and/or Broken Social Scene.
   
• New links - Check out my links page for a couple of new things. For example, my brother, Kevin, has a new music blog which is pretty sweet.

THEATRE

December is a time for theatres to do Holiday shows! Actually, for a lot of theatres in Atlanta, a great portion of their ticket sales comes from these shows. (See this interesting article from Access Atlanta.) So make theatre part of your Holiday traditions!

Some of my favorites:

• Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker - December 11 - 27 - Nutcracker has always been a Holiday tradition for me, and I absolutely love this production. (And not just because I played a toy soldier in it when I was 12! Haha.) Combine the beautiful dancing with the gorgeous costumes and set and the imaginative coreography...not to mention Tchaikovsky's classic and beautiful score...and it's really hard to go wrong.
   
• A Christmas Carol - The Alliance Theatre - Nov 27 - Dec 24 - What is Christmas without a little Dickens? Alliance has always done an excellent job of staging this Holiday classic, and it's really just a fun show.
  
   
• Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris - Horizon Theatre - Nov 27- Jan 3 - I have a personal relationship with this hillarious holiday show about an out-of-work 30-something writer who takes a job as an elf at Macy's. Last year, when I was working as an apprentice at Horizon, I did my crew/volunteer hours on this show, and I ran the spotlight. Even though I saw the show literally 30 something times, it was still funny. So check it out!

For more Holiday show listings, check out Access Atlanta or Atlanta Performs.


STAGED READINGS

• Turning Pastoral by Matthew Katis - Saturday, December 12th - 7:00 pm - Kennesaw State University - FREE - Come out to this staged reading of CMU grad student, Matthew Katis's, new play. 
   
• Working Title Playwrights presents The Scrapbook: A Modern Christmas Carol by Raymond Fast - Monday, December 14th - 7:30 pm - Academy Theatre - "You can't buy happiness. Nice thought - until you're money's gone. Since Gary's heart attack, he and wife Micki have lost their business, home, and savings. Now Gary thinks their kids and grandkids would be happier not traveling across country to visit them for Christmas. Can the memories awakened by a scrapbook remind Gary that love has no price tag, needs no trappings, and is worth more than anything money can buy?"

Come help these playwrights develop their new works! Your feedback is the most important thing for playwrights!


MUSIC

Three shows that I'm hoping to catch!

• Tealights / This Piano Plays Itself / Venice is Sinking - The Earl - Wednesday, December 9 - 8:30 PM - 10 dollars
   
• Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun / Gift Horse / Hammer no More the Fingers - The Star Bar - Friday, December 11 - 9:00 pm
   
• The Yonrico Scott Band / Laura Reed - The Five Spot - Thursday, December 31 - 9:00 pm - 20 dollars

Well, that's it for me. If there are any December events that you'd like to mention, be sure to leave a comment here on the blog so that all of my readers can hear about it. :-)

Stay tunes for my Top 10 Albums of 2009. I'm thinking of doing this in a podcast as opposed to a blog so I can actually play some tracks for you. :-)

Fall Kiss by A.D. Gaspard


Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which is really one of my favorite days of the year. It seems like everyone (myself included) does a lot of complaining these days, and it's nice to be able to take a day and try to focus on gratitude. I know I certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I have the most amazing family and friends, who are always supportive of me, and every day, there are countless opportunities to share, experience, or create art!

And on that note, there are a couple of things that you should definitely check out!




Working Title Playwrights - This is an organization in Atlanta dedicated to helping playwrights develop new works and get them on stage. They are constantly having writing workshops, critiques, staged readings, and other events to help keep new works alive. If you've never been to check out one of their readings, I highly recommend it. As a playwright, one of the most valuable things is having the opportunity to hear your work aloud and get audience feedback. They really are an amazing group, and one of my New Years resolutions is to be more involved with them next year. Check out their website for more info or to get involved!



Photo from Levi Weaver's website

Levi Weaver (musician) - Last week, my friend, Bel, invited me to go see Kate Havnevik at the Red Light Cafe. Obviously, she's an amazing performer, and her songs were incredible. Levi Weaver was also touring with her, and I had not heard his music before. Usually singer/songwriters have a tendency to get overlooked (I should know!), which even I am guilty of sometimes. It's hard to sound "full" when it's just one person and a guitar. Weaver, though, was quite the opposite. He used loop pedals and live effects to give his acoustic set more of a full band sound, which was definitely cool, but as he kept playing, I realized that he didn't even need any of that. His songs were good enough to stand on their own with just stripped down acoustic guitar and vocals. His lyrics were so poetic and sincere, and he had so much raw passion. It's musicians like him that remind me why I want to be a musician. (And of course it helped that he threw in an AMAZING cover of "Idioteque" by Radiohead!!) So go visit his website or his myspace and give his music a listen.

(I think it's important that we support independent musicians...especially after accidently watching the American Music Awards the other night. I mean, really, is that what popular music is these days!?! But that's a rant for another time. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll just say I'm thankful that there are independent musicians who make good music so I don't have to listen to that crap.)

So, there you are everyone. Support new plays, check out some new (awesome) music, support independent musicians, and have an awesome Thanksgiving filled with lots of turkey (or tofurkey), good times, and people you love. :-)

Photo by Beverly Crawford

There is always going to be someone somewhere who doesn't like your art. There's always going to be some asshole who says that all of your songs sound the same and they're bored out of their mind when listening to them. There's always going to be the poetry editor who calls your poems "trite" and "cliche" and "amateur." There's always going to be the film festival who doesn't accept your film. There's always going to be the director who doesn't want to cast you in the play because they don't like the way you performed that one scene. There's always going to be the people who scoff at your paintings and turn up their noses. For every single piece of art that you put out there, whether your a singer/songwriter playing a show for five people at a coffee shop or Steven Spielberg releasing a new blockbuster film, someone somewhere is going to think that it's shit. (I have even been this person before! I've definitely been harshly honest about art I haven't liked before. But I said those things only after giving a disclaimer that the artists should take my opinion with a grain of salt.) That's because all art is completely subjective.

And for those of us who haven't had a "breakthrough" yet, for those of us who are unknown by most people, there are going to be way more rejections and criticisms than there are selections and praise. The trick is getting rejected over and over and over again and not caring. The trick is to keep going, to keep creating art, to stay true to yourself and your vision, no matter what anyone might say. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're famous. It doesn't matter if that breakthrough moment ever comes. You do it because it's who you are. It's what you love to do. I can't say I've gotten there completely. Every now and then I'll get a criticism or rejection that still stings. But I could never, ever stop writing or playing music or creating, no matter what anyone thinks.

There are moments, though, that make it all worth it. Standing ovations, getting an acceptance letter for once, when one person tells you that your song helped them in a way that so many songs have helped you. And I just wanted to say that even if no one reads this silly little blog of mine, I think it's important. Because there are so many artists that have helped me and inspired me over the years. And not just big artists like Radiohead and Neil Labute and Morrissey and Stephen Chbosky, but local playwrights and actors and theatre groups, local bands and musicians, local painters and photographers. There have been many moments, here in Atlanta, sitting at open mic nights at coffee shops and bars, watching bands at The Earl or The Star Bar or the Red Light Cafe, looking at art on the walls in Octane, sitting in the audience at Actor's Express or the Horizon Theatre, moments when art has inspired, touched, moved me, changed my perspective. Many local, independent, and unknown artists have caused these moments for me--too many to even name.

And I just wanted to say that. If you are an artist of any kind, and you're reading this, and you ever have those bad days filled with rejection letters and criticisms just keep in mind that probably somewhere someone had one of those life-changing moment with your work. And don't stop making your art. Don't get discouraged. Because there is a place for it. And you are someone's Morrissey, whether or not you know it.

Suspension by Kelly McKernan
Watercolor and String
2009

I thought it'd be a good idea to start adding images that I like (art, photography, etc.) to my blog entries. It's another way to share art AND it makes my blogs more interesting/entertaining :-) Kelly McKernan is a local artist. I really love her work, and the above piece of her's is one of my favorites. Plus, she's designing the album cover for Unsent Letters (which I'm really excited about) so check out her website.

My website/blog is about a lot more than just promoting my art. I want to share other people's art with everyone, too, especially artists who are new, independent, local, etc. Artists of all mediums! Visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, poets, authors, playwrights, theatre groups, all of it. There is just so much great art out there, and a lot of it goes unnoticed sadly. I want to do my part to change that. Even if I just get 5 or 10 people to check out a new band, I think it's worth it. Because every day, I am immensely inspired, touched, motivated by great music, stories, images, art. I was just born to share, experience, and create art.

Speaking of art sharing, I have a new idea.

The Audio Play Project: I've had a thing for audio books lately. And one day I was thinking about how they should really do more audio book versions of plays. The best way to experience a play, obviously, is to see one. But I think hearing a play would be the next best thing. Almost like a recording of a staged reading, in a way. So. My idea is next year (2010) to record one full-length or longer one-act play a month and put it up in audio book/mp3 format for people to download on my website. Obviously, they wouldn't all be my plays. I'd probably have the first one and maybe the last one be mine, and in between it would be works by other local and/or unknown playwrights. I think it would be a good thing, though. New/unknown playwrights get exposure, the actors get voice over experience, and people get to hear new works! I think putting it in an mp3 format and making it free and available on the internet will give people who don't necessarily go see a lot of theatre the opportunity to experience new plays as well, and then maybe if they liked it, they'd get out there and see new works, too!

What do you guys think? Is this something you'd like to see in the future?

In other news, earlier this week I had a photo shoot with Belenen. I needed some new photos/portraits for my website, my various music press kits, and I wanted to put a photo of me somewhere on Unsent Letters (even though Kelly McKernan is designing the cover. I thought I could put it on the inside sleeve.) Typically, I'm ridiculously awkward in photos, but I thought these turned out great!! I couldn't be happier! Belenen just has a way of really capturing people the way that they are, and taking photos that are so bright, full of color, full of live! I feel like I look like myself in these. If that makes sense.

You can check out some of Belenen's photos on her Flickr page, here.

Here are some of the photos from the shoot. For the rest, check out my Photos/Videos page.

There is definitely a lot going on right now for me musically!

First of all, I posted five tracks from Unsent Letters on the music page along with lyrics. These tracks are "Excommunicated," "Flames," "Cyclone," "Wait," and "Irresponsible," and these are the newest versions of these songs, which will be on Unsent Letters, of course, which will be released here, Tuesday, December 15th. I have also put these tracks on my Myspace page and my Last FM page. (If I get more listeners on Last FM, I could possibly be played on their radio stations, so go listen to me there! And add me to your library, if you have a Last FM account. That would rock!)

Secondly, I will be back on Story with Amie Flanagan on KSU Owl Radio Monday, December 7th 10:00 - 11:00 am. I had so much fun the last time, and I'm excited to go back! Amie's show is very entertaining! I'll bring my guitar along and play some more live songs, so tune in!

Also, I am officially in a new band called Long Absent Friend. I am playing piano and singing in this project along with Michael Tillman, who is on guitar/backup vocals, Kyle Weiss on violin, Ben Hopper on bass, and Kyle Hilkin on drums. I really like the music we're playing so far. It sounds a little bit like Arcade Fire meets Broken Social Scene meets Smashing Pumpkins. We have a gig booked already, and we'll be playing our first show at the Red Light Cafe on Friday, January 8th, so stay tuned for updates and news on this project, including tracks, shows, and a myspace page.

I think there are really a lot of awesome things going on in the Atlanta music scene right now. I like to try to get out there and see local bands as much as I can, and I have found that there is a huge amount of talent in the Atlanta scene. Here are some of my favorite bands/musicians that I have seen playing around town. You guys should all visit their websites, check out their tunes, purchase their music or go see them play if you like what you hear. In my opinion, they all put on great shows.

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun



Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun on Myspace

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun is about the collaborative. It’s about the connections between sound and people. It’s about the heart and the head. It’s for mistakes and triumphs, and against arrogance and underconfidence. Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun is about sharing the ideas that are created by four friends in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s all for sharing much further than there, penniless or plentiful. - From their myspace page.


A Fight to the Death




A Fight to the Death website

Instead of the usual boring band bio, we’ll just tell you that A Fight to the Death is Avant-Western-Americana-Gypsy music built with Latin and Mediterranean rhythms, surf twang, and melodies fit for lonely midnight drives through the desert. - from their website



Billions and Billions



Billions and Billions on Myspace

We are committed to the progression of music. Most of our songs are written on the spot and we feel that is the way to keep improving our sound. Maybe it's a hit. Maybe it's a miss. But you can bet, whatever it is, it's going to be like nothing you've ever heard before. - from their myspace


Siberia My Sweet



Siberia My Sweet's Website

Siberia My Sweet is an Atlanta based project with a goal to expand the landscape for new wave alternative rock by combining ambient subtlety with a melodic, yet more abrasive, core than the current standard. Forging a harmonious blend of opposites, the music creates a unique beauty that combines both the hard with the soft. Formed in the fall of 2005 by vocalist Kelly Andrews, Siberia My Sweet saw the addition of Luci Harrell (guitar) in 2006 and Erin Sellers (keys) in 2008. Currently showcasing in the southeastern region, Siberia My Sweet is well on its way to making an impact that won’t go unnoticed. - from their myspace page


Sealions



Sealions Website

"This three piece has a lot of potential and I’m thrilled about the prospect of their first full length album dropping sometime this year." -Davy Minor on Ohmpark

Atlanta Pride Parade 2009, Picture from Creative Loafing

Well, I had loads of fun at Pride on Sunday. (Originally, I planned to make it out on Saturday and play guitar for a little bit, but it was all cold and rainy...so instead, I went Sunday for the parade.) I did end up giving out all of the sampler CDs that I made. Some people seemed pretty excited that I was just giving out my music to random people. Taking self-promotion to the streets, I called it. (Oh, and if you happened to get one of my CDs and that led you to this website, drop me a comment!)

Anyway, one of my favorite things about Pride is seeing parents supporting their gay daughters or sons, seeing churches that don't condemn people for their sexual orientation, seeing politicians who actually support the LGBT community. I just love seeing all of the acceptance, open love, and support.

I suppose the main reason that I go to Pride every year is because I don't see gender when I look at people. In fact, I don't really even believe in gender. I think there should be a word for that. Gender-free maybe? (Although I've only heard one other person use that. So maybe I should give this person credit? Though I'm not sure she coined the phrase? I'll get back to you on that. Haha.)  Sure, there is biology. There is such a thing as biological sex. But sex (like ethnicity) does not define anything about a person. I'm not saying everyone is completely alike, and there are no differences. But I think the main differences are individual and not based on biological sex, ethnicity, etc. It's a whole slew of things, really. Background, culture, family, genetics. Gender is a social construct. (So is race, really.) And when I look at a person, I don't want to see a black person, a white person, a man, a woman, I just want to see the person and get to know s/he for who s/he is, regardless of that person's sex, race, or biology. I realize that this is sometimes impossible, based on the way we as humans feel the need to classify and label things in our minds. Even our language is very "gendered." There is no gender-neutral pronoun, which makes us further have to put everyone in these strict categories. "Boy" or "girl." "He" or "she." I have some friends who use gender-neutral pronouns like "ze," "zir," "zirself," etc. I think that's an excellent idea, really. Maybe I'll start trying that.

And with that belief, I think that love happens without regard to sex, race, or biology, too. When I see a homosexual couple, I don't really even think to myself "oh, it's a gay couple." It's more like "Oh, it's a couple. Two people." I don't even necessarily like labels like "gay," "straight," "bisexual," etc., though I do understand why they might be necessary for some people. But basically, what I'm trying to say is, I go to Pride because I am proud to be gender-free.

The podcast is up from my interview with Amie Flanagan on KSU Owl Radio! Check it out here.

And don't forget to listen to Story every Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 - 11:00 AM. She's having Glen Burns as a guest next time! How cool is that?

Photo by Beverly Crawford.

Yes, as in my mom took that photo. I really like her photography. It's mostly nature shots, but I think they're all really full of life. You might even see one of her photos on my poetry book cover, Coiled and Swallowed, when it comes out next summer or fall.

Well, it's autumn, and I'm listening to the Cockteau Twins, and I'm in a rather bloggy mood. That should be a new word. Bloggy.

Things have been going really well for me lately. I'm getting a lot done artistically, I'm being a pretty productive employee, I have been reading a lot more this year, exercising more, being a healthier person, and most importantly, I have the most supportive and awesome family and friends. Everyone in my life has really been there for me lately, even my friends who have moved to other states, and I really, really appreciate it. More than any of you probably know. I'm just really grateful. There's so much negativity on the internet these days (I'm definitely not excluded from that!), but I just wanted to take a second and say that I genuinely appreciate everyone in my life. Even if the contact we have seems insignificant. Even if it's just a facebook comment every now and then. I still really appreciate it. So many people have supported me, especially in my artistic efforts, and I really just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for coming to my shows, thank you for listening to my music or reading my poetry, thank you for coming to see my plays, thank you for reading my random blogs. Haha. Really. I can't even begin to express how much that means to me. And you're awesome.

Speaking of being positive, I made a bunch of "sampler CDs" to take with me to Pride this Saturday. I was planning on handing them out to promote my new CD. They have three tracks, "Excommunicated," "Cyclone," and "Wait," all of which will be on Unsent Letters. I decided it'd be cool if I decorated the CDs myself with sharpies. Different colored sharpies! Most of them just say "Sara Crawford" and list the names of the tracks, but on some of them I put random little positive messages like, "Thanks for supporting local music!" or "Sara Crawford (thinks you're awesome)" or "I love people who listen to new music! You just made my day!" I put all of the CDs in little (multicolored) sleeves with a little (multicolored) piece of paper that has printed information about my CD, so from the outside of the sleeve, you can't see what's written on the actual CD. I just know that if I picked up a CD from someone at a festival and got home and opened it up to a message like "Yeah! You're awesome!" it would definitely make me smile. So hopefully, I'll get to spread some love on Saturday. (But not in an obnoxious way? Haha.) I was thinking maybe some time next month, I'll make some more sampler CDs with happy messages and put them in random coffee shops and places around town where people will pick them up.

Anyway. That's all for tonight. Thanks for listening...er...reading, rather.

Songs listened to while I typed this:
1. Lorelei - Cocteau Twins
2. Dancing - Elisa
3. Morning Bell/Amnesiac - Radiohead
4. She's Got You High - Mumm-Ra
5. Soldier On - The Temper Trap
6. Light My Fire - The Doors

And you should listen, too:

I had a really awesome time at KSU Owl Radio on Story with Amie Flanagan. It was kind of weird to be back on campus at KSU but not as a student. I actually parked in visitor parking, which made me feel odd. Or maybe "old" is a better word. Haha. Either way, I had a lot of fun on the show. We talked about Unsent Letters, my old bands, Painted and playwriting, how I hate it when people spell my name with an "h", other random things. I played "Cyclone" and "You Told Me" on air. Amie is a lot of fun, so everyone listen to her show! It comes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00 am. She asked me if I wanted to come back sometime soon, so be on the lookout for that! Also, hopefully, I'll have a copy of the interview that I can put up here as a podcast file so you guys can listen if you didn't catch it yesterday.

Also, over the weekend, I went and saw This is How it Goes, a play by Neil Labute from Coup de Theatre Atlanta. It's a shame I waited until closing night to go see this play because I would have definitely recommended that everyone go check it out! It was just an excellent play. First of all, Neil Labute may be one of my favorite playwrights (The Shape of Things, Reasons to be Pretty). His plays are controversial, filled with unique structures and narratives, well constructed, and extremely thought-provoking. His characters are just so real and often extremely messed up. I really liked This is How it Goes for all of these reasons, but I think Coup de Theatre did an excellent job staging the brilliantly-written play. It was just well directed, well cast, well acted, well done. So good job, Coup de Theatre! This was the first show I've seen from them, and I'll definitely be checking out more as you all should, too. (PLUS, Radiohead playing at the beginning and/or end of a play or movie is always a great idea.)

Alright, I don't care what you Twilight-haters have to say, the Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack is out, and it is awesome. Highlights for me inclue Thom Yorke's mysterious "Hearing Damage," Lykke Li's poignant "Possibiliy", the sincere track, "Satellite Heart" by Anya Marina, "I Belong to You (New Moon Remix)" by Muse (which was also awesome on The Resistance, but I really like the remix), "Roslyn" by Bon Iver and St. Vincent whose voices blend perfectly together, and of course "Slow Life" by Grizzly Bear featuring Victoria Legrand (from Beach House). I was lucky enough to see Grizzly Bear and Beach House here in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and during Grizzly Bear's set, Victoria Legrand came back onstage to do "Slow Life" with them, which was an incredibly moving performance. So, there you go. We all know that the Twilight books are not going to be taught in literature classes in colleges or anything, and we all know Kristen Stewart is maybe the worst actress ever, but you just can't hate on a movie with that good of a soundtrack, people! (Even though it's not out yet.) (The Twilight books/movies are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, though, I must admit and I'm very excited that this movie will combine my love for vampire books AND obscure indie bands. Who would have thought it?)

I've decided I should start posting more videos and photos in my blogs/on my website to make it more entertaining. I've had this song stuck in my head ever since they played it before This is How it Goes the other night. (Good choice, once again, Coup de Theatre!) So here is the "Song of the Day" I suppose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0NHCyVqFOc