Current Thoughts: On Music

View from my seat in Downtown Roanoke right now...the sky looks awesome.

Like many people out there, I'm a music fanatic.  Here's what's been on my mind music-wise this afternoon:

1. The Black Keys are playing at the Charlottesville Pavilion tonight and I'm ridiculously sad that I'm missing it.  The jury's still out on the date of my official move back to Charlottesville, so until then, I'm bopping around Roanoke.  Even if I was in Charlottesville, I would probably have to resort to watching tonight's concert from THE bridge that runs by the Pavilion, in the interest of saving money (this Fall's show lineup in CVille is too good...forcing me to pick and choose what I spend on).  The only time I've seen The Black Keys play live was at Lollapalooza in 2008.  I can't even get started on Lolla, because, like every other festival experience, it was completely amazing and indescribable.  But I will say that watching these two guys rocking harder than most full-band lineups against the backdrop of the Chicago skyline blew me away.  To all of you going to the show tonight, have a blast!  And to The Black Keys, I'll catch ya next time.

2.  I don't mean to be negative, but I HAVE to get this off of my chest.  WHAT is the deal with Kenny Chesney???  Okay, I know I don't have the biggest appreciation for mainstream country music (by which I mean, generally speaking, I can't stand it...there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, let me just say...WOOF).  I love folk and I can get down with some bluegrass, but mainstream country has just never been my thing.  However, my two favorite artists have BOTH collaborated with Kenny Chesney!  It started with Dave Matthews back in 2008 or 2009, doing a song called "I'm Alive," which you can watch/listen to here.  Now, Grace Potter is jumping on the bandwagon and doing a duet with him!!!  The Grace and Kenny combo can be found here (I like to refer to them on a first-name basis, as if we're actually friends).  I'm going to spare everybody the obsessive details about why I worship Dave Matthews ("worship" should be too strong of a word, but if I'm being honest, it's probably not) and aspire to be Grace Potter (her voice, her lyrics, her style, her FLYING V guitar...in my opinion, she is one of the most badass and talented females to hit the music scene in quite some time).  However, I'm starting to question their choices a little bit.  Do they know something I don't?  Should I give Kenny a chance?  I admit that I don't know much of Kenny Chesney's repertoire, but even these duets are kind of, well, ZZZ.

3.  If I'm going to be so harsh and bash one musician, I guess I should be fair and divulge what I AM listening to today.  For the past week, I've been listening to Jenny and Johnny (who I WILL be seeing in Charlottesville) and Ray Lamontagne's  new album.  Jenny Lewis is another one of my favorite female musicians, and this whimsical album is perfect for the summer-to-fall transition that's going on right now (yes, I often match my musical choices to the daily forecast).  And I can't say enough about Ray Lamontagne.  His deep, thoughtful voice and acoustic guitar communicate such honest, beautiful emotion.

4.  I FINALLY have side bangs!  I'm mentioning this now because:
A. All this talk about Grace Potter and Jenny Lewis reminds me of an article I read in a magazine a few months ago (the name of the magazine escapes me at the moment...it was either Marie Claire or Elle, as those are the two that I read religiously...I'm leaning more towards Marie Claire) about the correlation between cool female musicians and bangs.  Basically, having great bangs seems to be one of the keys to rock/indie glory.  Grace Potter and Jenny Lewis are both prime examples of this trend, but apparently Zooey Deschanel's retro-esque bangs are the most requested in hair salons across the nation.
B.  I'm shameless and I really just want to talk about my new hair.  I can be really indecisive, and I've been talking about getting bangs for over two years now but have been too afraid to take the plunge.  I have been known to utter such excuses as "I have a short forehead and no one wants to see burbee (baby) bangs on a 22-year-old" and "I'm too ethnic-looking for that" (not sure why these were legitimate concerns).  Anyways, the snipping is done and I like them!  I've basically opened Pandora's Box because I already want to go shorter!
Side-Note: I was just caught using Mac's Photobooth as a mirror!!! Yes, I was inspecting said bangs, when I saw a girl creeping up behind me in my webcam, giving me a smirk that seemed to say "you are sitting three feet away from a bathroom with a nice-sized mirror...are you that lazy?"  Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I AM that lazy.  Welp, now that I'm properly mortified I think it's time to quit talking about my hair.

I'm always looking for new music, so leave me a link to ya current favorite song!