Song of the Day

"Compass and Square" by Crime in Stereo

CD          MP3

Song of the Day

"Conversation 16" by The National. 

Vinyl    MP3    CD

Song of the Day

"Howl" by The Gaslight Anthem, coming out July 24th. 

Vinyl MP3 CD

Song of the Day

Everything You Ever Loved by Make Do and Mend

Book Review: How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One

Seeing as how I only update this blog at the end of the year, I'm honestly shocked at this urge to write a blog post. However strong this urge might be, it's also very lacking; I don't know what I want to write about.

Not to mention figuring out how to cater to the attention spans of people who barely finish reading a headline, let alone a post more than 140 characters. (*gasp* Oh, the horror that words emit these days.)

I finished reading a book by Stanley Fish How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One . The frontman of one of my favorite bands gave it a good rating. (Who said stalking was bad?) And with that, I had to have it.

I am a fan of words. I enjoy everything about them: meaning, origin and phonetics. I keep a notebook with a list of all the words I like. But with this book, I came to realize their monumental effect when used in sentences. I must admit, I never gave sentences much attention but as I began reading I started to notice what I would usually dismiss -or more accurately, what I would never take into consideration-

Much to my dismay, I found out that I am a terrible reader. With each example I read in the book, I began to see that reading begs more attention. And as an amateur writer, it became apparent how much work I needed. I never thought that authors went above and beyond coherence and eloquence. I mean, apart from the obvious fluency, there are the minute details in every sentence and the intricacy, craftsmanship and flow of it all is astounding. Their work is equally amazing when viewed from a distance as it is when it's picked apart and examined up close.

In conclusion, I would beg you to read this book if you're just stumbling through the trenches of creative writing. Also, if you're an avid reader, it would give you more insight and appreciation to what you read.
And if you're a know-it-all who doesn't need to be told about writing styles and whatnot, read it because a reminder doesn't hurt. 

Best of '10

I believe that the only (barely) consistent thing in this blog is the end of the year music list. With that said, I willingly decided to put off my essays and their looming deadlines to write this. Yes, I am that dedicated. (No. No, I'm not.)

Oh, and this year was kind of a disappointment (musically). But I'm a content cow because The Gaslight Anthem released an album and nothing else matters~

So here goes, (no particular order):

-Champion by Tokyo Police Club

-The Upsides by The Wonder Years
-High Violet by The National
-We Chase the Waves by Sundowner
-American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem -Bang by Empires
-I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone by Crime in Stereo
-Fluorescent Youth by Conditions
-White Crosses by Against Me!
-Real Ghosts Caught on Tape by Fake Problems
-You are Beneath me by End of a Year
-Blue Sky Noise by Circa Survive




Oh, Josh Ritter's album might be up that list but I was too lazy to give it a proper listen. Check out "Lantern" though, it's pretty good. Here.

I Don't Feel That Way

In light of many events in the past two months, I begin to wonder.
Am I devoid of emotion or are people getting more emotionally intense?