Whispers in the Dark

Last night just so happened to be a great end to my summer. Although I don't start school until Tuesday, I have to work and such between now and then, so last night was one of my final hurrahs.

Waldorf College was holding their annual Bash, and some folks I know down there told me to go down to see a free Skillet show. How could I turn that down? After work (it was a small truck and went by fast), I showered, changed, and went out to Tommy's. I had an idea of what time I wanted to leave, but he had a load of baby pigs to finish before we left. Mariah was there when I got there, so we waited for Tommy to shower then headed off to Forest City. After we got there, we were throwing the frisbee around a little, and Maggie walked by. A little later, we got Matt's attention since he didn't realize who was playing frisbee.

When we finally walked to the next block for Bash, we eventually saw all the people we knew. The first band (Holes In the Space-Time Continuum, a student band) was a little strange. They covered a couple songs, and they kind of ruined the mood (in my opinion) due to the swearing. The second band (Hillhaven Raven) was really good. They were all from Forest City, and I liked their sound quite a bit. After they finished, I walked with Tommy and Matt to Hardee's. My roast beef sandwich was one of the first things I'd eaten all day, and the insanely large amount of fluids I had had probably led to the story coming up. Kyle met up with us there, and we walked a block back to Bash in time for Skillet. Tommy and Kyle slowly made their way forward during the show, and eventually Tommy was at the stage. I decided to make my way up there too after a while. It was awesome until my stomach started bothering me a lot and I decided to go back out of the main crowd and watch with the M's.

After the show, we got the band's autographs. I was feeling even worse, and I made it through the line feeling like puking the whole time. I told John Cooper that he was one of my top 5 bassists of all time, told him a couple others on the list (that's for a future blog), and walked away with Mariah and Tommy. I had to hand them my stuff and kneel by a tree. The vomit wasn't going to wait any longer. The deciding factor for the hurling was most definitely fountain Gatorade. Don't drink it. It's not good. Nor is it good for you. I figured out tonight that I had had about the equivalant of 6 cans of pop plus the nasty Gatorade from the pop fountain. Not a good idea. It made me sick.

All in all, it was a great show. I called Deml with a couple of songs as messages, and I was texting him a little too. It was good to see how well Matt and Maggie are liking school so far, and I told them I would come down to be on their Friday night radio show at least once. It'll be fun.

Next show I'm going to (even though my mom's being a spaz about it): Mayday Parade, Alesana, As Cities Burn

Wasted....

Why isn't either of my emails working for me? Hotmail is causing me trouble, and Gmail won't let me compose. I'm very frustrated, and pretty close to screaming. The whole "not enough team" situation is getting me down, and my email to rally the troops isn't getting to Greg. Unless time stops for the app deadline, I'm not sure if it's worth trying to send it out again tomorrow morning.

Anyway, on to better news....

As I had expected, the new Cartel album is absolutely incredible! I introduced Jodi Bob to them recently, and she said she likes their sound. I mentioned the song "Wasted" to be one of my favorites (there's also a remix that Wyclef Jean produced), and Bob ended up saying she loved it. I can't say specifically what I like about it, but just the sound (the drumline is amazing), lyrics, and Will Pugh's voice (apart from the sound of the song as a whole) come together perfectly. With that, here's the lyrics (I italicized parts that I felt kind of fit my own thoughts at times), and feel free to check out the entire album on their purevolume page.

It's 2:45, the baby takes his first breath
The mother never knew he only had a few left
And the father gets a call in the middle of the night
His breath gets short, and his chest gets tight

But he's 16, and he's driving too fast
Takes a turn to the left, it would be his last
Nobody knows what happens if he turns to the right
Nobody in the car would've died that night

But he's 32 and invincible
The cancer he had, it was visceral
He never saw it coming, thought he had his whole life
Sick in the morning, and he died in the night

We're all so
We're on the run
We're all
We're all
We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're wasted
We're all wasted

7 years old, got his bat in his hand
He's looking for his father, and he doesn't understand
'Cause dad's too busy, got some deals on the way
His son sits alone as the children play

And he's 18, he couldn't wait to move out
His parents wonder what all the rush is about
The never bothered with his dreams, only thinking of theirs
Wonders why he doesn't call and why he doesn't care

But he's 32 and invincible
With everything he is based on principle
He never had a truly happy moment in his life
He didn't want the kids, and he didn't want his wife

We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're all wasted
We're all wasted

23 now, got his life in his hands
He's looking all around, and he doesn't understand
'Cause life's too busy, things get in the way
We all feel alone every single day

And at 18 I couldn't wait to move out
It's been 5 years, and now I'm starting to doubt
Whether all my dreams are just aimless stares
Looking off to someplace that isn't there

When I'm 32, will I be miserable
With everything around based on principle
Will I have a clue, wouldn't it be nice
To never be alone in this wasted life

We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're wasted
We're all wasted
We're all wasted
We're all wasted

Music make you lose control....

Music has been pretty amazing the last couple weeks for me. Between the random songs at the bowling alley and the jam session in the Frost gym last night, I just feel like taking a day to lay in my bed and do nothing but listen to good music. I won't be doing that until I have a laptop (hopefully soon) so I can have a music cache.

The Rocket Summer
As I said in my blog about the albums I anticipated this summer, I love the latest from The Rocket Summer. It's absolutely amazing, and I decided to pick up a copy (just so happened to be the last copy) at Wal-Mart the other day. Bryce Avary is a freaking mastermind. I am officially dedicating the song "A Song Is Not A Business Plan" to Tim Parrott because it fits in with his trifecta of blog posts about Christian music.

Cartel
Hey, hey, don't pay no mind. We are the second, you're minutes behind. So you say, 'Yeah I'm all right.' You are the fortunate all the time. Yeah, you are the fortunate... Officially 15 more days until the new album! There are no words to explain how excited I am....

Mayday Parade
Mariah asked me tonight if I wanted to go to their show in Iowa on her birthday, and I totally agreed. They're pretty incredible, and their show is with Alesana and As Cities Burn (whose album comes out in just 8 days). I'm excited for it!

Facebook iLike application
I've been randomly addings songs here and there on my list, but the best part of it is the dedications. My plan is to eventually dedicate a song to each one of the people I talk to the most on there.

Dedication....

Since nothing too interesting has happened to me today, I am officially dedicating this entire post to my highly anticipated album releases of the next couple months.

The Rocket Summer -- Do You Feel
I have loved The Rocket Summer from the moment I heard the song "Show Me Everything You've Got," although I didn't know who played it at the time. Then, as I listened to more of this amazing music and learned The Rocket Summer was actually a solo artist, I was even more amazed. And so, I've been previewing the new album on Myspace, and I'm thrilled for its release next week! I especially love the songs "All I Have" and "Run To You" in all their amazingness.
Release Date: July 17

Yellowcard -- Paper Walls
Did I hear any of Yellowcard's previous album Lights and Sounds, apart from the title track? No, but I've caught a glimpse (in a listening sort of way) of a couple of songs from their new album, and it's not too bad. I've never been a huge fan other than the fact that I love the use of a violin. Still, I'm at a crossroads on whether or not to get the new album.
Release Date: July 17

Johnny Cash -- The Great Lost Performances
It's Johnny Cash. How can I not? 'Nuf said....
Release Date: July 24

Hanson -- The Walk
I, personally, am not anticipating this one. I just found it ironic that Hanson has a new album and the Spice Girls are touring again in the same year.
Release Date: July 24 (but who really cares)

Junior Senior -- Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
They're music is so random! I always get the old song "Move Your Feet" stuck in my head, and the video for it always used to entertain me. I might not buy this album, but seeing the name Junior Senior makes me chuckle....
Release Date: July 31

Third Day -- Chronology: Volume 2
This album, which comes with a DVD, includes the years 2001-2006 of the band's music. I don't own any Third Day albums, so I'm kind of leaning towards buying this one and thus owning their greatest songs from the last six years.
Release Date: August 7

Soundtrack -- High School Musical 2
I just want to state for the record that I, Aaron Bauer, will be avoiding this CD and movie at all costs. Thank you for your open ears and open minds.
Release Date: August 14 (but, again, who really cares)

12 Stones -- Anthem for the Underdog
I absolutely love 12 Stones, and I somehow managed to mostly miss the release and two-year existence of their last album, Potter's Field. To make up for it, I plan on buying the new album, although I've heard nothing from it yet.
Release Date: August 14

Cartel -- Cartel
This album is my mostly highly anticipated for not only this date (sorry Nicki Sixx) and month (sorry Boyz N Da Hood) but also for the entire summer (sorry Kool & The Gang). I watched the last few episodes of Band In A Bubble, where they spent 20 days in a bubble-like house on Pier 54 writing, recording, and completing their new album. I was very disappointed when they announced a change in the release date, which was originally July 24, but I know it'll be worth the wait. Wyclef Jean even produced one of the tracks, and from what I've heard of it, it sounds pretty cool (Wyclef also gave Will Pugh major props for his vocals, which are stunning). The first single "Lose It" (featuring Juliet Simms of Loveletter) is just incredible, and I'm just excited. Period.
[Is it odd that I love it when bands don't self-title their first album?]
Release Date: August 21

Casting Crowns -- The Altar and the Door
Much like Johnny Cash, it's Casting Crowns! How can I not? 'Nuf said....
Release Date: August 28

Hold up, wait a minute, put a little love in it....

Last night was the Family Force 5 -- TFK -- tobyMac concert in Waterloo. I went with Boyum and Mariah (Curtis and some folks from his area were there too), and needless to say, it was a blast. We didn't have anything to do after we ate at Applebee's, so we just went and sat at the doors at 3:00 (they opened at 5:00). We were in the front row (the barrier was maybe 3 feet from the stage), and we started talking to the people behind us after a while. They were from Winona and hadn't waited outside at all.

Toddiefunk from DiverseCity came and talked to us before the show started. He asked us why we wanted to stand in the front row.

Family Force 5 was insane beyond my imagination. They're incredible live, and they have more energy than anyone I had seen up until then. Solomon Olds....is amazing....he put on golden "Hulk hands" for the last few songs....hilarious....

TFK had a mic issue right off the bat, and their show was very low-energy until they played "Rawkfist." Still, they play amazing music and it was nice to see them live again.

tobyMac was absolutely incredible. There was so much going on in his set that I can't even begin to spout off details. Well, I can try. They took a collection of old-school funk songs ("Play That Funky Music, White Boy"..."Rollercoaster of Love"...etc.) and put them all together into a song that was labeled "Disco" on their set list. There were also a few random bits of hip-hop songs thrown into the set ("Yeah" is the only one I can remember right now). Truett (Toby's son) was at the show and came out on stage a couple times. He never said anything, but he was jumping around. The best part was his Worm at the end. Plus, Tim Rosenau is a musical stud.

Boyum ended up with all three set lists, but he gave TFK's away. Other than that, all we got was a bunch of water thrown on us by Shonlock and GabeReal.

Good times....