SEVEN INCH SUNDAYS - CHRISTMAS MUSIC THAT'S NOT CHRISTMAS MUSIC

I've taken a little accidental break. oops.

the last couple of weeks have been busy and draining. I'm still working on completing my degree and so I have been working on two online courses this semester! It never got too crazy, the worst part of it was just that little voice in the back of my head that is always there, reminding me i have other things that need to be down, especially when I'm doing something I enjoy, and stresses me out more the longer my list is. courses make my list longer. i still have two finals and a lot of cramming to do, but for the next week or so, i'm putting a muzzle on that voice and relaxing!

Now, though, I'm just tired.

I can't even think of a musical selection!

okay. in honour of comforting, low-needs, easy listening music, here is patsy cline. i love patsy. she is sorrowful, yet fun. her voice feels like warm flannel sheets. my love of singing along to patsy is almost unparalleled.

patsy cline is perfect for november for many reasons. the aforementioned comparison to warm flannel sheets is an important one, but another reason, for me at least, is christmas.

you know when it's late November or early December and it's really starting to feel christmas-y and you'd like to indulge in that feeling without overdoing it because every time you go anywhere, christmas and holiday music is playing? or you just don't want to jump the gun and already be tired of christmas music by the 15th by accident? this is what i do in those times of peril.

I listen to patsy cline. and frank sinatra. and nat king cole. louis armstrong and ella fitzgerald. and a little bit of elvis, but only the nostalgic, croon-y ones.

there are others, but those ones are the big ones. It's the velvety texture of the recordings and the tempo of the songs. it reminds me of polished wood and candlelight. it reminds me of my grandparent's house and the smell of captain black's tobacco. it reminds me of CHRISTMAS! without actually being about christmas, you know?

please, if anybody reads this, does this music have the same quality for you, or am i just one of the lucky ones? at any rate, here's to christmas music that's not christmas music.

*just a note* this post is not meant to be exclusionary in any way. I write about christmas because i was raised anglican and christmas is what i know. i write what i know! the next month is going to be about christmas non-stop, so you have officially been forewarned! love to all, though!

SUNDAY 7" - HALLOWEEN EDITION

okay, because what halloween compilation WOULDN'T include the monster mash?

and what's a more halloween-y band than the misfits? here is one of the creepiest love songs ever told. i happen to love it.

5 songs to sing to a baby

something about "blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever" just resonated with me. what can i say, with a baby girl named roseud, OF COUSE floral imagery speaks to me! plus *the sound of music* is one of my all time favourite movies.

i love these canadian female folk heroes and this song reminds me of our pregnant tour days. and on days where i'm feeling cabin fever-ish it reminds me how sweet life is with the ones you love. "i don't want to leave you, i love you through and through"

because some miracle brought her love to me. and i LOVE sam cooke.

the beatles at their best! Rosebud LOVES jolly jumping to this one!

i know three out of the four of these ladies and they are awesome. this song is about a love interest but who knows, you COULD sing it to your baby too. right?

congrats Jay Z and Beyonce!

gaaah. obviously I love this. One man's love letter to his new daughter.



I can't wait to see and hear what kind of songs B. will write for our new daughter or son. <3

oh, and thanks to snapme.ca for posting this first!

The Chicken Snails - An Edmonton Flashback

The purpose of this trip is not only getting a chance to visit our families and see the country-side, it is also about B. playing shows! Which until now, I really haven't written much about. Truth is, there are so many things I've been wanting to include in my posts, but I also don't want to spend too much time behind this blasted computer screen. That would really only be taking away from the trip. Enough of that, though, here is my first music post!

When B. was a young buck of only 19 years old, he lived in Edmonton and went to college and played in a band called the Chicken Snails Roadshow. Story is, he walked into a bar and saw two fellows decked out in some pretty rad western-y garb and just walked right up to them and asked them if they were looking for a bass player. One of them didn't hesitate before replying "yeah man, we're looking for you." It was the stuff of legends and local folklore. These guys all lived together in a little house off Whyte ave. which had been coined 'the Establishment,' where they lived and played music together, as well as hosting jams, potlucks etc.

The show that B. played in Edmonton was actually a Chicken Snails reunion. The first of five ten year reunions to happen every ten years. B. opened up the show with his solo routine and had everybody in the palm of his hands. His own material was especially popular. The reunion itself was incredible. I was so happy to finally see this magical band that I had been hearing about for years. They had only one rehearsal before playing together that night, but literally played as if they had never taken a break at all. The energy between these old friends was contagious and everybody was dancing.

Here is a video of the band playing 'Saro Jane,' one of my personal favourites and one that B. also plays during his solo show. I love it!


I can't wait until his show tonight which is, unfortunately, the last show of the tour.

baby bumps

I swear this to be 100% charming and true. Baby was pretty dormant all day, but once B. got onstage with his bass to do soundcheck, s/he started dancing around like crazy. As soon as he finished his sound check, baby settled right back own again. S/he already loves his/her papa... such a lovely feeling.

heart crushing

I woke up today in a funk. I am so far behind in assignments for school and I have many, many things to by wednesday, and seemingly not enough time to do them in. I'm also pregnant, which means that if I don't get something to eat, and now, I completely lose my marbles. Which is exactly what happened today. Combined with the stress I'm enduring with school, this quickly escalated to the point of me nearing a nervous breakdown.

B. picked up his guitar and sang to me, over and over again, an old Randy Travis tune that we both know so well from our respective childhoods in the Canadian prairies. Soon, we were both in the living room watching the amazing and heart wrenching music video and I started blubbering. I'm talking big wet tears plopping on the keyboard. Even if you don't like country music, if you care at all for family and love, watch this. It's so good and reminds me so much of our little small town wedding we had on Vancouver Island two and a half years ago.
enjoy!

an introduction.

just a lil bit about me.


I'm 25 years old and a native of British Columbia who moved across the country to Montreal, QC for the man I loved (maybe one day I'll tell you that story.) Fortunately for both of us, things worked out and we have now been happily married for almost two years. Two anglos in Quebec, just trying to make names for themselves.

My hubby is a handsome musician who plays the stand up bass, one of the sexiest instruments around. He plays mostly roots, rock and roll, rockabilly and old time country music and is one of the best players in his field in Canada. really! I'm not a musician or rock and roller myself, but after six years with him I feel like old hat in the scene.

Mostly I stick to serving tables in a hip little vegetarian cafe (for now) and studying Communication Studies, specifically intermedia, at Concordia University.

Thing is, our lives have never been simple. We just try and do the best with what we've got and keep our lives on track, all the while living the way we love. And now... we're pregnant! So things are changing, and big time.

Our little surprise was exactly that, a surprise, but we couldn't be happier. or more terrified. or happier.

This is my way of keeping it all in check... stay tuned, folks!