Penny Lane's Week In Music

From shows to new releases to close encounters of the music kind, this weekly column will feature a recap of all things music in the life of Penny Lane.

The last week of July. Totally depressing and yet totally AWESOME! Friday August 1st, kicks off a whirlwind of shows for me through the end of the year. Acts that include 90s powerhouses Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails and my favorite horribly-named-punk-stars-on-the-rise, Diarrhea Planet, the last five months of this year are going to be filled with musical awesomeness.

Hope you all had as great a week as I did!
Peace, love and music is all that matters,
{PL}

My week started off pretty great when I accidentally stumbled upon a music video being shot in my neighborhood. There weren't that many people hanging around so I thought maybe an independent project and was pleasantly surprised to find Aussie-darling Kimbra (of Gotye"Somebody That I Used To Know" fame) standing in the middle of Noble St. with a colorful dance crew behind her! I didn't hang out for too long, if you've never been on set during a video, let me tell you what it's like...BOOOOOORING! It's a lot of standing around and waiting. So I watched them go through the dance number once and went on my merry way...

Wednesday was an incredible day for me. A friend of mine had an extra ticket to see David Gray on Live on Letterman and I was more than happy to tag-along. Gray has been on my 'list' for awhile, but I've never gotten around to seeing him, so this was the perfect opportunity. Not only was the show free, but it was going to be in the legendary Ed Sullivan Theater (you know...where the Beatles played), so I was pretty excited. The entire experience was magical...

Friday's show has been a long time coming. I bought tickets for Soundgarden/Nine Inch Nails at Nikon Jones Beach Amphitheater about four months ago. They've been on my fridge, staring at me in anticipation, ever since. But yesterday was the day and it was well worth the wait. This was my first time seeing NIN and I was absolutely blown away. Apologies for the photos, didn't have the greatest seats (or the worst) so the pics are a little far away, but you get the general idea...

Soundgarden

NIN 

NIN

NIN

All photos taken by Penny Lane (aka Erica Fegely)

Concrete Bed

Happy Fucking Friday! I don't know about you, but this week seemed to last a lifetime. But here we are, Friday at last. I am, of course, wearing my Friday uniform (black tank top, skinny jeans, black flip flops), which as it turns out, is my every-day-of-the-week uniform. Weird. Anyway, I'm experiencing a case of the Universe giving me exactly what I needed today in the form of my morning album selection. As I've said before, I believe everything happens for a reason, there is no such thing as a coincidence. So when I left the house this morning and selected The Weight Is A Gift by Nada Surf, I just thought it was because I hadn't listened to it in awhile. Turns out there was much more to it than that (duh!). "To find someone you love, you've got to be someone you love..."

The weather is perfect today in NYC (warm, but not sweltering, cool breeze blowing) and the air actually smells good (as opposed to the usual, pee and garbage). I took a moment to realize how lucky I am for a multitude of reasons and just went about my merry way with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. Time to refocus for the last six months of the year and really make the best of this life or at least this year. And there is my hippie thought for the day...

Hope you all have a great weekend!
Peace, love and beach weather,
{PL}

"Concrete Bed"

The world's locked up in your head
You've been pouring it a concrete bed
Your habits ossify
You don't realize you're fried
To find someone you love
You've gotta be someone you love
The reason's somewhere in the din
But it takes years 'til it sinks in
You've used up the easy streets
And you lost your taste for treats
So fried
Stay high if you have to
Do whatever it asks you
You've got another calling
Don't let it pass you
You know it coz you wrote it
You just didn't think you'd actually do it
It's just another wish you wished 
In a very long list
To find someone you love
You've gotta call your own bluff

I've got thick skin and an Elastic Heart; 1000 Forms Of Fear Album Review

Sia – 1000 Forms Of Fear

Released: 7/8/14
Label: RCA (division of Sony Music Entertainment)
Noteworthy tracks: (all of them, but specifically...) Chandelier, Big Girls Cry, Hostage, Elastic Heart, Free The Animal, Fire Meet Gasoline

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Sia's new album 1000 Forms of Fear since "Elastic Heart" was released on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack last Fall. And then again when "Chandelier" was released in March of this year. Two virtually perfect songs on one album could mean one of two things. This album was going to be full of "hit-worthy" tracks, since Sia is an acclaimed songwriter for others and not just herself ("Pretty Hurts" - Beyonce, to name just one...) the chances that she would really knock her own album out of the park were pretty good. Or the rest of the album would be an incredible disappointment, yielding the only two tracks worth listening to previewed before the album was even finished. I mentioned to a friend yesterday that I was nervous to listen to the album, I didn't want to be disappointed. So many of my favorite tracks have been accompanied by less than stellar releases. One of the pitfalls to releasing singles so far in advance of the full release. 

After listening to the album back-to-back-to-back, I can categorically say this album is phenomenal. Sia absolutely knocks it so far out of the park, the ball is never found. Each track brings something unique but cohesive to this collection of songs. Feel free to do what I did and listen three times in a row. Afterwards, I'm fairly certain you will be in love with this album as much as I am. Now, the question is...will she tour in support of this album? She has already done several appearances for "Chandelier" and in promo for the album, however it is unlikely she will tour. Sia is typically one who shies away from celebrity and public appearances in general, so my guess would be she will skip a nationwide/worldwide tour. Total bummer and I hope she proves me wrong...

"Chandelier" (Official Video)

Vision of Love

I understand the concept of a vision board but haven't been capable of building one I could really connect to. *This is going to be some hippie-dippy shit, so if you're eyes are already rolling I implore you to hit close on your web browser and continue on with your day.* The items on your board are supposed to invoke inspiration for things you are currently doing or things you want to do in the future. The idea is that if you see what you want, truly focus on what you want, you can manifest it into being. The power of attraction. Bringing positive things to you, instead of waiting for them to just happen.

Thursday I checked Facebook while drinking my morning iced coffee and saw a post by a friend of a friend. She posted an article she had just written for DoYouYoga about how to attract positive energy with vision boards. Something I did not see as a coincidence (everything happens for a reason, whether you choose to believe it or not). About two months prior to her article, the friend we share had given me some instruction on how to build my own vision board and I did, but it didn't feel right. It felt like what I should want my board to contain. I had no real connection to it.

Nicole's article came at the right time (again, everything happens for a reason). As I was reading, it was as if someone just switched on the light. The bulb above my head was illuminated. Yes I'm being overly dramatic, because it literally seemed to happen in seconds. I knew exactly what my vision board should look like and I went into work knowing what I would print out and what I would pin to the board when I got home that night.

I've stopped asking why and just accepted that this stuff just happens when it's supposed to because that's the plan. No over analyzing. No wondering. No wishing. Just accepting that little nuggets of wisdom and inspiration come when they are supposed to. When the time is right and you are in the right place to use the wisdom and inspiration to the best of its uses...

Enjoy my vision board below and please click the link to Nicole's article to gain your own inspiration!
Peace love and doing what makes you over-the-moon happy,
{PL}

Side note: Yes, that is a picture of Hilary Clinton, I don't really give a shit about your political preference, this is my vision board and she belongs on it. So suck it...

Deep Blue Day

Toms

Oh, Inverted World; How Broken Bells Turned Me Back Into a Shins Fan

It all started with the movie Garden State. A movie that everyone loved and I have no idea why. I mean, it's a great movie, but it has to be one of the most depressing movies I have ever seen in my entire life. I file this movie in the 'I've seen it once, so I don't have to see it again' category, because on a whole, I like for my movie-going experiences to be pleasant. I do not like to cry or be depressed. Fuck. Who does?! But that is where my loathing of The Shins started. 

When Natalie Portman and Zach Braff are in the doctor's office waiting room and she tells him he has to hear this one song, "New Slang," it will change his life. Disagree. That is by far the WORST song on that album and it would not (did not) change my life. The fact that this song I loathe was used in this movie that makes me want to cry just turned me to off. I had that album three years before Braff put that God-forsaken song in his movie. And the movie only intensified my distaste for not only the song, but James Mercer and the entire album. Like a snowball effect my hatred kept building every time I'd watch the movie. I was living in New Jersey at the time, blocks from where Braff grew up, rueing (is that a word?) the day he was born. A year later I moved out of NJ and never listened to the album or watched the movie again.

Fast forward to Spring of 2010. I was working for a mastering studio in Chelsea and one of the engineers told me about this album he just mastered. He thought I would like it because "it has the guy from The Shins on it." Clearly I had never expressed my disdain for The Shins in his presence. I thought to myself why the fuck would I listen to an album that contains a member of a band I absolutely loathe? Well, the answer is I wouldn't. And I didn't. For about 3 months after the album came out. One day I was going through my CDs and came across Broken Bells' self-titled album and thought I'd try it, in the privacy of my own home, where no one would know if I secretly liked it. The first track, "The High Road," was it. It was all I needed to basically fall head over heels in love with James Mercer, again. Fuck. What have I done?! His voice used to bother me so much, it would make me sick. Now, I'm staring googly-eyed at my speakers wishing he was singing in front of me. It happened. Hell hath frozen over. I didn't immediately run back to The Shins. Matter of fact, I held my ground two years through 2012 and the release of Port of Morrow. And then I heard the single in a commercial or a movie or something. "Simple Song" ruined my hatred. I listened to that song over and over and over. Eventually listening to the entire album and liked it. Sigh. No, loved it. The wall came down and I became a fan of The Shins. Again.

How did this happen? His voice is the same. But something was so different about Broken Bells that it allowed me to forget about how much I hated him and The Shins (and Garden State). I still don't like "New Slang," and I don't think I ever will, but I've decided to put the disgust I have for that song aside and see the band for everything else they have contributed to the world.

Meet me again, in the rain

In the movie of my life, the most perfect song to walk around NYC in the rain to is "Oceans" from the new Coldplay album Ghost Stories. They have quite literally perfected the art of the ballad and I'm not mad. There are some songs that require the perfect mood to really resonate and others that just click any time. I enjoyed this song from the start, however walking down 9th Ave in the rain today, "Oceans" just made all the sense in the world. AND 'rain' is even in the song. So there's that...

Anyway. Mercury Retrograde seems to be fucking my shit up. I've been going backwards, which makes all the sense in the world if you are familiar with MR. Past behaviors, people from my past, miserable feelings from my past. Past, past, past. But I am aware and trying to make better decisions knowing things are a little messed up. I don't think you can ever completely avoid making mistakes during MR, but you can just be aware of what is happening and react differently. And take comfort in the fact that everyone else's world is being fucked up by MR too! Misery loves company...

I thought I would provide some links for those of you experiencing the symptoms.

Purpose Fairy - 5 Ways to Keep Your Sanity During Mercury Retrograde
Cafe Astrology - Mercury Retrograde in Cancer/Gemeni

Stay safe out there kids!
Peace, love and music,
{PL}