• Record all of my dreams

• Host the second-annual Alice in Wonderland Picnic

• Make art

• Make more art

• Get ready to go to India!

• Finish my novel

• Tackle my ever-expanding reading list, the first of which is Price and Prejudice and Zombies

• This

• Start a band with Margaret

• Spend more time in the Land of Make Believe

• Start running again

• Everything about this outfit

A Summer Engagement by airguitar23 featuring Marie-Helene de Taillac rings

I am, as I often do, stealing a list-making idea from my sister’s blog.. So. Here goes.

The 25 most-played songs on my iTunes:

25. Cold Shoulder – Adele

24. You Know So Well – Sondre Lerche

23. Tonight, Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins

22. Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen

21. 1234 – Feist

20. My Moon My Man – Feist

19. Seen How Things Are Hard – Elliott Smith

18. Junk Bond Trader – Elliott Smith

17. Son Of Sam – Elliott Smith

16. Blue Moon – Ella Fitzgerald

15. Single Ladies [Put A Ring On It] – Beyonce

14. You Don’t Know Me – Ben Folds ft. Regina Spektor

13. Grey Or Blue – JayMay

12. Thirteen – Elliott Smith

11. Quetate Luna – Devendra Banhart

10. In My Life – The Beatles

9. Fire In Your Belly – Liam Finn

8. So He Won’t Break – The Black Keys

7. Flume – Bon Iver

6. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

5. The Other Woman – Devendra Banhart

4. Psychotic Girl – The Black Keys

3. Stand Inside Your Love – Smashing Pumpkins

2. Say Yes – Elliott Smith

1. Skinny Love – Bon Iver

All are great songs by great musicians…I would recommend checking the bands out that you haven’t already heard of..

(I’d also like to point out the incredible number of beards on this list. Brilliant.)

I am absolutely in LOVE with Mariee Sioux! Her album Faces in the Rocks is seriously the BEST thing I’ve heard in … 6 months?

If you like quiet, acoustic folk with a touch of native american legend and mystery, go buy this album!!

Listen, love, and learn from all of these.

(my only qualm is that Either/Or is only #59. come on, Pitchfork!)

VIVE LE 1990′S!

When you’re done with that, move on to this.

In case you didn’t already know, the real party is in Spain.

Listen to El Guincho - Newest album, “Alegranza”

Do as I say.

I went to go see The Avett Brothers last week at the River to River Festival in Tribeca. I was alone, but I got to be in the front row!! For a folk trio, they rocked REALLY hard. It was an excellent show, and I would recommend going to see them live – no matter what your age or music taste is!

I’ve been a little bit lonely lately. Not homesick, per se, but just missing have close friends to hang out with. I haven’t had a good hug in the last week.. bah. I’m sure that will change soon. It’s just so hard to meet people! My roommates are very nice and all..we just haven’t really connected on any significant level yet.. Anyway, I don’t really know what to say about that.. I guess I just miss having someone to come home to.

Today I met up with this guy, Colin, to talk about starting a band. He was kinda condescending about it in a way that only New York college kids can be (from what I’ve experience). I mean, he was hip and definitely cool, but he totally knows it. And that was intimidating to me. He’s some sort of mix of this:

He sounded pretty interested with working with me for the summer, despite the fact that I have absolutely no experience making music. He sounded as though he viewed our “band” as him “helping me out” (as he put it) instead of us being in a band together. I mean, I guess I’m not really sure how to go about actually writing songs, but he told me to get some lyrics together and we could figure something out. But honestly.. the kind of poetry I’ve written – mostly free-verse stuff – I’m not really sure that would go well with music. I don’t really know what I want. And I guess neither does he. I want us to be friends and to hang out and play and maybe move on to doing live stuff. Nothing too serious since I’m only in the city for the summer. I don’t want him to think he’s doing me a favor – I want him to be committed. I don’t know. I’m really frustrated right now because I don’t know what I’m doing, really. I guess the music I want to make is some sort of combination of this:

Oh well. I guess it’ll work out when I’ve met the right person/people to make music with. Tomato Tomato.

Today at work, a plethora of – let’s say – stimulating things happened:

1. The day started with a proud “Hey, Girlfriend!” from my cool, black friend at work. Ohio: believe the stereotypes.
2. I tried to pay special attention to the music played in the store. It’s mind-boggling. “Take my breath away,” and then “Blackbird.”
3. and than I was rickrolled.
4. Someone bought The Idiot’s Guide to Nascar. Seriously.
5. In a fit of boredom, I decided the five most attractive things about a man have to be: ability and willingness to grow a full beard, unbridled passion for something (anything), a German accent, hip bones, and book-lust. sexual.
6. I saw a woman with the smallest face of all time. correction. smallest head of all time. minimal space between facial landmarks and head-horizon when looking at her from straight on. tiny head, tiny voice. hilarity. but it’s probably really inappropriate – kind of a “your team,” but since no one was there. it was just inappropriate.
7. I realized that I’m attracted to (but don’t have a crush on) an 18-year-old bag boy, who looks like Ethan Hawke with acne. He has a name that was some Ohioan’s idea of hip and unique, but is actually just a verb. he’s not planning on going to college. and he hunts for fun. and yet.
8. In my last 20 minutes, Hipster sighting! It’s the same one I’ve been seeing around. Tight(ish) jeans, green hoodie, debatably terrible/hot shoulder-length blonde hair, fully beard. I mean. There’s no guarantee that he’s actually as hip as I’d like to believe, but his only purchases as far as I could tell were box-wine and cigarettes. classy.

too bad my job isn’t more like this

Take note of Carney’s favorite city beside Akron…

*Pictures I took at their April 4 show at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom. I was so close I got sweat on. It was awesome

If you know what’s good for you, go buy their entire discography! Attack and Release, which was produced by Danger Mouse (!!!), came out last month.. and it’s everything I dreamed it would be..