Mumford & Sons

My lovely roommate, Courtney, possesses an ear and fantastical knowledge for music, which she continued to strengthen in my mind by introducing me to the band Mumford & Sons. Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane complete this West London band developed in the winter of 2007. Mixing the musical qualities of country, bluegrass and folk, their strong rhythms pounded at my heart.

I listened to the title track from their debut album, “Sigh No More”, inspired by Shakespeare's language in Much Ado About Nothing: "Love it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you / It will set you free / Be more like the man you were made to be."

Much of the album seems conceptualized from several of Shakespeare's plays: "White Blank Page"-Othello, "I Gave You All"-King Lear, "Little Lion Man"-Coriolanus. I cannot wait to purchase the entire album and bathe in their acoustic melodies.

The Queen saw the beast in the ribs of the garden

I was listening to the following song in my car today, and I suddenly connected to it as it seemed to somehow personify what Margaret sees in Isabella in Edward II. If I were to create a soundtrack for Edward II, this would certainly be a part of it.

"Monarch"
Feist

The Queen has a feint had a fall
Don't give me ether or open my vein
I'm sane
I know I'm saneI don't give a care for the crown or the shield
I will not protect you or happily yield
To the one who makes me come undone

Who was born and in what way
All the fields and poppies ay
Who was born in what way
All the fields

The Queen is walking away with only her stockings on
Waving having forbidden pears and song
Valiant and the colours are too gold
Colours of the morning old

Who was born and in what way
All the fields and poppies ay
Who was born in what way
All the fields

Monarch now lay (your) jeweled head
Monarch now lay (your) jeweled head
Monarch now lay your jeweled head

Monarch now lay your jeweled head
Monarch now lay your jeweled head
Monarch now lay your jeweled head

The Queen saw the beast in the ribs of the garden
Husband dear you are nearer to the eye
You're thrown place you wouldn't hold a pardon strokes

By the hand of God
By the hand of God
Though you is so cruel

Who was born and in what way
Who was born and in what way

On the rocky road to Dublin 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Tonight I wanted to stand up and dance, stomp my feet and sing at the top of my lungs. Yet, I was confined to my seat and had to be content with clapping along with the music. When the Young Dubliners come back to town, the party is usually filled with feet stomping and drunken sing-a-longs, but the La Mirada theatre goers were a bit too polite to enjoy themselves. I wish I had seen tickets for the House of Blues in Los Angeles before I bought tickets for the La Mirada Performing Arts Center. The Young Dubs were better than ever! It was a special night because they had Eric Rigler with them (the piper and whistle player heard on the Braveheart and Titanic soundtracks). I love their smoky voices and rip-roaring instrumentals. They always put on a high energy show. I am really looking forward to attending the Irish Music Festival in Irvine this year. Both of my favorite Irish bands, the Young Dubs and The Fenians, will be performing! I need to find my green top hat and get my Guinness hand ready for action.

"Buy You a Life"
Young Dubliners

Can’t fake a free fall
You get what you see
The next move is your call
There’s no guarantee
Careful what I might come to
Open the door. Beware.

Don’t live your life like you’re the only one in it
Don’t waste another minute
Thinking about yourself
Open up and throw back all your covers
Your sisters and your brothers will buy you a life

Lower your defenses
Come follow me
We go in a perfect circle
End where we both can see

Don’t live your life like you’re the only one in it
Don’t waste another minute
Thinking about yourself
Open up and throw back all your covers
Your sisters and your brothers will buy you a life

Don’t fake a freefall
No movie scene
The next move is your call
Or get the better of me

This is where I have come to
This is where I begin, again

Don’t live your life like you’re the only one in it
Don’t waste another minute
Thinking about yourself
Open up and throw back all your covers
Your sisters and your brothers will buy you a life

Adam Lambert.. need I say more? ;)

Everyone is allowed one guilty pleasure. Mine just happens to be Adam Lambert. I think I hold him in high regard because he is more than just a singer; he is a true performer and an actor. The first time I saw him was not on the national setting of American Idol, but at the Pantages Theatre as Fiero in Wicked. Had I come any other night I may have missed his performance as he was the understudy. I followed his story to the Idol stage, voted for him hundreds of times, and was among the disappointed when he was not honored with a win. However, in retrospect I think not winning American Idol is probably one of the best things that could have happened to his career, as he now has the freedom to be an individual and build himself as an artist. I am glad that he followed his own path and found the right moment to come out to the public. This is another reason he pulls me into his world – he is a business man and knows how to handle his career. He knows who his audience is and caters to their preferences; He has excellent marketing sensibilities. He seemed extra special on Idol, because there was a sense of mystery about him. We all knew he was gay from the start, but left it unspoken for fear it would cost him votes on the "wholesome," "all American" show (barf!). He spoke with intelligence, seemed humble but confident, and showed that he was a genuinely kind person underneath his layer of eye-liner. -Plus, I have always been a sucker for men in leather and lace. - That is not to say he hasn’t made some mistakes along the way (I will leave these unsaid, since we all know what they are and would like to forget them). His debut album “For Your Entertainment” is not the best written or most musically innovative, but in true Lambert fashion I have never seen him perform a song the same way twice. He keeps his music fresh. There is something unusually catchy about his songs and watching him perform, whether in a music video or live, is worth its weight in gold. Now that he has proven himself I think he will only get better with time. It is my hope that in his next album release we will see something truly special.

We both bruise too easily

"All I Know"
Art Garfunkel

I bruise you, you bruise me
We both bruise too easily
Too easily to let it show
I love you, and that's all I know
All my plans have fallen through
All my plans depend on you
Depend on you to help them grow
I love you, and that's all I know
When the singer's gone
Let the song go on...
But the ending always comes at last
Endings always come too fast
They come too fast, but they pass too slow
I love you, and that's all I know
When the singer's gone
Let the song go on
It's a fine line between the darkness and the dawn
They say the darkest night
There's a light beyond
But the ending always comes at last
Endings always come too fast
They come too fast, but they pass too slow I love you, and that's all I know
That's all I know
That's all I know

Don't tell me you're a stepping stone

Alan Cumming performed “I Bought a Blue Car Today” at OCPAC on Sat. night. I bought tickets for my mother and myself, and attended the 9:30 performance. I was in total awe of him from the moment he walked on stage singing “Shine” to the last bow. I have never experienced such complete immersion and emotional connection as Alan brought to the stage. I drank up the sparkle in his eye when he took his moment before each song to connect. It was so brief one could easily miss it, but I saw it clearly and it was beautiful. I bought the album after the show and I can't stop listening to Lance Horne's "Don't Tell Me". I keep marinating myself in its potent truth. Why do I always connect so strongly to the tragedy in life? Alan is quirky and fabulous and I love him. He is truly an inspirational artist. I strive to be like him, to find the truth in everything I touch and share that magic with the audience.

"Don't Tell Me"
By Lance Horne

Don't tell me you're a stepping stone
'Cus I'll step all over you, and won't mean it

Don't tell me I'm not capable
'Cus I'll prove that I am if it kills me

Don't try to hold me in your hand

'Cus living things move, and I surely will

You've got your friends and I've got mine

And wouldn't you know, they were right

I won't tell you that your beautiful

'Cus you'll think I want sex, and don't mean it

I won't tell you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.... again

I won't quote the four agreements though you'd get f*cking centered if you'd read it

I won't think of you the way I do

Don't tell me....

Take me away from the other you

The one I thought I never knew

I'm not the man you'd thought I'd be

I'm ready for another me

I've gone away from other days

I've weighed my change and changed my ways

Been crazed and turned for turns of phrase

And now I'm left with you

Why can't I love just that

Instead of all the loves that leave my bed?

And all the lives I've never led

Looks like there's still another blank page to fill

Until I've had my fill of you

So thanks for the tips on carpet

And thanks for your taste in shoes

If we could learn to love those little lessons

There'd be a little less to lose

But if you find another love whose going to hold you like me

And have these little talks until a quarter to three

And wait until you're ready for intimacy

Don't tell me

Don't tell me