Stuck Here On The Ground But I Wish I Could Fly...

I love when a sunny day, a picture of a bird, the birds singing outside my window, and the birds in my head collide and suddenly conditions are perfect. The birds in my head are currently worried because as of May third, I will be homeless as my parents house is full and my roommate is suddenly abandoning me in an apartment that I can't afford. I'm sure things will work themselves out, but it's just all a little heavy right now...which naturally makes for great metaphor, no? I've honestly never thought of it like this before, I mean, I started writing about a penguin and it just, man. I've never described myself as an ostrich, but it's so fitting, because even if penguins can't fly, they can swim like they do which an ostrich will never understand. It has this double disadvantage. It's all so harsh. And I am. I am an ostrich. Right now I am an ostrich anyway.

Alien Invasions, House Cats, They All Come From The Same Place...

It's hard to read yesterday's entry and see something so right happen that makes such sense that it should happen in the order it did in the world and think about what came out of today. Not that "When They Invade" is so wrong. It's not. It just makes no logical sense.

I grew up in church. I have to qualify this. I also have to qualify what I'm about to say with this: there are many verses in the Bible that talk about singing a new song. It's all over the Psalms, of course, but many other places. Just go to Bible Gateway and look up the words sing and song together...you'll find twenty-odd refrences to it.

When I was still growing up, I sang in the church choir and I sang on the worship team, which is different from the choir. One is sheet music while the other is a lot of repetition and improvisation. Sometimes when singing with the worship team, the leader of this group would tell us to sing a new song...and we would. Anything could come out, and often it did.

So when I say that today, I just started singing and a song about a housecat sitting in its owner's lap at the end of the world evolved into "When They Invade," it's because I just sang and that's what came out. I have no idea how. I don't typically sing about consoling someone at the end of the world, house cat or not. The words, the concept, they just fell out of my mouth.

I just keep shaking my head because in spite of the fact that the circumstances are so weird, the song--the theme and the chords and all of it--is just so appropriate.

When Your Head And Your Hands Compete For Attention...

You ever have those moments where you're driving, and the sun is just in that perfect spot, and the temperature is just right so you don't need your jacket, or your shoes, or it would just be really great to have an inflatable pool in your back pocket and whoops you were accidentally wearing your shades on your head already?! Yeah, that was today. It's nearly eighty degrees today and there isn't a cloud in the sky. I was driving home from watching my nephew and listening to the Josh Kelley album "For The Ride Home." It was just one of those experiences that makes for inspiration. Yep. If anyone ever asks, that's where Summer Song came from.

I'll be straight up with you. I shoot all of the AYGAMG videos in my bathroom. It's got a kick-ass shower curtain and great acoustics, however, it always gets RIDICULOUSLY hot and muggy in there whether or not the door is open and no matter how long it's been since the last shower was taken. This makes for desperately unenterprising conditions. All too often, the flubs in my videos could be remedied by a little cool breeze, but being there is no window in the bathroom, you can conclude the breeze is a mere dream. So instead of singing and playing straight through, my brain has to deal with my mouth and my fingers competing for domination when music is not about domination but complete cooperation. So, to that I say, "Yarr."

Hair Volume In Direct Correlation To Song Writing Ability...

I am currently sitting and listening to Kate Nash singing "We Get On." Frankly, (and I realize circumstances are not quite accomidating) I would love to be able to follow in Kate Nash's footsteps and sing a jazzy sort of pop with a tinge of soul. Those girls are a dime a dozen these days. All young girls are machine guns, no?

My backup choice is a cross between the lyricism of Regina Spektor and actual songwriting (music *AND* lyrics) of Ray LaMontagne...although you might just say I'd love to be the intellectual inverse of Otis Redding. Ah. These silly dreams to remember.

I've had a hankering to write another song, which I am working on. The thing of it is I would love to find a way to add in these particular characters of Baron Von Bear and Warren Cheswick.

For those of you unfamiliar, Baron Von Bear is a band...a pretty dern good one. They've got their first album coming out in May. Hopefully my pockets are as excited. Back on topic though, I'm talking about Baron Von Bear the noble grizzly. Holy buckets I've got it. Can't talk about it until I've written it though.

And Warren Cheswick was a character on Ed (a greatly missed show) who seems to want to show up in my writing as Warren P Cheswick the character. Awkward and seventeenish. Ah, Justin Long, why do you have to be largely notable again? And why are you staring with Har Mar Superstar in YouTube videos?

Alas, expect more originals on the Tubes here real soon.

In less notable news, my dad finally got me that hairspray I was bugging him about for the last two months. Hair Volume is roughly that of an angora bunny in early April or the dead dry of winter.

Who Exactly Am I Singing About Here?

So, today the view from my bed was lovely. For much of the morning, the snow fell down in fat flakes and all the sky I could see was a powdery blue. It's rare to see the sun and the snow at the same time, but there it was. It told me I needed to write something (finish my book, perhaps? but no) and so I did.

Singing about "You" is always a difficult concept for me. There has never really been a "You" that counts. There were two that I could say I've loved officially, but neither returned the affection and everyone else has been mostly untouchable and uninterested, so I've ended up guarding myself. I sing "You" both lightly and with a devastatingly heavy heart.

"You" is rarely ever anyone I know. I can't make a commitment to one person because I don't want to be stuck on a "You" and a few years down the road "You" becomes "Them" and you're stuck with all this dried up "You" that's more a "you?" and I can't imagine that would make for great interpretation. Whoa, run-on. Sorry.

Don't let it depress you...too much.

New Blog For A New Venture, Eh?

Well, if you've found me, I'm sure you're well aware that I am the band All Young Girls Are Machine Guns. My name is Becki and I play ukulele and I have finally decided my goal. Since I am putting it into words, I imagine this will make me so much more inclined to follow through with said goal.

- By Summer 2010, I will have enough songs to perform at The Waiting Room and will thus attempt to book The Waiting Room.

- By December 31st, 2010 I will have recorded at least one song in a studio, be it home-built or professional.

What follows is my journey toward that goal.

Best wishes!