Restless type. Mostly irony-free wingnut. Celebrator of trees. Stilt walker. Given to rare fits of poetry. Boot junkie and whiskey enthusiast. Blabbermouth with only a vague notion of TMI. Vermont secessionist expatriate. Moss sniffer. Stray cat petting machine. Alternative school graduate. Mountain admirer. Tattooed non-professional. Mild-mannered atheist and polite anarchist. Big city person with rural inclinations, or maybe it's the other way around.
BOOK. NERD.
My name is Nicole Cipri. I'm a writer and a wingnut, among other things. This is my tumblr, aka, a curated mess of memes and half-finished thoughts.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Anias Mitchell | Flowers (Eurydice’s Song)
This is the newest thing I have been listening to obsessively. Hadestown is a folk opera retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It features Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) and Ani Difranco (who was basically the musical soundtrack to my teenage years), as well as some other greats, including the Haden Triplets as the Fates. The music itself ranges from folk in the vein of this song — which reminds me a lot of Joanna Newsome, both the vocal stylings and the sorta minimalist instrumental arrangment — to some much more swinging numbers. Justin Vernon (who plays Orpheus) pieces are ethereal, while Greg Brown (who plays Hades) is gritty and dusty. The song he sings (with the backing of a chorus), “Why We Build the Wall”, is my favorite on the album. It sounds like something you’d hear in a street theater piece, fierce and sharp.
For someone who’s a mythology nerd and a folk-music lover, this album is fucking ace.
From Potholes In My Blog: Ain’t That Good News: A Tribute To Sam Cooke
In 1931, the King of Soul was born the son of a preacher in Clarksdale, Miss.
Had he not been shot and killed some 33 years later at the height of his career, Sam Cooke would be celebrating his 72nd birthday today, Jan. 22. The smoky voiced singer-songwriter paved the way for everyone from Otis Redding to Al Green to Aretha Franklin, all of whom cited Cooke as a major inspiration for their sound and style. Cooke’s first single, “You Send Me” sold nearly 2 million copies and reached #1 on both the pop and R&B charts. Cooke was also instrumental in the Civil Rights movement and owned his own publishing company and record label.
To honor the life and music of the King of Soul, we reached out to some of our favorite producers to pay homage to his legacy on our latest instrumental compilation. Ain’t That Good News: A Tribute to Sam Cooke partially shares the name of Cooke’s final studio album, which houses arguably his most powerful and important song of all, “A Change Is Gonna Come”. I can personally remember that track hitting me like a ton—nay, 10 tons—of bricks when I first heard it as a teenager. While I could never understand the pain and tragedy he experienced, Cooke’s longing vocals and resonating words struck me to the core.
We’ve presented a number of instrumental compilations in the past, including the autumnal Robot Soup last October, but Ain’t That Good News is our most poignant to date. It features the likes of Scoop DeVille and Two Fresh reinterpreting prisoner anthem “Chain Gang” while Phil A and Poptartpete deliver beautifully constructed pieces derived from interview clips. Elsewhere, ILLINGSWORTH and IMAKEMADBEATS provide piano-laced bursts of caffeine and Swarvy takes “Mean Old World” to another dimension.
Run Away | Sonnymoon
This is the song I’ve been listening to on repeat tonight, with an animation someone did to accompany it.
I love that the end of this video appears to be a glitterpocalypse.
Great Wide | Gregory Douglass
So, I used to have a big old crushola on Greg Douglass’s music when I was a nerdy weirdo teenager in Vermont. For whatever reason, I randomly thought of him a couple nights ago, googled him, and found out he was still doing music. This really isn’t the kind of music I listen to anymore, but it brings me right back to twelve years ago: walking around Burlington in the freezing cold, moon bright and reflecting off the glossy snow, thinking DEEP TEENAGE THOUGHTS and having SERIOUS TEENAGE FEELINGS.
I still have serious feelings, but I’m pretty sure I don’t consider my thoughts as deep as I used to. (Considering how many conversations I have about zombies, there’s a good reason for this.) But this song makes me feel moonstruck and dreamy, both lonely and not.
SIGGGGHHHHH.
LP - Into The Wild [Live] (by whoisLP)
This is immediately relevant to all my needs.
The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow (by John1948ElevenB)
Sorry if you’re not in the mood for motown, but oh my god, this music makes me want to put on femme clothes and heels and dance around my living room with a cigarette hanging from my lips.
Ronettes - Be My Baby (Original Stereo Studio Take 25) (by Nocaro)
The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman (1961) (by ticktock70)
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted (Original Stereo) (by Nocaro)
(Source: iadoreyoufreddiemercury)
(via Mazzy Star - Into Dust (Inertia Remix) |FREE| - YouTube)
I feel like this is a remix for people who don’t generally like remixes. (Like me.)
“Smells Like Queer Spirit” - Pansy Division, from the album “Pile Up” (1995)
I am listening to Pansy Division and baking cookies. Fuck yeah.
Punk Rock Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup
- 1/8 cup of whiskey
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups of flour
- some salt
- teaspoon of baking soda
- motherfucking chocolate chips
- nuts and shit (optional)
- punk music of choice
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, sugar, maple syrup. Add whiskey and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Add motherfucking chocolate chips and nuts and shit and put that shit in the oven. Discuss anarcho-syndacalism and create small mosh pit in kitchen while they’re baking. Pull ‘em out when the sides start to brown, about 12 minutes.
FUCK YEAH
Legendado - Antony & The Johnsons - For Today I Am a Boy (Live BBC4 2006) (by Insanoemcena)
Such a beautiful version of this song.
