Rebellious

Ok, I'm going to take this opportunity to shamelessly promote a band that you should be listening to. I first heard The Boxer Rebellion while I was in the FSU Study Abroad program in London in 2005. Nathan had apparently come to London to study a few years earlier and while he was there, was determined to join a band. Boy has pipes. He found a band. He ended up staying...and that band is The Boxer Rebellion.

My professor, who had taught Nathan before his exit from the program, told our class about the band. My flatmate, Megan, raved about them. One of the girls who helped run the office on our downtown London "campus" was dating the bassist. I was surrounded by them. I couldn't seem to avoid hearing their name. One night, everyone planned a trip to go to their show, so I tagged along. I have seen my fair share of friends' bands and friends-of-friends' bands play over the years, so I wasn't expecting too much. Not only did I enjoy the concert, I was blown away.

Before they'd gone on stage, I had been chatting to them about music in general and their influences as a band. I wanted to gauge what I was in for and how drunk I should get. They talked about their love for Radiohead and I was intrigued. Radiohead isn't an easy band to channel and still sound unique, so I really wanted to see what they'd do. Though you can definitely hear that they are a band that may enjoy Radiohead, they don't come across as a copycat act or like they are trying too hard to be anyone but The Boxer Rebellion. That's a good thing. I saw them a couple more times while I was in London, and every time was great.

They aren't simply a good live band, though. On record, they sound crisp, clear, moody, cocky yet sensitive, and absolutely beautiful. I've listened to Exits again and again and it never loses its shine. I haven't heard their newest offering just yet, so I can't comment on it specifically, but I know it's worth the $5.99 price on iTunes right now. That's right...it's only $5.99. And so is Exits. Even better, their new single is FREE. Why? It's the "Global Single of the Week", that's why.

"In an unprecedented move, iTunes have awarded the band a “Global Single of the Week” spot on January 13th for the track “Evacuate”, which will run across every iTunes store on the planet.

Mixed by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Feeder) and mastered by Kevin Metcalfe (U2, Prodigy), ‘Union’ has also been awarded the Editor’s Choice album slot by iTunes US which will see it receive main page and front page coverage."

So here's the deal, if you're afraid of spending the cash, get the free single, but do yourself a favor and check out some of their earlier songs (some of which can be found on MySpace -- try We Have This Place Surrounded and thank me later).

This is one band I believe in, people! Not just because they are great guys, but because I think you'll still be hearing about them in five years. And can you believe Nathan is American? From Tennessee?!? (edit: I've seen them compared to Kings of Leon in the past couple of weeks, possibly due to the Tennessee connection.)

In other news, Ryan Adams is apparently quitting music. For now. First Joaquin Phoenix quits acting for music and now this. Stick to what you do well, boys! C'mon now. How long do I think this impromptu retirement will last? I give it less than a year. If Mr. Adams is known for one thing, it's being prolific. He can't stop making music. It's in his blood. Mark my words.

Catch up time!

Last night, I got off of work and went straight to the boyfriend's place of employment to dooooooo this:

That's right, we made a gingerbread house! But it's not just any gingerbread house...no sir. It's a LEED Platinum certified gingerbread house, and it was his company's entry for Gingerbuild 2008, a charity event where it was auctioned off tonight. I'm not taking credit for much of it. I'm no good with constructing anything, and the other people there (5 of us in all) are all architects and interior designers and such, so...yeah...I left it to the professionals. I helped with signage and ideas mostly. It was a lot of fun to be part of the whole thing, though. It our first time doing anything like it (all of us). I was pretty proud of everyone.

You want to know the best part? It WON! I didn't see the other entries, but I heard they were good and we still won. Cool, right? I don't know how much it went for in the auction, but I'll probably hear about it tomorrow. Yay!

Anyway, we were there pretty late and I didn't even get home until after 10:30. I was absolutely exhasted. Probably went to bed around 12:15. I don't think I've slept more than 5 hours any night this week. Barely even got the 5, so tonight, I plan on getting to bed waaaay earlier. I'm catching up on my Top Chef at the moment, so I'll probably pass out right when it's over (and catch up on my sleep). Is the title of the post starting to make more sense now?

I am SO so so so excited about tomorrow. I think I mentioned a couple of posts ago that my work holiday party is this week...well, it's tomorrow. But I'm not going anymore. Yeah, I double-booked myself and didn't realize it. Instead, tomorrow I am going to see Oasis and Ryan Adams! Oh, and Matt Costa, which I guess might be exciting if I knew anything about him. I know the name. Does that count?

Right, so I've seen Oasis a few times. They canceled on me twice in my teens, I finally got to see them in West Palm Beach when I was 16 or 17. I saw them again in Atlanta once and in their home city of Manchester when I was in England. That was by far the craziest concert I think I've ever been to, but those stories can wait for another day. Let's just say I was dodging flying cups of pee from drunken football hooligan types all night. Fun, though!!!

Anyway, I have never seen Ryan Adams live, so I'm sort of more excited about that. In case you haven't noticed from my post on here or my Last.fm page, I've been kind of obsessed with his new album. I always do that when he puts out new tunes. I just can't stop listening! It will just be a great show, I think. It's half of my Christmas present from Jon, the other half being The Killers concert in February. I love going to a good show. Yep. I'd take a concert or two over pretty much every other present in the world. He's getting Guitar Hero World Tour in return (don't worry, he already knows...and probably doesn't read my blog, ha!).

So, no work party for Alissa, but it's probably for the best. I can listen to the stories on Monday and know for sure that there are no bad ones about me. Win-win, you see. :)

Ok, that's it. I HAVE to get some shut-eye. Night!

Filled with beautiful music.

Ryan Adams' songs always manage to make me feel both wistful and happy at the same time. I can't believe I get to see him in less than a week! This song, from the new album Cardinology, is just gorgeous.