friday feature: brooke fraser

i know that i've written about brooke fraser before, but i've really been obsessed with her music lately and have had it on repeat, so you've got to bear with me.

the first time i listened to brooke fraser, i'm pretty sure i was actually in new zealand (she's a kiwi).  we were living in the international house at the university of auckland, and i remember walking into the lounge and hearing this really nice song playing.  i walked over to the tv where some friends were watching music videos, and i see this great video.  there's candle-light and this woman playing the piano, and it's all just very romantic, you know?  well, at that point N. and i had just started dating so everything sort of seemed romantic to me at the time, but still.

anyway, this song ended up being "arithmetic" by brooke fraser, and i ended up buying the entire album and really loving her music.  she's since come out with a newer album called "albertine," and it's absolutely amazing.  from a christian standpoint, you really couldn't ask for more since it's really inspirational but not overly preachy, and from a singer/songwriter fan's standpoint, the music (from piano to guitar to lyrics) is wonderful as well -- calming and thoughtful without being depressing.

i also know that, with this album, there's a particular humanitarian aspect that you hear come through in the song for which the album is named.  as a supporter of world vision child sponsorship, "albertine" is named for the orphan brooke met in rwanda, who lost both her parents in the rwandan genocide.  you can read a little bit more about it on her website.

i guess this music just inspires me to 1) be a better person, 2) be a better christian, and 3) be better at these things by...being more present in the world, more helpful, more understanding.  more of the things we say we all want to be, but usually don't see through.

brooke's currently in studio working on another album, and i can't wait until she goes back on tour.  until then, here are some songs to keep you (and me) looking forward:

friday feature: playlist love

do you have someone in your life that you consistently turn to when you need new music?  someone who knows your music tastes so well that if you were to just tell them, "i need some new music and i'm in a [insert emotion here] mood," they'd know exactly what to send you?  K. over at the artist in the ambulance is that person for me.  since high school, whenever i've needed music to fit an occasion, or to be the background to a book i'm reading or a problem i'm going through, she's always known what to suggest, from sarah mclachlan to brand new to city and colour to lydia.  (most recently, i was in a very hipster mood, so she sent me a bunch of music i have yet to organize in a playlist, but once i do i'll post it).

yes, i suppose it helps that she works in the music industry, but she's generally just one of those people who love music.  and i'm not talking about the kind of love that most people have for music, or even the kind of love that i have for music (which may actually be a bit more personal than the average person).  music is like life to her.  i couldn't imagine her without it.  i don't think she could imagine her without it.

it also helps that she's not pretentious about it, either.  she'll listen to anything from bands i've definitely never heard of, to lady gaga and miley cyrus.  and for me that makes her all the more legit.  because music snobs kind of suck most of the time.

so to finish out what was started over a year ago when she began writing a twilight playlist (maybe because i begged her?  i don't remember the specifics), i wanted to post her latest playlist for breaking dawn.

**go here to get the playlists for twilight, new moon, and eclipse**

- pheonix - 1901 (getting the new car and telling everyone about the engagement)
- the temper trap - sweet disposition (segue to the night before the wedding)
- band of horses - is there a ghost (story/nightmare about the immortal children)
- the shins - the past and pending (the wedding)
- city and colour - sam malone (dance with jake)
- emanuel - make tonight (honeymoon)
- kings of leon - closer (more honeymoon)
- brand new - noro (bella and edward realize she's pregnant)

- city and colour - like knives (jake finds out about the pregnancy and edward tries to bargain with him)
- tv on the radio - wolf like me (wolfpack debates and splits up)
- underoath - the created void (jake's miserable around bella and leaves, and edward begins hearing nessie)
- interpol - pioneer to the falls (jacob's alone and realizes he needs to go back)
- 30 seconds to mars - the kill (bella goes into labor)

 - alberta cross - the thief and the heartbreaker (bella's death)
- coldplay - don't panic (introducing the new and improved vamp bella)
- far-less - to live (bella's first hunt)
- copeland - no one really wins (jake has imprinted on nessie)
- fair - blurry eyed (bella gets to hold her baby)
- death cab for cutie - summer skin (edward...and the cottage)
- deas vail - sunlight (bella and the cullens are all glittery, and she's finally happy)
- jack's mannequin - the resolution (things are happy, but still uneasy)
- the receiving end of sirens - wanderers (alice's vision, the volturi are coming)
- the juliana theory - do you believe me? (the gathering of witnesses and allies)
- doves - reprise (waiting for the volturi)
- bush - machinehead (the confrontation)
- radiohead - lucky (alice's return)
- snow patrol - same (our happy ending!)

friday feature: creative blogs of note

with all the free time i've had lately, i decided to work on little "projects" here and there around the house.  some involved remixing my wardrobe to find new outfits i never knew i could make.  others involved painting an emily bronte quote on canvas.  and still others involved redecorating our office, revamping our bedding, creating a make-shift headboard, and beginning the process of rearranging our living room.  i haven't even begun tackling the back yard yet.

N. is obviously not very thrilled since, though i can arrange furniture by drawing it on a sheet of paper, he's the muscle behind this operation.

however, in preparation for all these projects, i've been scouring the blogosphere for ideas on organization, design, thrifting, sewing, art, etc.  and in this friday feature, i wanted to just share some of the best of the best blogs i've found.  if you're ever in a crafty, diy mood, i suggest taking a look at some of these blogs for inspiration and, in some cases, lovely freebies or goodies for purchase through etsy.  jamie meares of i suwanee even offers her affordable and awesome looking interior design services, which i totally plan on taking advantage of once i have the ability to save funds.

are there any blogs you're obsessed with?  i'm always looking for good reads!

inaugural friday feature: U2

i'm trying something sort of different here.  each friday, i'm attempting to do a "friday feature" post.  i'll usually just pick something that's come to my attention (a book i'm reading, a newsworthy hollywood scandal that's gotten waaaay blown out of proportion, a movie that's so bad and so popular at the same time it defies logic, you get the picture) and go at it.  nothing spectacular, but something fairly new to change things up.

as my inaugural friday feature, i'm of course going to spotlight a band that is, in my humble opinion, one of the best bands ever: U2.

my first memory of U2 is more a memory of feeling that a moment of seeing or hearing.  i can't recall where i was, who i was with, or how old i was either.  i just remember very specifically the way i felt the first time i heard "with or without you".  it made me feel odd.  i know that sounds strange, but it's true.  i honestly don't think i'd ever had music make me feel something before, and it was so unfamiliar that it's hard to describe even now.  i think i thought it was making me sad, when it was actually just making me feel something.  i was honest to God uncomfortable listening to that song for a while afterward.  ever time it came on the radio i'd switch to a different station.

that's obviously changed now.

i was already a huge fan by the time U2 came out with "all that you can't leave behind."  when they did , i was getting ready to graduate from high school, leave home, leave hawaii, and head to college (taking only what i could leave behind.  winner!).  "walk on" was the soundtrack to my life at that point.

then, a year later, i found myself on a plane flying over the atlantic towards northern ireland, part of this fairy tale land i'd always dreamed of visiting.  i was going to be studying the not-so-fairy-tale-ish irish troubles, and so very appropriately put "sunday bloody sunday" on repeat the entire flight over.  when we got to derry, and i walked around the site looking at these huge political murals and trying to imagine that day, i had that song playing over and over in my head.

U2 stayed with me throughout the rest of college.  during my sophomore year, i started watch the tv show "one tree hill" because it's named after a U2 song.  then, during my junior year, i studied abroad in auckland, new zealand, and made a point to visit the actual one tree hill since that's what the song was named after.

more recently, i've been relying on "i still haven't found what i'm looking for" and "city of blinding lights' whenever i feel...stuck.  which has been a lot.  they make me think of paris, of new york, of big cities and possibilities.  they re-motivate me and re-excite me.

i've yet to see U2 in concert.  i've often told N. that if he ever wants to guarantee a "yes" when he proposes, he should buy me tickets to see them live and pop the question there, preferably during "all i want is you."  there would be no denying him.

then there's bono, who can't be ignored when you talk about U2 and your love (or hate) for them.  whatever you may think of him, of his arrogance, his foul language (not always used in the most diplomatic ways), or his talent, you can't ignore the fact that his philanthropic and humanitarian work count for something.  from amnesty benefit concerts, to the ONE campaign, to fashion lines, to product (red), he's done quite a bit and that's commendable.  i'm not saying he's Jesus or anything, and indeed, one of my favorite quotes about bono comes from B. over at Isn't She Pretty in Pink (who has an irrational animosity towards him ;)), who said something like, "if he wants to help africa so much, maybe he should stop buying himself dolce & gabbana sunglasses and put the money towards something useful!"  but i'm just saying that it's nice being a fan of a group who supports human rights as much as bono and U2 does.

i could go on forever.  i really could.  i love this band that much.

do you have a band/musician that you just feel like has been with you forever?  whose music you can trace big parts of your life to?  who seems to always have the right song for you to listen to at the right moment?  do you have a soundtrack to your life?

happy weekend!