Musical Bands: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Now that my fundage has greatly increased, I've been able to spend my money on the really important things in life such as snowboard videos. And as you may have read before, from snowboard videos is where I find much of the music that I enjoy listening to. I found Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's little gem of an album, Up From Below, in this year's Transworld video, Get Real.

The track '40 Day Dream' sets the backdrop for Chris Grenier's part and from the first time I watched Get Real, the music from Grenier's part stood out as something I should look into further. At my first listen though, I had my doubts about the rest of the album. Only two tracks really stood out as usual. The other besides '40 Day Dream' was 'Home' and while they're still my favourites from the album, the rest deserved much needed second and third listens. The best way I can think to describe this album is a pleasant marriage of a full country band and psycadellery. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros might sound like the hairy baby wandering through the desert the mother and father and father and mother of whom are Neko Case, Neil Daimond, Radio Head, and Zooey Deschenal all living at a Spanish mission in Texas at the turn of the century with a full horn section. However Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros might be classified, they are good!

Letter Writing!!!

Today is Monday and I am sick. Really sick. Probably dying of Swine Flu if you ask my roommate Melanie Dee Jones. And what might I do on a sick day? Read? Maybe. Watch a movie? Probably later. Plan ahead for my classes? You gotta be joking me. Nope. Today I'm writing letters (and then blogging about letter writing)

Why letters? Everybody knows that Devin Colby Jones prefers hand written sentiments to e-mails or texts any day. I am finding that I have a passion for handwriting and letter writing gives me the opportunity to practice my otherwise illegible penmanship. The English language is a beautiful thing when written in cursive! And writing in cursive is a dying art the death of which would classify cursive now as a form of caligraphy.


Also, letters are special because each one has taken a journey! Sure an e-mail or text might go to outer-space and back, but outer-space is so cold. An email hasn't been exchanged from human hand to human hand, sent through sorting machines, ridden on an airplane, train, boat, bike, or mail truck. E-mails are just as easily discarded, but a letter is usually kept, and becomes your very own personal history. My grandparents saved all of their love letters during the second world war, and my family often revisits the letters to remember Howard and Dorthy's true romance. A million emails are bunk compared to a couple letters back and forth from England and France to Montana in 1943!


Here is a letter I just recieved from my friend Brian in Colorado! I don't think it's legible via computer, but he uses a 4 color pen, it's mega funny, and he sent me a gift also with it. He randomly saw some Cinnabon Chapstick in the store and bought me a stick! My camp name is Cinnabon and Brian and I worked together at Sambica a bunch of summers ago. I got the camp name because one time I said I thought women should wear perfume that smells like something that I want: Cinnamon Rolls. Sometimes people still buy or point out cinnamon roll flavoured or scented things! This letter was awesome, one of the best I've ever received!
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