Mix Tape Monday: The Lion's Roar

posted by Jory on Monday, January 30, 2012 0 comments
My friend posted the song "Emmylou" by First Aid Kit on Facebook last week and I was immediately hooked. First of all, I've always been a sucker for woodsy and melodic folk music. Second of all, these two sisters are so refreshing and lovely and wonderfully Scandinavian. (Go Sweden! Seriously, though, one of these days I'm going to do a family tree post and I'm going to dig down to my svenska roots). Third, their lyrics are unbelievably mature, especially considering the sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg are only 21 and 18 years old, respectively.

Can I also just pose a question to you all? How in the world do two non-native English speakers write more poetic and meaningful verse than I could ever hope to write? It astounds and confounds me.

Anyways, here is one of their newer songs, "The Lion's Roar." It gives me major chills.

"The Lion's Roar" - First Aid Kit
Now the pale morning sings of forgotten things
She plays a tune for those who wish to overlook
The fact that they've been blindly deceived
By those who preach and pray and teach
But she falls short and the night explodes in laughter

But don't you come here and say I didn't warn you

About the way your world can alter
And oh how you try to command it all still
Every single time it all shifts one way or the other

And I'm a goddamn coward, but then again so are you

And the lion's roar, the lion's roar
Has me evading and hollering for you
And I never really knew what to do

Well I guess sometimes I wish you were a little more predictable

That I could read you just like a book
For now I can only guess what's coming next
By examining your timid smile
And the ways of the old, old winds blowing you back 'round

And I'm a goddamn fool, but then again so are you

And the lion's roar, the lion's roar
Has me seeking out and searching for you
And I never really knew what to do

Sometimes I wish I could find my Rosemary Hill

I'd sit there and look at the deserted lakes and I'd sing
And every once in a while I'd sing a song for you
That would rise above the mountains and the stars and the sea
And if I wanted it to it would lead you back to me

And the lion's roar, the lion's roar

Is something that I have heard before
A children's tale, the lonesome wail of a lion's roar

Frank Turner Friday: I Am Disappeared

posted by Jory on Friday, January 27, 2012 0 comments

I Am Disappeared - Frank Turner
I keep having dreams
Of pioneers and pirate ships and Bob Dylan
Of people wrapped up tight in the things that will kill them
Of being trapped in a lift plunging straight to the bottom
Of open seas and ways of life we've forgotten
I keep having dreams

Amy worked in a bar in Exeter
I went back to her house and I slept beside her
She woke up screaming in the middle of the night
Terrified of her own insides
Dreams of pirate ships and Patty Hearst
Breaking through a life over rehearsed
She can't remember which came first
The house, the home or the terrible thirst
She keeps having dreams

And on the worst days
When it feels like life weighs ten thousand tonnes
She's got her cowboy boots and car keys on the bed stand
So she can always run
She can get up, shower and in half an hour she'd be gone

I keep having dreams of things I need to do
Of waking up and not following through
But it feels like I haven't slept at all
When I wake to a silence and she's facing the wall
Posters of Dylan and of Hemingway
An antique compass for a sailor's escape
She says you just can't live this way
And I close my eyes and I never say
I'm still having dreams

And on the worst days
When it feels like life weighs ten thousand tons
I sleep with my passport
One eye on the back door
So I can always run
I can get up, shower and in half an hour I'd be gone

And come morning
I am disappeared
Just an imprint
On the bed sheets

And by the roadside
With my thumb out
A car pulls up
And Bob's driving
And so I climb in
We don't say a word
As we pull off
Into the sunrise
And these rivers
Of tarmac
Are like arteries
Course the country
We are blood cells
Alive in
The blood stream
And beating heart of the country
We are electric
Pulses
In pathways
Of the sleeping soul of the country
We are electric
Pulses
In the pathway
Of the sleeping soul of the country
(We are electric)
The sleeping sould of the country

Tasty Tuesday: Egg Muffins

posted by Jory on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 0 comments
So, I found this recipe on Pinterest and I made a couple minor changes (some good, some...well, not so much). Here's the original recipe and link (with my notes in brown). It's an easy, fairly quick breakfast. I didn't take a picture because I ate them too fast. Sorry.

Broccoli and Italian Sausage Egg Muffins from (Snacking in the Kitchen)

Ingredients (I cut this in recipe in half because it was just for my mom and me. We each got three muffins).

1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup chopped onion
Ditto any other vegetable you want to add if you want to be weird like that (my dad likes peas)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you're feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (I actually used coconut oil, but I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you don't mind the coconut flavor overpowering everything else.)
1/2 tsp baking powder (I wouldn't even measure this, I'd just use a pinch because it didn't really seem to make much of a difference.)
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed (I used cheddar instead. Mmm, cheddar).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly (or not-so-lightly. Your call. I didn't use enough and it was terrible trying to clean the pan afterwards) spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil.Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli. (I just used my measuring cup, because seriously, who needs to get an extra utensil dirty?)
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (Or cheddar, if you're cool like me.)
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Yeah, so they were pretty good but, like I said, I didn't grease the pan sufficiently and cleanup was a bitch. I also added in chopped onion, which was delicious, but I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and it didn't blend well so I ended up eating straight chunks of coconut oil in my eggs. Hey, I never said I was chef or anything.

Also, Justine made something like this for me in Boston and it was way better. Justine, you can go ahead and send me that recipe...

Mix Tape Monday: Little Talks

posted by Jory on Monday, January 23, 2012 0 comments
So, this song was on NPR the other night and I'd like to believe that it's upbeat bopping kept me alert and at the same time soothed my nerves while I drove through the horrible blizzard that hit the Midwest. Okay, I'm a chicken when it comes to snow. What of it? My little car was not made for inclement weather. Scratch that. I wasn't made for inclement weather. I'd rather sit on my couch with my coffee and a book (or my cousin's Netflix, which I occasionally mooch to rewatch episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). But if I have to be out driving, I'll listen to stuff like Little Talks by Of Men and Monsters because it's perky enough to keep me from falling asleep but not so upbeat that it makes me start involuntarily tapping my feet (which I need to be in ready-position for possible break-pumping). If any of this is not making sense you can blame the fact that I stayed up late last night watching new series of BBC's Sherlock. Holmes + Watson = best bromance ever. That is all. Here's Little Talks.




"Little Talks" - Of Monsters and Men
 Hey! Hey! Hey!
I don't like walking around this old and empty house
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear
The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake
It's the house telling you to close your eyes

Some days I can't even trust myself

It's killing me to see you this way

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

Hey! Hey! Hey!

There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back
I tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will all be over, buried with our past
You used to play outside when you were young,
Full of life and full of love

Some days I feel like I am wrong and I am right

Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

Hey!

Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

Go go go away

I wish you'd disappear
All that's left is a ghost of you
Now we're torn torn torn apart, there's nothing we can do
Just let me go, me against you
Now wait wait wait for me
Please hang around
I see you when I fall asleep

Hey!

Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

Don't listen to a word I say

Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore

'Cause though the truth may vary

This ship will carry
Our bodies safe to shore
 

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