The Owl Farm 12/29/12

Holy Coast

Our friend Paul and his band Courtesy Drop

Waxahatchee. The solo project of Katie Crutchfield from P.S. Eliot and Bad Banana

Pity Sex

Not great: The grainy quality of these photos. I'm still working out the kinks - I'm going to start with adjusting the image resolution on my camera and also by learning how to efficiently take photos indoors in low/mixed lighting. The quality however is leaps and bounds above that of my old Rebel and that makes me happy.

Great: Mustering up the courage to bring my camera to a show, and actually taking photos. I loved all of the bands that played tonight. I've been listening to Waxahatchee for the last week or so, just got into it recently. It was awesome to experience Katie live for the first time after years of loving her other bands. Pity Sex came highly recommended, but I have not been able to find their record. I should've bought it tonight because they ruled.

Greatest: Fun nights doing my favorite things in my new city. Brought 2012 to a rad end.

My 12 Favorite Albums of 2012

I wasn't going to compile a list of my favorite albums from this year, because generally I listen to pretty old music. Lately it's been a steady rotation of older Rilo Kiley, Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Jet Black Summer, Nirvana - a lot of bands who haven't released anything lately, and if they have - I wasn't into it. 

Then last night I got to thinking, there were a bunch of great albums that were released this year that I loved.

So let's recap, shall we?

12: alt-J An Awesome Wave - This record just made the list. The single Breezeblocks plays on our local "alternative" radio station here in Nashville at least once an hour, and I'm not sick of it yet. So catchy, and the rest of the album turned out to be pretty great as well. 

Favorite tracks - Breezeblocks, Bloodflood

11: Bad Books II - A Kevin Devine/Manchester Orchestra collaboration. I don't think I need to say any more.

Favorite tracks - The After Party, Forest Whitaker, Ambivalent Peaks

10: Alabama Shakes Boys & Girls - So bummed that I didn't get to see this band when they played Live on the Green over the summer. When I first heard Hold On, I was blown away. The whole album is so great to just drive around and sing along to.

Favorite tracks - Hold On, Rise to the Sun

9: The Gaslight Anthem Handwritten - I honestly wasn't so in love with this band like almost everyone else was when they first discovered them. Slowly they grew on me, and this album solidified my appreciation. It's so good. It makes me feel warm lovey feelings. And they cover one of my favorite Nirvana songs on it.

Favorite tracks - Mulholland Drive, Keepsake

8: Gypsy Giant's Despair - Dammit, this record is so good. It was hard to find at first, for some reason. I'm so glad that I was able to find it, and play it repeatedly for weeks. Wilkes-Barre seems to be a breeding ground for all the bands that I grow to absolutely love. Vocalist Alex Russin sounds so much like Blake Schwarzenbach which is only icing on the cake.

Favorite tracks - Cherry Picker, Dear Sister, Unconditionally Dependent, Count Your Blessings

7: Swearin' Swearin' - This is another album that I got into fairly recently. It's so great, though I feel that way about most female fronted punk bands. They sometimes remind me of Go Sailor and P.S. Eliot.

Favorite tracks - 1. into Here to Hear (the first two tracks) flow perfectly and are so much fun

6: Cat Power Sun - It's Chan Marshall. The first single from this album, Ruin, would play all the time when I first started at Free People and it made me especially psyched for the release. It did not disappoint.

Favorite tracks - Cherokee, Ruin, Manhattan

5: Title Fight Floral Green - The way Title Fight progresses musically with every album is so impressive to me. You can totally tell they aren't releasing music just to sell records. There is always so much emotion and "realness" to be felt in every single song. 

Favorite tracks - All of them? Seriously. But mostly Leaf, Like A Ritual, and Lefty

4: Basement Colourmeinkindness - This record will forever remind me of my sister since she had an advanced copy that her boyfriend, who does a lot of band interviews and radio shows, got a hold of. So now I hear it and I am back in her car in October driving around Long Island - eating bagels, drinking coffee, getting tattooed, thrifting - it was the best day. The album is flawless and I'm so bummed that I will never have a chance to see Basement live, since they won't be touring in America again.

Favorite tracks - Covet, Bad Apple, Black

3: Screaming Females Ugly - If you've ever seen this band live, you would completely understand my obsession. They're so amazing. Marissa Paternoster can do so many nutty things with her voice and microphone tricks, plus she shreds. Hard. They're really fun and really raw at the same time. I was so excited for this album to come out after I played out their other four about a million times each. Listening to it for the first time was like opening gifts on Christmas day - each song left me elated.

Favorite tracks - High, Leave it All Up to Me 

2: Hop Along Get Disowned - Hop Along, Queen Ansleis was one of those bands with one release and a few rare tracks that I would listen to every spring over and over again, and thought I'd never be able to hear anything more. (Fun fact, Andrew made me a mix tape when we first met with one of their rarest songs on it and it took me six months to find a digital version of the song to hear once my tape deck was no more). When I heard talk of Hop Along releasing a new album I thought, no way! But it was true, my girl Frances Quinlan released an album, full band this time, with a shortened band name. I don't think I'll ever get sick of this album. It is so perfect, her voice is so pretty. Sad and pretty. And if I ever did anything musically, Frances Quinlan and this record would be noted as a main motivator.

Favorite tracks - Tibetian Pop Stars, Laments (which is almost the same song as Laments of a Mattress - a song from Hop Along's first album Freshman Year), Get Disowned

1. Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do - I love Fiona Apple's crazy ass FOREVER. Anyone who was around me in June was forced to listen to this record, because it was always playing. I'm talking at least one hundred times. It was so worth the wait. Literally, every track is perfect. You know those albums that kind of make you feel awakened? Like.. different after you listen to it? That's most recently this one, for me. 
Favorite tracks - Jonathan, Left Alone, Werewolf, Periphery, Anything We Want 

It was a good year for music after all! All of these albums are available on Spotify if you wanted to give them a listen, and I suggest that you do!

New

Many people, I believe, share the same refreshed feeling that a new year brings. New year, new resolutions, new ideas, and the hope for more good to come. One of my resolutions is to use the pretty 2013 planner that Andrew's mom gave me for Christmas and stay on top of deadlines, bills, fitness regimens, and yeah - more PLANS. Another is to start (and complete!) a 365 photo project. I picked up my brand new camera yesterday, a Canon Rebel T4i, and I am completely in love. I want to continue my photography journey this year, with more motivation now than ever. There is so much to learn with lighting, using my flash, portraits, histograms, depth of field, angles.. you know, everything. And I'm going to make it a point to learn and improve.

Inspired by Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess (no surprise there), I am also going to embark on this 365 project with the theme of Home. Andrew and I have lived in Nashville for almost eight months and without the possibility of painting, or really renovating our rented apartment at all, I think we've done a great job of making this a warm, cozy and personalized space. So, every day of 2013 I will be working on a great photo of some detail of this space - and even the next one, depending on where we decide to go in May. I'm really excited about it! Being such an aesthetically driven person, this should be a really effective way of showing my personality and tastes in my photos. I'm starting to plan it out now (in that planner!) and I can't wait to share. On the subject of resolutions and plans, this year I am going to read more, commit myself to health and fitness, put more thought into outfits (I've gotten really lazy in the mornings, though in my defense - it feels so silly to put on tights and a skirt in the morning knowing you're going to be hiking through the woods or swinging around a kettlebell in the afternoon), and start a real savings account. What are your New Years Resolutions? Have you tried and/or completed a 365 photo project before? If so - share it here! I want to see!

Music Monday: The Best Christmas Song Of All Time

Don't get me wrong, I have a strong appreciation for the real classics. But, who is to say that this song is not a real classic? I think of Christmas, and a lot of my best memories have to do with running around my house with my sister and singing this specific Christmas song. Or crying while watching a Mariah Carey Christmas special on television because I just loved her so much. This song, is hands down my favorite Christmas song.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. <3

District 12

It has taken me until tonight to edit photos from Thanksgiving weekend. Isn't that nuts? I'm hoping to learn to manage my time better though. These are the last photos that I took with my Canon EOS Rebel XS. I sold it last week because for Christmas, thanks to everyone I know joining together and helping me out, I am getting a T3i. I can't wait! 

The day after Thanksgiving, my parents (who are also Hunger Games fans) took my sister and I out to Hildebran, NC - where the District 12 scenes were filmed for the first movie. So fun, and I love all of these photos. That never happens. Most of the editing I did with Photoshop actions I downloaded from Simon Filip's blog. I loved this time with my family and looking back at it now is making me smile.

Meet my beautiful mother, my biggest fan!

My gorgeous sister too.




xo, Corinne

Music Monday: Tegan and Sara

I'm back? Yeah, I think I'm back. Baby steps though, because a Music Monday post doesn't usually require much. This one however has required a lot of dancing, singing, hair envy and general falling in love all over again with Tegan and Sara via Youtube. I've always been a fan, but over the past year my love for these two has evolved into something real, something almost palpable. I watch their movie Get Along at least once a week (great apartment cleaning background music, plus it feels like friends are here!) and there is almost always a Tegan and Sara song playing in my head. Enjoy the first single for their upcoming album, Heartthrob. This song is called Closer and I guarantee you, one listen and you will be singing and dancing with the best of them - or at least with me!