Review of Strangers Vol. 2 - Derek Porter

I recently got a hold of my friend Derek's new album Strangers Vol. 2.  (you can get it here).  I loved Vol. 1 and I was really excited to see where Derek would go with its companion.  The album picks up where Vol. 1 ends.  A mix of sounds that slowly become melody in The Rabble part 2.  This up paced start gives way to upfront piano, distorted vocals and chorus.  All of these will be recurring themes in Vol. 2.

On Derek's last album the guitar was the center piece, but it is the piano that stands out on this album.  If Vol. 1 was wilting and dreamy then Vol. 2 is a staccato and scary dream.  Dreams and memory were the focal point of Vol. 1.  There was a contemplative take on these themes in Vol. 1 but this album demands more.  It is not a rhetorical question but one that needs answers.  (look at When I Forget my Name).  In Vol. 1 these questions seemed personal, often through the voice of Derek, but Vol. 2 features more choruses.  It seems that these questions are to be asked by all of us.  Vol. 1 used multiple vocal takes to make a disjointed feeling.  In Vol. 2 Derek distorts his voice, cutting out bits and adding a creepier feeling at times.  The songs on this album build quite a bit, much like a Sufjan track.  Again always placing the piano at the front.    The piano is the driving force, especially in the the hits on songs like When I Forget my Name and Tongue in Cheek.  The lyrics are a bit more playful in this album, and more interesting.  Sometimes Andrew Bird-like.  Make no mistake this is obviously a Derek Porter album.  This may be easy for me to recognize.  I heard Roger the Engineer for the first time almost three years ago, but could not have guessed how the song finally worked out.  And songs like I've Been Walking seem like a bit of a change for Derek.

So what did I think of the album?  Well, up until the final track I was forced to settle with the fact that I liked Vol. 1 just a bit more.  Then the final track came on.  Chestnut Tree is the perfect end for the album.  Not just Vol. 2, but for Strangers as an album.  A song that has the slow and melodic attributes of Vol. 1 and a stronger, more epic chorus in the middle from Vol. 2.  This is all tied up beautifully when the build and repetition of "love I feel you pulsing in the tree" breaks.  There is no need to listen to this album as competition to Vol. 1 but completion.  Strangers is a great album and Derek has really stretched himself sonically.  If you haven't listened to Vol. 1 get a hold of it and listen to both of these albums.

Christmas in Dublin

I was lucky enough to spend my Christmas with my friend Paul.  His family lives about 45 min. outside of Dublin in a town near Drogheda.  Paul's family was very nice to invite me, and I was very excited to visit Ireland.

The Journey,
As most people read, travel in Europe around Christmas was nuts.  The snow meant that most flights were being cancelled.  I was taking a train and a ferry, so I knew I would be fine.  This did mean that the train stations were packed.  At about 8 pm I had a train out of London to the ferry port in Whales.  I was shocked by the method for catching the train.  An announcement is made, and everyone runs.  It is crazy, and truly survival of the fittest.  I was lucky enough to get on the train and leave (roughly) on time.  My train had some problems so we switched to another train at Wolverhampton.  That made us about 15 min. late for our ferry, but luckily there was another one waiting for all of us that were late.  The ferry ride was nice, and lasted about 3 hours.  I arrived in Dublin at 6 30.  After taking a bus from the port I found a train out to Paul's house.  45min. later I saw Paul waiting for me at the station, and I knew Christmas was beginning.

Christmas time,
Being at Paul's was great.  His family welcomed me and I really felt at home.  Most of the time before Christmas was spent relaxing.  We did some last minute shopping and ate tons of food.  Paul and I went for a walk on the beach when I first arrived, and spend our nights playing Mario Kart with his friends.  I was pretty much doing what I would want to do if I was back in the States.  On Christmas Eve we visited Paul's aunt and her family.  After visiting for a while we then went for mid-night mass.  The church was amazing and it really put me into the Christmas spirit.  After mass most of us went to bed, and Paul woke me up in the morning to see if Santa had come.  He had come, and the morning was spent opening our gifts.  There was even a stocking and a present for me.  It was a great Christmas morning.  Paul, his sister, his father, and myself went for a walk on the beach after opening presents.  Paul and his sister even jumped in (with their feet).  I could not be persuaded.  It was cold.  That night was Christmas dinner, and I have never eaten more in my life.  There were a lot of potatoes, ham, and turkey.  There were tons of deserts that were all new to me.  It was great food.  We took a break after eating to relax, and watched "The A Team".  It was a terrible movie, but we had a great time laughing at it.

My last day in Ireland was spent in Dublin.  Paul showed me around town, and I was able to check out his old university (Trinity).  It was a beautiful campus and I see why Paul loves it so much.  Dublin has a really great feel.  Everything is very close, but there is still a bigger city feel.  Not as busy as London, but not a tiny town.  After checking out his uni we stopped by the Guinness brewery.  That was a great tour with lots of information.  It ended with a pint on top of the building.  On the 9th floor Guinness has a bar with one of the best views of Dublin.  I was able to see almost all of the city and I could see the mountains outside of town too.  It was very nice.

At 8 I said good bye to Paul and set out for my ferry.  I thought the trip home would be easier than the trip out to Dublin.  The ferry was alright, but when I got to the station in Whales(12:30 AM) I found out the next train wasn't until 4:48 AM.  It was cold in the station, but I made some friends and we chatted for a bit.  I was even able to get about 2 hours of sleep on the floor.  I got the train, and after about 4 hours of drifting in and out of sleep I was back in London.  It was great to be back after the long journey home.

I am so thankful for Paul's family opening up their house to me and making me feel so welcome.  It was one of my favorite Christmases yet.  I can not thank them enough.

(it was hard to decide what photo's to include.  Here are two.  One from Dublin and the other of Paul on the beach by his house.)

The End of the First Term

So my first term in grad. school is over.  The lectures at least.  These past two weeks have been crazy.  I have been going to work, classes, and tons of parties.  There were parties for the end of term, and Christmas parties.  All around, a very busy time.  I now have about a month off from school, but unlike in the states, I still have work to do.  There were no finals, but I have two essays to write over break.  I hope I can get motivated.

London is covered in snow today, which is bad news for most of my friends who are trying to travel home today.  A lot of flights got cancelled, and when we ordered a pizza it took 2 and a half hours.  I don't think there is a single plough in London, so the whole city kind of shuts down.  This is strange because it normally snows once or twice every year.  You would think they would figure it out.

For the next few days I get to work and then come home and work on essays.  I leave for Dublin on Wed.  I will be there for Christmas and about two days after.  I will use that time as my break, and come back to London ready to work on my essays.

That is all for now.  I am sure I will post some pictures of Dublin when I get back.  Merry Christmas.

Trip up North.

Last weekend my friends Sam and Mike and I went up to Edinburgh, Scotland.  Sam used to go to school there and she had some friends that let us stay in their flat.  We took an overnight bus up on a Thurs. night. The bus ride was very long but we survived.  Edinburgh is beautiful.  It had snowed that week and the entire city was covered in about 6 in. of snow.  I mean the entire city because they don't shovel anything.  It feels really small, but there are a lot of places to check out.  It is a very old city and it has a wonderful character.  We walked all through the city and found some really nice art museums.  I guess I would describe Edinburgh and "cozy".  One of the highlights of our weekend was a church we stumbled into.  As we checked it out choir practice was being held.  We got to look around with some wonderful music filling the chapel.  The trip ended with another overnight bus trip.  This one was awful.  There was no heat in the bus and no one slept.  It was one of the worst experiences of my life.  All I can say is that I am glad it is over.  I won't let the chilling bus ride ruin that weekend though.  It was filled with wonderful sights, Sam's even more wonderful friends, and a small break from the goliath that is London.

Thanksgiving abroad.

So about two weeks ago was Thanksgiving.  This was my first major holiday outside of the states.  (I did spend New Years in Tokyo, but I think Thanksgiving is more important).  Some of my ex-pat friends and I decided to cook a dinner ourselves.  Since we did not have time to cook a turkey we just bought some chicken and cooked some of the rest ourselves.  It actually turned out pretty well.  We had rolls, cornbread, asparagus, green beans, mashed potatoes and of course pumpkin pie.  We invited some non ex-pats as well for their first Thanksgiving.  All and all it was really great.

Something I am very thankful for, besides my family, is my new job.  Along with the Thanksgiving pic (minus Mike, he was taking it) there is a shot of my new shop.  Dose Espresso.  I have been working there about two weeks and I love it.  I am sure there will be more about that in the future.

Getting into the flow of things.

Here is a quick update. My reading week was a success and I finished my essay and turned it on time. It was a lot of work, but it feels great to get it done. I have been looking for a coffee shop job, but nothing has worked out yet. I have found some good shops near my school. There is hope for coffee in my life.

My knee is getting better after my ACL surgery. I have been working out and trying to get back into form. The Doctor released me to start running on a tread mill. Today was the first time I have ran since Jan. It felt pretty awesome. I will be back to playing soccer soon. On my way back from the doctor I walked through Hampstead Heath. It might be one of my favorite spots in London. On the edge of the park I found this wonderful door in a wall. More to come. Enjoy.

Autumn and Guy Fawkes Day

Most of the leaves have fallen here. Autumn took longer to start here than in Central IL, and it lasted for about 2 or 3 weeks. I am now over half way done with my first term at UCL. I just finished my first essay and I have 4 weeks of lectures left before the winter break. I really missed my Autumn rituals of corn mazes and haunted houses, but I was able to celebrate my first Guy Fawkes Day. That was a lot of fun and about 8-12 or my fellow Human Rights colleges meet in a park to watch the bonfire and fireworks. Now that Halloween is over everything is starting to turn to Christmas here. I am not sure what I will do for Thanksgiving, but a few of my fellow ex-pats might try to cook something traditional up. Well, after a week of working on my essay I am exhausted, and ready to go back to just attending lectures. Enjoy these pictures of a park by my campus and the bonfire on Guy Fawkes Day. Laters.

Quick review of the month.

Well, I have not been that good of a blogger. My first month as flown by. I have been very busy with school, but I have been able to have some fun too. I am include some images of what I have been up to during the month of Oct. I made sushi for the first time with some of my flatmates. That was great. I was able to go see Mark Ronson and the Business Int. one weekend. I have included a picture of his stage set up. There were about 6 Keyboards and a lot of drum pads. It was a great show. I was able to interview with Monmouth Coffee. The interview went pretty well, but there were no permanent positions available. I am waiting to hear back from them about seasonal work. Well, that is it for now. I hope to have a little longer of a post up soon. I have some pictures from Guy Fawkes day to show off. Until next time....

Travel to London

So my posts might be a little delayed while I am settling in / don't have a computer. Just for anyone who has not heard I arrived safely in London on Tues. the 21st. The entire trip took somewhere around 18 hours. I flew from Chicago to New York first. That was painless, and Geetha met me at the airport so my 5 hour layover was a lot of fun. The next leg was not so good. I could not sleep or get comfortable on the 5 hour flight to Iceland. We landed at about 6AM local time. The airport in Reykjavik was beautiful, but not handicap accessible. I was able to watch the sunrise. Iceland looked amazing, and I will have to go back there soon. Then came the 3 hour flight to London. I slept for most of it. At Heathrow I had a difficult time with my luggage and huge bike box. I somehow made my way to the express train that took me to central London in 15 min. I then got in a cab and in about 20 min was in front of my dorm. Hawkridge House (where I live) is pretty hidden. It is on a tiny street that comes to a dead end. I live on the 6th floor with 5 others. All of my room mates seem to be pretty cool.

So that is my account of the first few days. There will be more entries to come (hopefully with pictures, once I get a phone) about my neighborhood and my campus. Look for entries about British culture, not just queuing, but also signs are receipts. I am sure all of you can barely wait.

FOR---EV-----ERRRRR

That is how long it has been since I have last updated this. A couple of months ago I thought I would post the best albums of 2009, but after being made fun of by Nick and Brittany I decided not to. Last night I was hanging out with Angie and I remember that I had a blog. Taking her advice I am going to try to update this thing more often. Reason why coming up...

So what the hell has been going on with me? Well, after a long process of deciding where to go to graduate school (one that took me out to Seattle) I have decided to attend University College London in the fall. It is about 95 percent certain that I will be there. I was accepted into their program last summer but I decided to defer my enrollment until this year. I am just waiting on the official letter that should be arriving soon.

To waste time until then I am back to working at the Coffee Hound in Bloomington, IL. I live in Bloomington as well (Franklin Park, what what). If you are a friend from far away, still call me if you are going to Chicago. Sometimes I can make it up there to meet you. Also I have started attending a house church. It is very loosely based on Neo-Monasticism (see older posts) and I think it is a great step in my personal faith. Please talk to me about it sometime. I would love that.

Part of why I am starting this blog up again is for my friends who do not live near me. This will be a way to keep everyone posted, as well as my usual rants. I think this communication will become more important next year when I move to London.

I guess that is it for now. I am sure there is some kind of rant brewing, so stay tuned.