This is about a couple of things:

It is an old apartment wall that has seen the embraces and arguments of a dozen tenants and faded under the sunshine of a thousand mornings.- John Crossingham on the Raising the Fawn album that took two years to release.

While "Mark It Zero" was simply something we wanted to do, the new album was that and something entirely more substantial. We owed it to ourselves to make something that could come as close as possible to capturing the connections that evolved over the past two years. Of course The Early was about making good music but in my mind that was never the primary idea or concern. Like a good friend the memorable conversations and events are definitely present. But it's the unspoken and unexplainable pull that underlies friendship, that makes us want to be close; that is what this was all about. I can easily say that the most important thing I took from this experience is the truth that playing music isn't just about putting the right combination of pitches together or writing the catchiest hooks, but it's about making those ideas explode and transcend the act of simply playing. Most of the best music was made in the basement never to be heard again by anyone else. And I suppose that's why I am writing this now. It's impossible to relive these moments, but like any true love I am sure it will always be floating somewhere.

It's funny sitting here now and thinking, "it happened". And it's probably because only in my wildest dreams I thought this could happen and I guess in my wildest dreams I forgot about the fact that it would have to end. But just in the same way it was able to become a reality, to the very end I was so lucky. And that's the best part of this whole thing. It ended just as it began.

Things could not be going any better. And I am not saying that it's good or bad. It's just how it is.

....

As much as I love to hate to admit this:



is the cutest picture ever.

Truly a work of love:

Let's act as if things have now returned to being normal.

Let's close our eyes and dream for the footsteps on the ceiling or the train tracks to Chicago.

A couple of pictures from Saturday:

I know exactly why everything went to hell this week, but I can't spit it out.

However, I will say that I can't wait to board that airplane. I can tell you that I will be happy then.

I can feel the foundation wavering beneath my feet. As my layers of responsibility and care are crumbling away, I can't help but to question whether this is the right time for this kind of collapse. Let's face it: I got into college, my band won, I am going to Italy next month and underneath all of this high school classes are like black ice on the sidewalk. So I am not sure why I am so hesitant to duck out of school after midterms and move on to something new. Is it that I am scared of responsibility falling to the wayside and losing all the structure that has become the norm? Or maybe I am afraid of walking out on friendly acquaintances, a sense of completion and all the things that make senior year in high school okay. Why am I not dancing for joy in some kind of utopian field due to the fact I have the possibility of limitless freedom, something that I could only speculate and dream about a year ago? What is the fucking problem. This is an easy decision, right?

Perfect. Just Perfect.

LiveJournal Haiku!
Your name:	ajrlmonkey
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Created by Grahame

An excerpt from my paper journal, [impulsively] written on my flight home last summer:

7/27 Flying Over Winnipeg
Music: Mike Doughty- Rockity Roll

A little more than two hours until l get home and I still haven't fully realized how heavy things are going to get from this point forward. The magic period is after first semester...that's when things will be good again.
...
Flying above the clouds there is nothing to be worried about. I only hope that the next few months won't be too hard.
------

I suppose this is it. Above the clouds?

It's not like that. Not exactly.

(from my first night in Seoul)

------------

Today, medication came in the form of a Mike Doughty podcast.

What if podcasts didn't exist?

Alfredo and the Italians singing the Italian National Anthem (Inno Di Mameli). It's ridiculous how wonderful this exhange is turning out to be.

Taking Italian was one of my right decisions.

From Alfredo Roma:

Hi Alex,your italian is very good......I'm very exited to visit your country.You have a very beatifull family.How do u do in your free time?I like to do sport,music,dance(hip hop and break dance),do shopping and the party.bye bye

-----------

The phrase "people are disappointing" has been going round and round through my head all day. It's so catchy.

( And this is not just because summer is over and AP English summer essays are ruining weekends )

A thirty-percent chance of a better understanding. What am I getting myself into?

I need this. Yes, I really need this on so many levels.

---

Drop a comment with your address if you would like a postcard from Korea. I would love to do it.

Those who teach me to love myself are those who I love the most. The most fulfilling days and nights are the ones where we let our personalities hang out and there is no question this is the way it's supposed to be. The most exciting moments lie in the magical coincidences and transferences of creativity. And my favorite moments are the glass half-filled, van morrison, better than I could have ever imagined, reduced-to-happiness moments. The moments where we are all reduced to happiness.

---

Junior year is over and I could not ask for more right now. That shit was ridiculous.

Just think: June 22nd...July 1st. That's not so far away!

Everything is going to be alright.

Early-morning thought: I want to live to be 100.

I missed Spring but it only lasted a week anyway.

It all rolls into one
and nothing comes for free
There's nothing you can hold
for very long
And when you hear that song
come crying like the wind
it seems like all this life
was just a dream
Stella Blue

It would be really great if people who read this livejournal came to see The Early play tomorrow night in the Rudoy's basement (330 North Mountain Avenue). We are playing with some especially awesome people and everyone has been working especially hard to make this show amazing. As long as you're there nothing can go wrong tomorrow night.

Show starts at 8.
-

Happy 100th post, livejournal.

She exists in a different dimension. That is the only explanation.
One chance to get everything right, indeed.