Fleeting

Ok I know some people use my music endorsements specifically to develop their "songs to avoid" list. But here me out... and give it a shot. Every now and again a band comes around that supports what I know is true, THERE IS GREAT MUSIC BEING MADE TODAY... you just have to dig a little for it. This happened in 2000 with Coldplay's first tunes, in 2002 with the Shins, and in 2003 with the Kings of Convenience, and once again most recently with the group the FLEET FOXES. Thanks to Adam Record (of Royce) for the recommendation.

These guys hearken back to a time when soaring vocal harmonies reigned, when funny looking people could sell records because the music spoke for itself. These guys are like the moody blues, the association, crosby stills nash and young, shins and beach boys mixed into one. I LOVE IT! If you are looking for a great sampler check out Quiet Houses or Mykonos

Quite Houses
Mykonos

Let me know what you think.

Always Growing...

Every now and again, usually after a few days of incidental "unshaveness" I get the urge to let nature take its course on my face. I grow a beard. In my case, this is more akin to letting nature take its course in your yard than letting nature take its course in the wilderness. The wilderness option would produce the largest, most heinous neck beard you have ever seen, and most of my face would be consumed in hair. No, this is nature harnessed, this is trimming, edging, pruning, and perhaps even mowing. Its not a statement, its not a paradigm shift, its just hair where there wasn't any before (and where God saw fit to make it grow). The other thing about beards is that they are among those physical attributes that everyone is happy to share their opinion about (obviously because they either know you can remove it easily, or they have been waiting a long time to find something positive to say about your appearance). For example no one ever says "Jake, your nose is a little crooked and your eyes are a little too close together," or "your calves are hot" but people will say "That nonsense on your face has GOT to go"

Anyway someone at work sent me this link and I found it interesting and amusing. I guess this is really the reasoning behind my growth:

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Trustworthiness-of-Beards/22581/

Excerpt:

A recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that men with beards were deemed more credible than those who were clean-shaven. The study showed participants pictures of men endorsing certain products. In some photos, the men were clean-shaven. In others, the same men had beards. Participants thought the men with beards had greater expertise and were significantly more trustworthy when they were endorsing products like cell phones and toothpaste.


Jake