Monsters Calling Home || music

My friend would always be posting and raving about these guys on facebook. I decided to check them out and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't seen them perform, check out their surprise Jimmy Kimmel performance. I just bought their EP on itunes and it's been on repeat for the whole day!

I love the passion behind what they do. You can tell they love what they're doing and are very connected to the music they write and perform.

Here is their bio from their bandcamp site
We are Monsters Calling Home, a group of young Korean folk living in Los Angeles. Deeply into music and our maker, we hope to put on honest and heartfelt performances wherever we are asked. We dance thrice every night with bright eyes in a city of colour while arcades catch fire. We play loud and soft and sing about folks we know, we want to be, and we imagine in the dark.

Go check them out. This song, Foxbeard, is powerful.

I knew a man who found a forest overseas 
He grew his beard like the grounds bear trees 
Callous his hands, his heart bled dry 
He kept his fire in the clutch of his eyes 

He painted with a dark stroke, dirty on the canvas 
Creation was holy but we chose against it 
The devil knows he’s evil no need to proclaim 
It’s the choices we make that bring glory to his name 

Mr. Fox I know you’ve got a secret to tell 
But folks we live just to hear ourselves 
Talk, talk talk 
Non stop stop stop 
And it goes goes goes 
Until we know, know, know 
Know not what we say 
Know not what we do 

I knew a lady lost the forest for the trees 
She grew a lust to bury all underneath 
She cut to their heart, she bled them dry 
She kept her fire burning up to the sky 

She’s building up her kingdom of sticks and stones 
I hear the words in between they tend to never hold 
Was she living ever after or making belief 
She kept away from the heart the things unseen 

I don’t want to be your monkey boy 
But my cymbals are crashing 
My teeth oh they chatter 
Cause I’m cold, cold, cold 
Without your claps, claps, claps 
And I don’t know, know know 
If this is ever, ever gonna stop

kye kye || music

This is Kye Kye. I love how their literally a musical family playing music not for themselves, but for someone much greater. 

My brother came back from IHOP (International House of Prayer) and their teen awakening camp and brought their album back. When I listen to this I feel like I'm immediately being taken away deep into the forest on a search for treasure. I feel a lot of anticipation and hope when I listen to them. 

Here is what I found on their website. What I read made me more drawn to them. You can find their album on youtube. I would check out "Broke" and "My Sight" 
They've been out for a while. It seems that I'm a bit late on discovering them. 

"Our love for music was passed on from our parents. Our Love for Christ was given to us from our Heavenly Father. " 

Certain things happen in a persons life that are a result of an intimate relationship with God through Christ. One of those things is the desire to spread the good news of the Kingdom of God. As this relationship grows a second set of desires tends to rise up in your heart. This desire is designed and tailored to you and grows for the very purpose of supporting the desire to pour out the gospel from within you. 

Kye Kye is our second set of desires. 

We Love what we do and are blessed to be able to pour out what God has done through Christ, why he did it, what that means, why its different than anything else that's offered in this world .. through the art of Music.

see you soon thrice || music

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This is a bittersweet post for me to write. Today I leave for California, which I'm really excited about, but at the same time Thrice is on their farewell tour and coming to Toronto tonight so I'm sad since I'll be missing this show.

I've liked and been listening to Thrice since 2002 when I discovered The Illusion of Safety. I've been a fan of so many different bands, but Thrice is the one band that I've been consistently listening to. 
This past November I woke up at around 3am and saw the announcement on their website that they were taking a break as a band for a while. This was devastating news to me. I had such a funny and sad feeling in my stomach as I processed this bit of news. 


This past Friday I was driving home and blasted their old songs and I started to reminisce on their albums, the times that I saw them live and the different friends I made because of our mutual love for Thrice. I actually felt some kind of grieving in my heart and was overwhelmed with sadness. They've had an incredible impact on me and my life. With a lot of influence from the Bible and C.S Lewis there's so much life and wisdom in their music. 


Thrice has grown and progressed so much in the past 13 years. Since I can't see them tonight I'm hoping they'll do some kind of reunion show in few years even though they'll be going on a long hiatus. I envy all of you guys who are able to go. Have extra fun for me!


My favorite songs
See You in the Shallows (The Illusion of Safety 2002)
Deadbolt (The Illusion of Safety 2002)
To Awake and Avenge the Dead (The Illusion of Safety 2002)
The Artist in the Ambulance (The Artist in the Ambulance 2003)
Stare at the Sun (The Artist in the Ambulance 2003)
Open Water (The Alchemy Index Volumes 1 & 2 2007)
In Exile (Beggars 2009)


There's more. I can spend hours and hours listening to their songs. I'll leave you with some of my favorite lyrics from their songs. I know they're on their farewell tour, but I have hope that they'll be back.... soon!


'Cause I am due for a miracle
I'm waiting for a sign
I'll stare straight into the sun
And I won't close my eyes
Till I understand or go blind 
(Stare at the Sun)


we must see that every scar is a bridge, and as long as we live
we must open up these wounds
when some one stands in your shoes and will shed his own blood
there's no greater love. we must open up our wounds
(For Miles)


I will follow you, lay down my life
I would die for you, this very night

once again the bread and wine
but it seems the meanings may be deeper still this time
and you surprised me when you said I'd fall away, don't you know me
I could never be ashamed of you, no I?
(Like Moths to Flames)


And after all of this I am amazed,
That I am cursed far more than I am praised
(Silver Wings)


I am a pilgrim - a voyager; I won’t rest until my lips touch the shore -
Of the land that I’ve been longing for as long as I’ve lived,
Where there’ll be no pain or tears anymore.


My heart is filled with songs of forever -
Of a city that endures, where all is made new.
I know I don’t belong here; I’ll never
Call this place my home, I’m just passing through.
(In Exile)

wintersleep - resuscitate || music

Oh my goodness. It's been 2 years since their last album and I'm glad they took some time to work on this album. This song is so magical. You feel like you're getting lost in space. I think Canada produces some amazing music. Take a listen! You won't regret it. Hello Hum will be released on June 12th.

Best Coast - The Only Place || music

This song makes it a lot harder to wait for summer to come. This song also makes it difficult to live in a place like waterloo. If only I had the money to up and leave this city and move to California. One day. I'll be there soon. 

from my trip in 2009. one month until I'll be in SoCal!

zach williams & the bellow || music

Zach Williams & The Bellow - Two Sides of Lonely

The weather isn't so sunny anymore. It became really cold and now it's not even 10 degrees. So I don't feel terrible for enjoying this wintery video.
I love how raw their emotions are. It's so beautiful.
This sits well with the very melancholic side of me.
Enjoy!

More Sigur Ros || music

stereogum

I'm super excited for Sigur Rós' new release that will be out this May. The band themselves labeled the album as "introverted" "floaty" and "minimal" which is just what I like to get lost to. I like that they're releasing more music although to most ears all their songs may sound the same. 


Enjoy it! 

bon iver aka bonny bear || music

When there's amazing music like this being produced I can't NOT share. This session makes me feel so happy to be alive. I'm sure people were wondering who the heck he was when he won two Grammy awards, but he deserved it. Can't get enough of this guy.

get lost || music

I don't think I'm made to work 9-6. I've got exactly 9 more days of work left. It's kind of unreal. Nine more days for me to take as many pictures of my kids. If I really think about it, I highly doubt I'll ever see these kids again. It makes me really sad.

On these kinds of tiring days I like listening to certain kinds of songs as I walk around the busy city of Seoul. Sometimes you just have to get lost while walking amongst millions of others. I allow my mind to just wander so I don't have to think too much about the reality of life.

Here is one of my favorite songs that I like to get lost to.

Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks

Ingrid Michaelson - Human Again

I'm not a professional when it comes to album reviews. I hate critiquing things. I either like it or I don't. This album I like a lot. 

Something about this album puts me at ease. With each song I feel like I can relate to her as if we've been friends for years. There's something really comforting with this album and the way each song flows to the next. I like how simple it is. What I like about her music is there's no pretentious feel to it at all. So far I'm really enjoying Fire and Ghost. 

This is my album on repeat for the upcoming days. Go buy it or check out the songs on her myspace.