Brandi Carlile "Give Up The Ghost" Album Review

It's review time again, folks. Today I'm going to give you my review of the new Brandi Carlile album "Give Up The Ghost". To tell the truth, I really didn't know much about Brandi Carlile. I did see her on VH1 last year sometime and thought her song was pretty good.

I really liked her album. I thought that it was very soothing. It was, in my opinion, a folksy jazz vibe. It had a lot of guitar and very little electric music.

I don't think I would say that she is my favorite artist ever but she is worth checking out. If you like Sheryl Crow or Colbie Caillat I bet you would like Brandi Carlile too.

Pride

Today I need to write a few paragraphs about the human emotion of pride. I have recently read the short story "Bartleby the Scrivner" by Hermen Melville. It is the story of how one person is so caught up in their own self that they can not bring themselves to help someone in obvious need. The narrator of that tale is so worried about how others will perceive him that he goes against everything he know to be caring just to keep his image and thus his pride in himself.

How is this story relevant to today's society? I think it is very indicative of how most Americans behave in general. I think that self-pride and worry about how one is perceived is one of the main factors that has brought on the credit disaster that many Americans are facing today. People have become so enamoured by what others have that they over look what they truly NEED in their lives. It became a vicious cycle that has lead to the ruin of a number of families.

People have lost the simple joy of helping others. It doesn't have to be a large sacrifice on their behalf. Society has forgotten that relationships are the things that bring joy into our lives. It has taken the losing of physical objects to make people see the prideful ways they were acting. If we just take the time to offer a cup of coffee and a chat instead of a boasting session of the latest and greatest "thing" we have obtained, maybe we would all forget about ourselves and learn about the others in our lives.

I think that once people get over the idea of having to live up to other's expectations, they will lose some of that self-pride and become better humans. When you spend your time worrying if you are wearing the right clothes, living in the right house, or working in the right job you lose the joy of your life. You are constantly trying to live up to what you think others expect of you not what you expect of yourself.

Five For Fighting "Slice"

Let me start by saying "WOW!" this is a great album. If you like any of the band's other albums this one will not disappoint. It follows in the same singer/songwriter style.

When I first turned on the album, I immediately wanted to sing along. I know that sounds crazy but the songs are beautifully written. You can relate with the lyrics right away.

I put the album playing in the background while I was working on the computer. OK, working may be loosely interpreted to mean surfing the web but still... It was just such a soothing sound. It made me feel peaceful and peppy at the same time.

I, of course, am glad to have received a preview of the album but I would have been just as happy with my purchase if I had bought it. I can't think of any song on the album that I would fast forward over to get to the next one.

Reviews are coming!

I get the pleasure of reviewing Five For Fighting's latest album, Slice. I also get to review Brandi Carlisle's album Give Up The Ghost. I've received each from a company called One 2 One Network.

I've been very happy with this group. I've got to listen to a lot of music that I normally wouldn't have bought. There is something to be said for expanding one's music repertoire.

I should have the reviews up by tomorrow. I'm going to listen to them tonight. I'm super excited!

Busy week

We had a super busy and fun week last week. We were able to do things as a family that we wouldn't have even tried while we were working full time.

First we started making pinatas. We made three of them. Two for Jillian's 4-H demonstration and one for her birthday party. We decorated the one for her party like a flower garden. That wasn't the original plan but sometimes you have to go with the flow of the project.

We also planned a birthday party for Jilly. She wanted a 50's party. We had the girls dress up in their poodle skirts and we took them to a 50's style diner. They sat at the counter and had malts. It was a great time for everyone. When they came back to the house we had individual cookie cakes made for them. We then put out different colors of icing and let them decorate their own cookie. I never thought this would be as much fun as it turned out to be. Between the four girls they used two tubs of icing! Talk about sugar overload.
The last part of the party was breaking the pinata. This was really fun. Our pinata was hard to break open. They broke the strings holding it before the pinata itself. We left it on the ground and took turns hitting it until it opened.

Besides all that, we worked a concession stand for 4-H at the Thomas bullriding, went to co-op where Jilly learned to embroider, and did a full weeks worth of school work.

What a great week!