Rainy

Winter in Seattle has been pretty strange for me. For one thing, there's been absolutely no snow. Initially I had anticipated this, but then everyone around here kept saying things like "Oh, last Winter was the WORST ONE EVAH" and that I should be prepared for a terrible, apocalyptic season to rival the first Ice Age. But nary a snowflake happened, and the whitest that my neighborhood got was to have a thin layer of frost on the grass and on our windshields that had dissolved by around 11 in the morning.

I never thought I'd miss the snow. My hatred for Winter is legendary amongst my friends, and my extreme (psychotic?) preparedness is both maligned and summarily praised by my boyfriend. Somehow I found myself just wishing for a bit of it this year, even if it was a one-day blizzard, just for a kick; to break up the monotony of the gray and dreary Seattle Winter/Spring season (Springter? Winting?).

Ah, but then again I really do like this weather. I like that I don't need to scrape off my car every day. I like that the rain makes my courtyard smell wonderful as it hits the pavement and the plants. I like that I don't need a parka and gloves every day just to go out and run errands. I like that I actually have use for an umbrella, too!

Plus, making a rainy day playlist has never been so much awesome. Here's my current one:

"Talk Show Host" - Radiohead

"Coffee and TV" - Blur

"Lights" - Santigold

"The Past and Pending" - The Shins

"Graveyard Girl" - M83

"Gimme Sympathy" - Metric

"Checkered Floor" - Silversun Pickups

"I Miss You [Double Rub Part One-Sunshine Remix]" - Bjork

"Go On, Say It" - Blind Pilot

"Heartbroke" The Good Life

"Nine Million Bicycles" - Katie Melua

"Again and Again" - The Bird and The Bee

"Beautiful Girls [cover]" - Adam Tcholke

"Chasing Pavements" - Adele

"Hard Rain" - The Shout Out Louds

"Don't Cry" - The Black Ghosts

"What I Am [cover]" - Emma Bunton

"Joe Metro" - Blue Scholars

. . . And the list will keep growing, I'm sure.

Speaking of music, New York-based band The Vivian Girls will be playing at The High Dive on Feb. 13 with their pals Best Coast (who describe their music as "easy breezy") and I'm really excited. I got into them right when we moved over here, seeking a summery-sounding band that I could add to my seasonal playlist repertoire. I very much enjoy their blend of surf-rock and punk--but I just hope someone else can go with me!

Our friends' band Oriya is playing a show that same night, and while I adore the guys in the band (the drummer Other Ryan is, to recap, our good friend Julie's boyfriend; the lead singer Maeyna is a really cool guy and has [along with his girlfriend Pearl] fast become a friend recently) it's not every day that a band from my more obscure catalogue of shit I'm into comes over this way to play a show so close to me.

Moral dilemma: Do I see my friend's band play and be supportive, or do I go see the other band I've been pining after since I discovered their music this past summer? Perhaps my readers can provide an insight?

"All my little life I've wanted to roam,
Even if it was just inside my own home.
Then one little day I chanced to look back
Saw you sittin' there, being a sad culprit."