Laura’s place

My aunt Nic and her partner Bert just had their new baby. Kai and I told her that if it was a boy it should be named after Kai, and if it was a girl it should be named after me, and if it was twins they should be named after both of us. Turns out neither of us got our wish. It was a girl, and they named her Leona Johanna Bottorf-Kuster, continuing a long line of girl cousins of our generation named with ‘L’ names. It started with me, Laura, then came Lucia, and then Lilly, then Lana, and now Leona! Whereas the boys have no pattern whatsoever. Kai, Jack, Frank, Rick, and Andrew.

Andrew, by the way, is also new. Andrew Gabriel is his name. He was born to my dad’s brother Boo (or Nathaniel) who is currently living in Bolivia as a musician. I’ve only seen pictures of Andrew. I don’t know much about Andrew, which is why this paragraph is so much shorter than the preceeding one.

While we’re on the subject of babies, our downstairs neighbors, Angelica and Jeremy, also had their baby. They named her Zia, which is actually a boy’s name in Arabic, but I think it sounds very much like a girl’s name too. It means something along the lines of “pure.” I have to say, Leona, Zia, and Andrew are some of the cutest babies I’ve seen in my life.

Anyway, onto the subject of music. Short recap: I currently play guitar, mandolin, alto saxophone, cello and fiddle. Although not all of them I actually play decently… My band teacher encouraged us last week to take up a new instrument to expand our musical ability and experience. I know I didn’t need to add another instrument to my five, but I love learning new things, especially when they have to do with music. You see, the public schools in California aren’t exactly rich. Broke, actually, thanks to our wonderful governor who doesn’t see why government money should be spent on public education. Anyway, that’s why our school doesn’t have so many instruments, and about half of those aren’t in very good condition (the oboe’s broken so our oboe-ist has to play a flute until it’s fixed). The most interesting instrument I found in the closet was a bassoon. Our school has but one bassoon. I also chose it because my aforementioned aunt Nic plays bassoon professionally.

I brought it to Stockton to show it off when we went to visit Leona for the first time. Fortunately, the bassoon is in good condition. Nic showed me some awesome fingerings. She said she’d give me lessons in return for babysitting Leona (when Leona is old enough to be babysat). I find it amazing that one of the most sought-after bassoon teachers of her age group wants to teach me.

Anyway, we were driving home from Stockton last weekend and we ran into traffic. I got an extra hour of listening to my iPod. Listening to my music for so long, I realized something. Most bands and musicians have a subject they usually write their songs on. Here’s a list of all I observed.

Dixie Chicks (”Not Ready to Make Nice”, “Taking the Long Way”) - The Dixie Chicks often write songs about terrible breakups. Such as in their song “Cold Day in July,” in which Natalie sings about how her boyfriend who had said he’d leave her on a “cold day in July,” I guess meaning never, up and left. Similar in “A Home” and “If I Fall” and “Hello, Mr. Heartache” and “Without You,” etc.

Sugarland (”Sugarland”, “50 Cent Lovin’”) - Sugarland’s songs are mostly about eloping with a lover. In “Want To,” “Fly Away,” “Baby Girl,” and ESPECIALLY “The Ride” Jennifer sings of leaving her quiet country home in a small town where “when you pass the only red light, you see the pastor’s house” and running away to live with the love of her life to start her own life.

Old 97’s (”Busted Afternoon,” “Alone So Far”) - Old 97’s are a one of a kind band with a one of a kind theme. Rhett Miller sings about being a complete loser who spends his nights getting drunk in a bar thinking about the girl who just left him. Not much else to say.

Indigo Girls (”Closer to Fine,” “Secure Yourself”) - The Indigo Girls’ songs are usually very non sequitur at a first glance but if you spend enough time with them you will come to realize they mean a lot. The lyrics in “Closer to Fine,” for example, seem to make no sense whatsoever. However, they have a hidden message…which I have not figured out yet. But I’m working on it. I’m almost there…

That’s all I have time for. I have to do my homework now.