Joshua Arnold

I’ve been obsessed with a few artists lately. The most recent one (for the past several hours) is Sam Beam of Iron and Wine. He’s an amazingly talented musician and he truly just blows me away. The others, to name just a few, are Leslie Feist (namely the album Open Season) and almost anything by Ben Gibbard (most notably the song Couches in Alleys by Styrofoam).

I began a new series of entries a couple of weeks ago and have yet to follow up on it, terribly sorry. I do intend to do so this weekend now that I’m adjusting to this new routine that my friend Drew and I have found ourselves in. If you haven’t heard, we’ve decided to make some major changes in our lifestyles to really get into shape. From an extreme switch in diet to a very intense workout schedule with our personal trainer, there have been some drastic changes around here.

It’s interesting to think about how life has changed over the past year for me. Some years can sneak by and you barely notice them. However, anytime you move across the country more than once in a single year, that year can’t just “sneak by” you, y’know? Moreover, the changes in job and lifestyle are just astounding. I’ve gone from hating my life (and complaining about it constantly) to loving everything about my job and well, life in general. It doesn’t stop there, either.

It seems as though every day my responsibilities grow, I am challenged, and I get a chance to truly show what I can do. After years and years of hard work, I’m starting to get a preview of the benefits. As confident as I may be, this is something that I can never truly say that I deserve. I find myself incredibly blessed on a day-to-day basis and I only hope to be able to leverage my position to do something great. Let’s just hope I can actually pull it off .

Technorati Tags: 2008 adventures, career, iron and wine, music, ramblings, reflections

It’s very rare that I stumble upon a song that really moves me. That’s not to say that I’m not deeply in love with a lot of the music that I listen to — I rarely listen to music that I’m not infatuated with. There are some songs, however, that just resonate in my ears at a level that’s just so different than any other. Whenever I find a song like this, I have to learn how to sing it and I have to learn how to play it. My most recent obsession has been a cover of Upwards Over the Mountain by Jesse Lacey — originally performed by Iron & Wine.

I am making it a point to create my own versions of these discoveries from now on. I usually do it in the privacy of my own home but I’m going a little more public with it. I will post them here for everyone as I make them. I’ll start them off with my cover of Upwards Over The Mountain:

The others are covered so frequently that I’m not incredibly motivated to make my own versions.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Technorati Tags: acoustic, brand new, covers, discoveries, experimental, iron and wine, music