my favorite simple brilliant lyricist.

the man i love:



MASON JENNINGS.

i just got back from a long long trip. i will tell you two readers all about it in the next blog entry. but for now, i want to introduce or share with you Mason Jennings, whom i have been a devoted listener to for years. the reason i share him with you now, is b/c i should have a damn long time ago.

M. Ward and Mason Jennings have been my two musicians that i have consistently listened to since 2001. while Mason has simple, at times seemingly "cheesy" lyrics (to some not to mention underground hip-hop heads...), his songwriting is so pure, honest and true that it always has a way to connect with me no matter my mood or time in my life. he sings alot about God and Jesus and Buddha which is really rad too. i dont find much music i like that is about God and the spiritual realm. But Mason has a way of writing, singing, questioning and praising God and the spirituality of life in a way that is really amazing and not cheesy at all. just real.

I got this snippet of info from some dude on youtube. i am sure i am supposed to be telling you from what source, but seriously, who gives. the reason i selected to use it was precisely for the last sentence which i have convienently made bold and italic for you two lovely readers (love me). I am in awe that the human who wrote that sentence actually exists. (love him)

"In this simple, one-take footage, the Hawaiian-born, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter and the Shins' frontman do a pretty duet on "Something About Your Love" from Jennings's sixth full-length In The Ever.

"Please note the awesomely chill bearded guy, who is not Will Oldham, but who is sitting by the side, letting this tall glass of mellow wash over him like a warm breeze":



this song goes on pretty long and probably doesn't need to, but it is good for you to see the "awesomely chill bearded guy" for yourself. its truly classic.

so i have seen Mason live i think five times and i really have been dying to share with you this photo of Mason and I, shown below:

well, ok. i'll be real with you folks. it is actually mason's hand and my legs. you WONT BELIEVE what happened. i was standing in line to meet him after a show he played. i was convinced he needed to hear about the Baha'i Faith (my religion) if he hadn't already. his song-writing really reminds me of person who either is a Baha'i or is searching for it. refer back above to the whole piece on mason + spirituality. doi. ok. so i was there to meet him to just let him know about the Faith, tell him he reminds me of my own spiritual quest, yadayada.

BUT there was this chick (sorry for you angry women who hate the term "chick", i in fact DIG IT), who was with me standing in line. a girl from minnesota (where he's from--OMG!!!) and she was really sweet. but equally as nervous to meet Mason. i was like, oh well, people get weird with famous people as if they aren't in actuality just people, humans like the rest of us. doi again. ANYWAY. i didnt think it was big deal that she was nervous. UNTIL. we got up to him and i asked to have a picture taken with him and i asked the nervous girl to take the photo. she was all, "okayyyyyyyyyyyyyy....eeeeehhhhhhhhheheehhhhhhh......" like, really nervous and shaky. so we're standing there posing --mason and i-- and she CANT TAKE THE PICTURE BECAUSE SHE IS SHAKING TOO HARD. it was amazing. i am NOT exaggerating when i say that the photo you are seeing now is the most still photo graph taken. Mason and i didnt know what to do or what to say, so she just kept trying to take a photo that wasnt compeletly blurred. and i thought maybe she was going to have a seizure--NO JOKE-- so i thanked her for her efforts and said goodbye to Mason so pissed at the girl, but really humans in general, that i left without even telling Mason what i had planned to. and i only had this photo to prove it.

what do those really awesome tee shirts that cheesy grandparents wear say? something like: "i went to meet Mason Jennings and all i got was this lousy photograph". yes, that's it.

Mason's website: www.masonjennings.com

Mason's myspace

Mason's latest album: In the Ever -- AWESOME album