Ocean (John Butler Trio)

F L O R I D A
Spring break is here. And that means one thing: home. My home is located on the northeast coast of Florida, part of Jacksonville, a small beach town called Ponte Vedra Beach. I live approximately 4 minutes and 45 seconds from the Atlantic Ocean. At night I can hear the waves crashing from my house, and living here in New Orleans, you don't really get that. I was out late one night wandering New Orleans with some friends and I noticed that I couldn't hear crickets or the ocean waves. It was then that I began to be homesick. Growing up you don't really realize how the area you live in affects your life. Shwayze is pretty accurate in his description of girls brought up by the beach, "Girls by the sea, dress like hippies. And write love beads and go skinny dippin'. PV (Ponte Vedra) is a gorgeous place with the Atlantic on the east and the St. Johns River on the west. We're completely surrounded by water and I wouldn't want it any other way. Besides the beach/river, the other major association with PV is golf (I live on a golf course). Home of the Players Championship, the TPC (The Players Championship) is the Mardi Gras of PV - traffic is a mess, people everywhere, people drinking everywhere, school gets out early, etc. My favorite thing to do at TPC is sit on the 17th hole (see below), layout, get a tan, take a nap while golfers like Tiger Woods, VJ Singh, and Phil Mickelson walk on by. Oh, and to give you an idea of exactly how big golf is where I live, when Tiger Woods gave his first apology speech to the public, where did he give it....Ponte Vedra Beach. But besides golf, PV has the ocean. As my last summer in PV came dwindling down, I realized how much I took where I lived all my life for granted. I use to hate PV cause the second night fell, there was nothing to do. Everything closes at 9pm except for Walgreens (every PV kid has their infamous Walgreens stories). But just look at the pictures next to what I'm writing, all those places are from Ponte Vedra, and I LIVE THERE! I can't even believe it. The beach has always been something more to me than a body of water. It was a place of refuge, a place to see mother nature at her best and worst, a place to not give a care in the world. The picture to the left is the heart of PV. Like I said, water everywhere. I can't wait to be back. If you ever have the chance to come to Florida, please please come to Ponte Vedra Beach. It's beautiful, but quiet and I love every bit of it. Plus, if you've ever had a conversation with me, you know about Angie's Subs - that should give you enough incentive to come visit.








One of the many pastimes in PV is skim boarding. This was taken at one of our local beaches. The audio was suppose to be set to this



The Florida Playlist
This playlist has a lot of meaning behind it. The first song "Florida" by Diplo has the coolest intro. It's the sound I hear every night back in PV. From then on it's a series of typical beach anthems of my youth. Anyone from PV or a beach will completely understand this playlist. PV is located in Jacksonville which is home to Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, Yellowcard, and many other musicians. We also have a very large hardcore scene which I will admit I have been a part of and I do like them. Some songs are generalized to Florida specifically, like T-Pain (chuckle if you must). But overall this playlist epitomizes the place I like to call home.
P.S. the last song, is the last song for a reason. Enjoy






Roscoe Road At Night
I've said this before in one of my first posts, but I feel it appropriate to repeat myself. It's my favorite playlist I've ever made and I highly recommend listening to it whether you're driving at night, trying to fall asleep, or just need some quiet tunes to calm you down. Back in Florida, there's one long straight road called Roscoe with trees towering over passing cars and driving it at night, with my cruise control on while listening to this playlist, is my favorite thing to do back home. If you ever get the chance to come to PV, I'll take you on the Roscoe Road at night adventure. The only word to describe it is: magical.



P.S. The last song on this playlist is my favorite song in the whole world.

In My Time Of Dying (Led Zeppelin)

The Blues. Where to even begin. Words and sounds of the devil, roots of rock'n'roll, and in the words of the great Howlin Wolf, "When you ain't got no money, you got the blues" and "anytime you thinkin' evil, you got the blues". The blues are simply cries of shared self victimization. Relentless rhythms repeat the chants of sorrow, and the pity of a lost soul many times over. From the fathers of the blues Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, and Albert King to the innovators like Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The White Stripes, The Black Keys and The Raconteurs. When you listen to the blues, you are listening to the deep pit of these musicians yelling for help. You are listening to their trials and tribulations, you're listening to their soul. Jimi Hendrix once said "The blues are easy to play, but hard to feel". Every genre of music has their own interpretation of the blues. The blues began as a feeling and gravitated towards a style that is, in my opinion, the biggest influence on music today. Not a single band, not a single one, can say the were not influenced by the blues. My favorite band without hesitation is Led Zeppelin (my love for them is beyond any possible human comprehension), so it would be morally wrong for me to not appreciate the blues.Yesterday around the time the sun was setting, my friend and I went to the Mississippi River behind these train tracks, under trees and sat on the rocks as we watched the cargo ships pass by with the sunset behind them. In our ears were my headphones with "In My Time Of Dying" playing. My friend and I both agreed that to truly experience the blues or music for that matter, you have to experience what the song was originally written about. You can't sing the blues and have never gone through hardships. Any song, whether it be blues, rock'n'roll, rap, reggae, pop, you name it, the moment when you listen to a song and can ultimately relate to what the song is about, is when you've undoubtedly experienced that song to its fullest. Last night I finally understood the blues and being on the Mississippi River when that happened was no coincidence. Robert Johnson is my favorite blues player (it could have something to do with the countless Led Zeppelin songs influenced by his songs). King of the Delta Blues, some say he met the devil at a lonely crossroads at midnight and made a deal to sell his soul in return for becoming the greatest blues musician of all time. If that's the case, then I thank you Lucifer for doing so. Typically the blues are on my "it's time to cook" playlist, but now I listen to them at any given moment. It's inevitable that some of my favorite bands today The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and The Black Keys are heavily blues oriented. Keep in mind three of those bands are founded by Jack White, a man I would die to meet. Everything he does is golden. From his guitar riffs to his lyrics, I cannot get enough of him. He is the modern day Jimmy Page, the modern day Robert Johnson, he is the blues. Additionally, every song The Black Keys create is blues as well. The documentary/movie It Might Get Loud with Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge (why The Edge is on here, I don't know - I won't even begin to explain my disgust for U2), pretty much explains the blues: I love the intro/ending when Jack White creates his own guitar and starts playing "In My Time of Dying" - I can't explain what I feel when I watch that, but it's pure musical genius. Anyways, I'll leave you with possibly my favorite quote about the blues:
"If you don't dig the blues, you got a hole in your soul"
-- Albert King



The Playlist

Notice how there are bands like G.Love, Mofro, Iron & Wine, Bob Dylan, and more who all sing the blues. I'm adding more to this playlist as the day goes on - creating a blues playlist is a very slow process. Enjoy