I did a crazy and spontaneous thing Monday night: I up and took myself to see Coldplay at the Toyota Center for their Mylo Xyloto tour.
Don’t ask me what Mylo Xyloto means (the band has a hard time explaining it, too), but every time I hear the words Mylo Xyloto, I want to make the Mork and Mindy Na-Nu Nan-Nu gesture as if I am offering my salutations to some foreign entity!
Despite the odd name for an album, it is a keeper, and the concert was an amazing musical and visual experience. If you squint really hard, you can see the graffiti backdrop on stage.
And it reminded me of the graffiti wall we had at Make It University at International Quilt Festival/Houston a couple of years ago…
I like to think that lead singer Chris Martin and his band mates heard about the graffiti wall at International Quilt Festival/Houston, and decided that it was so fun and colorful, they needed to follow suit and feature graffiti for their album artwork. (See how trendsetting quilters can be?!)
Here’s a picture of Chris Martin’s piano with graffiti, perhaps the coolest piano I have ever seen. (And if you don’t know who Chris Martin is, he is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.)
Coldplay played a very solid set list, and for the encore, they surprised me by dimming the lights to total black, then reappearing just one aisle over from where I was sitting. I couldn’t stop laughing, I didn’t expect they would pop up so close to me!
And they played one of my very favorite songs of theirs, “Warning Sign.”
And, yes, I came home with my very own souvenir, a Mylo Xyloto t-shirt.
Speaking of music, did you know that we put out a quarterly FREE newsletter called Friends@Festival that is downloadable? In each issue, editor Rhianna Griffin patchworks together a sundry of quilt-y content, including interviews with quilt artists, favorite recipes of quilters, free projects and patterns, and yes, even things like music to quilt by. If you click the image below, you can see the edition that included some of my favorite songs to listen to while quilting. (And, hey, if you have a great idea for an article for Friends@Festival, reach out to Rhianna by emailing her at pubs2@quilts.com!)
So tell me, what kinds of things do you listen to when you quilt? Do you listen to tunes, a specific channel on satellite radio, or just the chirping of birds perched outside your studio window?
YES! So glad to see the Grateful Dead at the top of your playlist! My fav band ever. But Chris Martin’s keyboard is pretty darn cool, too.
I have a very ecletic music range, sometimes it is jazz others it is old rock 60-70’s, and then I also like classically music so I just decide each time I quilt and then select the music.
You wouldn’t believe what an old gal like me would listen to … well, maybe you would – anything Harry Connick, Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett – but then when I need more energy, I go to the soundtracks from The Banger Sisters, Dirty Dancing or Eddie and the Cruisers or a CD of a Dixieland group that we follow in New Orleans! Try them and expand your play list!
I usually listen to the sound of my machine and the birds outside. I used to listen to books on tape but then I would get so much into the book that I would stop quilting. However, cold play is at the top of my list for music!
When creating an art quilt and wanting to be improvisational with the process, I always listen to the Grateful Dead, Dick’s Pick #29. When piecing a quilt I usually shuffle my iPod which is heavily loaded with jam bands and rock and roll. I like your quilting playlist!
Cindy, I too love to listen to the Dead, Dick’s Pick! I think I will do that on the 4th!
when I am trying to creat, usually I am tuned out to everything in my office/studio. I only have the tv on for noise, but it does help. Mostly because it is right in the middle of the night when I do my best work and quite. During the day, I get interrupted and do not returned till later in the evening and late at nite. My Ipod is full, but I only get to listen to it while on a trip and catching up on emails. I sounds out my DH AM listening. Judith, Texas
First I just have to say, I really enjoy your posts Pokey! They are so diverse, from frogs, to Louie, to Coldplay, I appreciate them all. As for your question, I usually listen to Pandora in my studio, and I have, over a period of years, carefully crafted my stations. My pride and joy is my “Bowie” station, and next my “Bootsy Collins” station, which plays deep cuts from the 70’s funk and soul era. I love the Velvet Underground, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and Grace Jones, just to name a few. When I’m feeling mellow, I’ll rock Miles Davis or Charles Mingus.
I like your playlist, Shiela! Thanks for your kind words about the blog. 😉
It looks like your seats were great and you had a fabulous time! Yay Pokey! I have never been brave enough to go to a concert or movie all by myself – Oh wait, I lied! I went to a musical once by myself at an outdoor theater and it was hot and I wasn’t enjoying myself and I realized – NO ONE IS KEEPING ME HERE! So I left during intermission. It was nice to have that freedom.
I rarely listen to music when I create. I’m not sure why I don’t. I sometimes put the TV on for background noise but most of the time I enjoy the silence. I think it is because the house is so noisy when the family is home and so I enjoy quite when I can. I do remember needing music or a TV on all the time before I had children. It was comforting then. I think once we become empty nesters I might go back to that.
Great musings about the concert and some pretty eclectic ideas for listening while quilting. When piecing, I listen to books on tape from my library. When I need to concentrate, the birds are fine and so is the hum of my air conditioner when it is hot out. When it is too quiet, music from my iPod on shuffle provides a good background and lots of different selections from opera to Cold Play! Enjoy the music…