Music Friday: Lauv Wears This Bracelet to Preserve the Memories of a Love That Got Away

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fresh songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, 24-year-old Lauv wears a special piece of jewelry to preserve the memories of a love that got away in his 2018 release, "Bracelet."

In the intensely personal song that draws on his experiences as a music tech major at New York University, Lauv (whose birth name is Ari Leff) recounts a bad breakup that left him with a bracelet and wounded heart.

He sings, "I used to have you, now I have this bracelet / I used to have you, now I have this bracelet / I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it / Until I don’t need to / Until I don’t need you / All I know is I can’t face it."

Later in the song, he wonders whether he should "toss" the bracelet because he doesn't want to keep her figuratively wrapped around his wrist. But, the answer is always "No." The bracelet preserves the memories of their love and he wakes up each morning missing her even more.

"Bracelet" appears as the 15th track of Lauv's 2018 album, I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist). He subtitled the album "The Playlist" because he treated it as a work in progress, with new songs added periodically.

"This is my life, it’s a playlist," he told Billboard magazine. "It’s an ongoing thing where I’m piecing together this chapter of my life when I was in New York, in my first serious relationship, trying to figure myself out. Like, here it is. And I’ve been building upon it just naturally."

Lauv was born in San Francisco in 1994. His mother was of Latvian descent, so to honor her he took on the stage name "Lauv," which mean "lion" in Latvian. Not coincidentally, Lauv's given name, "Ari," means "lion" in Hebrew. His zodiac sign is Leo.

Interested in music at a young age, Lauv took piano and viola lessons before favoring the guitar at the age of 11. He played in several bands in high school and eventually enrolled at NYU as a music technology major. His music writing style was heavily influenced by a Paul Simon interview, during which the legendary singer-songwriter revealed why, as an artist, it is important to get in touch with one's innermost feelings. An emotional breakup in 2014 set Lauv's creative juices flowing.

Upon graduation, Lauv was signed by publishing company Prescription Songs. In 2015, he released his debut EP, Lost in the Light. By 2017, he was touring with Ed Sheeran.

Please check out the official audio track of Lauv performing "Bracelet." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Bracelet"
Written and performed by Lauv.

Didn’t know what I wanted
I’ll admit that
Still don’t know what I wanted
I’ll be honest, I’m not ready to let you go

I walk down memory lane late at night
I end up losing my way every time
I wake up missing you more
Oh why did I say goodbye?

I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you
All I know is I can’t face it
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you

Anyway I could toss it
I’ll admit that
That don’t mean that I need to keep you wrapped around my wrist
Oh no

I walk down memory lane late at night
I end up losing my way every time
I wake up missing you more
Oh why did I say goodbye

I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you
All I know is I can’t face it
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you

And another day is passing by
Oh I still need you
And another day is passing by
Oh I still need you
All of these Melatonin tears I cry
Oh I still need you
Oh I still need you

I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you
All I know is I can’t face it
I used to have you, now I have this bracelet
I let you go but baby I’m gonna wear it
Until I don’t need to
Until I don’t need you
I walk down memory lane late at night
I end up losing my way every time
I wake up missing you more
Oh is it goodbye

(Bye, Bye, Bye, Bye)
Missing you more oh why?

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Emmy Winner Proposes During Live Broadcast With a Ring 'More Valuable Than The Hope Diamond'

To director Glenn Weiss, the simple gold wedding band his dad placed on his mom's finger 67 years ago is "more valuable than The Hope Diamond" — a fact that grew ever more significant when the Emmy winner proposed to his girlfriend Jan Svendsen on stage while accepting his award for "Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special."

Weiss earned his Primetime Emmy for directing the Oscars ceremony on ABC, but what should have been a joyful speech started off as a melancholy acknowledgement of his mom's passing only two weeks ago.

“Part of my heart is broken," he said. "I don’t think it will ever be repaired. But she’s in me and she always will be.”

But, then Weiss told the audience and millions of viewers at home that his mom always believed in finding the sunshine, and that Svendsen was the sunshine of his life.

“And Mom was right. Don’t ever let go of your sunshine," he said, spying Svendsen in the crowd. "You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife.”

Cameras zoomed in on Svendsen's priceless reaction as the word "wife" left his lips.

Attendees of the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles could sense something momentous was about to happen. And they were right.

Svendsen was ushered up to the stage, where Weiss started his marriage proposal by describing the significance of the ring.

“Jan, I want to put this ring that my mom wore on your finger in front of all these people and in front of my mom and your parents watching from above," he said. "Will you marry me?”

Of course, she said, "Yes."

In a backstage interview, Weiss described the ring in more detail and the sensation of having it in his pocket in the lead-up to the awards ceremony.

"It's not a diamond ring," Weiss clarified. "It's my mom's wedding ring, which, to me, is more valuable than The Hope Diamond."

"Walking around on the red carpet like nothing's happening with this thing sitting in my pocket was a nerve-racking experience," he continued. "It was such a valuable thing sitting right here, but now it's where it belongs."

Svendsen said that she had no idea that a marriage proposal was about to go down.

She stated: “I really hoped he was going to dedicate the award to his mother, and he did, and then some.”

Weiss and Svendsen met in 2001 and have worked on awards shows together for about 10 years.

Check out the clip of Weiss's proposal. The action starts at the 1:30 mark.

Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com/Television Academy, YouTube.com/Variety.

Italian Archaeologists Discover Hundreds of Roman Gold Coins Dating Back 1,500 Years

Archaeologists working in the basement of a demolished theater in Northern Italy recently unearthed a soapstone jar literally bursting with Roman gold coins dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The pristine coins were pulled from the site of the former Cressoni theater, which is located in Como, near the Swiss border.

Hundreds of coins bearing the engravings of emperors Honorius, Valentinian III, Leon I, Antonio and Libio Severo were found stacked neatly in the two-handled jar called an amphora. The newest of the coins was minted in 474 AD.

"We are talking about an exceptional discovery," local archaeology superintendent Luca Rinaldi told the Times of London. The superintendent couldn't guess what the coins might be worth, stating, instead, that their value was "inestimable."

The coins were sent to a restoration laboratory in Milan, where archaeologists, restorers and numismatists will try to piece together the story behind the exciting discovery.

For now, archaeologists believe the jar of gold coins had been hidden for safekeeping.

The jar was "buried it in such a way that in case of danger they could go and retrieve it," Maria Grazia Facchinetti, an expert in rare coins, told CNN. "They were stacked in rolls similar to those seen in the bank today."

Due to the orderly way in which the coins were placed in the jar, Facchinetti believes the owner of the hoard was not a private person.

"Rather it could be a public bank or deposit," she said.

The Cressoni theater had been shuttered in 1997, and the recent coin discovery took place while the property was being developed into residential apartments, according to Newsweek.

"We do not yet know in detail the historical and cultural significance of the find," Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli said in a press release. "But that area is proving to be a real treasure for our archaeology. This discovery fills me with pride."

Credits: Photos courtesy of MiBAC (Italy's Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities).