recent happenings

last week we celebrated my roommate coworker friend Natty's (best terrible nickname ever) birthday. the Super Crew went to Social Kitchen for what seemed like was going to be a pretty tame night. but after rounds of shots magically appeared (i'm blaming you, Edgar) we got to know each other maybe too much (who's your favorite tech? oh, and also what's your number? how the eff did that happen? p.s. we all think you're lying, Tan! good times, friends!

i'm pretty sure it's okay that Ruby photobomb's any of Natgar's pictures considering she's Edgar's favorite.

wtf Tan, your head looks like a shrunken head next to these guys.

Uyen is the reason we ever get kicked out of places due to the high frequency of her voice whilst intoxicated. good thing Ron has the hookup and we'll never get kicked out of there.

Adrian made it! 

coffee crunch cake from Yasukochis. the best! i think she wished for the Niners to win, but that turned out to be a no go. 

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saw Muse for the fourth time and they still kick as much ass as the first time. their concerts are like a cracked out, thoughtfully orchestrated light show that blows minds. when i told Kris that she said "clearly you've never been to a rave," which i am happy to say i have indeed not been. and i'm gonna go on a whim and say that the movement and coordination between light, stage and music is much more thought out than that of a rave. aside from that, Matt Bellamy's voice is always on point and oh so very unique. while i'm not loving newer Muse music (although Madness is a pretty great song), the old stuff still ranks among my favorite music. 

hope you all had a good weekend! we didn't win the Super Bowl but that was a hell of a game, right??

anytime songs

hi! so i've compiled a short list of songs that i can listen to at any time of day, during any type of mood, and on repeat forever and ever and ever after that. i just love these songs and never tire of them. i like most genres of music, but there are only a few songs that you can listen to when you're elated, upset, excited as well as sorrowful. i would say all of these songs can pretty much be categorized under "easy listening" or "coffee house" music. well, aside from Suzie. that song is a little more upbeat but one that i am in love with. my reason for making this list is because sometimes i get lazy and it's nice that there's an easily accessible list here with links to the videos. so you're very welcome, Self, for doing this for future reference.

Vertical Hoizon- Everything You Want
Muse- Starlight
Lifehouse- All In All
Boy Kill Boy- Suzie
Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition
One Republic- Secrets
One Republic- Good Life
Kings of Leon- Use Somebody
The Shins- Phantom Limb
Coldplay- Lost
Phillip Phillips- Home
Maroon 5- Daylight
Incubus- Stellar
The Fray- Over My Head

introducing Yuna

so the other day my cousin and i went to the Great American Music Hall to see a soulful artist she likes named Allen Stone. he's pretty great. an odd looking white guy with funky taste in clothing and an awesome voice. and while he headlined the show and killed it with the crowd, my favorite act of the night was a Malaysian woman named Yuna. within the first two lyric lines to  her song, Lullabies, i knew i liked her. her voice is so soothing and easy. her music is something i can listen to daily. in fact, it's all i've listened to since i saw her on sunday. also, she's super cute and fashionable. when i went up to her booth to buy the cd, i could tell she was pretty humble and just genuinely happy to be doing what she loves. apparently she's big in Malaysia already but is trying to make it here in America. i'm so in love with her. like seriously. nearly obsessed. how much? obsessed enough that the other day i watched a youtube video of her doing a tutorial on how to put on head wraps in Malaysian. you think i'm kidding, but i'm not. she's amazing. so, please take the time to listen to her music and see if you enjoy her as much as i do.

discovering new music with my "hot shit" cousin

this should make you fall in love with her pretty hard. she does Frank Ocean's Thinkin Bout You.

she also does her own version of Nirvana's Come As You Are.

are you googly eyed yet? well here's one of her own songs. i love it!!! this is Decorate.

Rock The Bells

Redman, lifted into the crowd.

i'm not sure what it is about me, but the moment i find myself with a bit of free time, i do this really tiring thing where i fill up my schedule so that there's no room for lounging or catching up on tv. this past weekend i initially had no plans and thought to myself "hmm...that's weird," but welcomed the idea of doing a whole lot of nothing for a couple of days. then during one very short conversation with a friend, the notion of chillin' on a couch was thrown out the window and by 4pm friday afternoon i had a ticket to Rock The Bells.

what does this entail? Rock The Bells is a two day hip-hop festival. that means huge crowds. a lot of rap. a lot of Humbolt County grown haze. which means a lot of snacks. as well as a lot of time laying out on a blanket. and while this all sounds like it's worthy of the category "chill-things-to-do," i assure you, it's tiring as all hell. i mean, dancing was absolutely involved, along with a lot of head bobbing and thrown deuces in the air. it's a wonder how my arm is still attached to it's socket and my neck isn't sore. oh....that sounds bad. anyhow, ten-ish hours of alla that for two days in a row is sort of exhausting. 

Smart Food white cheddar popcorn and good ol' Cracker Jacks never tasted so good! that salty sweet goodness hit the spot. this, of course, is amongst a ton of other snacks such as Gushers, Fruit by the Foot, Peachie O's and sandwiches. all very necessary.

so the line-up for this gig was pretty damn awesome. we kept it old school and focused on the stuff i'm used to hearing. i sorta stopped listening to a lot of hip-hop half way through high school so i couldn't even tell you what track is Kid Cudi's or whether or not i like Tyga. on day 1 we saw Jadakiss, Salt-N-Pepa, DMX, Wu Block, a couple of songs from J Cole, Ice Cube and Redman/Method Man. day 2 consisted of Mix Master Mike, Slick Rick, Supernatural, Common, Atmosphere, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Nas.

i'm sort of dumbfounded about Salt-N-Pepa not singing Let's Talk About Sex. it seems like a song they'd have to perform, but i guess that's not the case. i didn't know who Supernatural was prior to sunday, so i was surprised at what a crazy good freestyler he is. he asked the audience to hand him random things and he'd put it in his rap. i'm not really sure how someone would work Cheez-its into lyrics off the top of their head but he made it happen with ease. who i really came to see though was Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. i remember listening to the radio on my old ass boom box late at night waiting for Crossroads, First of the Month, or Days of Our Lives to come on so that i could record the songs on mixtapes. of course i'd only keep them on cassette tapes until i finally got my hands on their singles. remember those? damn, the good ol' days. 

that's a good way to sum up what Rock the Bells was. it brought me back to the good ol' days. 

*somehow i don't have any pictures of myself or the people i was with. errrr i guess i don't have very many pictures at all. that's not typical of me. i'm not sure how that happened. oh wait, yeah i do.

Casual

girls, drop everything you're doing! you are about to eat this shit up! i'm not even kidding! just watch the trailer and try to tell me you don't need to watch this series today. go ahead! i'll wait and give you 2 minutes and 47 seconds.....can't, can ya? if you've got a couple hours, start watching this series of mini episodes right NOW! you won't be disappointed, i promise! and guys, if you're of the awesome sensitive variety (no, i take that back. an appropriate amount of sensitivity is the same as awesome. so if you're of the awesome variety...) you might actually like this too. i think every person can find something truly genuine and relatable to their own lives in this series.

if you are into sappy things, this is for you. it's definitely for me. this is a story about a guy and a girl. the struggles they go through and the meaning behind timing and the idea that some things don't occur just by happenstance. it's about people crossing each others lives for a reason.

not only is the storyline intriguing and the writing funny, but the production is awesome. the way in which they chose to shoot the series makes the relationship between the characters seem truly inartificial. the music throughout is perfect and engaging. there's a song at the end of the first season called Temporary Friend by Emma Louise which is sort of beautiful if you ask me. i think most people have been in a situation in which that song addresses and it's hard not to feel something when you listen to it. plus, the woman has a great voice. oh, and little touches as simple as naming the characters That Guy and That Girl make it even more intriguing. never knowing their names gives you the idea that this could be the story of any man and woman. i love that kinda stuff.

i fell in love with this series immediately and spent a couple hours watching it completely through. and now that i've finished it and have written a blog post about it, i pretty much want to do nothing more than watch it again. do yourselves a favor and press "play!"

here is the link to your new found hapiness: Casual : The Series
also, here is Temporary Friend.

i love these girls...but not in a creepy pedophilia type way

so about fifteen minutes ago my friend Jon sent me a link to the first video you see below. within the first five seconds of the song i fell in love! meet Lennon and Maisy stella. this girl's vocals are amazing for a 12 yr. old. she's got a great quality in her voice. her sister is only 8 and she's effing awesome as well. i sort of wish i were their older sister so that i could brag about them rather than seeming like a creepster, but le sigh, i am not white. 

thanks, Jon, for not disappointing me with a link to something stupid!!

Jason Mraz' "I Won't Give Up"

Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend"

holy hell can't stop listening to them!!