Been a while. Now that summer's over, I think I'll start this baby back up again. Here's some Bombay Bicycle Club and Alt-J. Go on, just try to listen to "Shuffle" without tapping your foot or bobbing your head. Just in case that song leaves you feeling a little too upbeat, I next present "Something Good." According to The Guardian, it's about "the death of a matador as an analogy for the slow mending of a broken heart through fun distractions." Womp womp.
Saw BBC this summer with roomie Rachel, who introduced me to this band. These guys were there too:
New Mumford! New Mumford! New Mumford!
Kind of reminds me of Coldplay's "Kingdom Come".
And then let's have some Shearwater.
Meanwhile, I'm sickie in bed for the evening, apparently having swallowed ten flaming knives last night, or so it feels in my throat. Simultaneously developed what appears to be a case of mini hives all over my arms. Various opinions offered (from no medical professionals, of course): sun allergy, chlorine allergy, perfume allergy, grass allergy. Really, who knows from whence my baby bumpies have materialized, but if any of those suggestions are correct, I'm not ever meant to venture outdoors or get wet. Both things I generally try to avoid, so fine by me.
The Milo Greene album fiiiinally came out today. Obvi I purchased at midnight and have been listening ever since. My fave from this album will always be "1957", particularly the acoustic version I posted long long ago, but "Don't You Give Up On Me" is a new favorite as well. Perfect mellow summer jam that will be filling my ears for a while. Another summer song I'm loving is "California Feeling" by A B & the Sea. Twinge of melancholy in this one...both of them, for that matter...just how I seem to like my songs, I guess.
Guys. Can I just say that I miss California? A lot? I've been on the east coast since I was an 18 year old kid, and I love, love, love it, but I am DYING to get myself back to L.A. as soon as possible. Who knows what the next few months or year will bring, but I am definitely on the lookout for opportunities that will get me back to my world over there. Cross your fingers for me please! #operationbringmilanhome
The coworker in the office next to mine is probably so sick of hearing these songs....
The first is "Love Love Love" by Of Monsters and Men. I love the uncomfortable, pregnant pause in the middle -- fill it with all the things you know I meant to say, okay blue eyed guy?
And then there's "Youth" by Foxes. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.
Good evening. Here's "Good Morning (Pink Ganter Remix)" by William Fitzsimmons and "Girls Like You" by The Naked and Famous. My brain is a little frazzled from the last week of birthday celebrating (first Michelle, then Domineau, then me me meee), but these songs have been filling my ears nonstop. Semi-related: Celebrating my last days of being 23, I also very cheesily listened to Jimmy Eat World's "23" about a million times this weekend. (I salute the poor soul who was forced to blare it on repeat in his car on our date night.) It's a good song on its own, but it also kind of fit my year a little too perfectly. Que dramatic, no? Anyway, have searched in vain for a similarly fitting song about being 24, but such a tune seems not to exist. Can someone write me one? K thanks. In the meantime, have declared "Good Morning" to be my anthem for this year. Sweet, simple, and happy...just what any little girl's 24th* year should be. :) Love to you all from this 24 2/365 year old.
Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close" and Jake Owen's "Alone With You" aren't exactly complementary, thematically or aurally...yet here they are in all their glory, two songs that have been filling my ears lately. Everyone can relate to at least one of them, right? The first is the closest I get to techno (i.e. not very), the second is pretty standard country fare. I know I'm from L.A., but country is probably the genre I love and listen to the most. I blame my myriad of nannies from bizarre places like Utah or Idaho or Colorado. I was brainwashed, I tell you! Brainwashed!
The first is from Taylor Berrett's new EP (congrats, Taylor! everyone go buy it immediately. you'll thank me.) and is a better version of Drake's "Take Care." Normally would prefer to post up a new artist's original song rather than a cover, but this is just so, so good, and, like, relevant or something...so I couldn't resist. All that really means is that you need to check out his EP to hear his very legit original stuff.
The second is by Girls and is just...perfect. I listened to it 18 times in a row last night without even realizing. Also, the time is currently 1234. The little things.
My favorite holiday, so a couple favorite lovie songs.
The first is a live cover of "Feels So Right," performed by country god Tim McGraw at his July 2010 concert in Bristow, VA. And then "Home," set to some recent iPhone footage.
I may post up a million more lovie songs and/or V-Day things today.
Snow Patrol's latest album, Fallen Empires, came out last Tuesday. I suppose you can make fun of me for liking them, but I'm not sure why you would because they're kind of really good. I once chilled with them back in the days when I had a life and met lots of musicians, and they were really nice and charmed me with their cute accents, so I've loved them all the more since then. The basic jists of each song, in snippets of their lyrics, are: "You've been up all night, and the night before...and your friends keep calling, worried sick...don't keel over now." and "Just some simple kindness...This is all I ever wanted from life." and "Your words have never left me. They're the prayer that I say every day."
Hm. Songs sound really stupid when you extract their lyrics. Maybe I'll condense it even more in my own words: "Get a hold of yourself girl," and "I just want a nice little life, and babies," and "Come back I love you."
...even more stupid.
So maybe just listen. On youtube, because the blasted videos won't play on my bloggy blog. Sorry.
Also, unrelated, but always relevant, some Kobe love for everyone:
Two songs, one new, one old. One just shared by a friend today (thanks Wendy!), one an all time Milan favorite that I've loved for years and have had on repeat for the last couple of weeks. "Lost and Found" is sweet and sad and pretty...you know, my fave...and isn't completely irrelevant (hence the friend recommendation, I suppose...). Meanwhile, "To Be With You" just never gets old, even when I'm listening to it for the 13th time in a row. Agreed? Agreed.
***
This is kind of a lazy Two Tunes Tuesday, but I'm basically dead. I went to bed at 6 a.m. this morning after spending hours editing a certain mister's business school application essays, only to lose some key edits in a freak 4 a.m. computer crash. Luckily, I was able to remember them all and work them back in...just in time for a 5 a.m. computer crash! Cobbled the essay back together again...and then I crashed, finally, at 6 a.m. to the sounds of my early rising roommates getting ready for the day. Two hours later, woke up and dragged my body to work. Worked on more of the essays throughout the day and tonight. I'm pretty sure I can now say that I've applied to business school too...will make it easier when I actually do apply for myself (next year maybe?!?)
The Sexisters are back with a vengeance! Over the holiday, unbeknownst to me, Kelly (slash Ayrten--she's currently having an identity crisis) and Mathis recorded this little Jack Johnson cover of "Angel", dedicated to me. Appropriate. I have the best little sisters...aren't they adorbs? And doesn't Kell Bell have the prettiest voice? Yes. (I may have cried when I listened for the first time. And the second.)
And THEN...**drumroll**...I present to you my internet debut, accompanying Kelly to Sara Bareilles' "Breathe Again", an, um, upbeat, happy little ditty. Try not to laugh too hard at my mediocre piano performance, k? Focus on the pretty little sister next to me. [Note: Welp. Hours later, I've realized that when I uploaded the videos to YouTube, her face was basically cut out. Sorry, Kel. Seems like something I'd do on purpose, but I promise I didn't. This time. mwahaha] And then...scroll down. If you dare.
The blooper reel! Basically we think we're hilarious...these are all of our failed attempts at recording the above video. Watch for my jazz hands, a creepy Kelly, and Mom getting mad at me for no reason. Literally.
Presenting two versions of my all time favorite Christmas song, Last Christmas, originally by Wham, but here by Florence and the Machine (an amazing, amazing rendition shared by Blake) and Jimmy Eat world for the emo 2000s kid in all of us. I've always sworn by the J.E.W. one, but this Florence cover may be my new favorite...you decide. I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye...
Guys. Two Tunes Tuesday is like the one constant in my life (Literally. My life is unrecognizable to me these days. I don't even really sleep or eat anymore.) and I missed it! I assume you're all just as devastated as I am... Anyway, these are two pretty girl voices. The first is a short little Cillie Barnes song about a hill that I first heard a couple months ago, and the second is a really sweet, simple acoustic cover of Kings of Leon's "Knocked Up", by Lykke Li (original here). Listen to both. And enjoy. I command you.
Also, this is a different, equally awesome version of her cover that samples the original KOL track. Love love love.
I don't know what your rules are, but I do NOT have a strict no-Christmas-music-before-X-date policy. I listen to Christmas music year round, as it is always appropriate to be merry and bright. But I'm quite sensitive and considerate, so have restrained myself from posting any such tunes here until now, after Thanksgiving and well into the Starbucks red cup season. This first song is a beauuutiful Christmas hymn sung by Vocal Point, the BYU male a cappella ensemble (you may have seen them dominating this season of NBC's The Sing Off...). I heard it for the first time this weekend, when Vocal Point spent an afternoon at my house, chilling with the fam, eating lunch, cleaning up our kitchen, giving us a private little concert in our living room...you know, normal stuff. Anyway, they sang this song and I *may* have fallen just a teensy bit in love with the lead (though he was already a favorite from the start of the show). Girls (and everyone else, really), I dare you to watch this and not swoon. Seriously. Go ahead. Try.
Told ya you wouldn't make it out alive.
And then...there's this. A classic oldie, and a favorite of mine. It's excellent. And fitting, don't you think?
