Friday, May 16, 2014
Sometimes I Want to Hide For 30 Years
Lately, I've been feeling a lot of stress. Which isn't so unusual in theory, given that I'm an American high school junior, but it's starting to feel a little overwhelming. I am currently preparing to audition for the highest level guitar class offered at my school, which I don't think I'm prepared for, which makes me feel like I can't do anything right and am totally inadequate. That, on top of all my AP exams and standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and oh yeah, prom, which is this Saturday, are really starting to get to me. I haven't cleaned my room in weeks, and it's giving me anxiety but I don't have time to clean it thoroughly the way I want to. My outfits and my hair and makeup are going to shit little by little every day, which just makes me feel great (insert a heavy dose of sarcasm here). I just tried to read an essay that I wrote MYSELF in French class, and I couldn't even get through it all without stumbling over the words. And I wrote the damn thing, what the hell is wrong with me? For the rest of the school year, I have one thing or another, (or multiple) to worry about every single day, and I don't know if I can get through it all without a few nervous breakdowns. Tonight, my family and I were going out to get frozen yogurt after my guitar concert, and I started crying because I couldn't stop thinking about how impressive and talented everyone else was and how I didn't measure up at all. I think everyone thinks I'm going insane, and maybe I am, but I can't help it. There is so much on my plate right now, and I don't know how I'm going to begin to get through it.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Tunes on Tunes
I am procrastinating homework. And one way I like to occupy myself is to blog, which I don't do often enough. I haven't made a post about music in a while, and I've been listening to a lot of new stuff lately that I want to share. If my writing at any point gets kind of loopy or incoherent, you'll have to forgive me because my room is currently OPPRESSIVELY HOT AND STUFFY.
Alrighty then. Here we go. :)
"Do It 2 Me" by Allstar Weekend - This song is so catchy, and even though it's obviously about sex, I don't really care. This entire album is full of catchy songs that I could literally listen to over and over. It's not new, but it's darn good!
"Chelsea" by The Summer Set - Again, not a new song, but SO GOOD. It's made even better by the fact that it was written for a girl named Chelsea, who happens to be Chelsea Kane from the show Baby Daddy, and she appeared in the music video, which I thought was especially cute. Then, when she was on Dancing With the Stars, they had to pick a sentimental song, and she chose this one. So cute, so cute. :)
"You're Not the One" by Sky Ferreira - I heard this song on Tumblr awhile ago, and I had saved a screenshot of it to remind myself that it was worth listening to again. When I found the screen shot, and listened to it to remember, I was justifiably surprised. I had always thought that Sky Ferreira made quirkier music, but this song is the perfect mix of bubblegum pop meets Marina and the Diamonds angst. I love it.
"I Blame Myself" by Sky Ferreira - As I was looking up the video for "You're Not the One" I stumbled upon the video for this song, and let me tell you, it is probably the epitome of "cool kid". It sounds like a song straight out of the 80's, (a decade I personally identify with for some unknown reason), heavy on the keyboard and synthesizers and it's just so cool and I love it. I so wish I had known about it, and Sky Ferreira, before I spent all my iTunes gift card money.
"God Only Knows" by MKTO - I first heard this song on YouTube after watching the music video for "Classic" and seeing the video for this song in the sidebar. The rhythm of the song is romantic, but dance-able, if you're into that (which I am), and the video is clever, to say the least.
"Girls Chase Boys" by Ingrid Michaelson - The first line in the song is "All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be." On top of that, the actual music which accompanies the lyrics is not gloomy at all, in fact it's lighthearted and head-bop-inducing. If that doesn't constitute endless replays, I don't know what will.
"Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea - I don't normally gravitate towards rap or hip-hop music at all, and at first, the only reason I bought this song was because Charli XCX's part was really cool. But after a whole week of listening to this song within a playlist of 10 songs, Iggy's rapping started to grow on me. It's entertaining and funky and cool, and I think I like it. :)
"Wild Heart" by The Vamps - Words cannot express how much I wish this band's debut album would be released in the US. This song is available on American iTunes. BUT THAT'S IT. It's not that they're some lyrically genius, musical masterminds, but their songs are really good as far as pop music goes. And I don't like being denied things because of the country I live in, like c'mon America, get your shit together. Please and thanks.
"I See Fire" by Peter Hollens - THIS SONG IS BEAUTIFUL. Ed Sheeran did a cover of it for The Hobbit soundtrack, and I heard a remixed version of that cover on Tumblr, so I looked it up on iTunes. This is (I think) the original version of the song. If you don't like slow songs, it won't even matter because you will love this song. It sounds like the kind of thing you would hear on the Scottish Highlands during a medieval war. It's powerful musically and lyrically and it gives me chills.
"Dernière Danse" by Indila - This is a French pop song that we listened to in French class throughout this past month for a song analysis assignment, and as soon as I heard it, I distinctly remember thinking "I am so going to buy this song." I fell in love. It's so poetic, if you know what the lyrics are saying, and even if you don't have a clue, you can still appreciate the fact that the song is arranged nearly perfectly.
"Disconnected" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I bought the physical copy of 5 Seconds of Summer's EP "She Looks So Perfect" from Target as soon as I could, and I couldn't have been happier about it. This song was a physical copy exclusive track, so I had no idea what I was in for (I had listened to the other tracks on YouTube before buying the CD, just to make sure it was worth it)(It was so worth it). Disconnected was co-written with Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer of another band I love, All Time Low, and you can hear his influence in the tone of the song. It works out perfectly though, because the All Time Low influence mixed with the 5SOS spin creates such an amazing song. The EP only has 4 songs on it, and it's all I listen to in the car. As I listen to it now, I feel like I should be driving.
"Heartache on the Big Screen" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I remember finding the leaked cut of this song on YouTube about a week before it actually came out, and being absolutely blown away. As soon as I heard it, I was so angry that I couldn't buy it immediately. It's one of those songs that you instantly know will be stuck in your head for days. I love it not only for that, but also for the clever extended analogy, referring to a relationship gone bad in terms of movies.
"She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer - This is the band's first single from the EP, and it is so much fun. From the beginning of the song, I find myself wanting to belt out every lyric. The video is also really cool, and kind of liberating because, while they have people in their underwear dancing throughout the video, they're not just stereotypical "pretty" people, they're people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and that's awesome. Oh yeah, and the lead singer's vibrato is TO DIE FOR.
"Magic" by Coldplay - All I'm going to say about this song is that if you can't picture this being played at your wedding, what's wrong with you?
"Don't Stop" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I'm sorry I'm including so many songs from this band.... Actually, I'm not sorry, because I think I love them, and I'm not apologizing for that because life is too short to apologize for the things you love. But anyway, this is the absolute newest song they've released, and it's only currently available for purchase everywhere but North America, which sucks, but at least they released the lyric video for it on their YouTube channel so the whole world can listen to it. Thank God, too, because that song is damn good. And again, the lead singer's vibrato makes me want to die and burst into tears and laugh until I cry because it is so SO good.
Alrighty then. Here we go. :)
"Do It 2 Me" by Allstar Weekend - This song is so catchy, and even though it's obviously about sex, I don't really care. This entire album is full of catchy songs that I could literally listen to over and over. It's not new, but it's darn good!
"Chelsea" by The Summer Set - Again, not a new song, but SO GOOD. It's made even better by the fact that it was written for a girl named Chelsea, who happens to be Chelsea Kane from the show Baby Daddy, and she appeared in the music video, which I thought was especially cute. Then, when she was on Dancing With the Stars, they had to pick a sentimental song, and she chose this one. So cute, so cute. :)
"You're Not the One" by Sky Ferreira - I heard this song on Tumblr awhile ago, and I had saved a screenshot of it to remind myself that it was worth listening to again. When I found the screen shot, and listened to it to remember, I was justifiably surprised. I had always thought that Sky Ferreira made quirkier music, but this song is the perfect mix of bubblegum pop meets Marina and the Diamonds angst. I love it.
"I Blame Myself" by Sky Ferreira - As I was looking up the video for "You're Not the One" I stumbled upon the video for this song, and let me tell you, it is probably the epitome of "cool kid". It sounds like a song straight out of the 80's, (a decade I personally identify with for some unknown reason), heavy on the keyboard and synthesizers and it's just so cool and I love it. I so wish I had known about it, and Sky Ferreira, before I spent all my iTunes gift card money.
"God Only Knows" by MKTO - I first heard this song on YouTube after watching the music video for "Classic" and seeing the video for this song in the sidebar. The rhythm of the song is romantic, but dance-able, if you're into that (which I am), and the video is clever, to say the least.
"Girls Chase Boys" by Ingrid Michaelson - The first line in the song is "All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be." On top of that, the actual music which accompanies the lyrics is not gloomy at all, in fact it's lighthearted and head-bop-inducing. If that doesn't constitute endless replays, I don't know what will.
"Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea - I don't normally gravitate towards rap or hip-hop music at all, and at first, the only reason I bought this song was because Charli XCX's part was really cool. But after a whole week of listening to this song within a playlist of 10 songs, Iggy's rapping started to grow on me. It's entertaining and funky and cool, and I think I like it. :)
"Wild Heart" by The Vamps - Words cannot express how much I wish this band's debut album would be released in the US. This song is available on American iTunes. BUT THAT'S IT. It's not that they're some lyrically genius, musical masterminds, but their songs are really good as far as pop music goes. And I don't like being denied things because of the country I live in, like c'mon America, get your shit together. Please and thanks.
"I See Fire" by Peter Hollens - THIS SONG IS BEAUTIFUL. Ed Sheeran did a cover of it for The Hobbit soundtrack, and I heard a remixed version of that cover on Tumblr, so I looked it up on iTunes. This is (I think) the original version of the song. If you don't like slow songs, it won't even matter because you will love this song. It sounds like the kind of thing you would hear on the Scottish Highlands during a medieval war. It's powerful musically and lyrically and it gives me chills.
"Dernière Danse" by Indila - This is a French pop song that we listened to in French class throughout this past month for a song analysis assignment, and as soon as I heard it, I distinctly remember thinking "I am so going to buy this song." I fell in love. It's so poetic, if you know what the lyrics are saying, and even if you don't have a clue, you can still appreciate the fact that the song is arranged nearly perfectly.
"Disconnected" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I bought the physical copy of 5 Seconds of Summer's EP "She Looks So Perfect" from Target as soon as I could, and I couldn't have been happier about it. This song was a physical copy exclusive track, so I had no idea what I was in for (I had listened to the other tracks on YouTube before buying the CD, just to make sure it was worth it)(It was so worth it). Disconnected was co-written with Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer of another band I love, All Time Low, and you can hear his influence in the tone of the song. It works out perfectly though, because the All Time Low influence mixed with the 5SOS spin creates such an amazing song. The EP only has 4 songs on it, and it's all I listen to in the car. As I listen to it now, I feel like I should be driving.
"Heartache on the Big Screen" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I remember finding the leaked cut of this song on YouTube about a week before it actually came out, and being absolutely blown away. As soon as I heard it, I was so angry that I couldn't buy it immediately. It's one of those songs that you instantly know will be stuck in your head for days. I love it not only for that, but also for the clever extended analogy, referring to a relationship gone bad in terms of movies.
"She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer - This is the band's first single from the EP, and it is so much fun. From the beginning of the song, I find myself wanting to belt out every lyric. The video is also really cool, and kind of liberating because, while they have people in their underwear dancing throughout the video, they're not just stereotypical "pretty" people, they're people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and that's awesome. Oh yeah, and the lead singer's vibrato is TO DIE FOR.
"Magic" by Coldplay - All I'm going to say about this song is that if you can't picture this being played at your wedding, what's wrong with you?
"Don't Stop" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I'm sorry I'm including so many songs from this band.... Actually, I'm not sorry, because I think I love them, and I'm not apologizing for that because life is too short to apologize for the things you love. But anyway, this is the absolute newest song they've released, and it's only currently available for purchase everywhere but North America, which sucks, but at least they released the lyric video for it on their YouTube channel so the whole world can listen to it. Thank God, too, because that song is damn good. And again, the lead singer's vibrato makes me want to die and burst into tears and laugh until I cry because it is so SO good.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Oppression in the Neo-Consumer Age
The older I get, the more I look around and see the injustices of modern society. I live in America, so I can only speak from an American perspective, but there is definitely something wrong going on here.
Recently, for my English class, we had to create an essay question in which we contemplated a controversial subject. One of my good friends' question was "How does dress coding in schools enforce rape culture?" And ever since then, it got me thinking about all the different ways sexism is perpetuated in our modern society. It's the underlying message in songs, advertisements, movies, television shows, and of course, clothing. The more I paid attention, the angrier I got. I bought a Glamour magazine, and one of the cover stories was about what bathing suits guys prefer girls to wear. It made me sick. Why does it matter what a guy thinks about my bathing suit if I feel good about it? Women should dress for themselves, not men, but that seems to be a fact we continually forget or ignore.
The reason I am writing this post today is because I was just made to change my clothes. By my parents. I came down wearing really cute red shorts with a 5 inch inseam that my mother bought me last spring, and white short-sleeved shirt from H&M. My dad saw me and told me I couldn't be dressed skimpier if I tried. I don't know what century he's living in, but it's like he hasn't looked around since the 80's. He honestly believes people don't dress any skimpier. And the worst part is my mom backed him up even though she bought me the shorts. So, because it's Mother's Day I changed to avoid conflict but not without an underlying resentment towards my parents. The skirt I put on instead does not go all the way to my knees but if I wear it low enough on my waist it seems to. The shorts offered better coverage overall, but they're shorter than the skirt so my parents had a problem with them.
It just makes me so angry that I still have to bend to the archaic ideals of my parents. The problem is that by enforcing such BS rules, we are no closer to achieving equality between men and women. If women have to continually watch out for what they're wearing in fear of men's reactions, we are no better than we were 50, 100, 150 years ago. And it makes me so angry.
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