playlist

I'm back with another playlist! At this point, I think my blog has unintentionally become a music blog, which I suppose I should've seen as a potentiality from its conception. However I am not willing to declare it so, as I have roughly four rolls of film and three disposables from forever ago that I haven't developed and I need a space to share them. And where else would I pen juicy stories about life at my desk and the rare occasions I leave it? Journals don't work for me. I need the attention this blog receives (ok, the supposition of attention it generates). And most importantly, what would you do without my eloquent blathering? So, let's continue to classify what we have here a 'lifestyle blog'. Especially because this upcoming week arrives with the potential of a long overdue recollection of the 6+ months I've been absent from here (a catch up post!!). Maybe. Or I could just make a list of all of my dream shoes instead. We'll see what happens. 

Back to music. Shockingly, I didn't get a chance to put together a playlist for the earlier portion of May, so this will have to do for the whole month. I had a tough time deciding the order of these songs which doesn't happen very often, but I ended up with a pretty darn smooth-flowing list. So listen to it in order if you can!

    may / part one + may / part two
    Where Do You Go / Bonny Doon
    Tricky / Born Ruffians
    New Day Tonight / Michael Rault
    Farther Away / Sam Valdez
    Babysitter / The Ruminaters
    Fox / Spooky Mansion
    You, Forever / Sam Evian
    Message Erased / Deeper
    Canyon / The Echocentrics (feat. Alex Mass & Jazz Mills)
    You and Your Knife / The Buttertones
    Name on a Matchbook / Springtime Carnivore
    Far East Man / George Harrison
    Me Myself / Las Rosas
    Fool / Molly Burch
    Tracy Had a Hard Day Sunday / The Clientele 
    Who's to Blame / Good Morning
    In A Mirror / Born Ruffians

Yes, there are two Born Ruffians songs because they're my favorite band and because I saw them last week. It was the best. show. I've. ever. been. to. This really should be written in all caps and in bold (heavy emphasis on best. show. ever.), but I'll reserve that kind of excitement exclusively for twitter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this post and playlist and poster. On the topic of the poster, lovely typeface Savate by Wech, is from the Velvetyne foundry.

P.S. I was racing against my mouse's battery life and I lost. It died and now I have to use the arrow keys on the keyboard and it's really challenging. I will never forgive Apple for not coming up with a mouse that can charge WHILE you use it, but that's ok. Enjoy your memorial day weekend! Steal the aux cord from your relatives and play this playlist. They're guaranteed to love it. :) xx 

playlist

April: Week 4

I Need Ya | Born Ruffians

It Could Be So | Born Ruffians

Quiet Day | Fort Lean

I Belong to You | Part Time

Make It Easy | Little Fevers

Air Supply | Sweet Trip

Cold World | Suzie

Carnival | Parks, Squares, and Alleys

I'm Awake | The Fresh & Onlys

Bobby Brown | The Soft Pack

In My Room | Del Sur

Fence | Soda Shop

I'm back with my usual excuse--"I didn't have time to write". I guess what I should be saying is: I neglected creating an opportunity to write in the midst of a very hectic, overloaded week. I began reflecting on this since about halfway through April. I realized without taking the time to write something down during the week, I began to dislike the words I was piecing together everywhere else. So yesterday, I sat down at the computer and typed until I felt happy again. I came up with a few lessons I learned from taking the time to write. If you want to check it out (as well as listen to another playlist), visit my sweet friend's blog here to read more; I think it will help you fall in love with writing again (or for the first time). And now, without further ado, my review of XTRA RUFF: 

The four song EP first plunges into "I Need Ya"--a song found on the 7" tucked into a secret pocket and hidden beside the deluxe RUFF LP--which I first cried upon hearing in October. "I Need Ya" drenches your ears in a caress of loosely melancholic guitars and subtle, infrequent drumming followed by the gentle chanting of the three simple words etched in the title when the piece reaches its finish. A smooth transition brings listeners to the upbeat melody of "It Could Be So". Vocals remain soft, as if stretching the previous song, but begin to gain power along with the greater concentration of instrumentation. The second to last song, "You Loser", is also located on the special 7" and consequent to my first listen, became an absolute favourite of mine. Lalonde's quiet emotion and a tender guitar carry over from "It Could Be So", but morph into the yelps, riffs, and percussion which belong only to Born Ruffians at full force. With their sonic counterparts, the lyrics "we watch you suffer/breaking your heart for nothing" and "YOU LOSER" create a mild sweetness and abrupt distress which spiral together into one big masterpiece. XTRA RUFF unfortunately comes to an end after the fourth song (or after I begin crying). The final song is an alternate, breathtaking version of "Shade to Shade". The sound of a lone piano and bare vocals thunder in your head until about a minute of the emotion-filled endeavor remains and a hauntingly beautiful chorus enters and then exits. 

So, in other words, you should listen to XTRA RUFF and allow its rawness to sweep you off your feet. Hope you have a great weekend! I am going to try to post some free iPhone backgrounds I drew VERY soon, so keep your eye out for those. Until next time. xx

surprise! my dog decided to make an appearance...

denim top | Forever21

bolo tie | Forever21

jeans | Gap

shoes | Target

accent table | Target

record player | Urban Outfitters

playlist

April: Week 3

Ruby | Teen Commandments

Keep Your Tongue | BLØSH

You Loser | Born Ruffians

Wash Away | Teen Brains

Bad Water | Carroll

Ice Water | Lemonade

Young | Frankie Cosmos

Needle | Born Ruffians

Staurolite Stroll | Night Moves

I Will | Plastic Flowers

Love to Lie | Pageantry

Starling | Dana Swimmer

Million Things To Say | Part Time

Yes, I am well aware that it is Friday and that I have not posted my playlist yet. 'Tis sad. But the good news is, because of the wait, you'll get to hear a fresh one from Born Ruffians (who released a beautiful EP, XTRA RUFF, today). There are few things that make me cry, and listening to this EP turned out to be one of those things. I will do a review next week, but for now, go give it a listen. It's hard to find something this genuine these days.

///

Last Saturday, I was lucky enough to catch two of my favourites, Carroll and Night Moves, at a fairly small venue. And it was such a groovy time. I haven't had that much fun at a concert since December. It was a warm night (which was a stark contrast to the snowstorm that had raged the week before that night) and I was comfortable without the burden of a lumpy coat. Carroll started on the stage first and had the crowd dancing in no time; the entire set was dreamy and dripping with psychedelic undertones. Night Moves appeared next and flooded the room with an atmosphere belonging to the '70s. Once again, everyone was moving. The boys wowed the crowd with their special brand of psychedelic/folksy rock. Long story short, it was a magical night and I danced a. lot. Like, I was actually tired on the way home. Check out Carroll's self-titled album here and Night Moves' new album, Pennied Days, here. 

playlist + a little concert review

December: Week 2

Kurt Vonnegut | Born Ruffians

Indigo Puff | Sundara Karma

Bent Out of Shape | Young Rival

Sleeping Light | EL VY

Forget It | Blood Orange

Too Late To Say Goodbye | Cage the Elephant

Diplomat's Son | Vampire Weekend

Money | The Drums

Welcome To Japan | The Strokes

Wetsuit | The Vaccines

This week's playlist brings with it many memories. I added quite a few songs that I listened to constantly a few years ago (Kurt Vonnegut, Forget It, Diplomat's Son, Money, and Wetsuit). Time seriously flies by. But the thing is, I did not grow weary of any of these gems; even today, I enjoy listening to them just as much as I did then. Especially Kurt Vonnegut... and the entire album--"Red, Yellow & Blue"--that it belongs to. Which brings me to the next portion of this post: a little concert review.

So, finally, after all of these years (I think it's been almost seven, now) I was able to see my favourite band, Born Ruffians, in concert. I barely even remember how I came across them but I did, and ever since then, they have been my favourite band. When I first listened to "Red, Yellow & Blue" I was mesmerized. It was incomparable to everything else that I had heard up to that point. Their sound was completely fresh and reviving. Frontman Luke Lalonde's voice is full of suprises--shrills and shouts and sudden bursts of angry tension--which pair incredibly well with outstanding, yet tiny guitar riffs, bass, and drums. Though a seemingly simple setup of three (for the first two albums), the boys did not at all seem to have an absence of sound in any crack or crevice. And that's what drew me to their music. It was full of life. It was full of emotion. It was, well, unique and imperfect in the best way possible. Despite some time passing and a (great) additional member (as well as a new drummer), this feeling has remained consistent for all four of their LPs. I never tire of them. I am always craving more. I could go on and on and on (hey, that's a song from "Ruff"), but I'll stop there and let you listen for yourself. 

Anyway, I was beyond exhausted on Tuesday night last week (the previous week had been pretty rough... "Ruff") but I drove down to Lincoln Hall and waited anxiously, regardless. After all, I had bought my tickets in July and I'd been waiting for this ever since I discovered "R, Y, & B". Young Rival, another great band, played prior to them; I absolutely adored their set, but I'll save that for another day. Born Ruffians opened up with my favourite, Kurt Vonnegut (the first song from my playlist) filling the room with that shrieky energy that only they possess, before plunging into Ocean's Deep. To be honest, all the songs chosen were infectious and (definitely) crowd-pleasers, just as I had expected. The room was jumping and alive. This is always partially due to the members of the audience, but also partially on the shoulders of the band. Born Ruffians bear a kind of confident, but not overtly proud disposition that draws the audience in within an instant and nearly pushes everybody around to move. They played fifteen, diverse songs plus one more, all satisfying for the crowd and perfectly encapsulating every emotion possible. Quite a few brought on a sense of nostalgia for me, heightening the greatness of the show. It ended too soon (although in reality, it was a pretty lengthy set) and I was lucky enough to snag a set list. If you ever have a chance to see them, go. You will not regret it. xx

P.S. I made a playlist of the songs they played that night, if anyone is interested. 

Born Ruffians at Lincoln Hall

Ocean's Deep 

Oh Cecilia (this one isn't on Spotify)

Stupid Dream

Badonkadonkey

(Eat Shit) We Did It

When Things Get Pointless I Roll Away

& On & On & On

Retard Canard

Little Garçon

Don't Live Up

Let Me Get It Out

I Need A Life

Needle

We Made It

Hummingbird