I believe that we use music as bookmarks in the great big book of Life. Hearing a song has the power to take us back to one, solitary moment, enabling us to relive it again and again, if we wish to. And the emergence of iPods and mp3 players only makes those memories all the more accessible.
I attempted to create a list of my five favorite albums earlier. My attempt was proven futile when only one came to mind: Mae's "The Everglow". I love this album to pieces. It speaks volumes that this is the only CD I can repeatedly listen to from beginning to end and can still enjoy as if I barely ripped off the plastic cover and annoying security tape hours prior. It wins the title of Favorite Album, hands down.
But back to the topic at hand -- my songs of significance:
- "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. This song very quickly became our bandie anthem. Every time we were out and this came on, we'd stop whatever we were doing to burst out in song, much to the chagrin of onlookers. Or we'd be in the car when it would magically come onto the radio. We'd crank it up and just go all out. Laughing and singing and sharing a memory with one another, ending in a collective sigh as the last chord wafted through the air.
- "Guilty Pleasure" by Cobra Starship. Kelsea, Ben, Julian and I were en route to The Hat in Pasadena when this song came on. The music video has a very fun, very memorable dance scene (if you could even call it that) during the chorus, which we all did. At the same time. Without any previous planning. All while the people in surrounding cars stared, mouths agape at our teenage stupidity. Oh, my goodness. Good times. "If the world is ending, I'm throwing a party!"
- "Tisbury Lane" by Mae. Sheila and I were traipsing through Borders bookstore one day when she had me listen to this and I immediately fell in love. I'm almost positive this was the moment that my obsession with Mae came into fruition. Oh, and don't get me started on the amazing bass line that starts around 2:30ish.
- "To Know Your Name" by Hillsong United. The message is so simple: Jesus loves us so much that He sent His only Son. But it broke me down to the core and touched me in a way I'd never thought possible when I heard it for the first time at church. I'll put it on whenever I need a reminder of His love.
- "Thelma and Louise" by the Horrorpops. It was our friendship to the tee. The lyrics were absolutely perfect. Driving around aimlessly with my best friend, singing along to favorite songs and having that sense of freedom we all crave once in a while. Because we constantly drove around without a set destination in mind, I don't have a specific memory to pin it down to, but I think that adds more to the nostalgia. Fun fact: Patricia Day can often be seen driving her classic car down the streets of Glendale.
Luhrrve it.
Karma.
Hurt and deceit turns into confusion and anger. Sprinkle it with pints of aggression and ambiguous notes written all over social networking sites that I know you'll inevitably come across. Excuses for past behavior float into my mind. Maybe this is all retribution for what I did two years ago. I'm one to give credit when due, though. If the past couple of weeks truly were an attempt at cruel vengeance, well, then I graciously tip my hat to you. For not only have you wounded my pride, you've successfully managed to rip apart something I was so wary to hand over in the first place. Who's left to pick up the pieces? In hindsight, we truly were slow dancing in a burning room.
Karma, I admit defeat.
Karma, I admit defeat.
Outbursts.
Have you realized how many public outbursts there have been recently?
1. During Obama's health care reform address, Joe Wilson blatantly showed a lack of respect by exclaiming, "You lie!".
2. Serena Williams' tirade during the U.S. Open, prompting some not-so-witty newspaper headlines, but still humorous nonetheless. Not So Serene. Serena Goes Ball-istic. She straight up scaressss me. Straight. Up.
3. Kanye strikes again and earns the Douchebag of the Year award. Bar none. At first I thought it was a stunt, but the look on Taylor Swift's face as he took the mic and tainted her first moon man win was just heart-wrenching. Beyoncé remedies the situation by giving Swift her moment, showing such class and elegance.
The Trifecta of Tantrums, ladies and gentlemen. It's ridiculous, but since it's all we've really been hearing about the past two days, I'll take this time to show you the greatest part about the Internet.
It's so well-edited and I ROFLMAO'd when I first saw it.
Also, it's "off-the-record" now, but you cannot deny how freaking amazing our President is. For many reasons, but this statement just tops the cake. Leave it to TMZ to get the audiotape of Obama calling Kanye a jackass. It's golden.
1. During Obama's health care reform address, Joe Wilson blatantly showed a lack of respect by exclaiming, "You lie!".
2. Serena Williams' tirade during the U.S. Open, prompting some not-so-witty newspaper headlines, but still humorous nonetheless. Not So Serene. Serena Goes Ball-istic. She straight up scaressss me. Straight. Up.
3. Kanye strikes again and earns the Douchebag of the Year award. Bar none. At first I thought it was a stunt, but the look on Taylor Swift's face as he took the mic and tainted her first moon man win was just heart-wrenching. Beyoncé remedies the situation by giving Swift her moment, showing such class and elegance.
The Trifecta of Tantrums, ladies and gentlemen. It's ridiculous, but since it's all we've really been hearing about the past two days, I'll take this time to show you the greatest part about the Internet.
It's so well-edited and I ROFLMAO'd when I first saw it.
Also, it's "off-the-record" now, but you cannot deny how freaking amazing our President is. For many reasons, but this statement just tops the cake. Leave it to TMZ to get the audiotape of Obama calling Kanye a jackass. It's golden.
Reunions.
The past few days have been filled with impromptu reunions. This entry will be one of those "this is what I did today" types. I'm merely doing this for posterity's sake, but because of the lack of original posting, I figure this is better than nothing at all. Maybe it's unconventional, but I feel like back-tracking.
Saturday evening was spent with amazing friends and watching "The Holiday". My friend, Anthony, kidnapped my iPod and returned it after adding over two gigs of A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo, The RH Factor, Erykah Badu, Common, John Legend, etc. I think this is where my brief stint with the world of hip-hop and R&B will start. To kind of even it out, I introduced him to Between the Buried and Me. I played "Selkies" and the first thing that came out of his mouth was "Holy crap -- the time signatures!"
Yessss. I love having such musically-inclined friends.
We went to a quaint restaurant in Little Tokyo to celebrate a friend's birthday on Friday. Good company, good food and even more amazing memories. I originally had planned on not attending, but I'm glad I went. Hanging out with them always equates to strange adventures.
Popkiller Second at Little Tokyo. Boy in the blue NOFX shirt ended up surprising me with those glasses because I loved them so much, haha. We're a strange bunch, honestly.
Thursday afternoon was spent auditioning the next batch of drumline kids at Wilson Middle School with Dominic. The BFFL, partner-in-crime. We proceeded to go to his house after revealing which student made it and which drum they were to be assigned to. His mom welcomed me with a great big hug and a girl's favorite thing to hear: "You've gained weight!" Thanks for lowering my self-esteem even more. We saw "Yes, Man" (I didn't know Zooey Deschanel was the leading lady!) and went to Starbucks, armed with our drum practice pads and sticks and played in the patio. There were two metal guys in their thirties at the table closest to us. One of their phones kept ringing and I recognized it as Pantera's "Walk" and spoke up about it. They were genuinely surprised that I would recognize the song, much less know that Pantera existed. They probably saw me as a little girl who listened only to mainstream pop (not that there's anything wrong with that!). They're playing a show at the Whisky A Go-Go in November and they offered us free tickets, which was a kind gesture. Met up with another high school friend that same evening and caught up.
Oh gosh, this post is reminiscent of my old Xanga days. Hopefully I'll actually have something of substance the next time around? Yeah, hopefully.
Later days!
You'll score points with me if you know where that comes from, by the way. :P
Saturday evening was spent with amazing friends and watching "The Holiday". My friend, Anthony, kidnapped my iPod and returned it after adding over two gigs of A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo, The RH Factor, Erykah Badu, Common, John Legend, etc. I think this is where my brief stint with the world of hip-hop and R&B will start. To kind of even it out, I introduced him to Between the Buried and Me. I played "Selkies" and the first thing that came out of his mouth was "Holy crap -- the time signatures!"
Yessss. I love having such musically-inclined friends.
We went to a quaint restaurant in Little Tokyo to celebrate a friend's birthday on Friday. Good company, good food and even more amazing memories. I originally had planned on not attending, but I'm glad I went. Hanging out with them always equates to strange adventures.
Popkiller Second at Little Tokyo. Boy in the blue NOFX shirt ended up surprising me with those glasses because I loved them so much, haha. We're a strange bunch, honestly.Thursday afternoon was spent auditioning the next batch of drumline kids at Wilson Middle School with Dominic. The BFFL, partner-in-crime. We proceeded to go to his house after revealing which student made it and which drum they were to be assigned to. His mom welcomed me with a great big hug and a girl's favorite thing to hear: "You've gained weight!" Thanks for lowering my self-esteem even more. We saw "Yes, Man" (I didn't know Zooey Deschanel was the leading lady!) and went to Starbucks, armed with our drum practice pads and sticks and played in the patio. There were two metal guys in their thirties at the table closest to us. One of their phones kept ringing and I recognized it as Pantera's "Walk" and spoke up about it. They were genuinely surprised that I would recognize the song, much less know that Pantera existed. They probably saw me as a little girl who listened only to mainstream pop (not that there's anything wrong with that!). They're playing a show at the Whisky A Go-Go in November and they offered us free tickets, which was a kind gesture. Met up with another high school friend that same evening and caught up.
Oh gosh, this post is reminiscent of my old Xanga days. Hopefully I'll actually have something of substance the next time around? Yeah, hopefully.
Later days!
You'll score points with me if you know where that comes from, by the way. :P
Sondre Lerche!
A friend pointed me out to him and his music a few weeks ago. If The Carpenters and Jason Mraz had a musical lovechild and the cast of Grease raised him -- that's how I would describe his music. I, for one, think it's a relatively accurate description, haha. Part orchestral pop, part jazz feel, it's absolutely relaxing. His fifth studio album, Heartbeat Radio, comes out today! Buy it! Honestly, it's impossible to turn down Sondre Lerche, those baby blues and that charming croon.
At the very least, watch him in this video. He's so personable and all around lovely, wouldn't you agree? Favorite part: pronouncing his name the "American way" and the heart-melting shrug that ensues because of it around 0:35 and his rendition of "The Word Girl" at the end.
At the very least, watch him in this video. He's so personable and all around lovely, wouldn't you agree? Favorite part: pronouncing his name the "American way" and the heart-melting shrug that ensues because of it around 0:35 and his rendition of "The Word Girl" at the end.Subs.
After adding some lovely blogs to Google Reader, I came to the realization that I had just under one hundred subscriptions. ONE HUNDRED. How time consuming! However, some of those blogs haven't been written in for a few months, which prompted me to rid my bursting-at-the-seams Google Reader of them.
Some of my favorite blogs are no more, I'm sad to say. The most noteworthy being survivingmyselfblog.com. His posts were witty and intelligent, two characteristics that I consider when browsing for new blogs to read. I remember one of his last posts saying he felt his time spent in the blogosphere, while amazing, has finally come to an end. He strongly felt it was time to move on with the rest of his life, but I thought, "Oh, he'll be back. They always come back."
He never came back and now I'm saddened.
Upon second thought: since it took a purging of Google Reader subscriptions for me to come to the realization that he was, indeed, really gone, should I have considered myself a fan in the first place? Haha, I'm pathetic. Here's his old blog, if any of you were curious.
Midway through the subscriptions list, I came upon tea-not-war.com -- another favorite. His posts, brimming with snarky comments and anecdotes about his life, were a fun read. He was awesome! Or should I say "bloody brilliant" since the lad hails from the UK? Haha, isn't it obvious how easily amused I am?
But anyway, here's for starting fresh with my subscriptions! Perfect for this time of year when change is imminent -- the start of fall, leaves turning wonderful shades of orange and yellow. Oh, and pumpkin spice lattes?
A resounding "yes."
Some of my favorite blogs are no more, I'm sad to say. The most noteworthy being survivingmyselfblog.com. His posts were witty and intelligent, two characteristics that I consider when browsing for new blogs to read. I remember one of his last posts saying he felt his time spent in the blogosphere, while amazing, has finally come to an end. He strongly felt it was time to move on with the rest of his life, but I thought, "Oh, he'll be back. They always come back."
He never came back and now I'm saddened.
Upon second thought: since it took a purging of Google Reader subscriptions for me to come to the realization that he was, indeed, really gone, should I have considered myself a fan in the first place? Haha, I'm pathetic. Here's his old blog, if any of you were curious.
Midway through the subscriptions list, I came upon tea-not-war.com -- another favorite. His posts, brimming with snarky comments and anecdotes about his life, were a fun read. He was awesome! Or should I say "bloody brilliant" since the lad hails from the UK? Haha, isn't it obvious how easily amused I am?
But anyway, here's for starting fresh with my subscriptions! Perfect for this time of year when change is imminent -- the start of fall, leaves turning wonderful shades of orange and yellow. Oh, and pumpkin spice lattes?
A resounding "yes."
List.
Things I've learned from the blogs I follow (mainly creative Etsy types):
I love lists. Nothing makes me feel more productive than crossing things off a To-Do list, for example. And in a hopefully-not-so-vain attempt at getting back into the swing of things on here, I've resorted to making a list of things I've learned, in this case, from the amazing blogs out there that I am infinitely jealous of.
PS: How cute are these?
- Using the word "vintage" to describe something automatically makes the item in question more appealing.
- 3/50 all day, everyday.
- We have Urban Outfitters and the Impossible Project to thank for bringing Polaroids back for a limited time. We can all stock up, be stingy and take ONLY one photo a week for the rest of our lives now. Yay!
- In addition to Polaroids, photographs taken with a Diana or a Holga make the masses swoon. Don't forget the bokeh effect now, you hear?
- They're all friends. All of them. It's kind of awesome and I wish I were creative/awesome enough to be grouped in with that bunch. My favorite? The girls on Red Velvet Art.
- Spend just a few minutes skimming through their art and/or blogs and you will be inspired to crochet a bear beanie with ear flaps, bake red velvet cupcakes for the first time, practice calligraphy. All in all, you'll allow your creative juices to flow freely.
- Nothing - NOTHING - is better/cuter/more amazing than Happy Tape. I'm still deciding whether or not I should buy a pack. I'm craving them all, to be perfectly honest.
- The reviews on ReelArtsy will make you want to watch every indie film in existence.
I love lists. Nothing makes me feel more productive than crossing things off a To-Do list, for example. And in a hopefully-not-so-vain attempt at getting back into the swing of things on here, I've resorted to making a list of things I've learned, in this case, from the amazing blogs out there that I am infinitely jealous of.
PS: How cute are these?
Explanation?
A good friend of mine mentioned that they stumbled across this blog. The stream of consciousness that I poured my heart into for a good six months. (Not really.) After skimming through all of my posts, he said (and I quote) that I have "officially indirectly caused him to reevaluate [his] life."
Uh, what? I didn't know I could affect someone in such a way.
Needless to say, it caused me to read through my posts. I realize I've been neglecting this blog. Truth is, I've been neglecting a lot lately. Because of the lack of motivation or blatant apathy getting the best of me -- I'm really not quite sure. Actually, I recant that previous statement. It's because I'd rather not share my negativity in such a public forum. I never fully got out of that rut I previously wrote about and while I know I should place myself in the mentality that things can only get better from here, I refuse to fall in that mindset until I can tangibly feel a definitive change. I would rather not count my chickens before they hatch, so to speak, because that has the very real possibility of beating me even further down into nothingness, which is a scary thought.
To put this entry simply: Marianne is feeling emo, but she'll blame writer's block for the lack of posts. The end. Fin. Life, you suck. Whoo.
I'm done riding this emotional roller coaster for now and I ever-so-sincerely hope this post finds you well.
Uh, what? I didn't know I could affect someone in such a way.
Needless to say, it caused me to read through my posts. I realize I've been neglecting this blog. Truth is, I've been neglecting a lot lately. Because of the lack of motivation or blatant apathy getting the best of me -- I'm really not quite sure. Actually, I recant that previous statement. It's because I'd rather not share my negativity in such a public forum. I never fully got out of that rut I previously wrote about and while I know I should place myself in the mentality that things can only get better from here, I refuse to fall in that mindset until I can tangibly feel a definitive change. I would rather not count my chickens before they hatch, so to speak, because that has the very real possibility of beating me even further down into nothingness, which is a scary thought.
To put this entry simply: Marianne is feeling emo, but she'll blame writer's block for the lack of posts. The end. Fin. Life, you suck. Whoo.
I'm done riding this emotional roller coaster for now and I ever-so-sincerely hope this post finds you well.