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Saturday, August 16, 2014

This time baby I'll be bulletproof



Oh Elly Jackson, where have you been all this time? La Roux has had the obvious popular synthpop singles such as their most known, Bulletproof. Followed by that came some smashing electronic tracks like In for the Kill and I'm Not Your Toy. Now that was back in 2009 but nonetheless that self titled album had some amazing songs I still find getting stuck in my head. I mean it's understandable seeing how La Roux, Ke$ha, and Lady Gaga were basically all I listened to in seventh grade. Old habits die hard I guess. After having so much success with a first album it's very common for artists to find trouble in creating a prosperous sophomore album, understandably so I mean I can only imagine the stress of wondering whether listeners will respond the same the second time around. However the truth is, us listeners will always compare an artists new stuff to their old stuff. We just can't help it, it's what we do. Take MGMT for example, Oracular Spectacular...best.album.ever. Am I right? So when they came out with Optimizer I expected way more than what I got. Barely any lyrics, way too synthesized for my taste, the album just didn't have me intrigued. But then you have Phoenix, several albums later and the only one you really need is Wolfgang Amadeus (2009). Every single track on that album are killer anthems EVERYONE knows. So the question is, did La Roux create an album worth waiting for? Well it took her 5 years but god she did it. Her solo album that came out last month entitled Trouble in Paradise has me so hooked. As soon as she came out with the first single I immediately knew I had to review this album. Much to my surprise it took me a while to really listen and dissect every track in order to identify the underlining emotions of this tropical themed piece. She says in an interview, "some of it is very observational and some of it is very personal." Nonetheless all the songs are very catchy with the obvious addition of some crazy unique beats (I mean hello it's La Roux.) My personal favorites include Uptight Downtown, Paradise is You, and Tropical Chancer. Paradise is You contains such melodic meaningful lyrics there's no doubt that song was written about someone. Tropical Chancer is just.... such a groovy song, I can't even find a better word to explain it. It's a really good song to quickly jam out to, haha. So if you couldn't tell already, all the track names are "paradise" themed which is so smart in my opinion. She did a great job with that because as a listener, I think of Trouble in Paradise as more of a story rather than an album. Everything connects with each other and there is an obvious theme, which I think was a great way for her to take on her sophomore album. All in all Elly did a great job in my opinion, now will this album blow up as quickly as the first? It pains me to say this but unfortunately I don't think so, just because like I said the whole album goes together beautifully but if you were to pick out a smash single to play on the radio tomorrow I think you'd have a hard time. Regardless, I'd totally give this album a shot if you're familiar with her work. Even if you're not, I think anyone would enjoy it if they gave it the time. Anyways now for the exciting news, I recently just got a job so as soon as I get my first paycheck I'll be buying my ticket for La Roux's show in September! Oh god, just thinking about seeing Bulletproof live makes me want to cry so I try not to think about it too much. Below I've inserted an album review I really enjoyed watching, this guy does all kinds of music reviews on his YouTube channel it's pretty dope I'm glad I found him. I touch base on a couple of his points so if you wanna check his video out to get more insight on Trouble in Paradise please do.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Hey Pumpkin
























This is the new look....we're just gonna go with it.

Jacket: American Eagle
Shirt: thrifted
Jeans: ?? basic black skinnies that I rolled up
Shoes: Dr. Martens

Thursday, July 31, 2014

When love is gone, where does it go?



Look how cute my girls look






Yesterday my friends and I went to go see Arcade Fire and like most concerts, it turned out to be a night we'll never forget that's for sure. I wasn't really familiar with this group besides knowing a couple of their popular hits, but Olivia (first picture) absolutely loves them and she knows her music so I was really excited to see what they were all about. On the ticket it said to dress formal which I thought was odd at first but apparently it's what they ask for of every audience, crazy right? I wore just a simple white peter pan collar top with black AA disco pants and topped it off with a black blazer that had studs on the shoulder. Statement pieces but not too out there. My friends outfits were superrr cute as well, but our leather and shiny pants were nothing compared to what the devoted fans brought to the table. Some came in full costume! I'm talking suits, masks, and floor length gowns. They were obviously ready to party. The opening act was some DJ and at one point during his set a majority of people on the grass got up and started dancing together. Yeah. That happened. Oh god just watching complete strangers gather around each other with their hands in the air jumping to the beat, that kind of stuff makes me so happy. I wish I had a picture of it. Anywayssss, Arcade Fire came on and I swear we danced their whole set. Breanna (fifth picture) and I didn't even know half the songs but we didn't care we were still jamming out. This was probably the best concert experience I've had and I've been to A LOT of concerts. The vibe was great, the people were cool, and the music was amazing. Such a good way to end the month of July.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Language and perspective shape the way we live



First of all shout out to The 1975 for having such amazing opening acts. In April I was given the opportunity to see them, Bad Suns, and Sir Sly all thanks to my friend Sarah. I never expect much from opening acts and had no time to even search these two before the show. When Sir Sly hit the stage I was immediately drawn to their dark sound, very very similar to The Neighbourhood. I recommend their song "Ghosts" for anyone who wants to give them a chance. So after them came Bad Suns and they started off with this extremely catchy upbeat song which will win over anyone really. As their set went on I began to fall in love with their sound. Their new album that just came out, Language and Perspective, is amazing all the way through and I only have a few albums I can truly say that about. The music is very simple, which I like. The songs are total summer tracks I find myself listening to nonstop (all I listened to in Hawaii.) Some of my favorites include Pretend, Transpose, and Dancing on Quicksand. I highly recommend you check out Bad Suns if you like simplistic summery music, I guarantee you these guys are truly something.