top of the treeeeeeeeeee

i'm just going to ignore the massive blank space that was the month of february, pretend like nothing ever happened, and plow straight on through to the writing: my current top three music picks. 

i go through stages in music listening where i will listen to one song for ever, before slowly coming to the realisation that that band actually has a whole album rather than just that one song, but that hasn't happened in my recent ""discoveries"". so after listening quite religiously to an abundance of girl bands for the past three months (definitely will write about these fantastic ladies, if i ever get round to it...) i have moved on. my 'recently added' playlist on itunes has been on repeat for the last two weeks: solange knowles, the rubens, and broken bells.

1) Solange Knowles: first of all, can we talk about her name: solange knowles. amazing. perfect. beautiful. slightly awkward to say for someone with a bit of a lisp but it sure don't stop me. moving on! i'm so, so in love with solange. i don't know why i've only just jumped on her bandwagon, but i wish i'd gotten there sooner. her music is vastly different to that of her sisters, but there's defo hints of the same inspiration from beyonce's earlier albums. i've been listening to solange's EP True (2012), which i am thoroughly enjoying. i always have shuffle on, so when i first heard the EP it sounded a bit mixed-up-muddled-up, but then listening to it straight through from track 1 to track 7 it all fits together seamlessly. a couple of the songs are a bit samey, and i tend to drift off listening to them but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. its difficult to find music you like that you can just ponder to, so double thumbs up from me, i say.

2) The Rubens: the rubens! the rubens! the rubens! the rubens! same go with solange...why have i only JUST started listening properly? growing up in a musical family, constantly being surrounded by my brother jamming with his friends and singing with my sister, a family band is all i have ever wanted. the three brothers and their childhood friend are basically what i aspire to someday create. i like the diversity in sound that their songs offer, keeps you on your toes. my absolute favourite song is "elvis", gives me shivers all down my spine. sam margin, the lead singer and guitarist, has a voice of absolute silk. or melted chocolate. or marshmallow. ugh, i could go on for days about these guys...(so could my manager at work, thankfully, so he doesn't complain when i play their self-titled album The Rubens at work nonstop, sorry but not sorry at all). basically, if you haven't listened to them already because you're slow at life just like me, then DO IT. you will not regret it. go and buy their album. please. it doesn't hurt that their all good looking either.

3) Broken Bells: last n final n most recent ha. i am a massive shins fan, so naturally i was keen as beans for broken bells' second album After The Disco (released just earlier this year). they get so many thumbs up and kisses and gold stars for this album. really, really top notch. sick hooks leading into even sicker choruses, and constantly leaving me wanting just a little bit more...the obvious solution to this is that  i've gotta play the album over and over and over again. danger mouse (aka brian burton aka the other half of this dynamic duo) produced this album, and did a truly spectacular job of it. a couple of the songs are rather shins-esque (listening to you, Lazy Wonderland) especially from their last album Port of Morrow, but falls short of being too similar in just the right way. i adore this album. that's probably the wrong word, but at the moment that's how i feel about it. i'm completely smitten with the songs and the musicians...namely you, james mercer, always you.

so thats THAT - i've set a reminder on my phone for my next post...sad, but necessary. i have so much i want to write about and absolutely no time, as it turns out. adult life is hard but incredibly, unfalteringly fun and interesting. if you haven't already - go and LISTEN TO THESE THREE ALBUMS. you won't regret it. 

war is over! if you want it

back agaaaaaaaaaain and so sooooooooon ! (kind of)

on saturday i ventured out into the world for the first time in a LONG time, being physically impaired is very trying on ones body. i went with a couple of friend to yoko ono's "war is over" exhibition at the museum of contemporary art in circular quay. i'd heard so much about it, and was extreeeeemely excited to see what she had to display. 

i hobbled my way up the stairs - took me at least ten minutes longer than it would have had i not been injured, and i now completely empathise and sympathise with old people who take so long to walk up and down stairs, its scary! - and we bought our tickets and went in.

the exhibition was truly amazing. i've never been one for completely understanding all the symbolism behind art and such, but yoko's work was presented in such a way that you didn't really have to dig too deep to understand the message that she was trying to display. 

she had tons of interactive artwork which was super cool. there was a bunch of kids at the gallery that day, and they looked like they were having the time of their lives getting involved with the different artworks. 

there were two huge walls covered in maps of the world and maps of different countries and maps of everywhere ever, and these maps were covered in stamps that said "imagine peace" over and over again, all in different languages. 

it was prett awesome to see how people refused to be limited by what they were given: someone had stamped all over the walls and another person on the surrounding tables. you could see how people had made patterns on the maps with the stamps, and how that contrasted with other peoples higgledy-piggledy own stamps. altogether it made for a rather astounding piece of work!

another one of the interactive pieces was the "my mommy is beautiful" wall, which invited the onlooker to write something about his or her mum and stick it on the wall.  there were some really sweet letters, apologising for past wrong doings and hoping for forgiveness, and some really creative ones. 

 when it came to me writing my own letter, i drew a complete blanke and ended up writing my mums last text message to me: "Oh no, have a  panadol and rest it xx" (i was complaining about my foot). 

my friend, grace, wrote hers and said "my writing is awful! it looks like a kid wrote this!" and not five seconds after she had stuck it up, i started giggling because i thought her note was written by a cute 5-year old...oops.
one of the last interactive artworks were hanging helmets with puzzle pieces of sky in them. i spent a while looking through all the different pieces, trying to find some that joined together but had no such luck.
the other installations were just as impressive as the interactive pieces. the exhibition was so incredibly interesting, and yoko's ability to stretch the her creative tendencies over so many different mediums made sure that my attention was solely focused on each different piece.  each room had a refreshing new change, but kept with the overall message that yoko was trying to impress upon the viewer: that war is over (if you want it). 

(NEXT UP: japanese funk band mountain mocha kilimanjaro at the basement, supported by afro-beat band the liberators - truly one of the funnest gigs i've been to in a while)

disclaimer: all photos taken by my lovely best friend grace manolas, used with her permission, or by me on my crappy phone :-)

rising from the dead?????

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so its been THREE YEARS,
which is 36 MONTHS,
which 156 WEEKS,

which is 1095 DAYS too long since i last blogged...

but now i am over all the humps of life (aka school) and ready to explore n expand and pick up where i left off before i got sucked into the whirlwind of ""studying"".
i feel as though i should reintroduce myself, but if i do that one of two things will happen:
1. it will be very long, full of nonsensical nonsense and most definitely put you to sleep
or
2. i will get three sentences in and get so bored of my own life that i fall asleep
so im going to do neither of those, and simply let you know this: i have officially entered adulthood, i'm a grown up ready to do grown up things (97% of the time), and i couldn't be more happy with 2014 so far.
i got a call from the australian business academy the other day asking me what my study plans were for 2014, and if i needed assistance in choosing the right course of action for my future studies.
"no, thank you." i had said, very, very politely. "i'm not going to study this year. i'm going to do what i want."
"oh yes, we understand. but let us help you with that." the man, luke or something, responded.
"no, sorry. i'm late for a gig. if you feel like having a groove, luke, you should go." and i told him where it was, then (very, very, extremely politely) i hung up.
so i went to this gig, and i had a really bloody fantastic time. luke didn't show up, or maybe he did, but whatever the case, i had an over all good night.

i've been listening to a so much more different styles of music than i did when i was 14 - australian hiphop, pop, ska, funk, rock, the really weird genre's that come automatically filled in on itunes like "fucking awesome" (odd future) and "electric sex" (the jet age of tomorrow) ... just generally lots more good, new different music. my brother is heavily involved in the sydney music scene, which is awesome, so i'm constantly being spoon-fed all these incredible new beats and being introduced to amazing musicians and bands.
looking back on what i used to write about, i was incredibly wrapped up in not becoming one of those teeny boppers, listening to MTVs hottest 100 hits and fawning of justin beiber. i constantly trying to discover new bands and artists by myself, reluctantly accepting help from others and rarely giving praise where praise was deserved. i was incredibly uptight about my music, despite my own beliefs, and probably thought i was really cool to not listen to jessie j or whoever was the most popular artist. lemme tell you something now, my most recently played artists on itunes are these: the fugees, little mix, james blake, beyonce, jessie j (!!), chance the rapper and amy winehouse (just to name some).
much like myself, i think i've mature somewhat over the past three/four years and i'm an avid watcher of MTVs hottest 100 and unashamed one direction fan (can't help it, have you seen their faces?).
i've come to the understanding that, even if people give me a massive stink eye when they realise my wee obsession with british boy and girl bands alike, their opinion on what i like isn't going to truly affect the way i live. anyhoo, enough of that!
so this year, when making my new years resolutions, i came up with these:
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS:
#1. remember more shit
#2. vegetarian
#3. be more healthy, eat less food from the bakery
#4. read more/write more/sing more
#5. relate song lyrics to things people say in everyday life
i've succeeded in 1/5 of those - #5, i have such a catalogue of previously useless song lyrics in my mind that now have an every day use and, according to my mum, it's helping with preventing early onset of dementia - and, due to recent foot injury rendering me as limpy lou, #4 is underway. #3 is a bit helpless now, i can barely walk let alone run or even think about exercise, so that's on hiatus until further notice. #2 is happening slowly, can't go cold turkey (ha) straight away but i'm working on. as for #1, i was telling my resolutions to my friend the other day had counted four of them, and was quite happy that i had only forgotten one...until i realised that i had forgotten #1, the irony was a bit too strong there and i made a mental note to eat more brain food.

right ok cheerio laddies, i'll be back this time i promise.
(i'll put a reminder on my cellular device...coz it's 2014 and i can do that now)
in the meantime i'll leave you with this gem:

sick cover, sick singer, sick band, sick song. enjoy mwa