It's the middle of the week, what are you listening to? I know here in Miami it's been one of those productive, cloudy days and the sunset is flashing shades of pink through my window. It made me have a sudden urge to give James Blunt a quick play as I got ready for my yoga class. No, I didn't play the "You're Beautiful" soundtrack. I let his 2010 album, Some Kind of Trouble , blast through my speakers. The cool thing about this album is that you probably don't remember it clearly but once you start listening to the songs they all come back. Most of them sound like the background song to the credits of a RomCom. The others have classic James Blunt guitar. A very uplifting, positive indie album full of life's messages. Favorite track: These Are the Words I had to. I just had to dedicate an entire blog post to Maroon 5 at 1:00 a.m for absolutely making my Thursday night with their "Sugar" music video. I am currently melting at every single second of it. I'd say I'm somewhere between the hyperventilating blonde and the Asian groom with this video on replay. While we are on the Maroon 5 topic, I'd figure I'd take time to highlight some of my favorite Maroon 5 moments. In more of a preferential rather than chronological order: 1. Songs About Jane Maroon 5's official debut album is still my favorite album to this day. Anyone who asks me on a random day of the year will hear the same answer. There is something about this album that has never left the bottom pit of my heart and to my surprise I actually remember the reason very clearly. When this album came out, I must've been 14 or so and in the midst of suffering my first teenage heartbreak. I wondered who this Jane was and what she had done to be the muse to my absolute favorite album?! I'm sure you've pondered it once too. Well, the story actually goes like this: Jane Herman was Adam Levine's high school sweetheart of four years who later went on to become Vogue's editor. Both of them said there was no other reason for their breakup other than the classic, "life got in the way".. how sad. Nothing like letting something as adjustable as life get in the way of your happily ever after with Adam Levine. Although, I think we have to give Jane a big thanks for dumping Adam into a pile of love lyrics. P.S- "She Will Be Loved" is not my favorite song on this album, I'm not that basic. You can leave your guess in the comments (; 2. The addition of James Valentine You'll be surprised to know that the original name of the band was actually Kara's Flowers. That is, of course, before mega dork and rhythmic guitarist James Valentine joined. There is something about him that just blends in so perfectly with the band. It must be the hair. 3. "Moves Like Jagger" on 2011 Victoria Secret Fashion Show Ah, the 2011 VS Fashion Show. Yes, the one where Orlando Bloom gave Miranda Kerr a standing ovation. Jay-Z gave a guest performance with Kanye. Karlie Kloss nailed her VS Angel debut. And, of course, Adam Levine planted a sweet kiss on his two-year model girlfriend, Anne Vyalitsyna, as she strutted down the runway to "Moves Like Jagger". Skip to 1:40 for the Adam-Anne kiss 5. Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Last but not least, Adam Levine has finally settled down and tied the knot with his new and permanent muse,Victoria Secret Angel, Behati Prinsloo. The couple got married July 2014 in Mexico. Behati even got three dots tattoo on her left hand ring finger in honor of their marriage. Talk about #relationshipgoals. 4. Adam Levine launches 222.
In February 2012, Adam achieved his long time dream of launching his own record label. His first signed artist was Matthew Morrison, which I had the pleasure of seeing on Broadway when I was younger. I'm back! I was so driven by my newfound obsession for Mac Demarco that it made me give my blog some long overdue loving so I could properly show him off. Before I go straight into Mr. Demarco, I hope you noticed the blog's new look. I was going for a more edgy look but I left the original teal to represent my soft side. So, yeah I changed some stuff, have a look around, and enjoy!
Yes, I'm in love, and he's no Brad Pitt but I'm certain his music can woo just about anyone. Mac Demarco is a multi-instrumental artist from Canada. His birth name is Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV. He released his first album Ying Yang in 2010. His most recent album, Salad Days, was released on my birthday month (April) of this year. While most will label him between blue wave and psychedelic, I think he's pretty romantic. His lyrics are honest. His musicality is breezy. If you want to know more about him, Pitchfork did an amazing cover story on him here. Hello my fellow followers, I know I didn't post a monday message yesterday but I had the busiest day of picking up on my homework from this weekend and I figured you would understand the feeling. BUT, I have exciting news!! Today, I am talking, for the first time on my blog, about one of my favorite topics; and that is Girls HBO, which is written, directed, and played by my creative role model, Lena Dunham. You're probably wondering why I admire her so much considering she is not exactly the beauty queen of Hollywood or a world-known sensation but that is exactly it.. she is so confident in being herself. It was honestly like love at first sight when I was introduced to her awesomeness. I've studied her since the first Girls episode I saw because I knew she was the new Sarah Jessica Parker (but way more my style). I've read a lot of her essays, first edits of Girls scripts, and watched many of her interviews and I'm still blown away every time at how effortlessly honest she is in her words. She goes full speed into any kind of topic and she is okay with being a total narcissist (which I can totally relate to). If you're not familiar with Girls, it's the life of a group of 20-something year old's attempting to figure out where and how to veer their adulthood in New York. I really don't think any show captures the reality of the real world more than this show. It is so put together. Every episode has a different feel. Every season gets better (season 4 comes out 2015, so I'm dying until then). As for her character on Girls, Hannah Horvath, there are so many things I absolutely hate about her, not too give too much away, but I personally relate most to Marnie Michaels and although I wish I was as hippie as Jessa Johansson or as studious as Shoshanna Shapiro, I'm a Marnie. But, I think they're all brilliantly crazy. I wish I was creative enough to come up with such hilariously awkward and captivating characters like them. If you are poor and don't have HBO like me, here is where I watch it (I'm not sure how legal it is so keep the secret between us because it's feeding my Girls addiction). Although there are 3 seasons now, here is the Season 1 teaser. I hope it makes you want to watch: Today, Lena Dunhman releases her first book, Not That Kind of Girl, a memoir of her life that she was paid millions to publish by Random House. It's funny because most of her young adulthood anxieties came from not knowing who she was going to be in the world and now she has her own tv show, book, and a bunch of acknowledging awards in just two years. Most authors spend a life time writing a book that may or may not become a movie. Her book is reviewed to not be a disappointment and I'm so excited for my copy to come in on Friday. Lastly, if you didn't hear her amazing interview with NPR on all sorts of topics from every aspect of young adult relationships to ethnicity and criticism, I think she addresses some great things about our generation. You can listen to it here on your drive to school/work tomorrow.
So I met someone the other day who introduced me to an amazing genre that I had never heard of in my life (and I listen to way too much music to say that). It's called Ska, which made me crack up because it sounds like a Scottish holiday or ritual or something. I was honestly worried to look it up and have to say I hated it; but I can't even begin to describe how taken I was when I found some good ones. It's supposed to be a mix of reggae and rock, which is exactly what it sounds like. Who knew you could mix two amazing genres so perfectly. I hope you take the time to listen to some of these amazing songs and who knows maybe you'll convert into a Ska listener like me: Today is September 21st, which means... International (or world) Peace Day! Who gives today this title you might ask? The United Nations General Assembly recognized that the promotion of peace was necessary in 1984. Thus making this the 33rd anniversary of Peace Day! How lucky we are to live in a world that promotes peace?! So how will you promote peace? Not just today, but every day! I say start with things that make you feel peaceful. You can't promote what you don't know, am I right? 1. Peace starts with yourself! (from within) -10 minutes of mindful silence goes a long way. Take only 10 minutes to be thankful and set intentions. -Keep hydrated.. Carry a water bottle. -Exercise!! A walk to the supermarket, biking with your siblings, yoga with your mom, football with your dad, spinning with your best friend. Once you have become accustomed to finding peace on your own, you will feel much more able to help others find peace. 2. Give There are a million nonprofit organizations who live to promote world peace (and they don't always get the support they deserve for it). There are all kinds of organizations with different platforms who aim to make the world a better place. Take care of the world you live in. Not everyone has it together and some people could really use your help. There is no better way to find yourself than in the service of others. 3. Educate The Mind Watch the news! Read articles! Don't just listen to what people are telling you, check it out yourself. Watch videos or documentaries on what is going on. Don't just educate yourself on the bad, educate yourself on the good. I personally love the World Post or Ted Talks. And let's face it, we would rather scroll through our Twitter than watch the news. So, follow @cnnbrk or @breakingnews. 4. Spread the LOVE! What I just did on this post is an example of spreading the love. I'm promoting world peace through this post. I'm reminding you all that peace is out there because I know how easy it is to forget it. Every tweet, Facebook post, or comment you make should come from a peaceful intention. If you practice peace, others will follow. Be the change! Be the change! Be the change! PEACE & LOVE, ENJOY YOUR DAY!
This week's Monday Message is based on being unapologetically yourself. Choose to do the things that you love and you'll never feel discouraged. Stay True. Remember when I gave up coffee as my new years resolution? yeah, me either; but, I did. It's a miracle I even lasted so long without it. And it's disturbing that I can't remember how I did it. Until this week, I hadn't had a full cup of coffee since December of 2013 (I know, crazy). Yes, there were times when I sneaked a sip from a friend's coffee. But, I, myself, had not spent my money on coffee. Why? Last year, I had a terrible coffee experience, one I had never encountered with coffee before. It might have been the mix of caffeine and stress but let's just say I had a break down in the library the night before a huge pre cal midterm. To say the least, no studying was accomplished after that. Somehow, I convinced myself that coffee was unnecessary and that I didn't need it any more. I actually loved being caffeine free for a while. Coffee was always making me awkwardly shaky and digestively uncomfortable. I felt like I was hurting my body whenever I had it and the constant feeling was making me hate it until I eventually did. For a good 8 months I survived off tea and chocolate for study sessions. I'm not saying they didn't work, I mean, I graduated so they clearly did some magic. Any way this isn't about weather coffee or tea is better. It's about habits. When Starbucks released their Pumpkin Spice Latte (my absolute favorite coffee) this month, I knew I had to get one... for old times sake? So I went against all the bad thoughts about coffee that I had spent 8 months drilling into my brain and bought one. It was so deliciously empowering it made me temporarily happy (the way most addictive things make us). So I got another one the next day and the day after that and then I ordered a skinny vanilla latte (which used to be my go to Starbucks drink when it wasn't fall). If you're thinking I overdosed on coffee... you're right. I had barely eaten all week because coffee and stress does that to me and after only a week it was starting to take a toll on me, the way it had before. Sounds like a lot like a drug, doesn't it? It probably is. Let's just say my coffee relapse lead me to a weekend of "detoxing". It made me wonder how many times we pave our own road to failure. We know certain things don't work for us but we do them either way hoping there will be a different outcome; only to end up with the same, unsatisfying result. So why do we do it? Because it's become our habit. We need to be strong enough to change our habits, especially the ones that might affect our health because it is the most valuable gift we have. This weekend of bed rest made me realize how lucky I am to be able to wake up healthy every day and do the things I want to do (no matter how tiring they can be sometimes). I think any habit that treats you wrong at some point, is a bad one. Every time you feel the need to go back to those bad habits you need to remind yourself how low it made you feel at some point. Like the RHCP song says, "I don't ever want to feel like I did that day". Classic. No one loves a coffee shop more than me but there is no rule that I need to drink coffee to be there. Just because every one in there is drinking it, doesn't mean I have to. I think sometimes we fall into the pressure of doing what every one else around us is doing because we want to fit in or connect with them. We need to remember to stay true to ourselves by doing the things that make us feel good (even if it's not what makes someone else feel good, it your life, not theirs). PS- not bashing on coffee lovers or trying to convince them out of their coffee love (I feel you). Here's a twenty-song Coffehouse playlist I made inspired by Coffehouse on Sirius xm: |
Welcome,you've reached Between You & Me.
A place I created with a lot of heart and soul to write about the things that
make me excited and grateful for another day: music, travel, and people. Archives
April 2015
Categories
All
|