So it begins...

SUMMER. Here's a playlist to start things off on the right foot:

Ready to Start - Arcade Fire

Take a Vacation! - The Young Veins

Summer Cum - Avi Buffalo

Dream City - Free Energy

Sink/Let It Sway - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Beach Boy - Buffalo Moon

Post Acid - Wavves

Unfortunately, doing these playlist posts is depleting my mix CD music arsenal. Oh well.

May Mix

Haven't posted in quite a while. I haven't been too extremely busy, just too lazy to sit down and put something together. Work is good. I've made money and spent it quickly. I finally got my cherry red Doc Martens. And I got into this summer visual arts program that I've been stressing about. I'm counting down the days till school ends. Everyone else seems to be getting out much earlier than my school. It really fucking sucks. Blerg.

Anyway, here is my May Music Mini Mix, a.k.a APUSH Procrastination Playlist.

Love You Madly - Cake (A kind-of-oldie but goodie)

Foolin' - Devendra Banhart (omnomnom devendra cut his hair. eeeee)

Thank You - Jay-Z

Of the Mountains - Dan Deacon

Juicy-R - Notorious B.I.G vs. The XX (Wait What mashup)

Soft as Chalk - Joanna Newsom

i don't consider myself someone who likes dance music. There was a time when I was very into Justice and Crystal Castles, but these days I seldom hear a dance song that I really like. most of them are too techno-inspired for my taste. (I hate techno music and culture with a growing passion)

But today I heard this song and saw this video that I really enjoyed.

Divisive - We Have Band

April Mix

It's about time for another music post. I was trying to do this right as spring break began, but my computer broke. So now this is a post of songs that will comfort me as I begrudgingly return to school. A few of these are songs that have been playing at work, so they are officially lodged in my head for who knows how long. But they're good songs! So it's alright.

Spirit Lake - Cocorosie

Colette - Bembele Henri & Orchestre Tinapa

Ghost Train - Summer Camp

Tie Me Up With Jackets - Fight Like Apes

Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig - Jens Lekman (my favorite Jens Lekman song right now)

The High Road - Broken Bells

Round and Round - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (work song....)

Jackie Wants a Black Eye - Dr. Dog (I always forget how great Dr. Dog is. This is a song that helps me remember.)

I Learned the Hard Way - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Breakneck Speed - Tokyo Police Club (new sound for these guys. Definite step forward for them though.)

Collector - Here We Go Magic (work....)

Not Gunna Encore (Ha! Yes Mash Up) - Jay-Z vs. Black Kids

I do love a good music video.

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

So simple and yet so entertaining. I think I've posted about the Drums quite a few times; I really like this band. They don't take seem to take themselves too seriously and they make music that is, quite simply, fun. They've attracted quite a lot of haterz though, which I find sad. People complain so much about shitty bands getting hype, and the "music blog machine" creating stars etc. etc. if a band gets too big too quickly it's like BAM! Half the internet hates them. The comments on stereogum about them are about 95-90% negative, most of them condemning them for writing a song about surfing and claiming to hail from Brooklyn? And the fact that the above video is - admittedly - an imitation of british new wave. Why must people analyze music to death? There is such a big stink about these minute details. In my opinion, there is just as much of a place for The Drums in the music world as there is for Dirty Projectors or Joanna Newsom or whatever "indie" band/artist anyone claims as their favorite. Whatever.

I guess haterz will alwayz be hatin'. So it goes.

download the song: Best Friend - The Drums [right click to download]

Robyn, This is Your Mixtape:

Arrival in Benares (from Merchant Ivory's film "The Guru") - Ustad Vilayat Khan

Gimme Danger - Iggy and the Stooges

For a Little While - Langhorne Slim

Alley Cats - Hot Chip

Mama na Mwana - Mwenda Jean Bosco

Concrete and Clay - Unit 4+2

London - The Rumble Strips

Zebra - Beach House

Evelyn McHale - Parenthetical Girls

It's Gonna Take an Airplane - Destroyer

Lady Bones - Magenta Lane

Let's Get Away From it All - Frank Sinatra

You For Me - Terra Naomi

Cocaine Blues (live) - Johnny Cash

He's Gone - Vivian Girls

I Only Have Eyes for You - Billie Holiday

Burning - The Whitest Boy Alive

Femme Fatale - The Velvet Underground

Blessa - Toro y Moi

Happy belated birthday! Hope you enjoy the mix.

Hopefully, in the future my computer will allow me to burn CDs when I need to....

And the art, It's not my best work, but I hope you like it! Drawing egyptian udjat eyes is my new favorite pasttime haha.

No words.

(Except, notice that Ezra is rocking the colorful socks and cuffed jeans look. Just like someone else we know. Ahem.)

via NY Times.

Hedi Slimane, I don't think I've seen anything he's done that isn't beautiful.

(Love the bear-head.)

Sunday, I went to the mall (meh.) and bought the new issue of V magazine at Borders. I'm trying to buy more magazines, so I can start collaging again once finals are over. And I'm trying to find a new magazine since I will no longer be subscribing to Nylon. I also - finally - bought the new Vampire Weekend album, Contra. It's the first album - and hard copy - that I've paid for in maybe a year. And it's sosososososo good - well worth the $10. I've been listening to it nonstop, something that I rarely do. Usually, I get music and just integrate it into my day-to-day playlist, not really focusing on it. But I can't stop playing Contra over and over and over. This morning, on the way to school, White Sky came on the radio and I got this burst of energy. (Of course, it wore off right as I sat down to take my math final. Go figure.) Anyway, it's an amazing album. To say that they have avoided the sophomore slump would be a massive understatement.

__

2 more days of finals left! And then thursday afternoon I have a job interview (at American Apparel!). Then friday, I'm most likely going to Chinatown in the afternoon with Robyn, Maddie, and Carmen. Very excited! I've been wanting to check out the Cheap Monday Choose Chinatown store for ages. And I can get some more random bracelets because my wrist is feeling very bare these days....

- Aria

RAINY DAY PLAYLIST PT. 1

*It took all the strength I could muster to put more than just Bon Iver on here as Justin Vernon has totally dominated my ipod this week. He is just too perfect for this weather*

1.Venus Stop the Train - Wilco

2.Bird Girl - Antony & the Johnsons

3.The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel

4.Pink Moon - Nick Drake

5.Blood Bank - Bon Iver

6.Il Secondo Giorno - AIR

7.Lua - Bright Eyes

8.Heartbeats - José Gonzales

9.You Still Hurt Me - William Fitzsimmons

10.Flying over Bus Stops(Acoustic) - Athlete

I have an extensive - like really, really extensive - rainy day playlist in my iTunes just waiting for publication. (I suppose I listen to a lot of depressing and/or epic music?) So I'm going to try to do a music post whenever it rains. Hopefully it will rain again sometime. Chances are slim though. I bet we'll get this torrential downpour for this week and then - drought for the rest of the year. Pffffttt.

Coachella lineup came out today. Estoy muy entusiasmada. But I don't know which day to try to go! I really want to go Friday, but alas - school. So I'm thinking saturday because The XX, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, MGMT, Dirty Projectors, Girls, Beach House, etc. etc. are playing that day. Seems worth it even if fucking Muse is headlining. (Augh.)

So I've wasted my evening creating this playlist, watching the Hannah Montana Movie (...), thinking about Coachella, and not doing some early finals/SAT studying like I should have. Fun!

- Aria

The Drums via Hedi Slimane Fashion Diary.

I feel like they're the new incarnation of The Virgins. Not in the sense that their music is similar in any way, but rather their sudden popularity and status as a 'fashion band'. You can't help but love them either. Their music is good and just look at those cuffed pants!

Instruct Me - The Drums

Let's go Surfing - The Drums

I Felt Stupid - The Drums

I've got this chronic fear of vapidity when I'm attempting to write a blog. But at the same time, I'm not exactly down with baring my soul for all of the internet to see - regardless of my lack of readers. I don't want the world to know my problems or insecurities. But I don't want to appear as though all I care about is what i wear to school every day, or what I've bought on my most recent shopping trip either! It seems, though, that these are the only blogworthy occurrences in my life these days, so I'm left with a blog that reeks of shopaholic-ism. I desperately need a happy medium! If I made more time for creative writing, making movies, painting, drawing, playing guitar, etc. etc. maybe I wouldn't be so worried. I could post about those things! But here I am, blogging about having nothing to blog about instead of getting my homework done to make time for things worth blogging about. I'm quite the little genius with all this logic of mine.

Onward! With another outfit post :/

cable knit sweater, scarf, shoes; flea market // leggings, forever 21 // hat, h&m

My spanish teacher, who is pretty cool as far as spanish teachers go (i.e. vegetarian, basically only watches indie movies, enjoys philosophical tangents in the middle of class etc. etc.) liked my scarf very much. I came into class and he was all, "Ah, Juana, I like your scarf. You look very nice today." So, thanks Señor W.; I concur!

So, first rainy day of the new year. Huzzah. Except the rain didn't even last till noon....? It's supposed to rain all next week though. Yayness.

And in closing, a short selection of my favorite songs at the moment.

Beauty Mark - Charlotte Gainsbourg

For a Little While - Langhorne Slim

I Only Have Eyes for You - Billie Holiday

Diplomat's Son - Vampire Weekend (!!!!)

Redemption Song - Johnny Cash (Just saw Walk the Line for the first time. Johnny Cash obsession has begun.)

When I'm with You - Best Coast

- A

Blog post number 2! But more like number one because number one was.....not even a sentence long.

Soo....Here we have a blank slate, blank page, etc. A bit frustrating as there is nothing of interest going on right now that i could post about. So I've decided to kick things off with a playlist. There's no particular theme that ties these songs together aside from the fact that they're all current favorites of mine.

Audience of One - Cold War Kids

Cannibal Resource - Dirty Projectors

Cool Yourself - Thao

Lovelife - Girls

Catholicked - Dum Dum Girls

Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Marrow - St. Vincent

Lithium (Live at Reading) - Nirvana

I'm on thanksgiving vacation which is great. Except, I'm probably going to be cooped up in the house the entire time because most of my friends are still in school. This gives me some time to make an effort to be creatively productive. It also gives me an opportunity to sit on the couch and watch Wes Anderson movies. I'm hoping I'll spend most of my time with the former. While all of this free time will be marvelous, it's also a little annoying because since I probably won't leave the house, I have no outfits to post pictures of. :/ Which I was looking forward to.

I'm supposed to go shopping though, for something to wear for Thanksgiving. So maybe something will come of that. I'm hoping to get the new velvet bodycon dress from American Apparel (seen below) and some rad shoes. *crosses fingers* I've also become dangerously obsessed with this velour colorblocked raglan - also from AA. I keep envisioning myself wearing and I get giddy. A simple article of clothing should not excite me this much. Especially a sweatshirt. A sweatshirt. Anyway, I'm hoping I can get a job at the local American Apparel and capitalize on the employee benefits. And if they're not hiring then..... Well, I'll be needing a plan B.

- A

PS. I got new glasses this week and I am so pleased with them! I suppose I'll post a picture of them on here as time allows.