Just throw yourself into it, and don't fucking look back.

there is nothing we can't do

the dirty projectors

There are things I hate to admit to, and one of them includes admitting that I love the music Kanye West makes. I don't think there's any way for me to not agree with the fact that his music is innovative, catchy, smart and even a bit weird. I only hate admitting so, because he's such a douche. If he was at least a tiny bit modest and had some sense of humility, then I wouldn't have a problem with him, but unfortunately, he doesn't. Instead he parades around award ceremony angry at the fact that he didn't win an award for best album. There are so many talented people out there in this world who are modest about their talents - if only he could learn from them. This is a pretty random post, but I've been listening to his album 808s & Heartbreak and I can't help but love it. Fuck.

LN LU

I can feel it in my joints

Dreamt of you again last night,
I called your phone to hear your voice,
I know, I know you know.
But I'll never let you go,
How do I let go?

Where are you?
Here's where I want to be.

VW Car/Bedroom

I want a Volkswagon Vanagon! Classic. This specific one would be nice :)It's like a room...in a car. Perfecccccct.

LN LU

But as always, the show must go on

On a higher note, I present Beirut filmed by La Blogotheque:

Beirut

LN LU

June 25th, 2009

Stricken with shock and grief. Both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson in one day. Though I have never been familiar with any of Farrah's work besides her work on Charlie's Angels, my prayer still goes out to her family and friends. On the other hand, Michael Jackson played a huge role in my life, especially my musical life. I remember when I was about 5 my parents would put on the Michael Jackson tape and we would all sit around the television watching all his music videos. I remember being in awe with music, his moves and the stories he told through his videos. I vividly remember being completely captivated by Smooth Criminal, Remember the Time, Black or White, Thriller and Billie Jean. He could have very well been the spark that lit my love for music. His role in the music industry cannot be matched. He was and will always be the father and king of pop. Like many say, there are things that come to this Earth that only come once, and Michael Jackson is exactly so. There will never be anyone as influential and innovative than Michael. He will be missed, but never forgotten. As The Beatles is to rock, Michael Jackson is to pop. May both Farrah and Michael rest in peace.



LN LU

Oo Baby You've Got Me Going

A bit of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot can't go wrong right? Especially when you add in retro choppy beats.

Irvine gets some music cred!

I've been following this band called The Jakes, who are straight out of Orange County, ever since I got to Irvine. Some of the band members are students at UCI - giving us some music cred - and others are Orange County locals. Anyways, for those of you who read this blog, check them out, and who knows, you might like them. They're a bit of We Are Scientist mixed with Arctic Monkeys and dipped in The Strokes. They're playing a couple of shows in the LA area hosted by KROQ, and then going into the studio this summer to record their debut record. If you go to their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/thejakes) right now and sign up for their mailing list, you can get a free download of their 'Shake My Hand' EP. I highly recommend this if you consider yourself a person with good taste in music.

Wanted: Choir Audience

If you are currently an artist, and needs an audience to sing as demonstrated in the video, please feel free to contact me at (626) 321-****. Phone lines are open at all hours.

Why? Because I Can...

500 Days of Summer

Heeellooooo Joseph Gordon-Levitt!

lock up when you're done

It's weird how you can go through an entire album during a certain period in your life, and only certain songs catch your attention, but when you go back and listen to it again at different time in your life, different songs catch your ears. I've heard Chairlift's 'Does You Inspire You' so many times, and previously, songs like Bruises, Evident Utensil, Planet Health and Make Up Your Mind were the songs that I kept hitting repeat on, but right now, as I'm sitting here typing this, the songs that are cycling around on my iTunes are Somewhere Around Here, Territory and Don't Give a Damn. I guess different mindset, equates to different mood, which results in different taste in music.

So far, this summer has been pretty rad. I got a job at Borders, which totally rocks considering I get to surround myself with the sounds of music, the aroma of coffee and the knowledge of books. I get to hang out with friend in both Arcadia and Irvine, since I've got an apartment in Irvy right now. I'm constantly jamming on my two guitars, and occasionally giving my blistering fingers a rest by tickling the ivory keys. And every morning I get to wake up to a cup of coffee, my laptop and some tunes from my iTunes. Not bad.

My summer goals are looking pretty good right now. Still making $$$, started my reading list by re-reading Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman (does that count as 1 book off my "Must Read 20 Books by the End of Summer" list even though I've read it before?), and I got to see Chairlift last week at the Getty.

As I mentioned above, I got to see Chairlift last week at the Getty, and though I was originally a big fan of their more upbeat songs, I couldn't help but feel totally taken by their slower melancholy songs - probably the contribution as to why I'm repetitively listening to those specific songs right now. Pretty awesome set, and they're so incredibly nice. Extremely drugged up when I met them, but still cool. Took some fisheye photos with them - does this mean we're friends? Probably not. So I guess I still have to fulfill my goal of being friends with a musician. Regardless, I can't wait to develop the roll!

Haven't spent too much time with Kristen and Annie (insert sad face). We can never get our schedules to fit one another. Blame work and summer school. Annie is leaving for San Diego next week to take summer school, so it'll be a bummer if we don't get some quality time in!

Recently trying to get back in touch with my musical side, so besides the guitar and piano, I've downloaded an electronic synthesizer onto my computer to fool around with since I can't exactly afford one right now. Got to save the $$$ for my Nikon d90 and potential Macbook (?). Interesting on the computer, but definately not the same as a real one. I guess for now, I'll just stick with the keyboard sitting in my room.

Ok, so I'm going to post 4 songs. Overload. I think not.

This first song, 'Joints' by Holly Miranda, is what I'm currently learning on the guitar. I've got all of it down, now, it's just a matter of practice. I've also got parts of her song 'Every Time I Go to Sleep' down on the piano. Only time will tell!



And these next 3 songs are all Chairlift songs that I'm constantly hitting repeat on. Hopefully I get these songs stuck in your head, because they're THAT good.







LN LU

Camera Obscura

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8975184&st=nikon+digital+slr&lp=3&type=product&cp=1&id=1217633560861

hi baby

What happens there can never happen here.

hiiiiiiiiiiiigh

I don't need drugs as long as I have the drug of music
...or maybe just a little bit?

Was just me, the fish and the sea

Fucking genius. The use of mics. The use of instruments. The use of voice. The use of the distortion pedal. The use of the crowd. Genius.

Put your leather on

As the title indicates, ya best get your leather on, because I'm buying this KORG synth and we (me, myself and I) are going to be rocking out! Maybe. Or once I figure out how this baby works. Lately I've been really feeling the music vibes around me. I'm rekindling my love affair with the piano -- actually there was never a love affair, I'm just motivated to re-learn how to tickle the dusty ivory keys sitting in my living room. AND I've been putting my soft, delicate fingertips to work by constantly forcing them to press down and strum the strings of my two very out of tune guitars. Next up! The synth! Maybe I should slow down and master one before I move onto the other...Nah fuck it. I'm going with all three at the same time. YEE!

And to send us out is a very appropriate band, considering they're all synthoholics -- in a good way -- and a song by them that is basically completely synth-driven. Actually, all their songs are, ha. Again, in a good way.
Ladytron - Tomorrow

LN LU

TTTW

Whoa...

Drone

I would tots switch teams for her, for reals.

And...this is a photo taken during the making of the video for Ladytron's song 'Tomorrow,' and I think it's pretty dammmn sick. Agree? Agreed.

LN LU

GOAL!

Having had such a successful year with my academic, social and "career" life, I've decided to continue that trend by creating a 'Personal Summer Goal List,' which comprises of what I believe to be very practical goals.

Here's a list of 11 goals I have so far. Why 11? Because 10 is just too predictable.

1. Haul ass and get my driver's license. Don't judge me.
2. Make $$$ (bank!)
3. Learn the guitar. I think it's about time.
4. Refurnish/decorate thy room. --> DONE
5. Save up $$$ for a digital SLR
6. Save up $$$ for a Macbook
7. Save up $$$ for Analog Modeling Synthesizer (maybe)
8. Check out local record stores
9. Read at least 20 books. Shouldn't be too hard considering I'm working in a bookstore all summer.
10. Make friends with a musician!! (very practical indeed)
11. Keep photographing

Concerts to attend:
1. Death Cab for Cutie
2. Tegan and sara
3. Grizzly Bear
4. Holly Miranda
5. Metric
6. TV on the Radio
7. Passion Pit
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Chairlift
10. The Dodos
11. Matt & Kim

Tentative, but I like how it looks so far!

Insurance

Dudes...I'm sitting here watching TV for the first time in months and all I can say is that: I LOVE THE PROGRESSIVE LADY. She's hilariooooooouss!

congratulations

mmhmmm...my kind of boys

Ondas Love

Home just doesn't have the same meaning anymore...

So Saturday was my last day in Ondas, and it was so surreal to hear the silence looming within the dorms as people began to trickle away. Probably the hardiest thing I've had to do all year -- hugging the people I've gotten to know this year, and eventually having to let them go as they waved goodbye with tears in their eyes. I considered writing about all the memories I've made this year, but I don't think any set of words or phrases can serve the memories justice. So all I can say in short is that I ended this year in the best way possible, with the best people possible. Love.

LN LU

Ondass

Wow, last night was a bit of everything. For a second, life worked in slow motion, then automatically switched into rewind, before stuttering at pause. All my friends (and some unwanted people) crammed into my tiny room for a fiesta that lasted till the break of dawn. Geyser sprinklers that served as our mid-morning showers; our cloths soaked, our sandals wet, our hair ruined. A hall united by the love of booze and fun. Perfect. I look forward to summer, but I hate the idea of leaving all the people that I have met and learned to love.

LN LU

I keep on dying, because I love to live

So I am currently reading Still Alive, an autobiography written by one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, Ruth Kluger. Not to take away from any other parts of the book, because the novel itself - in its entirety - is both profound and brutally honest, but as I am reading it, only one specific passage causes me to stop and think.

(You don't have to read this following section, because it's an extensive passage, but if you have a sentimental soul in you, then this might interest you.)

"I have always told this story in wonder, and people wonder at my wonder. They say, okay, some persons are altruistic. We understand that; it doesn't surprise us. The girl who helped you was one of those who likes to help. A young American rabbi says that after my buildup he expected a more heroic tale. Maybe he has seen too many action films or read too many Bible stories, the kind that tout male virtues, muscle over mind, noise over quiet resolve. But don't just look at the scene. Focus on it, zero in on it, and consider what happened. There were two of them: the man who had power he could exert on a random object, for better or for worse. He probably didn't believe that the labor of a starved little girl would promote German war effort considerably or retard the final solution to a noticeable extent. He had to decide the case one way or the other, list or not list my number. Just then it suited him to listen to his clerk. And she is the other. I think his action was arbitrary, hers voluntary. It must have been freely chosen, because anyone knowing the circumstances would have predicted the opposite, or at least shoulder-shrugging indifference. Her decision broke the chain of knowable causes. She was an inmate, and she risked a lot when she prompted me to lie and then openly championed a girl who was too young and small for forced labor and completely unknown to her. She saw me stand in line, a kid sentenced to death, she approached me, she defended me, and she got me through. What more do you need for an example of perfect goodness? Never and nowhere was there such an opportunity for a free, spontaneous action as in that place at that time. It was moral freedom at its purest. I saw it, I experienced it, I benefited from it, and I repeat it, beacuse there is nothing to add. Listen to me, don't take it apart, absorb it as I am telling it and remember it.

But perhaps you are of the opposite camp and claim that there is no such thing as altruism, that every action is motivated by some kind of selfishness, even if such egotism is no more than the consciousness of free choice. In that case, of course, freedom itself is a mere illusion as well. And perhaps you are right, and there is no absolute in these matters, but only approaches to goodness and to freedom. The main characteristic of freedom is its unpredictability. And no one has been able to predict human behavior with the same accuracy as, for example, the behavior of amoebas. Dogs, horses, and cows are semipredictable, but with humans there is never more than a certain degree of probability. People can change their minds at the last moment, and even if we knew everything about a person and stored it in the most advanced computer system, we could still not foresee the mental movement of a woman who I didn't know, whom I never saw again, deciding to save me and succeeding.

And therefore I think it makes sense that the closest approach to freedom takes place in the most desolate imprisonment under the threat of violent death, where the chance to make decisions has been reduced to almost zero. (And where is the zero point? The gas chambers are zero, I believe, when the men in their final contortions are forced by a biological urge to step on children. But how can I be sure?) In a rat hole, where charity is the least likely virtue, where humans bare their teeth, and where all signs point in the direction of self-preservation, and there is yet a tiny gap - that is where freedom may appear like the uninvited angel. If a prisoner passed on the beatings he received to those even more helpless than he, he was merely reacting as psychology and biology would expect him to. But if he did the reverse? And so one might argue that in the perverse environment of Aushwitz absolute goodness was a possibility, like a leap of faith, beyond humdrum chain of cause and effect. I don't know how often it was consummated. Surely not often. Surely not only in my case. But it existed. I am a witness." - Ruth Kluger

After reading that passage, I was forced to re-think how I go about things. For instance, when I think I'm doing something nice or helpful, is it based on the selfish need to feel content with myself? Or am I truely doing it out of the goodness of my heart? Weird. I never thought of it that way.

I love it when books force me to look at the world differently, making me think in another perspective. You should try it.

LNLU

What are they made out of?

donuts are good for you from Tegan and Sara on Vimeo.

There is a good reason why Tegan and Sara, and Death Cab for Cutie (despite the fact that 3/4 band is missing) are my favourite bands ever. Evidence - this video.

It's finals week, and I should be studying, or sleeping (to keep the brain healthy and alive), but I'm irrational and choose to watch videos of my favourite bands instead.

This is what happens when you study too much. Anywhere and everywhere becomes a bed...and your laptop/textbook becomes your pillow.

LN LU

you ask for nothing, why don't you share it

Where did freshmen year go?

last week in Ondas!
friendies!
late night gossip!
cha!
bathroom sandwich!
laughing = 6 pack stomach!
radio co-host!
never doing homework!
asian glow!
newport beach!
food!
breezy!
love!

YEEEEEE

T-minus 5 more months till...

BFF

Yeah...these kids are pretty amazing

Control yourself

siiiiiiick!

Temporary Areas

http://www.temporaryareas.com/

Vincent Moon, the director of La Blogotheque/A-Take-Away-Show, has created another project called Fiume Nights where he directs and shoots videos of various artists all around the world. He is the one who shot the video of Holly Miranda, and if you're interested in artists such as Deerhunter, Sufjan Stevens, Depeche Mode, Dirty Projectors, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, The Shins, Yeasayer and Man Man - just to name a few - then you should totally check this out.