Friday, January 30, 2009

Swimming... in a Pool of Books.


Hey everyone, sorry it's been forever since I posted something, (It's really not Friday, it's actually Saturday, Feb. 7) So I'm here to update y'all on my surprisingly busy life now.

If you look around my blog, somewhere I posted that I was going to read Jennifer Anne Kogler's The Otherworldlies, unfortunately, I STILL haven't finished reading it. I'm currently on a ridiculous page 68. That's right, I was only capable of reading a mere 68 pages in 2 weeks. (More?) So I have to get on that.

I'm reading a whopping 5 books all at once, which include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (page 184) The previously mentioned the Otherworldlies (68), my homework, Scott Westerfeld's Uglies, which I haven't yet started, but I have to read a hundred pages of by Monday, then at school, I'm rereading New Moon (382), which is seriously depressing, and I can't bring myself to read any more, even though I know what's going to happen, and John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson's creative compilation of somewhat love stories all set in the same town during the winter. Although I'm only 5 pages in, it's pretty good, and I've had a couple of people recommend it to me, followed by them saying "You have to read it NOW, it's amazing." Which adds on to the current book jam, and I can't even find time for the poor Chris McCandless in John Krauker's Into the Wild. I promise you readers this: I will finish all of the books within the next few weeks, have some patience, please.

But I have had time for music! I recently got my copy of Hank Green's So Jokes, which is specifically intended for nerdfighters, partially because it includes numerous inside jokes, which several normal people would certainly NOT get. But if you are a nerdfighter, this CD is golden!

*the picture featured was taken by me, please note: I am NOT a photographer.*

The biggest news in the music world at the moment is revolving around pop artist Kelly Clarkson, who has a talent for sucking you into every song she sings, even if it sounds just like her other one that you remember ever so vividly because you had been sucked into it as well.
I understand your pain. In the American Idol winner's recent album, My Life Would Suck Without You, the singer/*cough* clone *cough*, let's her vocal chords reign, and I eventually quit. Breakaway was great, Since U Been Gone was okay, My Life Would Suck Without You is boring.
I mean, Kelly can sing, her voice just gets old. Fast. But if you enjoy listening to repeats of the same sound, you'll love it. I don't, so I pulled my brain out from the upbeat pop song, and moved on.

On the Alternative side, here are a few songs to consider as always:

Quiet:
I'm Outta Time- Oasis
Wonderwall- Oasis
Skinny Love- Bon Iver
Crack the Shutters- Snow Patrol
Brandy Alexander- Feist
My Beloved Monsters- The Eels
How to Save A Life- The Fray

Fast and Full:
Troublemaker- Weezer
Sweater- Weezer
Where It's At- Beck
Once In A Lifetime- Talking Heads

Rock:
Somebody Told Me- The Killers
Sex On Fire- Kings Of Leon
We Didn't Start the Fire- Billy Joel (Heck. Yes.)
Let It Die- Foo Fighters
Vertigo- U2
My Girls- Animal Collective

What I'm Listening to While Doing Homework:
Phantom Limb- The Shins
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois- Sufjan Stevens
Piano Man- Billy Joel
The Scientist- Coldplay
Lost- Coldplay
Let's Dance- David Bowie (Cause for Celebration)


I've mostly been listening to random playlists, so I don't really have much else to share with my readers in this post, but I do have one radio recommendation. Enjoy, and I'll post soon!

If you have itunes, and it includes the radio feature, I recommend you try out KRock2 under the Alternative tab. The New York station includes songs mentioned here, and many more that relate to the bands listed in several other posts.

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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Emails and Death Cab.

Hi all.

First off, I've decided to start up an e-mail list for anyone who's interested in being notified of the newest post. You can e-mail me at thealternativegirl@yahoo.com if you are interested, just tell me your name and email. I'll probably start sending notifications next weekend. So be sure to email me if you're interested! Thanks! Now on to the post...


So, everyone knows I'm a sucker for Death Cab For Cutie. One of the most popular alternative genre bands, Death Cab leaves me satisfied after every album released.

Most songs are calm and consist of sweet lyrics that are incredible and by far beat out all my other favorite lyrics in other songs.

Guaranteed to get stuck in your head, make you think, and all together make you press the 'repeat' button. All the CDs are amazing, though "Plans", is by far my favorite. With songs like "Crooked Teeth", "Marching Bands of Manhattan", and "I Will Follow You Into the Dark", you'll be taken away with the incredible imagery in every song, and a feeling of peace after listening.

On their newest CD, "Narrow Stairs" (shown above) the band features the hit song, "I Will Posses Your Heart" Which starts with an amazing intro., and also includes "Cath..." (Which is incredible live).

Also, the album cover is one of my favorites. :)


Happy listening! See y'all next weekend!

Peace, Love, Nerdfighters, and Twihards.

Friday, January 23, 2009

The Return of ReinaDelCid.

Awhile ago- say, September? I was on Youtube, and I discovered this amazing musician, "ReinaDelCid" who has several songs, in which I listened to obsessively for a few days, but then, in an epic computer-history erasing, she was wiped clean from my Youtube account. Tragic, I know. So I desperately looked for her for a few days, hoping she'd turn up. I'd say back then, she'd had a following of maybe a few thousand. So I had an slim chance. Plus, to add on to the misery, I forgot her username. (Which resulted on me banging my head quite harshly on the desk.) I finally gave up and forgot about my run in with the videos that were constantly playing on my computer for those few great days.

Until now. (dun-dun-dun) I was lazily exploring Youtube (carefully avoiding explicit videos, thank you very much.) and I was staring at the boring slide show that shows what other poor shmucks on youtube were watching, and I saw the song title "Come Back Over" go through. And I was like- "WHOA! Ohmigosh!" (Obviously...) I quickly clicked on the picture of the 20 year old with the blue guitar and was led to watching
my ever so missed video (*music cue* Reunited and it feels so good...) and have been re-listening to all her songs since. So I'm fairly happy.

Anyways, I have linked a couple of her songs at the bottom of this post for your listening pleasure, and will have a new post up some time this weekend. (I recommend "Come Back Over" located above. It's my favorite.)

"Emily (I Need To Ask You)"
"Salem"

"Her Morning Elegance"

I'm not usually one for music videos, but I couldn't resist this one I found on Itunes called "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie. Great song.


Monday, January 19, 2009

The Last Shadow Puppets to the Musical Rescue!

Hope everyone caught Fleet Foxes on SNL! If you didn't, have no fear, Youtube's got you covered!

I'm low on music at the moment, due to a packed schedule with absolutely nothing interesting on it, but with very long boring items. But that's not the point.

What I have for you now, is a band I recently discovered on Itunes, The Last Shadow Puppets.


With an old-school feel, the band is full of skilled guitar playing, great vocals with a David Bowie- feel, and witty lyrics. (As previously mentioned, I'm a bit lyric-obsessed.)

The band, consisting of Alex Turner and Miles Kane and in a few songs, the Metropolitan Orchestra, are a great choice when looking for a catchy, upbeat song.

See you all in a few days!

*Peace, Love, Nerdfighters, and Twihards*


Friday, January 16, 2009

Quick- To the TVs!


Behold- the new band obsession of 2009! *raises CD into air* Huzzah!

So, what is the new band of the great new year?

Fleet Foxes!

On their new self titled album, Fleet Foxes, the band shows off their amazing talent in the indie genre with soft songs that are upbeat and nice. I've had several recommendations for this band, and after trying just one song, White Winter Hymnal I was officially hooked on the clever band. Intelligent songs and folk beats, I enjoyed the entire CD from start to finish. I highly recommend all the songs, but if some of you are still a tad sceptical, please try a few of my favorites. You can find them down at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

ALSO, you can catch them on Saturday Night Live (As in the January 17th Saturday) So tune in!

So, in the books category:
I only have a few more pages left in Harry Potter, which is great. But most of us who actually read this blog have already read it, so I'm not going to write a review...


I also plan to read The Otherworldlies, and feel free to join me in reading this, as well. You can never read to many great books. (Or, that is, I hope it's great- we shall see.) If you do read it at the same time as me, which should be in a few days, feel free to post your individual reviews under mine! That would be spectacular!

Also, I just discovered a new Podcast!
So it's called Indie Spotlight, but my favorite part is the Indie Spotlight: Rock and Alternative. It consists only of 30 seconds to a minute tid bits of songs that are popular in the Alternative and Rock section of Itunes. With mentions of some of my favorite bands just in the first episode, I quickly got the next free episode and listened to the samples of the great songs in the spotlight. I bought a few of the songs mentioned, and they were amazing. I highly enjoyed the podcast, and recommend it to anyone with access to Itunes. Plus, it's free. Hooray!

Here are the links to a few of the Fleet Foxes Songs I enjoyed:
Sun It Rises
Quiet Houses
Meadowlarks

Well, that's about it. I would appreciate help getting the word out, guys. That would be great! Looks like it's back to waiting for my CD (Hank Green's So Jokes) that STILL hasn't arrived. I may be back over the weekend, it depends...

Saturday, January 10, 2009

The Morning Benders!


After listening to "Indie Spotlight: Alternative & Rock" I heard the band The Morning Benders. I adore them. Turns out, I already had 'Damnit Anna', and I got the entire album, Talking Through Tin Cans, for 5 bucks! OK, but it's not the deal, it's the quality of music. I love them. They're an alternative band, with a nice beat and great lyrics. If you enjoy Vampire Weekend, they have a Vamp.W. feel, as well. The album consists of a little rock, with some pop-y songs, along with a few sad songs. I highly recommend it.





Oh yeah-- Look down! I just added a rockin' gadget. You can easily look up songs that I mention right here on youtube!

Friday, January 9, 2009

After Great Research...


A LOT of songs to listen to...
Blink of An Eye- Hodges
Dawn of the Dead- Does It Offend You, Yeah? *My New Favorite*
Evident Utensil- Chairlift
Time On Your Side- Emily Jane White
God D*** Best- French Miami
All Over You- Spill Canvas
Gives You Hell- All American Rejects (which is currently #1 on alternative Itunes)

Eraser- New Age

So, It's the awards season, and I've had a few minutes to come up with stu
ff, here are a few songs and albums that have won my awards:

Overplayed But Still Good:
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol


New Old Band:
CAKE
Comfort Eagle, Dime, Wheels, etc. All great songs that I have discovered thanks to some old folks I know.

Not Really My Type Of Music, But I Still Love Them:
Paramore (Previously Mentioned in earlier posts...Look down...)
MIKA You might have heard his dance hit "Grace Kelly", but the en
tire album, Life In Cartoon Motion, was literally was on repeat all day at my house. The entire album is outstanding. It's pop-y, but I haven't met a person yet who hasn't loved him.

Most Catchy Song of 2008:
Bruises by Chairlift.Guaranteed to get stuck in your head. In a good way.

Best Songs on Commercials:

1234 by Feist (ipod)
Bruises by Chairlift (ipod)
Silly Boy by the Blue Van (some kind of ridiculous cell phone)

Best Sad Song:
Hallelujah- Rufus Wainwright. Absoulutley amazing song. I've cried every time.

Great Thinking Songs:
DeVotchKa. There are a lot of great songs, but I recommend The Winner Is.
Breath Me- Sia. I love Sia, here calm voice and sweet songs are great.

To see other recommendations, please check out my entire page. There really is some good stuff on here, trust me.

Peace.Love.Nerdfighters.Twihards.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Themes to the Week

Now that Christmas break is almost over, I won't be able to get on as much and update as I would like, so until next weekend, or maybe earlier, depending on how much work I get finishrd, I have a few items worth checking out.

Another Like You by Sean Fournier is an amazing calm and happy song, and the lyrics are very thoughtful.

Bonfire by Blue Foundation. A nice breath-y song, I guess it's sorta inspiring, maybe? Check for yourself.

Great DJ by the Ting-Tings. A very dance-y song that may be a little repetitive (the
drums, the drums, the drums, the drums...) but is very catchy. After a few listens, it grows on you.

Phantom Limb by The Shins. Like a lot of other songs by the Shins (See Caring is Creepy, Australia.), Phantom Limb is a cleverly written, catchy, and up-beat song that I loved right off the bat.

The Winner Is and We're Gonna Make It by Danna/DeVotchKa, off of the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack. Without any lyrics, the songs and others off of the soundtrack
make great music for playing whenever. It's great thinking music, as well. (I recommend the entire soundtrack, seeing as it also includes Sufjan Stevens, yay!)

Hysteria by Muse. It kind of has a Radiohead feel to it, and the
song totally rocks whenever you blast it. Trust me.

Into Dust by Mazzy Star. After being recommended, I decided to check this one out. Pretty sweet.

Okay, I suppose that's all I have for now, but have no fear whoever actually follows this blog, I will be taking notes on songs and books and will return with more by at least Saturday! Have a rockin' week!



Peace, Love, Nerdfighters, and Twihards.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

First off, I've been taking a break from reading new books, and am currently re-reading
Twilight (it was a spur-of-the-moment book craving) So, I'm on page 200 and something, since last night. Anyway, here are a few books that are worth re-reading for me:

When It Happens by Susan Colasanti
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

Looking For Alaska by John Green

So, after I finish Twilight (and possibly New Moon, Eclipse, and maybe even Breaking Dawn) I plan to start the Harry Potter Series... (Good?)

Anyway, so that should keep me occupied for a while. On the music side: Paramore (previously mentioned in December blogs) is a teenage rock band. Of course, like any other teen-fan driven band, red hair, whines, and guitar solos are included frequently, I'll admit that. But, Hayley, the lead singer, is cool. She may be petite and innocent-looking in real life, but she certainly rocks out in recordings. Though, not necessarily being my genre of music, after hearing their singles 'Decode' and 'Misery Business' I was drawn in.

Also, I highly recommend Spotlight by Mutemath and Coming Home by the 88. You gotta try those out.


Peace, Love, Nerdfighters, and Twihards.