Songs I was listening to in May

So oops.  It's been almost a month since my last post.  May was a pretty crazy busy time at work and I had to rather drown myself in statistics for a couple of weeks for a final exam.  But now it is summer, and I should have more time to be punctual.

To kick things off in an easy manner here are some of the songs I've been listening to in May.  It's been a lot of female singers and pop.

Tokyo Sunrise - LP

Um. What can I say.  I really really like this girl.  Here voice is so unique and her music is very refreshing.  I probably listened to this over and over and over again.

She just released a studio version of her most well-known song, Into the Wild, and it sounds pretty great (crank up the volume and get lost in it).  I also really like Wasted Love.


100 MPH (in 2nd Gear) - Gemma Ray

This song is so groovy and nostalgic and creepy and anthemic and sorrowful.

 Her full albums are a little much to listen to in one sitting, but they are still really fascinating.  I also really love Fist of a Flower.   The music videos are even darker and freakier!  I feel like she should be in Twin Peaks or something.

Breath of Life - Florence + the Machine

F+tM's latest, so DUH, I'm listening to it. a lot.

The choir in this is so perfect.  Ok, listening to this again, right now, three times.

Albatross - Judy Collins

My itunes recommended Judy Collins and I remembered that one of her CDs was floating around the house someplace.  I tracked it down and this sound really stuck out to me.  I don't know what this song is really about yet, but the lyrics (and the flutes!) are mesmerizing.

Seventeen - Marina and the Diamonds

Marina is coming out with a new album soon so I've been revisiting her last batch of songs.  I've had all her more popular songs for a while (I'm Not A Robot, Oh No!, Mowgli's Road . . . Hollywood--- except I don't really like that one), I thought I'd get to know the other songs. I've been really jamming to Seventeen.

And just because that video is a little silly, you must watch her video for I'm Not a Robot.  It's super cool and beautiful.  (P.S. she was doing the rhinestones on the face thing before Katy Perry)

Come Away to the Water - Maroon 5 (feat Rozzi Crane) for The Hunger Games

Someone said to me this week: "Adam Levine!  That guy is suddenly everywhere!" which is true.  But this song is has such . . . I dunno . . . essence.  It matches the movie really well, but is great as a just a song by itself too I think.  Adam Levine's voice is strangely suited to this song, which I think was originally written by Glen Hansard.

Les jeunes filles qui portent des lunettes de soleil, Item 12

Item 12, Les jeunes filles qui portent des lunettes de soleil

So I took a bit of a breather with these, I guess due to winter.  Here is the next installment of my fancying of sunglasses.

I don't usually like Tom Ford ads, but I like this one.  I think I am fascinated by how bug-eyedly awesome these glasses look.  Either that or they just remind me of the gas-mask people from Doctor Who, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances  (Season 1).

Come On Get Crafty: Twinings of Yellow

Originally, I was simply admiring the Twinings tag, which clearly involved gluing it to a yellow card.  Sometimes it takes gluing to a yellow card to put into perspective how picturesque everyday items andimages can be.

And then I started doodling.

I don't love what's going on in the top half so much, but I think overall it turned out ok.

Poem: sky & hill

Preface: I wanted to experiment with a sort of weird surrealism, and telling more of a concrete narrative in my poems.  (I also can't think of what to call this. I originally was going to call it by the first line, but then though that would ruin the punch of the first line.  I don't want to call it "sky & hill" because it sounds like its some sort of myth/origin story about the sky and hills.)

"sky & hill"

Hilltop death

the closest place to the sky

pours over the globe

in its thick, blue paint.

I can taste the acrylic

like salt on my lips.

Only the breeze under my lashes

and the great, blue, nothing

And one small shape.

Far away,

a smoky flaw in the horizon.

In buttercups and star-shaped bells

time passes

the creaks of insect legs

and grass falling

under the kissing blue

My shape has become a palm,

pushing toward me out of that blue

soaring close

over great space 

A thick, wallpaper arm

molton, blue, bending

into a shoulder

a neck

a torso

Pulling the sky to the hill 

in an endless skin.

blue jewel lips part

opening its huge mouth

and engulf my face, then my head like a diadem,

swallowing,

leaving me at last with only the

recollection of the bristling wolf-hair on its shoulders.

Songs this week.

Sometimes I can't concentrate.  A bit of noise helps.  Music also helps you get your mind off how boring your life is and how your job is lousy.  It also prevents you from dwelling on how much you hate New Jersey drivers when you are stuck in completely unnecessary traffic.

For a complete pop immersion:
Primadonna
I love Marina and the Diamonds.

For when you are really mad at how everyone else is ruining your life, and want to celebrate how awesome you are:
Do My Thing
Um.  Self-explanatory.  Just listen.

Always, apparently:
High Hopes
I've been randomly addicted to Paolo Nutini.  Seriously listening to him non-stop, waiting to get sick of him, and not getting sick of him.  This song cheers me up loads.

I know, he looks like he is doubling over in agony when he sings, but whatever.  It seems to work really well.

And just to give you an overdose, I love driving to this song.  I feel like I'm in the opening of an indie movie.

For a maniacal laugh:
Bird Song
I know its a little macabre and freaky, but I love this song so much.  I think the story she tells is so funny.  The stupid, power-tripping bird sure gets what's coming to him. And then she does too.  Suckers!

When you are not paying attention:
Out on the Town
I had fun. on in the background and suddenly realized that this song was growing on me.

When you are doing work schedules for your students/have been poisoned by Lana Del Rey:
Dreamy Old New England Moon
I was listening to Lana Del Rey while doing some confusing scheduling and it made me really stressed out and unexpectedly wiggy.  So I prescribed myself some smooth, calming Dean Martin.

To unwind:
Sweet Bride
I keep hearing Kate Rusby on soundtracks in small British films and tv shows and I really love her.  So far my favorite has been "Sweet Bride."  I have yet to listen to her most well-known album, Awkward Annie.

For crying:
The Unquiet Grave
Rusby again: "The Unquiet Grave" is tragic and great from when you are emotionally unstable and may make you unexpectedly burst into tears.

To just be happy:
Oh Boy
That last one is a bit of a downer, so I've also been listening to cheery "Oh Boy" by She & Him.

Come On Get Crafty: Spackle & Shine

I was messing around with some nail polish and it reminded me of the way decaying walls in old, abandonded houses look.  Residue from wallpaper, plaster crumbling.

But the bright, flamboyant silver reminded me of decadence, flashy music, and glamourous black and white movies, so I added the magazine cut out and the rhinestones.

I just wish it was one of those cards that played music, so it could play a creepy, faint, echo of Puttin' On the Ritz.