Max Normal

It's late at night. And I've literally been listening to Max Normal over and over again for hours. So I'm just going to put a handful of songs that you should check out. I am sleep deprived, just thought I should let you know.

Tik Tik Tik
Yes, I have mentioned this in another post. Don't care. This song is brilliant. It's mostly Yolandi. And the song is about two options, a single decision. The first verse is about how hard Yolandi's life is, the second is about a man who convinces her to sell drugs and her life spirals down, she asks to rewind. Then the next verse is like a rewind in time and she's faced with the drug dealer again and chooses to ignore him and collaborate with Max Normal instead. Fucking brilliant.
"Diamonds are created from extreme pressure"


Whenever You Ready

I love how soft and mellow this is, I wouldn't expect it to come from the same person who made Fok Julle Naaiers.

The Organ Grinder

This is probably my favorite song at the moment from Ninja/Max Normal/Waddy Jones etc. The creepy vibes are so perfect for this month, I love this so much I can't even. It's so easy when the chorus hits to just imagine some monster that haunts children.

Ripples In The Mesh

People have said that I like a lot of 'stoner' music. After enjoying this twenty seven minute story, I understood what they meant. I love Yolandi's little rap about her character Anica who wants to be an a rapper too. So creepy, so good. Shit goddamn. It's an entire story, and it makes me appreciate Yolandi and Max Normal/Ninja/Waddy Jones' acting skills. Which is something I never even thought about until now. 

Punch My Teeth Out

When I listen to shit like this constantly, I get a little angry that Max Normal didn't blow the fuck up when it did. This song is fucking amazing! I guess the timing and publicity was off for them, but oh my god please listen to this. 

Rap Fantasy

This is brilliant. I love the intro with Yolandi's incredibly strong accent, and the beat is so different, just because of the little clicking noises through out the song. And the chorus is so--I don't like using this word but--epic! I love singing it as loud as I can when I'm driving and I feel like a super hero or an eighties rock star.

Rap Made Easy
I have never heard a song like this. Literally 'teaching' you how to rap. It's genius! To quote one of the top comments of this video from Youtube user Joe Brennan: "wow, I always love Die Antwoord, but in a weird kind of way, but after discovering Max Normal, I kind of realize the genius behind it...I think everyone who is not sure (about) where they stand on Die Antwoord needs to hear all their stuff and they will be able to understand it easier." Very well put. Listening to Max Normal definitely fulfilled my Die Antwoord cravings after I thought I had heard everything from them. And I appreciate them, like, a thousand times more than before.

Too Cold To Hold

This was the first song that I heard from Max Normal and it's probably still on my top five favorites from them. My favorite lyrics are "Tomorrow/ I think I'll hang out with myself again/ Maybe even sport someone else's skin/ So if you hear some other cat kickin' my rhymes/ Just remember that his intestines might just be mine/ Cause anyone of these 6 billion civilians could very well be this reptilian/ No matter how resilient or brilliant you think you are/ If I decide that I need a new host/ Somebody's pretty little shell's gonna get a new ghost."
Do you realize how amazing that is?! I love his whole "documentary fiction" and his belief and ability to just regenerate (Doctor Who reference) completely and this is some creepy fore telling of Ninja.

Saint Lana of Song and Sadness

Saint Lana Of Song And Sadness

I decided to make a playlist revolving around Lana Del Rey's style of music.
A playlist for Lana Del Rey and all the heavy lidded, velvet voiced, melancholy sirens like her.

1. Swingin' Party-Lorde
2.Heart Shaped Box (Nirvanna Cover)-Hayley Richman
3.Blue Velvet (Bobby Vinton Cover)-Vindicated Mess
4.Bang Bang (Nancy Sinatra Cover)-2 Cellos ft. Sky Ferreria
5.Chelsea Hotel No 2. (Cover)-Lana Del Rey
6.Tennis Court-Lorde
7.Laura-Bat For Lashes
8.Dark Paradise (Lana Del Rey Cover)-Vindicated Mess
9. Without You-Lana Del Rey
10. Sad Dream (Cover)-Amanda Emilio

The Killing Type (End Of September)

Music

Caesar-I Blame Coco ft. Robyn

The Lord of the Flies references, the apocalyptic-ish, war couture style of the music video, and the up beat darkness of the song is what makes this so great. I especially like the "Hey momma. Can you fly?" "Yup" "I heard robins can fly" "Whatever." I've only just started listening to this song, so it might seep into my October music for me. 

The Killing Type-Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

I don't know why my love for Amanda Palmer is moving at such a slow pace. First I loved Map of Tasmania, then my friend Chantal showed me a few of her songs and didn't think much of her. I know she's like the craziest most awesome person ever (I love watching her and Neil Gaiman on Youtube) but this song has finally got me hooked. The way she lets go completely in this music video makes me want to go insane and swim in a bed of blood. Like really badly. And the lyrics of this song are pretty top notch. I'm sure I'll be obsessed with her by next year.

Pitbull Terrier-Die Antwoord

LINK

LINK

LINK

Die Antwoord hasn't released a studio version of this song, but from what you can hear in this video, it's pretty amazing. If you want to skip the intro, skip to 2:02. It's so intense, and more rap-rave than I Fink You Freeky-which is saying something! I just wish Yolandi got to rap a verse, but on the other hand, Ninja didn't say a word in Cookie Thumper so maybe it's evened out.

Call Your Girlfriend-Robyn

I've always loved this song, but my love for it-and Robyn overall-has sparked again! I've been making my friends and co workers mixed CDs for Christmas, and one of my coworkers, Noemi, has a very exact music taste. Its mostly consisted of Paramore for a long time, but the second she told me she liked some Ellie Goudling, Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran, and all the 'mainstream indie' music, I told her to look up Lana Del Rey (who she hadn't heard of which is really weird) and after that I got her hooked on Comme Un Enfants (Freaks Radio Remix) by Yelle and it was like her shit. We'd constantly listen to Yelle and Lana at work. I just assumed she knew Robyn from jammin on Pandora Radio all the time, but once again I got her hooked onto another artist!

This is also my favorite music video by Robyn, it's like a glamorized version of dancing in your bedroom. Almost what you picture in your head when you are flailing your arms around and rolling on the floor all sexy like. She's such an awesome dancer, I don't know how she does it in those shoes.

This has been pumping up in my car everyday for the past two weeks, I just sing my heart out to it and replay. Feels good man.

ATM Jam-Azealia Banks ft. Pharrell

Okay, yes I have been listening to this to wake up every morning, to get pumped up before hanging out with friends, and while I'm in the shower. But I don't like it that much. It's too repetitive. The chorus, which only consists of three lines, drowns out the song and takes away from Azealia Banks' amazing verses. None of the remixes seem to make it better. And the music video is horrendous (that's why I linked you to the BBC version). But it has so much potential! Come on Pharrell! You can do better than that! 

Get Like Me-Nelly ft. Nicki Minaj, Pharrell

You can do better and you have! This was released in July of this year. I absolutely love this song, especially Nicki's verse (duh) and my favorite part of this music video is when she kicks off her heels and just struts from between the guys and starts her verse. I'm not saying this video is empowering--far from it! At one point a woman's ass is being slapped to the beat of the song like drums, and all of the women look like silent accessories for Nelly and Pharrell to show off next to their sneakers and jewelry.  But we should just acknowledge that hip hop isn't a very woman-friendly genre, and we can criticize it as much as we can like it. Sorry for the tangent. Moving on.

Pu$$y-Iggy Azalea

Boy, did it take me a while to warm up to Iggy. Especially when all I really heard from her was Work. And I fucking hate that song. Like with every fiber of my being. I don't know why. But I'm digging this song, and Murda Bizness ft. T.I. the music video is like Toddlers and Tiaras and its just hilarious, check out that one too!

Personal

So this month I did something that I've always wanted to do! Ever since I was a little girl, watching No Doubt's Gwen Stefani--especially in the Simple Kind Of Life music video, and the New music video--I've always wanted pink hair. I've asked my mother every year since I was twelve. At first she let me dye the ends pink in seventh grade (I made dip dye cool waddup just kidding), and then five years later she let me, once again, dye the ends pink. She told me once I got a job I could have pink all over. I did that. Then she said once I get my license. Did that too. Then she said when I turned 18. Did that a year ago. Finally it got to a point where I was going to do it regardless of her permission. When I told my mother I was going in for a hair consultation, she told me to slow down. "Maybe we should talk about this first," she said. And I shrugged my shoulders, my impatience turning into pure sass over the years, and said "I'm at a point where I'm just going to take what you tell me as advice, and do what I want to do anyways." I SAID THAT TO MY MOTHER AND SHE DIDN'T SLAP ME.
Literally every living soul has told me the following when I told them what I wanted to do with my hair:

• Do you have any idea how damaged your hair is going to be? (You. Are. Only. Young. Once. Fuck Everything. This was literally the number one thing brought up to me. By everyone. )
• You're going to get roots! And you're going to have to get your roots done all the time! With bleach! (I've had blonde and brunette hair, I know how this shit works)
• Say goodbye to washing your hair for a while, you're going to have to use dry shampoo all the time (That sounds fucking great)
• The color is going to fade in, like, two days (No. It's not.)
• You know how hard it's going to be to find clothes that match with your hair? (I know my Color Theory, fool. I'm an art major.)

Yeah, so people have been telling me this for years whenever I've told them about my secret hair goal desires. And I'm so glad I went through with it anyways!

Seriously, I've never loved my face as much as I have now. Or at least in a really long time. My instagram has been all selfies this past week. I love my hair so much. And I'm getting vain, but there shouldn't be anything wrong with that!

On the way to the salon, and the many days previous to that, I would play this song as loud as possible in my car:

Yeah that music video is the shit. And I'll leave you with that.

Well, today is October 1st. My birthday. I'm turning 19. I'll let you know how my favorite month of the year plays out. 

I'm Winnin' The End and The Beginnin' (Music for First Week of September)

It hasn't been a full week and new music sweeps past me for this month like I'm on a schedule! I don't know if I'm going to be jammin' to these stuff all September, so let me tell you what I've been listening to these past days! (And a very detailed description of my co-worker)

 I'm Out-Ciara ft Nicki Minaj

I loved this song the second it came out, but its only lately I've been constantly listening to it while in my drawing class. I thought that the music video with just the words was the official and I was a little bummed, but then this gem came out and ughh so perfect. Ciara and Nicki in matching white jumpsuits? YES! 

Never Le Nkemise (Part 1 & 2)-Die Antwoord

"If you don't like funerals *whispers* don't kick sand in Ninja's face"

The first half is rap and dubstep and the second is a techno instrumental, like are you fucking kidding me Die Antwoord?! I love this so much please listen and bang your head and jump around and enjoy.

Rock The Mic-Mikey J & The UK Female Allstars

The only rapper I've actually listened to and heard of before this video is Roxxxan. Please go check out her videos: Power, Too Fucking Facety, Thunder Bay and Guerilla. It's really tough to find new rappers that are as amazing as the mainstream ones, especially female rappers. So this video is like a hidden treasure for me. I've always wanted to make a mix of a shit ton of female rappers in one song, but now I don't have to do that because this video is so satisfying and I'm really lazy. 

Fitzpleasure-alt-j

At work (a children's indoor play place) I like to play a game called "How Inappropriate Can The Music I Play Get Before Parents Complain." I'm a fabulous employee, I know. The lyrics are a little hard to decipher when you aren't paying attention, so I play Fitzpleasure for the lil kiddies all the time. Sometimes twice in a shift. My alt-j obsession is finally growing past Breezeblocks, so if anyone has any other songs of theirs that they'd like to suggest, I'm all ears! I only listen to those two and Tesselate, and I'm not sure if there are any other songs at good as those. 

Lost, Picking Flowers In The Woods-Black Moth Super Rainbow

Speaking of work, I work with one of the greatest humans to ever walk the Earth. She's like a real life Stargirl. Her name is Dalia (DAH-LEE-AH), she is a total hippie who doesn't shave her legs, bends the employee dress code to her earthy whims (we're supposed to wear a plain red shirt and mostly black yoga pants, but she comes in with flowy wine colored tank tops-a dark shade of red-and flare out floral pants) she has crazy hair with chunks of dreads, braids, and beads. She will scorn you for throwing out water bottles and dig them out from the trash, I sometimes see her walking to her car at night with armfuls of plastic to recycle. She's an artist who goes to music festivals and does psychedelic drugs and wears clothes that she finds off the sidewalks of Santa Ana. She also reminds me of the sun, or a flower that's growing from a muddy garden. And she smells like tea tree oil. I'm only describing to you how amazing she is because this video reminds me of her, and I'm trying to prove that she's not a book character but it's very difficult. 

Dalia is a feminist, like myself, and we both bonded over our love for CocoRosie. Ever since then, she's been trying to get me into some of her music. Tame Impala was the first, but yesterday she showed me Black Moth Super Rainbow. I can't stop listening to this full EP while I'm drawing. It's so magical. Another band she showed me yesterday was Purity Ring.

Lofticries-Purity Ring

Our manager started complaining when we started playing this song, unplugged my phone from the aux cord, and put in her own iPod filled with old school Miley Cyrus and Fall Out Boy. How can you go from this Narnia of musical goodness to fucking Panic! At the Disco? HOW?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!

Call Them Brothers-Regina Spektor ft Only Son

Whenever I feel like not listening to the same ten songs on KIIS FM, I grab my phone and play this while I'm driving. It's so calming at first and it just lets me exhale and relax. I really want to make either a Hunger Games playlist (again) or a Full Metal Alchemist playlist with this song. Ja feel? Maybe one of the two will be on this blog soon.

That's all so far everyone! Have a fun time with the videos and links-please check out the links! See you in a couple of weeks!

Sing A Song Little Bird (Sansa Stark Playlist)

Sing A Song Little Bird

Sansa's Trapped In King's Landing And Is Losing Hope

Link

1.Violet-Hole

"And the sky was made of amethyst/ And all the stars were just like little fish"

"When they get what they want/ They never want it again"

"Go on take everything, take everything I dare you to"

2.The Love Club-Lorde

"My mother's love is choking me/ I'm sick of the words that hang above my head/ What about? It's time the kid got free"

"The other day I forgot my old address/ I'm sitting pretty on the throne/ There's nothing more that I want/ Except to be alone"

"The only problem that I got with club/ Is how you're severed from the people who watched you grow up"

3.Fantasy-MS MR

"Force myself into a dimension/ Lost sight of myself"

"Let myself down each time"

"How could you be what I wanna see?/And my reality could never live up to the fantasy"

4.Home-Daughter

"Oh you're not a friend/ You're nothing/ I think I should be a little more confident/ In myself, in my skin"

"Take me home/ Cause I don't stand a chance in these four walls"

"Keep the nightmares out/ Give me mouth to mouth./ I can't live without ya"

5.The Flowers-Regina Spektor

"The flowers you gave me are rotting and still I refuse to throw them away"

"Things I have loved I'm allowed to keep/ I'll never know if I go to sleep"

6.Pompeii-Bastille

"I was left to my own devices/ Many days fell with nothing to show"

"But if you close your eyes/ Does it feel like nothing's changed at all?"

"How am I gonna be an optimist about this?"

7.Pretty Face-Soley

"I throw my hands to you/ I runaway/ Its so cold so dangerous I can't stay"

"They want to take me but I will hide from them/ I use my pretty face to find my way..."

"Will you be my friend in my dream? Take that pretty face off surely"

8.Missing-The xx

"My heart is beating in a different way/ Been gone such a long time and I feel the same"

"Tell me, how did this come to be?/ And now there's no hope for you and me"

9.MS-alt-j

"All the vowels to hold your name, keep your estate clean of me"

"The nights of all my youth pressed into one glass of water"

"Scattered truths, bewildered beast boohoos, we have our weight: ten thousand ladybirds"

10.Suffocation-Crystal Castles

"I suffocate/ And promise me you won't resuscitate/ and if I change my mind it's far too late" 

"I'm wasting my days as I've wasted my nights and I've wasted my youth/ You're waiting for something you've waited in vain because there's nothing for you"

"Humility yet to be seen/ Models made of plasticene/ Morality disgrace us now/ Entertain and take a bow"

11.Ballad of a Politician-Regina Spektor

"A man inside a room is shaking hands with other men/ This is how it happens/ Our carefully made plans"

"But I am/ Not a number, not a name/ But I am/ A carefully laid plan"

12.Nobodys Daughter-Hole

"I'm not that stupid/ I just need a lot of help"

"Down at the bottom/ Of the ocean, I lay down/ Nobody's coming/ Just continue to drown"

"I know I've got a lot to fear/ You'll get me out/ Oh, God, just get me out"

"Nobody's daughter/ She never was/ She never will/ Be beholden"

"Anesthetize all our horrors away/ We live inside this black web you have spun"

"The world's broken doll/ The world's shattered whore/ And you, you can't walk/ But you, you can crawl"

"And I will dig my own grave, yeah/ I'm misbegotten/ I am the last one you will save/ It's all gone rotten"

Saint-Like (Music of August)

Playlists:

It Won't Be The Witches That Are Burning This Time

A playlist for the movie The Craft.

1.Magic Spells-Crystal Castles

2.Blood Red Moon-The xx

3.Lose Your Soul-Dead Man's Bones

4.Bones-Ms Mr

5.Dracula-Gorillaz

6.The Killing Moon-Echo & The Bunnymen

7.The Moon Asked The Crow-CocoRosie

8.If I Had A Heart-Fever Ray

9.I Put A Spell On You-Marilyn Manson

10.Witches-Blackbird Raum

11.Ten Feet Tall-The Devil Makes Three

Originally this was going to be the beginning of a basic Halloween playlist, but it became more witchy, and after listening to Marilyn Manson's cover of I Put A Spell On You, I instantly thought of Nancy from The Craft. Such a good movie, definitely watch to get ready for October. 

I'm Going Hunting

A maneater playlist, loosely based on Judith and Holofernes

1.Kill Of The Night-Gin Wigmore

2.Maneater-Blue Eyed Blondes

3.I Cut Like A Buffalo-The Dead Weather

4.Serial Killer-Lana Del Rey

5.The Hunter-Kaitlyn Ni Donovan

6.Heart Killer-Gossling

7.So Far From Your Weapon-The Dead Weather

8.Biting Down-Lorde

9.Black Milk-Massive Attack

I've been wanting to make a playlist like this for a long time, and after hearing both Heart Killer and Kill of the Night, the rest just fell into place. I'm very happy with the outcome. 

Modern Renaissance

A playlist for our modern martyrs, saints, peasants, kings, and sinners.

1.No Church In The Wild-Kanye West

2.Tessellate-alt-j

3.Bad Religion-Frank Ocean

4.Wrath of God-Crystal Castles

5.Angels (Bohdi Remix)-The xx

6.Jesus Walks-Kanye West

7.In A War (Spence Mills Remix)-Regina Spektor

8.Shake It Out (The Weeknd Remix)-Florence + The Machine

9.Holy Grail (W/O Jay Z)-Justin Timberlake

10.Crown-Jay Z

11.Royals (Magnifik Remix)-Lorde

12.Gods and Monsters-Lana Del Rey

13.Baptism-Crystal Castles

14.Judas (Classical Cover)-Asturia

You know me, I just had to make a playlist based on classical art, ideals, and religion. Especially after hearing Holy Grail. 

Social Butterfly in August

August recap! I already covered the first seven days in my last post, but so much has happened since then! You've been warned.

Personal Life

Nemo and I posing with this
 guy in a cupcake dress

For one, I celebrated my friend Hubert's birthday by going to OC Pride during the day and then a club called Rage in West Hollywood later that night. OC Pride was did not meet my expectations. As a kid, my dad would let us watch the Pride parade in Long Beach. I grew up watching giant floats partying down Ocean Blvd, the streets lined with thousands of people, all cheering, some covered in glitter and rainbow beads. OC Pride was more like a small street fair, that my friends and I walked through in about an hour. We got lots of free goodies, though. And I even bought an elephant thong for my other friend as an early birthday gift. Rage, however, was pretty awesome! It was Lady Gaga night so someone out came out dressed as her and danced on stage for a bit. But the best part was the music that they were playing. Missy Elliot's Get Ur Freak On, Destiny's Child Bootylicious, Eve's Tambourine, Azealia Banks' 212, and Macklemore's Can't Hold Us. Along with Lil' Kim, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and so much more that I danced and sweated my heart out to.

My friend Ethan with Macklemore
 written on his card

Courtney's birthday 

Not long after that, my parents left town for a couple days, and I decided to have a small kickback with whoever could make it on a short notice. It wasn't anything too crazy or wild, but I like those kinds of nights. We just sat around my kitchen table and played what we call the Inglorious Bastards Game. We all took the opportunity to humiliate each other. For example, I'm the only feminist in my group of friends, so they thought it'd be funny to have my first card be 'Brothel' (we did people, places, and things to make it harder) which I got pretty easily...but on my next turn I was "Elizabeth Cady Stanton" and I couldn't get that one for the life of me! Everyone shamed me for being a bad feminist. *Hangs my head* No one has let me forget that either. I highly suggest you play it with your friends one night it's a lot of fun.
My friend Stephanie is house-sitting for four months (weird I know) and she has been given the permission by the owners to throw kickbacks and parties there! So it was Courtney's birthday and most of us hadn't seen her since she left for school last summer, so we decided to celebrate before she left to New Jersey that week. I didn't drink this entire month because I am everyone's designated driver, but it's funny to see your drunk friends hit pinatas filled with Twinkies, swishers, and blue Jello, or play dizzy bat (link here to show you how fucking hilarious dizzy bat is) and fall on the ground. Also being the only sober one and swinging a bat through the middle of a serious beer pong game is the funniest thing ever. I eventually took over when it was one cup on the opponent's side and one cup on my side-and guess who scored on her first try! Yeah, be impressed. We also celebrated Nemo's birthday and it's another friend's birthday today, Mike.

Mike making a masterpiece at Corky's Diner
Colet and Stephanie celebrating Nemo's birthday

Are you ready for the best news? Are you? Okay, the best thing that happened this month was Sabrina coming back from Europe! We spent an entire day together, having her show me all the beautiful pictures she took, I showed her the miracle that is Cookie Butter and Nutella sandwiches, and later that week we watched When Harry Met Sally and experimented with make up. We were supposed to see Icona Pop on Tuesday but it got cancelled last second. I'm kind of relieved because it's nice to spend the day in with my Wheezy. It's so weird to have a friend that I can spend hours with, and we don't even do anything significantly special. With everyone else I feel like I have to go out and force ourselves to have fun or else they'll be bummed. With Sabrina, we just go over to each other's houses and just...sort of bask in the company of each other. And it's great. And I missed her. So that was nice.

Lately, since the Fall semester started on the 19th and I'm taking art classes with more interesting people, I decided to play with my style a bit. By this I mean I've been actually trying when it came to dressing for class. I bought a couple of shirt online, one has already come in and I wear it as much as I can. It's my Sailor Moon shirt from Hot Topic. I saw Ceedling wearing it in one of her latest videos about Feminist Masculinity. And the other I just bought yesterday so the internet gods have not sent it through the mail yet. It's a shirt with Jesus saying "Thou shalt not kill my vibe" I'm so into saints, Christianity, religious art, and just anything with mythology, especially when there's a modern twist to it. So this is definitely gonna be a favorite. 

I'm going to follow up this post with the Music, and Movies that I've seen in August next! Enjoy!

Like A Mountain

So...you know how I said that I want to maybe start doing recaps at the end of each month? Well, I'm going to break my own rules and tell you about my first week of August instead cause I DO WHAT I WANT. And also because I have a shit ton of music that I want to share with you. ^.^

Personal Life

I haven't had much of a life because I have a final to study for, and I work when I'm not confined to a windowless classroom, but I did manage to spend time with my family last weekend. I saw Despicable Me 2 (I haven't even seen the first one) and I can't believe how adorable it was. Actually, the minions and the youngest daughter were the most enjoyable part of the movie. I also went to a pet store with my five-year-old niece and watched as she fell in love with cats and birds. 

I think I might want a little parakeet 

And last night I went to a birthday dinner of my sister's best friend, Devin. The three of us used to make videos together in high school and had so many inside jokes. It was nice to be invited and to be thought of as a 'friend' and not as, like, 'friend's sister.' I went to this Mexican restaurant in San Clemente and met all of my sister's friends. It was a bit intimidating cause they were all in their twenties, but as I got talking to them I found out that the one guy who was drinking the most was eighteen too. The waiters didn't card anyone! So I decided to take a tequila shot with them, and I was really nervous about that for some reason--especially when they poured a bunch of hot sauce in my shot! It was good though, I thought I hated tequila but it went down easy. 

Art

If you didn't see the picture above, I made a portrait of Devin as a gangster. Don't ask why, I myself have no idea. A part of my inspiration came from Liz Clements, who you should really check out and buy prints from if you like her art. Another part of my inspiration came from the fact that my sister and I call Devin 'Lil' D' and have an on running joke about how cute and short she is, so I thought that a gangter portrait be ironic and fitting ~at the same time~.

LizClementsIllustration.com

I haven't played around with my watercolors lately like I used to, so I decided to switch it up and paint with tea. It's pretty easy, just take 5-6 black tea bags, a small cup of water (to really concentrate the browns of the tea) and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then take the back of a spoon and press the tea bags so that the pigment goes into the water. I like to individually squeeze the tea bags after and smear them across water color paper. After that you just replace the 'water' in watercolors with 'tea'. Of course you can have a cup of water to dilute the tea a little bit or to get a better wet-on-wet look when you're painting, but that's pretty much it. I also tried that same method once with green tea but it was a bit more difficult to get the greens on paper, so I'd suggest taking, like, twenty tea bags instead and boiling the water. Another suggestion would be to have a hair dryer. The tea looks much better when it sits on the paper, but it can take a long time for that to dry, so to speed up the process just use a hair dryer on the lowest coolest setting and it'll only take half a minute!

Another artist I found who not has traditional work influenced by tattoos, but is an unbelievable tattoo artist themselves is _eckel. I can only find their work on instagram at the moment, but if I could only ask someone to do one thing today-I WOULD ASK YOU TO CHECK THEM THE FUCK OUT. Their work is so stunning and beautiful I would fly to where this person lives and get a tattoo by them. Let me just give you a taste of the greatness so you can feel me:

Ja feel?

Music

So it's only been a week and I have moved on to new song obsessions, and new genre obsessions and just new artists to listen to! Earlier this week I was wanting to improve my female rappers playlist on 8tracks and I coincidentally ran into this article about 10 Queer Rappers You Should Check Out. Seriously. Every. Single. Artist. Was. Perfect. I am in love with all of them. This list is so on point and I just ughhh *flips table*. One of the songs that they suggested has been on repeat on my iPod:

Based on the comments, this song plays in the movie The Heat. Which is a movie that I have been dying to see but have had no time to go, and no one to go with. 

Speaking of playlists on 8tracks, I made an 'Elvis Presley' playlist on 8tracks too! I was thinking about Pulp Fiction and that quote from Mia Wallace: 

"My theory is that when it comes to important subjects, there are only two ways a person can answer. Which way they chose, tells you who that person is. For instance, there are only two kinds of people in the world, Beatles people and Elvis people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis and Elvis people can like the Beatles, but nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice. And that choice, tells you who you are." 

Yes, this question does run through my mind a lot. And I've come to the conclusion that I am an Elvis Presley person. Definitely. I won't change my mind again I swear! To congratulate myself I made a playlist filled with Elvis Presley, Wanda Jackson, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and a bunch more! And while I was looking around for a good Otis Redding song to put on this playlist I found this beautiful gem of a cover by Sara Bareilles:

Another obsession of mine has been with something called 'southern gothic' music. Which is basically like the dark blue-sy folk-ish music from the South that reminds me a bit of the film O Brother Where Art Thou? This all started, to be honest, with Sabrina (SHE WILL BE IN EVERY POST I MAKE MY WHEEZY), and her first playlist on 8tracks called Molasses. Its so good and so under appreciated, it makes me want to paint on a rainy day while smoking a cigarette and I don't even smoke. What really sparked my interest in southern music, though was this playlist called It's A Long Way Down. I had to contain myself and not favorite every song that came up. I usually only listen to half of a playlist and go on my merry way, but I have been playing this one non-stop. At work, before class, every time I'm in a car, when I'm doing homework, in the shower, before I go to sleep. Everywhere. My absolute favorite song is Like A Mountain by Timber Timbre. I don't know much about the band, but damn this song is so addicting. 

And another song that makes me feel like a misandrist* for liking is called Man Eater by Blue Eyed Blondes. It's so dark and creepy and the ending of the story is brilliant. I also love that this song is a story. I also love everything about this song so please press play. 

If you liked any of these two songs please check out the 8tracks playlist you won't regret it. 

(*not a real thing or word)

If you don't know me, then you don't know the undying dedication and love that I have for CocoRosie and how much they inspire my art and my life. And I guess you're lucking cause my love for the Casady sisters in a bit overwhelming to witness. But have you heard their latest album Tales of a Grasswidow? Cause it's fucking beautiful and you should. Bianca's art and music have really intertwined lately, and you can see that just by looking at the album cover. I know that she designed all of the other albums, but this picture looks a lot like a piece from her exhibit 'Daisy Chain'. 

This album was also the first ever thing that I've bought off of iTunes. I always have ripped my music off of youtube, but I wanted to buy the whole album for when I see them in October. 

My favorite songs on the album so far have been:

1.Gravedigress

When they first released this back in February I went apeshit crazy and fell in love with it instantly. And, of course, I made a playlist with other artists like Blackbird Raum. 

2.Child Bride

The link leads to a music video that reminds me of the Lemonade or Gallows videos. I can definitely see Sierra painting the part of her hair and fingertips red like the women did in this video.

3. End Of Time

This song reminds me of their last album Grey Oceans, not because of the sound (in fact the sound reminds me of Black Rainbow, or K-hole) but because of the theme. The whole apocalyptic feel to it. During their interviews for Grey Oceans they would talk about creatures that created and embodied called 'elementals' that would be like personifications of nature and would inherit back the Earth after the world ended. That's what this song reminds me of.

4. Harmless Monster

This song gives me vivid images of Anne Hathaway's version of Fantine in Les Miserables. The part of "Lovely Ladies" when she says "Don't they know that they're making love/To one already dead!" That's what Harmless Monster thinks of. Do I smell a playlist? I have a problem.

Last, but not least, is Blood On The Leaves by Kanye West. The song that he samples from is called Strange Fruit, originally sung by Billie Holiday but he takes the version by Nina Simone (goddess of music). I have noticed that the comments are filled with people being upset with Kanye's "hate of white people in the whole album". I just roll my eyes at the ignorance (like seriously it there a song about lynching white people no! because that shit doesn't happen to white people--I'm gonna stop because I am not in any position to have any say on the matter) and appreciate the music. When the beat drops, no matter what I'm doing I have to bang my head-everytime!

That's about it! Hopefully I'll more time to post on a regular basis after this math class ends. I have a lot of plans this weekend also, so I'll remember to document and post! Have fun listening to all of the music and thanks for reading! 

July Recap

It was about halfway through this month that I decided to compile everything I've done in the last 30 days and put it all into one post. If we're gonna be looking at an entire month of my life I gotta break this shit down into four categories: Music, Personal Life, Books, and Art. Awesome! Okay, lets get started.

Music

If you've been following me on 8tracks (shameless self promotion) then you'd see I've made a few playlists this month. One about the boys of the Ouran High School Host Club (I'll be making a post about that show in the future), one made up of my favorite female rappers called Watch The Queen Conquer, and this one about the obsession Jay Gatsby has for Daisy Buchanan that borderlines creepy and stalker-ish. Which leads me to the song I have been listening to on repeat almost everyday:

Breezeblocks by alt-j 

My super artsy awesome friend, Chantal, tried to get me into alt-j when we had Painting class together last semester, but it wasn't until my other friend Sabrina was helping me with my Gatsby playlist that I really got hooked. Usually when I start listening to new bands I listen to one song constantly and then once I become tired of it, I start to expand and listen to their other works. I haven't seemed to move on from the first phase yet, cause this song is so goddamn amazing. 

Next on the list of my constant repeat list is the newest song by M.I.A.

Bring The Noize by M.I.A.

 A large chunk of it was taken from her amazing eight minute masterpiece Matangi Mix For Kenzo (that was on repeat in April for me). I can never get over how original and talented this woman is, how she incorporates her culture and style into her music in a way that no one else has. While we're on the subject, there's also a trailer for her documentary released on Vimeo which you should look at. It's all about her music, and her politics, and just her badassery. Just read this article that has the video attached.

Black Skinhead by Kanye West

Okay, if you haven't experienced what's happening on kanyewest.com just go, leave this post and go. (But then come back pleasethankyou).

Personal Life

The fourth of July has got to be one of my least favorite holidays, but this one wasn't too bad. I wish I had taken a picture of the Union Jack shirt I decided to wear ironically (my sister took the Canadian one). But here's a picture of my friends' selfies on my phone when I wasn't aware. We climbed up my friend Nemo's roof and watched the fireworks for a while. And one girl was hellbent on eating a hotdog and being American so got a shit ton of those. I got sort of drunk and annoying and kept saying the lines to Inglorious Bastards before they were said on the television. I think I pissed everyone off a little but I'm not sure. "That's a bingo!"

On the 11th of July I got to see my friend Elizabeth and her cousin Kabrina and we went to the Sawdust Festival, which was pretty awesome! The only downside was that I took one step on the wood chips and the shoes I got second hand from Sabrina fell apart. I'm not kidding. The entire bottom half fell off as I tripped and I had to MacGuyver that shit with scotch tape that I found at the information booth. C'est la vie! It was worth it though. I got to see amazing artwork, I got to talk to other artists, and it got me really inspired to continue on with a project that I'll tell you about in a sec.

And I was planning on going to the Getty with them the next day, but I had to get my hair done, my roots were growing out to over an inch and it was getting bad. For some reason, though, when I got to the salon, I decided I wanted to be a brunette. I went up to my hair dresser and told her and she sighed in frustration. "Seriously?" she asked. "Okay, lets see pictures." When I told her I didn't have any reference pictures, she decided to wing it, and she did a great job if I can say so myself. Though I will always feel like a blonde Luna Lovegood at heart, I think I look better with dark hair. (Ignore the outfit repeating, I just really like my polka-dot dress okay.)

Sabrina's birthday was also this month, and it still amazes me that I can have hours of fun with her even if we're doing nothing in particular. She was really sick and decided to cancel all of her birthday plans, but I kept thinking what a horrible friend I'd be if I didn't do anything for her 19th. So I bought her some last minute flowers and my mom made some chicken soup. When I dropped them off at her house, her family insisted that I should stay for pizza (how could I refuse my one true love that is pizza!). I finally got to meet her boo-thang, and I made her parents laugh at my vast knowledge of 80's music. 

This month has been a real challenge for me to balance friends, school, and work, so it was always nice to know that my friends still wanted to hang out with my after I'd blow them off three times in a row for math homework. (Sadly, I can slowly feel them getting more and more pissed off, but I think I can hold that off until the summer semester ends in the beginning of August.) 

Fortunately I have done a few things with them! Like I went to see Caravan Palace in Hollywood. It was seriously one of the best shows I have been to-I hope that's saying something cause I haven't been to many shows and two of them were at a library to see Harry and the Potters (one of which had the Potter Puppet Pals, I know I'm a badass it's cool). If you haven't dabbled into the music genre of electro-swing, now is the time! Caravan Palace is definitely where you should start. Each musician in the band played at least two instruments during the show. And the dancing! And the crowd! And the feels! A part of me thinks I would have had an even greater time if I had gone with another group of people, cause I didn't know most of them, but I'd rather just try to focus on the positive. And Caravan Palace was positively amazing!

A week later, I went drunk bowling with everyone! It was nice to see some faces that I hadn't seen in almost a month. It's so weird remembering when we all went to high school over a year ago and saw each other everyday and hung out every weekend. I missed them a lot and I missed doing our usual hang-out-in-the-parking-lot-til-midnight thing that we'd always do.
On the 29th, I went mini golfing at night with a few friends because it was one of the first days I've had that I didn't have homework due in the morning. I can't remember the last time I went mini golfing but I must have at some point. Of course we were all terrible and discovered that we'd get more accuracy if we squatted and grunted in a sexual manner (if we missed the hole we would say that the grunt wasn't sexy enough). There were many photobooths in the arcade on the way out of Boomers, but the biggest and shiniest was a photobooth that had a doe-eyed girl on the front, and a sign by the token slot that said 400 yen/26 tokens. Apparently the photobooth gives you extra mascara and bigger eyes, making you look super kawaii! We decided to act as cute as possible and after picked out the girliest backgrounds and poses.  What a nice way to end July. 

Books

I don't have much to say about these books cause I haven't gotten around to reading them, I found the first two books at goodwill.I spent a good twenty minutes eyeing every spine on those bookshelves, and I'm glad with what I found. The first book, The Death of Feminism by Phyllis Chesler, was written after 9/11 so it's a lot about the opression of women, the dwindling and changing of what feminism used to be, and the racism towards all people of the Middle East that sparked in 2001. It's a tough read for me, mostly because I rarely read anything other than fiction. I haven't read Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons, but I know that it's about girl-on-girl agression and where that stems from. I can't wait to read it!

Later that day I also went to a comic book store for the first time, I felt really intimidated by the entire subculture but I left with some cheap Doctor Who comics, one of which includes the Eleventh Doctor seeing the cat burglar from an earlier episode with the Tenth Doctor so that was cool. 

I'm currently reading Feminism Is For Everybody by Bell Hooks, which I think will be a great introduction to feminist literature and help me get the hang of all the terminology and ideals so I don't sound like a complete ass when I'm explaining feminism to other people. 

Art

I was worried that not taking any art classes this semester would ruin all the progress I've made, and that I'd be really rusty when I started taking Figure Drawing in the Fall. To my surprise, I've never been more inspired! It seems that my number one means of inspiration comes from boredom, and boy do I get bored in my math class! And at work, we aren't allowed to read books, or walk around the facility unless someone has peed or vomited (I work at a kids place, like Chuck E Cheese or a giant indoor playplace). So it's been very easy for me to get crazy ideas in my head and put them on paper. 

I guess I've always been obsessed with the idea of religious figures since I took a Bible Literature class my senior year of high school. My old sketchbook is full of halos and third eyes, but I don't think I've been more obsessed until now. I've started collecting those Catholic candles with saints on them, and I've been really into interpreting The Virgin Mary and baby Jesus into different things. 

God Bless Fast Food
Done on a styrofoam cup at work using Crayola Makers and a Sharpie

The one project I've been doing that has been consuming what little free time I have and has always been in the back of my head are the biker gang-styled Game of Thrones patches I decided to create. I have never really ventured into the D.I.Y. field but I was in math class doodling Sailor Jerry styled house sigils for all the families on my favorite show ever, and it just clicked. And I usually never go through with big projects but this one has made me more determined than I ever have about...anything really. Sabrina drove me to a bunch of craft stores to get fabric and iron on paper, my sister helped me pick out jackets to sew the patches on for when I take pictures and put them online (also I just want to wear my own patches cause I think they're awesome), and my mother re-taught me how to sew by hand cause my five year old machine that I've never used was broken. The patches are all I think about at school, work, and when I get home all I want to do is work on them, make new designs, sew into new jackets, and I love it so much. I guess I've developed a hobby because its more than just drawing and painting, there's even more work that I have to put into it. 

I want to make these patches and open an Etsy shop. All this has to happen before Thanksgiving, that's my deadline, hopefully people will want to buy it. Even if I only sell five patches, all the work would have been worth it. All the days of sewing, all the fuck ups, all the frustration. I've come to realize how much support and money someone needs to start something like this. I keep trying to save up money to buy studs and more jackets, but it's been hard. 

I've also been listening to more hip-hop then like any other genre of music this month, and that has played some part in my art too! Just a small part...just me thinking that Beyonce and Kanye West are like worthy of worship and praise and a religious following.

(I'm sorry if that doesn't look like Beyonce enough, she's just too perfect I couldn't)

Well, there's my month! I really like the idea of just doing recaps instead of updating every time something new comes along, but I don't know how August is going to play out so I'm not going to say that this is going to be a thing. Please don't take any of my pictures, enjoy the music and artwork, and see you next time!