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.

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

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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!

What Have Your Ears Been~Feeling~?-June

I like the idea of documenting what music I have been listening to every month. Because I'm constantly looking for new songs to add to playlists I make on my 8tracks, I go through music and  bands pretty quickly. I guess it'll be nice to come back to these songs later and get all nostalgic and shit.
1. 212-Azealia Banks

I first really listened to this song in May while I was finishing up three different paintings for Finals Week, so technically this isn't a June song. But fuck it's amazing and I still listen to it constantly. The fast paced beat and amazing rapping skills are just super addicting. I'm still warming up to Azealia's other songs (I personally ain't digging the eccentric looks she puts out in her later music videos) but the only other one I enjoy is 1991.
2. Cookie Thumper-Die Antwoord

Oh look! More Die Antwoord how surprising! Cookie Thumper is their latest released song and even though I don't understand a word of the chorus, I found myself humming it constantly at work this month.
3. When I'm Alone-Lissie 

I don't only listen to rap and hip-hop I swear! When I'm Alone is always on repeat in my car, but please listen to the version above and THIS ONE. Lissie is an amazing singer and I feel like she puts so much emotion into her voice when she performs live. Perfection.
4. Wicked Game (Chris Isaac Cover)-James Vincent McMorrow

Okay, so I don't know much about this artist, or any of his other songs, I just found this beauty while I was browsing on youtube. Before you press play, take a deep breath, close your eyes...get zen and calm and think about someone you love/loved. This song is just pure feels. I love it so much.
5.Mosquito-Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This is off their latest album, which is (unf) so good. I had a major YYY phase in the eighth grade. I had an ipod nano with only The Beastie Boys and the Show Your Bones album, so it was pretty easy to get obsessed. Karen O is a rock goddess and this song just makes me want to "suck your blood!"

Alright! Have fun listening and I hope you have an amazing time in July!

The Answer: Die Antwoord

In late 2011/early 2012 I found a video that filled me with disgust, curiosity, and amazement. The video was I Fink You Freeky by Die Antwoord. It was filled with dirty, unusual, scowling faces, crude drawings on the walls and clothing of the artists. It was dark, scary, and creepy. The music was a heavy techno beat throughout the whole song until the second verse where it slowly builds up and the beat drops like a dubstep song would. The artists were rapping in both English and Afrikaans, and it was hard to tell which was which at some points. I loved it. I watched it over hundreds of times, showed all my friends. It soon became the go-to song we would all play when we got together. Listening to I Fink You Freeky now just reminds me of the late nights in the parking lot with my friends, or driving a hundred miles an hour down an empty suburban street with the windows down.

Ninja

Die Antwoord is made up of the rap duo Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er. I think what drew me to them was not only their amazing music, but all the question that I had about them: How old is Yolandi? Who is Ninja? Are they married? Related? Where are they from? WHAT! They have a daughter together?! The list honestly went on forever. The more I researched them, the more I respected them and their music. I love performers that take on characters to the point where they don't even know where their personal self begins and their character ends. Ninja described what he does once as "documentary fiction" and he believes that he can bend his own reality however he wants. The two both are tatted with Die Antwoord album names, their own lyrics, and little pictures that symbolize their songs (like Evil Boy-a cartoon of a little boy holding a HUGE penis, based off of the song Evil Boy and the toys that they sell). I don't know, I just admire the dedication. They are basically living art.
One of the first videos that I watched was called Zef Side, a short video that introduces Ninja, Yolandi, and DJ Hi-tek. It's odd that the actor/DJ/performer always changes but they always introduce him as DJ Hi-tek. Their reasoning is that he's actually very shy and has a speech impediment, but its very obvious that its just an imaginary faceless character which I like a whole lot better. They really play on the 'foreign' style. They introduce South African slang like zef (South African swag basically), or chappies (prison tattoos one does to themselves). They are seen hanging out in a poor neighborhood, explaining how Dj Hi-Tek "has a PC computer" and put their music "all up on da interwebz" with their heavy South African accents.

Yolandi Visser in the Max Normal Days

After listening to almost every Die Antwoord song, I found myself clicking on related youtube videos from their former project Max Normal TV. It's amazing to see the difference between Max Normal and Ninja, but I found myself picking up reused lyrics and beats like "I don't like the drugs, but the drugs sure like me!" in the Die Antwoord song So What (which is fucking amazing) was actually taken from the chorus of the Max Normal song Tik Tik Tik (which is also fucking amazing). Die Antwoord is definitely has a more appealing mainstream beat-and much more graphic lyrics-whereas Max Normal TV was about being on an enlightened level of originality. The phrase 'be a creator, not a parasite' is one of the main ideas of Max Normal TV. Seriously just go watch this documentary about his career, it'll make you appreciate him so much.
If you go back even further you can find out that Ninja also went by his real name Watkin "Waddy" Tudor Jones and made not only rap music but, like, seriously beautiful soft shit. Like Moon Love, which features their daughter Sixteen. Or this smooth jazz-ish song Shaboom. Seriously this man has had like nine lives and rocked every single one of them.
These days, however, they have blown UP. Now they do collaborations with Alexander Wang, Versace has taken a liking to Yolandi's haircut, they had an ongoing 'feud' with Lady Gaga that ended with a drag queen getting dress in her infamous meat dress getting eaten by a lion in the Fatty Boom Boom music video, collaborating with artist Roger Ballen, and even doing a short film with Harmony Korine (directed Spring Breakers).
PLAYLIST GO LISTEN HERE YOU GO YUP