Apologies for all the music stuff and lack of proper blog posts lately, but tonight’s discovery simply had to be shared.
Please take three minutes and fifty two seconds of your time and dedicate it to this music video. Forget Gangnam Style or Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – THIS IS THE NEW SHIT!
I promise you, it will be worth it.
Wicked Games by The Weekend
I only just heard this song on the radio today. Be warned, it contains a lot of swearing and is definitely NSFW. If you can deal with the huge amount of f-bomb’s (and let’s face it, if you’re reading my blog, I’m sure you can) then you’re in for a listening sensation. The Weekend’s voice is just amazing, it caresses your wars and makes you feel kind of aroused and sad at the same time. I also love the sexy, simplicity of the film clip, the shadow dancer, caressing The Weekend while he looks apathetic (or maybe just stoned?) is very cool.
Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I have heard this song a lot but it wasn’t until my sister was asking me if I’d heard it when I realised whose song it was. I’d been enjoying listening to Macklemore talking about his album on Triple J as it was the featured album the other week, and didn’t actually realise he also did Thrift Store. I absolutely though a black guy rapped on it! I don’t think I have to really go into much detail about why I love this song (and the clip) because it seems pretty obvious to me (ie. it’s hilarious)!
The Way You Are by Peking duK
Another track I’ve heard on the radio a bit lately (in case I haven’t made it apparent, I listen to Triple J at work, all day every day). These guys are from Canberra and if I was to have seen their website before hearing the sing I probably would never have given them a chance. But I absolutely love it and am probably going to make it my song of summer, even though I’m not going to any festivals this year :( It makes me wish I could do the Melbourne Shuffle better as it’s the perfect song to shuffle to! Please note: I couldn’t find a decent youtube video of this song, as they haven’t yet released the clip, but this video is a good sample of it to see if it’s your thang.
This is my new favourite song. Admittedly I like pretty much everything Lupe Fiasco does and conscientious hip hop holds a special place in my heart anyway. So I fell in love with this song almost immediately. Essentially he is drawing attention to the word “bitch” and how it’s used in hip hop and how different people interpret it, whether as a negative insult to women or by girls who try to claim it as an empowering word.
For more clarification, check out the discussion Lupe has with other black artists on MTV about his video and the use of the word bitch in hip hop. It’s really good to see people questioning the connotations of a word traditionally used to insult women and whether or not it can be used as a positive, empowering word by women. Personally, I don’t think so. I mean, look at where the word comes from: female dog. While I am a really big fan of female dogs, it’s always been used as an insult and I hate hearing people call women “bitches” like it’s the new, cool way to say “ladies”. Kind of like how I hate the word slut and how I don’t believe it can ever be reclaimed when it has never been anything but a nasty insult. Like one panelist on the show, Jamilah Lemieux said, there are other, better words we can use to empower ourselves other than callimg ourselves “bitches”.
Don’t even get me started om the social commentary on African American stereotypes. Brilliant!
Anyway, please watch it and see how you feel. Do you think women can reclaim the word “bitch”?
I’m super late to jump on the bandwagon but over the last few weeks I have gotten into KPOP. In case you’re unaware of the term, it’s short for “Korean Pop Music” and is… exactly what the name says it is. Pop music from Korea (South Korea, obviously). I’ve known a lot of people who have been really into it but seeing as how my favourite band is German, I didn’t want to open that can of worms. But then I discovered the wonder that is Big Bang and their single FANTASTIC BABY and now my life is over. See for yourself:
Luckily for me one of my best friends is Korean so I have someone to share the obsession with. Admittedly I was already a bit of a fan of Girls Generation but obviously it’s not as fun to obsess over girl bands like it is with boy bands. But for the record, this is the cutest song ever:
And then I discovered the GREATEST SONG TO HAVE EVER EXISTED! Yes, it’s is GANGNAM STYLE by PSY. I am in the process of learning the dance to it as my sister have high hopes to do a Gangnam Style flashmob at some point. If you don’t know of this masterpiece, prepare to have your mind blown:
I could go on and on and link you to 30,000 amazing kpop music videos but I thought I’d give you a taste of what I consider the best examples so you can learn more for yourself! ^_^
God damn my obsession with non-English-speaking music!
I miss the days when songs by and/or for teenagers were accompanied by cute, harmless videos like Stacie Orrico’s set-at-high-school Stuck On You, Christina Milan’s “sneaking out to go dancing” AM to PM or even the sickneing, family-friendly S Club 7. It’s one thing to bitch about how provocative Lady Gaga or Rihanna are, but their music is not aimed at teenagers (and younger) so as a parent you just gotta say “Nope, you can’t watch this, 11 year old daughter because I am a responsible adult who knows how to lay down the law”. But when music videos by 16 years old show this kind of bullshit? Ugh what the fuck, societies gone to shit anyway, so why am I so surprised?!
Now please excuse me while I sing along to this and then maybe this (not really relevant to this rant, but I’m now on an early-2000′s pop music memory trip).
EDIT: OK so I just noticed that the top-rated comment on her video on YouTube is mine! Haha WINNER!
On Saturday night my sister and I went to the Lady Gaga concert! It was a lot of fun, though I will admit it was not quite as mind-blowing as the first concerts I went to back in 2010 (which I wrote about here). But hey, the lady puts on a GREAT show and I was not disappointed. I was also really impressed with how much fan-interaction she had this time. She really does love her fans and while “Little Monsters” sometimes shit me (they’re like a frikken, flamboyant gang sometimes, yo), I loved seeng her talk to fans during the show.
Anyway, on to our outfits!
ERIN!
Dress: Black lace mini dress from Valley Girl
Leggings: Peacock leggings from Black Milk
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Night Walk from Solestruck
After the show my feet were in hell. Erin’s shoes are MUCH comfier than mine (I wore hers one night for a few hours and it was like walking on clouds). Because they’re peeptoe’s they cut into one toe a bit and basically I just wasn’t used to them. But I managed to spent almost the whole night in them and even did a fair bit of dancing so they fared better than 60% of my high heels. They’re actually not that hard to walk in, as long as you don’t lean back too much, you’re all right!
It was a really fun night, and I’m glad I shared it with my little sis!
I think it’s fair to say that I am not a huge fan of Madonna. I loved her 80s stuff and even a lot of her 90s music. But I’ve never been all that fussed with her as a person. It hasn’t anything to do with her scandals, I actually think her Erotica phase was sexy as hell (if you’re going to be a slutty pop star, do it properly like she did, or put some damn clothes on already). I just don’t like… her. I’m not going to dissect why I dislike the woman, because that could take ages. Instead I would like to discuss today’s Madonna. First of all, you should probably watch her new music video:
OK so it’s nothing new. I mean didn’t Lady Gaga do pretty much the same thing in Alejandro? Oh but wait, didn’t everyone accuse Gaga of copying Madonna with that music video? So basically what we have here is Madonna copying Lady Gaga copy Madonna. Confused? I know I am. Look, I love Gaga but I will admit she has clearly copied a lot of what Madonna already did. It’s no biggie, because that’s how pop music tends to work. But to have the “original” artist copy the imitator? Damn, that shit’s wack!
Then there was the “feud” between her and Deadmau5 this week. Deadmau5 got angry at her for making ecstasy references at a festival which she later claimed was a reference to a song that didn’t make it on her record. Oh-kay. As much as I think Deadmau5 is a wanker, I am pretty darn sure she was making a drug reference and I find that pretty tacky, let alone the fact it really is very detrimental to dance music whose image has finally gotten away from the pill-popping culture that dogged it for so long. So she comes up with some bullshit excuse for referencing ecstacy (“No no, I meant the name Molly, not the street slang for the drug which I also reference in the NAME OF MY ALBUM!”). Ya know, Madge, we ain’t all dumb and we don’t appreciate being treated as such. Just FYI.
Look, Madonna was an amazing pop star back in the day. She shaped pop music in new ways and was miles ahead of everyone else in the 80s and even in the 90s. But she’s 53 years old now, with two children (can you believe Lourdes is like, 16 now? Wow, I feel so old). I appreciate the fact she’s kept in superb shape, but the pantless thing is getting beyond a joke. She needs to understand the fact that she can’t keep acting like she’s the same carefree lass like in the early 90s when she released Sex (which I’ve seen and think is actually a very fascinating book, and can be seen here in full if you’re so inclined). It’s not edgy any more, because everyone has copied her and it’s become boring, and seeing her try to recreate it like she’s got something to prove is really kind of sad.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this: Madonna is no longer relevant. There’s nothing she can do any more that will shock us without, I dunno, actually murdering someone live on stage. She’s done it all, and younger, fresher faces are now doing it better. She used to be a chameleon, changing her entire image every couple of years and wowing us all. Now she’s just rehashing her old looks and bringing in other younger artists to try and remind us that is IS relevant and that we should keep listening to her (I mean, Give It To Me with Pharrell has to be one of the most fucking awful pop songs of the last 10 years). It’s getting old and tired and sad.
Sorry Mads, time to retire the body suits, pull on a pair of trousers and age gracefully.
If you haven’t heard of Die Antwoord yet, then you’re in for a shock. Whether it’s a good one or not, is up to you. They’re a South African rap/techno group who are, quite simply, bizarre. I absolutely love them and was so glad I got to see them live at Future Music Festival earlier in the year. Most of their clips are NSFW and might freak out anyone who’s a bit too straight-laced because there’s a fair bit of swearing, sexual/drug references, violence etc. But I find them so refreshing and fun.
I also really dig the whole “zef” culture. I love the “I’m kind of poor but I’m fancy as fuck” thing that they embody so well. I wonder if it would ever take off in Australia? Anyway, enjoy the video!
‘Boyfriend’ by Justin Bieber
I haven’t done a music post for AGES. What the hell? OK so to be honest, this is going to probably turn a lot of people off. But I have a confession… I actually like Justin Bieber. Not enough to buy his albums (unless I saw them for $5 somewhere which I have not yet managed to do) but I don’t mind his songs. I don’t even care actually, there’s no shame in liking something “mainstream” or enjoying the music of a talented teenager that’s adored by millions of teen girls (even if 99% of them are bat-shit insane). I like pop music, I love RnB and basically anything Usher does music-wise is fine by me, his little Canadian protégé included!
Anyway, I love how sexy this song it. Reminds of mid 2000s Justin Timberlake. I am also pretty impressed by how much his new hairdo makes him look like Stefan from The Vampire Diaries. Sure, I like Damian better, but Stefan is pretty spunky too:
OMG GUYS! They’re like long lost brothers. Look at those full lips! Those pinchable cheeks! I’d maybe have to send Justin off while I have some “adult time” with Paul Wesley though ;)
Anyway, I am done with all that Bieber hatin’ e’ryone does. He’s talented, hard working, sweet and apparently does a lot for charity. Maybe his style of music isn’t your cup of tea, but you don’t really know til you give it a chance!
