Taylor Swift: 1989

I'm 6 days late to the party which is pretty bizarre considering I've been on the look out for this album since her first announcement. But now that I do have a copy, I strongly feel that 1989 deserves a blog post because a Taylor Swift album is always chock full of surprises. Although she's completely put her country trademark behind, 1989 certainly does not disappoint.

I was kind of hesitant to listen to the tracks because I was afraid that I may not like the new direction she's taken as an artist, especially after the release of her single "Shake It Off" that's unquestionably catchy and all but doesn't really sound like Taylor Swift to me. But I quickly got over it because her transition from country to pop is intriguing enough to keep me along for the ride. And looking at the tracks in my iTunes library, there was this smallest hint of doubt in me that maybe she couldn't pull this one off.

BUT luckily, I was wrong. It's a new musical territory that she's exploring, but her transition is so smooth and graceful that it wouldn't even cause "shock" to a long-time fan, if that even makes any sense. Now, I wouldn't go into the technical aspects of the music, I'll leave that up to Gary Trust or some guy from Billboard, but I will speak as a fan.

There is a glaring absence of banjos and raw acoustic guitars and in its places are beats and electronic rhythms that pretty much scream "pop". And hypothetically, if someone didn't know any better, it would be silly to think that Teardrops from My Guitar and Shake It Off were written and sung by the same artist. The distinction between 1989 and her prior albums is really prominent, and that's not such a bad thing.

I was always a fan of her slow ballad songs that I could belt out in the shower like Enchanted, All Too Well, I Almost Do, Back to December, and The Way I Loved You (all-time personal favorite) so even if I knew it was a long shot, I expected to hear at least one slow ballad. It's kind of disappointing, especially since she writes the best lyrics that accompany the most passionate melodies. Nevertheless, I'm growing to love her new sound.

1989 is a breath of fresh air. Not exactly a contender for the best among all of her albums, but still, it's the type of music that only gets better the more you listen to it.

And another thing that I absolutely love about this album is that the physical copies come with different sets of Polaroids that have hand-written lyrics on them which is reaaaally lovely. Leave it up to Taylor Swift to add such a creative, personal touch to her albums. Here are some of the Polaroids that I loved:

These came from a digital booklet and aren't scans of the actual thing because I don't think record stores here have started selling physical copies of the album.

Once you've gone through a Taylor Swift CD booklet, it is a protocol and I mean a protocol to snoop around in the lyrics and decode messages from each song. If you don't, it's like leaving the cinema during a Marvel movie without staying for the credits. So do it.

Basically, all of the lyrics were in capital letters with some lower-cased ones sprinkled here and there. The trick is to combine the lower-cased letters in order to form sentences. I have terrible eyesight so my decoding took longer, but hazaar!

1. Welcome to New York
- "We begin our story in New York."

2. Blank Space
- "There once was a girl known by everyone and no one."

3. Style
- "Her heart belonged to someone who couldn't stay."

4. Out of the Woods
-"They loved each other recklessly."

5. All You Had to do Was Stay
- "They paid the price."

6. Shake it Off
 - "She danced to forget him."

7. I Wish You Would
- "He drove past her street each night."

8. Bad Blood
- "She made friends and enemies."

9. Wildest Dreams
 - "He only saw her in his dreams."

10. How You Get the Girl
 - "Then one day he came back."

11. This Love
- "Timing is a funny thing."

12. I Know Places
- "And everyone was watching."

13. Clean
 - "She lost him but she found herself and somehow that was everything." (Personal favorite!!)

I like how it's basically a story that you have to earn by decoding it (unless of course you Google them which sucks out the fun in the whole concept). It has such a whole new different feel and the unfamiliarity is exciting and most certainly welcome.

These past few weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind and with the past few days seeming like the calm after the storm, I've finally had the opportunity to sit down and soak in some of the things that I haven't got to digest... which also means stumbling upon more good songs.

Dive – Tycho | Our Endless Numbered Days – Iron & Wine | Wincing The Night Away – The Shins

Funeral – Arcade Fire | Death by Sexy – Eagles of Death Metal | Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams

I've been stuck in a musical rut for so long, listening to the same songs on a daily basis and so I made it a mission to find some songs that are refreshingly addictive. Well these are the musical finds I've been meaning to share because the extra 3 GB space it took up in my iPhone is totally worth it. 

1. Dive by Tycho
Much like the album art implies, the entire tracklist is like riding the soft waves with total abandon. I've never pretty much appreciated tracks without lyrics before, but the melodies are really all that you need. I stumbled upon this a few weeks ago and I've found that it's great for when you're studying. It's not completely overwhelming, but it does tickle the senses. Adrift has become my personal favorite. It's the crowning track of the album. And because I'm naturally a curious cat, I did some research on what these sway-inducing tracks actually are. Its musical style is actually "chillwave" mixed by electronica artists and it's been around since the mid-2000's. The eccentric feel immediately got me hooked and it's amazingly multidimensional. 

2. Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine

I love this so much. This album has been around since 2004 and it's a shame it took me this long before I discovered it. I've only ever known one song by Iron & Wine and I've never been curious enough to look up their discography until now (woops). Imagine if your favorite cup of hot chocolate transformed into songs, because these would be it. Another thing I absolutely love about it is its paradoxical title which comes from the lyrics of another one of their songs called Passing Afternoon. "There are things that drift away like our endless, numbered days." It radiates this kind of peace that I'm in love with.

3. Wincing The Night Away by The Shins

I've always had a thing for indie-rock or any sub-genre of rock in general and this album had me at the first song. Their sound is much like The Smiths', however more diverse in terms of the musical style. The thing about it is that it never sounds monotonous. "Australia" and "Split Needles" are shamelessly on repeat!

4. Funeral by Arcade Fire

I've been seeing a lot of this band around the internet lately and I figured it's about time I gave them a shot. Of course the fact that they're an indie-rock band has already got me all "sold!", the album's tracklist is what completely engulfed me. Its energetic vibe will make you bob your head no matter how hard you try not to. The songs are dramatic and beautiful, yet light and airy. I like how I don't recognize all of the instruments used in the songs, but I've been paying more attention the drums. Also, I'm crazy about the album art! What a beaut. A lot of the songs I've used in my recent playlists come from this album too just because I like the variety of its sound.

5. Death by Sexy by Eagles of Death Metal

By the looks of it, this album doesn't seem to line up with the past albums I've mentioned. Sounds daunting, especially along with the album art. But it will end up surprising you. It's not some sort of satanic cult music; Eagles of Death Metal is your not-so typical all-American rock group with incredibly bad-ass songs that'll make you wanna dance around. If you like commercials, you'll probably hear one of their songs in an Axe commercial. Plus if you close your eyes with this album on full blast, you could almost imagine yourself with a leather jacket, riding a motorcycle to an old-school diner. And I dig it too much. Thanks to David for making me listen to Don't Speak and made me feel like I've found Jesus.

6. Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams

A lot of my friends who I shared this album with have told me that he sounds like the country version of John Mayer with "a shitload of harmonicas". I'm not sure I disagree. I've had this in my files for a couple of years now, but it's been recently unintentionally ignored and I haven't listened in such a long time. Do your ears a wonderful favor by listening to "Come Pick Me Up" and "Oh My Sweet Carolina". I like how the entire album almost feels untouched, it feels so raw and vulnerable and it's imperfectly elegant.

Desperation

My fingers are throbbing and I have crazy eyes. My inner fangirl has once again gotten the best of me. Circuit Fest is just right around the corner and it's the perfect music festival to end any summer, particularly, my stinking summer. And here's where I get to the really bitter part of this story: I don't have tickets because as much as I wanted to pay for them myself, I don't have school allowance to save up anyway. It's summer, I'm broke and I'm stuck at home.

At first, I didn't even think it would bother me that much because I've missed a lot of concerts and a lot of my favorite bands and those frequent situations has lead me to believe that I've grown numb. But now that it seems I'm the only one who's not going, I'm sort of panicking. Misery loves company.

Let me just point out that the line up is flawless and to say that I love those bands is the understatement of the century. I've been listening to them for years. Some of them are coming back (and, by the way, I also missed their previous concerts) like Yellowcard, This Century, Mayday Parade, WATIC and A+D. And just the thought of missing them AGAIN is enough to make me want to throw myself off the second floor window.

Allstar Weekend, Before You Exit and Downtown Fiction are coming here for the first time ever. And I am going to miss them for the first time ever. 

I would've settled for To Rock tickets. Hell, I'd be really ecstatic if I got a hold of General Admission tickets. I just want at least one interesting and happy thing to happen in my entire summer. Is that too much to ask?

And like any other broke fangirl, I've resorted to, that's right, online contests.

I didn't join much because I'm a lazy fuck and most of them required "likes" from Facebook which I've had enough of. During the peak of my band phase (which happens to be last year) I've joined a number of contests, bugged a number of people to like my entry, desperately waited for a number of times and sobbed and weeped in a corner as I realized all my hard work went down the drain and I didn't win.

But because I'm broke. And peso-less. And desperate. THAT'S NOT GONNA STOP ME FROM ENTERING ANYWAY! (Even though I'm expecting heart aches and disappointments at the end of the tunnel.)

What the hell, I decided to give it one last shot tonight. Nick Automatic decided to hold a giveaway and they're giving away 1 VIP pass to Circuit Fest with 2 shirts. Who wouldn't want that, right? So this happened.

I hit tweet limit the same time I hit rock bottom. My fingers are sore, I can't feel my butt and all hope is gone. I'm just here blogging the pain away because I'm in twitter jail and I'm gonna have to wait another whole hour before I can start being annoying again. 

They're currently randomizing the tweets to pick winners for each round while I'm currently weeping and fighting the urge to roll on the ground. 

Why did I even get into this fandom? It is ruining my liiiiiiife. 

I'm going bonkers.

Roll The Windows Down!

What my sister would usually describe as "teen angst" songs, I call my "roll-the-windows-down" music. Because it is, after all, summer, I wanted to feel really upbeat through the incredibly hot days. And if I were to go on a really long road trip with friends on a sunny day, these albums would be my top pick to blast in the stereos. These albums are perfect for driving with the windows down, feeling the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. 

1. The Wombats - A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation
   
   The title of the album says it all. It's definitely a feel good album with songs that will pick you up. It's loud and fun and absolutely something you can dance to. When I recently made mixed CDs for my best friends, I loaded them up with songs from this album to kick start the summer vibes. This one's been on repeat and I'll probably only stop once I get tired of it... which is never.
   
2. Dog Is Dead - Hands Down
   
   Although some of the songs are not as upbeat as the others, I like the vibe that this album gives off every time I listen to it. It just puts me in a really calm and happy state that I think I should be in more. They're also such an underrated band and with this much talent, they deserve to be heard more. I hate how there's so much talented musicians out there that go unnoticed and unrecognized for years. So I highly recommend that you give them a listen. Make your ears happy!
   
3. The Kooks - Junk of The Heart
   
   The first track off of this album is my absolute favorite. I've only recently found out about this band and I definitely don't regret checking them out. It has an old school sound to it that I really love and despite it being rock and loud, it's not overwhelming to listen to if you want to just sit back and relax. It's light, catchy and fun. Definitely my summer favorite.

Indie rock seems to set the best atmosphere and it never fails to get me in a good mood. These songs aren't probably for everyone, so if you're one of the people who don't exactly agree with me, that's perfectly fine. We all have our own choice of music and if it makes you happy just like these albums make me happy, by all means, go for it. But it wouldn't really be so bad to try new music you might just end up loving! :)