April Favourites!

After almost a year of doing this, I've finally decided that the video-favorites thing just isn't my thing. Imma stick to writing this shiz down. :) This  post will cover everything from beauty to music to film to books I've been liking a lot.

If you guys enjoyed this post or have comments about these products/things and/or have some favorites of your own that you want to share, please leave me a comment below! :)

Music Haul: Heartthrob & As I Am

Ironically enough, right after coming from the bank to deposit some cha-chings, I ended up spending a lot of hard-earned cha-chings at a record store in SM Southmall (I forgot what it's called but it wasn't Odyssey). It's been years since I've properly browsed through the music store because a lot of the music store chains don't bother updating their collections, unless it's something popular like something by Adele or Bruno Mars (for the record, I like their music as well--for the most part). And the main reason why I dropped by this store was that I was in here a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed that they had Tegan & Sara's Heartthrob in stock. I wanted to buy it, but had no cash then so I decided to put it off until I did have some money on me. 

 I was very, very pleasantly surprised when I saw that they had so many awesome records in stock and (get this) on sale! I ended up getting T&S's Heartthrob (this wasn't on sale, but I know it's a good record so I didn't mind paying full price, really) and Alicia Keys's As I Am but there were so many great albums on sale like Come Around Sundown (Kings of Leon) and Save Me, San Francisco (Train) that I found myself standing there like an idiot for a good forty minutes, just trying to decide what to get.

Motion City Hangover of Epic Proportions

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Last night, my bestfriends Marz, Joy and I went to the Motion City Soundtrack concert at the SM North Edsa Sky Dome--and wow, that is how you put on a show. Even as I type this I'm still in shock at how awesome the show was last night--the set list was amazing, the music was amazing, the crowd was amazing. Wow. Wow.

Since I can't seem to find the words to actually describe the show, let me first put everything into context by explaining my MCS history. :)) When I was 16 (I was in college at a very young age--too young, maybe) I used to be absolutely in lurve with this guy who was a drug addict: I'm not even talking just weed, I'm talking powders and bitters and all that. Anyway, on one occasion that was supposed to be a date, I ended up at a let's-get-high session in a stranger's apartment. Druggie Lurve was high and had another girl sitting in his lap. So I hung out with the only other sober person in that room: who surprisingly, was the guy who owned the apartment.

The lights were out and the curtains were drawn so it felt like it was 7 pm even if it was in truth, around 4 in the afternoon. I was sitting on Sober Guy's bed and we started talking about music--at the time I was very, very into The Donnas and The Strokes and Sahara Hotnights and so I ended up pulling out my music player and letting him have a listen. In return, he lent me his iPod and asked me whether or not I'd heard of Motion City Soundtrack. I said I hadn't and he had me listen to The Future Freaks Me Out--I was sold at "I rock too fast for love, I'm footloose in my velcro shoes." 

When I got home that night, the first thing I did was look for more MCS music online and started listening to them non-stop. I fell in love with When You're Around and Hold Me Down and Feel Like Rain and Make Out Kids and L.G.F.U.A.D. and Everything Is Alright. 

Later in 2007, their Even If It Kills Me album came out and so the obsession ensued. My friends and I would sing along to songs like This Is For Real and It Had To Be You while staring at swimming pools (skipping gym) and when getting drunk and while braving the long commute from our University to home. I loved Calling All Cops and Antonia as well because they gave me so much hope that there could be guidance or love from the world--even if it's hard to find. I think that it was David Foster Wallace (or someone who my friend Ron likes to read, I can't remember) who mentioned something about the effect of good art or music or literature having to be two-fold: to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable. 

I felt a lot of comfort from their albums during points in my life when I felt like I was teetering on the edge of despair. And on days when I feel absolutely mindless or am just in a state of non-thinking I give their latest album Go a listen and suddenly I'm thinking about people again--how could I not with songs like Timelines and Everyone Will Die?

Anyway, I digress. :)) I never saw Sober Guy again and I fell out of love with Druggie Lurve after that but the one good thing I did get out of that very unfortunate period in my life was this band and their wonderful music. 

Last night--from the start of the show (My Favorite Accident) up until the end of it (Hold Me Down), I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I just couldn't believe that I was there, in the second row watching them play. I couldn't believe that they were real, these people who I'd only ever known from YouTube videos or from music listened to on my headphones. They were real and they were here and could hear us singing along and they knew that we loved their music. :) This made my year, pretty much. Currently re-listening to the entire discography. :D 

The Future Freaks Me Out

So. This Saturday, a few friends and I are heading up North to catch Motion City Soundtrack. My 16-year-old self is pissing her pants with excitement. Up until yesterday I'd sort of forgotten how excited I was about this. And even if I don't know a lot of their new songs, they are playing a couple of the ones that I like (TIMELINES!) so yeah. Plus I heard the setlist was leaked and they are closing with my favorite song--hence the title of this entry. ;)

This week's been pretty half-and-half for me (half what, full or empty who knows) but I'm hoping that this'll tip it over into the "a good week" status. For those of you who like MCS, I hope I'll see you there! And to those who haven't listened to them before, please give them a listen; they're freaking awesome (and by that I mean "will break your heart"). :D

February 2013 Favorites + A Little Giveaway!

Hey, guys. :) I originally was going to do this as a blog post, but it didn't seem to make sense as there were just too many products and too many things to rave about. :D I just thought it'd do better as a video. I'm also going to be doing these things regularly (every month, hehehe) because it's a lot of fun and a good way to cap off every month's obsessions methinks! So. Yeah! You can check out the video below!

Also stay tuned 'til the end for a little surprise! ;)

High Violet

Album cover via The National

I know this is a couple of years late and those of you who listen to The National might be wondering why I'm only posting about this now, but well--I like obsessing about things in turn. And when it comes to my favorite artists sometimes I'll delay gratification and keep myself from listening to an album and obsess over an older album for a couple of months before getting to the goodies. I'm the kind of person who can be very intensive about musical obsessions (search for Tegan & Sara on this blog and you'll know what I mean)--I like to know every word to every song and I really like soaking in records. I pay attention to the order of the tracks and the punctuation of the lyrics and small things like that. So yeah. I'm kinda a "slow listener" when faced with a discography, I guess.

For the past year and a half, I've been listening to nothing but their Alligator album which is great as well (if you're interested, please check it out--they don't disappoint).

And for a couple of weeks before I downloaded High Violet, I'd gotten back into singing along to their first album (The National). Anywho, I think there are two kinds of bands--those that get better with time and those that you appreciate for their "older hits". The National is definitely the former. This is the best album of theirs I've listened to (EPs included. Everything is spot-on: the lyrics, the melodies, the rhythm. My goodness. Favorite tracks include: Bloodbuzz Ohio, Conversation 16, Anyone's Ghost and Sorrow. 

My favorite lines is definitely from Conversation 16: 

Live on coffee and flowers,

Try not to wonder what the weather will be.

If any of you give this a listen/have given this a listen, please let me know what you think/what you're favorite songs are! :D

Wait, They Don't--

I've been listening to MAPS by the YeahYeahYeahs a lot lately. It's a great song for when you're in a contemplative mood. And these past few days, I feel like I've done nothing but think about everything. Today, in Organic Chem class we played with different structures--Cyclohexane, for the most part--and we turned the models around for almost two hours, trying to figure out different ways to look at the same compound and life seems to be no different. The past 24 hours have been exhausting; a constant cycle of turning the situation around and trying to figure out who's wrong, who's right, why is this happening, why isn't this happening, what should I do, what shouldn't I do, should I say this, how should I say this? I'm so, so, so tired. All my life there are only two things that I've really, really valued: love and experience. 

About two years ago, I told myself that if you can't have one, you can at least have the other. Experience--well, I thought I'd had enough of that. But sometimes love can just break your heart. Love so quickly turns into the pain of experience.

Also, I've been drawing lots of maps for a new project I'm working on. How's that for Organic Unity? Meh, life.

Part of Me, Indeed

I don't think I talk about this often enough, but I have a pretty extensive(ish) collection of Live DVD concerts/documentaries. Among my favorites are the John Lennon Imagine DVD, Tegan & Sara's Get Along (which was nominated for a grammy if I'm not mistaken), The Eagles' Farewell Tour Live In Melbourne, Rooney's Spit & Sweat  and most recently, Katy Perry's Part of Me.

I downloaded this the other day on my friend Ron's recommendation and all I can say is that Katy Perry and her team definitely know how to bring it. The DVD was so well paced--this had what I think makes a good music/documentary DVD and that is a just-right blend of insight into the artist's life and performance clips. If you go too far in one direction you either come off like you enjoy the sound of your voice a little too much or you bore the audience. 

I haven't listened to Katy's music in a while and I'm re-enjoying them at the moment. I also now dealing with the deeply painful fact that I didn't get to see her show when she was here earlier this year. Ah, well. There's always singing along in the shower.

Dancing in the Dark

This has got to be my favorite Bruce Springsteen song, ever. I haven't done a music post in a while and since I've been listening to this song all day, I thought I'd talk about it a little. This song is often credited for being the rocket that launched Courtney Cox into (I don't want to use the word stardom but I can't think of another word so) stardom--she was the foxy music video girl (click here for that). 

The thing about Bruce Springsteen (aside from, in his youth, being absolutely gorgeous) is that he always manages to break my heart with his lyrics and his melodies. Today was a rainy, gloomy day that made for lots of (unwelcome) contemplation on the bus home. I've been thinking about things like belonging and what it means to grow up and about the nuances of family--whether or not the repercussions of the imprints of grief we leave on each other are worth it; does anguish equal entitlement to love? Whenever I attempt at putting together a cohesive thought about it I feel like all I'm doing is throwing stones into a dark well and listening to the clanging at the bottom, trying to guess what it is I'm hitting. Math teachers might be right about guessing being impractical, but sometimes that is the only strategy you have.

You can't start a fire,

You can't start a fire without a spark.

This gun is for hire

even if we're just dancing in the dark.

Intimate Performances

And I don't mean the cheap, live-and-acoustic performances usually put on by people who can't a) sing/play properly and b) write their own songs. I mean performances where the stripped-down nature of the set allows you to better hear the song and appreciate the skills of the artist(s). I think it takes a rare type of artist to pull off this type thing--I also think this is why MTV Unplugged was such a hit in the 90s. There's something extremely alluring about seeing flawless talent laid bare. It's beautiful.

I've been listening to these things all afternoon; they go great with the weather and the lethargy that just seems to go with Sundays (and afternoons, come to think of it). Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite acoustic performances by some distinctly not-acoustic performers. 

Jason Mraz is known for full-blown sets with piano, trumpets, electric guitar, percussion and backing vocals (whether done by his wingman Toca Rivera or an orchestra) but when the man decides to strip down, well wow: it makes it difficult for me to decide which I like better. Mraz has the voice of an angel--he's able to write songs that are simple and catchy but he can also go all-out melancholic and go crazy with the range when he wants to. I think this is my favorite Mraz song--also one of the saddest, if you ask me. I'm a sucker for things that explore morbid possibility.

Brian Fallon has been called the "Bruce Springsteen of our time" and The Gaslight Anthem is known for their sparkly guitar and blues-y bass riffs but man, that guy can sing. In many ways his voice is quite the opposite of Mraz--raspy and barritone where Mraz's is seamless and smooth--but they're both amazing live. Brian's voice always seems to be dripping with grief and whenever he performs live, he just brings a whole new attitude to the song that the (already spectacular) recorded version seemed to be hiding up its sleeve. Le sighhh.

This was one of the best online DVD purchases of my life--and I have downloaded/purchased a lot of DVDs. Tegan and Sara are amazing--they have the hookiest guitars, keyboards, melodies and the most amazing drumbeats but they alsopack a mean intimate performance. This performance of their song Nightwatch is my favorite, definitely. :)

What've you guys been listening to lately?

I'm Not Your Hero

I was looking for a song to start the morning off with and poof this came out on Tegan and Sara's YouTube channel. Wow. I am so excited for their new album, I cannot even.

I'm not your hero

but that doesn't mean

that I wasn't brave.

Come A Little Closer

Because I really, really don't want to end today on such a somber note, I'm going to say goodnight to everyone with this really nice performance of Tegan & Sara's latest single, Closer. It's off their upcoming album Heartthrob which is going to be released soon. :D I think this is their catchiest song yet. Also, I am in love with Tegan's sweater.

Cloudy Morning Song

Today is a pretty, gray morning on Taft Avenue. Woke up to the sound of the rain clanging onto the AC unit and looked out to see Manila Bay sleeping. The water was still and the boats were just sitting there, as if still waiting for the day to begin at 10 in the morning. This song's hook started playing in my mind and I thought I'd share this song so we could share this morning, dear reader--whoever and wherever you are. :) Have a good day!

Not With You

This song has been playing in my head all night. Yes, I say all night because I slept pretty late last night--I've come across some extremely exciting news that hopefully I can put on here soon. :D Anyway, enjoy this song! 

Favorite lines: Dressing bad's like loving you there is nothing 

I haven't worn, nothing I've never said before.

Hello, Darkness My Old Friend

This is one of the first-ever songs that I listened to from Simon & Garfunkel and it makes me nostalgic for my highschool bus service and how our bus driver would play this Simon & Garfunkel tape on loop everyday. :)) Anyway, yeah. I hope everyone's having a good day today!

P.S. Just a reminder to the giveaway winners who haven't sent in their addresses, please send it  to my email ASAP: gmd.puangco@winawonders.com I'm shipping things out today and I can't send it if I don't have your address (haha). :))

An Origin Story

So, I understand this isn't exactly music but I find that good spoken word usually has the same soothing effect on me. This is one from Sarah Kay & Phil Kaye--the founders of Project VOICE and two of my favorite spoken word poets. Their pieces are simple and are about a lot of everyday things but I find that because of that simplicity, their work hits home way more than sociopolitical things that I just can't seem to buy into. 

What I love about this piece is that it's about friendship and how friendships are so rare to find, really. Plus, the story of how these two met is really just crazy adorable. :)) Have a good morning! TGIF, everyone!

Kissing the Lipless

Hey, everyone! Just a quick post because I'm headed out for adjustment (yikes!). I've decided to take off the title labels (like Music in the Morning | Title) just because it seems redundant as I've already got the Navigation bar to your right and it doesn't make sense to over-label everything.

Anyway, here's a little music madness/music in the morning for ya'll. :) I love songs that are about love and friendship and sadness all at the same time and I think you just have to go to The Shins for that. :D Here's one of my favorite songs from them.

I hope everyone enjoyed this! :) Have a good day!

Music in the Morning | A little Tegan, a little Sara

So I realize that I've gone on a bit of a binge with my music posts lately, but it's a big part of my life and I really would like this to be more than a fashion blog because to be honest, I'm a huge nerd and while I'm very into fashion, it isn't just who I am. So. Anyway. :) I hope you guys enjoy today's music post. I know I've been posting about Tegan & Sara a lot and that probably owes to the fact that I only recently got my hands on their Get Along DVD so I've really been rediscovering their (haha) discography and sort of reconciling old ideas with the new. But, yeah. 

As you might be able to tell from the title of this post, I decided to post up two songs--one from Tegan and one from Sara. For those of my dear readers who aren't quite huge fans yet or who are just starting to get into this band, the thing about Tegan and Sara Quin is that (at least for most of their career--I hear they did a lot of collab-ing on their last album) they write their songs separately and while they sing together live, on the records, they do their own backing vocals and their own playing. :) I found this very interesting because while it's definitely not something that a lot of bands do, I think that it makes sense. It's the reason I think why their mix of songs is so perfect all the time. Both of them have their own distinct styles and while you can go to them for about anything, you always get two distinct flavors from each of them. I definitely wouldn't want anyone to take my word for it, so here are two songs of theirs that I really, really like and the amazing way that they just play off of each other.

On Directing was written by Sara and I love how this song is incredibly self-aware. The line goes Go steady with me--I know it turns you off when I get talking like a teen and I find so much vulnerability in that statement but also a kind of strength in the knowing of how your actions impact someone. It's equal parts vulnerable and vicious, which I think makes for the perfect combination.

Northshore was written by Tegan and what I love about Tegan's songs is that they're so damn hooky. This song was stuck in my head for about a week and a half after I heard it. Also, the thing I love about this song is again, that sort of self-conscious/self-reflexive quality to it. In the chorus, she sings something's so sick about this, my misery is so addictive and it's just so beautiful (and so true) that misery is a kind of drug. It's addictive. Yeah. This song is just incredibly spot-on.

I think it's this kind of dynamic--the mix between melancholia and resilience, between delicate guitar/keyboard parts and strong, catchy hooks that really make Tegan & Sara such a strong band and that make their records the kind of things that you can listen to track by track.  

Aaaand, that's it for today's Music in the Morning bit. :) I hope everyone enjoyed this! 

Music in the Morning | Laura Marling

A couple of years ago, my friend Angie Pablo (who should definitely start a music recommendations blog, because she is a genius at these things and has excellent taste) recommended Laura Marling to me and as soon as the first vocal line from New Romantic kicked in, I knew that I had to go download her discography. Laura Marling's voice is just incredible and her lyrics are so well thought-out. :) The sky's pretty gray today and I'm feeling very pensive so I've been listening to a lot of her music this morning.

Below are two of my favorite songs of hers although if you download her discography, I think you'll readily see (or hear, rather haha) that pretty much every track is worth a listen. :D

But my mind has fucked me over more times than any man could ever know.

Maybe I should give up, give in--give up trying to be thin. Give up and turn into my mother.

Lover, please do not fall to your knees it's not like I believe in ever-lasting love.

What've you guys/girls been listening to lately? :)

Brightside Entry | A Couple of Things

For some reason, I've been having a difficult time just picking one thing that made my day today--this is exceptional for me, as I'm usually so paranoid that at the end of the day I find myself thinking of things that either scare me or that make me sad. But today, there are so many things that've made me happy, I'm hoping this entry can list them all down. 

1. Best Friend Hang-Outs: Yesternight, I slept over at Marz's apartment and it was the most fun I've had in a while. :) Even if it took us forever to get to her place because the shuttle people from Makati ripped us off and even if we broke a cork-opener thingamajig before getting the bottle open and even if Marz fell down the last step on the way to her pad and sprained her ankle, we still had lots of great fun feasting on pizza, wine + soda and watching the Tegan & Sara Get Along DVD + talktalktalking all night about friends, family, future plans and funny things that've happened to us over the years. 

 2. Love, Sweet Love: Before meeting up with Marz yesterday, I hung out with Keav for the first time in a little over a week and I just realized how much I'd missed him. The thing I love most about me and Keav is that we can talk about anything and everything and at the same time, we can just talk about nothing. We tickle each other and act silly and I pretend to live in his armpit. Hay. I can't wait for the day when we're both out of school and are able to have more control of our time and resources. Being with Keavin is being home.

Photos taken by Marz, hung in her kitchen--as photographed by me.

3. Old Songs: I'm currently chatting with my friend Akire on Facebook and for some reason, we started talking about songs that made us feel sad or that we'd associated with something sad and I listened to Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman for the first time in years. This was the soundtrack to me and my sister's roadtrip through North Luzon back in 2004 and it always fills me with this weird sadness and I remember that hot, lazy feeling that I always get when I'm in the province. Also, I feel very much for the Wichita Lineman. Listen to the song if you'd like and you'll see what I mean. :)

4. Massages: This is pretty self-explanatory. I'm currently waiting for the massage therapist and yay, heaven! I've got some really terrible knots in my back so yeah; I always get excited for massages because of the relief they offer re: backpain. :))

5. The Good Kind'a Tired: I can't wait to get to sleep tonight. I have trouble sleeping at night, as I've mentioned and so what I do is I usually tire myself out during the day so that I can get a good night's rest. And so yeah--I'm very excited to head to bed tonight because I'm exhausted and also I'm having coffee with Trizh tomorrow; I haven't seen her in weeks!