I Recover. Day 1

These months-long hiatuses have to stop! I keep putting off writing new blog posts for more than a year now and that's some bad blogger habit I need to quit. Every few months or so I keep coming back with a post similar to this and I promise (I hope) that this is the last one. 

I used to only write new entries when inspiration struck me but I've recently learned that that approach is NOT AT ALL EFFECTIVE! Waiting for inspiration to strike is work of the lazy and I'm trying to change that. A huge part of the reason why I'm making this change is because of Casey Neistat. Lately, he's been my biggest inspiration on being super productive, like have three jobs kind of crazy productive. I mean, how else would I ever get to afford to live in New York? I somewhat already have two and so, I'm making this my third. Nothing too radical though, I just want to have some time to write. And so, I'm doing this self-imposed writing challenge. 7 days, 7 blog posts. (fingers crossed)

I'm actually excited about this 7 day stint and have been thinking about it for the past month. (Yeah, this post has been in my drafts for a month now. ugh) So typical me wanted to put it off until I had a bank of things to write about (again with the security blanket. ugh, right?). I have to stop this habit of procrastinating and waiting. So, here I am just doing it. I worry so much about what to put in here when in reality, nobody probably even reads this. (Ha!)

Now jokes aside, what is this going to be anyway?
I want to try to make content daily (with subpar visuals), but only for a week. At first, I wanted to do it for 15 days straight, but let's be realistic here. I've only made 6 entries last year so pushing to 15 is a bit much. Now, 7 is a bit ideal.

In the coming week, you'll be reading about what I've been up to, new music I've been listening to, share some stories (pre-blogging era), and basically, anything that I could write about. I've recently watched Alt-J live in concert, so you have that to look forward to.

But for today, I'd like to keep it simple and offer some daily inspiration.

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"Summer" of Dreams

Where do I even begin?

How about we set the vibe first. It starts out with a some Chet Faker, FKA Twigs, SOHN, and then a little bit of James Bay and George Ezra. Oh, and throw in some Hozier in the mix too. Mmm, yeah. That feels just about right.

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Apparently I'm bad at blogging. But that's about to change now. And I am serious this time like, I-want-to plan-an-elaborate-wedding-proposal-to-you-that-would-soon-go-viral-once-I-upload-a-video-of-it-on-YouTube-because-it-was-ridiculously-grandiose kind of serious. But, enough with the promises and on with the agendas.

The past few months have been so different compared to what I was doing a year ago... and I kind of love it. Aside from the uncertainty of where I'd be a year from now and the worries and anxieties that come along with it, it's that same uncertainty that brings excitement to my life. If you told a year ago that I'd be brushing shoulders with Matty (of The 1975) and Thomas Mars (of Phoenix), I would've told you you're crazy because those sorts of things do not happen to me. I'm the type of person who'd buy a Killers concert ticket only to find out they'd soon be disbanding/taking a break and cancel the whole tour (circa 2011). But I guess things finally took a turn for the best because not only have I watched a few of my favorite bands live but I've also found myself to be a certified yoga teacher now. A year ago, I wrote this letter and briefly mentioned how I wanted to pursue my certification and now I actually am. I can't believe that was just a year ago.

For someone who doesn't do much, a lot has happened.

Now, what exactly have I been up to in the months that I've missed blogging?

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Digital Witness

On The Radar Vol. 6

We're back! The two-month hiatus is over and we can finally enjoy some new music. On this issue of the Radar, we are surrounded by the number two. We talk about sophomore albums, alt pop duos, and two-weekend festivals.

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Foster The People is done with their second album and gives us a taste of it with their newest single, Coming Of Age. The album, entitled Supermodel, will be out on March 18. In the meantime, you can watch the music video they did with BRTHR for Coming Of Age (Watch). You can always expect a great music video from Foster The People and this new one doesn't disappoint. In an interview, Mark Foster said, "aesthetically, we had talked about on this record working with film more, and working with kind of more classic photography." (Watch) 

BRTHR is composed of the newcomer directors, Alex Lee and Kyle Wightman. They are the minds behind MS MR's Think Of You video and the most recent one as Miley Cyrus' cat visual from her performance at the AMA 2013 (Watch).

Here, Mark Foster talks more about the song:

“Coming of Age was the last song we wrote for the record, we wrote it in the studio while we were recording. It kind of came out of nowhere, which songs do sometimes. It’s kind of funny, it’s the last song we wrote and recorded and it is the first song everybody is going to hear. 

Lyrically, it is almost a confession. It is about a moment of clarity, having a moment of clarity and I think for me this year, being home, was that quiet after the storm of touring for two years and my life drastically changing. 

It was kind of the first breath I had to really look around and see that there were some things that happened during that period with my friends and with my loved ones, with the people that are close to me and with myself as well. It is the first time that I got a clear look on those things and that’s kind of what the song is about. It’s about growing up.”

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50 Best Songs of 2013

It's that time of the year again to look back and reminisce on the year that has passed. Oh, what a year it has been and boy, did time fly by real fast. Now that Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Stereogum have all released their Best-Of lists, I decided to join in on the fun.

2013 has been a year of bands coming back from long breaks like Daft Punk, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, and Black Sabbath. There were also amazing second and third albums from The Dubs (Vampire Weekend), MGMT, Local Natives, Surfer Blood, Grouplove, Best Coast, M.I.A., and many more. There's so many great music produced this year and I'm so glad I was able to absorb at least a percentage of it. I have so many albums that I wish I'd given more time to listen to like Laura Marling's Once I Was An Eagle that barely got playtime on my iTunes, or Noah and the Whale's Heart Of Nowhere that has probably only plays for There Will Come A Time, or Blood Orange(aka Dev Hynes)'s Cupid Deluxe, which I haven't even gotten myself to pressing that play button yet. There's so many things I want to listen to but sometimes my mood just tells me to play that Bastille record one more time. So, I'm saying sorry now for not having any of the aforementioned artists on my list but it's still a pretty good list.

But before that, I have to mention that my babies, Vampire Weekend, were given the number one spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album of 2013. I can't help but be all proud and happy for them because I know it has been a real journey for the completion of this masterpiece called Modern Vampires of the City. These young lions really took their time and it shows because of the deep and mature tone the lyrics have become since talking about oxford commas five years ago. They definitely deserve this spot and I'm hoping they win a Grammy for this because, as biased as this may sound,  I strongly believe this is Vampire Weekend's year.

Now, on to the list.

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Darkness of the Dawn

 First, let's talk about James Blake.

Recently, I've been listening to some podcasts and in this one station that I tune in called All Songs Considered, they briefly talked about James Blake and from then on I became interested in his artistry and virtuosity. I've listened to his song Retrograde multiple times before but I've never really gotten to know him as an artist. And going back to that podcast, the hosts, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton, caught up with him after a show and spoke about possibly having a song that has changed his life. He was quick to say that it was Trouble Blues by Sam Cooke, which came out back in 1963. He said, "It's the hum. In some subconscious way, I filtered that into Retrograde." When you listen to Cooke's track, you'll definitely understand what he was talking about. What actually drew me to Retrograde was the humming. I remember first hearing it and couldn't get it out of my head, which is not at all a bad thing.

Trouble Blues by Sam Cooke

There's a touch of a soulful vibrato when he sings showcased especially in his cover of Feist's Limit To Your Love. But don't call him a soul singer because he doesn't see himself falling into that category. In an interview with Pitchfork, Blake said, "I've never felt like I was a soul singer. It's not really who I am." He goes on about how he feels when people call him "soulful" in the interview, which you can read here. Whatever genre he may lie, it doesn't hide the fact that he's got an amazing voice. 

His take on songwriting has always been about being true to himself, as cliche as that may sound. He says, "When I'm writing a track, I feel like I have to produce something that totally represents me and, if it doesn't, then it's stopped immediately. There's not even a second thought -- I'll close it and do something else. Being honest is an individual thing. It's not something that other people judge you on, although they can smell it. "  

I've fallen in love with his song, The Wilhem Scream. The lyrics go, " I don't know about my dreams. I don't know about my dreaming anymore. All that I know is I'm falling. Might as well fall in. I don't know about my love. I don't know about my loving anymore. All that I know is I'm falling. Might as well fall in." and that's it all through out the 4:36 duration of the song. It's so simple yet when he sings it, it feels like it has so much weight to it and meaning to every word he says. With every verse he sings, it feels like he's asking me a question about life and where it is headed to or rather, succumbed to.  Although, I might just be thinking way too deep into this and it's probably because I'm writing this into the wee hours of the night. And so, I am really excited to see him perform live next year at Laneway Singapore because all I've heard are amazing things about his live performances. They're making live electronic music and he and his band do not have pre-taped samples or sequences with them. The looping is all done live. I can't wait to see it for myself. 

Watch him perform The Wilhem Scream live on Later With Jools Holland. (Watch)

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Beautiful Rewind

Welcome to the first issue of On The Radar, a weekly round-up of pretty much all things music related. Plus, a playlist to boot. 

This week, we talk about the mother*ckers who never loved us, taking chances with James Blake, what Chvrches is doing right and everything in between.

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Drake's album, Nothing Was The Same, has been getting high praises and even gets a "10 outta 10" from Vampire Weekend's frontman, Ezra Koenig. He's written a review for The Talkhouse and somewhere along the way it took an odd turn. At one point, he reveals he's colorblind. (But not really.)

Here's an excerpt:

"I have heard SOME of it. I heard that one called “Worst Behaviour,” the “motherfuckers never loved us” one – it really struck a chord. There are SO many motherfuckers out there. I’ve been making music since I was seven years old (started with piano) so I’ve been betrayed more times than I can count. You know how many people talk shit behind your back and then try to be your best friend over the course of 22 years in the industry?? Drake only got into music like five years ago, so if you see how angry he is — IMAGINE HOW I FEEL. 

Now, usually I can forgive but I won’t forget. However, there are some cases where I can forgive but I won’t forget OR forgive." 
Read the whole article here. 

While we're still on the subject of Drake, check out this hilarious list of his worst behavior by the Pitchfork staff. 
     "Made fun of friend for crying at the end of The Butler before silently crying to himself in the bathroom afterwards. - Larry Fitzmaurice" Surely, this happened, right?

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