Thursday, May 29, 2008

Arts n' Crafts Night!!!



Recently, Kari and I discovered these great shoes at Walmart. They look just like vans or keds, except they are only five bucks. What a bargain! So I bought a white pair and the red pair, and fell in love. It's been forever since I bought a pair of sneakers. I've been hooked on the wedge heels, but I rediscovered the joys of a cute and casual shoe. This left me wanting more, which led to my genius idea. I could buy a pair of white shoes and dye them! As for the color, I wanted something that really made a statement... like "can't touch this." Had to go with yellow. So work this equation out:  bucket + shoes + water + golden yellow Rit dye = Yellow shoes! 
Check 'em.




Tuesday, May 6, 2008

The Retrospect: Best Albums of 2007

So lately I have been thinking a lot about the great music of 2007. There was a podcast on NPR's "All Songs Considered" where they played songs from the top 25 albums of 2007. I didn't get to vote so I decided that I wanted to make my own list. A lot of them are the same as NPR's, but there are a few that are unique to my list. So here's my top 25 of 2007.  I thought it was a pretty good year, but let me know if I missed out on anything good. They are in chronological order of their release dates:

23 jan
The Shins- Wincing the Night Away
(This one was one Jacob Garn's tops picks for 07)
6 feb
Dear and the Headlights- Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
(Prolly my fav AZ band)
6 mar
 Arcade Fire- Neon Bible
(This one reminds me of driving home  from horkley's with sarah, and almost hitting a pedestrian... she was driving.)
12 mar
LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver
(more fun than a barrel of monkeys)
20 mar
Hail Social- Modern Love and Death
(This is a lil' gem of a band that I discovered last year. fun music for dancing.)
Modest Mouse- We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
(Probably one of my personal favorites of the year. Can't get over it.)
10 apr
Bight Eyes- Casadaga
(Mixed feelings about this one, but there are some great songs. Plus Dupree sisters from Eisley sing backup on a few tracks.)
1 may

Feist- The Reminder
22 may

Maroon 5- It Won't Be Soon Before Long
( I had a change of heart with this band and this album. Love the disco-feel of the beats and riffs of the dancy songs.)
10 jul
Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Stars- In Our Bedroom After the War

11 aug
Eisley- Combinations
20 aug
Rilo Kiley- Under the Blacklight
21 aug
Minus the Bear- Planet of Ice
(Love. this. album... I've gotta see these guys live someday.)
4 sep
Beirut- The Flying Cub Cup
(This one takes me to another world. just phenomenal.)
8 sep
John Mayer- Continuum
(I didn't really like this one at first, but after listening to it in Adam's car constantly... it grew on me.)
11 sep
Pinback- Autumn of the Seraphs
(I hate the artwork for this album. It doesn't make sense to me at all, especially with the music. But music is twice as good as the artwork is weird.)
The Good Life- Help Wanted Nights
(I'm in love with Tim Kasher's voice and songs)
25 sep
Iron and Wine- The Sheperd's Dog
2 oct
Ghostland Observatory- Paparazzi Lightning
(First heard this stuff at our Brookside halloween party. couldn't get enough of it.)
9 oct
Band of Horses- Cease to Begin
(This was Han Solo's top pick)
16 oct
Jimmy Eat World- Chase This Light
(Didn't like this on at all at first. I saw them play the songs live, and I've really come to appreciate it.)
Thrice- The Alchemy Index Vol. 2
(Amazing concept album! Didn't bother with Vol. 1. though. Too hard for my taste. Vol. 2 is incredible though. Really mesmerizing. Vol. 3 & 4 just came out too, and they are really awesome.)
23 oct
Yeasayer- All Hour Cymbals
(I was actually just introduced to this band by Jane, and I am WAY phased. Their album came out in 07, so I added it to my list.)
28 dec
And Finally...
Radiohead- "In Rainbows"
(This one below is truly a work of art)

Friday, May 2, 2008

My Best Digital Friend in the WWW

I am very stoked because I just convinced my friend Jacob Garn to create a blog. Now that I go to school out of state and he is moving to Washington, it's been harder keeping in touch. Still, out of all my friends, he always sends me the best emails, and we've done a respectable job of staying "digital friends." 

I am really excited about this guy having a blog because he's probably one of the most creative people I know. Anyone who has lived with me has probably seen his art all over my room. He's a little genius. Plus, his blog is called "STOP EATING MY BRAINS." Who couldn't get excited about a blog name like that?? Check it out...
Jake as a bearded mountain man. (above) 
A small example of his cool art work. (below)