Hi internet.
It's been years. not really, but it's been getting quite busy on my end over here. I'm currently in Week 9 of the quarter, and a lot is happening. We've got a dance concert coming up next week, two huge papers due, dance concert auditions on Wednesday, more dance auditions on Saturday, and just a whole lot of dancing and writing and studying.
With that said, I'm gonna go ahead and post an album review I wrote for my HC club a long time ago, that ended up never getting published on the internet... SO!
Here you go: Long Overdue, Album Review on One Direction's semi-new album Midnight Memories.
Biggest boy band
of the year has done it again! On November 25th, One Direction released their third album, Midnight Memories. To promote Midnight
Memories, the guys of 1D hosted a 7 hour long live stream two days prior to the release date, where dedicated
fans all around the world tuned in to watch the guys attempt to break world
records, answer fan Q & A’s, and perform songs from their albums. The album
that has been highly anticipated by fans is finally out, and whether you like
1D or not, Midnight Memories is a
record that you might actually want to consider giving a listen!
For starters,
it’s a great coming of age album— they have definitely come a long way from hit
single “What Makes You Beautiful.” Struggling to maintain a clean sound for
their younger listeners while still embracing the idea of growing up, they
manage to find a nice blend to satisfy all their listeners, no matter what age.
If you listen to the radio at all, then
you probably have already heard their two latest singles “Best Song Ever” and
“Story of My Life.” Both singles are contrastingly different from each other,
as “Best Song Ever” is still very reminiscent of their former pop albums with
it’s sugary sweet catchy chorus that’s bound to get stuck in your head. Only a
few other songs on the album like “Why Don’t We Go There” and “Little White Lies” have their familiar pop sound that we’ve all grown to know and love. Their recent single,
“Story of my Life”, is an accurate preview of what's new in their album, with prominent
influences from bands Mumford and Suns and The Lumineers. If you like that
acoustic folk pop, then tracks “Through the Dark” and “Happily” are your go-to
songs. Similar, to “Story of My Life”, they’re the kind of songs that would be
in the soundtrack of a teen indie flick. You’ll feel “infinite” just by
listening to them (Yes, I just quoted Perks of Being a Wallflower. I went there.)
The album takes a
surprising edgy turn, with songs like “Alive” and “Little Black Dress” paying
tribute to classic 80’s rock. The guys get cheeky with their double entendre
lyrics, and even come about 99% close to swearing in some of their songs, including
album titled song & single “Midnight Memories”: “ People talk shh but we don’t listen.” Although older listeners may not have a
problem with it, I don’t think boss Simon Cowell is ready for the boy band to
be swearing in songs just yet (sigh).
Besides
the different music styling’s, the guys got to personalize the album with their
own words. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis
Tomlinson all contributed to the album as co-writers to 15 out of 18 tracks. Though
they still have professional writers by their side, you can really hear the guys
pour their personal stories into songs, especially in “Don’t Forget Where You
Belong” where their lyrics reflect their on-the-road tour lifestyle:
“Living out the cases/Packing up and
taking off/
Made
a lot of changes/But not forgetting who I was.”
This
was a huge step for the guys as they were finally able to get a bit of a voice
in the music they’re putting out. A big cheers to the surprising Louis
Tomlinson, who was one of the biggest contributors to the album, co-writing 12
out of the 18 songs.
Overall, It’s
refreshing to hear the band attempt to showcase a level of maturity in their sound while
still maintaining a young “live life to the fullest” attitude in their lyrics. Although
I miss the bright bubbly pop sound that the boy band is known for, it’s clear
that the guys of One Direction want the world to know that they’re growing up, and they want you to grow up with them. Though it's a bit drastic of a change in music stylings, it's definitely an album you should give a chance. The album was a big risk
to take, and they did it successfully.
Unmentioned
songs that you should listen to: "Better than words", “Half a Heart”, “Strong”, and
“Diana”.
I got Boba tea. Shh, Don't tell. Green Tea Ice Cream Cooler with Boba Tea. I don't know why I capitalized the first letter of each word.
Anyways, I have a midterm tomorrow.
AHH Procrastination.
I procrastinate procrastinating.
Literally though.
I think to myself, I'm going to study later because I want to watch this episode of Pretty Little Liars.
But then I procrastinate watching Pretty Little Liars because I am on here.
I have a midterm tomorrow.
I am writing to you at the calm of the storm. It's been a few hectic days with writing essays, reading articles and somehow managing to make it to 8 am classes. Tech Week is about to begin for Dance Visions (the dance show that I'm performing in) and I know it's going to be hell.
I realized that the last time I performed on a stage is almost exactly a year ago.
My last performance with Billy Elliot was on February 17... and my first performance with UCI will be on February 11. A year has flown by.
Same person, different year.
A friend of mine brought this video to my attention and I seriously can't stop watching it.
Thought of You- Ryan Woodward
Graceful choreography, simple yet intricate sketches and a open-ended concept... I've been watching this video over and over again and have been feeling inspired to choreograph a piece. I can't get over this video. It's so simple and beautiful, and the artist really made his sketches flow so well with the song. I WISH I COULD DRAW.
I forgot how much I loved this song. It came up on shuffle as I was driving back to my apartment earlier tonight, and it is just such a beautiful story. Listen & Love.
I want to do a long post about how much I love Fun. and how they've grown as a band so much since Aim and Ignite, but my brain is much too tired, so that will be postponed.
Honestly, everyone-- stop what you're doing and watch this. One Direction came out with a new music video. It's borderline cheesy, but actually perfect in every way. As said in the title, it's the perfect combination of sexy and cute (If you get this movie reference, we can be friends *cough Crazy Stupid Love*) It's simply the boys of One Direction, what they consider "midnight memories" and some serious appreciation for the city of London.
The band is debuting their newest album titled single, "Midnight Memories" and boy is this song 180 degrees different from their last single. Their last single was a Mumford and Suns/Lumineers influenced blend of folk and pop... This one sounds like Def Leoppards "Pour Some Sugar on Me." You can tell that the boy band is trying to experiment away from their usual pop-dance heavy tracks. In fact, they don't even sound like the same band after listening to their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful." Given their new sound, I expected them to have a music video where all of them are clad in black leather debuting a new look and their cool "rockstar" life style. This music video kind of touched upon my image in my mind, but took it in a different direction...
The video, directed by the fabulous Ben Winston who did their last two music videos, "Best Song Ever" and "Story of My Life", begins at a house party. The boys of One Direction are there, except they're not entirely enjoying their time. Each of the boys are caught up in a scene that I feel like is a scenario we've all been through at a party. Realizing that Harry Styles was missing, my first thoughts of where this music video could go revolved around Styles bursting into the party singing the beginning lyrics of their song, which will then lead to the party suddenly picking up at the tune of Midnight Memories (cliche, right?). People will start dancing, and crazy party antics will take part. Ah, but of course, this didn't happen (though in a way I sort of wish it did), probably because they still have a very young fanbase, and management didn't want to promote partying.
Anyways, my image of Styles bursting into the party singing the lyrics of the song was pretty accurate-- except then it takes a different turn. The boy band ends up ditching the party to go out and make their own midnight memories (heh, see what I did there?!) which include wreaking havoc at a restaraunt, riding on electric scooters, and flirting with old ladies jokingly -- Nice dig at your own reputation, Harry Styles.
One of my favorite scenes of course, is the scene where the boys take a boat down the river and admire all of the London landmarks (Big Ben, The London Bridge, The London Eye). As a huge appreciation for London culture, I nearly squealed at all the beautiful sights in the background. It's in this moment where the scene just really fits the song-- a cheesy "living young and wild and free" popped up in my head as I watched them lift their arms wide open with St Paul's Cathedral in the background (check out the first gif in this post.)
When you think in the context of the song, you assume Midnight Memories is going to be about crazy rockstar tour antics and heavy partying. But this video takes that and morphs it in a way to create a different (appropriate) midnight memories. Clearly their lifestyle is nothing close to normal and obviously, normal boys probably wouldn't be able to get away with stealing a boat and then climbing up on the London Bridge at night. They are living at the top of the world, yet are still humbled by the beauty of something as simple as London's architecture. Plus, you can't help but smile at the outrageous sillyness of these boys.
And of course, watching the video makes you realize that yeah, there are other things to do than drink your life away at a house party and make useless small talk with people you don't know. Why spend your time doing something you don't like? You create your own memories, and you can do anything you want.
With that said, it's a great music video and a nice shift from their Story of My Life music video (which was on the serious side.) It matches well with the song, and Winston does a brilliant job capturing the boys in different lights. Bravo!
On Saturday January 9th, at approximately 5:45 pm, I made a last minute decision to go to the To Write Love on Her Arms Heavy and Light concert event in Los Angeles. I hated driving, and I especially hated driving in LA. But I also hated sitting at home on a Saturday night pressing "next" on the dashboard of my tumblr. It's a new year and I'm trying out this whole "suck it up and do it" mentality... and so far it's been going really well (especially with 8am classes every day). So, with that in mind, I sucked it up, called a friend of mine who would want to go, and suddenly I was on my way to the Heavy and Light concert.
To be honest, I didn't know much about To Write Love on Her Arms. I remember hearing about it a lot when I was younger and seeing a lot of my favorite band members wearing TWLOHA merchandise. I knew it had something to do with depression and helping people who were struggling with it. I had no idea they put on concert events like this, so I was pretty excited to see what they had in store for the night. The lineup was great, although I have to admit the primary reason why I wanted to go was to see one of my old favorite bands, The Summer Set, perform live.
When my friend and I arrived at the House of Blues venue, there was a good amount of people. Unfortunately we came in the middle of a set, so we quickly walked up to the side of the bar to stand and watch. The singer on stage, whom I never have seen before, was talking about the next song she was about to sing... and it wasn't until she started singing the first notes of "Same Love" did I realize that I was watching Mary Lambert! I had a mini freakout, since I am absolutely in love with that song (and still haven't gotten sick of it). It was so good to hear her live, and it was nice hearing her original version of Same Love-- without Macklemore rapping in between verses. She was beautiful, and her voice was so crisp and clear, that literally you could hear a pin drop in the venue because of how quiet everyone was listening to her. Truly was an incredible moment. I'm thankful we didn't miss her entire set!!
After her set, Jamie Tworkowski (who is the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms) came out and said a few words about Mary (and her Grammy nomination; what!!!!). Then he introduced another solo artist to the stage, by the name of Tristan Prettyman. I enjoyed her set as well. It was very laid-back and chill and her music style reminded me of Jason Mraz (if he had a womans voice) with a hint of Ingrid Michaelson. She had great quirky banter in between her songs that made me laugh out, and I loved all of her little stories behind them. Some stories behind songs were hilarious, such as her story for "The Rebound" where it was about her wanting to bang the hot guy at Trader Joes. But then she also tapped into dark moments as well, like when she was engaged, and what she went through when the engagement broke off. I was noticing a pattern already with the different speakers and artists and all of their similar experiences... the title of the even "heavy and light" was beginning to make sense to me.
Once she was finished, Jamie came out again and introduced some guest speakers-One of them was 20 year old Kevin Greel. I'll be honest and say it's usually really hard for me to keep up when people are speaking, as I tend to get distracted. But this guys words were incredibly powerful and just really dug deep into his life. He talked about his Tedx Video, where he spoke about dealing with his own depression and how through social media his speech has been able to help other people. It was really inspiring to hear about how a simple yet powerful speech just by being shared and exploited on Facebook was able to inspire those who are struggling, and encourage them to keep going. I loved how raw and real he was on stage and his honesty really struck the heart.
Next there was a spoken poet, by the name of Anis Mojgani. He appeared a few times during the night with a different poem every time. I particularly enjoyed his set, because he had a nice balance of the serious stuff and the funny stuff. He made us laugh while at the same time getting a strong and uplifting point across. It reminded me of those scenes in the movies where people go to those poetry slam concerts and you see a poet just killing it up on stage with words. That was him. He killed it.
After his set, was my beloved The Summer Set. Quick little sappy factoid: The Summer Set is one of those bands that no matter what happens, where they go with their music, what they become as people, or whether they break up or not, I will always, ALWAYS, support them. It's one of those bands that I'm "proud" of and their music and shows are probably the most distinct memory I have of my teenager years going to concerts. I love them to pieces and probably wont stop.
Anyways, I was super excited to see them. It was... strange to see them on stage. I saw them last year in October when they went on tour with All Time Low, and I remember being struck by how they've aged since I've last seen them. I don't mean they're getting grey hair and are needing canes to walk on stage. I mean, they're literally just, grown up. They've grown with tour experience, they're pros at performing on stage, and they have grown musically as well. They came out dressed in nice blazers- which made me smile a bit, because it reminded me of when I first saw them in 2008 dressed in nice casual attire vests. Because it was an acoustic night, all their songs were toned down, with everyone switching out their electric guitars for acoustic ones, and Jess bringing out the shaker. Their setlist was merely 5 songs and most of them were from their latest album. I was a little worried about that since I've only listened to a few songs from their last album. But thankfully, the only song I wasn't familiar with was Lightning in a Bottle.
Their setlist:
Maybe, Tonight.
Lightning in a Bottle.
Young.
Boomerang. [P.S. I still hear "Penis Smile" instead of "Paint a Smile" in the lyrics of Boomerang. It's just something I can't unhear. ]
Legendary.
While watching Brian Dales sing live, I noticed that he definitely hasn't changed on stage, except his vocals seems to be able to reach into a higher range now. He's still a little spazzy, still does that thing where he puts his one arm behind his back and sort of rocks to one side. I noticed that his stage presence sort of reminds me of Nate Ruess of fun. (and the Format) and it made me wonder if that's where Brian gets most of his on stage presence inspiration from. Josh Montgomery (guitarist of the Summer Set) said a few humbling words about being able to share the stage with the inspirational people on the setlist, and it no doubt warmed the heart of any soul in the audience.
Quoting him: "I'm the biggest baby in the world compared to the people up on that list."
It was also a nice surprise to see both John and Stephen Gomez doing backup vocals, instead of just John. I always thought Stephen had a nice voice, and I remember him saying that he didn't sing~ (yet he had like a trillion side projects and his covers sounded good). Stephens hair was different too! Out of the 8 times I've seen The Summer Set, Stephen always had that teen "emo" side swept hair look that reminds me of that era in highschool where everyone was going for that look (you can thank My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Pete Wentz from Fall Out boy for that time.) Even Brian Dales mentioned that it was probably the first time he's see his forehead, which made me laugh out because there has been nothing more truer than that statement. Jess Bowen looked great as well. In a way I wish the set wasn't acoustic, because there isn't much Jess can do as a drummer besides providing a light beat and a shaker, but she rocked it nevertheless.
Last of the night, was Jon Foreman of Switchfoot. I didn't know much of his songs (besides Switchfoot songs) , but that didn't stop me from enjoying his nice acoustic folk set. He sang hit songs "Dare you to move" where he got the entire audience to sing the first verse and chrous, and it was just incredible. Something about hearing an audience sing a song (as in not screaming the lyrics) is so haunting in the most beautiful eerie way; the kind of way that makes your hairs stick up on your arms. He also sang an acoustic raw cover of Only Hope, which made my insides melt. He even had Bryce Avery, who is lead singer of the band The Rocket Summer, come out and sing a song with him. I have always wanted to see The Rocket Summer live, so being able to see Bryce Avery sing one song was quite a feat for me. I was cursing up a storm because I was just so excited to see him up there singing "Your Love is Strong", and let me tell you, cursing+ that song is not essentially a good match.
To end the night, every artist that performed came out and sang a homey heart warming cover of Lean On Me. It was a perfect way to round up the night, and really bring the message of To Write Love on Her Arms alive. It was such a fulfilling night of inspiration and hope. Every artist offered their words of advice and their encouragement to reach out to those who are hurting, because these people who feel so alone, aren't alone after all. In fact, they're never really alone.
Thats it.
People need that comfort, that holding of a hand, that pat on the back. They need to know they're not alone, and that there are people out there who are willing to help bring that belief, that faith, that hope back into their lives.
"Our Hearts are heavy and light, we laugh we scream and sing, our hearts are heavy and light" - Jamie Tworkowski.
