. the end .

i will soon be deleting this blog. don't panic.

i combined my music and photography blog for sake of ease of viewing and posting.

it's freaking me out. but i'm embracing it.

click HERE to go to my new blog.

all of my old music posts have been transfered to my new blog, with the same posting date. but it lost all comments.

so go comment!

this is for a greater good.

thanks for reading. see ya ::in the name of fury::

love

p.s. if you want to help me A TON go HERE by april 15th to help me win scholarship money! tanks.

. the veronicas .

australian. twins. rhythmic electro pop. need i say more?

the veronicas

i first started listening to these girls a couple years back when they came out with 4ever on the album the secret life of...

i forgot about them for a bit, but then a year ago during christmas, my sister showed me their most recent release untouched. the music video was free on itunes. i got it. i played it. i loved it.

so enjoy. they started rockin when the were eighteen. back in '07 i think. they got their name from the classic movie, the heathers. the perfect line. 'are you a heather?' 'no. i'm a veronica.' boom.

here's the music video to untouched.

also look up:

4ever

revenge is sweeter

hook me up

. benton paul .

i'm going to slow things down a bit with a solid artist. nothing to snazzy (did i just say that?) about this guy, benton paul. just a good basic guitar. i first discovered him opening at an allred concert at one of the only venues in sunny stg. but his voice drew me in. if i need to relax or sleep or do homework - this is my man.

coudn't find much about him. i'm pretty positive he's from utah. go to your local venue. you'll find him soon enough. he's touring with david archuleta at the moment. love.

{doesn't hurt that he's cute}

here's my fave song of his

don't go

. sugar spell it out .

ok. it's time. i've brought my other half with me to share this experience with you. mine bestie carlee.

it is a common misconception that because i have so much music and love such a variety of it, i do not have a favorite band. false. it is because of one band that i love music so much.

in 2004 i was a young pubescent twelve year old with braces and a bad case of acne. my world revolved around the approval of my older sister, niki. one blessed trip up to provo, she decided to play her newest cd for us. for the following four hours my life was changed. i closed my eyes and let the music trickle into my soul. that cd played on repeat the entire time. by the end of the journey i knew every word to every song. it was:

Tegan and Sara

as time passed my sisters grew somewhat out of love with the twins. but i couldn't let it go. these canadian sisters blew my mind and spoke to my little soul. july 23, 2007 was a day i had circled on my calendar. it was the day of their new album release. the con. again my world was flipped upside down. something about those haunting voices harmonizing and complimenting each other would soothe any pain, celebrate every joy with me.

a little over a year ago i found someone to match my love. after a summer of blasting Not With You over and over in my car, i found someone who would grow to love t and s almost as much as i did. i played her Not With You and crossed my fingers. she loved it. tegan and sara filled our cars our rooms the streets our ears.

on october 23, 2009 we both missed school awaiting the release of their newest album, sainthood. it blew our minds. again. their newest album brings in a new element of rock and electro pop (don't cringe at the word). alligator defied everything anyone expected out of them, showing these thirty year old twins still have some things up their sleeves.

these girls started out as sara and tegan at age fifteen, but soon changed their band name to tegan and sara because they thought it sounded more catchy. they started out with the yellow red and blue demo tapes. yes. tapes. which were all acoustic songs from the underground. soon their popularity grew and they came out with their first (and my favorite) album under feet like ours, in 1999. this album rocks my world.

i've said too much. and i will say more in later posts. but for now, i'll let you enjoy the sounds of my soul.

and yes. carlee did get us tickets to the SLC concert at the Venue in April. what up.

first off buy:

the con

alligator

my number

not with you

where does the good go

hell

come back for more soon.

also...they're hilarious

.an horse.

i need to make up for my not blogging for the past few months.

i am home, sick, which led me to searching for new music.

and i discovered love.

. an horse .

the best way to describe them is to take the words right out of their mouths. here's their bio on their site.

It is not because Kate is the size of jockey or because Damon was once kicked by a goat that An Horse bears its name. There’s no sense in that. A friend once gave Kate a sweater with An Horse written on it because he thought it was grammatically correct. It wasn’t and that was quite a long time ago but Kate still wears the sweater. She hasn’t grown in years. Damon still remembers the goat like it was yesterday.

Kate didn’t know Damon had been kicked by a goat when she asked him to join her on stage in July 2007. And she thought she knew Damon well. Damon played drums and worked in one of the few remaining Australian independent record stores with Kate. The downtown Brisbane store had no windows, it was dusty as hell and they didn’t really do much work. In fact, the store closed down a few months after they started playing shows together. Coincidence? Probably not. The pair of sleuths worked out that they could set up a P.A. in the store and practice free for hours. Soon customers found the store’s opening hours getting shorter and shorter and Kate and Damon’s music was getting better and better.

The pair soon decided to lead An Horse out from the dank basement store. Like revolutionaries they took to the streets but without the cause or the fight or the gnarly banners, they did have songs though. And hand claps.

They were surprised when after one show they were offered a whole lot more including an opening slot on Tegan and Sara’s 2008 Out Of Hibernation Spring US tour. Shortly after they were invited to open for Death Cab For Cutie on their Australian tour. But they weren’t as surprised as the owner of the record store when he found his two loyal managers playing to a packed out room when they were supposed to be selling CDs, his not theirs.

Kate Cooper and Damon Cox share common interests. And when someone forgets their toothpaste on tour they’ll share that too. There isn’t a whole lot more to it…I guess.

their sound is very similar to tegan and saras...you excited for me to introduce them yet?? you better be. t&s discovered them at the music store an horse worked at when t&s did a little concert there. they heard an horse perform, and asked them to tour australia with them. awesome.

well my favorite an horse songs are

Scared As ****

Company

Postcards

Camp Out (swears at 2:43, if you want a clean version, email me)

they're amazing. really. enjoy.

postcards

here's company

here's a clean version of camp out

.meg and dia.

i am a horrible person. i am so sorry. i've been out living in the real world, and forgot about my virtual one.

during that time i discovered many new bands. so i will start out with one of my new faves.

meg and dia.

These rockin sisters are awesome. they sound like a mix between the veronicas, and my favorite band of all eternity, tegan and sara. (i've been waiting for the perfect time to present them to you..soon. i promise)

i found out after listening to these girls for a while, that they're actually from my lovely little town of st. george, and graduated from Dixie High. dia rocks the guitar and back up vocals, while meg takes the front with lead vocals.

for christmas one year dia got a guitar and meg got a karaoke machine. the rest is history.

their songs are all freakishly deep and meaningful, if you listen close enough. a lot of hidden messages here. well. have fun listening! they're awesome.

here is my fave song. also look up roses, black wedding, and going away

.imogen heap.

it's hear real name. i swear. i can't find anything to the contrary.

many people know her for her work in the band frou frou. their most popular song being 'let go'. i was introduced to frou frou when i was eleven. in ninth grade my best friend made me a mix with the usual whiney teeny bop stuff most girls adored, but on it she included a song that was stuck on repeat on my walkman for weeks to come. it was 'hide and seek'. such a great song. she is a british thirty three year old singer songwriter that has a way surrounding you with her voice. her songs include multiple track overlays that enhance her sound unbelievably.

i love the work imogen heap does with other artists. namely the famous blue october 'congratulations' and her more recent appearance with MIKA singing, 'by the time'.

check her out. you'll love her soothing voice.

my favorites are:

wait it out

first train home

hide and seek

tidal

between sheet

.bon iver.

one lovely afternoon i was driving in the car when i heard a song on a random cd that would fill my ears for years to come. this mans voice rose and fell with such passion i couldn't resist playing the song again and again. it was,
Bon Iver


this band was formed by justin vernon in 2006. so it's still just a little puppy. after a while justin added three more members to the band so he could duplicate his recorded sound when playing to an audience. this is a little indie folk for you. seems scary. sounds awesome.

when i try and describe this band to people i often say, 'it's the music you listen to while dancing in the rain in the middle of the desert'. it just hits ya in the perfect way. its a sad, haunting, beautiful, inspiring thing. listen to it for yourself. you'll see.

bon iver is french for 'good winter'. this man's a bit of a hobo, but who cares. he sings like an angel. download some songs off his site for free.

skinny love is my favorite of his. here it is.

.p!nk.

yesterday was sunday. and when i go to church, i feel the urge to make confessions. which is exactly what i'm about to do.

i love pink.

i do. i can't help it. her music is raw feeling of exactly what she thinks. she was the bad girl my mom wouldn't let me listen to when she came out with her album m!ssundaztood. i did anyway (sorry mother). i couldn't help it. as a nine year old, let's get it started, was the coolest thing that happened. she's the crazy person inside of all of us, wanting to come out.

this is one of those artists i could go on about for hours. and i think with pink, you either hate her, or you love her. but i'll give ya the facts, and you can decide yourself.

pinks first album was can't take me home. it was a very R&B based album, with a Destiny's Child feel to it. this album shows a lot of the talent pink had to start out with. after that, as we all know, she switched to rock/pop and started a very successful career.

pinks real name is alicia (as seen in her music video so what, when she's cutting down her tree). she was born in september of 1979 in pennsylvania, and no, she did not come out of the womb with pink hair. a much debated question. thank goodness she went back to her blond. i want her hair. she's insanely gorgeous. she writes all of her own music and lyrics. pink was an idiot druggie as a teen. one night, she was at a club, and went up to perform and was totally wasted. someone in the music industry was there and heard her sing, and told her if she wasn't so high she could be produced. she hasn't touched a joint since.

some interesting facts:

pinks been nominated for seven grammy's and has won two

she's been nominated for two MTV VMA's and has won six

pink was just a stage name that she got from the movie reservoir dogs

pink wrote the song so what about her husband, cary hart, during their separation. he agreed to be in the music video, which led to them getting back together. they were never divorced.

pink is an avid member of PETA and has donated thousands for the cause

she loves australia and has given ridiculous amounts of money to their causes

the pink frame that says cruel in the background of the video family portrait is a shout out to animal cruelty

ok i'll shut up. enjoy. family portrait is my favorite song of hers. get it.

and of course. so what.

.passion pit.

i've done it haven't i? i am now aware of the fact that i have been feeding you electro bands for most of this blog. i always tell myself i don't really like electro, but i guess the truth is, i do. i will be mixing it up and putting a little wider genre out there...but not today. for today i will introduce you to passion pit. the electro of all electro bands.

my lovely older brother matthew took over the computer the other day to show me this band. i half listened and then told him to go away, for i was in pursuit of another band (who will be disclosed in the near future). but later that day, i heard my younger brother listening to an amazing song. after a couple seconds, i realized it was what matthew had been trying to show me earlier.

by the end of the day, my whole family was running around, listening, singing, and dancing to this song (my family finds it necessary to have a dance party every time we're in the kitchen together. i love it).

well here's passion pit for ya. this band is...american! go figure. they're from the lovely land of massachusetts, and formed about three years ago. it all started because the lead singer wanted to write a couple songs for his girlfriend for valentines day. the guys who make up this band have the coolest names ever. check it. Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards/guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth/samples), Jeff Apruzzese (bass/synth bass) and Nate Donmoyer (drums).

Funny thing, the band used the name passion pit, as only a project name. it's a term reffering to drive in theatres back in the day. cause we all know what goes on at drive in theatres... anyway. the name was awesome and it stuck. so go check em out. here's the song my family won't let leave my ears. s i c k.

sleepyhead by passion pit

.skullcandy.

i love music. have i said that yet. but a huge part to music is the way you listen to it. i may have one of the scariest cars in the world, missing bumper, peeling paint, skewed alignment. but you better believe, the second that car was in my hands, i went straight to best buy, and bought myself the best stereo i could afford at the time. a jvc stereo with an aux ipod hookup. cause that's where its at.

the only way i can listen to music is full blast. consuming every part of me, so i can't think about anything else. so i can sing at the top of my lungs and not be able to hear my off key voice distort the song. but there's a line. and it's one notch. my stereo can be at a 48 volume level, and the second it hits 49, it's too much. but 47's not enough. it's different every day, for every song, and every mood.

but why does this all matter? why do you care? well honestly, you probably don't, but i thought you might care about what i'm listening through.

first off i have my trusty sony's my daddy bought me at a sony vending machine in the JFK airport. i love them. they cradle my ears and let me feel like i'm the only person in the room. i used to not be picky about what earbuds i put in my skull, but once i got these babies i never went back. the standard stock buds kill my ears now, and don't even give a third of the listening experience as the sony's. and they're super affordable, just thirty bucks. (they have a lower grade but equally great pair of buds for twenty dollars.)

next up are my new babies that i got yesterday. the skullcandy low riders. yes. a dream. it's like the shins are playing in my room. all i have to do is close my eyes, and they're there. (as a disclaimer, my brother would like you all to know that he also owns these and supposedly loves them more. debatable. ) they can be yours for a so-worth-it price of forty dollars.

so if you're shoppin around for a new listening apparatus, go buy these. the ear buds are great too. legen.. wait for it.. dary.

happy listening.

here's a little video to power ya through the holidays.

love the veronicas

.forest world.

i have a lovely sister named niki whom i dearly love. she's gorgeous and amazing and smart and lives in provo. she's had quite the array of housemates over the years, which i usually have no problem with, and life goes on as they come and go. but last year i met quite a wonderful creature. her name is sam. and i love her. she's hilarious and fun and downright breathtaking. we've had our adventures and i love her to death. through our journeys, it has been mentioned in passing that sam has an electro pop band. i thought, cool, and didn't think much of it.

but one fateful night, i was sitting in my sisters house, tired as can be, with no energy in my body whatsoever, when my sister grabbed me and said we had to run drop by a party. i said no. why would i subject myself to a house cramped with dozens of people i don't know, all trying to be somebody special in this world. but, as usually happens, niki won.

when we arrived, it was exactly as i predicted. i pouted and shoved myself into a corner of a couch, with questionable stains, and tried to look as unapproachable as possible. of course, one person would have none of this. out of nowhere, and in a blur, sam came and excitedly hugged me and loved me and said she was so happy i was there and then in another dainty blur, was gone.

a few minutes later, i felt something in my feet. a thud. i felt it again, this time in my heart. a third time, in my finger tips. i closed my eyes, and let this familiar feeling take over. music. as i listened, this sound took over and found its way into every crevice of that cramped house, and into the soul of every person there. just then, the most haunting, delicate, inspiring voice came on. i had to see who these people were. i stood up on the couch, only to see my little sammy rocking the core of that party. it was forest world.

the second i got back home i found their fanpage on facebook and got a link to their site. and guess what, you could download their songs right there. so i did. and i loved it. usually i'm not a fan of the electro world so much, but this is different. so please. go to their site. download their music. love their album super bright skullz. and since my birthday was on wednesday, as a present for me, donate a couple bucks to their band. they're giving you their music for free for goodness sakes. anyway. this is my heart.

my personal fave is holy knives. cuts me deep.

don't be ashamed if you catch yourself staring at this man sean. he's gorgeous. it's only natural.

.blow.

ignore the band name. this girl is awesome. her electronic beat is contrasted by her pure voice. but boy is she hard to dig up stuff on. her real name is Mikhaela Yvonne Maricich. and amazingly enough, she's not from canada. she's actually from the states. portland, oregon to be exact. she's changed her band name multiple times, and never really got into producing her music much. she has a few albums here and there. but when i found her, it was love. my friend and i were sitting in my car, going through my ipod, when i came across the band name blow. (how it got on there in the first place i'll never know. my ipod is a vast black hole.) anyway, we picked the song that sounded most interesting, some chocolates. after ten seconds, we looked at each other and knew, this was something else. but sadly, since it's hard enough finding information about this band, it's even harder finding music samples. so here's a song i don't really listen to much, because it's not her best stuff. but it's a taste. but please please please go find the songs:

some chocolates

parentheses

pardon me

bonjour jeune fille

hey boy

(fun fact, Khaela is also a visual arts artist, best known for her paper sculptures, which happens to be the name of her album)

.a christmas (play)list.

three days til chirstmas. my butt is glued to this chair, as a result of shopping for thirteen hours yesterday. i don't think i can move. i hurt in places i didn't know could hurt. and so, here i am giving you, a little christmas playlist. none of that chipmunk crap...ok maybe a little chipmunk.. well here it is. christmas in a list.

andrea bocelli - angels we have heard on high

mannheim steamroller - wassail, wassail

the bird and the bee - carol of the bells

alvin and the chipmunks - all i want for christmas

josh groban - silent night

mariah carey - joy to the world

faith hill - little drummer boy

chicago - god rest ye merry gentlemen

here's a tiffany's commercial featuring the bird and the bee: carol of the bells. i heart tiffany's.

.things i love.

passion behind a voice
singing in my car
finding a new band that moves me
a perfect burrito
my SONY headphones that transfer me to another world
when my little girl asks me to come tuck her in and kiss her goodnight
unconditional, impossible love
the history of love
fires
peace of mind
virginia
my mom
writing letters
the person these songs are for