Feral Watch Giveaway!

Head over to Oh the Lovely Things and enter! http://www.ohthelovelythings.com/2012/10/feral-watches-giveaway.html

We've Moved!

And by we, I mean me. I don't think I have many readers who aren't people I know personally, but in case I do, I want to let you know that I am moving this blog to another website! I'm gonna go ahead and keep this blog active since it would be a bit of a hassle to move all of my previous posts to the new blog, and I don't want to lose everything I've already written.

Here's the new site: http://applesandpapples.wordpress.com/ ...I'm excited for a fresh look and a push to keep writing =)

Tuesday Tunes - Kids Of 88

After quite a hiatus that I have no legitimate excuse for other than laziness/being unable to follow self-imposed deadlines, I'm back to writing blog posts! I can't honestly promise that I'll keep up with this, but that's one great thing about not having a popular blog - so few people read this that no one gets upset when I don't post! And when I do post, it's just like a nice treat ^_^ ...at least, that's how I like to think about it. Long story short, I have a lot of free time coming up so I will likely be posting much more frequently, but no promises.


Anyway, I was inspired to get back to posting when I heard this band's music. Surprise surprise, they're from New Zealand (I swear I don't pick them like this on purpose, it just turns out that a lot of awesome music comes out of that awesome country), and they express in their music the funky and enticing persona that makes me love Kiwis all the more. 

Jordan Arts and Sam McArthy have been making music as the Kids of 88 since 2008, but I don't think they're too well known yet in the States (we should change this!). I love this "new wave" genre they've got going on, which Wikipedia tells me is kind of like the love child of punk rock and electronica music. It's got the fun and sexy of rock music mixed with the carefree and rebellious of punk rock mixed with the new age and uniqueness of electronica. A wildly irresponsible yet ridiculously charming love child.


They're great at the softer side of electro as well:

I'm so drawn to the lyrics in this one, particularly the chorus: "Cuz I wanna go to a place that I know is real. I need to find a new place for my mind to heal." In a lot of ways, music serves as a release, helping people relax their minds and escape from stress. Well, at least that's the case for me. The sounds in this song definitely make me feel like I can just stop thinking, sit back, and take a breather.

I hope you guys enjoy this band as much as I do! They've got a free download of "My House" on their official website if you subscribe to some updates. Also check out their Facebook page!

Tuesday Tunes - "Everything to Me" (Lips)

Oh man, I am so happy I found this song. I will try my best to articulate what it is about "Everything to Me" that made it an immediate favorite for me, but really, just give it a listen and you will understand. You may have heard of it before, but likely a different, remixed version (the Adventure Club Remix is quite popular on Youtube, although I'm a bigger fan of the DJ Fresh Direct remix).

It's just so simple and smooooooth. Stephanie Brown's voice is very cool and down-to-earth, which can sometimes lead to boring music, but that is certainly not the case for Lips. I have already listened to this song like 10 times and I'm still in love with it. Like most of the stuff I recommend, this is perfect music for just playing in the background while studying or reading.

Photo from the LIPS Facebook page

Let's talk a little bit about the lyrics. Just try and tell me that you don't sometimes feel like "there are days I would pay anything just to leave it all behind". This song really speaks to those times when you just wish you were living a different life. Lips frontman (er, frontwoman?) Stephanie Brown, who aptly describes this song as "an everyday account of needing to take a break from your everyday." Sometimes the simplest topics can be the most poignant choices for music, and I'm a huge fan of songs with relatable lyrics.

Photo from Facebook

Stephanie Brown also just seems like a cool chick. I mean, come on. She categorizes her style as DIY Casio Pop, and her keyboard has floral print on it. She looks like the kind of person I would want to party with, and she is from New Zealand, which everybody knows wins bonus points from me.

Anyways, join me in listening to this song on repeat for the next month. Click heeeeere to download the song for free!

Tuesday Tunes - Oceanship

I've known about this band for a while now, although I only recently started listening to their album in its entirety. I have played the second song, Hotblack, about a million times on my iTunes, and I have watched the official music video maybe just as many times. The video is so unique and, I dunno, it just makes me feel very emotional for some reason.

Photo from Vimeo

I'm not entirely sure what message the video and song are supposed to send, but I'm the kind of person who likes to just experience music by going with whatever it makes me feel. Part of the reason I chose this song for my blog is because I'm actually really curious about what other people think of this video in particular, since I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny or tortured. Maybe a little of both?


I really meant to listen to the entire album before posting this, so I sort of fail at giving a full recommendation for this band, but since Hotblack was enough to get my ears majorly perked a year or so ago, I think it will be enough of a push for you to give the rest of their music a listen too. From what I HAVE heard so far, the album has a very....earthy feel? Maybe I'm just getting that from the opening song with its rainfall background. There's also a lot of piano accompaniment in the first few songs, which I always love. Either way, I can't wait to listen to the whole thing - I am attempting to take Brad Lyons' (frontman) advice and listen to it all in order in one fell swoop. Take the emotional roller coaster and experience the whole story Oceanship.

Pic from Oceanship Website

You can listen to all of their songs on the official website =) 

Tuesday Tunes - ArchAnimals

This song is called Pokemon. I'm not gonna lie, that's the main reason I even listened to it in the first place. And I'm really glad I did, because this is some really cool sound. And it comes from another band that you likely have never heard of (put on your hipster glasses, everyone)! I mean, they only have 117 likes on their Facebook page.

Picture from GMAD Indie

I haven't been feeling my greatest lately, so that might partly explain the sparseness of this post, but I will also blame it on the fact that this band really is still super local - currently stationed in New Orleans - and this is the only song that they've recorded and released. It's available as a free download (yay free music!), but I'd say support new bands and name your price for the song on their website!


Pokemon's a hard one to describe, but I just really like the feel of it. It's like the music starts out just as barely intentional noise, and then there's this part right around 1:30 when it turns into something really beautiful. Only for a brief moment though! And then it comes back at 3 minutes and makes you feel like you're in the emotional climax of a movie when the main character has this epiphany that he's really in love with the girl he just said goodbye to. Or something. Either way, give it a listen, because it's cool stuff. And "Like" them on FB!

Tuesday Tunes - Cherub

I unfortunately have no free music to offer this week, but this band is still definitely worth checking out. When I read the band description ("sexy, avant-garde, electro-pop duo that is the dance love-child of 80's funk, and pop-music from the future" - Facebook), I was a bit skeptical. But then I figured that if I've given folk a chance, might as well do the same for funk. I was very pleasantly surprised, and also a bit relieved, to find that their music actually has a lot of variety to it; it's not all James Brown funkadelic but instead finds a happy, unexpected medium between that and...I dunno, some popular electronic band these days.

Photo from ThisSongIsSick.com

The members, Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, hail from Nashville, Tennessee, but there is not even a glimpse of their Southern roots in their music. Instead, their sound is very sultry and Prince-like (as in "the artist formerly known as", not royalty =P). As in, remember the time Prince wore those ass-less chaps? This band reminds me of that moment, although maybe just toned down from pure sexual energy to somewhat more subtle sensuality. It's like Prince's funky grooves meet Robin Thicke's sexy falsetto. Plus some electronica...

I just really like that these guys have taken music styles of the past and mixed them up with a contemporary sound. I mean, how cool is it that they have essentially brought back the 60's, reincarnated into music that my generation would totally bust a move to in the clubs? So cool. So suave. 

Check 'em out on Facebook and their Official Website!