Category Archives: Music

Jun24

Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition

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Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition

Whatupppp everyone and happy Hump Day! This Funky Time Jams post is brought to you by my hangover and my deep passion for Bedtime Music. If there’s one thing that I love, it’s falling asleep to some soothing tunes. I have a plethora of go to artists in my vast collection that I play when it’s time to hit the hay for the night and they never fail to send me off to dream land peacefully. The trick to good bedtime music is that it literally has to be “just right”. So here’s my Lil Red Rules to bedtime music before we discuss some tried and true favorites:

  • 1) The music can’t be too upbeat because you don’t want to get hyped up instead of worn out.
  • 2) The vocalist needs to have a voice that soothes you, obviously.
  • 3) Songs with piano playing is always a good thing!
  • 4) The songs need to take you to your pre-sleep happy place.

Alright, here we go!

Enya – Orinoco Flow: Freaking OBVIOUSLY. Out of all of my bedtime music artists, Enya is the one that I play most frequently. I just love her – even though I never understand what she’s singing about half of the time. All I know is that Enya soothes a Lil Red like no other. Her music is pure poetry and it takes me to places in my mind that are good for the soul…shopping in Paris, shopping in London, shopping anywhere. It’s a magical thing. Enya has saved me from many a sleepless night and for that, I salute you.

Coldplay – Speed Of Sound: Of course Coldplay had to be included on this list. I had a difficult time selecting which Coldplay song to feature on here, but then I thought back to yesterday when “Speed Of Sound” came on my iPod when I had it on shuffle and just how much I enjoyed it. I seriously forgot how much I love this song. I’m a really big Coldplay fan – they were my first concert when I was in fifth grade or so. (Richard Ashcroft from The Verve was the opener and they performed “Bittersweet Symphony” together and it was life changing!) My brother chose to take me over his stupid girlfriend at the time and it’s always been one of my favorite memories. I also figure skated to “Talk” during competitions. Coldplay holds a very special, sentimental place in my heart and their music makes me happy – which is why they’re a great band to play before bed!

Cat Power – I Found a Reason: Oh dear lord I love this song – specifically because it’s featured in one of my all time favorite movies, V For Vendetta. Cat Power’s voice is so hauntingly beautiful. Her music is the kind that you would expect to hear in one of those jewelry boxes that I feel like every little girl has when they’re growing up…You know, the kind where you open up the lid and music starts playing and the ballerina or whatever starts spinning around. Those jewelry boxes.

Wolf Parade – Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts: I know I said to avoid upbeat music before bed, but Wolf Parade is my exception. Spencer Krug’s voice is simply intoxicating and it legitimately puts me under a spell every time I hear it. Maybe that’s why I can listen to them while I’m laying in bed at night and feel sleepy, because I’m under a weird Indie rock love spell. “Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts” is a fucking brilliant track, and if you’ve never heard of Wolf Parade then this is a perfect song to introduce you to them with. Make sure you pay close attention to the lyrics because they’re fantastic. The video I’m posting is great too because it includes their hit “I’ll Believe In Anything” as well which is one of my all time favorite songs in the history of ever.

Say Hi To Your Mom – Let’s Talk About Spaceships: If you want some really good Indie bedtime music, then Say Hi To Your Mom is one of your best bets. I love this guy too much and I’m actually really excited because I’ve wanted to see him in concert for years and he’s finally coming to Cleveland in October!! HURRAY! “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” was one of the first songs I ever heard by Say Hi To Your Mom and the only reason I even discovered this artist is because years ago when my brother and I were browsing through Best Buy we saw his CD’s and thought his name was absolutely hysterical. I had to investigate his music as soon as I got home and I fell in love. This track opens with one of my favorite lyrics of “And what’s that saying again? They’re only words and words can’t kill me.” I’ve never considered this song one of my favorites but honestly I think it’s safe to say that it’s one of my favorites. I’ve loved it since I was fourteen and I still love it seven years later.

Sufjan Stevens – Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!): Once again, if you’re looking for some really good Indie bedtime music, Sufjan Stevens is also a good way to go. “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!” is probably one of my favorite Sufjan songs for reasons I can’t tell you, because I have no clue why. In the words of Matthew Mcconaughey in those stupid Lincoln commercials, “I just like it”. One of the reasons why I like to play some Sufjan before bed is because all of his songs are quite long, so you can easily lose yourself in the ten minute tracks and before you know it you’re asleep. INDUSTRY! INDUSTRY!

U2 – Sleep Like a Baby Tonight: Okay, 1) Did you honestly think that I would pass up an opportunity to post music by my favorite band in the whole wide world? and 2) The answer for posting this song is all in the name of it. The end. Wait…no, not the end! Because now I have to discuss just how disappointed I am that U2 isn’t coming to Ohio on their Innocence + Experience Tour! So Bono, if you’re reading this: I love you! AND COME TO OHIO!

So there you have it, the Funky Time Jams: Bedtime Music Edition! If you’re having trouble sleeping, definitely give some of these songs and artists a try and let me know how they work out! Who’s your go to bedtime music artist? What songs succeed in making you sleepy? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun16

Glass Animals Concert

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Glass Animals Concert

Heyyy everyone and happy Tuesday! So last night I went to see Glass Animals at the House Of Blues in Cleveland with one of my comrades and it was fucking amazing! I’m going to be really honest with you guys…I was very intoxicated so some of the details are a little blurry BUT I do know that Glass Animals absolutely killed it. I also know that I’m never getting too turnt during a concert again so I can fully enjoy it and be able to remember everything about the show vividly. It was raining when we got to the venue and we got there a half hour before the doors opened so instead of waiting in line outside we went to a bar around the corner for drinks. As you guys have gathered by now, I’m a big fat lightweight so after two vodka based drinks I already felt tipsy. This unfortunately didn’t stop me from drinking more at the HOB, AYYY! #whitegirlwasted

Shortly after we got to the venue, the opening band came on. I feel like such a goon, but I can’t even recall the name of them…I mean if they were good I probably would have remembered but they weren’t my cup of tea anyways. They were really techno-y, which I actually wasn’t expecting because I feel like Glass Animals is more indie than electronica, so that was kind of fun because I’ve never been to a techno show before. I dunno, music like that all starts sounding the same to me after awhile, so I felt like after hearing two songs by the opener I heard them all. That’s why I really like Glass Animals, because they have electronica qualities to their music but it’s still distinctively very indie as a whole.

The nice part about this show was that there was only the one opener and then Glass Animals came on. This was great, because there were three openers for The Used when I saw them at the HOB last month and it dragged on for forever. As soon as Glass Animals came on I freaked out so hard! It kind of sucked because we were pretty far back in the standing area so I couldn’t really see the stage even with my concert heels on, but I’m not too worried about it because homegirl was dancing the whole time – everyone was! The lighting throughout the show was dope and all of the good vibes in the audience was amazing to experience. I didn’t take many pictures during the concert because I was dancing (probably very poorly) and I was so white girl wasted that all of the pictures were probably going to be blurry anyways. But take a look at the pics I did manage to snap before I gave up on having my iPod out:

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^^^ AHHHH! Like I said, all of their lighting was rad and they alternated their color scheme a lot throughout the show. They used the green in my featured image photo to open the concert with and then would change the lighting after every song or two. There was deep indigo, red, fuchsia, white, purple, and probably a lot more that I just can’t remember…Whoops.

I haven’t even talked about how the band sounded yet, so let’s discuss! Glass Animals sounded INCREDIBLE live. Their set list consisted of their album ZABA in its entirety and then one or two songs that I hadn’t heard before. They sounded EXACTLY like how they do on their debut album, which was astounding to me because there’s so much going on in all of the tracks that in my head I thought it would be difficult to recreate on stage…Drunk girl thoughts, obviously! It was so cool to be able to experience seeing one of my favorite bands live and having their performance go above and beyond the high standards that I hold them at, because they really are SO talented. There’s not one song on ZABA that I dislike so I was so happy that that was primarily what they performed at the concert, especially because the album is still relatively new.

As my white girl wastedness increased throughout the night, so did the urge to pee. I had to go SO SO BAD towards the end of the concert, so when they closed the show and went off stage for a few minutes before the encore I jumped on the opportunity to go to the bathroom. They had a chair by the sinks that I vividly remember sitting on for some reason or another, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyways, as I finished washing my hands I heard the beginning of “Pools” being played which is literally one of my favorite songs on the planet, so I ran my happy ass back to my companion in the standing area ASAP so that I didn’t miss one more second of it. Hearing “Pools” live was what I was looking forward to the most and it was everything that I hoped it would be AND MORE. It was seriously the perfect encore song to close the night with. What an amazing, incredible, wonderful, terrific show.

So there you have it, my Glass Animals concert experience! If any of you guys have the opportunity to see them live, I urge you to jump on it! You’ll be glad that you did! Is anyone going to a show anytime soon? Who are you seeing? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun15

Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition

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Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition

Whatupppppp everyone and happy Monday! It’s currently one thirty in the AM and I’m not very tired and I promised my sister that I would stop watching the new season of Orange Is The New Black without her, so I figured I would get the Monday Update out of the way now. I hope all of you had a great weekend! I know I did, thanks for asking! As you guys know, I spent my Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino (See article “Casino Adventures”) which was tons of fun – and the good times continued throughout Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was a day of sleeping in, shopping, and date night. Sunday was a day of wonderful company, hair dye, family, and #OITNB. Best. Weekend. Ever!

On Saturday afternoon my mom and I were shopping around in the Fairlawn area and we happened to stumble into Bath & Body Works in the midst of their semi-annual sale. I’ve never been a huge B&BW fan, but holy moley their sale prices were incredible! I got six FULL SIZE (8 oz.) perfumes for the price of one original priced bottle – talk about a deal! As I’ve mentioned before, the only perfume that I wear is Victoria’s Secret’s “Enchanted Apple”, but unfortunately they don’t carry the fragrance year round. The only times they break that scent out is during their semi-annual sales, which is when I stock up on my perfume for the year. About a month ago, I finished my last of five bottles that I purchased during the last VS sale, so I’ve been using the random odds and ends fragrances that my sister and I have…Believe me, I’m not thrilled about it! I feel incomplete without my signature scent. BUT fear not, because I found a very similar apple-y fragrance from B&BW that I’m super obsessed with. B&BW’s “Country Apple” has the exact same sweet/tart fragrance that I love so much in “Enchanted Apple”, so best believe I bought five bottles to keep me going as well as one of their aquatic fragrances “Cool Amazon Rain”. I also stocked up on some dirt cheap lotions which make perfect add ons to birthday and holiday gifts. #BALLIN After shopping with my mama, it was time for date night with my darling, handsome prince Kyle. We went hard on appetizers and yummy drinks at Applebee’s and spent beautiful quality time with each other which was much much needed! Love him! ❤

Yesterday was a pretty chill day which was so nice after being out and about most nights last week. I met up with one of my dear friends, Scott, for some terrific conversation and coffee – which was an absolute joy. He’s definitely on my list of “Lil Red’s Favorite People in The World”! Once I got home in the mid afternoon, my sister and I binge watched #OITNB for a bit and then I got to work on dying my hair. I dye my locks once a month to keep my red fresh and vibrant and let me tell you, it’s a trip washing the dye out of my hair and watching all of the color come out. It straight up looks like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre happened in my shower every time. The rest of my evening was spent plucking my eyebrows to perfection (ayy!), annihilating at Scrabble, watching #OITNB once again, and here I am now getting my blog on!

So now that you guys know what my weekend was looking like, let me tell you all about how freaking excited I am for tonight! I’m going to see Glass Animals at the House Of Blues in Cleveland with one of my comrades and I’m seriously so pumped I could cry!!! I really lucked out when I found out that Glass Animals was playing in Cleveland last Thursday because if it wasn’t for Facebook I would have had no idea. While scrolling through my news feed on FB I happened to see a status from HOB advertising for the chance to win tickets to the show on Monday night. It was weird that it showed up on my news feed because I have yet to “like” HOB or Glass Animals on there, so there was no reason for it to show up – but I’m so beyond glad that it did! As soon as I saw that they were playing I bought tickets ASAP because there’s no way in hell that I would pass up seeing these guys live. I’ve been in love with Glass Animals since last September and I’ve told literally everyone who I’ve introduced their music to how much I would love to see them live. I can’t believe that in less than twenty-four hours I’ll be hanging out at the House Of Blues watching one of my favorite bands perform! AHHHH! June will definitely be a good month for concerts, because I’ll be back at HOB on the 30th to see one of my other favorites, AWOLNATION, compliments of my brother for my birthday. What a guy! I’m also pretty hyped because Family Of The Year is opening for them and I happen to really like them too! Exciting stuff!!

^^^ SO GOOD! Also, if you’re interested in shopping the semi-annual sale at Bath & Body Works, their offers are available online as well at: http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/home/index.jsp! Happy shopping!

So there you have it, my Monday Update: Alright, Alright, Alright Edition! #MCCONAUGHEY!!!! Make sure you check back in with me at some point during the week to hear all about my Glass Animals concert experience! Is anyone going to any concerts coming up? What about any of the festivals like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, or the Hangout Fest? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a lovely day! -Sarah

May13

May Music Obsessions

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May Music Obsessions

Whatsup guys! I haven’t done a music post in a while, so I figured now would be the perfect time to let all of you know what I’ve been jamming out to this past month! Get comfy, kick up your feet, and turn your speakers up while I discuss some new tried and true favorites:

RAC ft. Matthew Koma: Cheap Sunglasses – Ohhhh yes indeed, I love this song. This was on our playlist when I worked at PacSun, and to be honest I kind of forgot about it until I heard it playing at Express a few months ago. After I got reunited with RAC this fun little indie pop ditty has become one of my favorites. Ever since I rediscovered this song, it became the track that I would start my drives to Cleveland for school with. It’s so catchy it hurts, and I’ve had played it on repeat more times than I can count – which I’m so okay with!

The Used: Take It Away – I’ve always been a really big fan of this song, but after seeing The Used perform this in concert a few weeks ago (which you can read all about in my article “The Used Concert!!!”), my love for it rekindled tenfold. This song is so fucking powerful, and I really wish that I could upload the video I have of The Used performing it, but unfortunately it won’t upload on here! You guys should know by now that I’m an emo kid through and through, and I really can’t think of a better emo kid anthem than this song.

A$AP Rocky: Fashion Killa – I have a HUGE crush on A$AP Rocky, and this track in my fucking jam. This is my fly girl theme song, and I love bumpin it in the Little Red Love Machine every chance I get. The beat is amazing, and I like to pretend that this song was written for me…judge me for it. I fall in and out of phases of liking rap, but no matter what I always have a soft spot for A$AP – he’s cute as a button and his flow is insane. MARRY ME!

AWOLNATION: Jailbreak – I’ve mentioned countless times before how much I love AWOLNATION’s sophomore album Run, and I think that this song might be my favorite one on the album. I love the really dark vibe that “Jailbreak” has, which is very similar to everyone’s favorite “Sail” off of Megalithic Symphony. I’ve grown very fond of playing Run in its entirety while driving, and best believe I’m singing along the whole time – but I go especially hard to this song! I’m really hoping that I can see AWOLNATION in concert sooner or later, I feel like they would be SO fun to see live!

Generationals: Ten-Twenty-Ten – I absolutely adore Generationals, and I really like this short and sweet track. It’s a PacSun playlist oldie but goodie that I didn’t even realize I had in my collection until I had my iTunes playing on shuffle a few days ago. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I made this discovery! I’m usually not a fan of watching music videos, but the video for this song is pretty fun – so make sure you check it out! I like this dudes voice a lot too, it’s quirky and smooth, and I really like how it’s a bit higher pitched than most male singers. Big fan!

Grouplove: Chloe – I rediscovered my love for Grouplove a week or so ago, and “Chloe” is probably one of my all time favorites by them. It’s so sweet and catchy, and I always get this image in my head of a bonfire party where everyone’s just sitting around a campfire and singing their little hearts out whenever I hear this song. You know how there’s some songs where you don’t have an obvious reason for liking the song other than the phrase “I just like it”? That’s exactly how I feel about this fun little track.

The Smiths: Bigmouth Strikes Again – I feel like I mention my undying adoration for The Smiths a lot, but that’s okay because they deserve it! All of their songs are a favorite song of mine, but “Bigmouth Strikes Again” is a track that’s closer to the top of my list. The lyrics to this song are SO dark, which is something that I’m always drawn to.

Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking
When I said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed

^^^ Like what? Haha, at least he was only joking! This song is also why “sweetness” is one of my favorite pet names to call people – which I realized I started doing a lot more after I began playing “Bigmouth” periodically throughout the day!

The New Pornographers: Falling Through Your Clothes – Hands down my favorite New Pornographers song, no questions asked. I could hear this track on repeat all day and I would still love it. Everything about this song just works SO amazingly well, it’s unreal – I love how soft the verses are and then BAM the game changes with the orchestral chorus. I never really made it a priority before to listen to The New Pornographers a lot, but I recently added all of their albums to my collection and it was the most worthwhile thing I’ve done in a long time. They’re slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite bands.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood – THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR, NOW THAT BIGFOOT IS CAPTURED!!!! Best. Opening. Lyric. EVER. I’ve been on a very big Clap Your Hands Say Yeah kick as of late, and I’m so not mad about it. My older brother saw them in concert a year ago and I’m forever jealous of him for it. The lead singers voice is simply intoxicating and their lyrics are astounding. Enough said.

Metric: Speed The Collapse – I’m a very big fan of Metric, and they’ve really pulled through as a month of May all star for Lil Red. As you guys know, I usually hate female vocalists, but Emily Haines is the exception. I don’t know what it is about her voice, but I can’t get enough of it – AND she’s drop dead gorgeous. Hubba hubba. Shout out to PacSun for exposing me to Metric and all of their glory, because “Speed The Collapse” is a PacTrack if I’ve ever heard one!

So there you have it! My funky time jams for the month of May! Who have you guys been rocking out to lately? What song have you been playing on repeat today? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May3

The Used Concert!!!!!

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The Used Concert!!!!!

Heyyy everyone! I hope you’re all having a fabulous Sunday! So as you know, last night I went to see The Used in Cleveland with my sister Kristen and it was absolutely AMAZING!!!! I got Kristen the tickets for her 23rd birthday in April and we had the best time ever!!! I’ll start off the post with some pictures from the show, and then I’ll discuss our incredible concert experience!

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^^^ Note that the last picture posted is of Every Time I Die who opened the show!

All of yesterday I was seriously so excited I could barely concentrate. Kristen got home from work around 4:30 and we arrived in Cleveland about an hour later. We found a parking garage and then went to wait in the line to get into the House of Blues because the doors opened at six for the show to start at seven. The House of Blues is a pretty intimate venue, and as you can tell by the pictures, Kristen and I were very close to the stage – which was awesome! We had a great view of the entire show, and I couldn’t have been happier about it. It was so cool to feel like you could literally reach out and touch the band members and it was amazing to see all of their expressions and instrument playing so clearly. I wore my concert going Vera Wang wedges so that I wouldn’t have to worry about not seeing anything because I’m a shorty. Kristen opted for more sensible (and still cute!) black tennies, so she stood in front of me so we could both have a clear line of vision to the stage. It worked out perfectly, and sucks to suck for anyone standing behind my fake-tall self thanks to my wedges! There were three opening bands before The Used went on, and quite frankly the first two sucked ass. I honestly don’t even remember the names of the bands and I really don’t care. But Every Time I Die who was on before The Used fucking killed it! I’ve heard of them before, but I’ve never heard their music so I was very excited to finally experience it. And what better way to hear the band for the first time than seeing them live?! They blew their performance out of the water. Every Time I Die definitely falls under the screamo category of music, which I happen to really like! As soon as the band ran on stage things started getting rowdy in the audience, but all of the pushing and shoving just added to the experience. I’ve never been to a show that would fall into the emo or punk genre so it was way fun being able to head bang and jump around with all of the concert goers. I definitely plan on listening to Every Time I Die again, and if you haven’t heard of them I highly recommend you check them out!!! After another twenty minutes, The Used finally came on and Kristen and I were freaking out! The moment that we were waiting for for the past four or so hours was finally here and we were so happy!!! I’ll never forget watching Kristen sing along with so much enthusiasm and I cherish the times when she would squeeze my hand with excitement. I loved watching her have a good time – especially since it was her birthday celebration! Their set list for the night was filled with old favorites like The Taste Of Ink, I Caught Fire, Take It Away, and All That I’ve Got just to name a few. I have no shame in admitting that I totally cried during The Taste Of Ink…I seriously couldn’t help it. I’ve listened to that song on repeat countless times during a bad day and to hear it live was so special to me. It was so much fun to listen to Burt talk throughout the show as well! First of all, he’s drop dead gorgeous. Second of all, he’s hilarious! Our favorite Burt-ism of the night was when he was introducing Pretty Handsome Awkward by saying “this is a song about how fucking special I think I am”. We were dying!! We both purchased the same shirt after the show, which I wanted to buy for her but she wouldn’t let me! The shirt is dope! It’s black with The Used in red and in white there’s a picture of a coffin with a broken up skeleton on the inside and underneath that it says “I Buried Myself Alive”. Love it. We both are wearing it today and it’s the first time we’ve matched clothing since we were little kids! Saying that Kristen and I had a blast is a severe understatement and I’m sure she’ll agree with me when I say that it was the best night we’ve had in ages. My sister’s birthday celebration was a success and I’m so happy that she enjoyed herself. One of my favorite parts of the night was her thanking me and telling me that she had fun – I felt like such a champ and a ballin little sister! ❤

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So there you have it! Mine and Kristen’s fabulous experience of seeing The Used in concert! What was the best show that you’ve ever been to? What band would you love to see live? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May1

SO EXCITED!!!!!!

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SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Heyyy everyone and TGIF! AND Happy May!!! I just wanted to let you guys know that I’ll be out of office tomorrow because my sister and I are going to see The Used at the House of Blues in Cleveland!! WE’RE SO EXCITED!!! I got Kristen tickets for the concert for her 23rd birthday in April, and tomorrow is finally the day for our emo night on the town! The concert starts at six, which is kind of a weird time, so we plan on making the hour drive to Cleveland fairly early in the day so we can make the most out of our general admission tickets by getting an awesome standing space. The emoness is going to be SO real tomorrow….I’m talkin black on black on black and a whole lot of crying! It’s going to be AWESOME! I’m really looking forward to celebrating Kristen’s birthday again and having a sister filled day. I haven’t been to a concert since I saw The 1975 in December and I’ve never been to the House of Blues before so needless to say, I’m so hyped up. The best part about Kristen’s birthday concert tickets is that we both have a strong mutual love for The Used so it’s not like I’m taking her to a concert of a band who I hate – even though I wouldn’t care at all! So what I’m saying is, it’s going to be just as fun for me as it will be for her. Kristen has seen The Used once before in concert and I was so jealous so I’m very happy to have the opportunity to finally see them live! I’ll try and take lots of pictures and avoid getting punched by angsty emos as best as I can – but don’t be surprised if I post a picture of myself with a black eye! 😉

^^^ Kristen posted this video on Facebook last night, so it only seems right that I feature it on this post!

I hope all of you guys have a fabulous weekend and I’ll tell you all about the concert on Sunday! What was the best concert you’ve ever been to? What band would you love to see live? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar1

Lil Red Recommends – Entertainment Edition

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Lil Red Recommends – Entertainment Edition

Hey there and happy March!!! Spring is on the horizon and I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for it! Especially considering it’s going to snow all day in good ol’ Akron, Ohio. -____- As of late I’ve been enjoying some great movies, literature, and music that I’d love to share with you. There’s also one heinous excuse for a film that I must warn you about, so let’s get started!!

Watch St. Vincent: I watched this fantastically sweet movie last night with my parents and I loved every minute of it. St. Vincent was a classic “grumpy old man with a sensitive side underneath it all” film starring Bill Murray who was quite phenomenal. (He was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance.) The sensitive side to Vincent is brought out by a number of people and situations throughout the film including his new neighbors Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her young son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), the lady of the night Daka (Naomi Watts), and his Alzheimer ridden wife Sandy (Donna Mitchell). The all star cast all give inspiring performances. I was pleasantly surprised that Melissa McCarthy was able to pull off a serious roll and young Jaeden Lieberher was sweet as can be. Usually I’m not fond of child actors, but he was just adorable and not annoying in the slightest. And can we please just talk about Naomi Watts as Daka?! Between her prostitute-y hair and makeup and her thick Russian accent, I didn’t even realize it was her until my mom told me! She nailed it. In the classic storyline with a twist, St. Vincent truly showed that you can’t judge a book by its cover. The film was the perfect combination of serious and pure fun and I can’t recommend it enough.

DO NOT WATCH Before I Go To Sleep: I’m sure you guys will recall that I absolutely loved the book Before I Go To Sleep from previous posts. I still hold true to my statement that this book was infinitely better than the popular Gone Girl. I was extremely excited to hear that one of my favorites was made into a movie starring the lovely Nicole Kidman and the hotty mchothot Colin Firth. I’ve been looking forward to watching this film for a while now and was so happy when my mom brought it home from the library yesterday. Eager to see my favorite book on the big screen (more like eighteen inch TV screen, but same difference) I popped the movie into the DVD player and was ready to be taken away into the creepy confusing world described in the book. To bring you up to speed if you’re not familiar with the storyline, Before I Go To Sleep tells the tale of Christine, a woman who experienced horrible trauma causing her memory to erase every night when she falls asleep. The movie started out okay for about ten minutes, and then everything went downhill. The movie was absolutely NOTHING like the book. Important facts were altered or removed completely and the acting of Kidman and Firth was sub par at best. Quite frankly, I’ve seen Lifetime movies that were better than this. If you read the book and enjoyed it as much as I did, don’t bother watching the movie because I give you the Lil Red Guarantee that you will absolutely hate it. If you have never read the book and are thinking about watching it, DON’T DO IT! It sucked and you’re welcome for saving you an hour and a half of your life. 🙂

^^SHAMEFUL!

Read Dad Is Fat: Lol, if you’re familiar with the extremely pale comedian Jim Gaffigan, you’ll know that this is his memoir to all things parenting. Gaffigan has a herd of five small equally as pale offspring and Dad Is Fat includes stories, tips, observations, and just pure silliness about his adventures as a parent. Usually I’m not one for reading books penned by celebrities and I’m also not fond of reading comedic books but when my brother was home a few weeks ago he brought Dad Is Fat with him (which I actually bought for him) in case I wanted to read it. He told me it was hilarious so I accepted the book to maybe read at a later time. That time came sooner than I thought, after I finished the last book I was reading The Rosie Effect in a whopping three days. (The Rosie Effect was the sequel to The Rosie Project and it was simply delightful! Definitely give the series a try, you’ll be glad you did!) Anyways, I was completely out of things to read so I begrudgingly picked up Dad Is Fat and was instantly in stitches. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and lots of fun, give this goofy memoir a try. You’ll be in laughing hysterics the whole time!

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Give The Rosie Series A Try: As I mentioned above, I recently finished the much anticipated sequel to The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect. The Rosie books tell the story of calculated, scientific, and socially awkward Don and his quest to find true love. The books never go right out and say that Don is on the autism spectrum, but you can easily deduce through the context clues that he indeed is on the spectrum. Don’s life is turned upside down in the first book when he finds himself falling in love with the outgoing and outspoken Rosie, who is literally his polar opposite. In the sequel which I really enjoyed, we find our cute couple enjoying married life until a major shock happens…Rosie is pregnant! The Rosie Effect follows the hilarious and at times heartbreaking moments in Don’s every day life. New friendships are made with eccentric characters even in the midst of a marital rough patch. Blame it on the hormones, I guess?! Can Don and Rosie salvage their relationship in time for their new baby? I guess you’re gonna have to find out!

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Listen To Tom Vek: I know that I’ve mentioned Tom Vek before, but he’s slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite artists, so I figured I’d mention him again. I’m so obsessed with his album Leisure Seizure, I seriously can’t even. Vek has this amazing ability to make his voice drone on and on but still sound completely amazing. His music is moody, melancholy, and I can’t get enough. His monotonous voice is the definition of complete angst and all of his songs sound so mechanical and cool. It’s rare for me to hear an album and enjoy every song, but Leisure Seizure defies those odds, delivering hits track after track. I would put videos for the entire album on here, but I’ll leave it up to you guys to find more of his music if you like him. Here’s a few tracks that I really enjoy to get you started:

So there you have it, my Lil Red Recommends – Entertainment Edition! Have you guys read any of the books or watched any of the films I mentioned? What did you think of them? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Sunday! -Sarah

Feb25

2Cellos Concert – The Best Night Ever!!!

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2Cellos Concert – The Best Night Ever!!!

I had an absolutely magical night yesterday thanks to my beloved best friend Kate, whom you guys know all about! For my Christmas gift, Kate got me tickets to see 2Cellos – AKA two hot guys playing classic rock and looking fine as hell. Last night was the night of the concert and we celebrated the belated holiday with a bang! To start the evening we went to the mall and did a little shopping, while sipping the most sub par coffee ever from Starbucks – but that’s okay! After an hour or so of perusing, it was off to dinner at Bravo, an absolutely delightful restaurant right across from the mall. I had never been there before and it was so delicious!! Bravo is an Italian restaurant, and it’s like a step up from the Olive Garden. I got the Penne Mediterranean and it was so insanely good! Penne pasta with a butter garlic sauce, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and feta cheese. YUM!!! After a beautiful meal it was off to EJ Thomas Hall, which is a stunning concert hall located near the University of Akron. As soon as we neared the university, the traffic was insane (it was a sold out show, so that explains it)! Luckily, Kate goes to Akron U, so she knew a super secret parking spot and we were able to beat the crowds of people waiting to park. Mwahaha. It was a bit of a trek to EJ Thomas, and it was freezing cold out! I instantly regretted wearing a maxi skirt and my beloved Vera Wang wedges…but not really – beauty is pain. Once we got into the warmth of the theatre, we found our seats, which were the most PERFECT nosebleed seats ever. Like seriously, they were amazing. We were smack dab in the middle of the row and we were essentially looking down on the stage so we could see everything perfectly! At EJ Thomas we were joined by Kate’s sister Erika and their lovely family friend Donna, whom I had never met before but heard amazing things about so that was such a treat! Here’s a few of the pre show selfies Kate and I took:

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^^^^ I LOVE US!!!!

Anyways, the 2Cellos show was nothing short of phenomenal! The studs in my featured image picture are from Croatia and it’s safe to say that I’m in love with both of them. Throughout the night, the boys played some classical numbers, but mainly played cello versions of classic rock, like U2, Guns n’ Roses, AC/DC, Nirvana, and Michael Jackson. The music was astounding and the light shows put on were great as well. The best part of the night was when the beautiful blokes played their version of U2’s “With or Without You” which is mine and Kate’s favorite. We held hands (even though both of ours were super sweaty) the entire time and it was such an amazing moment to share with my best friend. Another awesome part of the performance was when they did a medley of Michael Jackson songs, including “Smooth Criminal” which was SO COOL!! The lights that were used during that number was perfect – bright whites and dark blue. WOOF! Needless to say, the music was impeccable, the night was lovely, and the boys of 2Cellos were so hot that they literally made me clutch my pearls. What more could a girl want?

^^^ Posted above are some of my favorite covers that 2Cellos performs, which I was lucky enough to see last night! If you enjoy good music, please PLEASE give these videos a watch….it will blow your mind!

So there you have it, mine and Kate’s late Christmas celebration extravaganza! We had such a beautiful time and I’m so lucky to have her as my best friend, partner in crime, and soul mate. Have any of you guys heard of 2Cellos before? What’s your favorite cover that they do? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much Love. – A Very Happy Sarah

Feb23

Monday Update – Annoyed Edition -___-

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Monday Update – Annoyed Edition -___-

Guyyyyyyyyyys. I’m. So. ANNOYED!!!! But before I talk about the sources of my annoyances, let’s talk about the good things that these past few days have brought! My big bro Peter was home from Tuesday until Sunday before he returned back to Madison, Wisconsin. We had a fantastic time hanging out, I missed him so much! I treasured all of my time spent with him, from playing Mario Kart drink and drive, watching The Ladies Man, annihilating in some Diablo II, to just chilling and bro talking – it was all beautiful. Fingers crossed that he can come home again soon! 🙂 Alright, what else? Oh! I’m getting a new tattoo this week! I’m not going to say exactly what it is, but I can tell you it will be themed from my favorite book in the entire world, The Little Prince. So make sure you keep checking in with me this week, because I’ll for sure be posting pictures of it once it’s all done! Exciting stuff. And can we please just talk about the Oscars for a hot minute? *Kisses fingers* Mwah. To die for. I enjoyed everything about last nights spectacle – the fashion, the performances, and most importantly the appreciation I had for all of the wonderful craftsmen and women being honored at the awards. Unfortunately, I’ve been slacking severely this year as far as watching the Oscar nominated films goes – I’ve only seen three. (Unbroken, American Sniper, and The Grand Budapest Hotel which I actually just watched today and absolutely adored. C’est magnifique.) However, I plan on watching all of the films as soon as I can get my hands on them either at the library or the video store. I’m particularly excited to see Birdman and Whiplash, but everything looks so good! The Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Boyhood, Still Alice, and Ida are all on my must watch list as well! (Make sure you leave me a comment on how you feel about any of these movies – but no spoilers please!!)

Now, onto the annoying stuff….my freaking laptop that I do all of my school work and blogging on is broken – which is just dandy considering a majority of my college classes are taken online. I’m currently using one of my moms old work laptops to write this, but unfortunately it can’t run my school software very well, so I had to spend four plus hours at the local library today to do my school work. It’s not like it’s a huge deal or anything, but it was so nice to be able to work from the comfort of my home (hello no pants!) or Starbucks. And the computers at the library suck major ass, so I had to spend a lot of time today waiting for things to load or reload because I got kicked off of the servers so many times. By the time I left the library I was on the verge of tearing my hair out and proceeded to chain smoke and swear the entire way home. As soon as I got home today, I knew that I needed a break to cool my jets, so I decided that this afternoon would be the perfect time to finally watch The Grand Budapest Hotel. I loved it too much and it definitely helped get a smile back on my face for the rest of the day. Fair warning, you guys are gonna hear a lot of me being annoyed this next month, because that’s how long it’s going to take for my laptop to be fixed, but just bear with me cause god knows mama’s gonna need to vent. It’s given me quite a bit of stress this past weekend because of how much my school work depends on that damn piece of technology – so fingers crossed the problem can be solved promptly and I’ll have my laptop back in no time. Le sigh.

^^^ Today definitely calls for my happy time music. While I was working at the library today I had all of my U2 albums on shuffle on my iPod and it definitely made my work fest tolerable at the very least. THANKS BONO, YA STUD!!! ❤

Alright crew, there you have it, Lil Red’s Monday Update. What did you guys think of the Oscars? Who got snubbed? Who looked a hot wreck? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much Love. -A Very Annoyed Sarah

Feb19

Funky Time Jams: Old Faithfuls

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Funky Time Jams: Old Faithfuls

Whatupppppp guys! Hope your Thursday is treating you well so far. So, for the past few months I’ve had the exact same song lineup on the tabs that I have on my iPod. These songs are my old faithfuls. I can listen to them literally at any given time during the day and enjoy it no matter what. Some of these songs I’ve known for years and I’m still not sick of them! I’m sure I may have mentioned a few of these tracks at some point during my posts, but some of them are so nice I’ll name them twice. Let’s get started!

The Wombats – “Your Body Is A Weapon”: I absolutely ADORE this song. (So PacSun-y, I know) I love The Wombats too much and this is probably one of my favorite songs by them. The thing is, is that there really is nothing too special about this song – the lyrics aren’t mind blowing and the sound is very similar to everything else that The Wombats do BUT there’s just something about this track that speaks to me. It’s catchy, it’s cool, it’s fun. Whenever I hear it I can’t help but dance to it. In fact I choreographed a pretty cool routine to it. This song puts my heart and body in motion, so I guess that’s the something about this song that speaks to me.

The Knife – “We Share Our Mothers Health” (Ratatat Remix): This is a song that I know I mentioned before, but that’s okay, because it’s fantastic. Ratatat absolutely annihilates this remix. I love that a dark spin was put on this song, it’s so moody and hypnotizing and I can’t get enough. Quite frankly, the remix is infinitely better than The Knife’s original, and that’s really saying something because I love The Knife. So bangin.

Wavves – “Nodding Off”: “Don’t call me friend, I’m not your friend. Don’t call me nothing at all. I stopped waiting for your call – STUPID AND ANNOYED!!!” That lyric basically sums up my entire life, sad but true. This is hands down my favorite song by Wavves. This song used to play during my first year of working at PacSun about four years ago, and I loved it then just as much as I do now. The chorus of the song repeats “gods been nodding off” and I think that it’s absolutely brilliant. That one simple statement sums up how I feel about a lot of shit in my life. With a chorus like that you would think that the song would be melancholy and depressing, but in true Wavves fashion, it’s the perfect mix of surfer rock and straight up fun. I love it forever and for always.

Everything Everything – “Cough Cough”: Yeah. So. Um….wait a second. This track is fantastic. I wasn’t a very big Everything Everything fan until I heard “Cough Cough”. I honestly find their earlier stuff quite annoying, BUT they changed it up with this song and displayed such a fresh mature sound that I dig so much. The lyrics are fascinating and the vocals on this song really are impressive. Usually I never recommend watching music videos because I hate them, but the music video for “Cough Cough” is pretty cool, so definitely check it out.

Juicy J ft. Kreayshawn – “U Trippy Mane”: Lol, this list wouldn’t be complete without a rap song, and this is my jam. Juicy J absolutely slays me and Kreayshawn really isn’t that great but I have a big crush on her so that makes up for her lack of talent. My sister and I play this song in the car all the time and it legit never gets old. “I’ve got so much trip, I fell asleep high. I woke up high. If I’m sober I LIED.” Hahaha, I love it.

Magic Man – “Texas”: Yes, yes, yes, yes. This is hands down one of my favorite songs in the world. Simply gorgeous. This track takes me to a really magical, melancholy place in my mind and it honestly feels like Magic Man picked my brain to write this song. I’ll never forget the first time I heard it at you guessed it, PacSun. I had to stop what I was doing and just listen to it. The lyrics are so poetic and sad but somehow uplifting and joyous at the same time. All I picture in my head is sunsets, summer time, a night sky full of stars, and a blossoming relationship when I hear this song. Some day I hope that someone feels the same way about me that the guys of Magic Man were feeling about someone when they wrote this song. It’s a perfect sentiment of love and it’s too beautiful for words.

Sheppard – “Geronimo”: This one is actually a new song that I added to my lineup. If there’s one thing Lil Red loves, it’s indie pop – and this song is a perfect example of it. Songs don’t always have to be so serious. They can be care free, fun, catchy, and cute and Sheppard displays all of these things effortlessly. I rarely play the radio when I’m driving, I usually just plug my iPod in, but I was running some nearby errands and didn’t bother and I ended up hearing this song. When I hear “Geronimo” I can’t help but smile. It’s a sweet song that puts me in a happy mood, what more can you ask for?

Little Comets – “Joanna”: I. Love. This. Song. I love the vocals, I love the sound, I love the lyrics, I love it all. There’s honestly nothing else I can say about this one. If you chose to listen to any of the songs on here, this is the one you should try. You’re welcome.

Wolf Parade – “I’ll Believe In Anything”: Wolf Parade is one of my all time favorite bands, and this song is astoundingly beautiful. “Give me your eyes, I need sunshine.” That lyric holds a very special place in my heart and soul. All of Wolf Parade’s lyrics are phenomenal, but there’s something about the pure poetry in this song that really speaks to me. This track is absolutely timeless. “I’ll Believe In Anything” is almost a decade old and it still resonates in my very being to this day. Once again, I hate music videos – but, the video for this song is quite good, so make sure you give it a watch.

U2 – “Beautiful Day”: U2 is my number one favorite band in the world. Point blank. Period. I grew up listening to U2 with my parents and loved them as a small child and here I am now, at twenty years old and I love them even more. This song is my everything. It has gotten me through more tough times than I can even begin to tell you. My very first tattoo that I got the day I turned eighteen were actually lyrics from “Beautiful Day” – “After the flood all the colors came out”. That phrase has been my mantra for years now and this song has been my theme song since I was young. I was lucky enough to see U2 in concert in Pittsburgh for their 360 Tour and was in absolute hysterics when they performed this song. To hear my favorite song in the entire world by my favorite band in the entire world live was an experience that I’ll never EVER forget. Perfection.

So there you have it, my old faithfuls! My go to-s, my favorites, my funky time jams. I love these songs so much, and I hope all of you enjoy them just as much as I do! What’s your favorite song in the entire world? What are a few of your old faithful tracks? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Peace out. -Sarah