Category Archives: Music

Sep9

Woman Crush Wednesday: Alison Mosshart Edition

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Woman Crush Wednesday: Alison Mosshart Edition

Hellooo everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Woman Crush Wednesday – Alison Mosshart style!! Here’s the thing…I hate music with female vocalists. Don’t ask me why, I just do. BUT Alison Mosshart is one of the very rare women whose voice doesn’t annoy the living hell out of me, which is why she’s my #WCW. Yes, this makes me sound hella musically sexist. No, I don’t care. Let’s discuss:

Dear Alison Mosshart,

Oh Alison, you little pack a punch powerhouse, I just adore you. “Sour Cherry”, the song I picked to honor you with was the first track I ever heard from The Kills and after that, I was hooked. I loved your edgy, devil may care attitude, along with the ability you had to make your voice go from poppy fun to a rocker howl in no time. Before I knew it, you were becoming my favorite female front woman, which as I mentioned earlier, is quite a rarity. Just when I thought you couldn’t get any better, you surprised me again by becoming the leading lady of one of Jack White’s bands, The Dead Weather. I’ll never forget hearing “So Far From Your Weapon” for the first time. It was dark, bluesy, gruff, and everything that I gravitate towards when I’m looking for new music to play. The vocal ranges you have truly are amazing because you sound great singing any style, which leaves me coming back for more again and again. I could ramble about my adoration of your music for another ten paragraphs but I’d also really like to discuss your gorgeous looks! Hubba hubba, chick – because you’re a stunner! You’re so beautiful no matter what your hair color or your outfit…You could wear a paper bag and still look incredible. You remind me so much of a young Joan Jett and I seriously can’t handle your perfection. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

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^^^ Ugh. She’s flawless!!! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday: Alison Mosshart Edition! Who is your #WCW this week? What is your favorite creative endeavor by my woman crush? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug28

iTunes Shuffle Challenge: Epic Failure

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iTunes Shuffle Challenge: Epic Failure

Heyyy everyone and TGIF! About a month or so ago, I wrote an article about my desire to play all of the over 8,000 songs on my iPod the entire way through on shuffle. (See: “iTunes Shuffle Challenge”) Unfortunately, I only made it to song 1,000. I seriously couldn’t handle not being able to hear my go to jams whenever I wanted, so thanks to a few of my favorite songs, the score is as follows:

  • Sarah: 0
  • iTunes Shuffle Challenge: 7496833058

Now it’s time to share with you the funky time jams that made the iTunes Shuffle Challenge triumph over Lil Red:

Wild For The Night – A$AP Rocky (ft. Skrillix, Birdy Nam Nam): Yes, the lyrics in this song are vulgar to the point that it’s almost shameful. No, I don’t care. This song is my fucking jam. Whenever I’m in the mood to blast rap music at the highest volume possible in the Little Red Love Machine (which is very often), this is my first choice. It’s so damn catchy and I have the biggest, weirdest crush on A$AP Rocky. Ain’t no shame in my game. 😉 #ihatemyself

One Time – K-Os: Oh yes, I looooove me some K-Os and “One Time” is one of my all time favorites by him. This track is so sexy it’s unreal and it’s another one of Lil Red’s go to driving jams. If you haven’t noticed already, a common theme in this post is that these songs are all ones that I like to drive to. Sue me for it. By the time I got about a month into the iTunes Shuffle Challenge, I was so over not being able to hear my favorite driving songs. Everyone has those certain tracks that put them in the best mood while driving and it was very difficult to live without them. But I digress. K-Os came out with a new album recently and I’m very excited to give it a listen…Also, give “One Time” a try. It’s the tits.

Wake Up – AWOLNATION: Obviously AWOLNATION is going to be on this list considering how much I freaking love them. (See: “AWOLNATION Concert” and “Man Crush Monday: Aaron Bruno Edition) AWOL is one of my favorite bands to drive to because their music is so fast paced and upbeat. Around song 500 on my Shuffle Challenge “Like People, Like Plastic” played and I freaked out with happiness and then spiraled into a depression because I couldn’t rock out to any more of their music. It seriously killed me. #neardeathexperiences

That Black Bat Licorice – Jack White: Once again, obviously my main man, Jack White, is going to be on this list. (See: “Man Crush Monday: Jack White Edition) I love playing anything and everything with Mr. White in it, so consider this part of the list an all inclusive blurb for all of Jack White’s past and present bands. Such a beautiful, talented, hunka hunk of burning love. I also really like the music video for this song!

Avocado, Baby – Los Campesinos!: I like this song a lot. Like a lot a lot. I’ve been a Los Campesinos! fan for years and this track is no exception. It’s cool, it’s catchy, and I play it in the Little Red Love Machine at least ten times per week. #MVP

Don’t Save Me – HAIM: Whenever I’m feeling sassy, which is very often, I loves me some HAIM. I’m a big fan of their entire album Days Are Gone and “Don’t Save Me” is probably one of my favorite tracks. I like to play HAIM when I’m in need of a heaping helping of girl power and best believe I’m singing poorly the entire time. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to be a member of that sisterhood (of the traveling pants).

Burnin’ Up – Jonas Brothers: Hahaha…haha…ha. JUDGE ME FOR IT!!! Whenever I’m driving with my sister, this is one of the songs that we like to belt at the top of our lungs. For that reason, “Burnin’ Up” was an accomplice to my iTunes Shuffle Challenge failure. You guys have no idea how hard it was to tell my big sis that she couldn’t play our JoBros anthem because I couldn’t stray away from my shuffle streak. I made a lot of musical sacrifices for the Shuffle Challenge, and not playing “Burnin’ Up” was one of the most difficult ones I had to make. #truestory

So there you have it, the tunes that turned my iTunes Shuffle Challenge into an Epic Failure. What are some of your go to driving songs? How many songs do you have on your iPod and do you think you could succeed at a Shuffle Challenge of your own? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul17

iTunes Shuffle Challenge

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iTunes Shuffle Challenge

Whatsup everyone and TGIF! So for the past two or so weeks I’ve been dedicated to listening to the 7952 songs on my iPod on shuffle in its entirety. I’m five hundred songs in and it has been an absolute blast so far. I’ve rediscovered a love for some long forgotten songs and stumbled upon music that I didn’t even know I had. Here’s a few of the highlights of my shuffle journey so far:

Breathe Carolina – Velvet: Flippin judge me for it. This song came on yesterday when I was in the Little Red Love Machine and I was SO excited about it. Hearing “Velvet” brought me back to my angsty teenage days so I guess it only seemed appropriate that an angsty twenty-one year old played it four times in a row. I don’t care what anyone says, this song is catchy as hell.

The Front Bottoms – Maps: I’ve always adored The Front Bottoms. I think that their sound is so unique and their lyrics speak to my soul – all of them are so raw and nitty gritty and I really dig that. “Maps” actually came on after my binge listening fest of “Velvet” so the shuffle gods were definitely smiling upon me. I would really like to see these guys in concert but for now I’ll just fan girl over the music video which is actually pretty rad. ONE DAY YOU’LL BE WASHING YOURSELF WITH HAND SOAP IN A PUBLIC BATHROOM!!!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Buried Alive (Ft. Dr. Octagon): First things first, I’m a big Yeah Yeah Yeahs fan so I was simply thrilled when “Buried Alive” came on as I was getting ready for the day this morning. Karen O’s voice is intoxicating as usual and Dr. Octagon gives a really unexpected and cool touch to the song. It’s seriously a perfect collaboration and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love it. I hope that these two powerhouses do another collab in the future because I think they were really on to something with this track.

Missy Elliott – Get Ur Freak On: I have a wide range of favorite songs from different genres and “Get Ur Freak On” is definitely one of my hip hop favorites. Missy Elliott can do no wrong in my opinion and her and Timbaland are a creative match made in heaven. My day has been full of great music so far because this track came on as I was looking over some math homework and I legitimately had to stop my studies so I could enjoy “Get Ur Freak On” in all of its glory from my humble iPod. I’m not the biggest music video fan but the video for this song is always fun to watch!

The Black Keys – Your Touch: I didn’t care too much for The Black Keys’ album Magic Potion but I really enjoy this track. There’s nothing better than when a song comes on by the Akron, Ohio duo who hit the big time fresh out of my neck of the woods. It’s so wild to think that they used to play at small venues like Musica in Akron and now they’re winning Grammys and doing the damn thing. #RESPECT!!!

The Dead Weather – 60 Feet Tall: A shout out to a song by The Dead Weather wouldn’t be complete without expressing my love for Jack White, so here it goes: Jack White, you beautiful man, I love you SO MUCH. Anyways, I am so glad that The Dead Weather exists because it might just be one of my favorite musical endeavors by Mr. White. Not only is my dream man in the band but I’ve also always adored Alison Mosshart because I’m a big fan of The Kills. I seriously can’t get enough of her sexy bluesy voice – it’s the definition of perfection. I hate using the word “cool” to describe a band but The Dead Weather is the epitome of a cool as hell rock n’ roll group. I enjoy literally every song by them and “60 Feet Tall” is obviously no exception! So SO good.

We Are Scientists – Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt: I used to really like We Are Scientists until I introduced them to my evil ex-boyfriend who cheated on me with a stripper – but that’s neither here nor there. ANYWAYS, after the discovery was made that he was an asshole, I wasn’t in the mood to hear We Are Scientists anymore. I’ve kept them on my iPod for whatever reason and “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” came on a few days ago. Hearing this wicked good track for the first time in years made me remember why I liked We Are Scientists so much in the first place. My love for them definitely was rekindled thanks to the power of the iTunes Shuffle Challenge!

Gorillaz – Dirty Harry: My journey through shuffle-land has been so musically rewarding thus far and one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had was when “Dirty Harry” came on. This song played in the early days of the challenge and I just remember being so happy when I heard the unmistakable intro to the track as I was driving in the Little Red Love Machine. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I had the windows down and my music playing at the loudest possible volume…It was perfect. There’s something about this song that makes me feel so genuinely good, probably because it holds a lot of sentimental value for me. I used to play “Dirty Harry” a lot to hype me up for skating competitions or auditions and it always worked like a charm. This track and I go way back and it will forever be one of my favorites.

So there you have it, the best of the best of my iTunes Shuffle Challenge so far! How many songs do you have on your iTunes? What do you think about starting a shuffle challenge of your own? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul1

AWOLNATION Concert!!!!

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AWOLNATION Concert!!!!

Heyyy everyone and happy Hump Day! So last night was the AWOLNATION concert at the House Of Blues in Cleveland and it was seriously the best night of my life. I was accompanied by my beloved big sis, Kristen, thanks to the two tickets that my oldest brother bought me for my birthday!! From beginning to end my night was perfect…Allow me to explain. 😉

So the doors for the show opened at seven and Kristen and I arrived at the venue around twenty after six. The line was already pretty long when we got there, but we were still fairly close to the door. I’m just happy that we got there when we did because literally five minutes after we showed up the line started to stretch all the way down the street – talk about lucky! The doors finally opened and after we had our bags checked and tickets scanned, I rushed into the venue to get the best standing spot humanly possible…and I did! I was about three feet away from the stage and had an INCREDIBLE view of the entire show! As I mentioned yesterday in my post, Family Of The Year was one of the openers for the show, but I had no clue who the other opener was – and I still don’t!

The first opener started promptly at eight which was nice because by the time we got situated we only had to wait about a half hour or so for the show to start. I didn’t care for the first opener at all, whomever they were. Their lyrics were so completely stupid and I’m pretty confident that they were playing on pre-recorded tracks because there was sure a lot of music heard when none of the band mates were playing their instruments. Either way, I didn’t like them and thankfully they were only on for like a half hour. But for that entire time, I definitely had Resting Bitch Face Syndrome.

Family Of The Year came on at nine and I was very excited to hear them play because I enjoy their music. It’s not like I know all of the lyrics to their songs or anything, but I’m glad I got to see them perform. I heard many people complain about how Family Of The Year’s beachy vibe didn’t really fit in with AWOLNATION’s style and I actually have to agree. They put on a lovely, chill performance however it really did nothing to amp people up for the headlining act. If I had to choose an opening act for the Run tour, I think I would have gone with someone like Everything Everything or Miike Snow because of their vaguely techno sound as well as the fact that they’re much more upbeat. Does this critique take away from Family Of The Year giving a great performance last night? No, I still really liked it. Would I have preferred to hear a different band before seeing AWOLNATION perform? Yes.

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Family Of The Year crooned until about nine forty-five and AWOLNATION’s set started right at ten. Needless to say, I was freaking the fuck out. They began their hour and fifteen minute long performance with “Run” and before I get hella into detail about the show, check out the lighting that kicked off the night:

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^^^ So rad!!!

So yes, AWOLNATION blasted off their dance party production with “Run” and the rest of the night was all a mesmerizing blur of terrific music, lighting, and a whole lot of dancing and jumping around from there. I’ve heard from friends who have seen AWOLNATION live and from different reviews that the front man, Aaron Bruno, is an amazing performer – and I one hundred times agree. His showmanship was an honor to witness. I’ve heard many times that Aaron is a fan of random screaming and dancing maniacally on stage and he provided us with nothing less last night. He had this insanely brilliant ability to make everyone in the audience feel welcome – even my sister who had never heard one of their songs before. By the end of the night she was in the crowd dancing and screaming along with the rest of us. And that, boys and girls, is what makes an incredible lead singer.

The set list contained basically everything that I hoped would be performed, which included: Run, Not Your Fault, Windows, KOOKSEVERYWHERE!!!, Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf), Sail, Jump On My Shoulders, Kill Your Heroes, I Am, Burn It Down, All I Need, Dreamers, Like People, Like Plastic, and a special full length performance of Knights of Shame. The songs listed was what my night consisted of in it’s entirety but not in that order. How lucky am I? Very. What I liked the most about this set was that it contained only upbeat songs. I mean none of AWOLNATION’s music by any means is low key, even their slower songs, but because those weren’t included in the set the night was filled with constant energy and a whole lot of fun. I couldn’t have picked a better line up of songs if I tried, however, I am slightly disappointed that “Wake Up”, “Jailbreak”, and “Soul Wars” wasn’t included. Honestly, I just wish they would have performed both of their albums back to back! I think one of my favorite songs of the night was hearing “Knights Of Shame” in its entirety – I especially loved hearing Aaron performing the rapped part of the song!

Another major highlight of the night was when AWOLNATION did “Not Your Fault”. Aside from “Sail”, that was the first song my brother introduced me to by them and it still remains one of my all time favorites to this day. Everyone in the band performed incredibly well and they were all so fun to watch. Kristen and I were discussing after the show about the athlete quality stamina that the AWOLNATION guys must have – I mean I know I was exhausted after dancing for an hour and fifteen minutes straight, but I couldn’t imagine how they feel after a show! I seriously don’t think I stopped moving at one point during the concert…This bitch was dancing, jumping, head banging, singing, and screaming up a storm. I just couldn’t help it though! There’s something so magical about being able to sing along with one of your favorite bands and I was just overjoyed. This childlike euphoria kept myself going for the duration of the show, but by the time it was over I was literally drenched in sweat and the only thing that kept me going on the three block walk back to the parking garage was the promise of Taco Bell and water shortly after!

Seeing AWOLNATION live was absolutely everything that I hoped it would be. They sounded simply incredible live, I daresay even better than on their albums. It was also so fun to hear Aaron pepper all of the songs with his random screaming. I’ve been imagining last night for a very long time and it exceeded my expectations by a long shot. For the one hour and fifteen minute concert I felt unashamed to scream out my frustrations during “Windows” and dance like a crazy person during “Burn It Down”. It was like I was in this safe haven where no judgement was being passed because everyone was cutting loose and allowing the amazing music and positive messages to take control. It was one of the best nights of my life. Seriously. I got to spend an evening listening to my favorite band with my favorite person AND I got to eat my favorite food after the concert! What more could a girl ask for? (And BTW, the TBell was magnificent!)

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^^^ As you can see from the pics, the lighting during the show was awesome! And Aaron Bruno and the rest of the guys are all a bunch of babes. Hubba hubba.

After an amazing night at the show, eating in the Taco Bell parking lot, and a forty-five minute drive home Kristen and I ended our festivities with some sweet, sweet cuddling. Best. Night. Ever! I hope all of you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it and if you have the opportunity to see AWOLNATION live, then I would jump on that immediately! What was the last concert you went to? Are you going to any shows or festivals this summer? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun30

AWOLNATION Concert Excitement!!!!

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AWOLNATION Concert Excitement!!!!

Heyyy everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a great day so far! So after an entire month of waiting, tonight is finally the night of the AWOLNATION concert at the House Of Blues in Cleveland!!! I’m seriously SO excited I could cry! After notifying my older brother that one of my favorite bands was going to be in Cleveland, he bought me two tickets for my birthday…What a guy. Family Of The Year and some other band is opening and I’m actually really looking forward to that too because I like Family Of The Year a lot. I’m definitely curious about who the other opener is going to be! My sister is such a champ because she’s coming with me to the show even though she doesn’t know one song by AWOLNATION. I’m so happy that she’s coming with me because she’s the only one who I feel comfortable going super hard with – and I plan on it! Hella screaming, hella jumping around, and hella dancing my ass off. If I were to bring a friend with me, I would probably end up feeling pretty self conscious about my fan girling and end up just standing there looking like a goon. -_-

This will be my third night out at the House Of Blues in a month and a half since I recently saw The Used and Glass Animals performing there. I’m a big fan of HOB because it’s such an intimate venue so I’m really hoping that if my sister and I show up early enough that we’ll be able to get pretty close to the stage. The doors open at seven and I plan on leaving around five fifteen or so to make the forty-five minute drive up there. I have no problem waiting in line for an hour if that means that I’ll get a good standing area…Now I just have to convince sissy to be down with that plan! #SAIL

I can’t wait for tonight. I’m already counting down the hours! I’ll be looking forward to telling you guys all about it tomorrow! Until then, have you been to any concerts recently? Who did you see? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun29

Monday Update: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Edition

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Monday Update: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Edition

Hey there everyone and happy Monday! I hope that all of you had a fabulous weekend, I know I did! My Uncle Martin and Aunt Eileen who live in Pittsburgh came to visit my family so on Saturday we spent the afternoon in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum. I haven’t been to the Rock Hall in years so needless to say, I was pretty excited! I have a deep love and appreciation for all things music so it was so amazing to be able to spend an afternoon honoring all of the greats. I hate to brag, but I have a pretty incredible collection of music and my tastes are vast but I never realized how educated I was about different musicians and genres until I perused through the Rock Hall. My parents and older brother really did teach me well about all of the legends and classics and I was so proud to know that I was aware of musicians in genres that I don’t particularly care for, like Gospel and Country. There was so much to see and do in the six floors that the Rock Hall boasts, so let me post some pictures and then we can discuss!

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^^^ I took so many pictures that the only way to condense all of them was through PicStitch. The pictures in the collages include costumes from David Bowie, Elvis, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson. We got to see Johnny Cash’s tour bus, Janis Joplin’s car, the set from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, and so much more!!! If you have any questions on what specific pictures are, then please let me know in the comment section!

Once we met up with my aunt and uncle at the Rock Hall we decided to start from the top at floor five and six to view the two floor exhibit of the amazing late Herb Ritts’ Rock Portraits. The photography exhibition will only be up for a month or so and it was absolutely incredible – it was like walking through an art gallery. The portraits were mostly in black and white or sepia and they were taken of too many stars to name. There were photographs of David Bowie, Madonna, Britney Spears, Cher, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Mick Jagger just to name a few. Throughout the exhibit there were music videos that Herb Ritts directed playing and interesting information about the artist scattered along the walls. The Rock Portraits gallery was one of my favorite parts of my rock n’ roll filled afternoon.

^^^ Compliments of Mr. Ritts!

On the fourth floor there was a huge section of the set from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” which I remember from my last visit there but was so cool to see again! That display is neat because you can see it if you look down or up from any other floor. It definitely made me feel small standing next to the display! There was also a theater on level four which we stayed in for awhile. They were playing a video from what I’m assuming was an induction to the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame. We watched lots of different artists perform and it was especially fun seeing Jeff Beck on stage with his daughter who couldn’t have been more than sixteen at the time playing the guitar like nobodies business!

We headed down to the third floor afterwards which has a cafe and another beautiful theater. In that theater they were playing highlights of different induction ceremonies from years ago until present day which included interviews, photographs, and animation to tell the stories of the artists. As we exited the theater there was a long hallway that we followed and on the walls were panels of signatures from the inductees. As you can see in my PicStitches, I snapped a pic of U2’s signatures which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to having their autographs!

Level two of the Rock Hall was all about the masterminds of rock n’ roll like Les Paul and Alan Freed. There were displays upon displays of original record players, guitars, and recording studios. Old school televisions in the display cases played footage of black and white variety shows which was a fun touch. Level two was jam packed with amazing information and artifacts. As we exited the Architects of Rock and Roll section we walked into a multimedia production called Video Killed the Radio Star which had a television tower made up of at least thirty or more TV’s and all of them were playing a different music video fresh off of the early days of MTV. Another very cool exhibit on level two was all about Rolling Stone magazine. There were three walls completely filled with famous covers of Rolling Stone with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Kurt Cobain, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Britney Spears. (I love her fabulous cover where she’s lounging on the phone while cuddling a Teletubbie so much! SO CUTE!)

We ended our trip to the Rock Hall at the lower level which is where you’re supposed to start, but that’s okay! The lower level is the bread and butter of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame – it’s a wonderland full of costumes, instruments, jewelry, and set pieces all belonging to the legends. There were specific sections dedicated to artists like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. What I loved about this level was that it took you through each genre of music from a historical point. It started with the early days of the Blues and ended with music from the present day. My favorite genre to explore was the Punk section that had memorabilia from The New York Dolls, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and The Ramones to name a few. In the Punk display case they had a Joan Jett fashion doll which was so adorable! There was a case dedicated to U2 in the lower level as well which I was pretty thrilled about!

After we explored through the outer rings of the bottom level we ended up at the epicenter which is a dark room filled with well lit costumes and instruments from all of the greats – there was James Brown, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, ZZ Top, The Who, The Beach Boys, and Metallica. That list is not even a quarter of the artists that the gigantic room had memorabilia from. It was seriously unbelievable. There were countless exhibits to end up in on the bottom floor and all of them were equally awesome. A few that I particularly enjoyed was a section on the origins of hip hop and a multimedia display called Don’t Knock the Rock. In this display there were different interviews playing of early day televangelists and political figures bashing rock n’ roll music and then it would cut to a reaction of rock musicians. Before we left the lower level we watched one more video compilation in a theater of very sweet reactions of inductees being entered into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. I could have stayed on this floor for forever!

Our trip to the Rock Hall was so much fun and this post doesn’t even cover half of all of the amazing displays that we got to see. If you ever are in Cleveland, Ohio then you definitely don’t want to let the opportunity to spend some time at the Rock Hall pass by! I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this post just as much as I did writing it! What musician would you like to see memorabilia from? Do you have any questions about any specific displays or pictures? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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:

IMG_3798[1]IMG_3817[1]

^^^ 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