Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! As all of you know, I have a deep love for my iPod and my beloved music collection. Recently, I solidified this passion by purchasing a hot pink 128 gig iPod so that I never have to worry about running out of memory space ever again. I’ve been so happy to add new music onto my iPod after a long hiatus of not doing so because of the memory issue. I even treated my mom to my old iPod so that she can rock out to all of her funky time favorites. And, best believe that I’m rocking out to all of my funky time favorites, too! Check it out:
As you can see, I’ve been really feeling Marilyn Manson lately, but then again – when am I not? His two most recent albums, The Pale Emperor and Heaven Upside Down, are so fantastic to me and although I do love old school Manson, his new music has me swooning. And, I know I’m a little late to the party, but I am so enjoying Glass Animal’s most recent album, How To Be A Human Being. We’ll blame that on not having enough memory on my iPod.
I have had the pleasure of seeing both Marilyn Manson and Glass Animals in concert, so any chance that I get to binge listen to either or is one that I take gladly. It’s nice to listen to a band that you have seen live before, because you get to relive the concert in your head every time you hear them in your car or while you’re getting ready for the day. So, if you happen to be around me and are sick of hearing my main man Marilyn Manson or one of my fave bands, Glass Animals, THEN SORRY NOT SORRY, because I don’t think that my binge listening fix will be ending any time soon!!
So there you have it, some Hot Jams For A Cold Day! Which artists are you loving right now? Who should I add to my must listen list? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
PS: As always, I have no rights to any of the songs or videos seen above.
Hi everyone and happy weekend!! So at the AFI concert, amidst taking pictures and videos, the worst thing possible happened. The “Cannot take photo. Storage is full.” or whatever message popped up. It sucked. To avoid this unfortunate happenstance again during my next picture taking event, I guess it’s time to start deleting unneeded pictures from my iPod. But, damnit, I need them all! What I don’t need, however, IS AN APP FOR THE STOCK MARKET!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, here’s some mirror pics of yours truly because I was really feeling my outfit those days:
#feelingmyself (lol)
The above image was a summer fun ensemble while the bottom was a business cashe work attire get up. Normally, I’m not one for the mirror pics, but on those given occasions it just had to happen! AYYY!
How do you manage your iPod/Phone storage space? What are your plans this weekend? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Heyyy everyone and happy Hump Day! My taste in music is something that I take great pride in because, I hate to brag, but it’s the best. From alt to rap, girly power pop, and everything in between – my iPod has a little bit of everything. But, I do remain a pretty indie gal at heart with a love for all things emo, of course.
Despite a deep love for music, I will admit that I have been slacking in my new music game as of late. My 64 gig iPod is just about filled to the brim and I don’t have the heart to go through and start deleting beloved songs and pictures. Yet I have an app for the stock market and news that I can’t get rid of? It’s cruel and unusual, to say the least!
Although my iPod is getting the job done, it is getting old, so I have been toying with the idea of upgrading to a new toy with more memory. With that in mind, I have began to commit myself to updating my music library, one album at a time. At one point, my family had a free trial of Serius radio and they had the most amazing indie station on there. Whenever I heard a song that I liked, I would simply write the band name down as a draft text on my phone. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted that text so I’m basically starting from scratch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m down to update the bands that I already have on my iTunes but I would love to get some new ones on there, too!
I am open to any and all suggestions, as long as they fall under this category: ANYTHING BUT COUNTRY MUSIC!!!
Who is your favorite band at the moment? What is your summer anthem? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone! So as you guys know, I’m making an attempt to get my walk/run/rawk on throughout the week and it’s going pretty good so far. If you’ve read my recent Monday Update, then you will have seen that I’ve recently started to bring my iPod with me during my excursions even though I have to carry it because no arm band. I’ve been getting my emo on more often than I care to admit during these jaunts but I feel like I enjoy myself so much more with my music playing. For that reason, I compiled some of my favorite tunes together for your listening pleasure the next time that you get your work out on. Take a looksee (and, as always, I have no rights to these songs or videos!):
Lol, so as you guys can see, I definitely go for either old school emo or fairly recent rap when I’m running and I think that this list is the most funny, random compilation ever. But hey, it really does get the job done when I’m hitting the pavement because the emo-ness gets me angsty and the rap gets me hyped and the result is a much needed extra energy boost!
Normally when I’m working out, I will just have one album playing the whole way through. For example, last night I was listening to Yelawolf’s “Trunk Muzik 0-60”. But, when I’m feeling saucy or bored as I’m running, I’ll switch up my music every so often to my inner emo kid jams or anything Kendrick Lamar because he’s my best friend in my head.
Despite my sweaty palms from having to hold my iPod while I run, it’s so worth it because my Work Out Jams definitely make for a much more enjoyable experience! What music do you listen to when you work out? What is a song that you play to get you hyped? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hiii everyone and happy Monday!! I hope that all of you had a fabulous and fun weekend. So, if you remember from last week’s Monday Update, I started *gasp* running/walking AKA rawking and it’s going okay! I’m actually feeling pretty happy because I was able to add another lap to my time at the track since last week, meaning that I am now rawking for a mile and a half.
I have still been going to the track with my mom (in fact, we just went last night), but when she can’t go, I have taken to running around my neighborhood. This is actually kind of fun because it gives me a change of scenery, especially when I venture into the neighborhood below mine. I have also decided that even though I don’t have one of those snazzy arm bands to hold my iPod in place, that I am okay with carrying my device as I run so I can have some music to keep me company.
As you guys know, I am an emo kid at heart, so my running soundtrack has consisted of a lot of AFI and My Chemical Romance. But, I also have been enjoying listening to Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West when I’m feeling saucy. Having my music playing while rawking definitely seems to make the time go by faster and even though my hands sweat profusely while carrying my iPod, it’s been worth it!
I’m feeling really proud that I was able to add an additional lap to my little evening jaunts and my next goal is to rawk two miles within this month. Getting my pre ex-boyfriend body back is a big fat pain in the ass, but I kind of like it – so here’s to getting to the two mile mark soon!
^^^ And, as always, I have no rights to this video!
So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Take A Walk (Pt. 2!) Edition! How are you getting your beach body in check? What music do you listen to while working out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
If you love to play music, you probably started out playing covers of songs, whether you took part in lessons or got into the world of musicianship on a self-taught basis. Of course, if you find yourself wanting something more and you’re ready to start creating original tracks, then it can be hard to take the plunge in terms of putting pen to paper. While there are no ‘rules’ in terms of writing music, as creativity can’t be forced, there are ways in which you can hone in on your talents and start to create something original. Here are some pieces of advice to help you make a mark in the music world as a songwriter rather than a cover artist:
Understand the recording and production process:
When it comes to creating your own songs, writing something with a catchy melody and meaningful lyrics is only one part of the equation. In fact, being a musician with a beautiful singing voice and instrumental talent who performs well is also only a small part of the equation. You need to understand the recording and production process involved with creating music if you want your original tracks to really make their mark on listeners, and this involves more than simply turning on a mic and pressing ‘record’.
You need to ensure that the quality of the instruments being used and everything involved with the song has been honed to perfection, as it’s easy to capture every sound in a live environment, but not quite so much in a recorded environment. You might want to look into sites such as Box Tiger Music for help with choosing guitars or pianos based on reviews. It’s important that you strive to sound as good, if not better, than the top musicians in the industry before you’re anywhere near that status. That’s how you make it.
Perhaps you understand the technicalities of music, but you just don’t feel creative or professional. While many big labels in the industry are full of songwriters and producers who have spent years learning how to create hit songs through observing what works, many musicians with a deep passion for the art of creating music want to ‘make it’ in a more organic way. If you’re much the same, then writing a catchy song which starts to turn heads and brings you attention in the music industry shouldn’t ever become a mechanical process. Instead of thinking about the simplistic chord progressions behind the biggest hits in history, you should just start jamming and see what happens.
We all have the power to be creative. Whether you’re in a band or operating on a solo basis, just hit ‘record’, start messing around with your guitar, piano, voice, or whichever instrument you play, and see what happens. When you listen back to your five or ten minute jamming session later, you’ll likely hate a lot of it. However, there’s every chance that you’ll hear a gem in the form of a musical nugget which will really inspire you to form a fully-fledged song out of what was originally nothing more than a small riff or chord progression. Play around and see what happens, super star!
Hello everyone and TGIF! I have recently been informed thanks to a pop up on my beloved iPod that I am totally out of memory. Thanks to this memo, I can no longer take pictures with the built in camera. This is a problem because all of the low quality shots that I snap and upload onto the ol’ blog are compliments of my iPod. Unfortunately, this problem was a tough one to solve because I am a total funny picture hoarder.
I have pictures from years ago on there that crack me up that I just can’t bear to part with. However, through the process of elimination, I was able to find a few memes that I decided to throw on to my blog so it won’t be like completely deleting them! Take a look at some of the pics that never fail to make me laugh and that (sadly) won’t be part of my iPod memory bank any longer:
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^^^ Omg. I love this slide show setting! How handy!
Okay… So maybe they’re not that funny but they still get me every time! I hope that some of these were able to make you laugh and that you’re all having a great start to your Friday! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any big plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi everyone and a very happy Tuesday to you! Last Friday I took a little road trip to Detroit, Michigan with my Uncle Ray as a favor to him. My uncle is a total car guy and he needed a wing girl so he could drop his car off at Monkey Wrench Racing to get some work done on his whip. I told him I was up for the journey and even though my day was filled with a lot of driving, it was still a lot of fun!
My uncle and I departed for our adventure around ten on Friday morning to begin the three and a half hour drive from Mentor, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan. The plan was to follow my uncle in the Little Red Love Machine for the trip there and then we would travel back to Ohio together. The drive to Michigan was relatively easy and we luckily had really good weather for the trip. The only snowfall we experienced was this random little flurry once we got into Michigan and that was it. I was really happy about that because the last thing I wanted to do was drive in unfamiliar territory in the snow.
I don’t really mind driving if I have things to keep me occupied so the trek wasn’t too bad thanks to my iPod, phone calls from my boyfriend, and occasionally waving to my uncle as I followed him. I was telling my boyfriend while we were chatting that the Detroit drive was an emotional rollar coaster because I had my iPod on shuffle. During the drive I was hearing everything from pop to screamo to rap and R&B so needless to say, I was an emotional wreck during some of the trip…Thanks a lot, Hawthorne Heights. -_-
Before I knew it, we finally arrived at Monkey Wrench Racing to drop Uncle Ray’s car off. We stuck around and chatted for a half hour or so and let me tell you, hearing all of the gents in the shop engaging in car talk with my uncle was like hearing an entirely different language. I didn’t understand one word of what they were saying but I’m glad my uncle had a good time with it! We also both got a free Monkey Wrench Racing t-shirt compliments of the crew so that was really nice. It’s in my color palette of black and white so I’m sure I’ll make use of it some day!
What killed me about my Detroit adventure was that once my uncle was done at the shop, we started making our journey back home. Haha, the break at Monkey Wrench Racing was much needed because I was essentially driving seven hours straight. -_- At least this time around, I was in good company because my Uncle Ray is one of my favorites! We’re very similar to each other so it was easy to fill our journey home with good conversation and laughter.
My Uncle Ray and I made a stop in Lakewood, Ohio to meet some of his friends for dinner. We went to a little Greek place called Our Friends and enjoyed a nice meal with my uncle’s comrades. It was so great to meet them and we all ended up having a really good time. My uncle ended up staying in Lakewood for a little while so I drove back to Mentor solo to have some quality time with my Aunt Mary Ellen before I made my way back to Akron.
I was so happy to spend some time with my Aunt Mary Ellen because I don’t get to see her as often as I would like. It was really nice to sit down, relax, and have a chat with her before I began my journey back home. My aunt and uncle are seriously the most perfect couple ever so any time with either of them is time well spent!
I would make the journey back to Detroit again for my uncle in a heartbeat because I’m one of the best people that I know of…But lucky for me, my uncle and his friends will be traveling back to Michigan to pick up his car once it’s done being worked on. I’m not complaining! All in all, it was definitely an adventure of a day and I’m so happy that I was in such fantastic company for it! ❤
My Detroit Trip was one of the best most random ways to spend a Friday that I can think of but I wouldn’t have it any other way! How was everyone’s weekend? Who has been on a road trip recently? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Interested in making a road trip to Cleveland? Let these videos inspire you to take the plunge and DO IT! #werenotdetroit 😉
Heyy everyone and happy Saturday! Usually I’m not big on “apps” or technology in general (ha!) but I found a handy little download for smartphones or iPods that has proven to be very beneficial in my effort to clear up some closet clutter. I decided to give the app, Letgo, a try after my semi annual closet clean out. The app is basically like an online garage sale where you can post pictures of your items, a brief description, and price, then whomever is interested in buying it can message you to make an offer.
I’m not really keen to going to resale shops like Plato’s Closet because I feel like you never get enough money for your items and they often pass on some really nice pieces. I also felt like I wanted to give making some money off of my more used items a shot because despite their wear they were still in fairly good condition. I like that this app lets you control how much you would like for each product you list and gives your not so “next to new” pieces a chance at going to another owner.
Thanks to the Letgo app, I was able to get rid of five pairs of shoes yesterday that have been sitting in my closet for months waiting to go to a new home. I had a brief meeting with my customer in Starbucks where she looked at the shoes that she was interested in from my listings, picked the ones that she wanted, and paid me the price that I determined. I made some quick cash (much more than I would ever get if I brought them to Plato’s), eliminated some clutter, and met someone who wanted to meet up again to look at more of my items. Score!
I’ve always toyed around with the idea of selling items online but I never knew how to go about doing it. Letgo makes the selling process so simple because your listings are shown to people who are within a 15 or so mile radius from you so it’s easy to find a good public meeting spot that is within a short driving distance for the seller and customer. I drove about seven minutes to meet with the darling lady and her daughter that I sold to yesterday and made enough money that the trip was worthwhile twenty fold. You can’t beat that!
I can’t recommend Letgo enough and you can download the app on their website at: http://us.letgo.com/en !
^^^ It seemed appropriate!
I hope all of you are having a great start to your weekend so far! Has anyone used the Letgo app or anything similar? What was your best purchase or sale story from a resale shop or app? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Heyyy everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Man Crush Monday – Craig Nicholls style! The front man of one of my favorite bands, The Vines, has been one of my celebrity crushes since I was ten years old. His eccentric antics and quirky looks stole my heart and I don’t think I’ll be getting it back anytime soon! Take a listen to one of my favorite songs by The Vines and then let’s discuss:
Dear Craig Nicholls,
Oh, Craig. Sweet and a tiny bit over the top Craig. “Ride”, the track I chose to honor you with will always be one of my go to jams. My brother introduced the song to me along with the super cool music video and I was hooked ever since. I have all of the albums by The Vines safely stored on my iPod and I play them frequently to get me hyped for school, auditions, or just running around doing errands. What instantly made me attracted to you was your wild personality. Usually I’m more of a fan of the sensitive, brooding types of guys but there was something special about you. Your blatant “who gives a fuck” lifestyle wasn’t something that you put on for publicity – it was who you are and I really liked that. It was and still is refreshing to see someone in the public eye who refuses to change despite the posh and pristine Hollywood image that’s constantly shoved down everyone’s throats. There are so many things that I love about The Vines but I think my favorite thing about them is your voice! Your slightly stoned and surfer boy vocals are seriously perfect and I can’t get enough! Not only are you amazingly talented but you’re also amazingly handsome! Hubba hubba to you, sir. Your disheveled hair, extreme facial expressions, and pursed mouth that’s constantly dragging on a cigarette rev my engine. You are truly one of my dream men and I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!
^^^ He’s a babe! SHWING!!
So there you have it, this week’s Man Crush Monday: Craig Nicholls Edition! Who is everyone’s #MCM this week? What is your favorite song by The Vines? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
lifewithlilred 