Showing posts with label its. Show all posts
Showing posts with label its. Show all posts
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
My Blog Is Dead But Its Ok
My Blog Is Dead But Its Ok
Content
1.) My Blog Is Dead...But Its Ok
2.) Tracks
3.) Important Wax
4.) Music Video Of The Week
MY BLOG IS DEAD...BUT ITS OK
Nearly seven years ago, I started this small music blog with my best friend Hank. I had thought about starting a music blog for years because I looked up to the likes of My Old Kentucky Blog, You Aint No Picasso, Aquarium Drunkard, I Guess Im Floating, and many more. I couldnt understand how these gatekeepers of music knew so many bands/artists Ive never heard of before. I wanted to be like them and, more importantly, wanted to help discover those unknown bands/artists and help talented people become known.
Over seven years, We Listen For You has had its ups and downs. In 2010 we were named by our peers the #1 music blog in a friendly, blog-only voting poll and were seeing our largest traffic year to date. What I want readers to understand is that all over the world, there are people like us at We Listen For You examining tracks, albums, videos, etc for no money and taking up tons of the little free time we have. Its a weird obsession that slowly becomes part of your identity. Over these seven years, Ive tried to shut down the site here and there (maybe three times a year), but I just cant imagine not having this outlet.
These days, it feels like our music blog and many other music blogs are losing interest in moving forward. Weve seen our audience shrink, mostly due to our own irregular posting (or the lack thereof). My biggest sadness in this comes in the form of musical discovery. It seems every year it gets harder and harder to convince readers to check out bands/artists they arent already familiar with. This is where I make a request to you, the individual reading this right now. Im pleading with you to give us a chance... once a day... and give the same chance to the smaller artists we highlight as you give the ones you already know. You will not like everything we write about. Still, music bloggers all over who are writing about the little guy, the band struggling to get the smallest amount of attention... were all pouring or hearts and time into this and it means nothing if you dont have the thirst to discover whats new. The ultimate joke is that in the music industry today, even the bigger bands need help.
So... where does WLFY go next? You might remember a few years ago we made a promise to cut all the fat... no music gossip, news, or irrelevant lists... just keep our modest music blog focused on the nuts and bolts: music analysis and discovery. As I get older, it becomes harder and harder to post five times a day and turn pieces around before they become irrelevant to the reader.
Knowing this, I introduce you to the new WLFY format:
Every Tuesday, I will create a post like this with chapters. Each one will highlight tracks, vinyl, and most of all, my personal thoughts on any and all topics relating to music. A lot of the time, the title to these posts wont be sexy or have you itching to click... but please, give us your time for just a few minutes each day. Hank and the rest of the staff will each have their own regular posting day. We hope over time you get to know each of us personally through our weekly posts and at the same time, hope to open up a steady conversation with you, the regular reader. Mondays will be open for larger, standalone writing like full album reviews, think pieces, and other features if a writer feels inclined to do so.
Thanks for reading. WLFY might be practically dead, but Ill never be able to let it go.
Knowing this, I introduce you to the new WLFY format:
Every Tuesday, I will create a post like this with chapters. Each one will highlight tracks, vinyl, and most of all, my personal thoughts on any and all topics relating to music. A lot of the time, the title to these posts wont be sexy or have you itching to click... but please, give us your time for just a few minutes each day. Hank and the rest of the staff will each have their own regular posting day. We hope over time you get to know each of us personally through our weekly posts and at the same time, hope to open up a steady conversation with you, the regular reader. Mondays will be open for larger, standalone writing like full album reviews, think pieces, and other features if a writer feels inclined to do so.
Thanks for reading. WLFY might be practically dead, but Ill never be able to let it go.
TRACKS
Roman Ruins - "Loved One"
The music of Graham Hill (Roman Ruins) always focuses on perfect order and layering. Ive mentioned it before, but Hills background as an architect seems to inform his style of music. His tracks build themselves in front of the listener. What starts as a blueprint introduces us to the individual components -- by the the end, were settled on a wide shot of the finished creation. The music of Roman Ruins builds complete structures over the time of the track, while simultaneously stepping back to show what the synchronicity of several concepts can ultimately create.
Bear In Heaven - "Autumn"
I always refer to the music of Bear In Heaven as "danceable reflection in slow motion." The music drives forward in a systematic form that makes one want to dance, but there are also layers of dark emotion that make the listener want to reflect, elevating each track to much more than just a good time. The music beats heavy and cycles upon itself, a gentle tornado of synths and bold vocals that makes the world seem larger and more important, every sound creating a visceral reaction and causing mandatory reflection note after note.
James Bay - "If You Ever Want To Be In Love"
The blending of several genres of music fits this James Bay track very well. It has a bit of twang on the guitars and is complimented by booming vocals that drive the song forward. "If You Ever Want To Be In Love" is all about being smooth, from its great production to its emotive vocals. This is a perfect summer song that pulls all the right strings to put the listener in that special mental space that ballads tend to do. There is a lovely drop out with a gentle piano at the end which clearly marks Bay as a clever musician in full control of his craft.
IMPORTANT WAX
Available link for download
Sunday, February 12, 2017
My Movie Biography Where Its At Now in 2012
My Movie Biography Where Its At Now in 2012
(2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) Well, were heading into the home stretch now. Tomorrow is the big day. Just to let you know, you will probably have trouble visiting the site for a while. Dont worry, (fingers crossed) everything goes fine and Ill be back up and running this time tomorrow. Hope to see you there! Anyway, 2012 in my movie biography...
- By some small coincidence, all of the movies I got at one time from Fatso were by Roman Polanski. So I started off the year with Chinatown, Repulsion and Rosemarys Baby. That was...fun.
- I saw The Muppets and The Adventures of Tintin on the same day. I felt so awkward being this 16 year old all alone in cinemas filled with children. Funnily enough, I preferred Tintin a lot more, but now The Muppets is pretty much my go-to movie when I want to feel better about life.
- I finally got out of NZ! My father and I went to Melbourne, Australia for a week and that was exciting. I was pretty excited for the plane trip, because Drive was playing on the plane and I hadnt seen it because it was an R18. I did really like it when I saw it, but I completely forgot about the fact that it was censored, so I was left wondering what was so R18 about it. Then I looked it up on the internet and apparently there were 70 swearwords in it, but I hadnt heard any of them. When I got the film on DVD, I finally embraced it and it became my second favourite movie of 2011. While I was in Melbourne I bought a crapload of movies because they had everything that Id been looking for. And theres like, five JB Hi-Fis in the city, so I was in heaven. Also heavenly was the Pancake Parlour, but thats another story. I also went to the cinemas a fair bit because I wanted to escape the heat. I only really wanted to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, because I thought it was going to be an R18 in NZ and it was only an MA15+ in Australia. I was so excited to be all rebellious. Then I got back to NZ and I found out that it was only an R16. Which was somewhat disappointing. I also saw The Descendants and Hugo just because I could. I really miss Melbourne. It was such a nice place. One day I hope to go back.
- While I wasnt as excited for the Oscars as much as I was last year (I blame the fact that I hadnt watched many of the movies), I still thought it was a good idea to wake up at 3am and watch the Oscar nominations for fun. It wasnt all that fun until I saw that Rooney Mara got nominated, in which case I let out this weird squeal that woke up everyone in the house. I stayed up until at least 4.30am ranting with people on Facebook about them. Which probably wasnt the best idea, because once the morning hit we were going to Palmerston North to watch War Horse. It didnt affect the experience. I still spent the entire film crying my eyes out. And when I say the "entire film", I mean the entire bloody thing. As soon as I saw that horse I was in tears.
- The Oscars themselves were kinda exciting. Mainly because I made them more exciting than they were. I just jumped up and down all day, then I took peoples phones so I could search up photos of the dresses. When I saw Jessica Chastains, I almost cried. It was so beautiful. I spent my entire Bio period checking my phone to see who won stuff, which was pretty good because the teacher was always helping other people so I could sneak my phone out. I just about ran home to see the rest of the awards being handed out, which was pretty exciting. When Bret McKenzie won, I was doing little happy dances around my room. What can I say? The Oscars just get so much excitement out of me.
- Another exciting part of this year was being told that I was going to direct the school production. I was so excited that I even laughed at something in I Dont Know How She Does It. Alas, that didnt turn out too well.
- I made the mistake of watching Contagion while I was sick. Take it from me: it makes you feel ten times worse.
- LOL, I saw I Melt with You. I just cant forget how jaw-droppingly bad this movie was, even while it wasnt bad in a bad movie kind of way. Christian McKay, I still love you.
- June was my French New Wave month. That was kinda exhausting. But I did love the fact that I was introduced to films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Vivre Sa Vie and Breathless.
- Hey, I did this speech. I was actually so stressed about it. Mainly because I didnt feel as ready as I usually do for it. And I was first up because the teacher "wanted to start off with some real quality". And it was like, 16 minutes long. But everyone loved it, which was something I really wasnt expecting. That day I also got to go and see Brave, which I cried a lot in. That was nice.
- I won a LAMMY for Best Rating System and also got runner up for Best Blog. That was exciting. I found out literally minutes before I had to go for school, and I was so excited about it that I just ran to my friends house. Unfortunately it was raining and blowing a gale outside, and I forgot to put my phone in my pocket. Later that day, my phone stopped working. I blame all of you who voted for me. Jokes, that was a very exciting day.
- I saw Shame!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved that movie so much. At the end I sat on the couch like kinda crying, kinda howling. It was a bizarre noise I was making. My pets were very worried. Ironically, that night I had watched Jack and Jill, which became my least favourite film of 2011. Shame was my favourite.
- We Need to Talk About Kevin became the scariest film ever when that earthquake hit. Since then I havent dared to turn the lights out when Im watching a movie. I still cant believe that there was another earthquake the second time I watched it. For a long time after it I was in denial over the fact that I found Ezra Miller VERY attractive in that movie. After a while I was just like "stuff it". Now Ezra and I are going to get married. LOL.
- July happened. BEST MOVIE MONTH EVER. Especially when there were so many releases one week that I had to take six movies home at once to watch them all. They were 50/50, Like Crazy, The Skin I Live In, J. Edgar, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and John Carter. The quality of those movies was insane. Ive never seen a week like that before in my life.
- The Dark Knight Rises happened. I was so excited that Id just be doing something random like selling someone a Lotto ticket, and then Id have this mini excitement surge go up my spine because I knew I was getting closer to seeing it. Im in the minority who absolutely loved it. Seeing it was so magical. At the beginning of the film, I would casually just squeeze my friends hand when someone exciting came on, like Bane or Batman. But then after the first thirty minutes, my hand didnt leave his hand because things were getting too intense. When he checked the time, I saw that we only had an hour of the film left and I started getting so sad - I didnt want it to end. Then once the end hit, I was crying like a baby. It was so beautiful.
The next day, though, something strange happened. I felt so empty and sad, and I didnt know whether this was because I felt sad because the excitement was over or because I thought I was disappointed by the film (I wasnt). I couldnt shake that strange feeling. Then, that night, as I was watching Spirited Away, I found out about the Aurora cinema shootings. This shocked me to the absolute core. I just couldnt process any of what was going on. It just felt very close to home because it happened in a place which I love so much, and during a movie which I love so much. I know it didnt really "affect" me, but for weeks after that, I was haunted by the face of the shooter and of the thoughts that it could happen here. It was just such a depressing time. - My birthday happened. That was exciting. The weekend after my birthday I thought it was all over, but I arrived home from work and my friends were there to give me my first surprise birthday party. That was cool. They made me a Captain America cake to go with the Batman cake I got a few days before. It was really nice.
- Little Shop of Horrors happened in September so I didnt get to do a lot of anything. But Im still extremely proud of that production, even though I didnt really feel like a big part of it.
- One of the best things about this year was that I met Lena, our German exchange student. She flew out of NZ today which makes me extremely sad. She is just the coolest, happiest person ever. I felt really bad though because we had this beach gathering for her which was overnight. That weekend I got really sick with influenza and all I wanted to do was go home because I was pretty much dying. Still, I managed to keep the illness at bay and proceeded onto being the funniest person I know for the large majority of the trip. It wasnt so nice that I got absolutely no sleep because I couldnt breathe and I looked like a train had hit me. But yes, I do miss you Lena, and hopefully you still read my blog while youre in Germany!
- Watching Prometheus this week with my friends was the funniest thing ever. Before I begin, I must say that I really liked the movie. But it seemed to run along on people being really stupid. Seriously. We were yelling at the screen most of the time. Especially at David, because he just had to touch EVERYTHING, which would ruin EVERYTHING. Had we watched that film in cinemas, we would have been those annoying people that everyone complains about.
- I have 12 days left of year 12. Next year is my last year of school. Im terrified of that fact.
- I guess I should end this with what Im doing right now: I dont think Ill be watching a movie tonight because I have so much planned for tomorrow that I should get an early start. My foot is really hurting but I have no idea why. Today is the two year anniversary of The Last Station being on the new release wall, which makes me laugh because it isnt exactly a new release anymore. And yeah.
Thanks for reading this long series! Hope to see you all back tomorrow. Meanwhile, how has 2012 been for you? What movie has been the highlight of your year?
Available link for download
Thursday, February 2, 2017
My passion is not dead its just sleeping
My passion is not dead its just sleeping
I think for the first time since I started blogging 16 months ago, I have writers block. This white screen for writing that I normally find so liberating and fun, is currently exhausting and demanding. I absolutely hate feeling this way. Im fine, though. I am not overly happy, but I am not sad. I am thankful I am not feeling with the pain and depression that ensued for a big part of this year, but I do not feel back to myself at 100%.
I have to be honest when I say my motivation is lacking. My weight loss started to really stall in August after months and months of a steady decline. Combine that with work stress and the nagging heartache that would just not go away, and I felt myself losing everything but fat. I still have not gotten back into my "groove" and schedule with clean eating and training. I absolutely love exercise, but I have been "eh" lately. My food has been boring to me and I havent wanted it; therefore I have been "cheating" a lot more. I just changed gyms. I have had a lot going on at work. Since all of that has ensued, I find myself bored, empty, and numb. Like I said, I am not necessarily sad, I just feel myself not caring about anything. That isnt like me at all.
Now that my emotions and heart have healed and I can see a little more clearly, I find myself in a rut. I am bored. "Blah" is probably the word of the month for me. I am craving something to make me feel alive... to give me an adventure...to help bring my passion for life and fitness that I have always had. Who is this girl that is feeling this way? It certainly is not me.
I am in a big growing pain. I believe the term for what I have experienced this year is a "quarter life crisis". After all, I am 25 years old now.
I am not exactly sure what to do to rid this prolonged case of the "Mondays" that feel permanently instilled in my mind right now. Normally at this point, I am making an extensive plan to get over whatever is bringing me down, but not this time. The reason being is because I am not sure what could help this.
I am just going to take it one day at a time. That is all I have to offer right now; and hopefully by putting one foot in front of the other, life will get back to normal.
I do know that I absolutely have to do better with my food choices and training. I feel so damn good when I execute my nutrition and exercise plan; I just have to suck up my "ugh, I dont feel like it" because I know I have to get the rest of this weight off. It will depress the life out of me if I dont. I also know that once I force myself to adhere to my plan for a couple of days, it starts becoming a norm to me. It is hard for the first few days, but then it evens out and I feel great and remember why this is my passion.
I hate writing posts like this and I feel like over the past couple of months I have written at least one or two a month, but I have vowed to be honest on my blog. Sometimes it embarrasses me, but it helps me understand and acknowledge my feelings; which is the first step to change. Simply put, this year has been so, so hard on me, filled with so many struggles from family to love and everything in between.
But I know that I am a strong person. I am humble, I am honest, and I am always willing to grow and learn. Therefore I will pull through this. Right now I taking life one day at a time and doing the best I can. I am doing better... not nearly as good as I want to be, but I am better than I was a few weeks ago. My passion is not dead, its just sleeping. And I for one, am ready for it to wake up.
I hate writing posts like this and I feel like over the past couple of months I have written at least one or two a month, but I have vowed to be honest on my blog. Sometimes it embarrasses me, but it helps me understand and acknowledge my feelings; which is the first step to change. Simply put, this year has been so, so hard on me, filled with so many struggles from family to love and everything in between.
But I know that I am a strong person. I am humble, I am honest, and I am always willing to grow and learn. Therefore I will pull through this. Right now I taking life one day at a time and doing the best I can. I am doing better... not nearly as good as I want to be, but I am better than I was a few weeks ago. My passion is not dead, its just sleeping. And I for one, am ready for it to wake up.
Available link for download
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