“All is Full of Love” by Björk
Sometimes I just think I’m glad this song exists. It feels weird to take lyrics so seriously at this age. It feels like the practice of my life as a teenager. It feels like something you do when you feel vulnerable and life at 16 or 17 or 18 is vulnerable. But so is life at 24, perhaps more so. And if life as a teenager means not realizing how vulnerable and earnest one is, then perhaps life at 24 is realizing all of this, but still taking time to be in the moment of one’s worries and emotions and hopes. As in, not being afraid of how you feel and wanting something more. Sometimes it’s nice to listen to the lyrics of a song and feel connected to them. It’s a heady feeling, that connection between song and heart and head.
The cinematic qualities of Andrew Mohrer’s photographs. The world happens and we can capture pieces of it. The world happens and the ways in which we see the world are shaped by individual perspectives and outlooks. Sometimes life plays out like a movie, and each moment is a scene in transition to another. Or rather, sometimes we want life to work like a movie. There is a rise, a fall, but always a moment of redemption. Reality is less kind.
(Via 01 Magazine)
⇒ Racialicious: Some Notes on Rape Culture ⇐
- She commented on my hair, how it was no longer straight, but acquiring that kinky, natural texture that we either love ferociously or feel annoyed with constantly as black women.
- I said I thought it was fine. But also, that I was tired with people, with anyone commenting on my looks. One comment makes me believe there are other comments and things said that I am only unaware of because I am not there to hear them being said.
- I said sometimes random strangers - random, aggressive, unknown men - on the street were the worst. I said that I often felt unsafe and that it was unfair to feel like this and unfair to expect that I should have to feel like this.
- I casually mentioned something that happened to me.
- “Well, were you dressed like that? In clothes like that?”
- Clothes like that meant shorts and a blouse.
- Clothes like that somehow excused the action.
- Clothes like that somehow validated the situation.
- Clothes like that meant I had to learn how to not be raped, and not expect to live in a world where others are told to not rape.
- I started crying and then I heard, “If something had actually happened, you would have told us.”
“In the Middle (I Met You There)” by Matthew Dear featuring Jonny Pierce
It took me a week to come around to Matthew Dear’s latest EP, Headcage. This was possibly the longest amount of time I spent trying to enjoy his music, as I typically fall deeply for his off-kilter melodies and art rock inspired instrumentation. This song is clearly the standout for a number of reasons, the biggest being it’s charming pop structure, something Dear has experimented with in the past, but clearly embraced on this single. It is smart and only excites me for his future output.
To be honest, as an already tall girl, I was excited by the prospect of being even taller. When I was younger, I associated my height with a certain ugliness that manifested in little dates and a simmering lack of self-esteem. But eventually I grew out of that mindset and began to love the fact that 5’10 sounded even taller (and grander, perhaps) than 5’8. It sounded more important, or more extreme, or more unique, and during the time when I was most concerned with finding my identity, this excited me! My tallness could not be contained.
He-he-hello! My love affair with Party Girl continues in a review and essay for This Recording.
“Forget” by Liana La Havas (Shlohmo remix)
A perfect remix, incorporating Shlomo’s signature heavy moods and sensuous beats with Liane’s clear vocals. I’ve been obsessed for weeks.
From the Interspace series, by Kelly Kristin Jones
All images were taken in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. Jones is from the neighborhood. I love her exploration and demonstration of the alternative points of green space in Chicago. We often think of the city, especially the less tourist-populated, as a haphazard grid of concrete, but Jones suggests a different, more complex narrative.
“Black Tin Box” by Miike Snow ft. Lykke Li
This is the third song released from their second LP which is confirmation enough for me that the entire album will exceed any sort of biased preconceptions I might have had about their music. I loved them in the past - especially after seeing them perform live for Lykke Li - but I never realized that they’d still create such rich, layered, subtly danceable tunes after a few years of surprising successes.
(via forwhenifeellikesharing)
Sparkler on a frozen lake, (2006) by Adam Ekberg
Adam Ekberg captures both the beauty of snow and the cold, and the isolation one can feel when alone and surrounded by it. My walk home last Friday took longer than normal. People were inside, taking shelter from the storm, and still I kept going. My apartment was a long-missed fortress of warmth. And warmth creates a feeling of completeness, a feeling of wholeness, a connection to to others, even if they are not there, because you feel comfortable. Comfort negates isolation.
So basically I’m still obsessed with and can’t stop thinking about Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s danc(e)volve: New Works Festival at the MCA. I wrote a review and it’s now online. I’ve been tweeting on and off about it since last Sunday afternoon and I can’t get dancers Johnny McMillan and Emilie Leriche out of my head (stan status?). As a whole, the festival exceeded all of my expectations.
Three-dimensional works by Daniel Arsham
I like how the presence and use of texture creates a visually surreal quality to the works.
Another consistently good mix from the Indie R&B tumblr, one of the best music genre tumblrs on the site. I’m especially loving the inclusion of Inc. and Jesse Boykins III, two of my favorite acts from the past year. Stream above and the download link is below.
(via postdubstep)
Indie R&B: Part III
1. Jason Burns - “Back 2 U”
2. Emeli Sandé - “Daddy” (Disclosure Remix)
3. Teengirl Fantasy - “Dancing In Slow Motion” (Brenmar Mix)
4. Pandr Eyez - “Shinin’”
5. Jesse Boykins III - “Back Home” (Mermaids & Dragons)
6. Blood Orange - “S’cooled”
7. Inc. - “Heart Crimes”
8. AlunaGeorge - “You Know You Like It”
9. Top Girls - “Truth”
10. Oscar + Martin - “What I Know”
11. How to Dress Well - “Suicide Dream 2 (Orchestral Version)
12. The Weeknd - “Initiation”
13. Joker - “On My Mind” (feat. William Cartwright)
14. Star Slinger - “Dumbin’” (feat. Reggie B)
15. Frank Ocean - “Thinking About You” (Keumel Edit)
© Brittany Julious 2007 - 2012