For Sarah [Cera]

Since we now live 2,000+ miles apart, and I don’t want to overwhelm your Facebook wall with links, this post is for you!

Did you know Mr. Cera is on Twitter? His handle is TheeMichaelCera. I’m not sure how much you use Twitter these days, but just in case, I thought you should know.

I also want to be safe and make sure you’re aware of this work of art. I’m certain you’ll love it (assuming you don’t already).

A few of my favorites:

I hope all is well on the West Coast! Miss you terribly!

x to the v?

being unemployed has me feeling really out of the music loop, but i’m trying!

and, let’s be completely honest here, i have a hunch i’m months behind on this one which, in this case, would make my previous concern irrelevant.

apparently this guy, XV, is signed to warner. who knew? not me, clearly.

oh, and you can stream/download his mixtape here. lucky you!

lolcat and awesome boy

song of the day

sometimes i lose faith in the music industry. i get a little lefsetz and wonder if i should be kicking myself for doing what i’m doing. but that feeling tends to go away as fast as it comes on, and i hear a song that just fills my soul or makes me so spectacularly giddy and i just have to share it with someone.

though i haven’t pulled a bob in a while, i did hear a standout song this week that kindly reminded me of what i already know and made me do a little involuntary dance. it happens.

so, may i present to you neon trees and their single “animal.” they hail from provo (utah, previously on my list of states to just get rid of) and will release their debut LP on mercury records march 16th. i’m stoked!

also, i very much enjoy this cover of “animal” by a band known as oh, be clever. there’s something about her voice that i really love!

ps. shoutout to jfalc – BFF and former roommate – for our love of what we have dubbed “clappy songs.”

sweet nostalgia

check out robert francis’ latest video for his song “junebug,” courtesy of our friends over at themusicslut.com. motorcyles, guitars, fist fights, flannel and the oh-so-coveted girl next door – the fabric of the american dream!

song of the day

someone once described Sigur Ros’s music as sounding like ice melting. and i truly can’t think of a better description.

so i wasn’t sure what to expect when i learned their lead singer Jonsi (pronounced Yon-see) is coming out with a solo project. but have no fear, Sigur Rosis. we are in capable hands. Jonsi’s first single “Go Do” off his upcoming album Go sends the drony melodies that we loved from Sigur Ros to synth boot camp resulting in a gorgeous and lively sound i can only describe as the first day of spring.

give it a listen and let me know what you hear!

in celebration of cheap chocolate

Hi folks!

The brilliant minds at Gawker have posted an editorial about Valentine’s day… well, more fittingly, an editorial about not hating on Valentine’s Day. Which is now apparently so cliché that it is no longer hip. Gasp! What’s a cynic to do!

The problem is is that Valentine’s day is really easy to hate. And this animosity begins at a young age.

I remember in seventh grade when my boyfriend at the time got me a tube on M&Ms and surprised me at my locker when he pulled the gift out from his hoodie front pocket. I blushed deep red, but not because I was enamored with his gift (though I was; M&Ms are delicious). I had picked up the exact same gift for him at the supermarket and I was embarrassed to admit this to him. And so, thinking on my 13 year-old feet as best as I could, I mumbled something about how I had forgotten my gift for him at home and would have my mom bring it when she came to pick me up from school. Meanwhile, at home room that day, I noticed a girlfriend of mine had brought a heart box of chocolates with her to school and so I told her my predicament and desperately asked her if we could swap. Thankfully, she said yes. I later presented the chocolates to my boyfriend and I don’t think he noticed my stealth ninja actions until I confessed the whole incident to my mom later that day. I was convinced it was the most embarrassing that had ever happened to anyone. She, of course, shared the story with his mom and they thought it was the cutest thing they had ever heard. Well it wasn’t, Mom. IT WAS MORTIFYING! So ya, that is my earliest Valentine’s Day memory… although I do recall a few times in grade school when I would pick my favorite boxed valentine to give to my crushes during class V-Day parties. I would put an extra sticker on their card in hopes that they would notice of my subtle display of affection and return my unrequited love. They didn’t.

So now, on the verge of adulthood, Valentine’s Day poses a new series of threats for singles and couples alike. Single folks are reminded that society does not value their independence and that they are single-handedly (pun not intended but keeping it) ruining consumerism by being so Scrooge-like and emotionally vapid.

Meanwhile, couples don’t fare much better. They are taught that their normal displays of affection are sub-par and that love is only truly shared over expensive fixed-menu dinners and with expensive bouquets of generic red flowers and expensive heart-shaped boxes of chocolates (but cheap panties!)

And so we are left to feel shitty about ourselves. That, whether we are attached or not, we are not good enough.

But what if my significant other hates roses some might argue! Or doesn’t feel comfortable at fancy dinners! Or doesn’t like miscellaneous chocolates! Isn’t it more romantic to know this about someone and cater your romantic gestures accordingly?

In a word, no.

Because even if your girlfriend prefers potted plants to short-lived bouquets of dead roses or your boyfriend prefers dinners in to multi-course extravaganzas, the propaganda surrounding the day makes us feel like these quirks – often the things we find so endearing about the other person – are invalid excuses for our lazy and unromantic behavior. We begin to second guess ourselves. We wonder if that homemade dinner we made our significant other was truly special enough or if we should have thrown down $300 on a fancy dinner at an overbooked and overpriced restaurant to show them we truly care. We wonder if the poem we scribbled into the palm of their hand really came from the heart or if we are just cheap and lazy. We wonder if a generic card could have said it better, louder, more effectively.

In short, Valentine’s Day is easy to hate because it takes a full and rich scale of human emotions and dwindles it down to 4th grade logic: One heart sticker for friends, TWO heart stickers for crushes. Love is expensive. Love is heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Love is red roses. Love is fancy dinners. Love is generic. Individual shows of affection are lazy, selfish and sub par.

BUT!

Yes there is a but.

But because we KNOW all of this, we are free to love Valentine’s Day. We can embrace it and laugh at its idiosyncrasies. We can ham it up and go out to ridiculous dinners. Or we can thumb our nose at conventions and have picnics dinners on the floors of our apartments. We can get each other over-the-top bouquets of flowers and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Or we can send bouquets of Netflix films and square boxes of candy. We can watch marathons of crappy romantic comedies. Or we can watch slasher movies on repeat into the night.

Once we acknowledge the ridiculousness of the holiday we are free to embrace it in any way our amazing unique selves see fit. Because deep down, and despite the fact that it was designed for commercial purposes, it’s a celebration of the people in our lives. And that is nothing to snub.

Or at the very least, it is the eve of the day that all the chocolate goes on sale. and that is something universally worth celebrating.

pants on the what?

kudos to general platt for getting one of the most worthless songs stuck in my head for 3 weeks.

sadly, we must move on. but to what? brighter days? greener pastures?

perhaps, but i think the great and under-estimated wanda sykes may be able to point us in the best direction:

song of the day

just want to share this in case you haven’t heard onerepublic’s most recent album, waking up.

why i love them: because every song, without doubt, makes me swell with emotion. i don’t know how tedder does it, but he does.

other notable tracks* include “made for you,” “secrets,” and “everybody loves me.”

*honestly,
i’ve only made it through
half the album because i get
excited and have to start over.

samberg

as much as we love michael cera, we also love andy samberg. okay, maybe i love him a smidge more than sarah does and vice versa with mike.

regardless, he is much loved in the least creepy way possible.

moving on, this post is brought to you from another of our resident advisors, john. and what a find! it’s a knee-slapping parody of andy’s genius creative process… enjoy!

if you’d like to read the original post, click here.