✿ Azealia Banks: 1991 EP Previews ✿

Yo.

Female rapper, Azealia Banks, is set to release her EP '1991' on May 28th and a couple of previews for the songs have appeared on Soundcloud!

Tracklist for the EP:

1. 1991
2. Van Vogue
3. 212
4. Liquorice

After her hit '212', the EP is set to be amazing. The previews sound fresh and the beats are great. 'Liquorice' has also been out for a while but it's good to have an updated version.

Check out the previews below!

✿ Eurovision: Why I disagree with it. ✿

Hello!

So, today the Eurovision song contest is happening. My mum loves it and watches it every year, but I've always found it pretty disgusting.

I'll start with the positives of the whole contest. I understand that the competition helps to bring people of different cultures together and helps to spread the music of different people, I suppose, even though a lot of the songs get forgotten in a matter of days.

Right, so, I basically believe that the money that it takes to host/stage the whole Eurovision song contest should be going to much better things. For example, the money could be used to help Greece get through it's current money problems, or to help people in Africa etc.

It disgusts me that money, that's pretty hard to get nowadays, is being wasted on a bunch of people singing. Bearing in mind the people that come on the show are forgotten about in a couple of days, is it really worth it? Is it worth wasting that much money that could be going to such better places?

I know that the opinion of one teenager on the internet probably won't change much, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there.

Comment and let me know how you feel about it :-)

✿ Dead Fe†us: Burn EP ✿

An EP by 'Dead Fe†us' dropped yesterday! If you haven't already checked it out then you should. You can get the EP for free (or give any amount of money that you want, which I recommend) here.

The EP features some quite witch house-y beats and is a pretty dark EP. It feels like you're drowning in synth (but in a really, really good way).

The EP also features loads of remixes by people such as Mr. Kitty, Electronic Deer and more.

Also, go like 'Dead Fe†us' on Facebook!

✿ Pamyu Pamyu Revolution: Review ✿

Standard edition artwork for the album.

Hey!


Today I'm going to try something new. I've posted about music on this blog before, but I haven't done a review. Since I want to make this blog a mixture of different things, I thought doing a review of a new album would be pretty cool. It's going to be a pretty short review since I don't feel like ranting about an album, but yeah!


So, this is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. If you have Tumblr then you've probably seen this video. Her first single 'PONPONPON' reached almost 27 million hits on YouTube. It's a mixture of cute, weird and a catchy melody. Her album, 'Pamyu Pamyu Revolution' was released May 23rd and reached #1 in the US iTunes Electronic chart and #1 in the Oricon charts in Japan. It was highly anticipated by a lot of people (including myself) and a live performance event on YouTube was held as a kind of 'release party' for the album. So, on with the review.


Track 1: Pamyupamyu Revolution


This is an intro track to the whole album. It really sets the mood of what to expect from the rest of the songs. It makes you feel as if you've been dropped into a toybox that's in the middle of a carnival. It's so childish but at the same time so happy and jolly; you can't help but think, "Wow, this is cute." I've also read somewhere that in the whole Harajuku and Lolita fashion scene there's been a carnival style induced into the genre, which Kyary has obviously picked up on and used in this album. 


Track 2: Tsukema Tsukeru


This is probably one of my favourite songs on the whole album! It's really happy and jolly and has a real J-pop feel to it. The chorus of the song's incredibly catchy and is guaranteed to be in your head for days. The video for the song's also amazing, check it out.


Track 3: PONPONPON


As I explained before, PONPONPON was her first single! It's immensely cute and catchy and has an amazing synth in it that I love. The lyrics to the song are pretty simple as well. I don't know any Japanese but I've learnt all of the lyrics just from listening to it quite a lot. The beat in the song's really catchy and flows along with Kyary's cute vocals really well.


Track 4: Minna no Uta


This is probably the most childish song on the album. It features a bassline that's pretty funky and will be in your head for a while. This is probably my least favourite as it can get a bit repetitive after a while, but it's quite cute. The instruments and sounds used also follow quite a 'toybox' theme as well.


Track 5: Kyary An-An


Literally my favourite song that Kyary has ever done. It's bursting with fun, energy and life and will make you want to jump up and down. It features one of the most catchy tunes I've ever heard in my life, and the drums are wonderful. The song could be slightly compared to elevator music, but with more 'kawaii'.


Track 6: Candy Candy


This song also features 'toybox/musicbox' effects which link in with the rest of the album. The tempo in the chorus is quite poppy and is a very dance-y song! This was also one of Kyary's singles and has a music video here!


Track 7: Drinker


The one word I'd used to describe this song is 'swanky'. It's like funky motel music (also reminiscent of elevator music). This is a more grown-up melody and is less J-pop than the rest of the album. The song really stands out strongly as one of the more confident songs on the album.


Track 8: Onedari 44°C


This song begins with drums that sound quite similar to Kyary An-An. A really carnival feeling synth then kicks in and so does Kyary's cute voice! This song's very catchy and sounds like a song that'd be performed in some Japanese anime about broadway shows.


Track 9: Suki Sugite Kiresou


This song really reminds me of the Japanese group 'Perfume' which is also managed by Yasutaka Nakata, so it's quite easy to compare the two. It's a very chirpy song and keeps the happy vibe of the album moving along well. This song could quite easily be thrown in the pile of generic J-pop, but I think it has a slight edge above the rest.


Track 10: Giri Giri Safe


This song leaked on Tumblr and was the first song of the album I heard. It's once again very cutesy and the beginning features quite a typical and oriental japanese tune, but it then quickly moves into Kyary's adorable vocals again. For some reason this song makes me think of picnics (not quite sure why) but it also follows the carnival theme.


Track 11: Oyasumi


This is the slowest song on the whole album but is still very interesting. This track is more minimal than the rest and doesn't feature nearly as much synth as the other tracks, but still stands out and has a nice, calm feeling to it. This one really sounds like it's from a carnival.


Track 12: Chan Chaka Chan Chan


This is the 'goodbye' song of the album, and is very, very happy! Most songs that finish of an album tend to end on a low note, but not this one. The album features Kyary saying, "See you, see you, see you again!" which is a much happier way to end an album, I'd say, and also gives the clue that there's going to be a second album! This song also features a few cute instrumental bits of the others songs on the album, so I'd class this song as a kind of conclusion for the rest of the album.


Overall, this album is an extremely happy album, with literally no bad vibes. The album keeps you up from start to end, with no dips in the middle. It's full of amazing synths, jazzy melodies and cute vocals that'll make you want to listen to more of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's music. I'm probably a bit bias since I'm literally in love with this girl, but I believe that her music's definitely going to change the way music works, especially in the Japanese music industry. I'd recommend this album to anybody who's looking for fun, happy and ultra cute music and people that just want to have fun and forget anything bad!

I don't really like music reviews myself, but I hope this was helpful to at least a few people! Leave me a comment telling me how this was since it was my first time doing this kind of thing.

See you soon :-)

✿ What I wore today. (II) ✿

Yo!


I haven't posted here in a while, I really wanted to post more regularly but I've had loads of exams lately. I've pretty much finished all of my exams now so hopefully I'll be more active with this blog.


Since I don't have much to talk about, I thought I'd just do another quick 'What I wore today' post!


Lately in England it's been really hot and sunny so I wore something a lot more 'summery' in this one. 

I'm wearing my black TUK creepers (which was a bad idea, my feet were on fire after about 5 minutes of walking in them) which were £70. The shorts were from Topman and cost about £25-£30, I can't really remember!

The shirt's one of my favourite prints ever. The colours are really summery and pretty vivid. I got it from Cow in Nottingham for about £3 (there was a sale).

The tie-dye pale blue t-shirt was also from the sale at Cow, and was about £2-£3. I really like it since it's fairly pale so the tie-dye effect isn't completely noticeable and out there, in contrast with the shirt.

I also wore a blue bindi from a pack I bought on the internet for about £5.20 (for a really, really large pack of them!)

The whole outfit is pretty blue which I like as I don't usually wear blue that often. The whole outfit only came to about £106 altogether, which is quite good I'd say, especially since it'd only be about £36 without the shoes. And yeah, never wear creepers when it's hot.

See you soon :-)

✿ 5kinAndBone5 - Rather B ✿

Hey!


A new '5kinAndBone5' song came out yesterday named 'Rather B'.
It's really ambient (which I love) and has a kind of 'old-school garage' kind of feel to it.
It includes some pretty cool basslines and vocals too.
If you haven't checked '5kinAndBone5' out before, here's their soundcloud.

✿ Rye Rye: 'Go! Pop! Bang!' ✿

Yesterday, the Baltimore rapper, Rye Rye, dropped her debut album, 'Go! Pop! Bang!' The album was released through NEET Records (M.I.A.'s record label) and Interscope. The album was meant to be released quite a while ago, but with Rye Rye's pregnancy, the album was delayed. The album features Rye Rye along with a few other artists including M.I.A., Akon and Robyn.


The album is literally full, back to front, with bass. The first time I played it through my speakers, my desk was vibrating. She's really progressed from her 'RYEot powRR' mixtape that she released a while back. All of the songs are way more defined, and there isn't a song on the album I don't like. My personal favourite song on the album, 'Dance' features once again, great bass, but also an 808 drum which makes an amazing beat.


You can purchase Rye Rye's new album here. (Or just listen to it on soundcloud below.)

✿ What I wore today. ✿

Hello again!


I thought I'd do a quick 'what I wore today' type post, since that'll let you see what kind of styles I like and  I guess that'll tell you more about me.


Today I was off school since I've finished photography and ICT, so I had a walk into town.

This is probably one of my favourite shirts ever. I got it from Topman in Edinburgh about a year ago now. I don't normally buy things from Topman because of the price, but I just loved this too much. If I remember right it was about £15-£20 I think.

The black skinny jeans are from H&M and were about £30. They're so comfortable and the fitting's great. They're not too skinny, but just about enough I'd say. I'm also wearing my TUK Creepers (review here) for comfort and also because I love them too much to not wear them.

The hat's from a relative in Australia. I've had it since I was like 12 and I only really wore it because it's freezing outside, but I still kind of like it. I never usually wears hats but yeah, I did today! The t-shirt's also from a relative who went to Africa. It's got a line of animals on it and it's just a plain black t-shirt with quite a high neck which I really like. I also wore a bindi that I got from a pack of 90 which was £5.20 (bargain).

Also, since it was freezing today, I wore my huge H&M coat that I also got in Edinburgh, which was £70. I'd wanted a coat with a fur hood for ages so when I saw this I had to buy it, haha. It's pretty massive but it's literally the warmest coat in the world.


So yeah, that's the kind of clothes that I wear, if you're ever interested! I might do more of these in the future, even though it feels kinda weird.


Comment and I'll reply back and also check out your blog.


See you soon! :-)

✿ Roberto Piqueras: Winter 12/13 ✿

Hello :-)


If you have a Tumblr, you've probably already seen Roberto Piqueras' designs splattered all over your dashboard. His colourful and bright designs were inspired by the Queen of England, and also brought about a 'nu-rave' trend. The fashion show took place in a council estate and led up to a main road in London, giving a large contrast between the surroundings and the models clothes.

Photo from Vice Style

Above you can see the top inspired by the Queen. The diamonds over her eyes make it look very interesting and also link with the upcoming jubilee. The chips at the bottom also go with the English culture, since we all love fish and chips so much. As you can tell, the prints are very digital and colourful, which seems quite inspired by a lot of 'net-art' on Tumblr (sorry for referring to Tumblr so often, but a lot of the designs are pretty relatable).

Photo from Vice Style

The models, apparently, were all found on, again, Tumblr. This shows you the power of the internet nowadays; a whole fashion show can easily be organised on it, no matter what platform, be it Tumblr or Facebook. A lot of the designs are very 'new-age' and out there, but I really hope that everyday high street fashion starts to move in this direction. I personally LOVE this collection so much, and I can't wait until I can possibly buy some of it (even though I'll need to save up forever).

Photo from Vice Style

Another part of this collection is the facial decoration! Piqueras designed a bunch of temporary tattoos shaped like gems and crystals. They're very bright, and I actually want to buy some myself! They're a really good decoration as they also go with the clothes extremely well and add to the 'nu-rave' effect. You can purchase the temporary tattoos on Piqueras' website here.


If you want more photos of the collection, check out the Vice Style article about this collection!


Feel free to comment and I'll definitely reply and check out your blog! :-)

✿ ≈☼SEAPUNKGANG MIXTAPE VOL.4☼≈ ✿

Hey!


So, a new SEAPUNK GANG mixtape came out yesterday, and it's amazing.
If you're into good vibe underwater music, then you'll love this.
The mixtape was compiled and mixed by Chiamu.
It includes music from Major Lazer and many others! (Full tracklist on their soundcloud.)


And if you haven't checked out their previous mixtapes, then you really should.

✿ The word 'normal'. ✿

Hello again!


Today I'm going to be discussing something that I've wanted to write down for quite a while now. This has always been a strong opinion of mine, so I hope this inspires some kind of discussion.

According to Google.

As you can see from the definition above, normal is conforming to a 'standard' that's 'expected' of us. What is this 'standard' and why is it 'expected' of us? Most people don't seem to ask this question, but it's been on my mind for quite a while now. Society seems to be made up of some kind of secret rule book that if not followed, will bring embarrassment and misery on the person who didn't conform. This word is something that's putting us into some kind of box that doesn't and shouldn't exist.


So, who created this 'norm' in the first place? The finger is immediately pointed at the government, but they just set the rules, right? The social norm can be affected by quite a few things, including politics and religion. However, most of the influence for the social norm is force-fed to us through the media. Via TV and magazines etc, we see the image that we 'should be', and the way that we 'should' act, in order to be 'normal'. Just as an example, if I was to go out shopping whilst dressed completely in clothes I'd made out of leaves, I'd be ridiculed for not being 'normal'. But why? So what if I want to wear leaf clothes, surely that's my decision? It makes no sense to me why people immediately get so defensive and abusive when they're faced with a new concept, something that they'd never really thought of, something out of the box. I'm not saying that wearing clothes made out of leaves is the way forward, but this is just an example. Who stood up and said, 'here's your four walls, here's your social norm, now work within it,'?


This isn't just with fashion but also lifestyles, including sexuality. Heterosexuality has been the 'norm' for quite a while, with a lot of people referring to it as the 'normal' sexuality to be. This literally makes me feel nauseous as I find it hard to believe that people seriously believe that one sexuality is more 'normal' than the other. Both are completely 100% natural. So yeah, when a male and a female get together they can have a child, whilst those who are homosexual can't, but not everybody wants children anyway, and with the issue of the population increasing more and more, more children are being put up for adoption which gives homosexual couples a chance to have a child if they want one. So, to me the idea of there being a 'normal' sexuality is repulsive and literally makes me lose hope in some people on this planet.


I could literally talk about this subject all day, but to me this 'box' that we live in makes no sense. Our only limit is ourselves and we're chaining ourselves down and allowing no new growth. People can't go through their everyday lives without getting some kind of snide comment about how their hair looks 'wrong' or they're wearing their clothes 'wrong' and I sincerely believe it should stop, now.


This is pretty much a rant, so I'm sorry if I've gone completely off topic at bits. I've probably missed quite a bit out, but hey.


Leave a comment and tell me your views on the word 'normal' and whether or not you think it limits society in any way. (I'll also check out your blog!)


See you soon :-)

✿ TUK Creepers Review ✿

Hello!
I said I'd do this review today, so here I am.


I got my TUK Creepers as a Christmas present (I literally screamed when I opened them) and I've been in love with them ever since. The ones I got were the 'Mondo Hi Soled Creeper' in black, which were £70. I thought now would be quite a good time to do a review on them since I've had them for a couple of months now, so that's given me enough time to make a proper opinion of them.

This is the box that the creepers come in. It's pretty colourful and jazzy, and also pretty huge!

The top and sides of the shoe is made of suede and the bottom obviously has the heel, which makes it a creeper. The heel on these are about 3 inches, I believe. That doesn't sound like much, but it's really noticeable and they look great, as some of the bigger heeled ones can start to look ridiculous.

I'd just like to mention now that the pictures below are of my shoes now, after 5 months of pretty much constant use. Whenever I went out with friends, I'd wear them. I've even worn them on a couple of walks, which is why they're so filthy. Don't be afraid that your creepers will either A) look this this when you get them or B) end up like this, as I've worn them constantly and that's why they look a bit.. battered. If you want to see how they look when they're new, click here.

The mud on the side is from me treading in a puddle by accident..

I bought the size 11 creepers and when I opened them, they looked absolutely huge, however they actually fitted fine, so don't be worried about the sizing, it's really good. The laces are really thick and definitely won't snap easily. The knots in them stick really well too, I don't really think I've ever had to re-lace them in the day apart from maybe once or twice. For the first week or so of me wearing them, I got blisters on the back of my ankles from where the fabric had rubbed, but that's almost always going to happen with new shoes. After about a week, they felt like slippers, and they still do. They may not look it, but they're probably the comfiest pair of shoes I have, apart from my slip-on Vans. 

A few people might feel nervous about wearing shoes that are kind of 'out there', in a way. They're not the brightest shoes in the world, but they still attract a bit of attention (you can buy much more colourful creepers than this, pink leopard print anyone?). People do occasionally look at them, but why would you wear them if you didn't want anybody to notice them? And that's the same with all shoes. Of course, there will be people who don't like them, and they're allowed their opinion, but if you like them, then fuck it and wear them.

So, now for a slightly negative thing about these shoes! As you can see from the back, they've become trodden down at an angle. This could, and probably is just the way that I walk, maybe I walk slightly tilted out or something, I don't know. However, the sole/heel could perhaps be made slightly stronger so things like this don't happen. It isn't that noticeable, especially when actually walking, so it's nothing big to worry about.

Overall, I'd recommend these shoes to anyone who likes them. The TUK brand of these creepers are extremely sturdy, as I'd heard that some of the other makes of creepers aren't as reliable and can fall apart easily. The suede on the shoes add a kind of gentle effect which the heels contrast well with, making the shoes quite pleasing to look at. So yeah, if you like them but are afraid of what people might say, ignore them and buy them! 

If you have any questions or opinions on these shoes, please comment! (I'll also check out your blog.)

See you soon :-)

✿ Hey hi hello! ✿

Hey, new blogger here.
My name's Tom, I'm 16 and I live in England!
My friend was talking about blogging and I thought I'd check it out, so I decided to create this blog in order to see what it's like.


I'll be writing about a large variety of different things, including music, fashion and art.
These are the three things that I'm mainly interested in. I'm not interested in fashion too much, but when I see things that I love, I get super interested.
I've lately gotten into 'net-art' and it's really interesting to me. If you check out my Tumblr blog (which is more of a collection of images) you'll see the kind of images I mean. A lot of them are pretty ironic, but I just find them interesting! Most of the artwork is made by other bloggers on Tumblr, but a lot more of this kind of art is being shown in galleries etc, so following this is really exciting for me! I also make some 'net-art' of my own, which I'll probably post about. It isn't great, and I mainly make it as a kind of joke (since part of the whole idea of this type of art is irony), but you can also find a link to my 'art' blog on my Tumblr blog which I've linked above.
With music, I love most genres. Lately I've fallen in love with the whole '#SEAPUNK' movement in music, it's really bubbly and happy and just lifts me up! I'll make a lot of posts about new music/artists I'm finding, so yeah :-)


The next post I'll be doing is a review of my TUK Creepers, which I'm hoping to get up either tonight or tomorrow night! 


Leave a comment and I'll make sure to reply and check out your blog!
See you soon :-)