Weekly Recommendations

I'm going to start a thing called "Weekly Recommendations" where I make a list of cool things I've discovered which I think everyone should check out.

First on my list is the blog that gave me the idea to make this list...

--MartinSays.com


Second and third are social networking sites which I have recently become obsessed with.

--Twitter



--FriendsOrEnemies


My last recommendation for the day is an accessory which was shown to me by the lovely Gabriel Saporta of Cobra Starship.

--Jac Vanek bracelets


My personal favorite bracelets are Ruthless, Guilty, Trainwreck, and Legit. Which ones do you like best?

That's all for now.

Doubt.

A few days ago, a kid in my dorm told me "It's hard to make it as a music journalist." Although I already knew this, what he said struck a chord. For the first time in my life, I doubted my career choice. I only started writing less than two years ago; what if journalism just isn't for me? Some of the other Scripps students in my dorm have wanted to work in the news industry for their whole lives. I didn't even consider the option until I was well into my junior year of high school. Before then I wanted to be a rockstar, a lawyer, an entreprenuer.

But then I think, if not journalism... what? There really is no other option. I chose journalism because I love to write, but I'm also not really good at anything else. I can read, I can write, I love music; it just seemed like the perfect option. Now don't get me wrong. I love writing, I love working in the news industry, and right now, this is what I want to do with my life. I'm just afraid that it won't last. Especially when I get out into the world and struggle. I'm not used to struggling. I hate to admit it, but things tend to come easily to me and I generally get what I want. But now at Scripps I'm surrounded by people who have been writers for years and I begin to doubt myself and my choice.

I don't doubt that I can do this, I'm just worried that as the competition gets tougher, I won't want to anymore. I guess that if that ever happens, I will have options... I just hope I've finally made the choice I'm going to stick with.

The Beginning.

Ever since the days of Xanga popularity, I've enjoyed blogging. Regardless of whether or not people actually read my thoughts, it's nice to know that I can come back, years from now, and get to know my past self. I look back at my old Xanga blogs and I am able to recall memories, some good, some bad, and I am able to think about lessons I learned, days I cherish, and situations I regret. I look back at the comments left by friends, enemies, aquaintences, and I find myself thinking about how much better everything is now, but I also think of how I never could have gotten to this point without those experiences. Three years ago, my freshman year of high school ended, and with it, my daily blogging. I've tried many times over the years to get back to it, but with little success.

Recently I started a music blog. I was working at the newspaper in my city and I was in the Metro section, writing breaking news pieces. Don't get me wrong, I was completely ecstatic about the internship, but I've always been an entertainment girl, and the paper didn't offer that outlet. So I started an entertainment blog where I could review CDs, talk about music, movies, whatever. If you wish, you can check out that blog at www.fragilecapricorn.blogspot.com. Bear in mind, however, that poor college students can't afford many CDs, so reviews will likely be few and far between.

This blog was created a few weeks ago to post vlogs by my friend Brenna and I. Those videos are now posted solely on YouTube, and this blog will be used to discuss journalism, the media, life as an OU j-schooler, etc., as per the suggestion of Prof. Stewart.

If you like it, read it; if you don't, that's okay to.

Last night I knew what to say, but you weren't there to hear it.

Fast Times at Barrington High, the newest CD by The Academy Is... is amazing. A shocking change, and a significant improvement, from Santi. The album will be released Tuesday, August 19, but was leaked earlier this week on MuchMusic, AlternativePress, and, of course, The Academy Is...'s myspace. Finally a leak that makes sense.

The sound is close enough to some of the old music that loyal fans will not be disappointed, but Fast Times also takes a turn for the mainstream, as the boys bring a more "Fueled By Ramen" feel to their music. The workers at FBR have been trying their hardest to recreate Fall Out Boy, and I think this CD gives them the best shot.

The songs are catchy, not too pop-inspired, but just enough that they are marketable to the classic "preppy" teenager, and the lyrics aren't completely worthless as so many are these days. For allegedly being gay, William Beckett certainly can write about boy-girl relationships. The songs aren't exactly original, they sound like everything we've heard before, but at the same time, they are different than anything we've ever heard before.

The Academy Is... always puts on a fantastic live show, and this music is more precise and well-done than past songs; I know the this fall, the We The Kings and TAI... tour will be nothing short of brilliant.

Four stars.

Panic at the Disco CD review

The differences between Panic! at the Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and Panic at the Disco’s Pretty. Odd. can teach us all one thing: punctuation is important.

At the start of 2008, Panic! at the Disco made a few announcements; in the following months, they would be releasing a new CD, headlining the always-popular Honda Civic Tour, and dropping the exclamation from their name. The deletion of this mark brought forth an entirely new band, devoid of the guyliner-emo-cheeky-sexual-circus motif for which the boys were formerly known.

Pretty. Odd. begins with a song which apologizes for the band’s hiatus and promises that they are still the same band they always were. Regardless of what the lyrics claim, they are clearly not the same band they once were.

This album is a drastic change from the band’s former style. It is, musically, a step up, but the band risks a drop in popularity; this move may have been too severe for a sophomore album. The bright side of things is that the band managed to marginally forgo the “sophomore slump.” There is nothing dull or repetitive about this CD.

Ryan Ross’s witty lyrics, omnipresent in A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, are scarce in Pretty. Odd. This is one change, however, that will only be problematic for teeny boppers looking for something cheeky to quote in their Instant Messenger profiles.

The most cohesive element between the two discs, Brendon Urie’s powerful and uniquely toned vocals, is now a more calm rock style, compared to the electronica dance style of former songs. New on this CD is the notable presence of vocals by songwriter and lead guitarist, Ryan Ross.

Pretty. Odd. is not the usual style, but it’s still amazing. There are few bands out there capable of conveying such unique and intriguing style.

Jonas Brothers CD review

The latest CD by the Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer, is a perfect example of why bands should leak only their best songs—not the whole album.

A month before the August 12 release, the Jonas Brothers began releasing one song every week on iTunes. This, of course, allowed those songs to be illegally downloaded. I’ve listened to all four of the songs, Burnin’ Up, Pushin’ Me Away, Tonight, and, A Little Bit Longer. While I was skeptical about Tonight, I let it slide, because the other three were great, and I fully intended to buy the CD when it was released in stores.

Then, of course, MTV Leak interfered with my life again, just as it did with Fall Out Boy's Infinity On High. I listened to the entire CD and quickly realized that those songs I had so enjoyed were the only enjoyable songs on the album. And here I had so been looking forward to something different from Jonas Brothers.

It’s not different, it’s just more of the same and, in a way, that’s worse. It’s worse because one human being can only take so much teeny-bopper pop before it’s no longer fun, it’s just obnoxious. And one band can only write so much teeny-bopper pop before it becomes repetitive and awful.

Apparently Burnin’ Up and Pushin’ Me Away are to A Little Bit Longer as 7 Things is to Miley Cyrus’s Breakaway—the only songs that make the CD worth buying. Luckily for Miley, she kept the rest of her CD under lock-and-key until the release, and I shelled out the ten dollars to hear more. Unluckily for the Jonas Brothers, I’ve already downloaded those two songs, and I don’t plan on spending ten dollars to get the rest of the songs.

Learn to keep the curiosity alive, boys, it will serve you well. Luckily for Joseph, Nicholas and Kevin, my ten dollars really means nothing to them and, sucky or not, every teen girl on the planet will still be running to Target this Tuesday to get their hands on A Little Bit Longer.

Two and a half stars.

The night is gone and we're falling faster now.

The new blog title is courtesy of the Jonas Brothers' new song, "Pushin' Me Away," which I absolutely love. I know it's quintessentially pathetic for me to be eighteen years old and listening to the Jonas Brothers, but I think they're fantastic.

And no, I don't just mean that they are fantastically sweet and fantastically gorgeous, I also mean that I enjoy their music. The older they get, the better their music gets, which is perfect, because they are aging right along with me. I am unbelievably excited for "A Little Bit Longer" to be released. I feel like it is going to be one of my favorite CDs since Panic at the Disco's "Pretty. Odd."

I had the amazing opportunity to interview the Jonas Brothers a few days ago and I know that bands aren't likely to be rude to a reporter, but they were a lot sweeter and more friendly than your average musicians.

To be continued...

The start of a sensation.

I'm young. I'm restless. I can't wait to begin a steady career. This blog is my solid profession; an outlet that will be with me through college as I bounce from internship to internship, itching to get out into the real world and begin working my way up the journalistic food chain.

I've been the entertainment editor on a school paper, I've written entertainment for the city paper, and I mostly only enjoy music, movie, and book reporting. The internship I'm at right now has me in the news section. It's good experience, but I want to report entertainment. If I'm not going to be in the spotlight, I'm at least going to write about it.

This blog is so that I can write what I love. It will be comprised of whatever I'm thinking; Movie, book, concert, cd reviews, commentaries on celebrities, the media, politics, life in general, and random diary-esque entries whenever the mood strikes. Enjoy.