It's no secret that I'm a fan of Brooke White's music and various projects. This song, and this EP are so much fun, I've started to think of them as a soundtrack to a summer drive.
This song is all about getting away... and having an adventure. So, it seems like the perfect way to start a warm weekend!
This entire EP (6 songs!) is only $3.99 on iTunes!! & it's on Spotify if that's how you roll.
Check out my other Jack and White "Have You Heard?" post here, it's got three great tunes including an awesome Fleetwood Mac cover!
Other Posts This Week: May Reads & Escape // Breakout KC - don't forget to use the fabulous coupon code to save on your trip to Breakout KC! :)
This is a really really good few months for music (in my opinion). Ellie Goulding, Jack and White, and Coldplay are all coming out with new albums in November and December!
While I'm sure enough of you have heard of Coldplay and Ellie, I'm thinking more people need to know about Jack and White! (though no promises on not posting about the other two...).
Jack and White is an indie pop band made up of Brooke White (American Idol Finalist, Solo Artist, 1/2 of The Girls with Glasses blog) and Jack Matranga (singer, songwriter, former member of Self Against City). I found out about their music a few years ago, and I still can't stop listening.
They have a bit of a folksy sound, but the music definitely has some pop roots, it's very catchy! But it still has a lot of guitar... that give the songs that indie/alternative vibe.
The band has three EPs Gemini, Winter, and Undercover (a cover EP). Each of these albums is very inexpensive on itunes. Definitely go check them out!
Their newest album Lost, is dropping FRIDAY! Ever since the single "Lost" has been released... I can't stop listening to it. So good. It came up on a mix the other night when friends were over... and everyone was humming along like they'd known it for years.
One of my favorites... an oldie, but a goodie. :)
and... for anyone else who kinda loves Fleetwood Mac....
Super excited to hear the rest of the new album, I love the way "Lost" sounds.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the EPs, so if you like the sound you're hearing download a few of the EPs and give them a listen. I'm pretty sure you'll find a new favorite in there!
This is definitely one band that I love, but haven't seen in concert... that list is starting to dwindle! Hopefully someday we can catch one of their shows! :) It seems more likely now that my parents live in Phoenix. :)
What do you think?
What have you been listening to? (anybody already listening to Christmas music...?)
As soon as I downloaded 'Bad Blood' I was in love with Bastille. Every song on the album is incredible, I have trouble choosing favorites! I quickly searched for upcoming shows, only finding sold out and far away ones. I was bummed because I prefer to catch a band I love on an album that I know so well, rather than waiting for the next round of touring... when I may not like the music quite as much.
Just a couple weeks later I saw a tweet saying that Bastille was playing in Omaha this December, a mere 3 hours away! I immediately texted Kyle to check if it would be ok with him, and soon after spent the $45 on tickets (including fees!). I am soooooo glad that we went, I think it was the best concert I've been to so far this year! With only one show coming up the rest of the month. Thank you to Twitter again for leading me to a THIRD amazing and incredibly cheap event!!! :)
Omaha & Dinner
We left right after school and drove straight to the hotel. We checked in, changed into concert attire and drove to the venue. After we sized up the parking situation we tried to eat at an urbanspoon find, but it was closed. So we went to the King Kong restaurant near the zoo. It was fast and decent. Then we drove back down, parked on the street and shivered as we walked through all of the snow! It was so cold!
The Venue
We got to the Sokol Auditorium which looks a lot like an old school or community center and checked in. We grabbed our tickets and went inside. The place was already pretty packed! We found a spot on the balcony level near the railing where we could see pretty well. Before Bastille came on a very nice man offered to switch us spots because he was very tall. It was so amazing. I more or less had my favorite view (minus the guy near us's elbow....). It was perfect! For KC people, the venue reminds me of a grittier, smaller, more retro version of Uptown. It was very fitting for this show. Small, a little grungy and unique.
Wild Cub
The opening band was called Wild Cub, from Nashville, TN. We didn't hear their entire set, but they were pretty decent from what we did hear. The lead singer did some sort of drum solos... that were kind of improvisational. It was very interesting. I think I would need to hear recorded versions to get a better idea of how much I like them... But either way, I liked them more than I usually like opening bands that I hadn't already wanted to see. Which may not sound like high praise, but it is! Looking forward to exploring more of their music. :) -Update: I love Thunderclatter, but so far can't quite get into the rest of their album. -I'll keep trying.
Bastille
To sum this up, I just kept turning to Kyle and saying, 'Holy Cow!' It never occurred to me that they could be bad. But I don't think I was prepared for how AMAZING they ended up being!
Every song was fantastic. The stuff from the album I love, the covers, the new songs... The atmosphere was great and so many people there were just as excited as we were. (rare!) I really love their style of music, but also that they can pull off gritty 90's rap songs like City High's 'What Would You Do?' in their own style. So versatile.
I spent the whole show in a state of giddyness. Singing, dancing, clapping, laughing.... just really absorbed in the show. I think it is definitely the best concert I've been to all year, and absolutely at the top of my list altogether.
The frontman, Dan Smith was very cool, very interactive with the crowd. At one point he jumped off of the stage and wove himself through the standing audience with his corded mic. About 100 ladies down there shrieked! At first everyone was just pulling on him, but eventually he was able to walk more and dance and sing with the audience. It was all being filmed, so it will be cool to see what that ends up becoming. At another point he walked backwards into his mic stand and it fell over. He didn't trip too much, but kind of laughed at himself, picked it up and held it in the air triumphantly and then threw it back across the stage (all while continuing the song). When it had ended, he said something like 'well that was cool...' which got everyone laughing. But honestly, I don't think anyone in the entire place thought otherwise.
They are playing in KC on Saturday at a sold out show alongside some other amazing bands for The Night the Buzz Stole Christmas. So if you are going, be VERY excited, and make sure that you get to be there when Bastille plays! I am a little bummed that we don't have tickets, because it would be amazing to see them again, and to see the rest of the bands, but I loved that we got to see them headline. I think this is the best type of show to see a band. Hoping to attend many similar shows in the future!
A while back I decided to download Bastille's album 'Bad Blood' ... and I can't. stop. listening.
It's amazing, if you haven't heard it... make it happen!
Have you heard this album? What do you think?
I like every song.. which is unusual for me recently. I will say that one of them is my least favorite... but other than that I LOVE them. My favorite track has to be Oblivion. It's so beautiful. (but it's definitely the slowest, so if it's not your thing check out the other tracks which are more upbeat and have catchier choruses)
I appreciate that most every song tells a story.
After seeing that their tour was sold out in the US, I was bummed that I hadn't stumbled upon them sooner. Just when I was about to give up hope, two shows were announced nearby for this winter! I managed to get tickets ($16 each, ROBBERY!) and am SO SO excited for the show! (read about the show here!) Once again thank you to twitter for always bringing me random tweets that lead me to the perfect events! (other twitter event successes include: the Girls with Glasses Event and the Bethany Dillon Concert )
I think that the show is going to be epic! I can't wait to write about it for you guys! :)
What is your favorite track?
Have you seen Bastille live?
Thank you for Reading! 85,000 views!! I'm so Grateful!!
I have been taking some time for myself and to get a new semesters' schedule under control recently so blogging has been put on the back burner. I'm happy to say that I'm ready to get back to it with some new things that I am really excited to blog about.
Here is some of my favorite things from February and March so far, and a peek at a few things I will be blogging about (hopefully) soon.
Essie Polish
I have major nail polish obsession, but it seems to be getting worse. Or better I suppose, depending on how you look at it.
Essie's "Chinchilly". A really pretty grey with a purple tint to it. It is actually pretty much a neutral! I really love this color it goes with everything. Thanks to the Consolvers for this stocking stuffer. :)
Essie's "In stitches". I loved this color immediately because it was a more muted pink, but not in a pale hue. This color pops enough to brighten your outfit, but not so much that you have to change your polish frequently so you don't clash.
February / March Magazines
If you know me, my magazine obsession isn't much of a secret. But these 2 issues have been unusually great!
I loved the February Lucky quite a bit, and this magazine is usually hit-or-miss for me. I especially enjoyed the date night outfits and _ + _ = Outfits. For once I was able to use this type of magazine to put together an outfit on my own! So, hopefully you will get some fashion posts coming from me kind of soon!
The British Glamour is superior to the US Glamour most of the time, but this issue was extra great. I LOVE Diane Kruger on the cover, and I also LOVE Rose Byrne, who is featured in a shoot inside. The recipes look amazing and the makeup special with Katie Holmes and Bobbi Brown is great too. I love that the British Glamour (& Cosmo) are just a little bit more girly and romantic than the US ones which are a lot more into edgy trends. It is just more accessible to me. Plus they talk about Kate Middleton's style a lot! If you haven't picked one up before, this is a good one to try!
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is my favorite show. By far. When Kyle and I were first dating he bought me the full series on DVD for Christmas and I was simultaneously spoiled and overjoyed. Now that we are married we have gone through the series once and are on our second time around.
We are currently on season 4 which is my personal favorite. After a Gilmore break we started up again recently, which was much-needed. The show is so funny and witty, it cheers me up and makes me laugh. If you love Gilmore too check my Pinterest (where I often pin Gilmore clips and quotes) and my Twitter (where I live-tweet quotes from every episode as we watch them). If you are looking for a show to watch, consider this one. It is wonderful!
New Music
Thanks to various itunes money for Christmas, I have been expanding my itunes library again. Our travel playlist is up to 25 hours of music and I am discovering lots of fun new music. I love this song (above) by A Fine Frenzy. The lyrics are adorable and it just makes me smile. Listen to it here.
Snow Days
Here in the Midwest, we have had a slew of winter weather this year. In particular we had two big winter storms back to back that accumulated around 10 inches of snow. Needless to say, we didn't have school or work. So I read. Above are the 4 books I read in 4 days. The first one was pretty explicit and full of awful characters. I wouldn't have finished it had I not been so desperate to figure out the mystery. I wouldn't recommend it. The other three were really good. I am now a big fan of Sarah Addison Allen. My favorite was Garden Spells. I have one more of her books left to read, I am sure it will be good as well. Check out her website, here.
Stuff I did
I started my job at my preschool where I am now a substitute teacher! The job started out pretty tough because one of the teachers was sick for two weeks and I stepped in at that school where the class is especially difficult. Then another teacher was sick! So now, I am where I am supposed to be as a 3rd person in the classroom at a school that I really love and it is working out well. I am sure there will be occasional days where I will be a subbing again, and that is just fine with me! I am glad to be in a routine now!
Valentine's Day
This year we had a pretty laid back Valentine's Day, it was nice. Kyle surprised me with chocolates, itunes money, a new nail polish and some really cute homemade valentines with notes on the back.
Aren't they cute!?
Since he had been student teaching, I surprised him with some more snazzy teachin' clothes. Shirt and tie on the left are Kenneth Cole Reaction and bow tie on the right is Penguin brand. They look really nice on!
The Arab Shrine Circus
Every February I go to the Arab Shrine Circus in Topeka. I have been every year of my life, even when my mom was pregnant with me. My grandparents were members of the Arab Shrine, and my grandmother still is, so it was a tradition to go every year. This year was Kyle's 7th circus! Some people think the idea of a circus is strange or creepy, but for us it is just a really fun tradition that we have kept our whole lives. Plus now we get to see Olivia enjoying it so much as she gets older. I'm really happy it is a tradition that we have continued to keep. Plus I love that so much of the proceeds from Shriner's events go to their hospitals for children.
Kyle's Birthday!
For Christmas I got Kyle tickets to see MUSE in St. Louis. This worked out really well because the show was actually the weekend of his birthday! We drove down and had a great time at the concert. See the full post, here. Aside from that, I got him some clothes, athletic socks, Starbucks snacks, a new phone case and Jack White's Blunderbuss album. We celebrated on his birthday with dinner at a local brewery with his family. I think it was a pretty nice birthday year for KC. Other than that we have been shopping (check out my new scarf at the top!) and getting ready for Spring Break next week! More on Spring Break soon! :)
What have you been up to recently? What are your favorite things of early 2013? All for now, Alexandra
