Playlist #9: Q3 + Q4 Shows

2011 is almost upon us. A look back at some of the shows I went to in the second half of 2010. Image is from the New Pornographers at Rams Head Live.



been to any good shows lately?
got any good shows coming up in 2011?

Daisy by Fang Island

Heart Swells / 100-1 by Los Campesinos!

Silver Jenny Dollar by The New Pornographers

Janglin' by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Ice Melts by Matt & Kim

5-4=Unity by Pavement

Too Dramatic by Ra Ra Riot

Giving Up The Gun by Vampire Weekend

10 Mile Stereo by Beach House

Bhang Bhang, I'm A Burnout by Dum Dum Girls

Money Honey by Lady GaGa

We Used to Wait by Arcade Fire

happy hanukkah to all my chosen (and non-chosen) peeps

confession: i am an amazon fangirl. i definitely drink the kool-aid... it's my go-to online source for pretty much everything (and they really do have basically everything). it's really easy to meet the $25 minimum for free shipping, prices are almost always the cheapest around, and customer service is excellent.

i'm very particular about customer service, so that's a huge compliment coming from moi.
i'm especially fond of the "universal wishlist", which allows you to add items from basically any website to your amazon wishlist with a handy browser button. and i've become a little too fond of adding things to the wish list. it's so damn easy!

since the holidays are upon us, here's a sampling of some gifts on the wish list. feel free to send me any of them ;)

(store names in parenthesis denotes item is on a non-amazon website)

• Opteka Fish Eye lens
• Dolce & Gabanna Rose the One (Nordstrom)
  
• Conair Infitity You Curl
• Ray-Ban Clubmaster II (Ray-Ban)
• Alexander McQueen Faithful De-Manta large tote (Net-a-Porter)
• NOOKcolor (Barnes & Noble)

Do you use the Amazon wish list?
What's on your wish list?

There are only six nights of hanukkah left. GET SHOPPING, PEOPLES!

[to find anyone's amazon wishlist -just search for their name or email address]

Playlist #8: Guiltiest Pleasures

my most embarrassing, guilty tunes; every single one is currently in my active iTunes library. honestly, i'm frightened to post this. image is from the lady gaga concert i went to in september with tiff!



what are some of your favorite guilty pleasures?
what's your absolute guiltiest?

Blow by Ke$ha
Haunted by Taylor Swift
Fearless by Taylow Swift
Alejandro by Lady Gaga
Monster by Lady Gaga
Can't be Tamed by Miley Cyrus
Bed Intruder Song by Antoine Dodson/The Gregory Brothers
Invisible by Ashlee Simpson
Hotel Roosevelt by Augustana
3 by Britney Spears
Half of my Heart (feat. Taylor Swift) by John Mayer
Rumors by Lindsay Lohan
4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake) by Madonna
Obsessed (remix feat. Gucci Mane) by Mariah Carey
Curve of the Earth by Matt Nathanson
Find by Way Back by Michelle Branch
Spiderwebs by No Doubt
E-Talking by Soulwax
Kick Drum Heart by the Avett Brothers
Motorcycle Drive-by by Third Eye Blind
Crowing by Toad the Wet Sproket

The worlds collide, but all that we want is a Shady Lane (or a Merriweather Post Pavillion)

Saturday was the annual Virgin Mobile FreeFest... without boring you to absolute death with details, let's skip straight to the highlights (and lowlights):

Best overall set: LCD Soundsystem



with the awesome dance-party energy, seizure-ific light show and enormous disco ball, LCD easily had the strongest set of the night. Despite being absolutely exhausted, I was completely compelled to dance.

Biggest surprise: Matt & Kim



Ben & I have seen Matt & Kim twice before, in the tiny club room at Sonar and Ottobar. we had pretty low expectations considering that the pavillion at MPP is about 1000x larger. plus they're all mainstream (read:lame) now, right?

WRONG. these kids got a new-found swagger. they were crowd surfing, climbing on their instruments, starting sing-alongs to old school tunes.... it was an all-around good time. plus there were balloons involved. who doesn't like balloons? i was smiling and dancing through the whole set.

Reason I'm most glad I went to VFest: Pavement



Pavement are icons of indie music. their influence is obvious in many new albums/artists, and their albums have reached truly classic status. AND, they've been broken up for the last 10+/- years, so i was beyond ecstatic that they were re-united and touring. a chance to see these guys is pretty fucking special. they were really great and made me an even bigger fan. there probably won't be too many more opportunities to see them live in the future.

Biggest disappointment: the crowd at Neon Indian



Let me start by saying that this is NOT Neon Indian's fault. they were great, just like when i saw them at Sonar. but the crowd in the dance forest SUCKED. it was a bunch of douchey-looking bros standing around, smoking cigarettes. i tried dancing through the crowd and getting them pumped, but i'm pretty sure i just made an ass of myself. apparently everyone at VFest was too cool to dance to Neon Indian.

Dear Neon Indian,
I swear that not all marylanders are that fucking lame. We had a good time at Sonar, didn't we?
Love,
ML






All in all, a pretty successful day of live music.

Playlist #7: Recent Aquisitions

Picked up some good stuff recently; it's time to share.

Image is from Ra Ra Riot's in-store performance at the SoundGarden celebrating their latest album release.

What are some new tunes you've picked up recently?
What albums are you most looking forward to?

Drumming Song by Florence + The Machine
I Can't Dance by Genesis
Couture Suicide by Japandroids
Lips 'n' Stuff by Les Savy Fav
Too Dramatic by Ra Ra Riot
Blue as Your Blood by the Walkmen
Heroes (David Bowie cover) by Peter Gabriel
Monster (Mix 4) by Kayne West

http://8tracks.com/mlalexis/recent-aquisitions

One Night in Canton (Ohio)

Over the weekend, Ben & I drove out to Canton, Ohio for my co-worker Andrea's wedding. The 6 hour drives (Saturday + Sunday) could have been worse - the Pennsylvania mountains out that way are just gorgeous. It was a really short weekend but so worth it. It was great to be there for the wedding and the reception was realllllly fun. Baltimore kept the party going 'til 2am. We shut that place down.


Ben & I


All the UA girls!

One Huge, Expensive Show; One Tiny, Free Show

This was a very musical few days!

After Gaga on Tuesday, Ben and I went with our friends Mike and Whitney to see the Dum Dum Girls, Beach House and Vampire Weekend at Merriweather Post Pavillion on Saturday.

It was a really fun show. My second time seeing DDG and BH, my first seeing VW. The energy was way up and the crows was really into it. Lot of dancing in our seats of course!

I'll be the first to admit that Vampy Weeks is not the greatest live band ever - but - it was definitely worth it to see them since the two openers are among my recent favorites. There are definitely people who are MUCH biggers fans of Vampire Weekend than myself.

Pictures!


Dum Dum Girls

Beach House (lots of Victoria LeGrand hair swooping of course)


Vampire Weekend


Love those chandeliers.

Last night, Ben and I went over to the SoundGarden in Fell's (amazing indie music/movie shop) to see Ra Ra Riot for a live in-store. SO. GOOD.


Tiny widdle stage


I got a pic with Wes of RRR and Discovery.

And the whole band signed my LP...that's a framer.

Little Monsters, You Were Born This Way

Last night Tiff and I went to the very long-awaited Lady Gaga Monster Ball concert in DC! Of course it was absolutely incredible - but in my mind, Gaga can do no wrong!

Making Gaga-inspired outfits was very neccessary - when you go Gaga, you go hard. It took a lot of crafting + sewing but we looked FUCKING AWESOME, in my humble opinion.


We are SO ferosh.


My inspiration: Lady Gaga + Clark Kent


Flaming piano was badass, and Gaga was ROCKING the ballads. Her voice was definitely on point last night.


The outfit was incredible. It was motorized, and would GROW throughout the song.
Reminded me a lot of Hussein Chalayan's Spring 2007 transforming dresses collection

Playlist #6: Hip Hop Moment

I'm going through a hip-hop phase, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's Kayne's weekly track drops, or trying to power through work at the office, or just because hip-hop is awesome.

Image is a screenshot of Wale & Gaga from the video for Chillin'. Two of my favorite artists on one track, perfection.

What genre are you really into right now, at this very moment, as you read this?
What are some of your favorite hip-hip collabs?

Ecstacy vs. Lollipop by JJ x Weezy
Soundtrack 2 My Life by Kid Cudi
Pressure feat. Jay-Z by Lupe Fiasco
Chillin feat. Lady Gaga by Wale
Bulletproof (remix) by Major Lazer x La Roux
Tangerine feat. T.I. and Khujo Goodie by Big Boi
Hold the Line feat. Mr. Lex Santigold by Major Lazer
Power (remix) by Kayne West
ChamPain by CeeLo Green

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Hilton Head was excellent!

Lots of beach time + lazy reading + pool swimming + eating + family time.

With some fabulous bonuses: a fantastic mani-pedi at Faces, Pirate themed mini-golf, massage at the Westin Heavenly spa, indulgent shopping splurges at Porcupine.

I definitely did not want to leave, especially with an 11 hour drive back on Sunday. But we survived. And its nice to be back home in Charm City.


Ben's mom took this on her iPhone... pretty good quality for a cell phone camera, eh?


As usual, Ben successfully ruined every picture that I took of him.

Did you go on any vacations this summer?

Semi-Related: do you have any good book recommendations?
I ask because I read two very good books while I was in HHI, and would like to continue that streak ;)

• War by Sebastian Junger
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain