Lukewarm 100

So, in case you actually have been living in a bomb shelter somewhere completely impenetrable by any type of radio waves, you would have known that the season is upon us.

Voting for Triple J's The Hottest 100  is open now guys! And every man and his dog is getting their votes in and telling the world about it. So I guess its my turn now.

I feel a bit like I'm behind on the times though. I still haven't narrowed down my Top 10 yet whilst all my friends have put up their votes and are relaxing and waiting for the big countdown. I've spent the last few weeks deliberating, and choosing and shuffling my lists around. In fewer words: stressed out! In all honesty, I am surrounded by little scraps of paper with different short lists for tracks that I've jotted down whilst at work, eating dinner, out with friends etc. It's been music central over here, my car has become a sounding board for my thoughts on what should be on my Hottest 100 list, with my passengers the official voting panel of judges. I've been desperately trying to relive and remember which songs I LOVED and which songs I kinda liked in 2015. Luckily this blog has been useful, and in my official Hottest 100 list you'll definitely see some of these songs that I've written about.

So let's talk about the songs I haven't written about.

This week's post is going to feature the songs I won't be voting for, not because they were especially bad, but just because they weren't good enough to make the cut.

So here's  my Lukewarm 100

1. Of Monsters and Men - Empire
2. Vance Joy - Red Eye
3. The Wombats - Your Body is a Weapon
4. Halsey - Hold Me Down
5. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian at Best
6. The Weeknd - Losers (feat. Labrinth)
7. Jarryd James - Do You Remember
8. Elliphant - Love Me Badder
9. Troye Sivan - EASE (feat. Broods)
10. Last Dinosaurs - Apollo

Shout out to Justin Bieber, One Direction, and all the stupid mainstream pop songs and artists that I loved this year but couldn't vote for.

And because nobody has time to listen/watch ten YouTube videos, I've made a little Spotify playlist for you to check out.

Stay tuned for Part 2 when I actually make up my mind and decide on my real Hottest 100 playlist. Until then, I hope you enjoy!


Kristen

Dreams and the pretense of study.

Yeah, it's mid-November. That time of year where students Australia-wide increase their caffeine intake and start questioning everything that they've ever done to get them to the stage that they are now. Personally, I've decided I should probably quit university and forgo my dreams of getting a degree. Instead, I'll open up my own cafe somewhere in a trendy spot in the city. I can picture it now. Exposed brick, and industrial counter tops. There will be tea cosies, and little cross-stitched signs with swear words on them. I want little cacti in teapots as center pieces on tables and a chalkboard feature wall. Something sweet and cute, but secretly punk rock.

I start designing my menu and picturing the little elements of my cafe coming together, including my potential regular customers and the conversations they would have in my cafe. At this point, I realise my exams start in approximately three days. Now, I'm not ready to let this dream to die yet, so I've started thinking about what sort of music that would be the ideal playlist to feature in my extremely trendy cafe, and then I found it, hidden within my "study" playlists (I say "study", but let's face it, I am not doing any), something emerged to the top and probably sounded exactly how I wanted my cafe to feel. Tuka's Like a Version cover of "Big Jet Plane."

There's something about Australian music that has a distinctive feel to it; it feels like long drives home and warm sun on your back. The kind of feeling that crunching through fallen Eucalyptus leaves and the smell of the ocean gives you. It feels like coming home. This song is the home I want my imaginary cafe to feel like.

Tuka 

We all know Tuka from the Thundamentals, an awesome Australian hip-hop group from just outside Sydney. Honestly, they have killed their Like a Versions in the past, so it's no surprise that this cover sounded so awesome. Tuka's smooth mixing of rap with Angus and Julia Stone's "Big Jet Plane" is something unto itself. After the other week's Allday disaster (I shan't mention it again, it's too painful), I am happy to say that Australia's hip hop game is still up there. Mixed so effortlessly with Thelma Plum's crooning vocals its gotta be one of my favourite Like a Versions of the year. I can picture it now, mid-morning  at my cafe with this song on the sound system. The smell of coffee beans, the clinking of cutlery on plates and the hum of voices as people enjoy their brunch with their loved ones.

Ah well. It'll be a dream I'll cherish long into the future. But for now, back to pretending to study.

Cheers folks!

Good luck with your studies (or lack there of)!

xx Kristen

Florence and the Machine: What Love Feels Like

Okay, so this is a bit of a different post today. I'm going to get personal, I'm going to get emotional, and just a bit sappy. This post had to be made, though. I couldn't ignore this one and save it for another week. I'll ask for forgiveness in advance, because I know this is going to cause a lot of cringing and eye rolling. If we can get through it, let me tell you I have a lot of fun stuff hanging out in my queue, just hold on. It'll be over soon. To start off with, I'm going to ask you a question.

Do you believe in soul? 

Well, another question if you do: Have you ever felt like the your soul rise? Like some great crescendo of spirit rising from within and with an exhale just being released into the sky? You feel your heart lifting and your ribs expanding and there's like this warmth rising from within. Soon like you're tingly all over and its like this calmness descends.

I think it's such a weird sensation, there's very few experiences in life that make you feel that way.

Perhaps falling in love, or the first time you see snow, or maybe even seeing a baby being born. Soulful moments, heart wrenching moments, moments in your life where nothing matters but what is occurring before you. These moments drag you out of the past and the future, and push you into the present.

Music makes me feel that way. Some songs in particular, they just strike this weird heart chord with me that reaches within and twists and turns and just stops me in my tracks. That's why I find it so hard to listen to music and talk to people, because every now and then I'll hear a song and I have to stop, and I have to listen.

For this reason, I never listen to Florence and the Machine unless I know I can give my full attention to Florence Welch and her band. This is because to me, her music feels like love and her lyrics feel like heaven; there are no other musicians I have ever listened to who have caught my soul in such a manner.

A bit dramatic. But I digress.

When Florence and the Machine's "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" world tour named Perth as their first Australian tour location it was a given. I had to go. It was non-negotiable. Exams be damned, I missed seeing her last time, I couldn't let that happen again. This woman with the flame red hair and soft, whispering voice understood me more than any human on the planet. Her music wasn't just "relatable", no, Florence and the Machine pretty much summed up everything I couldn't say, all my thoughts, all my dreams, all the things I had been feeling for the last five years and laid it bare through the power of song. So I did it, I bought my tickets and the date was set. The 7th of November inched it's way along through the year, and finally. Yesterday, it happened. I saw my Queen. I saw the only woman on the planet who understood me, and it was euphoric.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

I think I've talked about teenage crushes before. But Florence isn't just a crush for me, you see, it's pure love. I know nothing about her background or who she is as a person. To be honest, I couldn't care less. She could be wearing a sequinned, spandex, morph suit and it wouldn't even matter to me. All I know is her music, and all I know of that music is that there's something about it - whether it's the lyrics or the beats of the drums that resonates in my core.

Florence tells stories in her music; about her life, her emotions, her past. The years have passed and the stories have changed. From Lungs, to Ceremonials, and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful the theme has changed, the songs have changed, but, the words still ring true. She opened with What the Water Gave Me (which caused my sister and I to grasp each other in awe, we have been singing that song in the lead up to the concert non-stop, almost psychic there). From then the music kept flowing, she reached out and sang every song we knew, every lyric that fell from her lips were echoed on ours. We were spell bound and dizzy from her voice echoing within us.

Entranced, even from the nosebleed section.

Some artists are pretty hit and miss with how they sound on the album and how they sound in live performance. Not Florence and the Machine. This band was MEANT to be heard live. Florence's voice was powerful, stunning, and non-wavering throughout the whole performance. It was stronger in performance, there was passion and fire there that you can't hear on the album. Faultless. She pirouetted, danced, ran and jumped. Her voice remained strong, pure, and perfect. The audience was spellbound, when Florence began to sing, there was silence - soon everyone would start singing with her. Our hands raised in the air, and our bodies swaying. We had nosebleed seats, yet we danced and sung like she was no more than a few meters in front of us. How could we not? I think what made it was Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up) Florence took a lap of the audience. She stopped to embrace her adoring fans, raising their hands up to her. It was unbelievable. Without skipping a beat, she was singing, she was perfect. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful featured in the middle, inspired from the place with the "biggest, bluest skies I've ever seen". She reached into the audience, a roar erupted from the crowd. If she didn't have us before, she had us then. You could see the hands reaching from the audience, you could see them absorbing every single word she spoke like it was a drink of the coolest, clearest water. We were silent when Florence spoke, we erupted with joy when she sang.

The most beautiful moment, however, was towards the end. Florence and The Machine exited the stage for a small break. Soon, the whole audience were holding their phones out. A sea of twinkling lights. In the dark it was like looking at the night sky. Just magical.

Twinkling stars

I think last night cemented something in my mind that I'd been feeling for years and years. I was allowed to let music be something more than what I hear on the radio; I was allowed to let the music wash over me and make me feel the happiest I had felt in years. I danced like an idiot. I sang even louder. Heading into work with a husky post-concert voice was worth it. Last night was incredible.

Thank you SO much Florence and the Machine. That was the most amazing performance I have ever witnessed. The music on the albums I have owned for all those many, many years will mean so much more now. The songs have life now. Definitely one of the greatest highlights of my year.



 x Kristen

*Beautiful photography provided by my considerate younger sister, I was too enamored to take any*

What the Funk?!

So, just in case you haven't been tuned into Keeping Up With Kristen's ridiculous music taste for a while you may have missed that huge funk obsession I went through earlier this year with Jungle. I thought it was over, I thought I had moved onto bigger and better things. But give me a slap bass line and I can feel The Funk rising up again.

So when Triple J and world renowned bae, Chet Faker, released his new funky single a last week in collaboration with London producer Marcus Marr I just about lost the effing plot.

*insert fangirl squealing here*

Unless you've been living under a rock over 2014, you no doubt would have heard of Chet's soulful style. The velvety rumblings of his vocal chords had entranced the entire nation and our hero took out the top of Triple J's Hottest 100 for 'Talk is Cheap' earlier this year. Well ladies and gentlemen, he's back.

Faker (actual name Nick Murphy) announced earlier this month that he was to release a new collaborative EP some time in December. This short and sweet four track EP is called Work and is going to be the resulting love child of a long musical crush between these two musical masterminds. The newly released track Trouble With Us has set my head into a tizzy, and I'm telling you now. You HAVE to hear it. It's so unlike anything that Chet Faker has produced before, this fun, upbeat, funky track has pretty much slap bassed all over my heart strings.

It starts of so simply, the track's sound is very clean and fresh. When you hit that chorus you're bopping already. It's a nice build up and release of a crescendo of funk. I think what I love the most about it is that it's so easy to sing along to, as well as the fact its so completely different to everything we've heard from Chet Faker's studio album Built on Glass. At the same time, I love when a musician shows us this kind of range. I mean, it still sounds like Chet Faker -  it is his distinctive vocal velvetiness that I'm fawning over, but Marcus Marr's sweet, sweet, bass line almost shows us a different side of what collaboration could mean. It's like when artists do covers and mess around with different types and styles of songs; we learn that they're more than just pretty faces, these guys have talent. What the best thing about it is, it's such a fun track, I love dance driving to this one, and I'm sure the people at the traffic lights appreciate my sick moves too.

So, if you see me around bopping to an unknown beat, be assured, this song is exactly what's been on my mind. Check it out, tell me what you think.

For more information and tour dates, check out the Triple J website.



Kristen

Oh Lordey!

I think I'm getting to that stage now where I find it really strange to see younger people everywhere becoming more successful than I ever could be. For a long time, people younger than me were children, mere babes freshly out of the womb and exploring the world with wide eyed curiosity and lack of fine motor skills. Child prodigies aside, it's been weird over the last few years noticing kids that seem hardly out of diapers doing fantastic things.

Lorde is one of those said toddlers out on the rise, creating some amazing, unique music, and to be honest, I'm really jealous, but really proud as well. Who says our generation is full of talent-less hacks? They're wrong. We've got oodles of talent, and I'm quite content saying that someone younger than me is more talented when that person is Lorde.

Oh Lorde

Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (Lorde for short) is only a year younger than me, and if I'm perfectly honest she is going to reach heights that I will never even closely accomplish. The talented Kiwi songstress is only 18, yet for the last few years her songs have topped charts globally and dominated my playlists. Her latest collaboration with the electronic duo Disclosure has been on my mind and my lips for the last few weeks.

Magnets by Disclosure featuring Lorde has been a real hit all over the airwaves since it's release. Despite the backlash coming from the music video depicting some mature scenes, I feel like this is the next best step for Lorde, she's growing up - why can't her music grow up too?

I love this song, and the music video. There's something magical about it. Plus, it contains some saucy video footage of Iddo Goldberg, my big crush from the Secret Diary of a Call Girl days. Regardless, I find the musical integrity of Lorde's unique style is never compromised in this particular track. The lyricism and the soulful purring that is the sound of her voice makes this sound like it's a Lorde track, not a Disclosure track. The only tell-tale sign of a collaboration is the electronic beat, and some of the repetitiveness. Although, to make any song popular in mainstream media, you're going to have to employ both those elements to reach that wide audience. Despite this, my favourite lyric so far has been the "pretty girls don't know the things that I know", that coupled with Ella's kooky dance style in the music video has endeared me to this song wholly.

I love Lorde for many reasons, for one, her hair is very similar to mine! I do admit, I've felt really quite inspired and have been leaving my thick, wavy, locks out in all their frizzy and voluminous glory as a sort of homage to Ella. She's young, she's talented, and to be honest, she is definitely our next "it" girl. All eyes are on Lorde now, she's definitely going to be creating many waves with her beautiful music over the next few years. I'm quite excited for what the future brings.


xx Kristen

Crushing Hard

I think for most of us who were teenage girls, we fondly remember that celebrity crush that we went crazy for. It's just a part of growing up. Like you see those tweens with their crushes on Justin Bieber or One Direction, it's something to be expected. Your heart beat quickens when you hear one of their songs, you get a massive grin spreading across your face when you watch a music video.

For me, it was Jesse McCartney with Beautiful Soul. I still belt that song out every moment I hear it on the radio.

But now, as I get older, I rarely feel that oom-pah-pah in my heart about any music. You know that feeling? The one that makes your soul feel like its flying out of your body or that grin that slowly spreads and fills your body with warm happiness.

Well, that was until I laid my ears on Vance Joy.

Look at that face! Who wouldn't be in love with this total babe?

His 2014 album Dream Your Life Away has been the soundtrack for the past year of my life. What can I say, I'm crushing. Hard.

Basically, if you haven't heard the album yet or want a taster of what it feels like to fall in love, check out this song. It's my current favourite.

Although, to be completely honest, I discover a new favourite song from the album each week. There's something about the lyricism and  the shakiness in his voice in some of the lines that just gives me shivers every single time. I feel as though he sings to your soul, they're love songs all of them, and for some reason I feel like he's singing them to me.

He's also a complete babe, if you haven't seen his music video for "Fire and the Flood", what have you been doing?  All those dreamy stares down the barrel of the camera.... ah, my love.

As far as teenage heart throbs go, you wouldn't be hard pressed to find me pining over this guy had he been around and popular 5 years ago, holy moly, I'd have pined so hard.

Vance Joy is a gift to girls everywhere, and his music is a gift to the soul. If  you've watched these videos I'm 100% sure that you'd agree with me.

As far as heart throbs go? What's been pulling on your heart strings as of late? What music has been giving you that oomph that only a realllyy good song can?


Lots of love,

Kristen

T-Shirt Weather and Sunshiney Tracks

Hello warm weather lovers,

Well, those of us graced with living in the southern hemisphere are probably ready to peel the warm jumpers and jeans off our frozen bodies and thaw out with the spring sun. It's time to revamp, time to recuperate, and time to embrace the spring sun.

Well, why don't we do that with our music as well?

I find as the weather gets warmer I like to listen to songs that remind me of long summer drives and kicking back in the sunshine. I do a seasonal spring clean of my playlist as much as I do with my wardrobe, so here's a small playlist of songs that I'm bringing in to bring some sun into my life.

T-Shirt Weather by Circa Waves

Here's a fun little track that I've been loving recently. It's long summer car road trips to me, in all their burning glory.  They're a British indie-rock band formed in Liverpool. Their debut album was released earlier this year in titled "Young Chasers". Definitely check it out, it's got that youthful British indie sound that we all know and love. Keep an eye out for these guys, people riding in my car will definitely hear a lot of Circa Waves over the next few months.


Rock It by Little Red

An oldy, but a goody. Rock It is a classic summer song that has been played many a time when I am craving sunshine and lazy afternoons. This song has been on my summer playlists for years, it's a boppy track that helps me keep the warmth in my heart when it's looks nice outside, but it's almost as though the weather needs a little pick me up track to get the heat going. This is the sun's pump up track, I'm sure. We all know Little Red; the Melbourne band rose to the Triple J fame in 2010. Unfortunately for us, Little Red split up three years ago. Doesn't stop this song keeping the warmth in my life during the winter-spring transition.

Bullit by Watermät

Okay, so you know those songs that you hear everywhere but never really know who sung them or what their names were? This song was one of those for me until I found it again a few weeks ago. HOLY MOLY. Summer anthem much? This song was so big a few years ago, and I think everyone knows why. It helps you forget that winter is a season that exists. Endless summer in my ears. Forever. Basically, just proving that the French do everything right when it comes to electronic music, producer and artist in every sense of the word Watermät (or Laurent Arriau) brings summer vibes that pretty much ruled all the music charts in 2014. Love it. Bring on summer.

Hope you are showing a little more skin and embracing the changing seasons!

Keep it real,

Kristen

#ThrowbackThursday - Spotify and Dream Indie Pop

Hello friendos,

I'm back in the world of listening to music! I used to say I don't really have time to enjoy music anymore, but I've just discovered "Spotify Premium" (Not a sponsor, this is out of the expense of my own wallet *sob*). Which is fantastic really, I have all this music at my fingertips and I really can listen to as many songs as I want without all the hassle of transferring onto my various devices or using the dreaded iTunes rigmarole of buying each song I want individually. The Premium feature really is just an added bonus I've decided to fork out for because I a) have limited data on my mobile devices and b) I HATE advertisements.

The only downside, I've discovered, is that if I want to listen to T Swizzle's 1989 I have to load it up from my CD. Oh well, it's totally worth it for the ease. I think as I've gotten older I've just given into paying for convenience, rather than slogging it out like I did in my youth to save a few cents. For example, I drive now (hence my Spotify Premium comes in handy), but whereas I'd take the bus everywhere and save myself like 40c (+ the daily cost of fuel) and get some much needed fresh air and exercise walking from stop to stop. I now pay a little extra out of my own pocket just so I don't have to deal with the patrons of public transport. Fellow citizens, comrades in arms, but the enemy when considering I could spend the the 20 minute commute in solitude with my rad tunes blaring out to the loudest possible volume my speaker system can handle.

So, in this vein, I'd like to Throwback to this awesome little song from 2011 that reminded me of those peaceful summer days of bus riding and lazy afternoon walks home.

Jona Vark by Gypsy and the Cat

Mmm this song is so sweet. Sounds like something like a mix between Fleetwood Mac and Icehouse, with a simultaneous MGMT feel. I remember belting this sweet tune out in car rides and when dancing alone in my room. In fact, I still do. Gypsy and the Cat are an Australian band made up by Melbourne boys, Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers. This is a reaaaal sweet sounding track with some of that dream indie pop that I crave whenever I'm feeling down. I generally like most of Gypsy and the Cat's music and I encourage you to check out their album Gilgamesh (on Spotify or iTunes, whatever you like really :P). 

Anyway, that's all for today,

Lots of love,

Kristen

A Going Away Playlist

Well, I mean, I'm not going for good.

I'm on vacation for the next month or so, so  I thought I'd send myself off with a fun little playlist of the 5 top songs I have been listening to non stop in the lead up to this adventure. (Now, don't judge me... these songs are so catchy and dance-y, you can't help but absolutely get into a nice groove and dance yourself on holiday)

So, in no particular order, here's 5 of my favourite songs for my summer European get-away.

Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon

This one is really catchy, reminds me of a modern take on 80s pop. I love this one, it's probably one you're going to hear on radios everywhere right about now. I think its such a cute little song, and the music video is pretty cute too. The dance moves are rocking and the hairstyles need work, but I mean, that's pretty much my life story so I guess that resonates with me the most. 

Papaoutai by Stromae

Oh man, this is a powerful one. I don't speak French in the slightest but the music video speaks for itself. There's no denying that Stromae is a musical genius, take a look at Tous Les Mêmes. His music videos are always super on point too. The musicality is genius, but also the pain behind the song speaks across the boundaries of language.  I feel as though my words cannot even do this song justice. Just know that I have it playing on repeat. Although I do like Tous Les Mêmes, Papaoutai is my favourite one of his songs.

Magic by San Cisco

A bit lighter, something that I find quite enjoyable and fun. Mainly because I have a thing for cheesy horror props and cute love stories. The song itself has a catchiness about it that I can't deny, however, the music video sold it for me. This one was won out purely because of Nosferatu driving the Lamborghini and moon walking. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the kind of kitsch that San Cisco is putting out these days.

Pray To God by Calvin Harris, featuring HAIM

Okay, this one was won out despite the kick ass music video. I am officially a HAIM fangirl. Paired in with my love of electropop, come on, how was I going to leave this song out? Okay, so it's a bit old now, but as per usual, I have just discovered it. Non-stop music for working out. I feel like I can kick serious butt when listening to this song, it's really empowering. Lets be honest though, most HAIM songs make me feel that way, I don't know why the addition of Calvin Harris made this one any different.

Ship to Wreck by Florence + The Machine

Okay, I'm a bit torn about this one. The same level of feeling that Ceremonials had somehow cannot be matched by Florence's current album. Ceremonials had something in it... a deep melodic soulfulness that reminded me of prayer. However, this song comes close to capturing the essence I felt before. I will probably never be able to fall in love with this song the way I fell in love with the whole of Ceremonials, but damn, I think I'm close. This song is one for the repeat, until I know how I properly feel about it. 

Well, I guess that's about it. This and a whole lot of Fleetwood Mac, but I'm sure those of you who know me well enough know that I could probably dedicate a whole blog to The Mac. They are love, they are life. Now to work out whether or not I want to spend the upwards of $200 to go see them in concert. Decisions... decisions....

In the mean time, I'll be on vacation!

I hope you all stay safe and have a great next few weeks of break.

I'll see you when I get back :)

If you would like to keep up with my travels, my travel blog can be found here. I hope to be updating it daily, and when I can't, there is always my Instagram and my Twitter that you can keep up with.

Lots of love,

Kristen

Blog Diversion... For Now

Sorry for the lack of updates friendos.

Have been working on another blog for an assignment. You can check it out here and raise my page views and leave comments if you'd like!

https://televisionbroad.wordpress.com/

Sorry about the delay in blogging!

Hopefully I'll be able to update soon :)

Kristen

Boom! Dynamite!

Hello friendos,

Sorry about the delay. I've hit a wall in terms of course work and life stuff. Unfortunately that means weeks and weeks without some musical enlightenment from yours truly. Usually, when I'm busy like that I don't listen to a lot of music, I get distracted very easily so I tend to sit solemnly in silence with my headphones on, keeping my ears warm. I look studious and tuned in, really, I'm just counting the seconds till I can find something to distract me. So, inevitably, I have returned to you, humble blog. The mountain of assignments and commitments are piling up. So, let's talk music.

My taste in music is very similar to that of a 40-50 year old. I'm not trying to be pretentious, contrary to popular belief, I just know all the words to ABBA. It's the music that I've grown up with and love. Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Duran Duran, and Crowded House always tend to find their way into my head and stay there. Tie in some 80s techno pop and you've pretty much got a whole snapshot of my playlists at any given time. However, when  I find a song that I feel matches up with that level of catchy-ness, I'm more than happy to add it to that playlist. That is totally how I feel about this week's song. It is such a lovely song from some really humble roots. I honestly wish this song was less underground. It's totally dynamite!

Dynamite (feat. Allday) by Asta

Seriously, Asta is such a dynamite gal. She was the winner of Triple J Unearthed High in 2012, so she's still pretty young, but fantastically talented. In this song she teams up with Allday and brings you one of the grooviest songs of the year. I'll be seriously disappointed if this one doesn't make it onto the Hottest 100 this year. The song is powered by some awesome notes. However, we're let down by Allday. Seriously man, we give you an inch and you take a mile. His verses fall flat and seem a bit disinterested, I think it's all the hype surrounding him getting to his head. I'm not going to go into any more of my Allday bias, however, Asta totally kills it. Who needs Allday anyway, I wanted some more verses from our young, talented songstress. Her vocals are so on point. It's a really simple song and sounds fantastic in acoustic. Not too flashy, yet still a catchy earworm that will have you hooked. It's only got 67,000 views on Youtube at the moment, which is  darn shame. This girl needs more attention! She's fantastic!

I'm giving this one 7.5 "Boom!"s out of 10.

Lots of love,

Prospector Kristen

Holy 80s Throwback Batman!

Hello everyone!

Delayed blog post, so very sorry for all two of you that read it. You know who you are.

This week a lot of my time has been spent watching The Sopranos and toying at the idea of productivity. A lot of toying with the idea, believe me.
In coming weeks, I will predict several states of meltdown and some scattered crying sessions. But in the mean time, let's talk about the music. Which is what we are here for, after all.

This week, I struggled to find songs to review (in truth I was half way through Season 1 of The Sopranos and totally forgot I had to post a blog), so I'll be reviewing something that was recommended to me by a friend.

Certain musical genres have stood the test of time, you find them evolving and changing throughout the eras, but they have more or less stayed put as popular genres with characteristics known by all. Rap music, Pop music, Rock music all have characteristic sounds and feels. So when I heard this song, I pretty much was zapped right through a time machine to an era of 80s cop shows set in Miami (a genre unto itself, believe me).

Alfonso Muskedunder by Todd Terje

Honestly, I thought music like this had died out like handlebar mustaches and grown men wearing those tiny, tight shorts. Thankfully Todd Terje is bringing back all of the nostalgia, but none of the mental scarring.

The song is a nice eclectic mix of modern electronic beats and that classic television show theme music that we all know and love. It's got a real classic feel to it, that bass line throws back to all sorts of coolness and vintage suave. My experience of this song was sitting in a vintage convertible, driving around the streets of Miami and looking off into the distance dramatically every now and then to get some good focus pulls. I am a Miami Cop. I do have a handlebar mustache and aviators in this vision. 

Although, I'm probably to weak and tiny to take down any bad guys, I feel as though Todd Terje really succeeds in making me feel like I could. This is the theme song for my non-existent career in law enforcement.  Time to change my name to Alfonso Muskedunder and practice sliding over the bonnets of cars. This one is definitely making it on my driving playlist.

8 "Doughnuts and coffees to go" out of 10

Love,

Alfonso Muskedunder; Miami P.D.

"The Music of the Future": A trip down memory lane with some funky new beats.

Hello my darlings!

Welcome to another week, and another review.

Over the past few years, since the whole hipster "movement" sprung up into this weird subculture of arts, music and fashion. There has definitely been a shift in definition of what we consider hipster.

Well obviously, there's the tartan,the beards, the non showering,  and the frames without glasses. But we see new things coming in trend- minimalism, stockings with faces of cats on them, socks with frills, chia seeds... the list goes on and on and on.
Unfortunately, as a cat, sock, and seed enthusiast, this has really cut in on my street cred and wallet (curse you hipsters with your abundance of disposable income and cute fashion! *shakes fist in anger*). However, I will maintain that my room probably belongs on a reality tv show about hoarding. It's really getting quite bad; I collect too many nick-nacks. Minimalism will never be a thing with me.

In the same way, we see music change. First it was banjos, then experimental noise and base drops... where the future will take us, we can only imagine.
That's why, today, I'd like us to look into the future and try and figure out what will come next in hipster music. We're looking at:

Way I'm Lovin' You by Klue

Klue: Is this what the future of indie music sounds like??

What is surprising me now-a-days is the influence of old school funk into new school indie music. The Way I'm Lovin' this song is intense.  I actually quite dig this catchy tune.(Damn, does this mean I'm turning into one of them?!) It's got a glitchy sense to it, it's repetitive and staccato, with a strong flavor of soul. Reminiscent of Jungle and Rudimentals' use of funky beats in their electronic music with a more techno vibe. I feel like a middle aged woman revived. Not only am I able to listen to something that sounds like the music from yester-year, it's mixed with some sick DJing skills that keeps me feeling young and spritely.

This is some hip music of the future, I know it, I'd keep my eyes and ears out for more funk and blues in indie music in the future. This will definitely be the next big thing.


7.5 "Asking a hip youngster for technological help"s out of 10


Lots of love,

Kristen

Guess who's back....

Back again.. Kristen's back, tell your friends.

Yes, well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, surprise!

I'm not dead!

Well, the blog kinda was. But it's back now!

My brief foray into proper blogging and writing about things that mattered has finished, Anti-Hipster is back! Hello procrastination, hello lack of sleep, hello hipster fan girls hoping that they had seen the last of me.

And best of all, hello music.

Too long have I suffered in silence, with nothing and nobody to complain about... too long have I suffered with the blight of mainstream music tarnishing my reputation.

Yes, I do have a Taylor Swift album. No, I don't know how that happened.

Although, despite the fact that the catchy ear worm mainstream pop will always have a soft spot in my heart (my ears?), underground, undiscovered, independent music is where my loyalty will always lie.

So without further ado, I shall retune my brain and bring you a review of some interesting new music that you probably haven't heard before.... I give to you...

Bad Websites by Flower Drums

Flower Drums; will we ever be able to understand them? Do they want to be understood?

Perth band Flower Drums weaves an intricate mix of electronic pop and soft moaning (they might be lyrics, but who knows with these bands?) in their new song Bad Websites.

My favourite part about these reviews is the fact that I do little to no research about the lyrics and the band's demographic. Which makes complete sense for Flower Drums, because let's face it- if you're going to mumble and softly moan, nobody is going to understand the lyrics anyway. Lots of respect to the folks at A-Z Lyrics, you guys are national treasures.

So, what did I think of this song?

It's catchy hook and synth beats keep me coming back for more, and I'll keep on listening to it until I finally understand what these four mumblers are trying to say.

Like a hard-of-hearing octogenarian I strain closer to try and figure out what the lyrics mean. Before I know it, the song has finished playing and I'm still squinting and tilting my head slightly thinking that the ambient whir of my laptop is a bomb-ass lyric.

I won't say that this is the anthemic song of the generation of mumblers and soft spoken whisperers that squeak sometimes if you give them a good scare. But it sure comes close.

I'll probably listen to it in the car, or when I'm on the bus.

But much like those poor, quiet, sods, I probably won't ever remember the song long enough to get it stuck in my head and remember it's name.

Anyway, I'm going to give this

7 Squeak Up!s out of 10.


Lots of love,

Kristen