it's so weird...

i remember when i first started to really get into music. and what i mean by this, is when i actually started building up my "taste". i had favorite bands, singers/groups i didn't like, groups that i thought were overrated, etc. this all came about around the age of 13 or so. the year 2003 was when the indie rock/emo genre of music became the only cool genre to listen to (for the white kids at least). my group of friends back in grammar school (more specifically in this frame of time) were really info rock and thought that other genres weren't "real" music and made fun of anything that wasn't dashboard confessional or death cab for cutie.

since they were my friends and i didn't want to be too left out, i started listening to similar music. of course i had to be different and listen to further seems forever instead of dashboard confessional and anberlin instead of franz ferdinand, but i could still join in on their choruses of "hip hop sucks" and "avril is such a poser". i used to say, "see, rock is so original, they use real instruments, you need to have talent, etc. etc."

but then i grew up. and realized that not everyone who has an acoustic guitar in their hand was automatically talented and "original".

with influence from my cousins (especially my older cousin david), i began to spread my musical horizons and be free from the "i'm-wearing-my-heart-on-my-sleeve-girl-i-loved-you" rut i was stuck in for 3 years. at the age of 16, i began to actually admit to others that i like music of almost all genres. at times that would hurt me socially, as high school students tend to socialize with others who listen to the same music as them. however, i had friends still, but we had a bond not based on music (thank God).

i began to get into hip-hop more. i wasn't ashamed to say that i liked it either. it brought me back to the days where i would be in the alley with my father, "helping" him wash his car and hip hop would be blasting from the speakers, with the radio locked to WGCI.

with my use of the internet, i was exposed to all artists, and i was on the hunt for some decent christian hip hop (i was restricted to non-secular music when i was younger), but it was hard to find. usually it was too cheesy (i.e. "JESUS IS MY HOMEY, HE'S WITH ME ALL THE TIME, YO") or the beats were just not good, or complete copies of secular artists (i.e. a song with the same beat as 50 cent's "In Da Club", but called instead, "In Da Church").

one day i found holy culture radio, and i fell in love. their podcasts were full of artists that knew what they were doing. and this is where i found this dude, braille.

the first song i heard by braille was "keep on" from his first album, Shades of Gray. his flow was sick, the lyrics were real, the production was awesome. i didn't feel like i was listening to some carbon copy "christian edition" of a secular artist. in fact, i didn't feel like i was listening to a christian artist at all. braille, like i previously mentioned, is real with his lyrics, but he isn't overly preachy and offputting (i.e. telling non-christians that they're going to BURN IN HELLLLLLL!, etc).

so i will leave you with two songs by him and another from lightheaded, the group he's a part of (consisting of him, ohmega watts, and othello), and his myspace. check him out; you won't regret it.

braille - the IV
braille - keep on
several previews of songs from lightheaded - (there should be a player on the right side of the page)
braille's myspace

leave me comments if you liked them! thanks. peace.

too many blogs, and musical discoveries.

i have blogs all over the place. it's sad. -_- haha. i just discovered about an hour ago that i've had a vox account since 2006! and i didn't even remember! i got a registration code from someone, when vox was still in beta testing mode. i guess i signed up and just forgot about it. :[

but anyway. i LOVE when i come across good music, especially R&B. i miss the 90s style of R&B. today's R&B doesn't make me bob my head or feel the emotion in the music like R&B did a decade ago.

yes, i know. i'm only 18, therefore i was a kid back in the 90s, but still. music touches everyone of all ages, and i have strong memories linked to several R&B songs - especially ones from the early to mid 90s. in the late 90s, everyone around me seemed to be obsessed about n*sync and backstreet boys. ugh. i tried to get into them because everyone else was, but they irked the heck out of me, so i didn't even pay them any attention. and i just HAD to tell every girl that i encountered in my 4th grade class that justin timberlake was not cute. his hair looked so weird to me, haha. thank goodness he shaved that off and went back to brown.

the purpose of me bringing up the genre of R&B is that i've found the most awesome voices that i've heard in a while as far as rhythm and blues. a group called full of harmony and a singer named jay'ed have filled my void of wanting present day R&B crooners. they have the smoothest voices, seriously. i get lost in the music when i listen to them. although both F.O.H. and jay'ed sing in japanese (minus a few lines/choruses in english), trust me when i say that these dudes can sing. music surpasses all languages. just listen and feel the beat.

Full of Harmony - AROMA

Jay'ed - Sayonara

ええええええ！

DON'T highlight if you don't want to see who got eliminated...

but nooooooooooo i can't believe A.S.I.I.D. got eliminated! NOOOO I loved them. :[[[[[[

i thought they were really clean with their dancing, and they were sloppy a few weeks ago, but they were on POINT last week and this week. sigh.

SoReal Cru KILLED it this week though. seriously. fanny pak was awesome as well. the first time i've been impressed by them

okay. i'm done with my pop culture talk for today XD

earlier today, i turned on my pc because i needed to type something in word (i don't have the office suite on the mac), and nothing was coming up on the monitor. i thought it was the monitor going crazy, but my dad was like, "i think the harddrive is dead" and this is me in response:

"WHAAAA?!?!?! NOOOOOO"

i mean, all of my precious artwork, random crap and family photos from 2003 until now is on there! that's like, 40gb! i had been begging him to get an external HD for a year now, and he hasn't. :[

but fortunately, one of our memory sticks were dead, that's all. phew. so now my dad is going to get an ext. HD now! YAY!

AND OMG.
THE DARK KNIGHT IS COMING OUT TOMORROW.

WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS MY EXCITEMENT.
(i know my parents want to kick me in the mouth every time i'm like, *SQUEEE* when a commercials for TDK comes on haha)

• Music:janet jackson // all night

growth.

growth., originally uploaded by aestheticheart.

preparing., originally uploaded by aestheticheart.

some new photos from the roll i got developed that was in my yashica 124g. came out much better than the first roll! now i just need some friends to help me out on a concept i have for a new photoshoot...

dang. i wish i could develop my own color photos.

といき。私はねむりです。さくやふしだわたしはねいましたに午前２：００。べきごすい、でも。。。どうかな。おもしろいしるわたしはなかまはずれ。

translation: sigh. i'm so sleepy. i didn't go to sleep last night until 2:00a.m. i should take a nap...but i don't know. i feel like i'll be left out of something interesting.

for anyone who sees this and is way better than me in japanese, please don't laugh! :P i suck, and i'm just learning. and i know i didn't conjugatethe verbs right, but meh. i'm sleepy, as i've explained above. i just wanted to write something since i've started to learn hirigana. i started out learning with romanji....now i know that was a mistake. oh well.

and wtffffff. NO JOB YET. I AM MAD. I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE DAY CARE CENTER. NOOOOOOOOOOO.
that was too much work for only minimum wage. i swear, when i worked there, every sound i heard i thought was a crying baby. -_-

i had applied for a photo intership with a photograher who works downtown, but she emailed me back and said that they had already picked someone. she said she thought my work was beautiful though. sigh. :/

and i don't want to work at target, jewels, cvs, sears, etc. the only place i'd want to work atthat isn't art related would be borders, because i spend my whole life in that store! haha. i'm in there for hours when i go.

but yeah. if i don't get a job soon, it looks like i'll be heading back to the dreaded day care center.

p.s. don't get me wrong, kids are great, but that job was stressful. you can help but to be when you have 3 kids who are learning how to walk all at the same time and like to hit their heads and their moms are all like, "OH NOOOO MY BABY! WTF ARE YOU DOING T&T^&^&#%R^Y!" it's like, dang. kids injure themselves. that's what they do. they were fine. they cried for like, 5 seconds and got distracted by something shiny/bright/colorful/musically attractive and went on about their business. the only reason why we told you is because we have to notify you and fill out an accident report because the state of Illinois require us to! other wise, we would save our souls and not tell you so you don't go off on us like a Demon Mom. grrrrrrrrr.

yeahhhhh. bad memories. at least i got an hour lunch break and got to hang out on the benches with the beautiful scenery by the lakefront and see the skyline.

あなたわ樽いつだってわたしのきです。あいしてる、ちよ。あなたわしるわたしわあいました、でもあなたここしる。わたしわゆめあなたわ。ちぎり。