Throwback: A Fine Frenzy

I've decided I'm going to do a few throwbacks on this blog. Basically pieces that I've written for 13itches or other sites in the past that are still cool in my book - whether it be the content itself or the writing. Sometimes when I write, the words just flow and I read it back and think, 'wow, where did that come from?' hehe
Anyways here's my first throwback:

~

A Fine Frenzy

It seems these days music is cool until everybody “discovers” them.

When that happens, they’ve either “sold out” or become too “hipster”.

I’ve been listening to the music of 22-year-old Allison Sudol. To most, that name won’t ring a bell. But to some, the pseudonym she uses, A Fine Frenzy, just might.

Listing her inspirations and influences from a wide range of artists such as Radiohead, Aqualung, Coldplay, Bjork, Sigur Ros and the like, her sound has been described as ‘hypnotic piano arrangements under classic American melodies’.

Hailing from Seattle, Sudol is a self-taught pianist and definitely one of the better singer-songwriters to look out for.

Check out the official video of a song that’s (still) high on rotation on my ipod – Almost Lover:

Peace out.
chauie

Va$htie

Is there anything this young lady can't do?

Vashtie Kola.

As her website (http://www.vashtie.com/ ) states, this girl is one talented individual:

"Visionary Director, Party Producer, Style Maven, Lady of Leisure, Jordan 3 Villian, Tomboy Extraordinaire, Luxury Handbag Queen, Vintage Don, Fashion Addict and Art Nerd. "

I first took notice of Kola through her music video directing of some of my favourite songs from such artists as Kid Cudi ('Heaven At Night'), Solange Knowles ('T.O.N.Y') and her own take of what the video should look like for Child Rebel Soldiers (CRS)'s 'Us Placers'.

In 2006, she started a monthly-turned-weekly 90's music night titled "1992" at (nightclub) Santos in New York, spinning music (only) from the early 90's, attracting celebrities and old-skool music fans.

When the time comes for me to finally visit New York, this is one club I want to be grooving along at on a Friday night. When you're in that mood, nothing beats 90s RnB. :)

Following her love of both creative art and music, Kola also seemed to always hold a special place in her heart for fashion, where she has of recent, established her own fashion line, VIOLETTE. The clothing line caters to both males and females, drawing inspiration from eclectic scenes, people and their environments: 'uptown and downtown, hip-hop and rock, feminine and masculine, casual and couture'.

VIOLETTE is not yet stocked in Australia but I hope the line hits our shores soon :)

Be sure to follow Va$htie through her blog for more pop culture goodness and to see what other hidden talents this girl has up her sleeve :)

Peace yo.

chauie

'And you better wear your shades, the spotlights here can burn holes through the stage' - Superstar, Lupe Fiasco

Drama Drama Drama

I don't even know where to start with this post to be honest. The reason for this post was sparked as a result of what's been happening behind the doors at 50 Miller.

As of late, it seems the whole office is just buzzing with gossip and bitching. I mean, don't get me wrong it's probably been an ongoing thing even before I stepped foot into the building and started work with my fellow employees but it seems within the last 8 months, tensions are rising and whispers are getting louder and louder.

Honestly, nowadays when I come in each day, I don't feel like I'm walking into a corporate office of "professional" workers, I feel like I'm stepping back into the grounds of my High School. Is that fucked or what?

I guess it just goes to show that no matter how old you are or how mature you think you are, there will always be that part of you that wants to talk about others, which not only sucks for the person you're talking about behind their back, but adds fuel to any fire of the rumours that are already spreading throughout the building.

One other thing I don't like are people that fall under a label of which I'm not sure what name it should be. Those people who say that they will do something but then do the opposite. People who say they're 'not like like that' or 'don't do that' but then, the next day / week, are doing exactly that! People who talk on the downlow about other people, making comments about how others work - obviously negatively based when they're not so great themselves.
(By the way, I'm not putting anyone down with that last comment, I just think that no-one is the best at something. There's always room for improvement and more knowledge.)

Would the correct label be Hypocrites? Can someone please clarify / verify this for me.

The funny thing is, when people wanna vent about others they choose me to vent off to. In a sense, it's fine because they're not venting / bitching about me so it doesn't necessarily affect me. But on the other hand, when it all comes down to it, we all talk about everyone else. And though on a rare occasion, it may be positive... in reality, most of the time, it's negative.

You all know I need to vent on a weekly basis - whether it be through this blog or not. Sometimes we just need to let it out.

So why do we do it?

Are we all guilty of being insecure in some way that we secretly hope that if we talk someone down, it will help us with our own self-esteem?

With all the things I hear, it just makes me think: What else happens behind closed doors?

But with all the bitching / gossip / rumours / assumptions / drama, I've developed a thicker skin for it and have gotten better at separating the truth from the lies, the friends from the foes, those who I should keep at a distance, and those who I should not speak more than what is necessary to.

Sometimes it's hard to decipher who from whom, but I guess after working there from almost two years, you learn to keep your friends close and that's all that matters. As for the others, no-one said I had to make friends with everybody. Nobody's perfect and you can't like everyone you meet nor can you make them like you.

That's all.
chauie
(picture credit: idea-awards.com.au)

'Never underestimate those who you scar, cause karma karma karma comes back to you hard' - Lost Ones, Lauryn Hill

The (Language) Barrier I'm Faced With...

There are a lot of thoughts in my mind at the moment and although they may be messy in my head, I'm gonna try and break them down right now for you...

The status / decision of my Aunt's condition is still pending. I found out the news about a couple of weeks ago...

Had a lil' cry last week during my morning meeting with the team at work but it went un-noticed coz I kept my face down. When I was ready to look up again, I rubbed at my eyes giving the impression that there were no tears, and instead fooling everybody and making them think my eyes were irritating me. Like I said, nobody noticed…

~

My auntie made this confession to one of her sisters last week:

"Each morning I wake up and I know I've made it through another day."

This confession sent shivers down my spine when my mum told me.

I don't know if I should see it as a positive thing but I know I've thought about this statement in the past but mine came with negative thoughts...

Last year when I first found out about the critical condition my aunt was in, the doctors told us the same thing they did two weeks ago - that they don't know how much longer she has.

I went to visit her on Sunday night and at times like these, I wish I was more fluent in Vietnamese. The language barrier between my Auntie and I puts up an invisible wall between us where I can't ask her or speak the words I want to say.

The fact that I don't know a lot of the language often limits me to ask only one question - "How've you been?" - and that's the last thing I want to ask.

When I went to visit my aunt for the first time in hospital late last year, she wasn't awake and I was so afraid to open my mouth and speak aloud. All I could do was hold her hand and look at her...

When I left the hospital that day, I sat in my room and cried. With pen and paper in hand, I started writing and the following words were inked onto the lines of the pages of my notebook:

"What I Wanted To Say..."

Lying there I could not bring myself to say anything
I believed that you could hear me
But still my mouth would not open
and speak the words I wanted to say

The news broke out at two
No-one could stand the thought of losing you
Tears flowed freely

Let's switch places
You and me
(to stop the tears)

You can fight this

You'll make it through
That's what I wanted to say
When I was holding your hand
And looking at you...

~~~~

Update: I think these above words still ring true each time I go and visit her coz there's only so much you can say and have the other person understand what you're saying... if only she knew what I wanted to say...

That's it.

Peace yo.

chauie
"I'm just not there. Life's just not fair. Life's just not fair" - Street Lights, Kanye West

Broken Promise

I was going to write a post about my Aunt and how I feel about the state she's in but my mind has been occupied by something else that happened tonight.

I was supposed to meet up with (some of) the 13itches crew tonight... if you look back in the archives, you'll find a post I did earlier about them/us... anyways I was really looking forward to the post-official meeting because I couldnt make the one that would be "officially" held tomorrow night as I'd be attending class.

The meeting got cancelled at the last minute. I told my friend who relayed the message that

"I wasn't mad - just disappointed."

But my first initial reaction was 'wtf? that's bullshit'.

And I think my disappointment has turned into sadness. I'm chatting to that same friend online trying to explain how I felt when he msged me but instead I'm typing nothing and sitting here crying instead.

I mean I love our crew. The whole 13itches project is a fantastic idea in my opinion but we've definitely lost momentum for it. Especially when 80% of the group went travelling to different destinations last month... It's like when they left, time stood still and everyone in the group just decided to put the whole project on hiatus for the period of time they were away.

I feel like we've been in the wrong mindset for the way we've gone about things. Getting our website (insert shameless plug: www.thirteenitches.com.au ) up and running was a big achievement for us. We even had a Launch Night for it! :P
But I feel like after that night, the focus went in a different direction. Instead of thinking 'Yay, our website is done, what's next?'... it felt more like we went into the zone of 'Yay, our website's done. Now we can relax'.

Our crew has a lot of focus but we also have a lot of people and everyone has a lot of ideas and I think that's where our focus diminishes.

When we all got together for this project (initially), we all kinda made an agreement that whoever wanted to be apart of this, would need to make the commitment to work hard and whatnot.

But now it just feels like it was all talk, no action.

It feels like we've all broken a promise to each other.

This feeling is definitely not a great feeling coz we're such a tight-knit group. I wouldn't want all this to tear us apart...

I'm out.
The piece on my Auntie will be up by the end of the week...
Warning: the mood of that one is a bit of a downer too :(
...Excuse my mood...

chauie
"Why must I feel so wrong when I try and do right?" - Mr Solo Dolo, Kid Cudi