"It's Not A Phase, Mom, It's Who I Am!"

(Via Stanford Solar Center)

I've had a different obsession each school year since the 5th grade.  I call them phases.

Also, I'm the type of person that's gonna give 100% or 0%.  So that means when I was obsessed with something, I went all in.  I would let the whole world know I really liked d this one amazing thing and how I was the expert on it.  It was a really defining thing for me. 

So let's start with the 5th grade.
In the 5th grade, one of my good friends and I was obsessed with this book series called Warriors.  Basically the series is about a bunch of cats who lived in clans in the forest (looking back they were terrible books).  I mainly got into it because of my friend, but I ended up liking the series a lot on my own.  This was my smallest phase for sure.  All I did to promote it was read the books and draw some art with my friend.  Little did I know this was the start of a long road of phases.

The 6th grade was by far my worst.
I was obsessed with a thing called anime, which is a type of Japanese cartoon. I probably spent around $200 on anime related t-shirts and action figures.  I even taught myself Japanese.  I thought I was so cool.  But looking back now, I was the biggest nerd ever.  My 6th grade self was so cringeworthy I can't even talk about it anymore.

My 7th grade self was slightly better.
I really liked a thing called SuperWhoLock, which was a combination of the television shows Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock.  I was more lowkey about this one, but I still spent a lot of money on t-shirts related to these shows.  This phase was obvious to the people around me, but I was (hopefully) less annoying about it.

And then onto my 8th grade self.
This was probably equal to my 7th grade self, except last year I really liked bands, specifically Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy.  I also had a lot of their t-shirt and would excitedly scream the songs when they came on in public.  This is the phase that has lasted the longest by far, and I think it has pretty much died down.

Basically, these are some small descriptions of my most cringeworthy phases.  I think they're cringeworthy, but that doesn't mean I don't wish they didn't happen.  My 5th grade phase got me into reading books.  My 6th grade phase got me into drawing.  My 7th grade phase got me into tv shows.  My 8th grade phase got me into music.  All of these embarrassing phases have made me who I am today, so I'd say it was all worth it.

Bands And What They Remind Me Of

(Via Colossal)

Sometimes when I listen to certain bands, I get a specific feeling.  Sometimes it's a feeling of nostalgia, back to when I first listened to the band and where I was in my life at that moment in time.  Other times the vibe of the band reminds me of a force of nature or a season.  

Once I start to analyze my favorite bands and classify them in such ways, I get carried away in deep thought.  So I decided I'd write a blog post about my a few of favorite bands and what I think of when I hear them.

Fall Out Boy

This band reminds me of wintertime.  A scene I visualize when I listen to them is fresh snow falling from the sky in the middle of winter.  It's the dead of night, and you're trudging down the street with the only the Chicago city lights illuminating your way.  The pollution from the dense city prevents a majority of the stars to shine through.  You exhale and watch your breath freeze in midair. It's cold and you're tired and you had a tough day.  Maybe it was a rough day at work. Maybe you had a bad breakup.  Regardless, all you want to do is get home and hope tomorrow is a better day.  You watch the storm rage on, knowing you still have a long way to go.

Panic! At The Disco

This band reminds me of fall.  A scene I visualize is an evening on the strip of Las Vegas.  Generally, the weather had been really hot considering you were in the desert.  But once fall had begun, it had become the perfect weather.  You had just had a great day.  Whether you had been promoted at work or you found a new significant other, you felt like you were on top of the world.  So for whatever achievement you made, you decided you deserved a reward.  You walk down the strip, gazing at each neon sign, while simultaneously avoiding the early hustle of late night party goers.  Some signs were for casinos, others were for bars.  It didn't matter where you went, all you knew is you were going to have a good time.

Twenty One Pilots

This band reminds me of springtime.  A scene I visualize is a dirty room before spring cleaning.  Spring was meant for new beginnings, so a good first step was to clean a musty room.  As you sift through all of your old belongings and memories that were catching dust, you realize you don't need them anymore.  You throw out your past, eager to start anew.  Once everything you once knew had been washed away, you open up the windows and allow the brisk air to flow in.  You sigh, excited yet anxious to start again.

Walk the Moon

This band reminds me of summertime.  A scene I visualize is a road trip along the California coast in the extreme heat of summer.  It's evening, and you're cruising down the Esplanade on the edge of the ocean with your closest friends.  You can see the orange sun glisten off of each ocean wave as they crash on the shore, inching up and then being dragged back into the vast ocean from which it came.  The salty air billows through your hair while you also breathe it in.  You decide to pull over and go to the beach before the sun sets. As you run with the sand getting in your shoes, a childish grin plasters across your face.  You have no worries.  You have no destination.  Life is an adventure, and you want to live it that way.

These were just some scenes I visualized while listening to the music.  I suppose it got a little too philosophical.  I guess you'd be surprised what you think about if you analyze what you listen to.

Emo Yet Important: Gerard Way Appreciation Post

For a school assignment, I am required to write a post dedicated to someone I admire and someone who would enjoy my blog.  There are a lot of people I admire, but they are nothing like me and would probably not enjoy the content I provide.  And then there are a lot of people who would enjoy my content, but I don't admire them.  It took some of thought, but I finally decided on my person.

Dear Gerard Way:

(Via Dalje)

As odd as it is, I admire and appreciate you in several ways. You created the band that got me into music: My Chemical Romance.  In 7th grade I was an obscure kid who didn't really know their place and didn't have many passions. But because of this band, I found something to enjoy; I found a favorite band and I begun to like music. And from that band, it opened up a whole new world of music to me.  The music My Chemical Romance created not only helped and inspired me, but inspired thousands of other kids who felt the same way. If it weren't for you or My Chemical Romance, I probably wouldn't be the person I am today.

But that's just the start of my appreciation for you.  The more I learned about My Chemical Romance themselves, I began to learn more about you and your other work.  I learned that before you started a band, you wanted to be a visual artist. When that didn't really work out, you became the lead singer of a popular band instead.  What I admire though is that you still pursued your dream of being an artist while being in a band and having a completely different career. You wrote and drew several amazing comic books while in My Chemical Romance, which must have been a difficult task.  But somehow you still managed to simultaneously create both music and art at the same time.  This is very inspirational to me because it shows me that I don't have to have just one solid career.  You show me that I can achieve whatever and as many things as I want with hard work and dedication, even if it doesn't work out at first.

I also believe we have similar minds, which leads me to why I think you'd enjoy my blog.  Based off of your Twitter, you've talked about a lot of random things.

Umbrella Academy Signing
(Via Umbrella Academy Wiki)

Whether it's conspiracies on extraterrestrials, slightly disturbing photos of popular things during the 80's, or your random thoughts you get at 3 am, I feel like they all reflect the basis of my blog.  Honestly, your existence on Twitter itself inspires me.  Your positive tweets always send good vibes that encourage me to do the same.  Your unexplained thoughts and photos remind me to not care what others think about my opinions; they remind me to be bold. Your fanboy moments over other people, specifically David Bowie, remind me that it's okay to be super passionate about things.  You've shown me to be a better person in a bunch of tiny ways, and I appreciate that.

It may not seem like you inspire me, but you truly do.  Before writing this, I didn't realize how much I admire you.  But now that I'm finished, I appreciate you more than I did before. And for that, I want to thank you.

Why Won't Bands Just Let Me Live

(Via Panic! At The Disco)

Last week on Friday, Panic! At The Disco released a new music video for one of their most recent singles, Victorious.  I had been anticipating the video for a week, just because Victorious is one of my favorite singles for Panic's new album.  So of course, Friday morning, I log onto my computer and go onto their website.  And voila, at 9:30 in the morning, the music video was up in all of it's glory.  A cover frame with Brendon Urie as a wrestler soaked in champagne tempted my click.  So I took the bait, and of course, it was too good to be true. Youtube was blocked on my computer, so I couldn't watch the music video.  I was internally screaming for the rest of the period, but what's new.

Bands choose the absolute worst ways and times to release music.  This example might make it sound like it's my school's fault, but in reality it's not; it's Panic! At The Disco's.  I mean, they should know that the majority of their fans are teenagers.  So, most of them are at school at 9:30 am, or if they're lucky, they're taking that chance to sleep in.  Of course, there are some extreme diehard fans who would try to find a way to watch the video during school, but I'm not that extreme.  My point is, the times bands release new music or music videos are really problematic.

Usually, they don't release music on Fridays at 9:30 in the morning.  It's usually 10:30 at night, on an obscure day like a Monday.  Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy both do this, unfortunately.  Which is slightly inconsiderate of the band's fans because like I've said, most of them are teenagers.  Obviously, if they release music that late at night, I'm gonna stay up and listen to it for a few hours.  It seems like a good idea at the time, but I always end up regretting it in the morning when I only get around five hours of sleep.

And it's not just the date and time they release their new stuff, it's also just their marketing strategies.  For instance, when Fall Out Boy were releasing their new album this year, American Beauty/American Psycho, they made the whole entire album available on Youtube a whole week before the actual release date. Of course, this is partially because someone already leaked it on the internet prior to the early Youtube release by the actual band.  It doesn't sound like a big deal, but when I'm studying for a test in January and an album I had been anticipating for four months is released early, I'm going to drop everything and listen to that instead.  But at least Fall Out Boy actually had a reason to release their album early.  On the contrary, when Twenty One Pilots were releasing their newest album, Blurryface, they actually leaked their own album early on purpose.  It was probably because their record label couldn't control their creativity, or some fake deep stuff like that.  There are plenty of other examples of this, but I think I'll save them for a future blog post.

Basically, bands just won't let me live.  On top of sports and school, bands almost act like an extra homework assignment.  I mean, new music should immediately make me happy rather than stressed out.  But hey, I haven't stopped listening to them yet, right?

That One Time I Fought A Thirty Five Year Old Man On The Internet (The Shane Morris Saga Part One)

One of my passions is screwing with people on the internet -- especially adults. More specifically thirty five year old men who are music managers in Tennessee. Even more specifically music managers named Shane Morris.

Let me explain first.  Shane Morris was Ryan Ross' music manager after Ryan left Panic! At The Disco.  Shane helped manage Ryan's new band, the Young Veins, but then their relationship stopped after that band broke up and some other personal stuff happened between them.  So after that happened, Shane Morris now resides in Tennessee and helps manage newly signed country bands. So even though he isn't relevant anymore regarding Ryan Ross or Panic! At The Disco, I still decided to follow him on Twitter. 

Over this past year, another app through Twitter called Periscope, has become very popular.  Basically, Periscope is a live streaming app where people can watch someone and comment on their stream.  I downloaded the app because the lead singer of the band Panic! At The Disco, Brendon Urie, started using it and his streams were pretty fun to watch.  So whenever someone I follow on Twitter goes live on Periscope, I get a notification.

(Via Wikipedia)

One day this past summer I got a Periscope notification from Shane Morris, titled "Opinion on Soul Punk".

NOW I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW SOUL PUNK IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ALBUMS. (Which I'll probably talk about in a future post.) Soul Punk is an album that Patrick Stump, the lead singer of Fall Out Boy, released during Fall Out Boy's hiatus. It's a gift from the heavens and I love it a lot -- So much to the point where I'd defend it on the internet against some music manager in Tennessee.  

So I joined the stream and was ready to fight.  I was a little late joining so he was in the middle of talking about something else.  So I asked the chat "What did he diss about Soul Punk?"  And he stopped, read my comment out loud, and then immediately got defensive.  It's always a slightly unsettling experience to have your comment read out loud; that was the first time it had happened to me on Periscope.  He proceeded to then talk about how he didn't like the album -- how the genre was bad, how bad the lyrics were written, and how bad Patrick's voice was.

So at that point I was rEADY TO PUNCH HIM THROUGH MY PHONE.  After he moved on to complaining about Patrick Stump's fashion choice in that era, I decided it was my turn to step in.  At the time, Shane Morris was standing outside of his Tennessee home wearing this:

(Via Twitter)

So I typed in the chat "You shouldn't be talking, do you see what you're wearing right now?" I mean, just look at that piece of trash.  His sunglasses look like ski goggles and his hair looks like an egg with a mop attached to it.  So after a small delay, Shane read it.  He immediately went from a chill ranting face to a face of rage. I don't remember what he said exactly, but he proceeded to tell me the origin of his sunglasses.  Shane explained that when he was a teen growing up in the 90's, his goal was to become super successful and stuff.  One of his goals was to acquire the Oakley sunglasses in the photo above.  They were apparently exclusive and expensive in the 90's, so he really wanted them. So now that he was a fairly successful music manager in Tennessee, he was able to get the sunglasses from his teen years and achieve his goals.  Yeah, yeah, good for him. (That still doesn't mean they don't look like trash.)

(Via ReplyGif)

So he bragged on and on about that for awhile and I forgot what I said but I said something in the chat and he ended the Periscope out of anger.  Kira: 1. Shane Morris: 0.  It was fun to make this guy all pissed off over his sunglasses; that was a day well spent.

This is pretty much the end of the Shane Morris Saga Part One.  There'll probably be a couple more stories, but you never know.

I'm Gonna Write About Fall Out Boy So I Have To Make This Post Title Long Or Else It Wouldn't Work Out

Clever title, I know. (It's not like anyone is going to understand it, but whatever.)  Because I just wrote about my Twenty One Pilots concert, I figured I should just write about my Fall Out Boy concert while I'm on the topic.

Before I write about my actual experience, I need to address something that may or may not be obvious already.  I am Fall Out Boy trash.  I waste so much time listening to this band it's not even funny.  The thing is, when I first became a fan, I thought this would be a year phase.  It seemed like all throughout middle school each year I was obsessed with one thing.  6th grade was probably anime *cue flashbacks to my most cringeworthy stage*.  7th was probably TV shows like Supernatural or Doctor Who.  And that was also the year I became a fan of Fall Out Boy.  Back then they were just something I listened to for background noise.  Well, that didn't turn out as planned.  It's been a little over two years and I'm still obsessing over them.  Just watch this blog progressively become a Fall Out Boy blog.  This might even be a warning; it could happen.

Now my concert experience here wasn't nearly as traumatizing or exciting as Twenty One Pilots; it was relatively normal thinking back on it.  If anything, the hype before it was more exciting.  I was probably more excited because this was my first concert ever. (I'm lame, I know.)  My friend Hannah and I spent half a year waiting for their concert.  And eventually, July 30th came.  We got to the venue right on time -- the first act barely started when we got to our seats.

The opening act was Hoodie Allen. I listened to a couple of his songs before I went to the concert, so they were pretty cool to hear in real life. Even cooler, he replied to me on twitter after the show.  He really built up the hype and got me excited for the other artists.

After about an hour of being at the venue, the first main act came on stage. I'm not that big of a fan of rap, but Wiz Khalifa was actually pretty great.  I knew a couple of his songs like Black and Yellow and We Dem Boyz.  Wiz Khalifa put on a great show.  I would talk about a lot of other stuff regarding his act, but I'm not necessarily sure it's appropriate for school (haha).  My favorite song he preformed was See You Again.  I liked that one in particular because I knew all the lyrics and Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy ran out on stage and started preforming with him.  That really made me realize "Holy smokes I'm about to see my favorite band!"

And bam, within ten minutes after Wiz Khalifa, Fall Out Boy came on.  It was pretty surreal and I can't really describe how I felt.  They opened with one of their classics from 2005: Sugar We're Goin Down.  It was really amazing to be able to sing the songs I'd been listening to on the bus every morning.  The actual band was there and they were real.  I was so pumped, I never wanted the concert to end.

The songs I was most excited to hear were Dance Dance, This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race, and Saturday.  Of course I was thrilled to hear each one on their set, but I freaked out a little more than usual hearing those three.

Don't even get me started on the band themselves.  Patrick Stump, the lead singer, hit every note perfectly.  Pete Wentz, the bassist, and Joe Trohman, the guitarist, were also hella rad; they preformed with such skill.  And Andy Hurley was down right awesome.  I have a lot of respect for drummers, they not only have to be skilled in their instrument, but they also have to be physically in shape.

Overall, my Fall Out Boy concert was outstanding.  I was little disappointed they didn't interact with the crowd as much Twenty One Pilots did, but that didn't matter.  Like I said before, I was there for the music.  I'm really glad I got to see them live, and I hope to see them again soon!

It's Either I'm Weak Or Everyone Else Is A Savage

(All pictures are mine on this post!)

Sick! I'm actually gonna commit to this blog now with an actual post!

Eventually, while owning this blog, I was planning on talking about some of my concert stories from this past summer (this actually didn't happen in the summer, but whatever).  So, before I forget the details, I'll just kick off my blog with this story about my life. 

On September 26th, I was going with my friend Piper to see the band Twenty One Pilots live.  I was a little nervous because my voice was hoarse because I was sick (and from screaming at Sebastian Stan the day before, but that's another story). Also, I was probably a little anxious because that was my second concert ever and my first concert with GA seating.  Either way, I was pumped and ready to go.

So we got to the venue about three hours early and there was already a pretty solid line formed.  Piper and I sat there for an hour or so and we talked a little bit with the people in line.  It was a little weird because it seemed like everyone there was at least 17, but eventually I warmed up to them.  

But, so much for getting comfortable.

After about an hour of us waiting, the whole entire line rushed to the front of the doors to the venue.  People began sprinting to the front, so Piper and I figured we probably should too.

Well, we got to the front of the doors, which was a good thing.  But, the bad thing was there was nothing at the front of the doors; the line rushed for no reason.  Even after the concert, I still have no clue why we did it.  So, we prepared to stand in the hoard of people for two hours.

As it got closer to the time of the concert, the group got more and more packed. It got so packed to the point where I could barely move in my spot -- it was not enjoyable, but it was still tolerable.  Piper and I spent our time watching and talking to interesting people in line (i.e. Cool Shirt Guy, Jacob, and Jackson). We just had to hold on until 6:30.

And 6:30 came.  That's when the real hectic began.  Piper had to go to the bathroom to take a break from all the people while I tried to get a good spot for us in the pit.  Luckily, as I sprinted out the venue and into the lawn where the stage was, I was able to get a spot close to the stage.  I was probably only 8 people away from the front!  I thought I was good to go.

But I guessed wrong.  As more people began to flood into the lawn, the more packed it got.  This was even more crowded than the line.  Piper was nowhere to be seen either.  At that point, I wanted to keep my spot.  But wOW DID THAT BACKFIRE.  These Twenty One Pilots fans were much different than me; most of the people in the pit were six foot tall dudes.  Eventually, as it got more and more crowded, I couldn't move at all.  My face was shoved against the back of this one guy and my arms were sprawled in front and behind me.  It was so hot and sweaty, my shirt became drenched in sweat and I'm pretty sure half of it wasn't even my own sweat.  Occasionally, the whole pit decided to sway right and left which put me off balance and made me fall on a couple of people (not to mention my shoes were untied).  It was rough.

And the concert hadn't even started yet.  The longer, I stayed in there, the more I regretted it.  But I made it that far, so I should stay where I was, right? Wrong.  The first act, Finish Ticket, came on and that's when things got wild.  I was basically trapped between three really tall dudes who were pretty annoying to be honest.  They kept jumping and trying to get close to each other, I couldn't handle it.  I couldn't even see the band, and that's when I decided it wasn't worth it to stay sandwiched in between them for the next two hours.  So I simply yelled "I wanna get out!"  And the annoying dudes heard me.  This is the point when the annoying dudes became cool dudes.  They confirmed with me, and then they lifted me up from the crowd and proceeded to crowd surf me to the barricade.  Like I actually crowd surfed, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest.  After awkwardly going over five people's heads, I eventually reached the barricade.  A security guard guy picked me up and placed me on the ground (man everyone was so strong?? I need to hit the gym geez).  I was a little shaken up, but I was okay.

So for the rest of the concert, I stood on the sidelines of the crowd.  I felt uneasy, I didn't feel like I was actually apart of the crowd.  But man, I was pretty close considering the circumstances.

Twenty One Pilots live were amazing.  It's outstanding to see how well two guys can preform on stage alone.  Each song was filled with so much energy, I could tell they were genuine.  Tyler Joseph, the lead singer, was also very interactive with the crowd.  He talked with us and also made sure we gave enough rounds of applause to the drummer, Josh Dun.  During some of the songs, he would actually climb into the crowd while he was singing.  On their last song, Trees, Josh and Tyler went out into the crowd and had them hold up drums for the finale.  It was a beautiful, I could feel the drum beats in my stomach while confetti filled the air.  What pained me the most about it was if I stayed where I was, I would have been able to hold them too.  But in the end, I was there for the music, just like everyone else.

Overall, this is an experience I'll never forget.  Maybe I was just too weak and inexperienced to stand in the pit, or Twenty One Pilots fans are just savages.  I feel like it's a little bit of both, but there's nothing I can do about it now.  I hope to see Twenty One Pilots again, and maybe next time I'll get to be close to the stage again!  |-/