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.

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?

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!

Introduction!

Ay check it out, it's my first blog post!

I'm Kira and I'm glad you found your way to my blog.  The only reason I'm here is because of my 9th grade honors english teacher.  I'm excited to see how my blog is going to turn out!

Before I move on to what my blog is about, I'm going to talk about myself a little more.  Like I said in my about, my favorite band is Fall Out Boy.  I also love pizza. [But come on, what's not to like?]  And, I really like drawing.  At this point I kinda have to like it because I've wasted so much time doing it.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not really sure what else you need to know about me, but maybe you'll find out some more stuff about me in future posts!

Now onto what my blog is about.  I'm not gonna lie, I probably spent two weeks trying to come up with a general theme for this thing.  At first I thought having this blog be Van Gogh themed would be a good idea, but then I realized I didn't want to put myself in more pain than I'm already in.  I'm not saying I don't want to write about Van Gogh at some point this year, but I also don't want to write [and cry] about him weekly.  So instead, I figured I'd write about my rants, opinions, and obsessions.

Basically, whenever I write a general post, I'll select a subject to write about. I'll classify it as rant, opinion, or obsession, depending on how I feel about the subject.  A rant in this case is basically something I feel strongly towards, not necessarily in a good way.  I may dislike the subject or I might have something to argue about regarding that topic.  An opinion is something I don't really have a strong feeling for, but I'll still talk about it.  Finally, an obsession is something I really like.  A post like that will most likely show me raving on about the subject until I can't anymore.  As for the subject, I'll either pick it or I can have people [like you, the reader] submit me ideas.  Hopefully this theme works out, or else I might have to end up talking about Van Gogh all year! [Haha... please don't make me do that.]

Sure, you're probably thinking "This is like every other blog out there!  What makes yours so special?"  And that's a valid point.  But, I do have some ideas on how to make my blog more unique and personal.  As I've said several times before, I love drawing.  So, I figured I should add some of my digital art into my blog posts! I recently purchased a drawing tablet, which allows me to create art on the computer.  

Here's my third digital drawing ever.  It took forever.

Because of the enormous amount of homework I have, I've barely been able to use it at all.  So, if I make art a main part of my blog, I'll have to draw for homework. [Finally, I have an excuse!]  

Beyond drawings, I also plan on having Fact Fridays.  Basically, every Friday I blog, I'll have a random fact.  It'll either be about my life or something totally random.  I guess you'll just have to stick around and see!  And hey, if there's just something I need to blog about, I'm gonna do it -- whether it's related to my theme or not.

I hope to do a lot more with my blog over the course of this year, but this is my main plan for now.  I hope anyone out there who is reading this is as excited as I am to start this blog up.

Well, I'll see you cool cats later!