Let's Have Some "Fun"

It's Tuesday, and you know what that means....

It's just any other day.

But, in another way, Tuesdays are generally "New Release" day in the music/entertainment world.  However, this concept has been overlooked the past few years, because of the digital age and the ease of downloading/streaming music instantly.  Artists these days are offering their first single to be available on iTunes weeks before the full album is out and some of the bigger acts are releasing their latest on different day of the week just for the hype.

Not that I don't like this way of getting music.  Last year, Lady Gaga even leaked one song each week for a few weeks on iTunes leading up to the official release of Born This Way.  Something must of worked out, because not only did that boost sales, Amazon MP3 offered the entire album for 99¢ only on the day of the release, and it crashed their server – genius.  I do miss those days as a teenager where I would get so excited for a band's album to come out, and I would rush to the store on Tuesday and buy the whole CD even though I only heard the first single prior to purchase.

I decided to reminisce those days (but with a 2012 spin on it) by looking up today's new releases and stumbled upon a up-and-coming group called Fun.   To be fair, I had only heard their first single "We Are Young" because the song featured Janelle Monáe, who I love already (Seriously, check out her solo work, it's amazing).  The song has blown up the past couple months as it is placed in more commercials and it has a very FUN nature to their sound....See what I did there :)

I took some time to listen to the whole album by streaming it here .  I'm honestly not interested in buying the full album, but a few tracks will make the cut to my iPod.  Yes, I'm one of those people who still PURCHASES MUSIC.  Some Nights certainly has a lot of energy with a lot of upbeat melodies and the singer's voice has a slight Freddie Mercury tone to him.  One song that really stood out to me was "Carry On".  It's their most simple track other than the intro, with a piano in the beginning, continues with several contrasting harmonies, and ends with a simple drum beat.

Here is the music video to their first single "We Are Young feat Janelle Monáe".  Anyone else thing that the slow-mo effects are crazy?

Typical Day in the Park

I think I just had one of the most relaxing weekends that I've had in a while.  I had no set plans with anyone so I just decided to spend some time cooking and doing other domestic things that I normally put off.

I also got to do one of my favorite things in the city, which is walk around town and just observe everything around me.  This weekend's chosen neighborhood, the upper west side.  There's just something about this area that makes me feel so calm.  Even in my worst mood, I will cheer up instantly.  There's a perfect ratio of shops, restaurants/bars, park space (it's sandwiched between Riverside Park and Central Park), and it's fun place to people watch in an area of mostly senior citizens and families with small children.

One of the things I usually avoid in NYC are the typical tourist attractions.  After living here for almost 3 years, I have discovered so many things that this city has to offer, that I don't even go near tourist areas unless I have out of town visitors.  This time, however, I wanted to test out a new telephoto lens that I recently got as a gift, and I figured Central Park would be a great spot.  The zoom on this lens is so ridiculous that this place would be perfect for someone to walk around with a "paparazzi" dslr.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day:

I love how candid this one is! It's like one couple going in, one going out.

While I was in Colorado during Christmas, I took a similar photo, where the lake was completely frozen, and there were children (and my two siblings) walking on the ice, can't do that here.

An opportunity to use the 300mm zoom across the lake.  The father and son were throwing bread to the ducks, and I thought that was so cute.

This guy was playing guitar and a harmonica at the same time, I hung around to listen as I was taking pictures, but everyone else seemed to just walk by.

 

I don't particularly like how the tree branch is in focus and the people are not, but I thought it would be fun to photograph other people taking a photo.

After I left the park, I decided to go get my groceries for the week, but of course I got sidetracked by something else.  I was passing by a flea market that is only open in a school yard on Sundays, and I couldn't help but check out what unique things it had to offer.

About to head in to browse.

Rack of classic fur coats - using the hipstamatic app on my phone.

I couldn't resist.  A flea market find for only $10!

So that was my weekend!  How was yours?

Hello World

For the longest time, I wanted a spot to express my thoughts and interests in a space beyond the limit of other social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter).  I am currently taking a web course at Pratt Institute and I was having trouble coming up with text to complete my homework assignments – what a great way to kill two birds with one stone!

I recently went to the grand opening of the Soho location of Georgetown Cupcakes.  Because I have a ridiculous sweet tooth, I had to go.  Plus, I wanted to get a nice gift for my friend's birthday and they were giving out one free cupcake.  Who would turn that down?

I was about 30th in line, and I arrived 1 hour before opening.

They handed out free hot chocolate - Yum!

Finally inside, with the cameras for their show "DC Cupcakes"

*drool*

Lots of space for a Manhattan location.

Salted Carmel Cupcake

Cute packaging.

 



















By the way, I'm still working on an appropriate title for my blog.  The current title, "Headphones and Nail Polish", are items involved in two of my major interests, music and fashion.  My life has always been surrounded by sound and color, and that's how I express myself.  If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!