Subscription Service and Search Function!

Based on some feedback I've been getting, I've added two things to the site that I'm hoping will make it more user friendly!

1. Subscription Service - I've added a link up top to the main categories - "Subscribe" - Just click on that link and then enter your email address where prompted. This will sign you up to receive notifications whenever I make a post! 

2. Search Function - For now, the "Search" function is at the bottom of the homepage as well as the bottom of each post. You can go there and type in anything you remember reading, such as Top Songs, and you'll see all my posts relating to that. I don't particularly like having the search at the bottom, but to keep the site clean, that was one of my few options.

Thank you very much for the feedback! Anything I can do to make the site more user friendly, I am more than happy to do as long as it's feasible! 

Canadian Tuxedo - Part 3 of 4

Back to the tuxedo of the Canadian variety! This outfit is very similar to Part 1 except I'm wearing a blue button-up shirt from H&M in place of a tee and am wearing a brown belt. I probably should have included it in Part 1, but I thought my buddy Kramer took some really cool shots so I wanted to include them as their own.

Rogue Boots, PacSun Jeans, H&M Button Up Shirt, Old Navy Jean Jacket

Rogue Boots, PacSun Jeans, H&M Button Up Shirt, Old Navy Jean Jacket

Photos by Kramer Sharp

The Monday Mix!

A bit of a new idea to treat our incurable cases of the Mondays: Start off each Monday with a short mix that you can get through in under thirty minutes which will hopefully provide you a band or two to check out further!

The first band, Avid Dancer, is a band I just started listening to. Their album is a hazey journey that feels like I'm drifting through the 1970s (see: first track of their album, "All the Other Girls"). If you like "I Want To See You Dance," you have to check this album out.

I've already spoken about my obsession of Hippo Campus, so I had to include my favorite song from their EP, "Little Grace."

The second I heard "Hard Time" from Seinabo Sey, the Swedish 24 year old, I thought of Adele. Her pipes sound pretty similar to her, but the heavy drum beat plots an original course and leads the way.

After seeing The Weeknd at Coachella last weekend (no, I'm not gonna do it), his talent became even more apparent. He has a number of tracks that I can't stop listening to (it was between this and "Earned It" - the track with an amazing 140 million listens on Spotify!), but the transition from "House of Balloons" to "Glass Table Girls" around 3:25 mark is downright dirty.

If you like the xx, then you'll love Jamie XX's new track, "Loud Places."

Finally, if you haven't read the Haim sisters or Taylor Swift tweeting about Tobias Jesso Jr., the new piano man, and if you're into that kind of thing (which I admit isn't for everybody), I wanted to end the mix with his lovely ballad, "Without You."

Playlist - That's a Rap, Vol. 1

There's been an ever expanding list of rappers over the past few years that have brought rap back to the forefront of music for me. Sometimes I wax poetic and think of the good ol' days when A Tribe Called Quest and Biggie (amongst so many others) were making the best rap music imaginable. But now there are rappers influenced by them, their sounds, the culture, and everything in between, spitting out their own rhymes. This is the best rap has been since those golden days in the 90s - just listen to Kendrick, Drake, A$AP Rocky, and Kanye. 

I finished Volume 3 of this playlist series today, but I thought it might make more sense to start from the beginning!

I made this playlist back in 2012 as I was discovering a number of my favorite rappers today, such as Childish Gambino, Kendrick, A$AP, Schoolboy Q, and Joey Bada$$. These were primarily my favorite songs by these guys at the time, and I'm hoping for those not as well versed in rap (or those who might have given up on rap for a bit) that this playlist will be a primer for the next two volumes I'll put up in the next few weeks or so!

Coachella Wear - Part 2

General rule of thumb: When wearing something loud (either above the torso or below), try to make sure the other half is a solid color or nothing that draws too much attention.   

Day 2 - Forever XXI Floral Print Short Sleeve Button Up, Navy chinos cut into shorts, Coverse All Stars w/no show socks

Photos from Coachella

The art at Coachella is unique, usually enormous, sometimes terrifying, but always inspiring and enjoyable to stare at and zone out in the kaleidoscope of colors. Speaking of colors, the sunsets over the mountains and the lightshows during acts are the cherries on top of a festival providing the best sustenance of them all: music.

Thanks for another great weekend, Coachella.   

The Mantis.

The Coachella Caterpillar!!

Posted in my recap but still wanted to include!

Coachella Wear - Part 1

Festivals are a great time to make some brash statements in style. I can't imagine incorporating a bandana or a ridiculously unbuttoned collared shirt into my everyday wardrobe, but it sure is fun as hell to wear given the opportunity!

Day 3 - H&M Shirt, Forever XXI Shorts, Navy bandana, New Balance Kicks

Day 3 - H&M Shirt, Forever XXI Shorts, Navy bandana, New Balance Kicks

Coachella - Day 3 Recap

Sahara Tent

Started from the bottom now he's here. Headlining Coachella.

I was looking forward to Drake’s set as much as any other act this whole weekend. He has the charisma, the catalog of hits, and the abilities as both a rapper and singer to reach the entire audience. He is at the top of the game right now with only Kanye and Kendrick ahead of him (as much as I love Killer Mike, he's just not there in terms of reach). Putting Drake as THE headliner of Coachella was a huge gamble, but an epic performance could have catapulted Drake up in the discussion as the best rapper instead of the third guy.      

Standing with all my friends on the Coachella grounds with tens and tens of thousands of people around us, surrounded by speakers, clouds of smoke, and giddiness, the energy was palpable. Drake had the crowd in the palm of his hand as it was not only one of the biggest crowds of the whole weekend, but everyone was dancing and singing along to warmup tracks like “Lose Yourself,” and “N****s in Paris,” getting hyped to dance and sing along to so many of Drake's great songs. But then we waited. Drake gets on stage 25 minutes late and comes out so soft. No bangers, nothing to get the crowd into it, just a subdued malaise. If he had started the show off with "Started from the Bottom," the whole crowd would have immediately been invested and going wild. Instead, eight songs in my group of friends sadly asked if they could go see another group because they were so disappointed. 

Not only that, he was barely even singing (certainly not hitting the notes) any of his parts and he had backing vocals (of himself) on a lot of his tracks. The whole crowd looked a bit shell-shocked. THEN he brings out Madonna (which will be laughed and poked at by every rapper), they weirdly make out, and then she performs some of her own stuff. The whole experience was surreal…and terrible. The one and only rule for acts playing at festivals: PLAY THE HITS. We''ll see you on tour if we want to hear "Preach." 

Back on a positive note, the rest of the day was thoroughly enjoyable. I spent the most time of my Coachella career in the Sahara tent, dancing and frolicking with my friends to a number of different EDM acts, including Madeon, RAC, Martin Solveig, and Kaskade. As pictured above, the Sahara tent is like getting showered with lights in a cave. Visually, it’s astounding. I came to a bit of a realization that I had to open myself up a bit musically to hang with my friends from EDM act to act, but I'm glad I did it because I had a great time being with them. 

On the indie side, I got to see a bit of St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Fitz and the Tantrums, but unfortunately missed Florence and the Machine. Annie Clark from St. Vincent is a real performer, one I couldn’t take my eyes off of. She’s a beauty and shreds the guitar! 

I'm going to post my favorite photos from Coachella tomorrow!