Mumford & Sons – Babel

Mumford & Sons, if you haven’t already heard of them, is the Grammy nominated indie folk rock band from England! I was first drawn o Mumford & Sons when I heard their song Little Lion Man. Then I started hearing their songs featured on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill. Ever since then, I was obsessed with the unique raspy voice of Marcus Mumford!

So when their second album Babel came out, I was beyond excited. And I guess, I’m not the only one. Babel is the BIGGEST ALBUM RELEASEthis year! (source: PerezHilton)

How awesome is that? Now, in case you’re so eager to have a listen, I have posted a playlist of the album below. So, you can listen as you read on my reviews!

If you ask my favorite song of the album, I’d say… I don’t know! I can’t pick one! Every songs in the album are just classic Mumford & Sons. From the single I Will Wait to other songs in the album like, Babel, Ghost that We Knew, Lover’s Eyes, Lover of the Light and I can just keep going. You see, the thing about Mumford & Sons is… The songs are intense, emotional, and beautiful. Although at times… it could get a little depressing and heavy when the song illustrate on religious themes and suicide . But still. I love listening to M&S when I feel like I need some inspiration. Mumford & Sons have successfully written the best lyrics with such emotional depth! I could quote the entire album’s songs but for now, if I really really really have to pick one, it’d be from Lover’s Eyes.

“Love was kind, for a time,
Now just aches and it makes me blind.

The mirror holds my eyes too bright,
I can’t see the others in my life.”

Okay, maybe one more quote from Ghost that We Knew

“So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
‘Cause oh that gave me such a fright
But I will hold on with all of my might
Just promise me we’ll be alright

But the ghosts that we knew made us black and all blue
But we’ll live a long life
And the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we’ll live a long life”

I can’t just get over the fact on how amazing their songs are. The lyrics are one thing, but the music in general is just mesmerizing. It’s the type of songs you can listen to over and over again. I guess I can’t help it but have a little shout out to my favorite songs from their debut album, Sigh No More. Do check out, Little Lion Man, The Cave, White Blank Page and Thistle & Weeds.

I hope you’re as mesmerized as I am. As always, I welcome your thoughts!

x,
C

‘A Visit From The Goon Squad’

Reading a novel is getting difficult day by day especially when one is swamp by uni assignments. So when I read a book, I want it to be entertaining, and sometimes refreshing. And it is disappointing that the Pulitzer winner, ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ is just not the novel!

A friend of mine recommended me this novel by Jennifer Egan. She briefly told me the theme of the novel which is about intertwining lives and a bit of romance here and there. So, I immediately thought, “hhmm.. I like stories that deal with intertwining lives. Just like those movies… Love Actually, Valentine’s Day.. Typical chickflik! Gonna give it a try!”  And so I bought the book, and on the cover, it has a “Staff Recommendation” sticker on it! And I became more intrigued with the novel!

I got through the first chapter just fine, introduced with the characters Sasha and Alex and I thought I might enjoy it. And when I got to the second chapter onwards, I became terribly confused! I thought I might have missed something somewhere between those lines, since I wasn’t sure exactly the setting and time of the story. It turns out, that the entire novel  JUMPS back and forth in time! And there’s no specific indication at the beginning of the chapter.

I expected to at least find something like, “New York, 2nd December 2011” in the beginning of the chapter. But alas, readers are supposed to figure it all out by reading between the lines. I got so confused and frustrated that I didn’t even make it through halfway. But that doesn’t mean the book is all bad! Here’s a list of PROS and CONS.

PROS

• it’s SMART – to develop characters and construct an entire novel with wild chronological order is something we gotta appreciate! not everyone can do this.
• it’s UNIQUE – Did I mention about a full chapter in POWERPOINT SLIDES? yes, u read that right!
• it’s INTERESTING – the characters in the novel are interesting! everyone has their own backstories that shape who they are as a character! the novel tackles themes like wild youth, loss, temptation and more.

CONS

• it’s a HEAVY READ – if you’re looking forward to read a novel for entertainment purpose, the need to read between the lines throught the entire novel might be a little tiring.
• it’s TIME CONSUMING – again, when you don’t have a lot of time to spare to read novels, this book is too time consuming. a lot of analysis is needed and you have to go through a few chapters before you know what’s really going on.
• it’s INCONSISTENT – not only does every chapter tells stories about different characters in different period of times, the style changes too! it’s inconsistent and it’s hard to really relate to the characters.

So, all in all… “A Visit from the Goon Squad” is not for everyone! I’ve read very good reviews of the novel – and it’s a Pulitzer winning work- this is not the novel you wanna read when you don’t have much time and are in for a light read.

The Newsroom – “America is not the greatest country in the world”

Aaron Sorkin + TV = Best Show Ever  …. ??? Is that the case of the new and highly anticipated HBO show, The Newsroom? First things first, watch the trailer below

The Newsroom. Creator: Aaron Sorkin. Starring: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr, Allison Pill, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Thomas Sadoski, Sam Waterston

And watch this first 8 minutes of the 1 hour show that got me HOOKED!

Aaron Sorkin has done it again. If anyone wasn’t familiar with his name yet, he is the man who wrote the screenplay of Moneyball and The Social Network. And the monologue in the pilot episode of The Newsroom has proven that Aaron Sorkin is indeed brilliant! As I have stated in my own introduction in this blog, I do not like politics. And The Newsroom is, well, pretty much about the news and what makes the news? Politics! Both the politics in the news and in the newsroom.

So why do I watch the entire 10 episodes of the first season of The Newsroom?Well.. It is  simply because, I am a sucker for ‘behind-the-scenes’. And this show is pretty much about the making of the news. And it questions a lot about the integrity of the news broadcast in this world today. Do they report the news in an unbiased way OR do they report the news according to the political standpoint of the producers? Do they report every single issues that should be raised OR do they report the news that will increase the ratings?

The show has gotten to me so much that by the end of every episodes, I went on Wikipedia and search about the republicans, the democrats, the Tea Party and all of the political issues the show discusses. And guess what? It turns out, I’m not the only one who does it! Dev Patel (starred in Slumdog Millionare), who plays the IT guy in the show, told LA Times, “I’m not intelligent enough for the show. That’s how I learn American Politics. Wikipedia. Every night.”  And we can’t blame him. The show is filled with very long and detailed and fast paced dialogues that it’s sometimes hard to digest. But fortunately for us, the actors in the show are magnificent!

So, now that I’ve mentioned the genius writing from Aaron Sorkin and writers, the heavy politics and the impressive actors, anything else for you to know? Yes. two words: RELATIONSHIPS DRAMA.

And to be honest, I am not a fan about it. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I found the relationship in the show too over the top. The portrayal of women are overly dramatic it’s painful to watch! Sometimes it gets too soap opera-ish. And because of the stretched timeline in the show, it’s hard to develop these relationships and it gets to the point where it seem quite unrealistic and frustrating. And also, I feel that the show focus so much on Will and he is portrayed like the God of News.

So to sum it up,

PROS: Aaron Sorkin and his brilliance, the actors, politics and the opening score.
CONS: Over the top dialogues, soapy relationships, the portrayal of women, too much focus on Will McAvoy.
Watch or Pass : WATCH if you’re into politics and interested on how the news is made. PASS if you do not like long dialogues and looking forward to fairytale romance kinda show.

Happy Watching!

Candice

the NAKED and FAMOUS !

Hey there! Don’t get too excited! This post has nothing to do with naked people being famous. we’re talking about the band here! Here’s a peak of their song called “Young Blood”! (you can thank me later! 😉 )

In love with it yet? Because i fell in love INSTANTLY once I heard it as the background song in the trailer of the movie “PROM”. There’s just something hypnotizing about the song and it feels so youthful! And I particularly love songs with catchy music that keeps me engaged along with beautifully written lyrics! *coughs* unlike rebecca black’s ‘friday’ *coughs*

We’re only young and naive still
We require certain skills
The mood it changes like the wind
Hard to control when it begins

The bittersweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah

Those are just a few lines from the song “Young Blood”. They have one album so far called “Passive Me, Aggressive You” (lovin’ their pick of album title!). They have MORE unique songs that you can find in the album and let me just name a few such as: “The Sun”, “Punching Like a Dream”, “Eyes”, “Girls Like You”, “The Ends”, and I think I should stop now or else I might as well just list down the entire album! But seriously, I can’t emphasize how incredible this New Zealand based band is! Yep, you heard that right! They are from New Zealand! *coughs* kiwi sceptics listen up! *coughs*

So I’ll let you guys to be a judge of the song yourself! Everyone has their own taste and I hope that if you’ve never heard of The Naked and Famous before, this post will introduce you to the next best thing in your iPod! I’ll leave you to your listening/downloading and end this post with a just a brief overview of the band!

ABOUT

Name: The Naked and Famous
Origin: New Zealand
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk Revival, Synthpop (Electropop, Technopop)
Songs featured in: Prom,One Tree Hill, The Secret Circle, The Vampire Diaries, Cabin in the Woods, Grey’s Anatomy, Skins (UK), Covert Affairs, Gossip Girl, Kony2012, Awkward …
Recommended if you love: MGMT, M83, Passion Pit, Phoenix, Fun., Two Door Cinema Club

thanks for reading! and listening!
x Candice!