"And we were winning the war with a lighter and a peace pipe..."

Plushgun is, quite simply, my type of music, and more accurately, my kind of artist.

He is a do-it-yourselfer, a one man show: writing the lyrics, crafting the emittance of electro beats, and combining them with the digital purr of his vocals to create addictive indie pop music. When I hear "Just Impolite" or "Dancing in a Minefield" I think of a youthfully nostalgic Postal Service with the clear influence of the New York sound emerging through the speakers.

The layering of vocals is distinct and smooth with a bit of Depeche Mode in their orchestration and lift. The tunes tend to be on the more energetic side of pacing, but never run the risk of being too noisy or video-gamey in speed. It creates for a very balanced equation of vivacious melodies and peaceful singing.

Kudos should go out then to Plushgun's Dan Ingala, who is undertaking this musical masterpiece on his own, without being signed onto record labels (shocking at how he's not been discovered in that way yet) or having the benefit of studio time and extreme production. Regardless, the music sounds amazing and is gaining a large fan following. You know what? I'm not even going to say much more. I'll let the talent speak for itself.





Plushgun - Dancing in a Minefield from the Plushgun EP which can be purchased from the band's myspace page here








If you're in the NYC area, Plushgun is going to be performing at the Bitter End (147 Bleecker St) tomorrow night. Show up, so one day when he is famous, you can say you were there at the first show.

"You and me are the disease and the germs are spreading..."

I've merely had this song stuck in my head all day. I remember hearing it in high school when the Lovage album came out and being severely impressed. I didn't know whether to take Dan the Automator (as producer) seriously because while the production is stellar, the music is sleazy, dark, intense, humorous, and visceral all wrapped into a loungey sultry trip-hoppy package.

I would imagine this song as a band playing within a scene: taking drags from long cigarettes while the plumes of smoke billowed around the corner of a jazz bar, female patrons in form fitting dresses and bright red lipstick with loosely fingered curls while the men took swigs of scotch from their glasses and checked the cufflinks on their suits. Everybody wants to dab at the sweat just the tiniest bit, but no one does, Lovage's music is that kind of hot.



Lovage - Book of the Month from Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By

"Feels like the crowd is saying, 'Gimme gimme more'..."

What an amazing weekend! From the Metric preview tour to Trash to having friends over and running flailing down the street to the very perfect Sunday (in weather, activities, and company), I have had a blast and am blessed.

I often think that life can't get much better, and of course, am proven wrong by unforeseen forces that work on my behalf.

Anyway, there is still so much left for me to accomplish.

I must get some job stuff in order, like temping or substitute teaching, and career stuff in order, like finally blowing those MCATs out of the water, and energy stuff in order, like returning to dance and taking up boxing.

But really, I am quite happy, and ready for what the universe wants to throw my way. So come on world, gimme more, I feel like I'm quite prepared for the responsibility of medical school, stress, puppies, apartment design, students, early mornings, and sore calves. And for everyone who reads this, I hope your dreams are coming true too. :)






Britney Spears - Gimme More






U2 - Beautiful Day

"Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns..."

To preface this, I enjoy Julie Taymor. So when I had initially heard about Across the Universe, I was delighted and intrigued.

After seeing it, you know, I didn't like it much.

I'm not going to discuss this at length. There were some great parts: Bono, Eddie Izzard, Salma Hayek, the song Let it Be. Joe Anderson, who played Max, was awesome.

Anyway, I'm saving music inspired movie love for Control and I'm Not There.



The Beatles - Across the Universe from Let It Be

"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky..."

Last night, at Marie's Crisis during the celebration of Brian's birthday, I realized that I am horrible at remembering the lyrics to musicals. The exceptions being Rent and Wicked as both those musicals are immensely special to me for various reasons ranging from obviously inspirational to deeply personal.

I feel as if these days are very Rent and Wicked worthy, with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal's extended performances and the presence of Jesse L. Martin in my neighborhood. (Though, using better judgment than I have with performers I've admired in the past, I avoided Rent-stalking him. For now anyway). And with the start of my MCAT classes swiftly approaching, those around me should know that Wicked will be on repeat constantly in an effort to keep my mindset positive.

On two random notes, I really think that the graphic design used in association with Wicked is phenomenal in its simplicity. In addition, Idina Menzel's voice really shines when she opens up her vowels. Just saying.






Wicked - Defying Gravity from Wicked Original Broadway Cast Recording

"I can stay awake for you if you can stay awake for me..."

Friday evening, Riss came over for dinner and drinks. My roommate made the most stellar dinner (that I've still been raving about for two days) and we had a great time that was incredibly chill and relaxed. It might have helped that between 3 people, we managed to go through 4 bottles of wine.






Howie Day - Slow Down from Australia










And just for fun, here's the Spike Jonze directed Adidas commercial which features Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song is titled Hello Tomorrow.

"Gonna speed it down and slow it up in the back seat..."

There's really nothing to today's musical post. I had it stuck in my head the other day at lunch because the restaurant was playing it in the background. Since then, I have grown to have other song choices stuck in my head, Patrick Wolf's Overture, for instance, or embarrassingly, a Jessica Simpson tune tonight.

I opted for the Gwen Stefani song because I don't think it was ever played enough and was a silly and lighthearted gem off her first solo project.





Gwen Stefani - Bubble Pop Electric from Love. Angel. Music. Baby.











Random other comment, I think Gwen Stefani is one of those people who looks a lot better with less makeup on. Like in the following videos:

Underneath It All



4 in the Morning

"I fought the law and the law won..."

The other evening, I went out and saw an early release of The Hunting Party, the movie based on the Scott K. Anderson's 2000 Esquire article, "What I Did On My Summer Vacation." Though there weren't many people in the theater, it seemed that everyone, including myself, had a great time and while walking out of the theater, conversations on the implications of the subject were immediately started. I had problems with the fictionalized "this is what should've happened" vigilante ending, but overall, the movie was really delightful, suspenseful, funny, and thought provoking all at once. Prior to this, I never truly considered the idea of bureaucracy in hunting for war criminals, but this movie put a new perspective on global politics for me.

In honor of the movie and how much fun I had:





The Clash - I Fought the Law from The Essential Clash






The Hunting Party Trailer

"Tujhse milna purani Dillli mein..."

Thursday marked my cousin Deepti's birthday. So Friday evening, my family and I went over to her house to have food with... more family, haha. Her husband Prasanna made dinner and I brought the cake (Tiramisu birthday cake) and we all had a great time. Music was playing in the background and their two kids seemed to really enjoy it, and watching them dance around and dancing with them a teeny bit, so did I.




Dhoom 2 - Dhoom Again from the Dhoom 2 Soundtrack









Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli

"So I'm moving to New York cuz I've got issues with my sleep. Looks like Christmas came early..."

I have had this post lined up since I started this blog.

If someone were to ask me when it was decided that I was moving to New York, I'd probably say since kindergarten when we were asked to draw pictures of ourselves and what we maybe wanted to be when we grew up. Tough question for a kid, right?. Being the adorable 5 or 6 year old that I was, I wrote down, "I want to be a docter. I want to live in New York or Los Angeles with my friends and family." Though I misspelled doctor, I have *never* wavered in any of my goals since. I'm pretty stubborn. Yeah, I've done a lot of other things too, but I make my life happen in the way that I so choose. And finally, after years of hanging out here anyway and having strangers (and people I know) tell me that I seemed like I was from the city or belonged in it, I moved to New York.

If someone were to ask me when it was decided with whom I was going to be living, I could not really begin to tell you. I know it was probably already set in place during our inseparable period of sophomore and junior year in college but neither he nor I can pinpoint that exact moment when one of us had an overhead lightbulb epiphany and said aloud, "we should live together." Maybe neither of us ever said anything. It could very well have been one of those ideas that both of us just happened to have at the same time and felt like it was in place all along. It was just very much understood that we were going to live together and then when we got a place that was distinctly ours it would look like fabulousity squared. Bunches of others had invited me to live with them over time, but I always refused, because there was something about our unspoken agreement that had the distinct feeling of being something great. And lo and behold, after a year, here I am and we are already having so much fun. Yay!

So here's the song I've had picked out since I realized I was moving in. After that is the Wombat's latest single, which oddly enough is titled, "Let's Dance to Joy Division." And one ofJoy Division's songs, coincidentally, being the ringtone for my roommate. See! It all comes full circle!





The Wombats - Moving to New York from Go Pop! Pop! Pop!









The Wombats - Let's Dance to Joy Division




And Alison Magnotti-Nagel, I know you read this and you're next in line for New York! I will purchase and roll out a red carpet in front of John Jay just for you.

"I ain't got no Red American Express..."

I apologize for being so absent lately, but it's all for good reason. After the last post, I drove off to Canada for a while and then returned home to (finally!) move to New York.

Fun stuff happened in Canada, I visited Niagara Falls for the first time since I was little. I was racially profiled on the border while coming home, too, haha. I got to hang out with my cousins whom I haven't seen in a year or two. People kept commenting about how my cousin Paul and I are so similar and one example to support that statement which I noticed was the fact that we had some of the same albums already playing in the cd player of our cars. The most notable of this was the Timbaland album, which is quite excellent because he crafts some killer, if sometimes not distinguishable from one another, beats.

So in honor of fun in Brampton, here's Timbaland. Tomorrow, I'll do a post dedicated to moving to New York.






Timbaland - The Way I Are from Shock Value