Le Blah Blah de moi

Moved to tumblr

2010-03-23T14:16:00.002-04:00

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The Soup de moi - 10/03/14

2010-03-14T22:44:00.002-04:00

So like the Soup on E!Online, I'll start to concatenate in one post the best of what I saw during the current week. Hopefully it's something that will go on and not like a one hit wonder.

I'll start with the episode 16 of this Criminal Minds season, called Mosley Lane...
In the past I had some friends question my love for this show, as they felt it could turn me insensible to the true horror of what was happening during some episodes.
I agree with them, but some episodes just put you right in your place.
Like this one.
It dealt with children's abductions. They had this theme before, but this one was just... It's like when you read in the papers that some missing child has been found after xx years. I felt for the parents, cause not everyone saw their child come back at the end. It was so sad!!

Continuing with the law enforcement theme, I caught up with some CSI I had missed. This one dealt with the death of a weather woman (Dee Dee), found dressed up like she's was working the streets.

Basically just because there is a woman in the car doesn't mean it safe to go in! OMG!!!! SO SCARY!

Anyway not everything was about depressing and scary stuff!

I finally watched KBS Gayo Daejun 2009 and I really loved how they all did the famous k-pop dances of 2009, it was funny!

Overall the show was kinda boring, I already saw the mv/watched the bands live countless of time before, so I didn't really enjoy it. But seeing Eunhyuk wearing bright shoes and trying to be front row at the end made me think of what he said during a recent appareance on Strong Heart.

At least, he's humble !

It also made me think about the "controversy" regarding the fact that Super Junior copied some choregraphy for their Lunar Special Dance Battle. You can see for yourself! (2mn20 for the first one/20 sec for the second one)

At the beginning I was really shocked cause they not only took the chore, but the song as well!! But when I saw the rest of the show, I realized that everybody copied each other, and the ones that probably came up with an original choreography didn't even win!!
So basically I don't blame them for not being original but still it pains me that choreographers get plagiarized out there and can do nothing about it.

I'm ending this post with the funniest thing I have watched in probably a long time, my bad for forgetting about the awesomeness that is Canal+.
I leave you with a cut from Le Petit Journal, covering Snoop Doog concert in Paris.

Now you see me, now you don't

2010-03-14T18:31:00.001-04:00

The triangle formation just don't work in a choreography with 6 persons.

It's not the same.

The song is still okay though.
2PM - Follow your soul mv

U-Kiss Vampire Ep. 6 - Date at the amusement park

2010-03-14T17:37:00.002-04:00

So the guys continue on their dates at the amusement park

[1]/[2]/[3]/[4]

Recap after the jump

Alexander is trying no matter what to bring some fun into his date... Poor him...

After the bungee jumping, each couples go on their own dates. Trying to make amends because he skipped it, Kiseop accepts to go on the Viking.

Dongho decides for the DDR the arcade.

They go on to try some cute ear hats at a gift shop

Ha Dongho!!! When will you learn!!!

They end up meeting Kiseop couple and riding the Viking as well.

Seems like we have some cowards in U-Kiss :p

On the ride, U-Kiss hit song Manmanhani comes up. The reaction is just too cute.

Looks like he didn't enjoy it so much... The song's in the background just fits perfectly!!

After the dates, they meet up again at the hall to "debrief" on the day and decide if the couple was a success or not.

Anyway I won't spoil all the fun, so I'll stop with this :

2NE1 - Try to follow me

2010-03-12T20:21:00.003-05:00

What the f*ck did I just watch?? (part.2)

Actually I wanted to talk about this mv like ages ago, but I got sidetracked by the mess that was Lady Gaga's new videoclip over here.

Lady Gaga , you can learn one or two tricks from this one:

2NE1== Extreme fierceness!

Fashion wise

The girls of 2NE1 are just out there!!! While Lady Gaga and Rihanna wears a lot of creative stuff, most of it is custom made or just haute couture and I can only dream about it.
I think Park Bom might be wearing an Alexander McQueen dress here but most of the time the girls from 2NE1 wear affordable clothes. Even if the probability that the item's sold out is very high, I still have my eyes set on the Star Wars cap that Sandara Park is wearing below

I now leave you with my favorites moments (images heavy, watch out!)

I go by the name of CL

Pimp mic thank you very much!!

This girl is just too much

Very Bjork-esque but oh so cool!

Park Bom

Sandara Park

Dance Queen Minzy

Werk it gurrrlz!

It looks like the girls had a lot of fun doing this clip, and they even choregraphed the dance steps by themselves.

I so want this outfit!!

Not this one so much, but it's still fun to watch

You got the moves!

Onto the music

I know some people think that 2NE1 are highly overrated but I really love them! I like their fashion sense a lot, and their sound is little dancehall/reggae sound, very different from the bubble pop we usually have in k-pop.
When I think that this song started as a cf song (song for a commercial)

2NE1 - Try to follow me

Just before posting I just saw that allkpop did a poll on Sandara Park vs. Beyonce.

I didn't even realize lol!!! You guys go vote!

Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce - Telephone

2010-03-12T17:34:00.004-05:00

Seriously what the f*ck did I just watch?

Hmm... I hope not.

Yeah! I totally did not want to see that!

Fashion Wise (more info here)
So I don't understand why they chose to shoot one part of the video in a jail... I don't see the relation between the concept of telephone/partying and a jail. Anyway I'll just say it was the occasion for Lady Gaga to do a fashion show... Starting with her pair of cigarettes sunglasses. It seems they were lit cause you can see the smoke coming out.

Fierce!

When she entered the jail she had this very high padded-shoulder dress that reminded me a lot of what Rihanna was wearing in her Hard videoclip. She also had the small tape crosses-like we saw Rihanna sporting last year. Of course with those two ladies being at the top of the fashion wave, they're bound to share some similar fashion choices. Unfortunately for Lady Gaga, she didn't bother to wear a bra with her dress...

She made some other very questionable fashion choices during the whole jail incident. You can judge for yourself.

Update: fashion recap here
Now enters the queen Beyonce!

You guys know that the only reason I watched this was to see Beyonce. Unfortunately, when she entered the story, it got even more random... I really want to know what the creative director had been smoking before writing the script!!

Marketing

Lady Gaga displayed in broad daylight some branded products during the videoclip... I wonder how much plenty of fish paid to appear in this videoclip or if she chose the brands randomly.

Now if you still want to see it, head over here. I have to warn you though... It's over 9 mn!

The song is not so bad though... Usually the pv helps the song, but here it's the contrary.

Hero Jaejoong to be featured in japanese magazine An An?

2010-03-11T14:04:00.001-05:00

Today the news dropped.
Jaejoong might be featured in japanese magazine An An...
Ok so far nothing really jaw dropping, you tell me, except that An An is known for displaying male celebs in their simplest apparel and/or in rather compromising positions with female models...
So now it's Hero Jaejoong's turn? The fandom simply exploded. While fans in korea were lining up online to pre-oder the magazine, people on omona and popseoul were debating whether the photoshoot would be saucy or safe.
After all, I saw some pictures of some previous male celebs featured, and, oh boy!, some are very r-rated.
NSFW

Matsumoto Jun

Yamapi wowowowowow!!

Hiroki Narimiya (two thumbs up)

Sho Sakurai

Akanishi Jin (ou la la!!!)

To be honest, I was kinda disappointed with MatsuJun pictures... It was more on the cute side.
Even if I don't find Yamapi attractive, his pictures were rather racy, but the one that topped everything was definitely Akanishi!!! A guy from Johnny's acting like that!!! O.O

SHINee - Get Down feat. f(x) Luna

2010-03-11T10:19:00.001-05:00

From left to right Onew (leader-vocals), Taemin (dance), Key (versatile), Jonghyun (main vocal), Minho (rap). Onew looks bothered on this pic lol.

I got first introduced to SHINee when they came to visit 2PM on Idol Show Season 3... At that time I thought they looked very young, with this very preppy-cute boy band image.
That was almost one year ago...
They have since released a mini-album : 2009, Year of us and with Get Down, I think the boys nailed their transition into what they've been hoping to turn to, that is a "man's" band - opposed to a boy band.
With a vibe that reminds me of old school hip-hop and the guys going hard on it, I couldn't believe I was listening to SHINee!! I didn't recognize them!!!
We're far from the romantic ballad Replay - Noona is pretty from one year ago!
Hopefully they'll continue in this direction [and Taemin will grow up]
SHINee - Get Down

Alexander McQueen final collection in Paris

2010-03-10T12:32:00.001-05:00

Alexander McQueen's teams presented his last collection, yesterday. Composed of 16 looks, it was heavily inspired by the middle ages and the renaissance, with luxurious fabrics, religious themes and heavy patterns.

I think we can expect to see a lot of it, as people will rush to try and pay homage, and with only 16 looks, I hope that we'll soon see those dresses at some events.

I feel the whole coat paired to the high collar is a little too heavy, but a modified strapless gown would be a delight. Too bad it came after the Oscars.

Really simple but cute, I can see someone like Natalie Portman or Meryl Streep wear this.

@style.com

Oscars 2010 - The looks at the after parties

2010-03-09T12:57:00.003-05:00

Everyone showed up... From some A-Lister missing from the main event to some serious D-Listers ...

Some looks I liked

For once Kate Beckinsale is not wearing a A-line/mermaid dress so I knew I had to feature her!

Some looks I didn't like

Can someone tell me what the hell is she doing here?

Cool looks

From left to right:

Kate Bostworth adopts a very light and feminine look, I really like her dress.
J.Lo looks fierce as usual!
I don't know Demi Levato but I really like her mini golden sparkly dress.
I'm a little sick of Vanessa Hudgens and her 1920's inspiration but , hey why fix something if it's not broken?
Except the hair, I like Kelly Osbourne dress, it's really cute despite the feathers on the skirt.

Bad looks

From left to right:

Salma Hayek probably wanted to pay homage to Alexander McQueen but I felt the dress was too busy on her and her hair look like such a mess.
Katy Perry should consider changing stylists. It's one miss after another.
Olivia Wilde looks like 40 years old, that's too bad, she's so pretty!
Hilary Swank has a great body, but the dress is really too low cut.

It's funny, basically the two last one should have switched dresses or something.

Oscars 2010

2010-03-08T12:20:00.024-05:00

As usual nobody tried something exciting except Zoe Saldana and Diane Kruger but I feel their effort didn't produce anything breathtaking.

In the case of Zoe Saldana I feel there is too much going on... I don't really like the tie-dye effect on dress, especially on occasions others than going to the beach. Just add the glittery bust and, wow it's just an overall mess.

I don't like the divisions on Diane Kruger's Chanel Couture dress... Plus the ruffles in the middle give an overall look of french cancan, not very appropriate for the Oscars...

My favorite looks

U-turn for Cameron Diaz from the SAG! Her dress is just perfect for this event.
Gold color, check.
Floor length, check.
A-line silouhette with a flowy skirt, check.
Sparkles, check.
I just wished she'd have chosen a softer lip color, it looks a little harsh with her blonde hair and gold dress.

I know it's black, but at least it's sparkly. I really love the nude/black effect on Tina Fey's Michael Kors dress. A huge step from the SAG as well.

Anna Kendricks look very etheral in this Elie Saab couture dress... She's very pale and the dress is almost like a second skin so I feel she should have tried to put her hair in the background... Maybe by getting some shades lighter or a tighter bun... I feel those dark hair are a little overwhelming .

Amanda Seyfried looks lovely here and I really enjoyed the Armani Prive collection... Too bad that Jennifer Lopez was wearing a dress from the same collection. Even if the design is pretty different, the sheer effect gives it away.

Not too bad

Sandra Bullocks brings a feeling of old Hollywood glamour in Marchesa... Unfortunately the gold brocade and the dark lips ages her a little bit too much...

Kate Winslet also looked very glamour in her YSL dress. It's simple and not black. A good look overall.

Even if I don't know why Miley Cyrus is invited to such an event, she managed to look good and somewhat age appropriate in a Jenny Packham dress yesterday. The skirt is lovely, I wish the entire dress was made of this fabric.

For once I like Kristen Stewart look. Maybe it's due to the fact that she's smiling, I don't know. Her Monique Lhuillier dress is still all black, but let's go one step at a time.

Both Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr have the perfect date for this event!

Other looks include Gabourey Sidibe in Marchesa, Elizabeth Banks in Atelier Versace, Queen Latifah and Mo'Nique.

Too bad

Carey Mulligan is a very pretty girl but sometimes she makes very questionable fashion choices.. I feel that the top of her petite frame is too heavy, from the chandelier earrings to the heavily beaded bust of her Prada dress... And then her legs are somewhat nude, due to the design of the skirt... Gives an overall unfinished feeling.

Vera Farmiga in a Marchesa looks like she's about to get eaten by the amount of fabric on her dress.

It should have worked for me... I have a girl's crush on Rachel McAdams, I even liked her when she went through her pink hair phase... But even if her Elie Saab Couture dress has the design of an oscar dress, the print and the color don't make the cut for me. Same thing for Maggie Gyllenhal's Dries Van Noten dress.

What the hell is that ? It's sad that both of the worst looks on this red carpet came from Chanel Couture... The maison that I always used to associate with elegance and chic failed to deliver strong contenders yesterday. Poor Sarah Jessica Parker, she looks so contrite in this picture.

Sorry Demi Moore and Penelope Cruz, but it has already been done before.

Well I said in the first sentence that nobody really tried and that the ones that did so failed in their attempt, but I feel that Charlize Theron did succeed. Her Christian Dior Couture dress is different from what we've seen so far and she look really statuesque in it. Even if I wish she would have sticked to the original design, I can't help but applaud the risk she took.

Gourmet Asian Fusion - 4050 Saint-Denis

2010-03-07T12:20:00.006-05:00

How we ended up there
My cousin absolutely wanted to go to a bring your own wine restaurant not too far from Mont-Royal's station. She felt like italian at first but because my last time at l'Academie left me with a bad impression overall, I pressed her to choose something else. Turns out one of her friends had been to Gourmet Asia Fusion, an all you can eat asian restaurant, just across the street from l'Academie so she set her choice on this one.

My sister is not fond of chinese food so she decided to bail out but I insisted on the fact that it was a fusion restaurant and than amongst all the chinese dishes, we might find some thai and who knows? Maybe some sushi or some indian as well!!!

Just before leaving to the restaurant we had a quick look at the menu. It looked so good on paper! We couldn't wait.... I was a little anxious because I was wondering if I would have enough space to taste a little of everything.

The setting
When we arrived, the restaurant was packed... People were waiting in line. The restaurant is quite small and it's difficult to navigate between the tables, especially if there are big reservations. I think they were at least 3 birthdays parties this night, taking up to at least 60% of the capacity of the restaurant.
We sat down and because I love to do that, I asked the waitress for more info regarding the meals and how it would work out.
Turns out that whatever you order, they bring for the whole table. If you have some left-over, they make you pay. So if you feel like eating some soup, you have to make sure everyone will want the soup or that you can eat whatever's left . What a big surprise!! Nobody knew about this "rule" around the table, and they were already starting to select their meals. Despite the "warning", at the end, the order sheet was almost full.
People started to panic but when the food arrived, we were all relieved!! They only give you one small plate, with food for maximum two persons on it. We were 11, and I think we ordered around 9 different meals, so we were okay... The only thing they bring in high quantity is the rice/noodles (of course).

The food
For 27 $ after the tip and taxes, the food was definitely not worth it. There were some good meals, like the General Tao Chicken (almost never a miss) and the Sea Salt Shrimps but all the rest was watered down. Literally.
The spring rolls and the soup were missing their shrimps and the dumplings were more like won-ton that real gyoza dumplings.
I think it's a good all you can eat restaurant but don't expect quality meals.

安室奈美恵 (Namie Amuro) - Past < Future

2010-03-05T11:30:00.020-05:00

Style : Hip-Pop (she's the queen of the genre)

Meiko is probably saying to herself " Finally, a post not related to kpop" !
My bad, I haven't listened to jpop in a long time but because of this mysterious cover and the artist featured on it, I decided it was time to give it another try.
I now present you the latest of Namie Amuro who, at 32 and with almost 20 years of music history behind her, is still fresh as ever... She found her style and is doing a good job at it.
Namie Amuro - Past < Future (2009)

FAST CAR
COPY THAT
LOVE GAME
Bad Habit
Steal my Night
FIRST TIMER feat. DOBERMAN INC.

WILD

Shut Up
MY LOVE
The Meaning Of Us
Defend Love

Now don't ask me about the over use of CAPS in the titles, maybe she felt inspired by Kanye West, I don't know.
I just want to take those last few lines and talk about FIRST TIMER.
Even if Dr. was one of the first track that really caught my attention, FIRST TIMER recently surpassed this track in the playcount on my player.
The fast /scat beat is really out there and Namie Amuro clearly got outshined by the collective DOBERMAN INC. Like Bjork on her album Volta with Antony and the Johnsons, Namie Amuro made me discover a new artist I'll definitely check out and not that only!! I think I'll start paying attention to the latest jpop releases. It's time!

Goodbye leadja ... The aftermath, one week after

2010-03-04T12:38:00.005-05:00

So this is it... Park Jaebum will not be returning to 2PM. In fact, JYPE ended his contract exactly one week before, the 25th of February...
I remember, just before this day, my sister, talking to me about how excited she was about the conference happening the 27th, because you know, Jaebum might come back!!!But then, on the 25th, you should have seen her face... All day long she kept mumbling about this, she just couldn't believe it.
And on the 27th...
After the conference....
Everything changed...

I think this image I found on the 2PM's soompi thread perfectly resumes what is happening right now

So after one week, where do I fit?
I had time to think... I made a stop in all the spaces in the image above and reached to a conclusion. I'm a FWSDAGD... Afterall I ended up just enjoying the show and the lulzy that is Kpop... I even registered to 2oneday just to get some new information on all this...

I got into kpop seriously about 2 months ago.. I had already read about this band with 7 members !!! that had a member leave due to some controversy but I never really bothered to get more interested... Until I got my hands on the season 3 of Idol Show.

I now understand where everybody is coming from...

I mean just by seeing how my sister (not even a fan) was acting, I can understand how the hottest felt during and after the conference. The members probably had enough time to get over Jaebum leaving for real but the fans only had less than 2 days... I think there was a misunderstanding between both parties due to their attitude...

Saesang and fans accounts
I didn't understand why the saesang/sasaeng (hardcore fans who follow idols around 24/7) had to release pictures of the boys in their free time till I read that they felt attacked when the rep accused them of not protecting the members enough.

Fan: “Why did the company not protect Jaebum?”
Jungwook: “Why didn’t the fans shield him then” (After he said this, it exploded)

They showed the rest of the world that indeed they were protecting the members by not releasing those "incriminating" pictures and keeping them hidden from the public eye...
The pictures didn't really shocked me... I understand that at 20 the guys do go out , party, drink and hang out with girls. There is nothing wrong with that. I don't know the impact that it might have had in Korea though. The idol image is supposed to be squeaky clean there.

What shocked me was the concept of being a saesang... I find it sad that people just follow someone 24/7 and practically don't let them have any private life... I think I would have stayed in the dorm all the time :S ... But at the end, I didn't sign for this.

The rumors did shock me as well... Some because they made a lot of sense, yet I still don't know whether to believe them or not. If they turned out to be true it would definitely shed a new light on the band but anyway after what happened, I can't help but to see them differently.

Will I continue to support them?
Why not? I still listen to R.Kelly and The Cranberries... If they put out good and catchy music, you cannot force me not to like and enjoy it. It is sad though that fans have to take sides.

Still it will never be the same... Everytime I see one of their cf or mv, I cannot help but feel that there's something missing. It's missing Jaebum.

Good luck to remaining members.

@omona [ All about the 2PMESSOPOTAMIA ] , very funny post here
@allkpop [ I only found a full transcript here, but they have been accused to be biased]
@2oneday [You will have to register though]
@bumvirus [Interesting view from a fan]

When editorials go wrong - After School for InStyle Korea

2010-02-24T23:21:00.007-05:00

After School - in Burberry SS2010 - for InStyle March 2010

@allkpop
Overload of cuteness doesn't mean it is going to look good...

It's funny because the models during the fashion shows are, for me, the ones doing the worst job as ambassadors for the clothes.
It may be due to the fact that I'm not seated at the front row and the details don't translate well in the pictures or that the models could as well be replaced by cardboards and we would not see the difference, I don't know....

I usually have to wait till I see the collection on a real person ( ie. with a real body) or in a editorial to appreciate the clothes and see the collection from another perspective.

Unfortunately here, I feel the stylist did a bad job, because after seeing this editorial, I don't feel like seeing more of the collection .

I remember about how I gushed over the collection back in September and how I dreamed about owning the glitter trench after seeing Kate Hudson and Lee Da Hae's editorials ...
Now I kinda wish this editorial would just disappear. It ruined it for me.
/rant

손담비 (Son Dam Bi) - 미쳤어 (Crazy)

2010-02-17T15:58:00.007-05:00

Son Dam Bi is not your typical k-pop idol.
She became popular after someone uploaded a video of her dancing on the web and was quickly dubbed the female Rain of Korea.

I think what I like most about this song is the fact that it is produced by Brave Sounds, who are also behind some of U-Kiss songs, but also her trademark dance move in the video,the head wave (by Daesung in the gif below), is simply just too addictive.

Son Dam Bi - Crazy

2PM for Coca Cola Photos

2010-02-17T13:32:00.002-05:00

Rest of the photoshoot
Behind the citation [NSFW]

G-Dragon in BCBG Max Azria FW2010

2010-02-15T17:46:00.014-05:00

It's been a long time since my last fashion set but as soon as I saw this top, I had a feeling it would fit Mr. Fashionita number 1 aka G-Dragon so well, I just knew I had to open Photoshop and suffer to make a "fake" collage of a fashion set...

The BCBG Max Azria show took place on the second day of New York's Fashion week, so Friday, but I've been away this week-end so I could only work on it today. I hope you'll like it :)

Preppy look

PANTS : General Idea
SHOES : Adidas Y-3

Rock look

JACKET: Balmain FW2010
NECKLACE : Lady Grey
PANTS : Rad by Rad Hourani
SHOES : Jeffrey Campbell

R.I.P. Alexander McQueen

2010-02-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

I couldn't believe it when I read this morning that Alexander McQueen commited suicide.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Alexander McQueen committed suicide. A source at McQueen's office confirmed the suicide, saying, "It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family." Details of his death have not been released yet. [...]

@The Cut

I think I'm still in shock... When I think I was just browsing his spring 2010 collection not so long ago after I saw Anna Paquin at the S.A.G.
To one of the most creative designer of the last decade... Rest in peace.

Animal Collective - Sung Tongs

2010-02-10T16:58:00.003-05:00

Style : Animal Collective (they have a special category only for them :p)

It's always hard to review Animal Collective's albums. I can only say that everybody has to try at least once, some songs you'll like, some maybe not, but overall you have to say that they're really a band aside.

Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (2004)

Leaf House

Who Could Win a Rabbit
The Softest Voice
Winters Love
Kids on Holiday
Sweet Road
Visiting Friends
College
We Tigers

Mouth Wooed Her
Good Lovin Outside
Whaddit I Done

Anne Hathaway @ the L.A. premiere of Valentine's Day

2010-02-09T11:33:00.003-05:00

Anne Hathaway in Marchesa

I completely had forgotten about this movie.. This year's He's not that into you... Let's see...

2PM mini drama for Cass Beer

2010-02-08T15:43:00.007-05:00

The mini drama and a poll are after the jump

Tik Tok Music Drama with 2PM, Part 1

Tik Tok Mini Drama with 2PM, Part 2

Nichkhun plays the star

YoonEun Hye the assistant

Taecyon the detective

The Knife In Collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock - Colouring of Pigeons

2010-02-06T18:35:00.004-05:00

I've recently talked about the Knife, well... Excuse me, I should say half of the Knife or Fever Ray, when I reviewed last.fm top 40 of the year, last December. I read some weeks ago that the band were working on an opera based off Charles Darwin's life and work... I was really intrigued and because I told myself that I would try more of them, I decided to give it a listen...

The Knife In Collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock - Colouring of Pigeons
I wouldn't be able to tell if it really fits the theme but the music and the voice of the main singer are quite enchanting and succeed in making you forgetting the track is 11mn after all.
I've been meaning to publish the song but I forgot until I saw yesterday that the Knife released digitally the whole opera on their website - we will have to wait till next month for a audio release.
That just means that if you're - like me -willing to try more of it, you know where to go! I'll be sure to give a listen to the album as I was really looking forward to the final project.

Update: I listened to it and I believe that opera is really not my cup of tea... I didn't enjoy this album so far... I'll give it another try for sure.

Katy Perry @ the Grammys 2010

2010-02-02T18:25:00.002-05:00

Katy Perry in Zac Posen

Katy Perry gets her own post to highlight the fact that she really should have chosen a better support for her twins, and a better dress overall... When I think I featured her as someone to look forward to last year... It pains me.

Grammys 2010 - Yawn Yawn Yawn boring.

2010-02-02T18:16:00.005-05:00

My parents were browsing through the channels for something to watch when they realized the Grammys were on. They decided to have a quick preview; the Black Eyed Peas were performing at this moment. After less than two minutes, they already had changed the channel to some a show talking about fishermen or what not... Anyway, something really boring.. The fisherman life seemed more interesting to them that the Grammys!

I was somewhat excited about the Grammys because singers have been known to take more fashion risks/ play more with fashion that their actors counterpart... This theory has been proved wrong at the Grammys where everybody showed up in long red carpet dresses. Even Rihanna!
I was saying in the post below that I couldn't wait to see if she would been able to top Lady Gaga in her Armani Prive custom dress and there she is, wearing this long feathery white gown.

Rihanna in Elie Saab Couture

It's a gorgeous gown but, don't forget, it's the Grammys we're talking about! Not the Oscars...

Cocktail dresses vs long trains

Jennifer Hudson in Victoria Beckham

Even if the dress itself has nothing special, I have to say it looks beautiful on Jennifer Hudson and hugs her all in the right places... Good job!

Beyonce in Stephane Rolland

I'm a little sick of Beyonce wearing those A line/mermaid dresses... This dress is not beautiful at all - with the zipper - doesn't it remind you of those neoprene scuba diver suits?
At least she redeemed herself with her "sasha" fierce performance outfit below, that has been seen on Rihanna for Vogue Italy by the way...

Beyonce in Atelier Versace

Beyonce in Armani Privé

This dress is really lovely and fits the Grammys theme so well; I wish she would have chosen this dress for the red carpet.

Miley Cyrus in Herve Leger

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is really Miley Cyrus, featured on this blog. Even if I don't really fathom her music, I have to recognize when a compliment is due... Miley made a good choice tonight, a simple mini, really cute and well accessorized, a perfect choice considering her age...

Taylor Swift in Kaufman Franco

Taylor Swift was one of the big winners of the night - I should start listening to her music I guess- but not in term of fashion. Don't get me wrong, the dress is lovely, but unfortunately, she always sticks to the same designer and sparkly dresses.. At 20, she should be experimenting and dress a little more extravagant.. This is plain boring.

Both Fergie and Jennifer Lopez had curve huggin dresses with some lamé parts on them. It was a very nice choice for both ladies.

Not all the ladies wearing short dresses were hits though

I've heard a lot about Ke$ha(left) but seeing her like this doesn't make want try her music... She looks really tired and the dress does not fit her at all!

Heidi Klum (middle) looks really large wearing this dress and doesn't have the support she needs! I don't like.

Marisa Miller probably suffer from short term memory loss l because when I saw her dress, it reminded me of the dress she wore last year.

But the palm d'or to the worst dressed goes probably to those two below

I think Britney Spears wanted to come incognito but unfortunately her see through (cheap) dress surely put her on many of the worst dressed lists of the night, including mine.

Snooki from Jersey Shore (right) - what the hell is she doing here anyway - is wearing the sempiternal Herve Leger bandage dress -or a knockoff - we saw on everyone... And it does not fit her at all!

Did you watch the show yourself? What performances/outfits did you like/not like?

Lady Gaga @ The Grammys 2010

2010-01-31T20:48:00.001-05:00

Lady Gaga in Armani Prive

I'm not fond of the wig but seriously, she killed it... I don't know how Rihanna will top this.

Idol Show Season 3 with 2PM

2010-01-30T22:54:00.005-05:00

From left to right : Chansung, Junsu, Wooyong, Jaebum, Junho, Nichkhun and Taecyeon

I don't want to say I never laughed so much in my whole life, but let me tell you that the experience I had watching this is pretty close to this statement...

I found this show totally by mistake, I had originally planned to watch Idol World, and I just thought people had badly tagged/named the show online. When I realized my mistake , it was too late, I had already around 4 episodes, so I decided to watch it, you know? It had started so well...

The concept is not really original compared to other korean reality shows but you know the proverb; why fix something if it's not broken.

So onto the story : our dear members of 2PM have to compete in a various numbers of games and only one will survive at the end of the show as the best entertainer.
The catch is that most of the episode is not about the games per se but more about the couple choice they have to make at the beginning with one of the invited guests ...
This is where the fun starts...
Dancing, acting, winking, singing, everything is allowed to win the "girl" in your heart. But it doesn't stop here! Most of the time there are fewer girls than guys, as 2PM is , after all, a seven members boys band, so then the girl has also to return their feelings... Otherwise they'll end up in a boy-boy couple, and , who wants that at 20 years old?!!!

Under the jump are the lists of the episodes and some highlights I really enjoyed during the show... My favorite episodes were definitely Ep.4 and Ep.14-15 because of the guests, but I can't say too much... I'll leave you with those two previews I made.

Episodes list
Sorry for the bad quality, the videos were pretty small to begin with so uploading them on youtube didn't really help.

Episode 1 (no guests)
Watch on Veoh

The guys are introducing the female guests of the episode one, and they all have a pleasant surprise.

Episode 2 with Kara
Watch on Veoh

Episode 3 with JunJin girls (regular high school girls)
Watch on Veoh

Episode 4 Christmas special with 2AM
Watch on Veoh

Episode 5 with Brown Eyed Girls
Watch on Veoh

Jaebum likes both Ga-In and Narsha, he wanted to make a special impression on them, but Wooyoung appeared out of nowhere, in front of him... Extreme confusion but extremely funny.

Episode 6 with the foreign models
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Episode 7 - Fame episode / School of Rock
Watch on Veoh

The band is at a local market and have to be recognized by passerby while hanging around... If one of them gets asked for an autograph or a picture, they win the game... Will it be hard for Nichkhun or not?

Episode 8 - 9 with SNSD
Watch on Veoh [Episode 8] / Veoh [Episode 9]

Episode 10 - MT
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

The band will be divided in two teams depending on the outcome of the game.
One of the team will get a bad car to get to the MT location and the other a really good one and a really good meal. To this point, everybody who lost at the game assumed they would get the bad car/no food, but the PD said that this had not been decided yet which then let everybody to assume the result would be depending on where Nichkhun would land...

Episode 11 - MT part.2
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Episode 12 - MT part. 3
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Episode 13 - Star Golden Bell Parody
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Episode 14 & 15 with SHINee
Watch on Veoh [Episode 14] / Veoh [Episode 15]

Episode 16 with After School
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Episode 17 - Finale
Youtube part 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

I'll miss you Jaebum.

Animal Collective - Winters Love

2010-01-26T18:54:00.002-05:00

I finally found the occasion to try some new Animal Collective!!! A guy posted this song on a forum as the perfect song to listen to while studying... I always wanted to try something new from Animal Collective... And I fell in love.
Animal Collective - Winters Love

Always late : The SAG awards 2010 - the fashion recap

2010-01-25T19:18:00.006-05:00

You probably already saw all the pictures but I still felt like doing a small recap...
I can start by saying that this redcarpet was way way better fashion wise than the Golden Globes... Even if, once again, no one really blew me away, the average was higher...

Now that I know how to use the read more functionality of blogger, beware!!!

Perfect Perfection

Sandra Bullock and Diane Kruger are my favorites again... I really loved the details on Sandra Bullock's Alexander McQueen's dress and even if mustard is my least favorite color ever you can't deny that Diane Kruger looks amazing in Jason Wu.

I didn't get a special love vibe either from Kate Hudson or Dianna Agron, but I really loved the design of the dresses and the updos they paired it with... You have to admit it that in the case of Kate Hudson, this is a huge step compared to her horrible Marchesa bridal dress from the Golden Globes.

Cute coktail dresses

Even if I am not too found of cocktail dresses for those kind of events, you have to say that both ladies (Tina Fey in Salvatore Ferragamo and Marion Cotillard in Elie Saab Couture) are breathtakingly stunning.

It doesn't fit!

It felt like those girls had either not enough / too much support ... I am a little sick of Mariah Carey's boring style, but the other dresses were lovely... It's really too bad.

Mention spéciale

Even if I love the print on Anna Paquin's Alexander McQueen's dress, I felt it was not the best choice for this event and her shoes were a little too much on the heavy side. Michelle Monaghan 's Calvin Klein's dress was lovely, but I could not get over the missing sleeve nor the asymetrical hem...

So what did you guys think?

Did I miss someone?

Regina Spektor on the (500) Days of summer OST

2010-01-23T10:10:00.012-05:00

I just love her voice and style. It kinda remind me of Ingrid Michaelson sometimes too.
I don't know which one, out of Us or Hero, I like the most... Maybe Us because I feel Hero is too short... At the end it leaves me waiting for more.

And it's contagious

New design?

2010-01-22T15:33:00.015-05:00

I'm writing this post because, according to this article , I should not content myself with a dull Blogger design .
I currently use the Minima template - a little tweaked of course- but I've been wondering if I should not take this opportunity and change the layout of my blog.
I selected a few designs myself, tell me if you favor a change or if I should just stick to the layout I already have... I'm looking for something quite minimalist, after all, it's just a personal blog, not an online magazine/photoblog etc...

I'll showcase the original layout and then a few screencaps of what the blog would look like once I put the template on it:

A post (with the a "read more after the jump" part )
Comments
Quoting
Footer/Sidebar if necessary

There will be no tweaking, just an initial look of what the template would look like... I'm doing this because nobody wants to code and tweak a design so it fits ... I would like to make my final choice based also on the amount of work left after I upload the code to Blogger.

So onto the designs!

Black Minimalist [DL]

Except the fact that some functionalities don't work, I quite like this design.

Evidens [DL]

The minimalistic feeling and bright colors make me dig this design a lot... But it feels a little empty :(

Masinop [DL]

I like the concept of this design, but once I put it on my website, I realized there were a lot of updates to do... Hopefully it's only images and it's gonna work out fine.

Mosaicus[DL]

This is probably one of my favorite design, but it would need a lot of work (resizing all the pictures , creating thumbnails) and also having pictures in all my posts... This is design better suited for photoblogs than anything else.

Mystique[DL]

While working on this post, I think I found the One... I really like the design, everything pretty much work out as I want it, maybe a little tweaking on the design of the sidebar but that's really easy (or optional).

Urban Artist [DL]

Another design I really like... I only wish the "read more" functionality would work though :(

100 cheesiest movie quotes of all time

2010-01-21T22:37:00.001-05:00

So bad it's funny.

This is why winter is one of my favorite season (fashion wise)

2010-01-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

@이혁재’s Cyworld

Prada S/S 2010

2010-01-19T15:34:00.002-05:00

I really like the beach/cute feeling and even the bold lips... What do you guys think?

@prada, the fashionspot, newsen, mtv

Golden Globes 2010 - Fashion Recap

2010-01-18T13:19:00.006-05:00

Olivia Wilde is wearing Gucci and Kate Winslet is wearing Yves Saint Laurent.

Wow it's been a while since I featured an award event on this blog, and I thought it was mostly because it wasn't the awards seasons... But I have to say that I've been kinda bored lately - UPDATE: it seems I'm not the only one to think so - with the fashion choices of the celebrities on the red carpet and yesterday was not really an exception...
A few mentions there and there for using color (Ginnifer Godwin) or a different silhouette (Drew Barrymore)but otherwise it was the regular black mermaid/sparkly dress. So it's no surprise that my favorite dress was the one worn by Diane Kruger, a superb layered vibrant pink dress from Christian Lacroix Couture.

Next is Sandra Bullock wearing a sheer purple dress from Bottega Veneta

The icing on the cake was her heels. I happened to catch her winning speech on tv and when I saw her walking on the stage, I was really flabbergasted. I loved her whole look (even the weird hair).

Finally, I know it's a black sparkly dress but the details on Paula Patton's Kaufman Franco's dress paired with her pregnant glow are just too lovely.

And because I love dimples, a special mention to Jennifer Morrison, Jennifer Garner and Carey Mulligan for their cuteness

For more looks, head over here or here.

(500) days of Summer - 3.5/5

2010-01-17T17:24:00.001-05:00

This is not a love story.
It is a story about love.

Indeed it is.
Tom is your typical romantic girl (typo that stays). He believes in fate, destiny, love at first sight, being in love forever and ever etc...
The first time he saw Summer, he knew she was the One.
But Summer doesn't really believe in love, she'd rather be alone and not attached to anybody ... Anyway, your typical guy.

This is not a love story.
It is a story about love.

I really enjoyed how the movie was done. The actors were genuine and the photography reminiscent of the 50s... Paired with the fashion choice, it gave some kind of a timeless feeling to the movie. The editing reminded me sometimes of Amelie which helped adding a coat of cuteness overall the whole movie.

I liked how the movie did its own tweak on relationships. Maybe that's why I agree with the tagline so much.
It is not your typical romantic comedy.
We had some conversations about the main characters actions and reactions through the whole movie.
My friend was right , this is the kind of movie that makes you think.

And I need the soundtrack.

Goodbye Jewelry

2010-01-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

Very beautiful and sad goodbye performance... Reminded me when I first stumbled across Jewelry, around their SuperStar era... They sure grew up! I should check them out again...
I wish the best to the two last members but I have to say that it's gonna be hard to find a replacement for Park Jung Ah's voice.

Technology never ceases to impress me

2010-01-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

@designscene

Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra

2010-01-07T10:17:00.002-05:00

이러다 미쳐 내가 여리여리 착하던 그런 내가
너 때문에 돌아 내가 독한 나로 변해 내가

I used to be nice, soft and tender
but if I keep going crazy like this
you’ll change me into something bad

Sexy moves, sexy outfits, upbeat tempo, and catchy melody.
I know I'm late (been released since july 2009) but I like it!

Emma Watson for Burberry Prorsum Spring 2010 campaign

2010-01-06T11:24:00.001-05:00

@designscene

I know it's an overload of Burberry Prorsum Spring 2010 but I just stumbled upon those photos of the ad campaign featuring Emma Watson and her younger brother (in the suit)... The feeling is very different from the ads I remember with Kate Moss and Stella Tenant...
But afterall, we're in 2010...

What do you guys think?

Avatar - 2,5/5

2010-01-05T13:28:00.002-05:00

@source

Actually, I'm sorry it took me so long to review the "movie of 2009" but I didn't really know how to introduce it...Till today.

I just found this link and I thought it was the perfect review/summary of the movie... People raved about the technology but you have to say that the story.concept of the movie was really so-so. The message behind it is great but unfortunately from what I've heard, it didn't really go through as everybody is still talking about how the visuals were impressing.

I didn't even find the effects to be wow-ing. To be honest, I felt the 3D images were sometimes shaky and blurry, and besides, I was not really used to it, and after 2h30, I got a serious headache. When I left the movies, I was a little worried, cause it seems everything coming out - Alice in Wonderland for example - will be in 3D from now on. I hope I'll get quickly used to it and also that the technology will get better so I can really enjoy it ...

Combined with my lovey-dovey relationship to Sam Worthington, I didn't really enjoy the movie...

As I tweeted

Avatar: good, but not great

Kate Hudson for Harpers Bazaar January 2010

2010-01-04T21:04:00.004-05:00

@Wearing Burberry Prorsum 2010

I'm seriously in love with this collection.

Little Boots - Stuck on repeat

2010-01-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

You got me stuck on repeat

And I just can't seem to break free

The most anticipated movies of 2010

2010-01-03T22:22:00.006-05:00

I stumbled upon this article and after reading it and realizing I wasn't anticipating any of those movies, we decided to find an alternative, which is to check the Apple's trailer website -our new favorite activity btw.

Inception
What the hell is this movie talking about?
Will wait and see

Legion
When watching the preview, my sister told me this movie reminded her of a very bad one she didn't finish, about a bunch of people who were fighting an invasion of alien sand worms -or something like that , also inside a diner.
No, just no

I'm actually pretty excited about Daybreakers. Even if the theme of vampires is overplayed lately - thanks Twilight, I liked how they tweaked the story here.
Will definitly go

Seriously, I wonder if Sam Worthington's didn't make use of the casting couch concept because I can't explain how he managed to get the lead on so many blockbusters (Terminator, Avatar and now Clash of the Titans). The latest is the definition of the state of Hollywood nowadays, something that started -for me - with Transformers. Just put the cream of the special effects technology in your movie and you're done. Don't bother with writing a story or casting worthy actors.
Will still go , I am a prisoner of Hollywood's marketing policies

Iron Man 2
While I have to agree they did a good job casting Robert Downey Jr for the lead, this movie was what started my mistrust for movies critics. How come everybody raved about this movie? I was utterly disappointed. I'm really not excited about the sequel.
If somebody pays for my ticket only

This is a sad sad day... Hollywood casting two actors that look nothing like the population that lives in the Middle East... The last time I went to the movies, two of my friends told me they could not understand this decision when they saw the poster.
I'm not really into Prince of Persia myself...I didn't even enjoy the concept of the game. We got bored very fast and moved onto something else.
If somebody pays for my ticket only

Robin Hood
I didn't like the huge amount of violence I saw in the trailer and I just can't fathom Russel Crowe -urgh- as Robin Hood. Sorry.
Will wait and see

The Sorcerer's apprentice
When I saw Nicolas Cage, I closed the trailer window.
No, just no

Fading of the cries
Seriously????????
No, just no

Kick ass
Actually the poster looked interesting, but the trailer set things straight. Not my thing at all.
No, just no

And finally
Wolfman
Done, done and redone... Come on Hollywood!
No, just no

Korean pretty boys and reality tv

2010-01-02T20:09:00.006-05:00

@G-Dragon from Big Bang for the magazine W

Lately I've been addicted to watching korean shows and then trying to keep up with who's who in the korean pop music. They have so many boys bands and girls bands, it's unbelievable...
I find it very funny to see that this boys bands era has been dead in the US for almost 10 years but it's still going on very strong in our fellow asian countries. Every year a girl band/boy band has to debut...

I started by watching Intimate Note on youtube. I really enjoyed this show. The concept is to try bringing two members of one band closer together by making them compete in different missions. A friend gave me the link for the Fly To The Sky's episode - I'm a big fan - and before you know it, I ended up watching the episodes with Big Band and then Super Junior.

I also tried

MNET's scandal, a show where a celebrity dates a normal girl for one week
We Got Married , a show where two celebrities are matched and have to act like they're married for a while.
1 Night , 2 Days , a show where a group of guys are send to a part of Korea to camp with a total budget between 10$ and 60$ for the whole trip.

Except the last show which is really funny, I didn't like the others so much... I think it's mostly the hosts who make the show and when they're missing, it is not the same....

A new year / a new decade

2010-01-01T19:34:00.001-05:00

2010.
Une nouvelle decade.
Je me rappelle 2000. Mes premiers pas a Montreal.
10 ans.
Ca passe si vite.
Les amities se font et se defont.
Les gens viennent et s'en vont.
Et moi,
je reste la.

I am who I am.
(I am canadian :p).

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #10 - #4 [Update]- with the top 3 now!

2009-12-27T19:33:00.004-05:00

Wow finally we're there... Every click sees me being super excited and then sometimes disappointed or even more excited / happy depending on the title I see at the top of the page loading .

#10 - Kanye West
How come??!!

This album...

Just painful...

Kanye is getting artistic, but it's not like it's something nobody has done before. Just some autotune, that can't even conceal his "beautiful" voice and some 808 drums beats. Well congrats for selling that much and having so much scrobbles on last.fm .

#9 - Yeahs Yeahs Yeahs
I should have introduced them properly, but it turned out that after hearing and loving Heads will Roll as the soundtrack of the Hills promo - could any songs fits this any better ? - I decided to try the whole album. All the songs are not at the same level of Heads will Roll but after some listen, I'm starting to get into it.

#8 - Green Day
Well Green Day is a veteran punk act, and they're still doing it well. I am the one who grew out of this phase.

#6 - Beyonce
This is a surprise, but a nice surprise.

I had decided I'll showcase the top 5, then the top 3 at least, otherwise it would be a little too boring lol till I saw who made the list... I think I can all stuff it there, I don't want to waste a post for those artists . I'll do my own top 10 instead :p .

#5 - Franz Ferdinand
This is so funny, and I know some people won't like it, but I kinda thought about Britney Spears and Fall Out Boy at the same time. I had no idea Franz Ferdinand was still active. I haven't listened to any of their new songs.

#4 - The Prodigy
See the previous comment

I'm stopping here because, actually, I wanted to do a honest review, and I have to say that I never really listened to the next two artists... Even if I was somewhat disappointed by the top three, I feel I should still do a small review about it. Coming up!

[UPDATE]

Actually, I was so disappointed with the top 3, I didn't even feel like writing a whole post about them and looking for youtube videos to introduce them. Every one knows about Lady Gaga and her raw raw raw raw raw raw na na na na na ....
Anyway on to the top 3.

#3 - Lily Allen
I don't care.

#2 - The Killers
I don't care either.

#1 - Lady Gaga
So disappointed.

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #7 - Animal Collective

2009-12-26T20:21:00.006-05:00

Finally!!!
Someone I'm really excited about!
I kinda forgot about them and this album, because it was released in early January. It is still fresh though and I enjoy listening to it from times to times.
I didn't feature a promo pic of the artist but chose to display the cover of their second album Merriweather Post Pavilion as it really fit their music.
It is just completly out there..
Even if the fans said that this album was more accessible/more poppy that the others - and I agree - it is still completly different from what we listen to the radio.

Just beware.

Those videos are not my favorites songs, but they're still good and real.

Verdict : To experience.

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #20 - #11

2009-12-21T19:26:00.002-05:00

To be honest, I had kinda peeked at the ranking before, because I was so late and I was wondering if some new interesting artist were coming soon...
What a disappointment!!! I'm not even excited to see who's gonna be at the top, I think the job is almost done lol...

Anyway at

#20 - La Roux
I think I got introduced to her because she popped up once in my recommended artists list, and then I realized that even my sister had already listen to her!!
I had to try some of her songs...
I didn't fell in love with her voice. I gave her a second chance now, being in the ranking and all, but I still don't like it. The music is similar to Little Boots, or Little Boots is similar to her music - it's electro after all - but it's not doing anything for me.

#19 - Placebo
Still around.

#18 - Kelly Clarkson
-chuckles- Well I'm happy for her, as I remember I wanted to vote Justin Guarini at the finale of the first season of American Idol.

#17 - Paramore
urgh.

#16 - Phoenix
Pfuu some redemption at last. And they're from France!! You learn something everyday...

#15 - Black Eyed Peas
I have to say that I had my share of their singles this summer. You just couldn't escape I got a feeling.

#14 - Muse
This album was a big disappointment to me. But I guess a lot of people listened to it, trying to see if they could get into it and then just moved onto something else.

#13 - Taylor Swift
Omg, I was almost afraid I had to write a whole post about her because basically, she's a new artist to me, as I never really listen to her songs... Entirely.

#12 - Fall Out Boy
I didn't know they were still making music.

#11 - Britney Spears
I didn't realize she was still relevant. She's still selling!!! OMG!

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #23 - A Day To Remember

2009-12-17T18:58:00.002-05:00

Well I have to say I was wondering if I should skip this artist or not, as punk music is really not my forte...

Indeed I didn't like it... At all.

Verdict : Two Thumbs down.

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #30 - #21

2009-12-15T23:48:00.001-05:00

#30 - U2
I didn't even know they released an album this year :S

#29 - Gun's and Roses
I know some people were waiting for Chinese Democracy . Dr. Pepper even made a bet regarding the release date . I'll pass.

#28 - Nickelback
Okay... If things continue like that, I can't wait for the number one.

#27 - The All American Rejects
Really?

#24 - Röyskoop
Röyskoop makes electro music. They're not bad but not especially good either. Some catchy tunes, but like all electro bands out there..

#22 - Artic Monkeys
I've never really liked them...

#21 - Grizzly Bear
I already wrote a small review of the Yellow House album here. I have listened to Veckatimest but I still haven't grown into it. I find there is something missing , that doesn't create the atmostphere of Yellow House. Maybe with time, I'll like it..

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #25 - Passion Pit

2009-12-15T22:56:00.001-05:00

Ok, I guess I spoke too fast when I said I needed to feature at least one artist between 30 and 21.

Passion Pit - what a weird name no? Reminds me of Panda Pear - Person Pitch, I don't know why - anyway Passion Pit is a band who dabbles in electro, pop, well a little of everything I should say.

It is really too bad that I find the singer's voice so annoying.... I wonder if I'll get around it - I used to find Thom Yorke's voice annoying when I first got introduced to Radiohead...

Verdict : Interesting but will need to overcome the singer's voice.

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #26 - Bat For Lashes

2009-12-11T19:30:00.002-05:00

Ok I know this artist and I really love her music, but I needed to feature at least one artist between 30 and 20. She released her sophomore album this year, and I can see the evolution from the first album : excellent atmosphere, more upbeats stuff and her voice is shining.
This is probably my favorite song of the album, but everytime I listen to it, I change my mind.

Also here's the official video for Pearl's Dream , Daniel & Sleep Alone

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #40 - #31

2009-12-09T22:50:00.004-05:00

#38 - Kasabian
Well the first time I encountered Kasabian was when I went to see Mew at a concert around 4 years ago. Actually Mew was the opening act of Kasabian but they were the band I wanted to see so I skipped the rest. My sister who stayed told me that she really like their act, it was a real show and she even started to listen to them but I didn't bite. And I'm still not biting. It's pretty generic rock , reminds me a little of Oasis.

#36-The Fray
I'm not found of the Fray. It's a little like Coldplay, rock music with piano melodies, a little emoish, and I find it even less enjoyable than Coldplay's music... So... Yeah.

#35 - Metric
Metric is on my to-check list but I never took the time to really listen to their discography. They're worth a try though.

#33 - Eminem
I don't think he needs to be introduced...

#31 - Depeche Mode
Same thing here, though I'm somewhat interested into seeing how their sound evolved since this song

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #32 - Fever Ray

2009-12-09T18:47:00.009-05:00

Fever Ray is the half of the Knife, a band I've heard of but never tried. I know that they are on the electro-ambiant side but otherwise than that I have no idea what their sound is like.

I started with If I had a heart.

Wow the ambiance is very heavy and the sound is almost tribal. Very weird, different from what I'm used to listen to. After a few listens though, I'm starting to get into it.

When I grow up is in the same area, but with more lyrical contents. I guess I'm a fan of "minimalistic" music because I really didn't get into this song.

Verdict : Difficult to get into, but still nice

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #34 - The xx

2009-12-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

Funny, really I should stop judging a book by its cover. When I saw The xx, I thought they would play some kind of punk rock , very noisy but actually it's pretty much on the acoustic side. They barely have a battery and the guitars are very soft. Anyways, you guys should check it out.

Verdict : To try

Best of 2009 - Last.fm : #37 - Regina Spektor

2009-12-08T13:39:00.002-05:00

Ok this one I like ! The raspy voice combined to the piano melodies make me want to dig a little further into her discography

Verdict: To try.

Last.fm - Best of 2009 : #39 - Florence + The Machine

2009-12-07T17:00:00.018-05:00

Here's an artist I've never heard of, so I was kinda eager to try it out, and my curiosity was sparked by the looks on the promo pictures... I was wondering about the + The Machine, as we only see one girl in all the photos.

†
Kiss with a fit is a funny bubbly pop-rock song. I like the style and her voice but I find the music is pretty generic.

Dog Days are Over is more on the soft side. This is my type of songs but still no sparkle.

I had a last song Rabbit Heart but it seems it is now featured on youtube so we can't embed it... Anyway...

Verdict : Like the sound of the voice but the music is pretty generic.

Last.fm - Best of 2009 : #40 - Little Boots

2009-12-07T14:57:00.010-05:00

So here I begin my short reviews of what last.fm consider being the best of 2009. At number #40 we have Little Boots, from UK, doing some electro-disco music based on her profile.

I started with Stuck on Repeat.

It starts well, very well, very 80's, I know some people will love it.
Then she starts singing.

Okayyyy...

Well first, I am not found of her voice, I'm not saying she's a bad singer, but I feel it is a let down after what the introduction built.
It is still a good song and I'm sure I'll enjoy it for a while.

Then I tried Meddle.

I don't like this song as much. It's very poppy and too much lyrics content for me, especially that I just stated I'm not found of the voice... It's not that bad, after a few listen but this experience made me look for a third song, just to have a wider overview of the artist's sound.

So here comes Remedy

Again the same thing, too much pop and lyrical content. Actually after trying those songs and seeing some pictures of the artist, she kinda reminds me of Lady Gaga. What do you guys think?

Verdict: It's not bad but it's not exceptional as well. Still above average

Best of 2009 - Last.fm

2009-12-05T23:23:00.002-05:00

So Last.fm came up with its best of 2009 as well as a special MJ.
I heavily rely on last.fm to discover new music and , as I am in a somewhat dry spot lately, I intend to try some of the artists on this list - the one I never heard about - and comment on them.
To come.

J Dilla - Donuts

2009-12-04T23:04:00.026-05:00

Style : Hip Hop beats
Read about the name a few times, he's supposed to be a really good hip-hop producer/beat makers out there so I decided to give it a try. It's only beats, even if the album is not completely instrumental, the "songs" are around 1:30-2mn . This is really something different and worth a try.

J-Dilla - Donuts (2006)

Donuts (Outro)
Workinonit
Waves
Light My Fire
The New
Stop

People

One of my favorite songs of the album is People, I guess because it has been sampled in My People by Erykah Badu.

The Diff'rence
Mash
Time: The Donut of the Heart
Glazed
Airworks
Lightworks
Stepson of the Clapper
The Twister (Huh, What)
One Eleven
Two Can Win
Don't Cry
Anti-American Graffiti
Geek Down
Thunder
Gobstopper
One for Ghost
Dilla Says Go
Walkinonit
The Factory
U-Love
Hi.
Bye.
Last Donut of the Night
Donuts (Intro)

R.I.P. J Dilla.

Wanted & Angelina Jolie

2009-12-03T22:37:00.003-05:00

So we started watching Wanted despite the warnings from my father and sister...
After the intro, I caught my sister looking at me and she started snickering , like a I-told-you-so snickering.
Then after 45 mn, my brother , who was the one who insisted on watching the movie, excused himself and left.
I don't understand why Angelina Jolie is still an actress and getting scripts. She looked so frail in the movie I was wondering how she was even able to fire a weapon or fight with guys.
I also would like to voice my disappointment in Hollywood for resorting to rappers to fill the black actors void.
That is too bad.

Acoustics songs

2009-12-02T00:24:00.002-05:00

I went to see an acoustic show where my friend Cat sang two songs : This love from Maroon Five and Use somebody from Kings of Leon. It was really nice and made me thinks of songs that would sound really nice acoustic.

Somebody did Hit me baby one more time, reminded me of a cover I heard a long time ago. Which one do you prefer? This one or the original?

What would you guys sing? French is welcome, we're looking for some nice french songs. One of my favorite song of the show was this one

Funny - Speaking english kills

2009-11-30T23:20:00.002-05:00

Ally Bank Truck Commercial

2009-11-15T12:07:00.000-05:00

The boy's face at the end, priceless!

Bits of wisdom

2009-11-10T11:02:00.005-05:00

I'm an avid user of google reader and I like to pick up some new feeds from my friends or just from the recommendations. Lately I've been enjoying Bits of Wisdom which reminds me quite daily how wonderful my life is - compared to some others. Here's their latest.

Today is my birthday and I'm enjoy this day and thank God for those 27 past years.

Wow Law & Order SVU is back on track.

2009-11-09T15:02:00.002-05:00

In this episode Benson and Stabler learn a young boy is being molested by his stepfather, which leads to a disturbing case of adult-child relationships. The video only features a short part of the trial, where the child molester explains "himself". The next witness is one of his victims, who is basically praising him for what he did to her.
It also marks the return of Alexandra Cabot as the A.D.A, and I'm really excited about that!!! I learned to love Novack and also Paxton - too bad they made her exit this way - but seriously Cabot is the best!!!

Anyway back on the subject, it reminded me of a rather painful conversation I had with a "friend" about how a relation can be abusive behind closed doors and also about the whole age ain't nothing but a number issue.
Please pay attention to your friends and relatives.

The apocalypse is coming to a theater near you

2009-11-08T16:16:00.003-05:00

I just caught up with the trailer of The Road and I realized that there were a lot of new apocalypse-related movies being released soon. I don't know, I guess it must be the new trend but well I don't mind it because after the summer blockbusters, I was waiting for some new action-related flicks.... Unfortunately the one I'm the most looking forward , the Book of Eli, is only coming next January ....

To be honest, I don't really see the purpose of 2012 and I don't really trust the background idea for The Road - it's going to be too much about the father-son relationship, so I'm all for The Book of Eli!!!

Hope it won't disappoint.

What a perfect gift !!!

2009-11-08T11:57:00.001-05:00

When I first saw this ad, I thought of several people. You know who you are.

Angels & Demons - 4/5

2009-11-06T20:03:00.003-05:00

I wasn't sure about this one cause I didn't really enjoy Da Vinci's Code. Maybe it was because I wanted to see X-Men III or listening to Audrey Tautou's accent, I don't know, I just didn't feel it.

This one was a nice surprise though : the suspense and action didn't let me down, it felt like running through a big maze and trying to find the exit but don't worry, everything made sense at the end.
You know there is a bad guy in the near entourage but the top-notch direction and scenario made them all look really suspicious. I was switching my choice through the whole movie.

I want to talk again about the direction. Ron Howard did a great job, the shots used paired with the music really helped the overall ambiance of the movie.

Lady Gaga @ MTV

2009-11-04T12:38:00.004-05:00

I never thought I would feature Lady Gaga in the look of the day but seriously, I really like what she's wearing there, especially the necklace-belt accessory .

Trick or Treat - Squash Squash Squash! Part.3 : The pudding

2009-10-31T00:46:00.001-04:00

Hmmmmmm! I love pudding and especially pumpkin pudding! I have a recipe for this one, cause it's serious business lol!

Ingredients (for 4-6):

125g of butter
165g of brown sugar
250g of flour
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
60 ml of cream
250g of squash puree
baking powder
1 tablespoon of nutmeg

First you have to melt the sugar and butter. Wait for it to cool down and add it to the mix of the dry ingredients (flour, nutmeg, baking powder and some additional spices if you want). Mix it with a wooden spoon, don't use an electrical hand mixer. Add the eggs , the cream and the puree and mix a little again.

You can cook the pudding however you want but you have to use the bain-marie technique as well as to cover the cake pan (tin foil is ok) to have a moist pudding at the end. I cooked it in the oven @ 400F for about 1h15.

The cake is small but very heavy.

Trick or Treat - Squash Squash Squash ! Part.2 : The lasagna

2009-10-31T00:21:00.001-04:00

I have an alternative to the "real" lasagna that I do with squash and chicken.

Instead of using the tomato sauce and the ground beef, I replace those with a puree of squash and some shredded chicken. It's really good.
I know that some people use ricotta but I use a white sauce instead. I like the texture better. I have to say though I added some extra ricotta to the puree of squash but I also used the white sauce with the chicken.
I usually have two layers, one with the "vegetable" and the other one with the meat.
Finally I only add the cheese at the end (so it doesn't burn) and just grill the lasagna for the last 3 minutes.

Trick or Treat - Squash Squash Squash! Part.1 : The Soup

2009-10-31T00:15:00.001-04:00

The soup is really simple. It's just a puree of squash and I add some water to it.

I prefer to add some broth, and to be honest I quite fancy miso, I love to use it as a broth for my soups.
I like to spray some pepper on the plate and to swirl some cream for presentation. But the soup is also good with cottage cheese.

Coco Avant Chanel - 4/5

2009-10-28T18:40:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I went to see Coco Avant Chanel. I featured it before in my blog mostly because Audrey Tautou is such a fresh face and a good ambassador for my country (Amelie) and I know a lot of my readers are big fans of Benoit Poelvoorde after his role in Podium. I wasn't sure what to expect to be honest.
I was quite blown away. The acting was genuine but most of all it was the story that stole the spotlight.
It was definitely interesting as a woman to see the struggle of our sex back in the days and to see how Coco was an avant gardiste in her time. Her views on fashion, love and her attitude were so out there!

I found a new role model.

Dating a friend/relative ex

2009-10-11T14:31:00.006-04:00

I was wondering what you guys thought about this because I had a talk with a friend of mine and he told me

How weird would it be if you were going to like a "family" reunion and your sister was there with her boyfriend, who turned out to be your ex.

He was saying it was just drama waiting to happen.

Let's say he looks at you funny? Or he just brushes you, touches you?

I don't agree. I mean if you are really into someone would you let this opportunity go by just because he happened to date your friend or your sister before? I would not mind as well if my sister would go out with one of my exes. If he is my exes it means it didn't work out between us and if it works out well with my sister it means again that it wasn't meant to be with us. We're so different!
I don't know if I would go for one of my friends ex because of this, I mean if it didn't work out between them, why would it work out between us?

Anyway let me know.

Horatio Caine, CSI Miami, priceless!

2009-09-29T19:19:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy I found this vid!!!! Sunglasses moments!

MTV Video Awards 2009 outfit

2009-09-23T21:00:00.000-04:00

Well , I wanted to work on the Emmy's but I'm having problems with my image providers, so I decided to work on something I've been slacking off for a while, an outfit for the MTV Video Awards . I wanted something fun and sparkly but not too bling bling so I opted for putting the emphasis on the shoes. What do you guys think?

Update (09/23/09)
I created just the opposite outfit, a sparkly dress paired with high thight boots

Burberry Prorsum Spring 2010

2009-09-23T09:12:00.002-04:00

Well I've been reading all over the net about how the Burberry's collection was one of the best of the fashion weeks so far and after seeing Emma Watson's dress, I was curious to see what all the fuss was about.
I then had a quick look at the collection and I really like it. Burberry are mostly known for their trench and this collection was no different, with a lot of structured trenches but Christopher Bailey send some really nicely draped and knotted clothes as well. See for yourself.

Emma Watson @ Burberry Spring 2010

2009-09-23T08:23:00.001-04:00

Ha! Do you guys remember "messy hair" Hermione from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone? Look at her now, all grown-up, super elegant and sexy!

Though she seems a little pale here, is there too much spotlight on her or are the other ones (Gwyneth Paltrow especially) abusing of the spray tan?

Emmy Awards 2009

2009-09-22T18:22:00.007-04:00

It's been a while since I reviewed an award show. I wanted to do the VMA's but none of the red carpet celebrities impressed me. This event was no exception, but the dresses were really pretty and I found that those two (Chloe Sevigny and Mila Kunis) standed out, mostly for the originality of the piece.

From left to right : Julie Dreyfus, Marcia Gay Harden, Sandra Oh,

Dana Delany, Jennifer Carpenter, Debra Messing

Twilight New Moon soundtrack

2009-09-21T19:33:00.002-04:00

I was reading @PITNB about the new twilight soundtrack and remembered hearing about Thom Yorke being on it. I had a quick look at the list of artists featured and I can say, wow, good job ! Look for yourself:

Death Cab For Cutie – Meet Me On The Equinox
Band Of Skulls – Friends
Thom Yorke- Hearing Damage
Lykke Li – Possibility
The Killers - A White Demon Love Song
Anya Marina – Satellite Heart
Muse - I Belong To You (New Moon Remix)
Bon Iver and St. Vincent – Rosyln
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Done All Wrong
Hurricane Bells – Monsters
Sea Wolf – The Violet Hour
Ok Go- Shooting The Moon
Grizzly Bear - Slow Life
Editors – No Sound But The Wind
Alexandre Desplat – New Moon (The Meadow)

Thom Yorke, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Muse (though I'm not so sure after the last album), Death Cab for a Cutie, Ok Go, I'm definitely interested into seeing how this whole thing sounds. Only 10$ on amazon on top of that.

My take on the southern burger

2009-09-19T19:09:00.000-04:00

Well I was watching the food network challenge for once and I saw all those excellent recipes for an original all american burger. One that really interested me was made by someone from South Carolina and consisted roughly of the regular burger topped with another "burger", made of cream cheese, regular cheese and pimientos - pimientos are almost like regular red peppers.
It looked really simple so I gave it a try, especially that we have a grill machine at home.

Ingredients

ground beef
egg
cream cheese
cheese
red pepper
burger bun

First you mix the egg with the beef, to make a burger, I think it's not really necessary but I never tried without so I'm not sure. I'd rather use it just so the burger doesn't fall all down at the end.
Of course you have to add salt/pepper and some spice and test it all at the end. It should be really tasty otherwise it won't taste anything once cooked.

While you grill your burger and toast the bun, mix the cream cheese with the regular cheese and the red pepper and do another burger with it. Try it thin first , if you like it you'll go all in the next time! On the tv they cooked it on top of the burger but they did have a real bbq grill. Otherwise you can put it on top of the toast.

At the end put everything together and your burger is done!

Thoughts
I really like the softness of the cream cheese added to this burger, it add some moisture to everything. I would add more spices to balance the softness though. So I usually spray some cayenne pepper on the burger once it's done.

Shopping time baby!!!

2009-09-16T19:53:00.001-04:00

I got those nice jeans @ Delia's and the shoes for a total of 35$. Now I'm hesitant about the animal print and the sunglasses are 350$, but I don't know, I really want them, they're too FIERCE!

So should Beyonce have won ?

2009-09-13T23:15:00.017-04:00

IMO,yes .
Funny thing , according to the website, she wasn't even nominated haha!
And Kanye , who usually beats on paparazzi in daily life, acting all butt hurt and storming the stage... WTf?!!!

Showdown : Taylor vs. Beyonce

Troy Polamalu's Head & Shoulders commercial

2009-09-13T11:38:00.002-04:00

My favorite commercial atm. I had a good laugh.
And I might start using Head & Shoulders too , I mean, look at his hair!

FIERCE !!! Rihanna at the Fashion's Night out

2009-09-11T20:55:00.001-04:00

I also liked Sarah Jessica Parker takes on the t-shirt

Chapeau to the girls of Jennifer's Body

2009-09-11T19:53:00.002-04:00

Wearing Valentino Couture (Amanda Seyfried) to the premiere of Jennifer's Body in Toronto.
Congrats.

Janet Jackson for Harper's Bazaar October 2009

2009-09-10T18:21:00.003-04:00

Janet Jackson is on the cover of Harper's Bazaar for next month according her first interview since the death of her brother.
Congrats to Harper's for getting her story, but anyway , where else could she have gone... To be honest, there are very few good "content" magazines left. Only tabloids and fashion magazines. Which Harper's is part of but.. anyway, let's not disgress.
I find it funny when people "open" their heart in magazine.
What for?
Janet doesn't have any albums/tour/movie to promote.
Funny.
What's more funny is her newstands cover.
Why is she laughing?
A little distasteful to my taste.
I would rather had used the first one.

What do you guys think about this cover?

I need some boots for this upcoming fall/winter

2009-09-10T17:52:00.004-04:00

Here's what I found while browsing the net @Aldo Babinski boot
I love the form, finally something original for once - all the boots look the same to me .
The only thing is that I'm not sure about the heels (not specified but over 2,5) ,the price (140 US$), and the fact that they're in suede (and you guys all know about the rainy days in NJ)...
Anyway, what do you guys think?

Jay-Z - The BluePrint , the first one

2009-09-09T22:20:00.003-04:00

So many good songs on this album... But this one is one of my favorites

Btw new playlist on the right sidebar

Emo black but not

2009-09-09T21:25:00.001-04:00

Simple black ensemble with a touch of pink. What do you guys think?

Rihanna for Vogue , By Steven Klein

2009-09-01T21:45:00.007-04:00

When I first saw these pictures I was almost hyperventilating. Rihanna was so hot and the editorial was on top.
Too bad it was for Vogue Italy.
And only the collection supplement.

Here's some of my favorites pics , I'll add more once the new features from blogger (the "read more" feature , pffu finally, after 10 years, will be working correctly)

One day, one day Ri-ri you'll be on the cover.

Zebra shoes update

2009-08-31T13:44:00.009-04:00

That's how i wore them at the end.lol.

- I can't believe I lost all my brushes set in Photoshop :( -

OMG Teki Latex on lookbook.nu

2009-08-30T16:06:00.001-04:00

@Yes, Teki Latex is on lookbook.nu, see for yourself!
I can't describe the face I made when I saw it was really him...
I still can't join though...

Even if I hate her music

2009-08-29T03:51:00.001-04:00

I have to recognize that she's really out there fashion-wise !
@Lady Gaga 's V cover

Lady Gaga's V cover , Hot or not?

J'apprends à mon chat à marcher sur les pattes de derrière

2009-08-28T00:35:00.006-04:00

Et c'est sans espoir que j'apprends à mon chat à marcher sur les pattes de derrière.
La télé allumée j'apprends sur les pattes de derrière à mon chat à marcher.
Ça laisse un fond sonore assez fort pour couvrir la machine à laver.
"Très Chasse", "Histoires Naturelles", "Voisin Voisine" et "Le Prince de Bel Air", ce que je préfère, C'est apprendre à mon chat à marcher sur les pattes de derrière."

Style : Euro crunck (according to them, but I agree, fits them well)

Despite the "mysoginyst" lyrics (according to lodite), TTC are really my favorite french hip-hop act and probably one of my favorite hip-hop act after all (if you remove my MF Doom obsession). The wordplay, the diversity of the 3 MC's flow and the electronic beats just make everything crazy.
But the cherry on top is Teki Latex.... This guy....

TTC - Bâtards Sensibles (2005)

Ebisu Rendez-Vous
Dans Le Club
Chant Des Hommes
Du Sang Sur Le Dancefloor
Catalogue
J'ai Pas Sommeil
Rap Jeu
Latest Dance Craze avec Busdriver & Radioinactive
Girlfriend
Bâtard Sensible
Codéine
Meet The New Boss avec Out One

Girls Girls Girls Girls, Cars I do adore

2009-08-28T00:07:00.001-04:00

Now that I'm driving so much, I realized that there are a lot of pretty cars around here, that could cost me less than my Mustang obsession, or worse ! My Escalade/Navigator love. I now know that I need a coupe/rich color/with a spoiler.
En attendant mon mari riche , I'll try to survive with those , all between 15 000 -25 000 $

Which one do you like the best

In case you didn't realize 3/4 of them are japanese.... The switch is beginning...

Yann Tiersen - Le Phare

2009-08-27T19:47:00.015-04:00

Symply astonishing
I just got into Yann Tiersen again cause I felt like listening to some nice french folk music. I started with Amelie Poulain of course but then I remembered that he used to have some nice violin/piano melodies in his older works. I then got this album, especially cause it featured La Noyee & Le Fil, one of my favorites tracks off the soundtrack.
It was really nice rediscovering this sound, those dark violin and piano melodies. I think I found my soundtrack for the upcoming rainy days in New Jersey.
Yann Tiersen - Le Phare (1998)

Le Quartier
La Rupture
Monochrome
La Dispute
L'Arrivée sur l'île
La Noyée

Le Fromveur
L'Homme aux bras ballants
Sur le fil

Les Jours heureux
La Crise
Les Bras de mer
La Chute

L'Effondrement

Funny Last.fm preview

2009-08-26T18:59:00.005-04:00

I screencapped my last.fm playcounts of the week because I thought the display of artists at this moment was rather funny/odd. On the top are only hip-hop artists , respectively, a producer, the new hot thing, the veteran, and the love/hate rapper . On the bottom are what I would label as "indie" artists. Anyway I just feel like doing a quick introduction as how I got into them, so here you go! I love to do that!!!

Madlib . Well I decided to try his beats (even though I'm not really an "instrumental/beat" person) as he's one of the main producer working with MF Doom (my latest hip-hop obsession). I'm Very Impressed . Well not very impressed , I kinda foresaw it would be good based on his work with Doom.
J.Cole : I was chit-chatting with this hip-hop head about music when he ordered me to try it out. I thought why not? Quite impressed . I mean his latest mixtape is almost album material.
Q-Tip : His latest album was very well received in the hip-hop community. I don't really like Q-Tip cause I don't like nasal voices on guys, but the album really grew on me.Very impressed. Really nice beats, different from what you're usually listening on the radio.
MF Doom & MF Grimm : Well this is a long story. I was browsing my regular forum when someone posted asked about songs with irregular beats. Along this came this video. I was hooked. I decided to try more of it. I cannot rate it cause I'm automatically biased with MF Doom.
The Olivia Tremor Control : It started with The Instruments, a group part of the label Elephant 6. I decided to get more into this label, starting with the some of the most famous bands. Some highs and lows depending on my mood
Grizzly Bear : More here
Panda Bear : He's the main (most accessible) artist behind Animal Collective so I decided to give a try to his solo work. Very Impressed
The Shins : Randomly got it when I was in my random period (it happens sometimes). Not impressed, rather generic band tbh.