A Lot of Love. A Lot of Blood (EP) by Florence and the Machine
My rating: 8 out of 10
This happens to be a lovely little sampling of the talented Florence Welch. Each of her 4 songs on this EP has its own flavor: “Kiss With a Fist” is a kick-ass rock ‘n roll tune with a twisted love story. “Dog Days are Over” is my personal favorite. Florence really shows of her singing abilities. It’s such a happy and high-spirited song.; “Can you hear the horses, because here they come!”
“You’ve Got the Love” has elements of both the previous songs. It rocks and it soars along with Florence Welch’s vocals. I would really recommend the XX remix of this song also. “Hospital Beds” loses me a little bit with slightly melodramatic lyrics and a too-strong focus on the lyrics.
Overall, a lovely little EP, and a superb teaser for Florence and the Machine.
Wednesday night was the season finale for season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance, and I just feel disappointed. There were very few memorable dances. This season just does not compare to season 5. I found myself even skipping the show a couple times because I felt like there were better things to do. Maybe it was the new stage (or cave rather) that made things less exciting, or the lack of a rotating judge, or the absence of a results show for the first couple weeks, or even because of the short amount of time between seasons. Or perhaps it was the excessive critiquing of the dancers by the judges that was obviously meant to influence the audience.
I began to have doubts about this season during the audition stages. The producers of SYTYCD want to turn the auditions into sob stories. Everything has to be about how bad somebody’s life is, and how important it is that they make it onto the show. Another problem was that the camera was constantly showing the judges faces during auditions. I just want to watch the dancers!
Overall, I think the disappointment can be attributed to a lack of originality by the dancers and choreographers. There were a couple outstanding dancers (Ellenore and Russell) and a handful of inspiring dances, but overall- meh…
Even the finale was lacking excitement. Russell hurt his knee, I mean leg, and couldn’t perform the rest of his dances. But when he was announced the winner, he jumped off his stool and ran around while taking his shirt off. The guest performances (Adam Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, and Leona Lewis) were all horrifically boring. I seriously doubt if I will watch the next season.
I started listening to My Brightest Diamond about a year ago. Shara Worden is such an intriguing person! Her voice catches you off-balance and gives you a shaky sort of momentum. It seems that their music keeps growing on me. They may have even replaced Radiohead as my favorite band. Trust me, that’s saying a lot.
But maybe it’s a little too early to say that, as they only have two albums. Two splendid albums. Ha. You should definitely check them out. I’ll start you off.
And if she’s caught your attention, you can watch a full, live concert at this URL:
I got a cat! His name is Smog and he really likes attention. I mean really likes attention. If you go into the bathroom, he’ll stand next to the door and meow until you come out. He’s pretty bad about playing around and scratching. Hopefully I can fix that behavior.
But other than that, he’s a really affectionate and very well behaved.
I don’t think I’m going to be posting very frequently for the next few months. I started college last month, and the demands of work and school are too pressing to write very much on this blog.
In September, I posted a blog about how I didn’t care much about entering my senior year of high school. Basically, it was just a bunch of complaining and moaning.
Since I just graduated, I’ll dedicate this blog to discussing my future plans. I’ve matured a lot. Looking back on that blog in September, I almost feel ashamed of myself. I was scared of the future, which is understandable; but I was not completely willing to step up and do something about it, which is not as forgivable. I should have tried to make the most of my situation, and I just whined about wanting to be in ninth grade again.
Now that college is the next step in my life, I’m starting to get serious about my future. My girlfriend and I did apply to Virginia Tech for the early decision application. I was deferred and she was accepted. Then for the regular decision application, I was put on the waiting list. In the middle of all this, I was almost wishing for a definite no instead of a possible yes. I really wanted to know what I was going to do in the future.
Last week I received my rejection letter. It’s going to be tough seeing Mindy go, but I’ll attend community college for a year and transfer to Tech without any problem. I’m very happy for her, and I wish her the best of luck. I’ll get to see her at every home football game!
As for my career path…Ahhh, I guess I’ve got some more life to live first. I’m going to fill this summer with books and knowledge and Mindy.
