michael knight @ kaffee burger (jan 31)

the other week i finally saw michael knight perform for the first time, and it definitely won't be my last. the multi-talented, self-deprecating mastermind behind michael knight is none other than the super-talented irish-born, berlin-based richie murphy. he was backed a few musicians, including two female singers, whose delightfully pure voices and stage presence were oddly reminiscent of "the sound of music" (but in a good way!). anyway. gorgeous songs with a sweet, melancholy tinge interspersed with his deadpan humor = a charmingly good time. and richie's talents don't stop there; he also has quite amazing jazz hands (bob fosse would be proud!).

















p.s. for more pictures of the venue, check out my other blog: "drea is my homegirl".

who'll be my "american boy"?!

this saturday my friend liz made the BIG mistake of introducing me to "american boy" by estelle featuring kanye west. less than 24 hours after this first introduction, my itunes tallied up more than 80 play counts (and still going)! i only expect excellence with liz and i know i have an addictive personality (which is why i never by chocolate in whole bars but only in small, individually-wrapped servings), but who'da thought it would go THIS far!

so what is it about this song that i just can't stop listening to it on repeat?! weeellllll...

• as liz put it, the song's lyrics make it like a sweeter version of the teenagers "homecoming"
• the lyrics get me psyched about my upcoming trip back to the states where i'll be hitting up chicago, austin and nashville (who'll be MY american boy?!)
• lines like "don't like those baggy jeans but i'm gon like what's underneath em"
• it has a catwalk-ready sashay-inducing beat that (when nobody's looking, of course) makes me too sexy for my shirt as i'm strutting down to the u-bahn station with one hand in my pocket à la madonna in "hung up" (da bruce would be proud!)
• at the same time, the bouncy beat also gives me the urge to sing out loud and stroll about as if i were lily allen in her "ldn" music video
• the bridge (somebody please correct me if i'm misusing pop music terminology!) is reminisent of the slow-motion sequence in madonna's "hung up" video and makes me wanna hump the nearest boombox or the next hot guy who comes my way (it's a shame that asian background dancer doesn't live in berlin)
• estelle's sexy, soulful, down-to-earth voice makes me (over)confident about my own singing abilities and i just can't help but sing along (they had better add this to the monster ronson's repertoire asap)
• oh yeah, and i can't stop smiling while listening to this song (good vibes, good vibes)

unfortunately, there's no video for the song yet, so this is the best i could do for now!...


and here are the other songs/videos i just referenced...

the teenagers "homecoming"


lily allen "ldn"


madonna "hung up"


current itunes play count since writing this post (not including my ipod): 106

about

i couldn't imagine my life without music. or even itunes, playlists, ipods, radio alarm clocks, music videos, etc. for that matter.

music...
gets me out of bed in the morning.
helps me wake up for work.
motivates me to go to the gym.
gets me through my work outs.
energizes me for housework.
gets me in the party-mood for going out.
in fact, my life is like one big dj set (or musical should i start singing out loud).
almost any situation or occasion can (and will) trigger an appropriate song (or more) in my head, which (for better or worse) often becomes an earworm.

a few years ago when i was living in san francisco i had a super ridiculous amount of earworms a day. i think since i was going to portfolio school and trying to come up with five million ideas for ads a week, my brain was like on speed, connecting the dots of seriously every conscious and subconscious thing in my head. what really amazed me wasn't just what triggered them but even moreso the fact that i still remembered the lyrics of the most random songs i hadn't heard in ages. so i started documenting them.

it was also around this time that i first started taking pictures at gigs. i don't know why i hadn't before. i was always an avid photographer, but i guess it had something to do with getting a digital camera. at any rate. what started out more as, you could say, informational photography (proving that i'd seen this band or that) quickly progressed into more emotional photography (trying to capture images that would later remind me what it felt like to be there, in that venue, in that crowd, with that band performing).

so with this blog, i'd like to share my various playlists, earworms and gig photos with you, in hopes that it inspires you to listen to some songs you haven't heard or see some bands you haven't seen (ever or in a while).