passion pit

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passion pit is an american electronic band from cambridge, massachusetts. formed in 2007, the group consists of michael angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), ian hultquist (keyboards/guitar), ayad al adhamy (synth/samples), jeff apruzzese (bass/synth bass) and nate donmoyer (drums).

here's a cute fact with an appropriately valentine's day theme: passion pit was originally formed as a solo project by michael angelakos in 2007 in his college dorm room. the songs, which later became the chunk of change ep, were written as a valentine's day gift to his girlfriend at the time.

in september 2008 passion pit's debut ep chunk of change was released. it includes seven tracks. my personal favorite will always be sleepyhead, but little secrets and the reeling are up there as well!

in an interview, michael angelakos reveals that the track sleepyhead is about an ex-girlfriend who was tired of him and their relationship. he states that his favorite line in the song is "they crowd your bedroom like some thoughts wearing thin against the walls, against your rules, against your skin." angelakos states, "our entire relationship was me coming up with these great big plans and having them shut down by her - because she knew what was normal, acceptable. she was my reality. she saved me over and again." check out the actual interview. it includes a pdf file, in which he explains each line of the song. it's really beautiful.

in may 2009 their first full length cd manners was released and met with positive acclaim. clash magazine award manners a 9 out of 10 score writing, "at its most adventurous, manners sounds like little else - a pop record that exists in a world of its own, carving a sub-genre niche which only fits their expansive, tonally decadent material." rolling stone magazine praised the lead singer michael angelakos' ability to build on the success of the chunk of change ep. john mayer also praised passion pit, but... who really cares? no one likes him. am i right or am i right?

the band's name is derived from slang referring to drive-in theatres, because of their privacy and romantic allure for teenagers.

if you want a sample of their music for your own library, just click here to download their song little secrets off of their new album. it's free! scout's honor.

miike snow

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miike snow is a swedish electropop band formed in 2007, consisting of andrew wyatt, the producing team of christian karlsson and pontus winnberg.

members christian karlsson and pontus winnberg were childhood friends who spent time playing in bands and working on various projects. in 2004, while working on a pop album for someone else, they met andrew wyatt, an american songwriter.

karlsson and winnberg collaborated under the moniker "bloodshy & avant," and won a significant amount of success as producers and songewriters. previously, they worked with artists like madonna and kelis, and won a grammy for best dance recording for britney spears' "toxic."

in 2009 miike snow released their debut album miike snow, consisting of eleven tracks. their second song "silvia" was released on january 25, 2010. it's a beautiful song and probably my favorite track on the cd.

in a recent interview, lead singer andrew wyatt revealed their unexpected popularity, "i don't think our project was that thought out when we started. we just wanted to make music together. three people just messing about. i don't think we anticipated the level of attention that it's getting right now. we didn't even think about touring when we started the album."

miike snow has actually remixed songs by several bands like passionpit, peter bjorn and john, and vampire weekend. most of the remixed songs can be found and downloaded for free on rcrdlbl.com. personally, i think the vampire weekend remix is the best, but the passionpit is a close second.

just fyi: miike snow is currently on tour in the states. if you're interested in the dates and venues, just check out their myspace! unfortunately, they're not touring with lykke li again, which was probably amazing for anyone who was lucky enough to attend.

mirah

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mirah is an indie singer-song writer based in san fransisco, california. she has released thirteen albums, her debut album being storageland in 1997. her lastest album, (a)spera, was released on march 10, 2009. mirah prefers privacy, so very little is known about her personal life besides the fact that she is openly gay and jewish. her songs are deeply personal and the lyrics are as unadorned as verse can be, which makes her music that much more beautiful and touching. she doesn't rely on witty/clever lines to drive her songs. its the music.

in october 2009, my university's radio crew, wuag 103.1 fm, was able to wrangle mirah into performing a very small and personal set (for free, i might add) at studio b in downtown greensboro, nc. since the venue was tiny and there were no tickets, so it was first come first serve. just for clarification, let me just say that i never thought i'd ever be able to see mirah perform, and she's been my favorite female artist since i was thirteen years old. so, this was obviously a really important show for me. i arrived an hour early and was rewarded (thank god) with front row standing, only a few feet away from mirah.

mirah is an amazing performer. amazing. it was by far my favorite show. her voice is just as beautiful and moving live as in her albums. what i loved most about her, was that she actually jumped into the crowd and started dancing with all her fans. i cried at least twice during the performance. especially during cold, cold water, which has been one of my favorite songs for years. i just stood there swaying and holding hands with liz, crying my eyes out while singing along. that was how good the show was. seriously, if you ever have the opportunity to see mirah perform, GO.

mirah has collaborated with the black cat orchestra to produce the album to all we strech the open arm in 2004. if you're into remixes, the album joyride:remixes, released in 2006, includes two discs of several mirah's songs remixed by various k records artists. every cd she releases is gold. every. single. cd.

låt den rätte komma in

although i'm a huge horror fanatic (horror, not slasher), i try to steer clear of the entire vampire genre. more often than not, vampire films tend to follow the same cliche, tired patterns. every once in a while, someone tries to reinvent vampires, but ultimately end with an embarassing disappointment - just take the glittering vampires of the twilight saga. the swedish film, let the right one in, however, is anything but disappointing.

let the right one in (låt den rätte komma in) is a 2008 swedish romantic horror film directed by tomas alfredson. the movie is actually based on a novel of the same name by john ajvide lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. it tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in blackeberg, a suburb of stockholm, in the early 1980s.

the film doesn't boast any innovative vampire quirks and remains faithful to the old mythology (e.g. bursting into flames in the sunlight). the best thing about the film is that it doesn't use special effects as a crutch to drive the entire movie like most being produced today (just take the 2009 film daybreakers for instance). effects are basic and minimal at best, making the story more believable. it allows you to focus on the relationship between oskar and eli, which is disturbingly twisted and borderline destructive, but endearing all at the same time.

just a tip: please, watch the original film with subtitles, not the version with voice overs. it ruins the feel of the movie.

stella im hultberg

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stella im hultberg is an artist, who uses varying combinations of ink, watercolor, and oils on paper, wood, and canvas.

audrey kawaski

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audrey kawaski is a los angeles based painter. her works are oil paintings painted directly onto wood panels. kawasaki is known for her erotically charged portrayals of young, adolescent girls. her style is similar to japanese manga. sorry to say, but i do tend to favor art with naked girls. whoops.

metric/emily haines

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metric is a canadian indie rock band originally formed in toronto. the band includes the vocalist emily haines, the guitarist james shaw, bassist josh winstead and drummer joules scott-key. ever since the release of grow up and blow away in 2001, i've been an avid fan and have grown to love emily haines--everything she does is golden. she not only sings, but also plays the synthesizer and guitar.

after impatiently waiting for eight years, i was finally able to see metric perform in november 2009 at the neighborhood theatre (charlotte, nc). i was literally blown away. emily haines has such amazing stage presence (and is just as adorable in the flesh as in pictures). when she performed combat baby acoustically, i cried. it was beautiful.
metric's latest album, fantasies, was released in 2009. if you visit their official website, the album is still being streamed in its entirety. check it out!

emily haines is also in broken social scene, another canadian indie rock band. she also released two solo albums: cut in half and also double in 1996 (under her own name) and knives don't have your back (under the name of emily haines & the soft skeleton). if you're a fan of the band, stars, fun fact! emily haines actually sings in two of their songs: going, going, gone and on peak hill.

karla's closet

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karla's closet is a blog cataloging her daily fashion genius - truly inspirational.