A Book Like This

When asked to do a music review for class, I tried to think of the most offbeat and interesting artist I owned music by. Animal Collective was the first thing that popped into my mind. As I started to look into more of their music, I decided I wanted to review something more personal that maybe not so many people knew of that I would like to share. Angus & Julia Stone are an Australian brother and sister duo. I stumbled upon them in the summer of 09 with a friend and immediately fell in love. They have released two albums, Down the Way, and A Book Like This, as well as a handful of singles and EPs. I chose to review their first album, A Book Like This, because it is my favorite of the two (if I absolutely had to choose). So without further adieu, I present Angus & Julia Stone!

The album opens with the song "Mango Tree", reminding us of the simplicity of life, with it's soothing folky guitar riffs and Angus's relaxing tone. On the second song (my absolute favorite!) "Wasted" it features Julia's voice. (The duo only back each other up on songs, they don't sing them as a duet.)Julia has the most unique voice; it sounds very child-like and dreamy. Something really interesting about Angus & Julia Stone is that they record separate tracks of the exact same song, with a completely different tune. Angus's version of "Wasted" is also on the album, under the track name "All the Colours", which does not posses nearly the same amount of beauty and musicality as "Wasted". They do the same thing for Angus's "Just a Boy" to make Julia's "Lonely Hands", as well as for Julia's "Hollywood" twin "Johnny and June". I'm curious to know which versions were written first and how they came to creating the second ones.


I especially love their lyrics. They usually seem to be referring to an experience they've had with a greater story behind it. The words they use add to the fresh sound used in their music and make the content of it much more enjoyable. This is a verse from the song "Choking".

"Fine words from a sailor's son
Who's always running away
I don't want your sympathy
Don't quote me another phrase
I understand all your philosophies
But it hurts me just the same"

All of their songs on this album feature quick and light guitar riffs and soft percussion behind it, with the occasional harmonica solo. If you're in the mood to kick back and relax, playing Angus & Julia Stone on a reel always puts me in the best mood. Look on the right side at the top of my blog and click on any of those links to be redirected to whichever song you choose.


Pssst, I also posted "Babylon" and "The Devil's Tears" from Angus & Julia Stone's other album "Down the Way". They're my favorite songs, along with "Wasted", be sure to check it out. I promise it's worth your time!

The Great Gatsby's Jay and Nick

The relationship between Nick and Jay came very randomly, and developed very quickly. So quickly, that their relationship doesn't seem very sincere. It seems like from the get-go Jay is trying to win over Nick. He first invited him over to one of his extravagant parties, where they barely meet. He knows that people spread all sorts of rumors about his past, and tells Nick about his background so that he doesn't get the wrong idea about him. Jay Gatsby is in desperate need of a friend, and maybe he likes Nick because he's more of an "outsider" from this whole partying crowd.

At first I thought they were both benefiting from this. They both seemed to be in need of a friend. When Gatsby's past with Daisy began to unravel, my opinion really changed of the whole situation. In my opinion Gatsby was definitely using Nick to get to his cousin, Daisy. I'm sure that he enjoyed the company of having a friend like Nick, but I'm not convinced in the slightest that he intended to become great friends with Nick, or even stay friends with him after he got what he wanted.

Winter Poem

When winter comes I bid adieu
The time that tells us our fun is through

I count the days till Spring comes back
In my fuzzy socks and knitted hat

November to March my nose is red
It looks as though I should go back to bed

With sniffles as desperate as a puppy dog
And a throat so sore I sound like a frog

Winter break comes soon enough
The perfect time to prepare for take off

Miami, LA, maybe Cabo
Anywhere to take me away from the snow

But school is back and so am I
In the dead of winter I'll do anything to survive

Before I know it February rolls around
The death of winter soon to be found

Reunited once more with my dearest friend Spring
Excitement in the air, you can feel the energy ring

The temperature rises and my sleeves dissapear
100 degrees, the hottest time of the year!

As the leaves start to fall I begin to mourn
I know that soon I'll have to battle the white blustery storm.

Thankful for a Classmate

Honestly, I'm thankfully for having such a great group of classmates in my American Lit class. We have a really great balance of fun and work in that class. Everyone contributes something special and our class wouldn't be the same if we were missing some students. There are some students who I think help me in class when we work in partners, in particular Paulina Pei and Nina Posner. They always have an interesting perspective on whatever we're discussing and contribute a lot to our conversations. We work together efficiently and I'm really glad that I have had the opportunity to partner with them and get to know them better.

I am...a Plow?

When I think of a plow, I think of a farm. A plow plays an active role in agriculture along with a lot of other things,  similar to a team. So to answer the question, yes I am a team player. Sometimes, however, I take the role of the leader, similar to a farmer. When I was younger I used to be much bossier and more controlling, but I grew out of it. I realized helping out in something can be a lot more work than being the leader of a project, and it's not necessarily about the recognition you receive that defines how meaningful your work is. For example, when I volunteered at PAWS, I wasn't out on the go rescuing all the precious animals, but I worked behind the scenes cleaning them, feeding them, walking them, and just playing with them. At first I thought of myself as just one of the bunches of volunteers doing the same thing as me, but I realized that without my help, people wouldn't be able spend as much time individually focusing on each animal, and I really was ultimately contributing to the well-being of the animals and the organization. Being a plow is nice, but sometimes I like taking charge and being the farmer.

New Direction for American Lit?

Honestly, American Lit is one of my favorite classes of the day. I'm always so tired in the mornings and it's such a relief that my first class keeps me awake but doesn't stress me out. We really can openly express our opinions because people aren't judgmental. Also the atmosphere is so light, it's like a breath of fresh air.


The assignments we've been given have been appropriate and reasonable. It is a bit of a hassle, though, to take notes while reading, and sometimes I forget. We also haven't had to write any papers (which trust me I am not complaining about!) so I'm sort of just waiting to have a giant project laid on me.  I really enjoy the blog assignments. It's a new way of writing and it's pretty neat that we can do this with subjects that are school-related. 


So all in all, I love this class and I really don't have much to say on improving it, because it's great just the way it is!

The Moment I Knew I was an American..

I think the moment i knew I was an American was when I took a school trip to Paris in the middle of 8th grade. Nothing felt too different at first when I was with the 20 other Americans from my grade school. Sure, we saw all sorts of amazing pieces of art and interesting landmarks, but most of the people in those kinds of places are tourists, so we didn't feel all that out of place. 
However, we did stay with an actual French person our age there. Probably the minute I arrived in my exchange student's home I think I realized how different our lives really were. Everything there seemed so much smaller and neater. Almost classier you could say. It was really weird seeing what was in my exchange student, Elise's, closet. All of the clothes she had were darker and very sophisticated, where as literally everything in my suitcase was bright and fun. The French seemed to act much older at an age where in America we're still considered kids. Something about that helped me realize what I still see as more of an American lifestyle that I lived. Things there weren't so dramatically different that it seemed like I was on a whole other planet, thankfully. That would just be strange. I could still easily relate with all of the Parisians easily....well maybe not easily because of a bit of a language barrier. But overall I learned a lot from that experience and learned some of the qualities I possess that make me an American in my opinion.