Procrastination at its finest.

Its that time of year. When finals rock your world.

This year, in an attempt to motivate myself to actually study, I decided to find myself some sweet tunes to make the process less painful.

It was only after I spent all day doing this that I realized that it was a type of procrastination.

Gotcha.

Here's what will keep me plowing through le books:

Good For Girls

This little nugget is a mash up of Matt & Kim's "Good for Great" off their new album "Sidewalks" and Wale's "Pretty Girls." It's White Panda at their finest.

Metric - Gold Guns Girls (Glasnost Remix)

Glasnost works wonders on Metric's "Gold Guns Girls." Another must-have for study time listening.

Edward Sharpe - 40 Day Dream

And last but not least, here's a new selection from the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a 10ish member mixed bag of a band with quite the interesting background story. I say 10ish cause the number is constantly changing.

This should get you started off properly for this longgg week.

Andddd yes, I do know this post was another way of procrastinating.

As I type this post at 2:11 AM...

...after returning from a Tacky Christmas mixer...(yes, I am still wearing my XXL Walmart sweater and spandex)...I simply want to pontificate on my latest discovery...

Ellie Goulding.

Ellie Goulding is an English singer/songwriter who is quite well known in England thanks to the fact that she topped the BBC Sound of 2010 poll and supported Little Boots when they went on tour. Her fame here in the States come from her collaborations with Starsmith...and by collaborations, I mean the fact that Starsmith used her impressive talent in number of his covers/remixes. The most famous being:

Sleepyhead (Starsmith Remix ft. Ellie Goulding)

But now she has a new album (technically, its more of a jazzier re-release of her first) on the way and her stuff is beginning to pop up everywhere. One of the great things about her (besides from her smoky, distinctive voice) is the fact that not only does she have her own work, she does some really impressive covers. In my opinion, its very rare for an artist to take a famous song, re-arrange it, and perform something even better than the original. As my favorite ginger roommate so eloquently put it:

"Just when you think this song can't get any snazzier...it does."

That was in reference to this little gem:

Black and Gold (Sam Sparrow Cover)- Ellie Goulding

Below are several more of her songs. My personal favorite (and what I expect afore mentioned ginger roommate to use when she sings me to sleep tonight) is her cover of "Your Song," originally done by Elton John.

Ellie Goulding - Lights

Ellie Goulding - Little Dreams

Ellie Goulding - Your Song

What's all the HYPE about?

Man do I crack myself up.

Below is the link to what can only be described as a true music lover's mecca.

The Hype Machine

This little beauty may seem a little daunting at first glance, but essentially it is a site that constantly searches music blogs all day every day and pulls the best of the best to be posted on its site. People can then find all the good, current stuff on one site, like it, and Hype Machine ranks it. Be warned: this is not a casual listener site. Its a gold mine for unheard of artists, hard-to-find mixes and mashups, and anything scene and underground. No Lady GaGa here.

My suggestion? If you are a music connoisseur and have some experience with indie music, go straight to "Popular" and see what they've got going on. Newbies? Just go straight to "Zeitgeist" and began your much needed music education. You know you're cool when you already have every single song they highlight.

Enjoy!

If this band...

doesn't simultaneosly make you jizz your pants and cry, then I don't know what will.

And honestly, I don't think I want to know what will.

Gross.



Anywho, my new obession is a little quartet of scruffy West Londoners who answer to the name "Mumford & Sons." If you've heard of them, good- we can still be friends. If not...well, lets just say, don't expect a Christmas card this year. The four friends are most known for their live performances; they made themselves known by scratching down a few ditties, jumping on a stage, and awwing the crowd (not hard if its full of girls). Now, their first ever real cd, Sigh No More, is taking iTunes and my car by storm; a certain ginger roommate and I can play a mean air guitar to "Little Lion Man."



One may ask: "O wise woman of the rock (that would be me), what is it about this band that cause you to speak so passionately about them?"


And then I would look at you really weird, cause what type of nickname is "wise woman of the rock?"


Yet after ripping you apart with my sarcasm, I would reply,"Why, ya creeper, that's easy: not only do they have an original sound, but their lyrics are deep and relatable, AND if you squint your eyes and look at an artsy photo of the band (not a close up, dear lord), they aren't half bad looking."

See what I'm saying?

Plus the lead singer's voice makes me jizz my pants.





What? It has the same effect on Healy. Don't look at me like that.


So go check 'em out. Though "Little Lion Man" is their most well-known and played single, I'm personally obsessed with "The Cave" and "Awake My Soul," though my all-time favorite is "White Blank Page."


Imagine me and Heals strumming our air guitars, eyes screwed up, cruising around in my car. If that doesn't get you to check them out, then you just aren't picturing the image very hard.







White Blank Page




The Cave




Little Lion Man

We are the Kappa Deltas...

We are the ones for YOU. We are the Kappa Deltas, don't you want to be a KD too?

DON'T YOU WANT TO BE A KD TOO!?

Ahh yes. Sorority recruitment. Who doesn't love it?

The answer is any normal member of society.

I, however, love it. Why? Because it's my job to. Hence the title : "Assistant VP of Membership." But this post is not to expound on the wonders and duties and heartaches of my darling position. This post is to apologize for being such a lazy S.O.B. when it comes to my beautiful blog. I honestly just haven't had the time/hand-eye coordination required to type at 4 am in themorning. So now that that lovely chapter of my life is over (and we have 54 gorgeous baby KD's!), I wanted to share with you a little snippet of my life from this year's Bid Day:

That's me. The 8 year old boy on the right. The stunner ginger is my roomy.

And this is me trying to get my girls to behave:

They aren't very good at forming tunnels. But I love them.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Look for exciting tidbits very soon...I have found some new books/songs/K stories that I'm dying to share!

But now its time to procrastinate on Facebook.

TRAGIC NEWS

Btw (which means "by the way" for those not in the know), K is on vacation...but don't worry, she's coming back on Monday! Hilariousness promises to ensue. She left us (aka, The Runners) very detailed instructions on how to handle Her Lists (and yes, they do deserve to be capitalized), and let us just say...we haven't followed the instructions at all.

What can I say? I do love it when she gives me the silent treatment.

And while dear K has been away and The Runners have been at play (sorry I had to), she has made sure to check up on us. The following was received via mass text last Friday:

Hey run nerss what is up i love you

It looked exactly like that too. The male runners were a little alarmed by the emotions being expressed. I was a little alarmed by the incorrect use of the space key. Of course, none of us replied...but that hasn't stopped her yet!

And as a little teaser to keep you all diligently checking back:

The story behind this picture will be told in the next post!

I ALWAYS judge a book by its cover...

One of the many, many things I love about summer (besides from working a job that provides me with tons of comic fodder) is having time to read. O yes. I love to read. And not only do I love to read, I love to read...a lot. And what, might you ask, do I like to read? Why, that's easy: trashy novels and vampire books. O yes. Summer is not a time to read educational novels. Summer is not a time to expand your mind. Summer is a time to pick out books based on how lickable the abs of the guy on the cover are compared to how many times the words "forbidden" and "love" and "vampire" are mentioned on the back. You know what I'm talking about. Forget the old book cover adage; I prefer to live by a different book-choosing motto: if I start drooling over the guy/coveting the dress/wondering how exactly one gets that many muscles in their back, I'm reading it. Because there are several key literary themes that covers with said images are sure to include:

- Romance (obvi...I mean, come on.)

- Historical romance (I do love reading about chaperoned walks in Hyde Park...

- Sex (I have to have something to read aloud to Healy!)

- Drama (something dramatic is usually the pivotal point in these books)

- Bad boys (Hellooooo, everyone loves a dark hero who oozes sex appeal)

And just to prove that I am right (though I don't know why I bother, everyone knows I'm ALWAYS right), I am including some of my faves as recommendations...complete with covers:


Eternal Hunter

Cynthia Eden


Assistant DA Erin meets bounty hunter Jude when her new case starts to look personal (a creepy stalker is leaving her "gifts" in the form of dead people). But wait- Jude is a Shifter (he can turn in to a tiger...not really fair for the other bounty hunters, huh?)...and Erin is too! She just doesn't want anyone to know. Sparks fly, lust and love blossom, abs get licked...everything the cover promises and more occurs...all in under 250 pages!


*Warning: this book is actually pretty steamy. Avoid reading around people you have to face on a daily basis.


The Lost Duke of Wyndham

Julia Quinn



Jack Audley is a highway...and a damn fine one to boot. Grace Eversleigh works as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. Jack just so happens to hold their carriage up one night as they are traveling home from a ball. The dowager Duchess immediately recognizes him and claims he is her long-lost grandson...and sets out to prove it by kidnapping him, dragging him back to the estate, and pulling out an old portrait of his father. Too bad her OTHER grandson, who is currently the Duke, would be younger than Jack...meaning Jack should be the Duke. On the journey to prove that he is legitimate (these things matter in old timey England), Jack and Grace can't seem to keep away from each other. Despite issues and all that (Grace doesn't think she's good enough for Jack if he is the Duke, Jack blames himself for the death of his cousin, yada yada yada), everything works out quite nicely for the pair. It really is a very well written, original book...and the cover did not disappoint (I'll be robbed by him any day).


Perfect Chemistry

Simone Elkeles

Now, this cover doesn't quite fit my norm, but it still sort of grabs you, ya know? In this book (which is one of my faves), Brittany is a white, rich girl struggling to live up to her parent's expectations while keeping them from sending her sister, who has down syndrome, away (perfection is a big issue with them, and the sister just doesn't fit that mold). Alex is a poor, Mexican boy who joined a gang in order to protect his family; they've been struggling since their father was murdered in front of Alex when he was young. The two attend the same high school, where they don't hang out in the same circles at all..until they end up being chemistry lab partners. After a chain of events and series of issues (all that fun stuff), the two finally come to realize that some things are worth the hell you go through to get them. It's such a good book: perfect characters, original story, perfect ending...and I got to read it cause I thought the cover looked good.

More books and covers to come! I do enjoy sharing...