So I made a tumblr of all the music I’m listening to. That’s it. It’s just music. A lot of y’all akks what I listen to because i put various music like such as in all my youtube videos so I decided to make a tumblr so you have quick and easy access to what’s bouncing off my eardrum at any given moment. It’s a lot easier to keep up with than my Youtube Music Playlist Show Thing.
Evelyn’s note: I went to high school with Marabeth and her husband Ian. In this post, Marabeth will share her story. She’s comin’ from a different set of experiences than me (married! moved across the country! wants to do music!), so hopefully she’ll help someone out there in the same situation. Thanks Marabeth! We’re rooting for you! And if any of you want to contribute to this blog, email me.
Ian, Marabeth, and Dad.
“You’ve got this pearl of a decade in front of you: THE TWENTIES. This is the prime of your life! You’ve been on a straight educational path since you learned to tie your shoes, and now suddenly you’ve got a diploma, enough energy to run the length of the globe, and all of the freedom in the world. So how are you going to spend the glorious days of your independent youth?”
From Delaying the Real World by Colleen Kinder
Who am I?
Good question, I’ve been wondering that myself lately. But let’s start with the facts. I’m 21. I just graduated from Abilene Christian University a month ago with a degree in Vocal Music Education. I’ve been married for a year to my high school sweetheart, Ian, who got a crazy awesome software development job in Washington before he even graduated. We walked the stage, then moved across the country the next day.
What did I do in college?
Well, I was planning to be a journalism major. Then, as a high school graduation present my grandma sent me on a tour of Italy with the Lipscomb University choir, as they needed some extra singers and I love to sing. We were touring Rome, when, in the Pantheon the director started a song out of the blue. We all joined in, and the usually bustling crowd slowed around us and everyone just stopped and listened. It gave me chill bumps – it was amazing. After that, I knew music was my calling and my passion, so I majored in it.
Unfortunately, the only practical way with a charted path to create an income out of music is to teach in the public schools, thus the education component of the degree. Around junior year, I realized that teaching in a public school setting was not for me.
At the same time, I also wanted to get married, which meant that I needed to get out of school ASAP. So, I decided to cram a 4.5 year degree plan into 4 years. That was stressful, and there were so many days that I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it. On top of that, my school only focused on classical music, and I really wanted to branch out. My private lesson teacher actually kicked me out of her studio because I joined the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. I was frustrated and felt trapped in the degree (student teaching was looming ahead), but I decided to push through.
Student teaching didn’t go so well. In fact, I didn’t finish. I won’t go into that whole story, but to be honest, I was relieved once it was over. I had quickly found that teaching music to forty 1st graders at one time was more about crowd control and cute Texas-themed programs for the parents than about really connecting with the students and encouraging their musical inclinations.
I’m not saying that’s how it has to be or how it should be, but given the budget crunch and the state of public school right now, it’s the sad reality. The natural (but unforeseen) consequence of my race to walk the stage is that I now have a degree that I don’t want to use for what it was intended for.
So, what am I doing now?
Like I said, we just moved across the country. So honestly, I’ve spent a good portion of the last month unpacking boxes and exploring my new area. I’m also finding the gorgeous scenery up here a welcome change from the dusty plains of Abilene, TX. Continue reading
No English allowed in this episode!! But since my French and Portuguese is rusty, and my Danish, Swahili, and Spanish is nonexistent, I just did the best I could. There’s so much amazing music the world has to offer, and I hate that I only know one language! But just because you’re monolingual doesn’t mean your iTunes library has to be! So I selected 5 music videos by artists from Denmark, France, Brazil, Kenya, & Colombia to get our Rosetta Stone on. I hope y’all enjoy! But whatever you do…
PLEASE DON’T CALL THIS “WORLD MUSIC”.
*make sure your annotations are on (speech bubble icon on bottom right side of the video)
Syd tha Kyd (pictured above) + producer Matt Martians = The Internet, otherwise known as the sensitive side of Odd Future. FYI: OF actually has 5 different projects/teams under the collective that we know as “Odd Future”. Syd is also the only chick in the group.
Basically, The Internet be all in their feelings. Trippy. Pairs well with hallucinogens, not methamphetamine like Tyler, the Creator. But since I don’t do drugs, let’s just take this at face value — the track is a positive anthem for all of us who are goin’ through It right now. Her voice is sad and soothing at the same time, like she’s providing advice she wishes you didn’t need. “I know how easy it is to give up but don’t let people hold you down.”
Whatever you’re faced with right now – you hate your job, you don’t have a job, no one’s supporting your bold move to New York – the track reminds us that the struggle makes the reward that much sweeter.
“Just think if things were perfect would it be worth it, if even at all. So don’t act like you can’t take it — We were built to be greatness. You can weather the storm.”
Who cares what “they” say, right? If their words are meant to harm & not help, keep it moving.
Say that, Syd! Say. That.
disparate: utterly different or distinct in kind
youth: you and me
Yo. Santigold is that chick. Always has been. Even though she’s been under wraps for a minute — four years to be exact — she’s back and ready to release her sophomore album Master of My Make Believe (how’s THAT for an empowering title?!?!?). Please get familiar! Check out the album’s second single Disparate Youth.
In an interview, she said the song, like the overall message of the album, is about being in control of your world. “There are so many riots and rebellions going on. It seems like a truth is coming out. Like, ‘Disparate Youth’ is about the youth creating their own world and not having to take this broken shit that’s handed to them.”
For every young generation ready to chase their dreams and change the world, there’s an older generation ready to say “yeah right.” It’s one thing to have “haters” that are your peers, but imagine when you’re fighting a legacy? Imagine the struggle of fighting history? All I’m saying is if you need an anthem right now, here it is. It’s a song about moving upward and onward. If you don’t like your situation, you have the power to change it. Or at least try like hell. Don’t let discouragement force you into complacency.
I honestly can’t just pick one sentence to quote, so here are the lyrics (as I understand them, at least):
Don’t look ahead, there’s stormy weather
Another roadblock in our way
But if we go, we go together
Our hands are tied here if we stay
Oh, we set our dreams to carry us
And if they don’t fly we will run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh how to win what they have lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
So let them say we can’t do better
Lay out the rules that we can’t break
They wanna sit and watch you wither
Their legacy’s too hard to take
Oh, we set our dreams to carry us
And if they don’t fly we will run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh how to win what they have lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
In their heads, hedging their bets
In their eyes it shows
When the beacon breaks well then,
You ask and they don’t know
Oh tell me that
I turned my back while the odds all stand beneath me
And they all said I was misled
But now the odds all stand beneath me
Oh ah, oh ah
Frozen to the core
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh, we set our dreams to carry us
And if they don’t fly we will run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh how to win what they have lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Here’s the music video. We won’t get into that now. Just enjoy her words. If it’s not your cup of tea…don’t tell me. Let me have my moment! Don’t keep me down! I’M A DISPARATE YOUTH *runs away to freedom* *collapses*
North Texas was on tornado watch today, so of course that means I should record a new episode of my music playlist show while i take shelter in my bathroom. My family is safe though, so no worries. This show features 3 musicians: Liam Bailey, Lianne La Havas, and Melo-X.
Photo credits go to their respective press kits/websites and some instagram/google images stalking! Click “start playlist” when i tell you to, and it should open a new window to start the show. Make sure your annotations are ON (the little speech bubble icon in the lower right corner of the video should be red). If for whatever reason the button doesn’t work, click this for the direct link.
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
If you didn’t even know I had a playlist show, check out the first one here.
‘Ello. I’m sitting in my friend’s apartment listening to some Spoek Mathambo. I decided to stay in Austin an extra day because everybody made me feel like I wasn’t trying to be free enough to hang out with them like I was working at Six Flags and refused to ride the rides with them or something wow that analogy fell through…
Like…i was working at SXSW. Working. at SXSW. Sometimes even I got annoyed with how much those two words seemed to conflict with each other. And shout out to this tornado warning. Womp. I just can’t have it all, can I…
Anyway, this post is just a simple reflection and show of gratitude to the gods for something I had to the chance to do. Below is a picture of me interviewing Nels Jacobson, an amazing poster illustrator and the program coordinator at SXSW.
Fun fact: he was also SXSW’s first art director…he designed the FIRST poster for souff by souffwess in 1987. Whoa.
I was just supposed to be covering the poster art show in general and randomly saw a bunch of throwback Fela Kuti posters and discovered he was the one who drew them. After talking to him, he was nice enough to give me one of the posters he was supposed to be selling: Fela’s 1987 performance in Austin, Texas.
Wow.
And then later that week, I had the amazing chance to shoot (photograph, lol) Seun Kuti.
The late Fela’s youngest son. Seun performs with Egypt 80, the ORIGINAL band that played with his dad since the 70s.
At the time of Fela’s performance on that poster, Seun was around 4 years old.
I don’t know, I just feel like I got to be a part of something really cool, like the circle of life or something.
yeah.
I always black out from excitement every time Jesse Boykins III releases a new video. This time was no different. After I woke up, I pressed play and was stuck on my couch captivated. Entranced, if you will. MY BOO THANG has me spellbound, y’all!! His voice is otherworldly, and Dr. Woo always cooks up the visuals to match. Continue reading
That was the subject line in the email I just got. Me and a bunch of lovely people from Society HAE will be descending upon Austin, TX for SXSW 2012.
So for about 10 days, hipsters, tech nerds, and film buffs invade the city for nonstop concerts, conferences, screenings, parties — it’s absolute madness. It has certainly morphed since its debut in 1987 and now it’s a must on festival-goers’ schedules around the world. Let us not forget Kanye’s super secret surprise show last year and how he basically shut the city down. Psssh. Ya girl was in bed, wiped out from the day’s activities. YEEZY AINT TAUGHT ME SHIT!
And as I’m sure you noticed in the video — there aren’t many chocolate people at SXSW. I remember last year, we got stopped in the street by people who loved our hair (we all had different variations of the fro) and an elderly chocolate couple was always sure to give us the scoop on special deals and events they knew about.
This year, we’re bringing the Motherland to SXSW, and I’m ecstatic! We’ve been organizing a showcase bringing all your favorite acts from different countries in Africa + The Diaspora. I’m talkin’ Seun Kuti, Just A Band, Spoek Mathambo, 2Face Idibia, and many more. Get hype!!!
Right now, it’s a mad dash to design promo materials. Edit videos, design fliers & mixtape cover art, create any graphics for the site, keep maintaining contact between talent managers and the SXSW crew, make zillions of google docs, and…
that’s just MY job.
So yeah. Crackhead hours start now. Jesus be a 5-hour energy.
Although I foresee a shit ton of complaining venting on this blog (sorry I’m not sorry), I do hope that thepostcollegelife.com will also be a source of encouragement and inspiration for anyone who reads it. I was definitely raised by supportive parents who would never let me stay sad for long. Since I aint yo’ mama or daddy, my contribution to lifting your spirits will come in the form of music!
My friend posted this song on my Facebook wall tonight because we were one of those people who listened to Janelle Monae before she wore tuxedos. On this track, she joins chocolate British singer Estelle for a toe tapping, tambourine shaking, self-esteem boosting anthem called “Doing My Thing”.
This kind of uplifting music always gets me a different kind of hype, because as much as I love post Graduation Kanye, I just can’t relate. No, this jacket isn’t Margiela. It’s from Target. The clearance rack. There’s nothing glamorous about my post-college life right now, so Estelle’s song is really giving me the message I need. I forgot how beautiful her voice is, because even though I follow her on Twitter (@EstelleDarlings), I really don’t keep up with her projects. I know she was in Austin recently, but that’s about it.
She really lays the “ima do me” sentiment on thick and proud industry weirdo Janelle Monae follows up with the same idea a la Tightrope.
The song’s full of quotables to tweet and make into those corny hipster signs on tumblr:
#womp
Both artists can’t really check the “typical black female singer” box, and they address it in this song. I’m currently stuck on @2:06-2:32 for the snarky way Estelle & Janelle (hey that rhymes) break it all the way down — fiyah!
When I dance, I dance to the beat of a drummer you don’t hear and you can’t see. So if I look off beat to you, well the problem must be you – not me.
Hell yes!
Hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
