These days I’ve been on an illustration kick, which makes me feel productive and good. Pop culture is always gonna be my go-to inspiration, so when L7 released their newest song, it triggered me, and I did a little Donita Sparks illustration.
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Before Christmas, I submitted a piece to Feels Zine, whom were taking submissions for their anger theme. The first thing that came to mind when I thought of anger was Mrs. White in Clue talking about flames…on the side of her face.
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Happy World Goth Day! I didn’t even know this was a day that was “celebrated” but it makes me so happy that it is.
I don’t really have much photos from back in middle school/high school featuring my extreme black phases. Without me asking, people liked bringing it to my attention that I was more punk than goth, but my music taste was pretty broad where I dabbled in the goth genre.
In terms of music, goth spawned from the post-punk scene which is why some bands from the 70’s – 80’s have a slight punk sound. These days, the genre has evolved with electronics replacing brooding guitars, industrial sounds resembling machines, classical strings with opera-like voices, or basic rock mimicking it’s roots with and updated gloomy feeling.
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I think it’s been said and well proven that Depeche Mode is one of the most influential bands from the 80s, appealing to so many genres, including metal. Their sound is iconic as well as their bondage and leather fashion. For years they worked with photographer/director Anton Corbijn who created their iconic visuals. I just love them so dearly and I think Dave Gahan has the best male voice ever. It’s so soulful and soothing which is show in the songs he recorded with Soulsavers. FACT!
The band just released their 14th (!!!) album and it’s great. It has a fair share of their usual love songs plus a decent amount of political ones which is pretty appropriate for today between Trump & Brexit. People often complain about bands singing about politics when it’s not a usual topic for them. They’ve wrote some known political songs in the past, so this doesn’t bother me and I feel like it shouldn’t bother anyone else.
With their new album and video out now, it’s got me all hyped on all things Depeche Mode. Since they’ve worked for so many years with Anton Corbijn (which kinda reminds be of the Tim Burton/Danny Elfman relationship), I made a list of my favorite Depeche Mode videos directed by Corbijn.
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I guess you just never know what’s going on in someone’s head. And when you found out bad news, you can’t help but think “what could I have done to have prevented this?”.
So, quick backstory: when I started finding myself in middle school, I went through a metal phase, which I discussed once before. One band that really spoke to me was Kittie. They became my ultimate favorite band, making me feel like I too can be a bad ass chick. I bought all their albums, t-shirts, my first concert was to see them, and I even learned html coding to create a fan site on the now defunct Geocities. The band is known for excessive lineup changes, and back in 2005, they added Tara McLeod and Trish Doan on guitar and bass. Being one year into my fan site, I was eager to do what I could to expand the site and even get a first scoop. I immediately contacted the both of them for small interviews.
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It’s October. Mid-way into the spooky autumn month. The leaves are falling and people are getting ready for Halloween.
Being a summer time hit, Stranger Things is still just as relevant as it’s still spooky, and you know it’s gonna be such an influencer for Halloween costumes.
As I’m still fixing up the apartment, I’m working on upcycling a whole lot of furniture I own and crafting a whole lot of cute decoration to make this space more fun. There’s so much I want to do but I’m taking baby steps to make sure they look finished and professional.
On top of the couch is quite the open empty wall space. I knew a tapestry would look great in that space, but it was a tough to make a decision to pick the right design on, say, Society6 or Redbubble or any retail store. There were SO many to choose from.
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I used to be such a concert go-er when I was younger but the last few years I’ve really taken it down a notch. I’ve gotten really selective with the bands and musicians I see live. Lately, a lot of bands from the 90s whom I love have reunited and toured, so those bands are usually the ones to get me out of the house and attend some concerts.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize how important it is to experience the show as opposed to watching it through a camera. I used to be big into taking photo after photo, but that craving has really died for me. I’ll admit, I do feel weird not take a single photo, so I decided to take one photo per concert. Some photos come out crappy, others come out kinda decent. Concert photography is not easy, but that one photo is enough to spark all the memories I need.
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(Kylesa – a band I love so dearly played the night we were in Nashville during our road trip, but I was embarrassed to tell my friends how badly I wanted to go to the show.)
Whenever I get into music discussions with friends or people I meet for the first time, I’m always embarrassed to bring up the genre that really got me to where I am today. I always question why I’m ashamed because I shouldn’t be. For years I never spoke of it, but lately I find myself talking about it more because I just don’t care anymore. I used to be a hardcore metal head when I was younger, and I’m proud of it!
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Day Of The Dead is here! I’ve always had an appreciation for this Mexican holiday, but what really drew me in was the traditional Mexican folk art and decorative sugar skulls.
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As I’ve shared my love for empowering 90’s grungey bands, L7 (who recently reunited, woo!) was one band that was on rotation in my CD player for a long time. They’re straight up badass women who prove stereotypes are wrong when it comes to the idea of women being “fragile” and “weak”, especially in the rock world known as the “boy’s club”. They’ve made so many shocking headlines (I was going to insert a link, but they’ve had so many shocking moments that there are too many moments to single out just one moment from one link…what?). They basically had a lot of “unlady-like” 🙌 moments. Okay, I’ll stop with the “air quotes”.
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