Music Highlight of the Week: Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear is one of my favorite bands right now. If you like indie/folk music, you will love Grizzly Bear.

Genre:   indie/folk/rock
Albums I own:   Horn of Plenty, Veckatimest
Best Songs:   "Don't Ask", "Alligator", "Two Weeks", "Cheerleader", "Southern Point", "Fine For Now"
last.fm link (for more info):   http://www.last.fm/music/Grizzly+Bear


If you want to have nightmares for the rest of your life, watch their music video for "Two Weeks" (posted below).

Food as a Luxury

If I were not going to be a foreign language teacher, I would want to be a chef, a baker, a musician, or a photographer.

My love for cooking and baking began at a young age. I used to help my mom make cookies when I was a little girl. My family had a recipe book for kids and sometimes my brother and I would try making things together. As we got older, we tried more and more recipes.

I still love baking and cooking. I get so excited for the finished product. I love having fresh baked muffins for breakfast, fresh baked cookies for an afternoon snack, or a warm, home-cooked meal for dinner.

I'm kind of obsessed with food (not in a gross way). I just spend a lot of time baking and cooking at home, watching the Food Network, and going out to different (cheap) restaurants in my area. I love trying different kinds of food from all over the world. Some of my favorites are Italian, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, Moroccan and Ethiopian.

Food, for me, and probably for all of you who are reading this, is a luxury. It is necessary for survival, but for any middle-class or wealthy person, food is also a luxury. How many of us have complained about tasteless food? How many of us have looked through the refrigerator and pantry and complained that "There's nothing to eat" when really, there's probably something to eat. For many people, food is simply a necessity.

Passion Pit - The Reeling

Great song, awesome music video. It's trippy, artsy, and it fits the music perfectly.

"I used to listen to that band, then they became popular"

     I'm not a hipster. I may listen to mostly Indie music and bands that most people haven't heard of before, but I'm not a hipster. Why? Because I don't reject mainstream music simply because it's popular. I once met a guy who went as far as to say that he didn't like Sigur Rós because they were too popular. If that is "too popular", then any band which gets worldwide or nationwide recognition is, and that is an absurdity. Perhaps these musicians are popular for a reason, like maybe... because they're good? Now there's a thought.
In my opinion, most mainstream music, though catchy, is poor in quality, but there are some talented mainstream musicians out there. Also, there is a time and place for every genre of music (except for *cough*country*cough*). Here are some of my favorite mainstream artists:

Lady Gaga - She might not be the best role model, but even the most hipster-ish of hipsters can't deny that she is musically and artistically talent. The woman writes her own songs and designs her own costumes. She has also written and performed acoustic versions of her songs, which highlight her natural vocal talent.

Justin Timberlake - I have been a fan of JT for over a decade now. From N'Sync to Future Sex/Love Sounds, Justin has always been an amazing singer and dancer.

Timbaland - With his ever versatile music which features a wide variety of musicians and singers, Timbaland makes it to the top of my list.

Mika - Love him.

Coldplay - Who doesn't like Coldplay?

Alicia Keys - She writes her own songs and performs them live.

Black Eyed Peas - I've loved the Black Eyed Peas for years. If I'm in the mood to dance or listen to something upbeat, their music is the best.

Beyonce - What would a bouquet toss be without "Single Ladies"?

Kanye West - He may be arrogant, but he has some great songs!

Enrique Iglesias - Enrique has some great, upbeat songs... and who can resist his Latin charm?

And of course, there are the occasional hit singles by other artists. Sorry, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, you didn't make the list. Maybe next time?

Introduction

I used to blog. In 8th grade I started a blog to keep in touch with friends and update them on my life. I blogged throughout high school, but over the years my posts became less and less frequent until finally one day, I stopped blogging all together. I no longer had the need to use my blog as a way of keeping in touch with friends or updating them on my life. Instead, I began documenting my life in pictures and posting them on Facebook, writing status updates for undocumented events. For everything else, I made an effort to keep in touch with friends through personal messages and letters. I felt that I had nothing interesting to blog about.

A few years later, I began to miss blogging. There is just something about writing to an unknown reader that gives me, the author, freedom to write about whichever topic interests me. Now, my mind is exploding with ideas and I am eager to share my thoughts and passions with people through writing. Unlike my previous blog, this blog will not be an update of my life, but rather, thoughts and reviews on things of interest to me.

My desire is that through my blog people will learn new things, discover new passions, and consider new perspectives. The title of my blog, "Vera Innblástur", is Icelandic for "Be Inspired" (at least, that's what I got from Google translator). I want my readers to be inspired by the things which have inspired me (to be honest, I just took a cliché Hallmark phrase and translated it into Icelandic because everything sounds cooler in Icelandic).

Some of the things I will write about include...

Music - I will discuss the art and culture of music and review some of my favorite bands and musicians.

Travel and Culture - I will discuss some of my experiences traveling, some cultural differences I have encountered, and recommend places to visit.

Gastronomy - I will discuss culinary arts, review restaurants in Seattle, and share ideas for healthy, easy meals.

Coffee - I will discuss coffee, coffee culture, and where to find the best coffee shops in Seattle.

Other topics:  Foreign language education, photography, and hipsters.


Regardless of what your interests are, I hope you will be inspired!
~Elyse