Music of the Week: the Arctic Monkeys

It's NYE! Maybe I'll post something sparkly later.

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Okay. I've mentioned the Arctic Monkeys multiple times before in previous posts, so I'm sure the suspense is killing you. *utter sarcasm*

I first discovered the Arctic Monkeys back in February on Facebook through a page named "Musicians are so much sexier than normal people. FACT." (I have no objections.) The page, contrary to what you'd think based on the name alone, was/perhaps still is one of the only ones that actually posts things based on their own theme instead of justgirlythings' (don't click the link). After seeing a few Arctic Monkey posts, curiosity got the best of me and I looked them up. The first songs I got hooked on were "Teddy Picker", "Brianstorm", and "R U Mine?". The first two are on their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, while "R U Mine?" is on their fifth and latest album, AM. 

I'm not sure exactly what to highlight in this post, there's so much to say. Why not everything? To start with, here's what I like about their music overall:

• Lyrics I tried imagining writing a song multiple times before and it's always blown my mind. It takes so much time and inspiration to come up with good song lyrics; there's a reason mainstream music is (usually) flat-out basic. Alex Turner (the lead singer)'s songwriting abilities are the reason I admire him so much. I'm not completely surprised, though. He's stated that if it weren't for the Arctic Monkeys, he would've gone on to be an English major at Manchester University. He's also said that growing up he had a knack for poetry and that when he listens to his music he pays more attention to the words than the background music. Uh, I call BS, cause as I'll elaborate on below, it's too good to ignore. 
• Melodies, harmonies, and everything in between How does he do it? Somehow, Alex always seems to come up with amazingly catchy music every time. There are so many layers in each song, each of which I'm constantly trying to hear to no avail. They interact so well with each other and I can't get enough.
• Guitar-heavy I love a song with a strong guitar part, bass and electric especially. It appeals to me most when the chords go beautifully with the vocals but sound just as good alone. The Arctic Monkeys do all of the above.
• Tongue-in-cheek tone No matter what they sing about or how they sing it, they always have a certain tongue-in-cheek (I'd say "swagger", but 1) You'd probably think I meant "swag", and 2) It has a negative connotation; yes, even the real meaning.) attitude about them that, to me, has always defined them. It's most prominent in AM but, like I said, it has always been there. 

Now let's go over all of their albums. Yup. All five. 

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) 

You can tell by the tone of the Arctic Monkeys' debut album that the young band members were still in their adolescence. In fact, the overall theme of the album was about young people and their shenanigans. Alex sings about young people and their habits regarding partying, clubbing, nightlife, and prostitutes (apparently based on the ones that hung out near their recording studio at the time). I really like that this album isn't influenced by the cliché theme. Instead, they retain the tongue-in-cheek tone I cited before. It not only defines this album, but also defines Arctic Monkeys' sound as a band. You can hear it mostly in the messy and free guitar melodies.

My favorites:

• "When the Sun Goes Down"
• "Mardy Bum"
• "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured"

Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

FWN is very similar to its predecessor. Most of the tracks are upbeat, like the majority of the debut album. There are a lot of differences, though. This album reflects the band's travels as they began touring seriously as opposed to the nature of young people at home. Also, it's a more aggressive upbeat than their previous music. This is evident in "Teddy Picker" and "Brianstorm" with the extremely fast guitar and drum parts. Although there were definitely some super loud and energetic songs in the previous album, the guitar and drums weren't involved as much as the vocals. I think this comes from their new-found confidence from becoming so widely recognized. (What teenager wouldn't be psyched by fame?) But there's more to the album. They go mellow with "Only Ones Who Know" and "505" and include some in-between tunes like "Flourescent Adolescent" and "Do Me a Favour". Overall, this album is a little more experimental and upbeat than its predecessor. 

My favorites:

• "Brianstorm"
• "Teddy Picker"
• "505"
• "Fluorescent Adolescent"

Humbug (2008-10)

I recently started listening to this album because I'm going to an Arctic Monkeys concert relatively soon and want to get to know all of their music as well as I can so I'm prepared. Humbug is full of free-spirited alternative rock songs. It has a playful edge that isn't in FWN, without losing the signature tongue-in-cheek 'tude.

My favorites:

• "Crying Lightning"
• "My Propeller"
• "Dangerous Animals"
• "Cornerstone"

Suck It And See (2011-12)

I must admit, I barely know this album. I really liked "Black Treacle" a while back, but I didn't pay much attention to the rest of the album. After giving it a listen, though, I can say a few things. It's generally more relaxed and structured than their previous three albums. The guitar and drums are less independent of the vocals, which are mostly gentler in this album. There are only two songs that are super upbeat: "Brick by Brick" and "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair". There are quite a few that are energetic; they're just not as electric as their previous albums. To finish up, I really like the slower songs in this album because the guitar has a more vintagey sound as opposed to the rough sound it had before and therefore harmonizes beautifully with Alex's voice. 

My favorites:

• "She's Thunderstorms"
• "Suck It and See"
• "Black Treacle"

AM (2012-13)

AM is by far my favorite Arctic Monkeys album yet. It's so different than all their other ones. Alex said that they were heavily influenced by hip hop and R&B while writing AM. While I can't see a direct correlation musically, I can definitely tell that there's been a major change. AM is less alternative and, as weird as it sounds, poppy. Not in a Katy Perry way, though. It's strange to describe it that way because the Arctic Monkeys are anything but that. I think it's that the focus is shifted to the main melody and the background music simply supports it. However, the unique lyrics and amazing guitar part make this album stand out. The melodies make me want to sing out loud, even when I'm not alone. That says something. So basically, I've had the overwhelming majority of this album on repeat for the past two months at least. 

My favorites:

Um, everything but "I Want It All" (Only because of the vocals- If I can't hear Alex I'm out! The guitar part is too cool...) and "Snap Out Of It" (Catchy, but too repetitive. It just doesn't sound anything like them). I'll rank my absolute favorites:

• "R U Mine?"
• "Do I Wanna Know?"
• "Wanna Be Yours"
• "One For the Road"

You don't understand how hard it was to rank these. It's like differentiating between the times of the top Olympic 100-meter dash sprinters. The only reason I was able to post about them today is because I've been pondering this for something like two months. 

*Sigh* Finally finished. I've been working on this since this afternoon! I really hope you learned a lot about the Arctic Monkeys from this post. Comment or email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com with any questions or feedback and have a good New Year's!

New York in Plant Form

Wow, I've been doing a lot of posts on myself lately. I guess I've actually been doing things.

Yesterday I went to the New York Botanical Garden to see their Holiday Train Show. It's an exhibition that showcases models famous buildings in NYC that are constructed entirely of plant materials. The detailing is so intricate and beautiful and there was so much to see. In addition to this, trains (hence the name) are placed around the entire exhibition, constantly weaving in and out of plants and around buildings. The backdrop of lush rainforest plants, holiday lights, and seasonal music added to the experience. 

We were welcomed by this nice lady on stilts.

Macy's

Observatory rotunda

Lady Liberty

A brighter shot of the rotunda

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Pretty palm leaves catching the light.

The New York Public Library

The Guggenheim Museum

The Washington Arch (Photo creds to my little brother)

Penn Station

The Manhattan Bridge

The William K. Vanderbilt Mansion

The Brooklyn Bridge and a few other landmarks

There goes a train...

The Hurst-Pierrepont Estate

The Trans World Airlines Flight Center

Oh, don't mind me (or perhaps, my attempt at) being artsy.

Japanese pagoda

The waterfall is so clear you can barely see it.

Lilac is the color of 2014.

Kodak moment.

Click here for the full slideshow; I didn't include all of my shots here.

So what do you guys think? Have you ever been to NYBG before? Comment below and email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com.

My Current Go-To (Hint: It's Not a Cute Clutch)

I'm laughing at all of you who thought I was going to be highlighting an ah-mazing wardrobe must-have or something of the like in this post. It's winter up here. My body is busy maintaining my internal temperature and, as my growling stomach can vouch, it's taking up all my energy doing that and I'm always starving as a result. I don't have time for clothes, makeup, and stuff I should be writing about right now. I need food, because only it can fill the empty void that is my heart. And stomach.

For whatever reason, I seem to have a peculiar affinity for frozen treats. Ice cream? Check. These frozen yogurt things I randomly came up with? Heck yeah. So it's no surprise that I've recently been downing a significant amount of frozen banana-nutella smoothies.

It's super easy to make. You only need three ingredients at the most and it's a one step process. This makes one big serving. 

Ingredients:

• 2 banana(s) with 5-10 ice cubes per banana OR 2 frozen bananas
• 1-2 tbspn Nutella (to taste)

I used room temp. bananas. Also, I love me some Nutella.

Tools:

• Blender (one that can chop up ice/frozen things)
• Something to carry ice cubes in (if you don't use frozen bananas)

Like I said, one step. Just throw everything in your blender and mix. 

If it isn't as thick as you'd like, add more ice cubes; I start with three. If you don't like thick smoothies, add milk to thin it out. If you have it, almond milk pairs well with banana. Of course, regular milk works just as well also.

So, try it out and let me know. Send pictures to my email, leatherandrouge@gmail.com, and comment below.

l&r's on Instagram...

Hello, my darlings. leather & rouge is on Instagram. 

Sneak peek...

I'm going to be posting a lot of different things, from #ootd to sneak peeks into my life to celebrity style. I'm following (stylish) celebrities, some food blogs, every fashion magazine there is, cosmetic companies, and others.

So follow me now for your daily periodic dose of leather & rouge. 

My Week in Maine

So, Christmas is over and now we're just waiting for New Year's. Winter break, for those of us who are still in school, is just about halfway over, maybe even two-thirds. And for the first time in three winter breaks, I went on vaca! *Fangirl scream*

Sunrise right outside my bedroom window.

I figured I'd do a post about my life cause I've been wanting to. The reason I haven't is because- let's face it- I don't have much of one as of right now. *Sigh* Anyhow, this is what I got for now.

We arrived on Monday night after an entire day of driving. We played a few rounds of ping pong in the hotel's (awesome) rec room to loosen up. The next day we went to a nearby ski resort, the Camden Snow Bowl, which I unfortunately don't have any pictures of because of my lack of a camera or iPhone. All of the pictures in this post were taken with my iPad. Pathetic, I know. 

We stayed in Rockport, a coastal town in Southern Maine (in the above picture, the ocean is visible beyond the trees), so that made for some nice views, as you can see. When we went skiing and snowboarding (I snowboard; my dad and brother skii), we could even see the ocean from the top of the trail. 

On Christmas day everything in the small town of Rockport was closed, including the ski resort and, unfortunately, all of the restaurants. We drove around that morning unsuccessfully looking for places to eat, only to return to the hotel and scrounge off snacks and leftovers til lunch. Later that day we walked out to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, which is a mile out into the harbor. We didn't get to walk all the way because it was getting dark, but I got a bunch of pictures that day. Here are some of those (find the full slideshow here).

The next day we spent the day at the Snow Bowl again. We checked out on the morning of the 27th and came home in time for dinner. 

All in all, Maine was a pleasant trip. Although I didn't go into detail about this, I remember always eating or being fed. That sounds weird, but somehow I'm constantly hungry at home. (Maybe because they starve you to death at school.) It was a nice quiet vacation in a nice small town where restaurants close before 5 and people walk you to the nearest one. A guy actually did the latter for us. Pretty sweet of him! So for now, back to daily life. School. People. Laundry. Ugh.

What did you guys do so far this holiday season? Any questions or comments? Leave one below and email me at leatherandrouge@gmail.com.