Gaga at the AMAs

Yeah, Gaga, Yeah!

Do what you want,

J x

And on to my open license...

Never quuuite this dramatic in the car, and I have a habit of shutting my mouth if I see someone coming the other way.

But,

Something has changed within me,

J x

Oh hey, assessment, a new topic...

Hello world,

I finished my final Melby exam today, which is exciting. It was a listening test, and I think it went well, the four examples that were played I felt confident writing a page or so each on, so that's good. Music student pro tip: If 4'33" is on a listening test prep list, THEY WILL PLAY IT. Lecturers enjoy watching your face for when you realise it's supposed to be silent-ish. They really love it.

But it's over! Yaaaaay!

Browsing for some beauty products online, for myself and for my sister's graduation. Her gift, is of course a surprise, but I'm lusting after a few little things. I've wanted Guerlain Meteorite Pearls for ages because my Mum has had the forever, and they were one of the few things she would put on my face when I was hanging around when she did her makeup. Though I might go for another highlighter/translucent powder type thing instead. And David Jones have a free gift with purchase thing going on OPI, and I always need more polish. And then there's the Shu uemura New Generation Eyelash Curler that has come down to a reasonable price in Australia. So glad the beauty companies got kicked into gear and had to bring their prices in line with international costs.

Supposed to be venturing out of my room for hang outs, but it's raining...

Love and pretty colours,

J x

Swatvac Diet

Excellent. Most of mine is chocolate.

Nom nom,

J x

Spinnin' Around

Still studying, but finishing Tuesday, and then I will be a whole new woman.
Shuffling my iTunes and rediscovering old favourites to get me through.

You shall go to the ball,

J x

omg.

I want a bath.

Love and bubbles,

J x

Poppy King dan lain lain

Just read this super sweet article on Into The Gloss with Poppy King. She comes off unbelievably adorable and so kind hearted. Her honesty is so great. I love her back-story, I read it in one of my current fav books (more on that in a second) Kirstie Clements' The Vogue Factor. Poppy's lipsticks came across Kirstie's desk in the 90's and Kirstie hooked up up with David Jones and the rest is a beautifully matte history.

Kirstie's book is really great. The old-school appeal of the Australia fashion industry and the hilarious stories of the bottom rung work in the 80's are classic. I never really choose to read a biography over other things, but all of my most re-read books over recent years are biographies.

Currently listening to yMusic's Beautiful Mechanical. I went to a concert of theirs as part of the Sydney Festival at the Spiegeltent in January and fell in love with them. I would absolutely love to write something for them and have them play it, so let's all send out those vibes to the universe.

Taken by my dearest Lucinda at the Spiegeltent.

Swatvac has been very stressful, and I'm technically not even in it yet, weekends aren't included (but they so are.) Hopefully tomorrow will be better and warmer!

A Whistle, A Tune, A Macaroon,

J x

Swatvac lyf begins...

Musician Jokes

Some jokes that are getting me through a big struggle with an awkward quartet assignment. Maybe these are just funny because I'm tired...

        A community orchestra was plagued by attendance problems. Several musicians were absent at each rehearsal. As a matter of fact, every player in the orchestra had missed several rehearsals, except for one very faithful oboe player. Finally, as the dress rehearsal drew to a close, the conductor took a moment to thank the oboist for her faithful attendance. She, of course, humbly responded "It's the least I could do, since I won't be at the performance."

       There were two people walking down the street. One was a musician. The other didn't have any money either.

What would a musician do if he won a million dollars?

Continue to play gigs until the money ran out.

"Richard Wagner's music is better than it sounds."

-- Mark Twain 

"A drummer is a musician's best friend."

from a Martin Mull album. 

Three violin manufactures have all done business for years on the same block in the small town of Cremona, Italy. After years of a peaceful co-existence, the Amati shop decided to put a sign in the window saying: "We make the best violins in Italy." The Guarneri shop soon followed suit, and put a sign in their window proclaiming: "We make the best violins in the world." Finally, the Stradivarius family put a sign out at their shop saying: "We make the best violins on the block." 

Why did the Philharmonic disband?

Excessive sax and violins. 

Definitions:

• string quartet: a good violinist, a bad violinist, an ex-violinist, and someone who hates violinists, all getting together to complain about composers.
• detaché: an indication that the trombones are to play with their slides removed.
• glissando: a technique adopted by string players for difficult runs.
• subito piano: indicates an opportunity for some obscure orchestra player to become a soloist.
• risoluto: indicates to orchestras that they are to stubbornly maintain the correct tempo no matter what the conductor tries to do.
• senza sordino: a term used to remind the player that he forgot to put his mute on a few measures back.
• crescendo: a reminder to the performer that he has been playing too loudly.
• conductor: a musician who is adept at following many people at the same time.
• clef: something to jump from before the viola solo.
• transposition: the act of moving the relative pitch of a piece of music that is too low for the basses to a point where it is too high for the sopranos.
• vibrato: used by singers to hide the fact that they are on the wrong pitch.
• coloratura soprano: a singer who has great trouble finding the proper note, but who has a wild time hunting for it.
• bar line: a gathering of people, usually among which may be found a musician or two.
• cadence: when everybody hopes you're going to stop, but you don't.
• lamentoso: with handkerchiefs.
• big band: when the bar pays enough to bring two banjo players.
• transpositions:
  1. men who wear dresses.
  2. An advanced recorder technique where you change from alto to soprano fingering (or vice-versa) in the middle of a piece
• cut time:
  1. parole.
  2. when everyone else is playing twice as fast as you are.
• altos: not to be confused with "Tom's toes," "Bubba's toes" or "Dori-toes".
• clarinet: name used on your second daughter if you've already used Betty Jo.
• cello: the proper way to answer the phone.
• audition: the act of putting oneself under extreme duress to satisfy the sadistic intentions of someone who has already made up his mind.
• accidentals: wrong notes.
• cantus firmus: the part you get when you can play only four notes.
• chansons de geste: dirty songs.
• crotchet:
  1. a tritone with a bent prong.
  2. like knitting, but faster.
• garglefinklein: a tiny recorder played by neums.
• interval: how long it takes to find the right note. There are three kinds:
  1. Major interval: a long time.
  2. Minor interval: a few bars.
  3. Inverted interval: when you have to go back a bar and try again.
• isorhythmic motet: when half of the ensemble got a different edition from the other half.
• musica ficta: when you lose your place and have to bluff until you find it again.
• neums: renaissance midgets.
• rota: an early Italian method of teaching music without score or parts.
• trotto: an early Italian form of Montezuma's Revenge.
• lauda: the difference between shawms and krummhorns.
• quaver: beginning viol class.
• ritornello: a Verdi opera.
• tutti: a lot of sackbuts.
• stops: something Bach didn't have on his organ.
• recitative: a disease that Monteverdi had.

Sometimes, I wish I was Bailey...

Songs I Wish I Wrote

Blogger and I have the biggest issues with placement of things... but this gorgeous song popped out on my shuffle today! I first got into Goot when I wanted a covered of Taylor Swift's Mine to listen to. I first heard Mine at a female a capella concert where one of my good friends had a solo, and I just thought it was soo cute! I like the Taylor Swift version well enough... but I prefer the Goot cover. Alex Goot is a singer/songwriter from New York. I think I first heard him on something by Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider.
Also in a huuuge MJ phase at the moment. So that's going well.
Grey day, filled with cereal.

Billie Jean is not my lover,

J x

Surprise me...

One more week of classes. And then I'll be done with undergrad. Ahhhhhhhh! Okay, not done, at all, but still, we'll go with that.

Luv,

J x

Photos from Friday

With Crowie at V Dinner.

Fresher t-shirts with ma galz.

Wine and cheese for the college muck-up photo!

In C

Writing an essay on Terry Riley's 1964 minimalist work In C. Comparing different versions of the piece. It involves 53 modules that are played by an ensemble that individually progress through the piece. Super simple score, super complicated reality. I'd imagine the rehearsals for the recorded versions I'm listening to must have been very tough to have much real control over. It is one of the few essays I've written at uni, nearly the only one really where I feel like I have enough reliable academic sources with the kind of information I want. Which is nice. Referencing is the bane of every university student's life.

Cannot wait to go home to my family. Though I'm sure the sweltering northern heat will get the better of me soon enough. I'm such an air-conditioned comfort seeker, though my poor circulation allows me to be environmentally friendly enough to crave twenty-five degrees and no lower. I really miss having access to a car. Being sick without one made doctor's appointments a massive hassle because riding stops being an option, and east-west public transport is non-existent around here. It's nice to not need petrol-powered wheels very often down here, but the past week was painful without them.

Last week of undergrad coming up, excitement plus.

Say a little prayer (forever, forever!),

J x

Slow Saturday

Watching Julie and Julia as a study break. I remember not liking it too much the first time, but there must be something in it that made me want to go back. I think the non-college food craving is winning. And Meryl Streep is just the cutest. Not very far in, but Jane Lynch as the sister is brilliant from memory. The struggling with life and needing an outlet story of Julie resonates at the moment as well. Also because the weather is good, and I have to pick up the pieces of being sick. Washing and organising and all the really fun jobs. Bought myself some really necessary new nail polishes that will be really pretty when I get them on my fingers.

I wish I had chocolate...

J x

Solid food is da bomb!

I've been reaaaally sick this past week with hideous vomiting, blocked sinuses and the list goes on. I have seen sooo many doctors/nurses/admin peeps who are so over me. Thankfully it's nothing serious and has basically passed with the antibiotics I've been on, but I have never been so unwell in my life, for which I am very grateful.

Painted my nails with Revlon's Posh which is a slightly darker forest green apparently (I am the worst with colour descriptions). It is beyond shiny right now, and it feels so much better to have time for some vanity. I will say that my love of green nail polish comes from my Mum. She had two greens in the 90s that I remember vividly, because she wore them so often. I wish I had some Derwent pencils with me for colour nails, one was a semi-okay green in my mind, but the other was a light olive colour with silver holographic glitter, and I believe the polish was kind of sheer too. I thought that one was hilarious, and kind of ugly too...sorry Mum.

The sickness came on during the Masque to Opera concert last Friday and I very nearly was sick in my recorder/fainting on stage, and as such I have not practiced in a week, which is beyond awfully stressful and unnecessary right now. Run through with my lovely accompanist tomorrow, and then my regular lesson.

Going back to looking after myself after relying heavily on the kindness of friends for fluids, hospital trips and lots of holding my hair back. I even put my rug back over my floorboards tonight, no longer scared that I'm going to be sick on it.

College photo day tomorrow, biiiiig whole group photo and then a muck up one. Since I was sick last weekend, I did not get to play Harroway tennis in my hilarious matching costume, buuut tomorrow I will be the cabernet bottle half of wine and cheese. Exciting times.

I will get back to my very exciting iTunes countdown soon, I know the world just cannot wait.

Speaking of people who cannot cope...

Back to being a regular human lady.

Going to keep with my early bedtimes,

J x

iTunes Top 25 #16-#20

I feel this section of songs is the most varied of my Top 25. Good quality beats.

iTunes 16-20

Number 20 is Ghosts by Laura Marling. Makes me giggle that this one has an explicit tag, because I have no idea what's explicit in there! Great song, great lyrics, good for a quiet angst.
Number 19 is Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn. This one I will claim to have known about before most people. I was a big fan of her first album. Heh. The video clip is so fun. Good jam.
Number 18 is Someone Like You by Adele. Cliched choice but it's still beautiful. Before Adele blew up, this song was on Grey's Anatomy. Alex Patsavas is the music supervisor of Grey's, The OC and Gossip Girl. She is veeery good at her job.
Number 17 is Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. This song gets me going in the gym. And before parties. And during parties. And after parties.
Number 16 is Whatever Happened to Saturday Night (Hot Patoote) by Meatloaf. This song is my favourite moment in Rocky Horror, and I have a lot of favourite moments in that movie. This song just translates best out of that context. I listen to it on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fuels my love of leather.

Kisses for fishes,

J x