TUNEAGE: 10th Annual Valentine's Day Playlist (fade into you // i don't mind if you forget me)

well, well, well. here we are again friends. ten years. wow. thank you for coming along this journey. to this day i still can't believe people look forward to these playlists. thank you for caring about music as much as i do. 

this year, you are in for a dual disc treat. lol. i had all these plans for this playlist--to actually burn cds (who does that anymore? is it just me?), make sleeves, and mail them out to my pals. buuuuuuut, life happens. i've been extremely busy at work and i just totally ran out of time. 

anyway, i made TWO playlists this time, because there's more than one side to love. it's crazy and messy and amazing and just incomprehensible. Fade Into You is a compilation of all of my ultimate favorite love songs--if i forgot some...there's always next year. As for I Don't Mind if You Forget Me--it's a story; the heartbreak, disillusionment, but also the sigh of relief when you finally allow yourself to move on. it's a playlist full of a range of emotions.

Enjoy!

29 songs each playlist, for my 29th year of life. ;)

FADE INTO YOU 

1. Fade Into You // Mazzy Star
2. Everywhere // Fleetwood Mac
3. Be My Baby // The Ronettes
4. Summer Holiday // Wild Nothing
5. Everlong (acoustic) // Foo Fighters
6. Everything with You // The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
7. Just One Look // Doris Troy
8. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) // Talking Heads
9. Breather // Chapterhouse
10. Don't Worry Baby // The Beach Boys
11. You Can Have it All // Yo La Tengo
12. Lips Like Sugar // Echo & the Bunnymen
13. Mambo Sun // T. Rex
14. Little Bit //  Lykke Li
15. Lovecats // The Cure
16. I Got You Babe // Sonny & Cher
17. No One Like You // Scorpions
18. Islands // The XX
19. What I'm Trying to Say // Stars
20. Young Folks // Peter Bjorn & John
21. Stellar // Incubus
22. Heartbeats //  The Knife
23. Take Me With U // Prince
24. Between Planets // The Jesus & Mary Chain
25. Somebody to Love // Jefferson Airplane
26. Caught in a Whirl //  Jeremy Jay
27. In My Life // The Beatles
28. Just What I Needed // The Cars
29. Sea of Love // Cat Power

I DON'T MIND IF YOU FORGET ME

1. Kiss And Make Up // Saint Etienne
2. Happy When It Rains // The Jesus & Mary Chain
3. Mama Said // The Shirelles
4. 1234 //  Feist
5. Let's Call It Off // Peter Bjorn & John
6. You Keep Me Hangin' On //  The Supremes
7. Bizarre Love Triangle // New Order
8. S.O.S //  ABBA
9. Slow // Twin Shadow
10. Lady Daydream // Mr Twin Sister
11. Losin' It //  Underground Lovers
12. Life Effect // Stars
13. Out in the Way // Beach Fossils feat. Wild Nothing
14. 40 Days // Slowdive
15. Love Comes Close // Cold Cave
16. French Navy // Camera Obscura
17. If You Can't Give Me Love // Suzi Quatro
18. Breakin' Up // Rilo Kiley
19. I Wanted You To Feel The Same // The Radio Dept. 
20. Death II //  Pulp
21. Diamonds & Rust // Judas Priest
22. Look at Me Now //  The Elected
23. Dominos // The Big Pink
24. Cease2xsist // Ladytron
25. Soul Love // David Bowie
26. I'm Not Your Stepping Stone // Paul Rever & The Raiders
27. Go Your Own Way // Fleetwood Mac
28. I Could Be Happy // Altered Images
29. I Don't Mind If You Forget Me // Morrissey

as usual, an 8tracks will be set up (this weekend though because i'm out of time now), and a download when i figure out how to do that again lol. if you'd like a physical copy mailed out to you, please reach out to me via DM on instagram. it's really my only form of contact these days.

enjoy this day of love and friendship. don't forget the friendship.

xoxo,

Leeds.

TUNEAGE: SONGS FOR PAST LOVES (8th Annual Valentine's Day Playlist)

Happy Valentine’s Day friends! I know i have taken what you may call an online sabbatical, but you really didn’t think i was going to miss out on my annual playlist did you?

This year’s playlist almost didn’t happen. I didn’t have a theme and time was running out until i had a very enlightening conversation last night that led me to this theme about Past Loves. It doesn’t matter if we no longer speak to these people, or if we even hate them, or whatever, it’s all about the fact that they were there and what you felt for them happened. Because no matter what, these people, these experiences have helped shape who we are today whether we like it or not. I have learned over the years to no longer hold any rancor for anyone whom i believed to have had a great romantic impact on my life because at that moment in time, i truly did love them. I learned at least one thing from each and every boy i ever fell in love with, even if with some, it was more of an unrequited love. Each track can be equated to a certain boy—sometimes two tracks! Every time i hear that particular song, it always ties back to a memory of that person. Why should we be slaves to our past and let it have a negative connotation? If it weren’t for a lot of the heartbreak or sorrow i have experienced i would not be the person i am today. Everything is an experience we can learn from, whether good or bad. This playlist is dedicated to the boys of my past, as a thanks for being part of my life. 

I encourage YOU now, to embrace your past, your great loves, including your “mistakes”, and take a moment to think about how they have shaped who you are today. Make a playlist following the same rules and share them with me! Only rules are, the songs have to be in chronological order (last track is where you are now), the song has to always remind you of this person—don’t choose a song that you think is fitting, it just has to be a song that your brain equates with a certain person, and even if you hate that certain song….it must be used. It’s part of the history after all!

Have a fabulous day my loves. 

Tracklist & Spotify playlist linked below. I might do an upload and 8tracks if there’s enough interest. 

8th Annual Valentine’s Day Playlist: 

Songs for Past Loves

1. Hands Down // Dashboard Confessional
2. Everlong (acoustic version) // Foo Fighters
3. Shooting Stars // Ozma
4. Rest of My Life // Rilo Kiley
5. Nothing Better // The Postal Service
6. I Want You to Want Me // Cheap Trick
7. Uber Legitimate // Mates of State
8. A Man Like Me // Beulah
9. Life Effect // Stars
10. If She Wants Me // Belle & Sebastian
11. Broken Social Scene // Swimmers
12. With Arms Outstretched // Rilo Kiley
13. Digital Love // Daft Punk
14. Far Away // Cut Copy
15. Let’s Call It Off // Peter Bjorn & John
16. My Delirium // Ladyhawke
17. After All // Sonder Lerche
18. French Navy // Camera Obscura
19. Come Saturday // The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
20. (Please) Don’t Break Me // Catwalk
21. Temptation // New Order

B-Sides

22. Our Deal // Best Coast
23. Over My Head // Fleetwood Mac
24. Magic Man // Heart

 


(originally posted on tumblr)

Show Recap: Free Your Mind

Something's happened to me and whatever that is seriously makes me hate people. Not in particular, but in masses. Which is probably the number one reason why I don't go out anymore. I used to be the person who went to shows allllllllllll the time. I was a night owl and I just wanted to experience music with my friends or with total strangers who shared the bond of music with me. But now that I've been going to shows less and less, whenever I DO go I'm never in a good because man, the crowds suck. What happened to the people who didn't give a care in the world and would dance because they loved the music so much? What happened to making friends with strangers who loved your favorite band just as much as you do? Maybe I'm sounding old but I just don't think it's the same anymore. Tickets sell out to people who don't care about the music, they just want to be seen at shows. But I suppose that's probably how it is for everything in LA nowadays.

Last night was interesting and it really showed me how my general disgust for the LA concert crowd doesn't even matter when you're experiencing an amazing show from one of your favorite bands. So many people smoking in the middle of the crowd. Is that really necessary? So many couples making out like its the end of the world. So many annoying chicks who are clearly there just so someone can snap their photo. WHY? WHYYYYY? I just. I can't. All of that put me in the worst mood ever and I honestly thought I was going to ruin D's evening and ask him if we could leave. But he had never seen Cut Copy and last night made it my 4th time; it just wasn't fair. So i was fuming inside and totally dying but then Cut Copy came onstage and I kid you not, all the anger washed away. I remembered why I loved them so much and at that point i just didnt even care. They were amazing and i danced to every song. 

Last night can't even begin to compare to the first time I saw cut copy at the echoplex. They had just released in ghost colours and they had no budget to buy fancy dancy lights so the entire performance was ridiculously dark. I went by myself because it was finals week and no one wanted to risk not making it to class the next day but I didn't care. That's just who I was. I ended up in the front row making friends with a bunch of strangers who for that night were all brought together by our love for cut copy. It was a ridiculously amazing experience. And while last night was nothing like that, it totally reminded me that I didn't go there to see and be mad about the crowd, I went to see cut copy and I went to dance my little heart out. So the lesson learned: Free Your Mind. 

tuneage: loveishard (7th Annual Valentine's Day Playlist)

you guys, love is hard. you'll have good times but you will definitely have bad times. through your frustrations and all the mercury in retrogrades the year throws at you, you have times of great happiness. it's confusing, and it's crazy, and definitely unpredictable. you just have to be angry if you need to, then you have to reflect and then you have to decide a course of action. so you have your fights and if you choose to, you make up. sometimes it's just little things, other times it's big things that can be deal breakers. it's just a complicated mess, but we do it anyway. so yes, love is hard, and it's hard work. however, there's a satisfaction in having something you work hard for. 

7th Annual Valentine's Day Playlist

1. Little Jungles - Drive Yerself Crazy

2. Sailor & I - Talking to a Wall

3. Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

4. The Clash - Should i Stay or Should I Go

5. The Beatles - We Can Work It Out

6. Austra - Forgive Me

7. The Jesus & Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up

8. Echo & The Bunnymen - Crystal Days

9. Patti Smith - Because The Night

10. Chapterhouse - Breather

11. Grimes - Symphonia IX (my wait is u)

12. Pop Levi - You Don't Gotta Run

13. Active Child - Take Shelter

14. Patrick Wolf - Together

15. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Us

16. Yo La Tengo - Sugarcube

17. Wild Nothing - Nocturne

18. Beach Fossils - Face It


download here
learn to import a playlist here
listen on spotify (although i don't suggest it because it won't play a third of the songs)

or listen on 8tracks:

loveishard from atthisvolume on 8tracks Radio.

Tuneage: Pop Noir - "Jealousy"

New music video from pals, Pop Noir, make sure to take a look. This one will give you all the feels, come on, you know that feeling of jealousy, we've alllllll been there.

Super stoked for their September 25th show at the echo! i hope things work out and i get to go!

What are you waiting for? Just listen already, you're totally gonna wanna dance to this one.


if you can't make it to the show, their new EP "Jealousy" is available now on itunes!

Tuneage: YACHT - Party at the NSA

YACHT has released a new song and it definitely sounds like something you've heard before (musically think: suicide mixed with relaxed muscle and a dash of elvis costello). However, this very punk move from a electro-pop band tackles something we should all be worried about and not be ridiculously indifferent about. This government surveillance (read: spying) program is something a lot of us are ignoring. Yes yes we have nothing to fear because we are obviously not up to bad things, however, this completely obliterates the purpose of privacy. does that word even exist anymore? The main problem is there should be more transparency about this whole situation. It's all very unclear and we are not given direct answers. We should be demanding answers, asking the right questions, and taking back the meaning of privacy. Yacht created a website for their song and if you download the song, all proceeds go to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non profit fighting to protect our digital rights. Thanks to Yacht for tackling this very serious issue in a very Holiday In Cambodia fashion.

But wait i thought this was a fashion blog? To deviate a little from the topic at hand, i wouldn't call it a fashion blog, it's a blog, MY blog, and pretty much you will find everything on here that interests me or that i feel strongly about. Most days it will be fashion, other days recipes, book reviews what have you, but ultimately it will be about something i feel ridiculously strongly about. Now would be a good time i suppose to make it clear that At This Volume is intended to be a place for me to breathe and is a cornucopia of all my likes and dislikes,  things i encounter, whatever! everything. EVERYTHING. i acknowledge that most people prefer to find super ultra positive blogs who are always positive positive positive, but i have to admit, I AM A REAL GIRL, i encounter real every day problems. some days talking about them is my only means of letting it go and moving on, call it therapy. Some days i struggle to find positivity but i'm working on it. I don't particularly set out to be a downer, or to offend, but i cannot and will not compromise my opinions and my points of view for the fear of losing popularity. this is not intended to be a popular fashion blog, but rather is a lifestyle blog about a girl and her thoughts. after all, this is just my little piece of internet real estate, i'm allowed to do with it as i please arent i? i greatly appreciate readership, and i have to admit that most of my closest friends i have met through the blogging community, so please do not take offense to anything i say on here as i am not setting out to offend but rather get these thoughts out of my head.

I think we may spend a lot of time worrying about the popularity of our blogs and stayin on topic and trying not to offend. but the cost of that is silencing your opinions and making your blog feel dare i say, contrived? I just can't do it, and i encourage you all to be true to yourselves, as in the end, we are all real people looking for a sense of community even if it's on the internet.

Festival Style: Outside Lands 2013

I know i said i would update this week buuuuuuuuuut i've been lazy,  let's be real. But anywayyyy, let's talk about Outside Lands! Outside Lands kicks off today and although this year has a rather unimpressive lineup if someone had handed me tickets i would not have said no! haha. Here's what i would deem appropriate to wear to this year's Outside Lands Festival in foggy San Francisco:

| dress | sweater | jacket | necklace | ring | sunglasses | sneakers | bracelet | socks |

| dress | backpack | sunglasses | bracelets | socks | rings | jacket | boots |

| parka | top | sunglasses | rings | boots | pants | necklace |

If you couldn't tell, I'm all about comfort at festivals. I know most girls want to look super cute and they like wearing really cute things like rompers but let's be real, you're probably going to be trippin on something and then you gotta go to the bathroom. SO you're trippin and trying to get out of your romper in porta-potty. That sounds like fun! Also, heeled booties? You know you're walking on all grass right? GET REAL LADIES! You can still be cute AND dress for comfort! Think about that for your next festival. Oh and don't forget your jacket and long socks for Outside Lands, it may be August, but it gets pretty chilly! Also, a good idea to wear some shorts under your dresses, like some lycra ones help out a lot, you know, unless you WANT people to see your undies. 

Ahhhh i wish i were going only so i could hang out with my sf bestie Mark-Adrian! I think a visit is overdue. 

p.s. if you're going do NOT miss Dublin folk rockers Little Green Cars. They're not really ideal for festivals but their music is so good anyway, just go see them. I'm pretty much girl crushin' on faye so bad! 

Film Babble: Twenty Feet From Stardom

Friends, the film 20 Feet From Stardom is now out in select theaters. If you love music you have to see it! The film is about a few back-up singers who have spent their lives in the shadows of the performer and oftentimes unjustly going uncredited for some of their work. One of the women mentioned in the film is the wonderful Claudia Lennear, whom I have had the great pleasure of knowing for a few years now and even still, her past life never ceases to amaze me. Claudia could've been a big success, she had the drive, the talent and made pretty big-name friends along the way, but like she says in the film, "There are no guarantees in entertainment." 

Aside from Claudia, the great Ikette, the film centers around the great Darlene Love & amazing Merry Clayton, women whom you have probably at some point or another heard but didn't necessarily know you were listening to. The stories are just amazing. The director of the film did an excellent job of asking important questions and centering around the hardships these women have had to overcome. I mean, if this film does anything aside from move you deeply, it will educate you. 

The film does a great job of focusing on key backup singers ranging from the early 60s to today, with the most recent being Judith Hill, who has been on The Voice (USA). She performed at the screening I went to, and she was breathtaking. Trust me, you will enjoy this documentary!

(Judith Hill, The Waters, & Merry Clayton performing at 

the Oscars Outdoors screening of Twenty Feet From Stardom)

Watch the trailer:

Festival Style: Bonnaroo 2013 Edition

Bonnaroo begins today and I couldn't be any sadder about not being there. I knew i'd have to do an internship this summer or find a job, and I couldn't do any of that if I went off gallivanting throughout the U.S. coasting festival to festival like I have spent other years. Being an adult sucks. hhahaha. Anyway, since I am not able to spend the next four days with my good pal, Mark-Adrian, complaining about the humidity and drinking cold lemonades while watching some of my favorite bands, all I can do is coordinate pretend outfits!

Bonnaroo Day 1 would consist of:

Bonnaroo 2013, Day 1 by atthisvolume featuring a white umbrella

yeah that's right, actually comfortable shoes. none of that "heeled booties" crap. Don't get me wrong, heeled ankle booties are pretty great, but they do not belong at a music festival where the only ground to walk on is GRASS. Obviously a parasol is a given if not wearing a hat, because the killer sun rays are not my friend. And because the sun is not my friend, you bet i'd be lugging around 70+spf plus another set of sunscreen moisturizer for my face (the new coola brand is so rad and smells like cucumbers!) and you know i'd be reapplying every 2 hours. I'm just that crazy. Limited jewelry of course, because who wants accidental weird tans? 

Bonnaroo Day 2:

Bonnaroo 2013, Day 2 by atthisvolume featuring dr.martens sneakers

I'm serious about the comfortable shoes thing, you guys. I know it'd probably be suuuuper hot, but you shouldn't wear sandals at a festival! Take care of your feet! Do you really want a bro to step on your feet while you're trying to dance to Animal Collective? Didn't think so. 

Bonnaroo Day 3:

Bonnaroo 2013, Day 3 by atthisvolume featuring a heart shaped umbrella

How great is this Jen's Pirate Booty tunic? You know what would make it better? Slit sides! Because i'm gonna need maximum wind power coming at me from all sides. Okay, i wouldn't slit it all the way up obviously, just would make it more comfortable. I did this before for a similar tunic I wore to Coachella in 2008 and it was 100 times much more comfortable than it originally was. Also can I mention how much I love my Fjallraven Kanken backpacks? I hate that the yellow one is nearly impossible to clean, but damn, I still love it so much. Why do I love backpacks so much more now that i'm NOT in school? sigh.

My blue kanken is actually a mini, so the parasol would definitely not fit in it (even sticking out), but I would totally come up with some way to ghetto rig a strap by tying some ribbon or something to the top of the parasol and right before the handle. Something to make it easier to lug around after sundown. Unless of course Bonnaroo has lockers! I'm not sure if they do, but if they do I highly recommend getting one so you don't have to carry things around all day. If a festival ever offers lockers, you get one! It'll make your life easier.  

Bonnaroo Day 4:

Bonnaroo 2013, Day 4 by atthisvolume featuring an agate bracelet

Have you guys tried the tarte lip tints? They are amazing! They smell good and they last ALL DAY. If there's something I truly hate about make-up it's having to reapply. Who has time for that? Who wants to look vain by reapplying their makeup several times a day? NOT ME. Plus, i'm lazy. Sorry i'm not sorry. haha. 

Okay. Man. I sure wish I was at Bonnaroo right now. I think i'll go make myself a nice cold lemonade and lurk instagram for Bonnaroo updates.