An entire summers’ worth of blog in 476 words.

It’s been a while, I know. Summer happened, I guess, and it was a crazy one!  In a good way, of course. Lots of friends, food, and booze… that’s what summers are for, right?

I started baking again, too, which is pretty effin’ sweet (wow, no pun intended). Check some of this shit out:

Lemon cupcakes with orange zest frosting!

Strawberry kiwi cupcakes!

"Fairy Food" cupcakes (ya know, instead of Angel Food.)

Ok, and probably because these were the bottoms.

Also, I got a mixer, so now I can make cheesecake!

Aaaand these delightful little cheesecake cups! (Can you tell I'm excited for Halloween, already!?)

These Easter cupcakes are my fave, though. It was a total bonus that they were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

We also started having actual, real-deal, grown up dinner parties. That doesn’t mean that we all don’t just get drunk and eat food, but hey, it’s a dinner party. These have lead me to believe that I really need a dish washer. Stat. Also, how did that happen? Remember when you’re younger? You don’t need food. In fact, food inhibits your buzz, so you stay as far away from it as possible. Also, you’re poor. I don’t know when we started having food at parties, but I like it.

I was also just recently is a super kickass wedding. It was seriously what all weddings should be: 10 minute ceremony, then 4 hours to get shitfaced and dance with your friends. Plus, my dress was awesome. When you think of bridesmaids’ dresses, you think of the long history of making them as hideous as possible, as to not detract from the bride on her big day. Well this awesome bride seriously just picked a color and told us to find a dress. So, note that ladies. Don’t put your bridesmaids in your grandmother’s curtains or anything overly poufy. That doesn’t look good on anyone.

It’s almost Halloween time, again, too! YAAAY! This year, me and The Husband will be the Queen of Hearts and the Knave of Hearts. (Hopefully. The Husband really, REALLY likes to wait until the last minute to get his costume together. I think he enjoys doing it to watch me go insane.)

I’ve also been getting my ASS KICKED at work for the past couple of months. I’ve been considering filing a work comp claim for massive facial contusions, for repeatedly slamming my face off of my desk. The bruises are starting to heal, so maybe I’ll let it go…this time.

There’s lots more blogging to come, though, folks. I swear. Don’t worry, it’s almost winter in Pittsburgh… I won’t have anything else to do but get drunk and talk to you. So, stay tuned for all sorts of awesome stuff, like a bunch of new debut albums, a few new albums, a book or two, and whatever else comes my way.

Hope you all had an awesome summer!

How Am I Supposed To Be An Internet Genius Now, Huh!?

Oh man. So, the company I work for has restricted internet access. I’m not gonna get all into it, seeing how Big Brother is watching us and all that, but how am I supposed to prank people with Rebecca Black or Rick Astley songs, now? How am I going to survive without Nyan Cat? What about the trolling!? What will I ever do without the trolling!? I’ll never find out how magnets work or how to save my horse. A life without Hipster Cat isn’t worth living. I still find myself yelling “Y U NO [insert action here] at my cat, but it’s just not the same. How am I going to watch videos of mama cats hugging kittens? Or incredibly gay narrators talking about wildlife? Now, I’ll never be an internet genius. Thanks, alot!

I’ll tell you one thing for sure, the amount of office pranks will significantly increase. We’re really going to have to find ways to entertain ourselves, now. Problem?

Anyway, so now I’m going to have to get used to doing this from home. Really, though, I didn’t get any work time back. I went in early all the time so I could get in there and read my email and check my social networking sites and, well, blog…but (most of) that was done before my day actually started. Except for my lunch break, being a complete internet junkie. On the plus side, I get to sleep in for another half an hour!

Because of this, I did manage to finally “decorate” our office of almost a year of being in the new apartment. I’ll have to post some pics soon, because it’s pretty effin’ rad. So, at least now, I have a usable work space. You will really to be able to tell the extent of my Pittsburgh Penguins addiction. It’s a sickness.

Ahhh, here it is.

I have a ton on new fodder, too, which is awesome! Patrick Wensink‘s back with a new book, there’s another Metal Monday in the works with another Pittsburgh band, River Runs Scarlet, I just got like, 6 CDs (Ben Harper – Give Til It’s Gone, Owl City – All Things Bright and Beautiful, Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys, She Wants Revenge – Valleyheart, Moby – Destroyed, and Flogging Molly – Speed of Darkness. I’ve also had Explosions In The Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care and Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues for a while, but just haven’t got around to actually listening to them. Superultramegalame.

Well, here’s to hoping I survive a world without Facebook. I’ll miss you, internet! For old times, sake, though, let’s have a little fun.

“Nyan Cat”

“Crazy, Nasty Ass, Honey Badger”

The Waifs – Temptation

Well, if absence makes the heart grow fonder, Waifs fans are going to love this album. After more than three years, the Aussie group will release their sixth studio album, Temptation, on March 4, 2011. From their press release:

“Where do we take it from here?” sings Vikki Thorn on “Day Dreamer”, one of the most uplifting moments on The Waifs’ extraordinary sixth album, Temptation, in store March 4th independently through Jarrah Records (the label The Waifs co-own with John Butler) and MGM Distribution.

It’s a question the much-loved Australian band has asked itself several times in the 19 years since Thorn, her sister Donna Simpson and guitarist Josh Cunningham set off on their incredible journey.

A trip that began in a van in 1992, with the three troubadours playing gigs anywhere in Australia that would have them, has led The Waifs to multiple ARIA awards, platinum albums and successful tours across the world. The hard yards in those early days paid off in terms of their career, but also bound the three of them together as friends.

Josh, Donna and Vikki have all moved on in their personal lives since those formative years, whether through relationships, having children or relocating to different parts of the world, yet The Waifs’ journey continues. That ever-evolving trip, and the bond that has developed between them, is very much central to the emotion, sentiment and spirituality of the 11 songs on Temptation.

Temptation is the follow-up to 2006′s Sun, Dirt, Water, which the band recorded in Nashville and which reached No.2 in the ARIA album charts. That album represented a natural progression for The Waifs, one on which they expanded and experimented with their sound.

Temptation sees them stripping back, returning to their roots and playing an assortment of acoustic and electric instruments, joined once again by the established rhythm section of drummer David Ross Macdonald and bassist Ben Franz.

Temptation was recorded in November last year at Underwood Studios, a ramshackle old house-cum-studio in Simpson’s adopted home city of St Paul, Minneapolis.

I just gotta say it…this album is damn good. I can’t blame The Waifs for taking so much time off…there’s been babies, marriages, and all sorts of other life-happenings to keep the trio occupied, but it’s good to see them back in action. After 10 days in a basement in Minneapolis, they came out rocking just as hard as ever. As per Vicki Thorn,

“Traditionally recording has been stressful for us, we have three writers and rarely a collective vision. Maybe we have grown up a bit, learned a little patience and respect.  This time the recording experience felt very relaxed and everything flowed. This album is less disparate than some of our previous albums. As if by moving, literally, so far from each other, our music has come back together. We have found our sound, our voices, our rhythms again and rediscovered our love for playing it.”

And you can really hear that collective love. Everyone was living together, playing together, and recording together, which gives a tangible sense of family to this album. Everyone plays their part, but no one is overbearing. We get to hear Thorn’s starkly beautiful track, “Buffalo” and Simpson’s incredibly catchy “Falling”, along with Cunningham’s voice in the title track. Weaving in and out of all of these tracks are long time touring mates Ben Franz (bass) and David McDonald (drums).

The band came together from all over (seriously, the US, Canada, AND Australia) for this labor of love, which ended up being a roots/rock, alt-country masterpiece. The harmonies of the Simpson sisters cannot be outdone and the instrumentation of Cunningham is utterly amazing, as always. I can see “Falling” becoming the major hit of this album very, very quickly. Check it out for yourself.

“Falling”

In a musical world of pop-wonders and rap stars, it’s refreshing to see someone going back to the beginning in a fashion that blues greats would be proud of. This album gets a solid B and a hearty “Welcome back, Waifs” from me.

You can check out the latest Waifs news at their site, their Myspace, and their Facebook.

Red Hot Rebellion

Okay, these guys are hilarious. Like, Dethlehem hilarious. Self described as “the soundtrack to a bar fight”, the trio from Dayton, OH rock right the fuck on. They’re “feverishly” working on their first album, but in the meantime, they’ve released Two Pretty Fuckin’ Good Songs for your listening pleasure. From their Facebook:

RED HOT REBELLION was formed in the bowels of The Gem City (Dayton Ohio) with a singular goal: to rebel against the watered-down excuse for Rock of the status quo. Our music is loud, fast, and furious — perhaps a throw-back to a simpler time when Rock was fun and full of energy. Where music is more important than fashion. Where intensity is more exciting than whining about break ups and heartache. Where a Les Paul and a Marshall half-stack can rattle your bones and shake your blood. Call it Garage, call it Blues-Punk, call it Roots Rock, call it the Greatest Power Trio in the Mid West…whatever you want…

…and that pretty well sums it up. Red Hot Rebellion wants to play rock and roll, drink beers, and bang chicks, and they’re not afraid to tell you about it. Kinda like the Supersuckers. They’ve got the “Oh” in those “Whoa Ohs” and they’ll definitely kick you into gear (especially when there’s 8″ of snow outside, like there is in Pittsburgh right now). Check ‘em out!

“For the Benefit of Evil” and “Built to Rock” downloads. Fo’ FREE!

“For the Benefit of Evil” Video

San Cisco – “Golden Revolver”

This band is ADORABLE. San Cisco (formerly King George), a charming, new Aussie band is fresh off the presses and getting their name out there hardcore. The recent high-school graduates (god, I feel old!) have been playing, touring, releasing their first EP, Golden Revolver, and generally doing things that new bands do.

From their press release:

San Cisco are the latest indie act to emerge from Fremantle in sunny Western Australia. On the weekends they go skateboarding, play Nintendo 64 and make a bit of indie pop on the side. Scarlett bangs the drums, Nick plays bass and Jordi & Josh are the guys that play the guitars, write the songs and sing them.

San Cisco have spent the last year graduating high school, performing at some festivals and playing round town pretty much every weekend. But don’t let their youth fool you. They have also produced their first EP called Golden Revolver, which has just hit and already found a home on Triple J and community radio around Australia. Confident with stage presence & strong with vocals San Cisco continue to impress even the hardest indie critics with their brand of upbeat summer pop.

Produced by Matthew Chequer (Little Birdy) & Steven Schram (Little Red, Cat Empire, Little Birdy), the EP is an eclectic mix of indie pop with folk undertones, slashes of synth and influences ranging from Bright Eyes to Vampire Weekend.

San Cisco performed at last years One Movement Festival which lead to an invitation to appear at the 2011 Great Escape in the UK. They also received their first airplay on London’s influential taste making station, XFM.

In honor of summer being just around the corner, check out their single “Golden Revolver”, a peppy, upbeat, sunny tune that I simply adore. You can also check out more of their stuff over on their Myspace or Facebook. Enjoy!

“Golden Revolver”

My Red Umbrella – “Get Off Your Seat”

http://theoriginalgirlwithablog.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-red-umbrella-get-off-your-seat.html

Brand, spanking new music! Check it out!

They’re remaking Drop Dead Fred!?

http://theoriginalgirlwithablog.blogspot.com/2011/01/theyre-remaking-drop-dead-fred.html

Things Behind the Sun

http://theoriginalgirlwithablog.blogspot.com/2010/11/things-behind-sun.html

Moving: A Drama

http://theoriginalgirlwithablog.blogspot.com/2010/07/moving-drama.html

WTF, 90′s?

I thought you died. Has anyone else seen the releases for today? It’s like a 90′s zombie invasion.

Deftones’ Diamond Eyes, Godsmack’s The Oracle, and Papa Roach’s To Be Loved. You’ve gotta be kidding me. That had to be planned. Not to mention that both Drowning Pool and Hole (WHY, OH, WHYYYYYYY!?) released albums last week and Taproot will be releasing a new album next week, Plead the Fifth. It’s like a crappy nu-metal sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, two of those bands are actually pretty good, but then again, I like crappy music.

Like this song, “Poem” by Taproot:

That’s one of those songs that I put on my MP3 player while riding the bus, but turn it down really low so the person next to me doesn’t hear it. But, I’m interested to see what these bands are up to these days and if they actually got any better. Here’s to hoping they’ve aged well. Or hoping that they’re fuel for the fire. It’ll be fun either way.

The one album that I am actually excited for this week? Josh Ritter’s Runs the World. He’s super awesome and he hasn’t released a new album since 2007′s The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. I’m pretty pumped.

Josh Ritter – “To The Dogs or Whoever”

Okay, back to ridiculous people from the 90′s…TONI FUCKING BRAXTON came out with an album today. Who let her make another album?! Including her new release, Pulse, she has SIX albums!? Six albums of songs that in my head, all turn into “Unbreak My Heart”.

Yeah, you know you loved that song. Don’t lie about it.

And Tonic. Remember them? The “If You Could Only See” guys? Oh, I miss the days of shitty 90′s alt-rock. On someone’s status somewhere earlier this week they asked if there was any band softer than Dishwalla. This would be my guess. It is pretty hard to beat “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, though.

Tonic’s “If You Could Only See”

VS Dishwalla’s “Counting Blue Cars”

Also releasing albums this year will be Stone Temple Pilots, Crash Test Dummies, Jewel, Nada freaking Surf, Hanson (really?), Sarah McLaughlin, and Sheryl Crow. What rock did all these people crawl out from under and who let them start making albums again?

On the other hand, there are some pretty sweet albums coming out including the aforementioned new Josh Ritter, Minus the Bear, Stereophonics, UNKLE, The Black Keys, Macy Gray, LCD Soundsystem, Tracy Thorn (Everything But the Girl), Jack Johnson, the Melvins, The Darkness, and Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse.

So, stay tuned for the best, the worst, and everything in between in the next few weeks! You’re welcome, internet!