Not serious album Review: Up All Night by One Direction

          So its no secret that I am emphatically obsessed with the 5-piece muffin set that is One Direction. In a strictly musical sense of course (OmGzzzzz MaRry m3 ZAYN I LUFF YOUUUU...haha). I did an album preview review, which was good fun, as I love passing judgement based on 30 second clips. But I have recently heard (and by heard I mean played non stop for the past 3 weeks) the album in its entirety, and I must say I am impressed. Its inoffensive boy-band pop (only my favorite genre of music, naturally), exactly how it should be. The thing I love about these boys is that they aren't trying too hard, and genuinely seem like they are having fun. I love the Wanted and JLS as much as the next british pre-teen fangirl, but there is always a lot of "serious-face" going on, like they're trying to prove that they are credible musicians or something (Although She Makes Me Wanna Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh doesn't really send the message across too well). 1D is just a bunch of 17-19 year olds having a laugh, singing catchy songs, and being adored by biddies along the way, and I think it's that self awareness that they have that makes their music so easy to listen to*. I mean, I doubt they've had enough life experience to talk about all the breaking of hearts that they seem to feel in all of their mid-tempo ballads (new game: take a drink every time you hear the word breaking...keep 911 on speed-dial. seriously), but you kinda just go with it, because you know they know their audience. Its marketing brilliance, really.
        So here is my song by song analysis, given that I dont know how else to do this:
1. What Makes You Beautiful - I feel like I've beat this song to death with every person I've ever encountered, but it still hasn't gotten old to me. It is just a perfect care-free pop anthem. I can't wait to get my braids done so I can flip my hair with authority for all the boys waiting to be overwhelmed. If anything, I think I appreciate this song even more after hearing them sing it live (minus the Black & Red performance. we just dont talk about that.)

This was them one the extra factor singing a shorten version. Many things are apparent here. Their usual stylist got trapped in the toilet, and didn't have enough time to get Louis his usual horizontal striped top and red chinos, and Zayn's missing his letterman jacket. Tragic. Harry still figured out how to pick out his woman's blazer though. Speaking of the floppy haired one, Harry's confidence is has been rising and rising, and he sings his solo bits with ease now. Also, Zayn's little ad-libs and bits are perfect. vocally you can definitely tell that he's stronger than many thought initally (that and he's grown...i'll get to that later). Also, Niall. He really isn't just there for hair-color diversity is he? I'd thought all along that Louis was the one doing the high harmony, but turns out its Niall! On the cd you can barely hear that its 3 part harmony, but its so great and really fills out the chorus (more on my love for Niall later). Even with this acoustic version, this song remains a volume up, windows down, shout it out loud from your car to the other cars on the road.

favorite line: "to prove i'm right i put it in a so-o-ong" Just because its so dumb, but true. He did put it in a song to prove he was right haha. Oh Zayn. oh and "the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed".
standout 1Der: Harry for his middle eight and solo bridge

2. Gotta Be You - Its funny. First time I heard this song, I laughed at the first half of the first verse because of the stupid lyrics. Then I cried for the rest of the song because I loved it (but the crying was also due to the fact that I was stressed out in the library writing a paper about to watch the sun come up...good times in Club Clemons). Its a good song on its own, and Liam, Harry, and Zayn are definitely the stand outs. But in the context of the album, its probably the weakest ballad, given the virtual non-chorus consisting only of "It's Gotta be You" and no real progression past that. A weird choice for a second single. But I genuinely enjoy the song for the most part 2nd verse on. the harmonies there are awesome. Louis doesn't do much here...but his time will come haha. Oh and the video is hilarious, featuring awful scarves, shirts with only the top button buttoned (WHAT. WHY IS THAT A THING. STOP IT), and fake fireworks. and Niall just playing the guitar randomly.

favorite line: "Oh girl, can we try one, more, one more time" Zayn does it again. His voice is so smooth.
standout 1Der: Zayn. Liam's a close second though because he owns most of the track.

3. One Thing - I knew I would love this song as soon as I heard it. and I do. I love formulaic pop, duh, and this song is basicaly a copy of WMYB, down to the quiet part for the bridge (only Liam does it this time). I was a bit annoyed when I heard this was the next single, just because it is so similar to the first one, but I'm not against it anymore. Its just that perfect pump up song you know. And plus, this is the first song where everyone gets to sing!! huzzah! Here's their sweet acoustic version to prove it:

Ugh, I LOVE IT. I like it because it shows how different everyone's voice is, but how well they all suit the genre and the style. Niall again surprises me (mostly because I didn't realize it was him at first). His tone is actually so distinct that now (save the autotune) I can generally tell when he is singing. He reminds me of someone but I can't pin it down. Mark my words, Niall will be the Nicola Roberts (of Girls Aloud fame for all those unenlightened) of this group. Overlooked for a lot of the beginning times, then break out, get hotter and more confident, and make critically acclaimed music that wont necessarily be a commercial success, but will appease his gaggle of loyal fans. and this is the first time you really hear Louis sing clearly. He's got that Jonas Brother whine to his voice. He's not as strong as the others, but that's what happens when they pass you off as the guy who is there to look good and be ridiculous in interviews. But I dont know, his solo bit suits him, especially when he goes down to the lower end of his range.

favorite line: "shot me out of the sky, you're my kryponite" Mostly because I used to listen to this and the superman theme song to get me out of bed in the latter half of the semester. but also because Harry is being pushed to smooth out his low register, before going up and ending the phrase in his comfort zone.
standout 1Der: Liam. Because he is always solid, so sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves, and he shines on this. Also, he sings the lower harmony on the choruses which is always what I revert to, and kills the harmonies on the second verse, proving he can sing high and low.

4. More Than This - Ugh this song gets me everytime. Its the second song where everyone has their own distinct part and its a near perfect mid-tempo ballad. WHY WASN'T THIS THE SECOND SINGLE?? I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND. I mean, granted the autotume is a bit much at times, but it's another showcase of all of their vocal strengths. I thought it was Zayn at the beginning, but its apparently Liam. His falsetto is ethereal. Then it goes into Harry's chorus, and the his rocky/gravely tone of his voice is beyond made for this chorus. SO MANY EMOTIONS. Though it begs the question, why can you see him laying her down? Are you creepin through the bushes or something? Not that I'm one to judge the stalkerish tendancies of songs...and then BOOM, NIALL!Even with the sensory confusion ("If I'm louder, would you see me?" what? no.), he just owns it. he's perfect. and then Louis rounds it out with his JB whine  (seriously, he could have sang Burning Up) on the most overly dramatic part of the song ("My body fails, I'm on my knees, PRAYIN"). and then Zayn's bridge. ZAYN'S BRIDGE. I just, like, wanna be held. This is what I was talking about. Like, I dont believe them at all, but, I totally do haha.

favorite line: "I've never had the words to say, but now I'm asking you to stay, for a little while inside my arms".
standout 1Der: BOOM, NIALL!

5. Up All Night - "UP ALL NIGHT LIKE THIS ALL NIGHT!! Okay, so when I first heard it, I hated it. I thought, ugh this stupid generic song. But like, three spins later, I'm was (and still am) all about it. The youthfulness of it gets me (and the slightly sexual undercurrent that I can't help but hear). "Katy Perry's on replay, she's on replay" is my new "And the Britney song was on, an d the Britney song was on". and the stomping and clapping bit is a cool change up from the electro poppiness of the song. I dont know why, but its just so fun. Another for the roll your windows down and shout it out (preferably at night).

favorite line: "Katy Perry's on reply, she's on replay" Just because.
standout 1Der:  Zayn, for his second verse and his adlibbing and unnecessary but completely necessary runs at the end

6. I Wish - hated this one at first too. At first listen, just the chorus is nothing special. Its one of those songs where I imagined the song writers were like "lets just put some words that kind of rhyme together and call it a day" and I hate that. but the bridge redeems the whole song. The melody in the bits right before the chorus are finally center stage. The harmonies are on point, and you finally feel the teen emotion that you've been longing for (...maybe thats just me). Though all the talk of breaking is a little bit foolish here. I initally thought it was a weaker track, but its grown on me in the same way Gotta be you grew on me.

favorite line: "I wish it was me with my hands on your waist while we dance in the moonlight" WHY ISN'T THIS MY LIFE. FOREVER ALONE.
standout 1Der: no one really stands out all that much. If i'm picking I'd say Harry.

7. Tell Me A Lie - One Direction, One Direction Fans, and the Boy Band Gods need to thank Kween Kelly Clarkson for writing this song and giving it to these boys, because Hallelujah this song is pop heaven. If I had life my way, this would have been their next single after "More than this". Its just perfect. As soon as I heard it I knew that Kelly had written it (she's so distinctive in her writing style/sound). And Zayn SLAYS ON THIS TRACK. Holy Cow, he's just snatching wigs all over the place. His voice is so PERFECT for this chorus I can't even finish this sentence. His voice is ridic on this. and proves that his range is better than mine (which is gross) because I struggle to sing along with him him in my chest voice. If they dont sing this one when I see them on tour, I will kill a cat.

favorite line: "tell me i'm a screwed up mess, that I never listen, listen"...and the whole chorus.
standout 1Der : ZAYN. end of.

8. Taken - Liam's opening on this song. Amazeballs. Seriously. His voice sounds SO GOOD when its so low. It sounds so mature. This song in general is a pretty mature effort from the boys. Its sounds like a song that Boyzone or Take That would have done back in the day. and Harry on the chorus, so gooood. Its simple, but it works. My only fault here again is with a bit of the song writing. Zayn's bridge sounds great vocally, but you can literally hear the breakdown of thought that went into it. "Thank you for showing me, who you are underneath". Okay. "Thank you, I dont need another heartless misery". Still good. "You think i'm doing this to make you jealous, and I know that you hate to hear this, but this is not about you anymore"....huh? WHAT? just...why. its like they literally couldn't think of anything that even sort of rhymed or made sense, so they put that shit in there. but thankfully you dont really dwell on it too much haha.

favorite line: "It's like I'm finally awake, and you're just a beautiful mistake" UGH SO HURTFUL, BUT SO GREAT.
standout 1Der: Liam. Followed very closely by Harry

9. I Want - When did One Direction turn into Mcfly? When Tom Fletcher wrote this song I guess...and I dont hate it AT ALL. Tom's distinctive (now vintage since their own style has changed so much now) Mcfly style/sound is evident from the beginning, with the heavy piano and live instrumentation. Its what I always loved about Mcfly (still love them) and it works surprisingly well for 1D here. Its so bitter and brilliant. Its weird because its one of the only songs where Liam doesn't start the song, and I dont know how I feel about that haha. Harry sounds good, actually, but I just prefer Liam's verse and voice on this kind of song. He's totally the Tom of the group.  And then Zayn's bridge is perfect as well. He's like the bridge-meister. and his unneccesary but complete neccessary runs to end the song are tasty. Ugh, this song should be longer, so I can enjoy it even more.

favorite line: "dont you know that I can't stand when girls say"
standout 1Der: Liam. Doing work on the second verse. and also the quiet solo bit before the last chorus. Zayn's a close second though he almost steals it with the bridge

10. Everything about you- Okay, this is a weird one for me. When I heard only the chorus in the previews I was like, vom. so generic and repetitive. But then when I did my first album listen though, I wasn't paying attention to the track numbers or names and the beginning of this caught my attention so quick I did a double take. I just love the build up of this song. Not gonna lie, i'm still a little let down by the chorus, but overall the verses more than make up for it. and I love again that every member gets their own little solo. The second verse is great because of the harmonies at the end of the phrases. And the lyrics are cheesy and cute. all things I like...but like seriously, i love this song.

favoirte line: tie between "other guys see it but dont realize  that its ma-ma loving" the low harmony is fantastic and the syncopated rhythm of "I still feel it every time". Harry, SO GOOD.
standout 1Der: None really, but not for a bad reason. They are just all equally good and fun. I guess I love Harry's part so I'll say him.

11. Same Mistakes - this is another ballad where 1D sounds too wise for their years. But its. so. freakin. good. They all have writing credits for this song...I WANNA SEE THE RECEIPTS. PICS OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN. I just dont believe it, but I love it. Just so many emotions. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't listen to this during my all nighter during finals and didn't cry during Liam's bit in the second. so what? come at me, bro. I had a lot of feelings that night. and then Zayn's warbling over the last chorus. je meure, je meure (translation: I DIE, I DIE). This, Taken, and More than this, are the kind of songs that you blast in your car with the windows rolled all the way up and cry, kind of like "I wanna know what love is" by Foreigner. So its obviously a good thing.

favorite line: "Wake up, we both need to wake up, Maybe if we face up to this, we can make it through this". There's, like, hope, and despair all tangled up. HE'S TRYNA FIND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE. UGH, SING IT LIAM.
standout 1Der: Liam/Zayn. Zayn brings the emotion to the last third of the song ("WHEN NOTHING'S GONNA CHANGE". ugh, i'm crying). and Liam slays the second third into the quiet bridgy thing.

12. Save You Tonight - Oh Louis :) I just want to hate this because its generic RedOne club shit (which is generally my jam anyways), and the lyrics are so cheesy, cheesier than any other animal bi-product...but its Louis. He finally gets his moment shine, like the whole damn song. Its just so precious, because Louis is so precious and the most harmless member of this group after Niall. And also the lower harmony on "but for you I'll be superhumn" is pretty great.  I can't hate it. I only love it more every day.

favorite line: haha I hate all the lyrics. jk. I like "you should open your eyes but they stay closed"

standout 1Der: King Louis. Awww.

13. Stole My Heart - THIS. IS. MY. JAAAAAM. Stole the tune from Dynamite, but I dont even curr, this is probably the song I play the most. Goodness, Liam's voice is actually seductive during the verses its amazing. Its such a perfect ending to an album I can't even handle it. Harry's chorus is so fun, and i love the "eh eh eh" (probs Zayn) throughout the background. The only questionable part is in the bridge when Zayn sings "As we lay on the ground I put my arms around you"...how exactly did we get from the dancefloor, to the ground. like actually on the ground. And i'm almost positive that it should be "as we lie on the ground" but whatever. I'll let it go for the epic dance party that is this song. Gah just love.

favorite line: "Cause your friends, they look good but you look better". This is probably my favorite line in the whole album. Just so direct, but so nonchalant.

standout 1Der: Liam. Killing everyone within a one mile radius. SO GOOD.

So basically, its a complete album with very little fillers. Grade: A-

Can't wait to push 10 year olds outta my way so I can get to the front at their concert!!! Yay March 2nd!!

*Having some of the best pop producers/song-writers known doesn't hurt though

Things I hate

...hate is a strong word. Whatever.

1. this haircut:

Sorry if we're friends and you have this haircut...I guess now you know how i really feel. Like...doesn't half of your head get really cold? what is the point? You can't wear a headband, you basically always have to wear it down to understand it. It looks good on...no one.

2. Nose-pickers at Clemons.

 Okay so I understand that sometimes your nose wants to dance because its got a little boogie in it. that's fine, happens to the best of us. But what makes you think its alright to start digging for gold when you have someone sitting directly in front of you?? You may think I'm just studying my life away, but its pretty damn hard to concentrate on the message of the gender roles in Much Ado about Nothing when you're feeling free as a bird and have all five fingers up your nostrils. and also it makes my life really uncomfortable. Like...What do I do? Do I stare at you with a disgusted look on my face? Because that makes me look kind of weird, being that i'm staring at you instead of doing my work. But realistically, my peripheral vision is so on point that even if my head is buried in my books, i'll still be able to see you from the corner of my eye. Litterally the worst kind of catch-22 (to study, or to watch someone pick their nose). Either way, this is not your home. This is Clemons library, i'm trying to do SERIOUS WORK. STOP KILLING MY STUDY GRIND...just kidding, who goes to Clem to get work done hahahaha...but actually though stop picking your nose. its gross.

3. Toby from Degrassi

...Ugh was't he just the worst?? There was literally nothing appealing about this kid.

EDIT: Just kidding. This kid was worse.

Rick the psyco. HE SHOT JIMMY (aka Aubrey "Drake" Graham) 

4. Vegetables

...probably should get over this one.

5. Rain

I know that we need it for the environment and for things to grow and such. But rain is seriously the most despicable form of precipation out there (if you were wondering, "mist" is second...you just can't dress for mist). It used to be because I had permed hair and rain/water/moisture always just made a mess of it. But now that i'm a natural girl (Thank you, Chris Rock), I realize its a more deep-seated issue. Rain depresses me like no other. If I wake up on a rainy morning, chances are I'll be inexplicable upset for the whole day. It usually starts with me not actually waking up and oversleeping because everything is gray and dark, so I just stay in bed and fall asleep again. It also gives rise to two other things I hate: waterlogged shoes and wet pant leg bottoms.

6. Baby-hands on regular sized people

Okay, hate is a strong word in this case. They just make me uncomfortable. But if we're friends and you have them, I've already explained it to you so we're cool. I can see past it. It isn't like a make or break thing ("Okay, so just show me your hands, and then I can verify that we are friends and not just frequent aquaintances").

8. Vomit

I. Cannot. Deal.

9. English Discussions

So many english majors, so many feelings...and a whole lot of bs-ing. As someone who can barely read/write/formulate original thoughts, I'm clearly not made for this kind of environment. I'm just not hipster enough for it *kanyeshrug* 

The Time Before Boybands...

...probably sucked a whole lot.

(I'm picking up blogging again while i sort out my life. So the travel blog is out becauuse i aint going no where, and a semi-regular blog on life and happenings during 4th year is in...huzzah!)

but seriously though, modern day boy bands are one of the greatest pop innovation (I'd even venture to say that they are one of my favorite innovations period...each your heart out, Eli Whitney) ever.

There's obviously a hierarchy of modern day boy bands that everyone should know. Boys II Men is holy grail. Backstreet is second (i'm pretty sure they were literally fashioned to be the white Boys II Men...i dont hate it), followed by all other wannabe groups (NSYNC* and O-town and LFO to some extent are probably somewhere close behind backstreet though, closer than the rest...oh and Westlife and Il Divo, but they're more like man-bands anyway). Sadly however, the golden era of American boy bands ended somewhere around 2002/2003, around the time you realized that Justin Timberlake was actually never going to go back to NSYNC and had used most of the Celebrity album to launch his solo career...need proof?

Just watch this video. JT basically just sings the entire song...like actually...THE ENTIRE SONG. Like obviously I love JT (Futuresex/Lovesounds is still gold), but  little 12 year old me felt like I was being cheated on in front of my face. I came for the 5 piece band, and he was basically just showing off his new girlfriend ( and by new girlfriend I mean himself) rather shamelessly....BAHAHAHA just kidding, I didn't come for the 5 piece...heck, I only knew like three of their names: Justin, and JC, who i though was the real voice of the group and would have been the most successful since his head didn't look like a brillopad or broccoli** (also...why??), but then he came out with this piece of horse pizzle.

....like, actually the worst. Oh and Lance, I knew him because of that movie he made, On the line, where he met a girl on the bus or subway or something, and then tried to find her...he's definitely come (out) a long way since then...

But anyway, this isn't about them. While Americans have long given up on the boy band (JoBros dont count because...well, they're the Jonas Bros...and got wiped out immediately by Justin Bieber), the Brits are just keeping it coming, and I love them for it. In the last two years, we've gotten bands like JLS, the Wanted, and my new favorites, One direction (which this post is actually about). Though JLS is more tinged with an R&B feel (mainly because they're all black), and fights the Wanted (more standard pop, but in a way that they seem to believe they are serious musicians, which is just too funny) for the 18-24 age group of thirsty females, One Direction's appeal is their bubblegum-poppiness that appeals to the Beliebers (around 12-18 year old biddies) ...and me. I mean, they are just the muffiny-est group of toddler-looking 17-19 year olds (that i'm mildly attracted to), and I have no shame in saying that I love their stuff. Pop in its purest (and best) form for whatever reason resides in Scandanavia, with the Swedes having a pretty awesome monopoly on some of the best pop i've ever heard, so its no surprise that I love One Direction so much, seeing as most of their songs are written by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub (just look up their discography and see the wealth of amazing songs they have written...like, can you imagine being in that room when it was done? literally my dream job). I'm pretty sure I am the reason why 1D could be huge in the US. Mainly because I've stuffed "What makes you Beautiful" down the ears of every single person i've met within the last three months. Just in case you've missed it, here you go:

 Just...ugh, love it. This video and song just embodies so much about what i like about pop:
1) the 5 member band. Obviously only three of them are super important. Liam is the foundation. Consistently solid vocals, always starts songs and has really good pitch, decently attractive now that he doesn't flat iron his hair anymore. Harry is like the face of the group (you always need a face of the group). Always gets a lot of solos in songs because his voice has texture (but sometimes he tends to sound like a chainsmoker) and he's the cutest, so you forgive his vocal struggles sometimes. Zayn is the ethnic one (you ALWAYS need an ethnic one), who is also extremely strong vocally (has the most interesting voice, can warble and do runs like nobody's business...plus he's the most attractive). Then there's the other two. Louis is like...reeeeally pretty. and I guess you need someone on the high harmonies. and Niall is just there for hair diversity...oh and he's Irish. but i always root for the underdogs so I like them too. They're a five member band where the last two members dont take away from the group or make you think less of the whole. Solid. But it definitely explains why there are only 3 girls for the 5 of them in this video...
2) Song that pander to the slightly insecure female fangroup. "You dont know you're beautiful...that's what makes you beautiful". Lyrical genius that is (not really). But its so catchy you just want to believe it, you know. For serious, I could probably go lift a car thanks to the uplifting message of the song based solely on my outward physical appearance (actually not serious at all). Its like that backstreet boys song with a very similar name ("what makes you different, makes you beautiful") but with less weepy ballad-y sound and more driving uptempo sugary goodness. They could have used some uglier girls in the video though. All three of them (ahem, once more, three...not five) were clearly aware of their gorgeousness, obviously displayed by their gratuitous hair flipping.
3) pretty mediocre but catchy lyrics (I smile at the ground all the time, what are you talking about), a fantastic middle eight (harry's bits), and an explosive chorus which have pretty great harmonies when its done live = all it takes to make me smile...and probably cry of happiness.

I wish I could explain it better. But boy bands and pop music in general take me back to a time in my life that wasn't bogged down by stress, schoolwork, future plans, and general adult problems. The peak of this carefree living for me was circa 1997 when all that would bother me was which backstreet boy would marry which spice girl in the game I made up called backstreet boys and spice girls (for the record, it was always nick and baby, ginger and bryan, scary and aj, howie and sporty, and posh and kevin...duh). Life's gotten harder since, but its nice to chill out or dance like a fool (or like Robyn) at a club or in your room by yourself to some great pop, especially when life's bringing you down a bit. its almost therapeutic.

...as long as its not absolute shite like that one JLS song, "The club is alive".

Anyway, the point of this post was supposed to be a review of their album preview haha. So here goes. based on thirty second clips of all the songs that aren't their two singles (no i cant wait for the stupid album to come out). Here's the least informative (and probably only) album preview review you'll ever read.

1. One thing - sounds almost exactly like what makes you beautiful, so natch, i love it. so much SUGAR, SO SWEET AND POPPY. this, WMYB, and Nanana are the trifecta
2. Save you Tonight - sounds like a typical RedOne song. meh. "I can't be no superman, but for you i'll be superhuman"...what? no. so basically you wont be an alien who is allergic to green rocks, but you kind of will... okay, bro
3. Stole my heart - Louis/Niall sings??? (can't actually tell who it is, but I dont think it is the triumpherate of greatness). but I'm digging it...like, dancing on elevated surfaces material. oh wait. second listen, i know why i like it. sounds a bit like Dynamite (taio cruz)...still not a bad thing
4. More than this - BALLAD. i'm going to cry. sweet 6 pound 7 ounce baby Jesus, Harry's voice is PERFECT for this...yup, just cried a little bit.
5. Up all night- "i wanna stay up all night and do it all with you?" hmmm...sounds sexual. ew. you're like 12.
6. I wish- this one's stupid. this is the song that the eurolurker (see a previous post on that) is singing to himself in the corner of the club while watching you dance across the room. not cute
7. Tell me a Lie- Zayn on lead + Kelly Clarkson (obviously so) written song??? YES...except for that "hold it against me" grating bass or whatever it is.
8. Taken- sounds like a boyzone or bbmak song. so again, love it.
9. I want - Tom Fletcher from Mcfly DEFINITELY wrote this. it has Mcfly written all over it, probably why i love it. Like, i can hear Tom and Danny trading off at the chorus. Sounds like a mix of Transylvania and Corrupted. both great songs.
10. Everything about you - this one's stupid too.
11. Same mistakes - STOP REPEATING WORDS. ITS STUPID.

Haha I am not anticipating a career reviewing albums. I clearly dont have a way with words. but its obvious that no matter how good or bad most of these songs are, pre-teen biddies will be losing their skirts and their parent's money tryna buy this album.

oh well. Dont really know how to end this. Too many thoughts.

Cheers,

Beanie


*Haters who put NSYNC over Backstreet, I will fight you.
** I'm just still bitter that he's not making music anymore, sorry. I just want another "Summer love", dammit. IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK??? none of that "Carry out" crap, please.

Zut!!! Il ne reste que quelque jours….

Merde there’s a whole (two) week(s) to catch up on. Its been such a fou fou last three weeks here in Lyon. Its not over yet, so I’m not going to get all nostalgic and stuff give yet, I have to raconte some stuff. So here goes! Highlights edition from last week:

Monday the 4^th:

Hung out with Kate and Maggie dans l’apres-midi! We met at Zara, took a trip to Rafael’s apartment where Maggie was staying, and then ran off to get food at Lidl (cheaper than Monoprix, but its also an experience haha) on the quai! Had a little pique-nique and watched some pre-pubescent skaters and the one older biker do some sweet tricks on the skate holes near pont Guillotière…clearly one of my favorite past-times.

Après ca, I went to meet the rest of the group at L’atelier des Chefs for our cooking class! It was def one of the coolest things I’ve ever done (considering I don’t cook). We got split into two groups, and mine did the wine-tasting with Monsieur Gateaux (translation: Mister Cake….non, vraiment). He was super chouette and had us smelling pamplemousse, pommes, and fragrances and stuff that I didn’t realize was in wine (grapes, no?). then we headed out to make the entrée, some ratatouille, and the desert, a cherry pastry of some sort. So great.

Since it was America Day, we decided to celebrate the night at Cosmo, the American bar at the bottom of our petite colline. Its honestly not my favorite place (not enough dance floor due to awkward placement of bar), but it was so fun this nice. It was a lot of people from the 4 and 6 week program together, just having a good old time, dancing like fools, comme d’hab. Success

Tuesday the 5^th:

Nothing that exciting happened during the day, other than class.

That night however, Katherine James and I made plans to go play on the quai together. She plays fiddle and we were just going to have a jam sesh near the water on the rhone. We cross Guillotière to find literally hundreds of people sitting there chillin out. Kate had told me it was the thing to do in Lyon, mais I didn’t think there would be this many people there. Everyone was either playing instruments, just hanging out, or cheering on the 60 year old man who runs along the Rhone every night. We get there and Kate and Maggie arrive plus tard, and suddenly we’re on our way to Rafael’s apartment. So we go in they are having a typical French soirée, obviously with real French people. Katherine and I felt super awkward at first because we really didn’t know anyone other than Maggie and Kate and Rafael (and Katherine had just met them all that night), so we planned to leave when Kate left (it was her last night in Lyon waaaaah), but Rafael convinced us to stay and play there. We wanted to practice first so we went into the hallway. But then didn’t get up. FOR THREE HOURS. Literally jamming for three hours. But it was magnifique. Ukulele and fiddle is such a great combination. We had really awesome conversation in the hall with whoever was passing, and some French guy made me sing to his best friend through his phone. Normal everyday life occurrence.

Wednesday the 6^th:

Nardone! Nard’s (fyi, no one actually calls it Nard’s) is considered the best ice cream in Lyon, and we were getting three boules (scoops) fo free!! Miam miam, as the French say. I got rose, caramel (not the best choice), and strachiatella.

Went to go hang out and play on the quai with Maggie on her last night in Lyon waaaaaah. It was super chill, minus the creeper that tried to sit with us. Maggie shut that right up though, and we on y va-ed to a different spot on the quai It was super chill but super nice. She walked me back to Pont laFayette (I am the queen of these Rhone ponts) and then I trudged back up the hill). Early night.

Thursday the 7^th:

La pluit est stupide. Ruined my plans to go to Vieux Lyon and Johnny’s and listen to my main brazillian guitarist Jose. But n’importe quoi, We were leaving for Annecy the next matin, so I got to do some much needed homework. Rained-out.

Friday the 8^th:

Got up early to do the packing for Annecy that I didn’t do the night before. The bus ride was fun. I meant to start on my etre francaise paper, but I ended up showing Emily all the stupid yet hilarious pictures that I collect on my computer. Standard. Then we watched this French movie called le Nom des Gens. I knew what Pierre was trying to do, making us do some learning and cultural analysis on the way to Annecy, but en fait, it was actually a pretty awesome movie. And then we get to Annecy. They literally just dropped us off and said, see ya on Sunday. Donc, a completely unstructured weekend. OH MON DIEU. It is legit the most beautiful place ever. It’s in the Alpes, pretty close to Switzerland. Words cannot express. Luckily stolen pictures can. I had pretty awesome roomies too, Rudhdi and Katherine James. Due to my violent sleeping habits, I got the twin bed while the two of them shared the double (still don’t understand why we didn’t have three beds, but its whatever). We went to a Jazz concert. Kinda…my group caught the last two songs, and the other group caught the last two bars of the encore haha. But we all just sat out by the water and chatted. The night was a little gaté thanks to some really obnoxious French men that came by. They started nice, trying to get us to go discotechque-ing with them, but then it got kind of rude and vulgar, and we weren’t having any of it. It wasn’t threatening, just a little annoying and disconcerting. Its this weird thing that we’ve experienced here,  where it seems that a large number of French men think that American girls are all sluts and salopes, and thus they feel like talk to us however they want. I really wonder if they ever give French girls the kind of crap that they serve to us on a platter sometimes. But rant over, the rest of the night was great because we went back and slept.

Saturday the 9^th:

Gah this place was so great. We went pedalo-ing (paddle boating) in the morning, then biking in the afternoon before getting crepes for lunch. I had a great conversation with the owner of the crepe place about France and America and cars and driving. Tres chouette.  Apres I’m pretty sure I did some work, before dinner, and then karaoke that night. Pretty sure we crashed a bachelorette party at the bar we went to, but Natasha, Mary, and I got up to sing summer nights anyway, and got a cute applause afterwards. Then I spend most of the time outside with Rachael, Sarah and Shannon talking to French people.

Sunday the 10^th:

Clearly I’m getting annoyed at writing and I’m not putting as much detail into it anymore. Des (as in desolée). Sunday we went to the chateau and then walked around the ville before heading back on the bus at 5 and going back to villemanzy. Seeing as it was the beginning of my last week, I couldn’t think of anything better to do than sit in my window in my underwear with my ukulele and watch the river at night from my view. Literally one of the best things ever. Les voisins noticed I think, but je ne care pas. I decided to write a song about them. The creative juices were just flowing and i finished most of it that night. Les Voisins.

I’ll try and recap my last week, but it’ll probs be after I get back. I’ll get super sappy and stuff, so that’ll be fun.

French-Cute or Genuinely Attractive?...Week-end libre a Lyon

So this weekend is the only free weekend of the trip, as in there were no mandatory cultural events scheduled, and everyone could basically do what they wanted. I was all about sortiring de Lyon and exploring the South of France, but given the money situation, it wasn’t gonna marche at all. And also, after I thought about it, I realized that it was probably mieux to stay in Lyon (for me anyway). It’s our last real weekend here, and since j’adore this city, I knew I was gonna make the most of it (when I wasn’t doing work). So while a bunch of people voyager-ed this weekend, A handful of us girls decided to stay and just Francais it up right in our own backyard. The group was me, Becca, Karen, Rudhdi, and Hannah. Suffice it to say that it was a pretty stellar group. It was great because we basically just took our sweet French time faire-ing whatever we wanted, but still getting up, walking and moving about. So here goes!

Friday

Becca and I decided to get some food down the colline and on the Rue de la Rebuplique at this cute place called La Croissanterie. They had a sweet deal where I got a plat + dessert+ boisson for about 7 euro, and I was so down. I got a parisien Panini, a tart au fraise, and jus d’orange. It was parf (parfait). We sat in the window and did some intense people watching (what I like to call “Cultural Studies”). We then went back up that blasted colline to pick up the rest of the gang to go faire les Soldes aka shopping during the government ordered country-wide summer sales. Karen went to go work in Starbucks, but me, Becca, Rudhdi, and Hannah went on to meet Katherine James to hit up some of the stores. After two hours I was exhausted and had only bought a pair of boucles d’oreilles (earrings) , but I think right before we leave I’m going to go and get one big thing that I want. We stopped at this precious homestyle place and got some café and chocolat chaud for me, and my first croissant in france! It was just so nice to sit and chat, and I think the delirium made everything a little bit funnier. Rudhdi’s creeper voice came out, which is how ever conversation or event in general should end haha. We then went back and chilled before having dinner all together on the rez de chausee of Villemanzy. Calvin came and joined too! I made some tortellini that I’d just gotten when we stopped by Monoprix. I swear I could eat tortellini every day of my life and not get bored with it. Non, mais vraiment. We then decided that its always a good idea to go get some glace, so we hiked further up the Croix-Rousse to the other Regal Glace location. Literally this place is heavenly. I got stracciatella and citron and it was incroyable. I also managed to be trop awkward, and pointed at the guy from the Regal glace on Rue Merciere (I guess he works both locations) right as he was turning and probably (as in most definitely) saw me. Smooth (je ne suis pas). He was definitely a 2 though, so I’m not really bothered, he probably knows he’s good looking haha.

I probably have to explain this system we have come up with. I know I’ve mentioned the notion of French cute before, but haven’t really delved into it. So what we’ve been noticing is that not all French men look like Guillaume Canet, Yoann Gourcuff, Thierry Henry, or Gilles Marini (below is a sampling of these men). 

I dont really know who home-garcon on the right is, but he can stay.

Titi, forever a gunner to me :)

Zizou! like a fine wine, this one is.

But now its almost like we are too conscious of that. To the point that we have decided that a lot of the guys here are French Cute; as in they are cute probably because they are French, or look really French, but we probably wouldn’t know what to think if we were back in the states or at UVA. So now went we are doing our “Cultural Studies” we’ve been playing the great cultural game, “French-Cute or Genuinely Attractive…or Other”. To be more discrete, French-cute is 1, Genuinely Attractive is 2, and other is just other (it’s a wide spectra really). You can potentially get a 1.5 if you’re walking the line though. It’s really just silliness, but it helps pass the time haha.

But basically we ate our glace at the top of Croix-Rousse overlooking the city and it was glorious. But once again, I haven’t fully evaded the black lung yet, so I needed to get out of the cold and just go to bed, which is what I did.

Saturday

What a good productive jour this was! I got up a little early to do some work for Pierre’s class. Love the man, but damn, he gives a lot of work. But I was very proud of myself because I actually made myself a good breakfast (yogurt, and melon) and took some medicine, so I was buzzin’ and in a good mood. We went down the colline again for a lunch at the place next to the Hotel de Ville whose sign says “S, M, L, XL” as the name of the restaurant. It was actually amazing. I got a pesto-parmesan pasta (I literally just discovered pesto and I’m all about it, its my confiture). And then of course we sat and did the French thing of not moving for another 45 minutes just chillin. Home-garcon next to us was a solid 2, and we were impressed by him just splashing out about 15 euro on himself; he got an entrée, plat principal, and then a dessert as well. After lunch the others decided to go to the Contemporary Art musee, but I decided to stay behind and finish up my work. I’m trying to profiter de la ville de Lyon as much as I can during the week next week, so I’m trying to get on my study and homework grind now. I got it all done for the most part, and then headed down at 8 again for dinner with les filles. I had….yup, guessed right. Tortellini again! Its so bon fromage. The night got hopping later though. Becca, Hannah, and I decided to go to Johnny’s again (my favorite establishment), even though Jose the Brazilian wasn’t there. Kate had just gotten back from the south so we were going to meet up with her around 11:30. It was a pretty great night! My favorite creeper balding man, Simone, was there again because I have the worst luck in the world. However, he was preoccupied with creepin with another femme, so I wasn’t bothered. But Fearless Kate had a mission for me to dance with someone that night. There was the most adorable muffin of a boy in a Stade Toulouse t-shirt (favorite French rugby team? Check plus) sitting on the other side. I jokingly told Kate I would give her 2 euros if she was my wingman and and brought him over to us….so naturally, Fearless did it! He was super nice and was trying really hard to speak English, so I told him we could speak in French if it was easier. I was very proud of my French speaking skills that night, especially since there was a very loud Irish band in front of us. I left our new friend Yannick to go find the girls who had moved to a table in the back. But then Hannah, Kate, Kate’s german friend, and I decided to get up on the stage and dance! Its so funny because its such a small stage, and you’re basically in front of everyone, but it just didn’t matter because we were having such a good time. And then Fearless pulled Yannick into our little dancing group and he was just having the time of his life. Muffin does not even begin to describe this guy. Later on I lost part of my earring while dancing to “Highway to Hell” which was tragic. That’s what I get for buying cheap earrings I guess. But whatever. We left soon after and walked home through Vieux Lyon because Hannah had never been. It was so gorgeous je ne peux pas meme le decrire. It was just one of those nights that i love you know. As much as I love discotecque-ing and dancing like a maniac, I also love semi chill nights, where everyone’s just kinda listening to a band and talking amongst friends (and you know, getting up on  stage and dancing every once in a while haha).

Sunday

So today was more “wake up and do homework” kinda thing. I honestly was gonna do laundry as soon as I woke up, but the waking up part was harder than expected. So when I did finally get out of bed, I started on Poetry stuff for Tuesday. Then at 11 the girls met up to go to the marché on Croix-Rousse. Its so great how much stuff I can get for not that much. Today I got a quiche, couscous, potatoes, and half a chicken for like 6,50 euros. I came down with Karen and then did a little bit of work that required internet. I then went back up the hill to “read” and play ukulele. I actually did do some Lire-ing, but I’m saving the rest for later haha. Hannah came and joined soon after, so I just serenaded her and everyone else on that overlook of the city. There was a guy up there busking for money with his guitar that was totally stealing my thunder, I was not amused haha. But then around 4:45 we went back down to go with Rudhdi and Becca to the Book marché on our Side of the Soane. I didn’t get anything, but it was so interesting seeing all the French books laid out. You could tell which ones were the yard sale rejects, and which were probably actually really legit books. After a bit of browsing, we were obviously in the mood for glace, so we tried to hit up Nardone on the other side of the Soane. Its said to be the best ice cream place in like all of France or something, and that was clear from the lines. We decided it wasn’t worth the wait since we were getting it for free this week as part of the program, so we wandered back across the Soane and went to our classic favorite place, Regal Glace. We sat down in the store across from Regal and since I’d brought my uke I gave Becca, Rudhdi and Hannah another free concert (…and everyone else at Regal). We then walked back up to Villemanzy and took a two hour repose before dinner. At dinner of course I found out that I had even more work to do, and did that before we headed out for a chill night at Flanagan’s. Funnily enough, the same band from Johnny’s the night before was the one playing at Flanny’s that night. So we just sat back and took in the music for a while before calling it a night. 

2 more incredible (j'espere) weeks left!

Cheers,

Abena

A week's worth of recapping...

So I knew this would happen. I knew that at some point I wouldn’t be able to keep up with this blog. But here I thought it would be because I’m just a lazy old cow who gets sick of doing things. But its actually been quite a busy week, what with school and all (again, with the study part of study abroad). So I’m going to go through the important parts of the last week, with stolen pictures from facebook obviously 

Sunday highlights:

-          Musée Gadagne with David, Rudhdi, Becca, and Calvin! We had to go for our Poetry class, and it was actually really awesome. I’m such a museum nerd, but it was so cool. We basically got to see what Lyon was like during the Renaissance, and how and why it became such a cultural and historical hotspot of France at that time.

-          Basically a whole lotta nothing haha. We all sat around for a bit writing our commentaries on the museum, and pretending to read the poems (which are super dense)

-          Degustation de Fromage! We got to taste a whole bunch of stinky cheese and decide which one we liked the best. Since I’m no food critic, my critiques went as far as “bon” et “pas bon” et “degoutant”. But basically, Beaufort was the best, and Chevre was the overall favorite type

mmmmm....fromage

-          I ended up giving an impromptu ukulele concert in the lobby of Villemanzy. I didn’t play too many of the weird ones, but people seemed to appreciate what I write, which makes me really happy :)

aaaah where's my hand?

Monday highlights:

-          Lowlight: having to wake up early to sickness and the black lung apparently. My nose was running like it stole something, and I was coughing like a chainsmoker. Pas bon fromage.

-          Meeting with the American Consulat in Lyon. We got to talk to the Consul Mark Shapiro and another guy in the office Victor Vitelli (silver fox) about the diversity initiatives that they are starting in Lyon. We branched out and ended up talking about diversity in france in general, gender roles and treatment, affirmative action, and so much more. It was so interesting! Although I’m the opposite of political, all this culture stuff really sucks me in, so I was bombing them with a lot of questions (that they evaded like good politicians), but it was also obvious that they seemed genuinely interested in the diversity initatives.

-          Lowlight: basically being sick for the whole rest of the day. I went to bed around 3pm on my floor because I was too weak to make it upstairs to my bed, and then later on at 9ish Megan (who is my mother on this trip) gave me some Theraflu. No sortir-ing that night. 

Tuesday highlights:

-          Taking the metro and the tramway to class for the first time because it was hot as balls. Like literally 97 degrees outside

-          Wow I guess Tuesday wasn’t really all that eventful

-          Watching Geordie Shore with Hannah. Or rather, watching like 5 minutes of Geordie Shore at a time with Hannah because the internet is sooooo slow was actually really fun.

-          I wanted to go out, but my body was telling me:

 SSo naturally, i listened.

Wednesday Highlights:

-          Meeting with Emmanuelle quelquechose and Mark Villarubias about Diversity programs for Pierre’s class. Seriously, We are getting to meet so many awesome people. Mark was like the French version of a new Yorker, fast talking and all. (A little silver foxy as well if you’re into like an old version of Zorro…he had that soulpatch going on) But he was so intelligent and knowledgable and it was so clear that he had given this type of presentation before. I’m gonna try and get to know him so that I can interview him for my final project.

-          Couscous dinner! It was in a very Maghrebin area of Lyon, and the food was awesome!

-          We decided to go over the ponts (bridges) and just sit by the Rhone and chill after couscous. Like I’ve said before, Lyon is beautiful at night, and it was awesome just sitting, chatting, and playing in the playground with a small group of us from the program

Thursday Highlights:

-          Longest day of my life, but also really awesome. It was Poetry all day with Karen James.  We went up to Fourviere first. Saw the view of the city,  and had class up by the Greco-roman ampitheatre. Then we went to Karen James’s house and had lunch with her lovely precious family, and then visited the Musée d’Imprimerie (the printing museum). We had a walking tour with this chic French woman (sidenote- when I’m past thirty, I’m moving to France so I can learn how to be chic and stylish as I get older. Literally, all these French women have it down pat) and this cute younger guy, probably our age. It was super interesting knowing what used to be where in this city that has changed so much (yet so little) over the years. 

at the top of fourviere!

Senior Portraits

View of the city behind us

hard at work reading poetry

awesome apple tart that Katherine James made

Musee d'Imprimerie!

outside

history

one of the printing presses that they used

picture of the class with the stylish older french woman, veronique

-          Getting crepes with Blake and Hannah was lovely. We (and Karen and David) tried to go to the fancy crepe place but it was closed and I almost cried….no, but really, I was like devastated. So we went down the hill to find cheap ones. The waiter was so pleasant and nice it was really just peachy.

-          The hotel was dead, so Becca and I headed out to Johnny’s! I’d been raving about Johnny’s forever to everyone so it was nice to finally be able to take someone from the program with me! The atmosphere was great, of course, Jose the brazillian guitar player was awesome as ever. We got hit on by this balding man in the corner, which was just lovely (as in not at all, but quite amusing). He invited us to sit at the table with his significantly more attractive (french cute though) friends. I told him we would discuss it, but in actuality we basically just peaced. 

I can't believe that its the halfway point of the trip already...I could stay here forever haha. I'll get back to more regular updating (of yesterday and today) after I finish some work.

Cheers

Abena