Notes from May

Hello! As always, this blog post is dedicated to things I discovered and enjoyed this month. To give you a quick summary of the month, I am glad to report that things were pretty chill this month. I had the chance to go back to things I thought I'll be giving up, while still having the time to allow new activities to be part of my daily routine. 

Music

1. The Operation (Charlotte Gainsbourg)- I discovered this song after spending hours listening to Pulp songs. Jarvis, Pulp's frontman, wrote this song for Charlotte Gainsbourg's album. The album, which is called 5:55,  reminds me of Francoise Hardy's later albums especially in terms of its mood. I know that if I listened to this album 5 years ago, I won't appreciate it. Luckily, I'm not stuck at being 18 forever. Back to the song, I always imagine this song as one of those romantic songs for morbid nerds. As someone who likes Sherlock, I think that this song is perfect for that show.

2. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Richard and Linda Thompson)- In order to understand how I found this album, let me take you to one of the songs on my playlist... Richard Thompson's 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. I remember adding that song on my playlist several months ago when I was into Fairport Convention's Liege and Lief.  So one evening, I gave 1952 Vincent Black Lightning a listen and discovered that it's singer made several albums with his then-wife.  Since then, I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight instantly became my go-to album whenever I spend time reading. Linda Thompson's voice is so beautiful and emotional. It seems as if her voice is a time capsule that instantly takes you to a specific time and place far from home.

3. Hokey Pokey (Richard and Linda Thompson)- This another album from Richard and Linda, although not as great as the first album, still has wonderful songs I listen to along with the songs from the first album. One song from this album which I love is the track called A Heart Needs A Home. My favourite version features the duo performing it live. All I can say is that it's not everyday that the world is blessed with an emotional performance like that one. 

4. Taste It EP ( Jake Bugg)- Although Jake Bugg released a new song this 2021, I'm still a big fan of his 2012-2013 songs. This month, I discovered the tracks from his Taste It EP and I wish they add those tracks on Spotify. Two songs I like from this EP are: Kentucky and Love Me the Way You Do. I also watched some live performance of Jake Bugg on Youtube taken during this period and I was amazed because his live performances sound better than the studio versions.

5. Various versions of Chuck Berry's Memphis, Tennessee- My current fascination with the different versions of the song Memphis, Tennessee began after seeing Jarvis Cocker's video performing the song. Although I've seen this track before on one of The Beatles' album, I never really gave so much thought about it.  I guess that happens all the time- appreciating what's around us takes times. My favourite versions include: Chuck Berry's , The Beatles', and The Animals'. 

6. Every Grain of Sand (Bob Dylan)- Who knew that being stuck in traffic brings an existential awakening?  I began to appreciate this song while we were in the middle of traffic. I was looking at the cars moving on the other side of the expressway when I started to appreciate the reality of being part of something bigger/ greater than the totality of my existence. 

7. Forest (Lee Seung Gi)- This mini-album was recommended to me by a classmate several years ago. That classmate, who became the receiving end of my daily Lee Seung Gi story time,  told me to listen to a track from this mini-album. Since then, this became a staple every time I want to relieve that past or when I want to spend my afternoon in solitude. 

Podcasts

1. Radio 4's Bob Dylan programs- Thank God for Radio 4. It's one of my favourite radio stations ever.  I think I could spend the whole hour just talking about the reasons why I love that radio station, but that's for another time, sorry. This month, BBC Radio 4 prepared programs in celebration of Bob Dylan's 80th birthday. As a bobcat-a term I discovered just recently- their programs were insightful, funny and very relatable. My favourite program would have to be the radio drama called Dinner with Dylan. It just felt nice hear a radio drama about bobcats enthusiastically sharing their favourite Bob Dylan albums and songs. 

2. Albion's Seed and An Ethnic History  of America- This podcast episode discusses a comprehensive summary of  the book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer. I wanted to read the book however I was intimidated because it's a 900-page book. I don't think I have the energy to read a very long book. Back to the podcast episode, it discusses important points from the book and the relationship these points to the present landscape of USA. 

Movies/ Series/Documentaries

1. Random Documentaries on Youtube-I don't know what to say about the random documentaries I saw on Youtube this month. Like the usual, these documentaries served as my background sound while doing other activities. But more than its "background music" purpose, these random documentaries provided new sets of information that I could use in the future. For example, there's this documentary I saw which discusses the history of makeup in Great Britain. I never finished the documentary but the first 20 minutes revealed that women in the past used dangerous products to achieve rosy cheeks. 

Books

1. Persuasion (Jane Austen)- After almost a month of not reading the rest of the novel, I finally found the time to finish this romantic novel. I know I'll be rereading this book sometime in the future to better understand the little details mentioned in the book I did not understand due to my limited English skills. As for Jane Austen's other novels, I'm not really sure if I'll read them soon since there are other books that I'm interested to read. 

2. High Fidelity (Nick Hornby)- This is probably the funniest book I've read since January. It's a book for  music nerds and for those who simply want to discover books, movies and songs. As for its plot, I'd say that it provides a glimpse to the complicated maze called relationships. And when I say relationship, it's not limited to romantic relationships. Reading the character's experiences, I can't help but think of my own relationships with family, friends, and workmates, and how challenging it is to form connections to other people. Sometimes you look at people and wonder how they manage to make things work. But then what you don't see is the struggle that they probably experienced or are experiencing to get to the point where they are at the moment. In other words, the novel is a reminder to anyone not to be so self-centred. 

3. Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)- My introduction to the world of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot. I have this book since 2019 though I never really gave this a try because I was overwhelmed with the idea of reading a crime novel. To me, crime novel involves a lot of processing and that's not what I tend to look for when reading for fun. Surprisingly, I loved reading the deductions of Monsieur Poirot and the alibis of the other characters. If there's one thing I realised while reading this, it is that writing a crime novel surely takes a lot of thinking and planning. P.S- I loved sniffing my copy because it still smells new.  

Makeup Flat lay # 1 (May 2021)

Makeup Products: Essence Mattfying Compact Powder, Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Mascara, Fashion 21 Mascara, Carmex Lip balm, BLK Creamy All-over Paint

    Looking at minimal makeup flat lays inspired me to do my own. There's just something soothing about makeup flat lays. In a way, it's an insouciant way to show someone's personality without trying too much. Looking at other people's makeup flat lays will give you an idea about the makeup up items that people swear by. It could also be a great way to discover new products. To be honest, I find looking at ordinary people's makeup preferences to be more helpful than watching reviews of beauty gurus on Youtube. 

    Back to the flat lay, this shows the products that I'm currently using for the month of May. True to what I mentioned in my previous post about summer makeup, I still use Francoise Hardy's makeup looks as my summer beauty inspiration. This time however, I used lesser makeup items because the summer heat's getting worse. 

    First, I abandoned using concealer because even that feels uncomfortable especially when it's super hot. These days, i just use a compact powder to mattify my face. As for my eyes, I just use eyebrow gel and mascara. However, I only use these products when I need to look more put together. On most days, I don't bother to use my mascara since it's water proof and it feels heavy. For my lips and my cheeks, I'm currently using a multi-purpose product. This product works great for cheeks and for lips since it's lightweight and the colour's perfect for summer. 

Film Photography Diaries # 1

      

    Last year, I got myself a 35mm in the hopes of using it for an overseas trip. The camera is a secondhand Nikon RD2- my first Nikon camera.The  overseas trip did not push through so this camera, which I fondly call Paul- after a Paul Simon song, stayed in our shelf for a year.  I even forgot its existence until my sister borrowed it. 

    Anyway, these are the photos I took when I used the camera for the very first time. It was only this year that I got the chance to use it, so it was a delight to see that the results are beautiful.  Compared to my SLR film camera, I prefer using this since I'm still to master how manual camera works. I can't commit myself to use my manual camera and waste film rolls. Wasting resources is a big NO NO. 

    As for my film, I used a cheap black and white film called Shanghai GP3 Pan 100 I bought online. It's my first time using a black and white film, and although there were limitations when using black and white film, it's a good option when creating a story through photos. Black and white films make scenes a little more sombre than coloured films, and that's something I'll take into consideration the next time I'll use a black and white film.

Reassessing Fearless

  Several months ago, the announcement of the release of Fearless (Taylor Version) got me super excited. I was initially contemplating on pre-ordering a vinyl, however, I began wondering if having one would do me any good. 

    The truth is, as much  as I want to have a copy of her sophomore album and sing my heart out, buying the album for the sake of nostalgia is not a sound reason to purchase one. After all, I'm done with my Taylor Swift phase. I still listen to her songs, ok, but it feels as if listening to her songs is listening to someone else's favourite singer, not mine.

    The realisation about the end of my Taylor Swift phase led me to write this blog post where I'll share how I see Fearless now that I'm in my early 20s. I'm excited to share this because I know that I'll probably cringe at my younger me and question where in the world I got my teenage POV. At the same time, this is also exciting because, despite the cringe worthy stuff I'll unearth about my younger self, this will also be a reflection of how my experiences changed my perspective about love- the album's main theme.

1. You Belong With Me

    I used to really love this song because it has a very cute music video. As someone who can relate to the studious Taylor Swift character, it gave me this tiny hope that the cutest or the smartest guy will like me too. Sorry to inform you but that's not always the case. It turns out, the cutest guy wanted me to be his group mate while the smartest guy did not want me at all.

    Also, isn't it weird to compare yourself to someone and consider yourself as more deserving to be a guy's significant other just because you know his favourite songs? I mean, there's so much more going on in a relationship, and knowing your crush's favourite song, though sweet and thoughtful, is not the sole basis for a relationship to work. You can see someone's potential, know their favourite songs,  but still remain friends.

2. Fifteen

    Just recently, I was working on a project when this song finally made sense. Back in high school, I associated this song to a movie we were watching during one of our classes. The movie is a romantic comedy intended for teenagers who were having their first crushes. 

    I tried rewatching the movie last month and sadly, the movie did not age well. It's cute, yes, but as a young adult, I realised that not all high school relationships stand the test of time. When I was young, I was very much like the song's narrator: " I'd  gonna marry my high school crush someday." However, I realised, thanks to this song, that there's more to my life than my high school crush- " I realised I have some bigger dreams." As much as I want my high school crush to see what I've become, I know that our lives will never cross paths anymore and that's perfectly ok. Life's like that anyway.

    Compared to You Belong With Me, this song is something I'll still listen to because it's lessons are still applicable. My present-self see this song, not just one about crushes and dreams, but also about being rational when it comes to relationships- not giving everything to someone who would change his mind eventually.

3. Hey Stephen

    If I had the talent to write songs, I'm certain that my younger-self would've written songs similar to Hey Stephen. This is the kind of songs that young girls would write to their crushes- professing their admiration and the great lengths they'll partake to show how much they admire their crushes. In general, this is a feel good song about liking someone.

    Now that I'm older, I smile whenever I hear this song. This remains to be as one of my favourite Taylor Swift songs because it's a testament of what a person would do to show their admiration to someone they like or look up to. I used to see this as a romantic song, but now I think this song is also applicable to a person who inspires us to be better. Before, I used to think that when someone inspires you, it automatically means you love them and you'll end up together. I learned later on that inspiration and love are two different things. Like I mentioned earlier, you can see someone's potential, admire what they do, and still not pursue romantic relationship with that person.

4. You're Not Sorry

    This song, like Fifteen, is one of the songs I'll still listen to. I see this song as a reminder for everyone out there not to allow anyone to treat you like a rug. This lesson is not just applicable to romantic relationships since platonic relationships can be toxic and unhealthy as well. During my teenage years, due to my lack of social skills, I used to accept whatever kind of treatment I got from people. I thought that's how you get to have friends- by allowing them to do whatever they  want. The thing is, my younger self found it really hard to let go of unhealthy relationships because I thought I'll end up alone. Turns out, keeping them close did not change a thing or two about the loneliness I was feeling. Again, Thank God for ageing.

    Overall, Fearless is one of those albums that defined my teenage years. However, like I mentioned earlier, although there are songs from the album that I'll still listen to, I will not, like my younger self, look at relationships based on the songs from this album. Sometimes, I feel so grateful that ageing is a thing- it allows humans to grow up and realise that there are things from their youth that are not as rose-colored as songs describe them.