Album Suggestion -- B.o.B

I normally just post youtube videos of the songs I'm liking at the moment, but I felt like I needed to put this up or my entire blog would be filled with B.o.B videos. If you haven't already, I highly HIGHLY recommend you check out B.o.B's new album "B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray". I got it on a whim because I was sort of liking the current single off of it (Nothing On You) and I instantly feel in love. The single is probably my LEAST favorite song on the album, which is saying a lot considering I actually quite like the single. The album is quite diverse, and includes some pretty cool collabs (Haley from Paramore is on it, as is Eminem and Lupe Fiasco). My fave tune on the album is "Past My Shades" which is sort of an anthem to being a baller featuring Lupe Fiasco. I also quite like "Don't Let Me Fall" and "Lovelier Than You". I was surprised on these tracks that not only does B.o.B rap, he also sings. Seriously, if you are looking for something fresh and new for the summer, get thissss. I LOVE ITTT!!

Blame ft. Ruff Sqwad - On My Own (Official Video) - Out 25th April 2010

Just heard this on BBC Radio 1xtra and nearly died. SUCH A TUUUNE! Why is Tinchy Stryder so ahhhmazin lol?

JLS MEET AND GREET VIDEO!!

This the video posted from the meet and greet with JLS!! I'm the one sitting in the front row to the left while they are performing, although I'm a bit pissed they didn't post any video of our meet and greet :( It's ok, I've got the pictures to prove it. Still, pretty hot right?!?! LOVE THEM! Greatest day EVERRR.

Updates.

Just thought I'd share a few updates on how things are going chez moi! To be fair, my life is quite boring right now, but things are going to start ramping up again in the next few weeks.

1. Model UN -- It's totally dominating my life right now, which is totally awesome! I love MUN more than just about anything, and it has definitely defined my college career. HAHA. Friday I did a simulation/training session with Newberry Academy, a middle school on the northside. We did the typical fruits and vegetables thing that I love and I taught them all the rules of procedure. It was quite hilarious, particularly when the banana delegation started to go on about sexual education and then cucumber joined in (haha, get it?). Next Friday I'm the Secretary-General for Global Classrooms Chicago, which is a pretty big deal. I'm just in charge, ya know... then in just over two weeks I'm flying to New York City to be an Under-Secretary General for the UNAs number one high school conference (AT THE UN!).

2. School -- It's my last quarter of undergrad, my thesis is in, I've pretty much shut down... haha.

3. Life -- Still working out plans for next year. Looking for a car and an apartment right now. It's not as easy as you'd think :(

HAHA that's all. Things are pretty chill right now.

xoxo Nora

Chipmunk - Until You Were Gone Feat. Esmee Denters

If you've ever actually looked at the videos I post then you'll already know that I love Chipmunk. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but I really like the happier up-beat vibe that his songs have. A lot of the artists in his genre are pretty angry, so its refreshing to have something a bit nicer to listen to. This is Chippy's newest single... tomorrow it'll be known if it charts at #1 or #2 (against Diana Vickers, which I LOVE as well).

Florence and the Machine -- Dog Days -- House of Blues Chicago

I went to this show on April 12th. It may have been the best live set I have ever seen in my life! Florence is incredibly talented, and she is one of those artists that sounds way better live than on the CD because you can really get a feel for her amazing voice live. Such a great time.

Unfortunately this is a short clip and its not the best quality. But still, you get the gist of it right? SO GOOD.

B.o.B - Airplanes Feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore

I prefer to share music videos so you can really get the essence of a song, but this one just doesn't have a video to go with it and it needs to be shared. HOT TRACK. B.o.B is gonna dominate the airwaves this summer, just warning you now ;-)

I'm a big fan of this track as it crosses over the pop/rock genre with the hip-hop genre, a sort of crossover that is becoming more relevant today.

Also, listen to Airplanes pt.2 featuring Eminem. Also, good, though I prefer this version.

GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE?!?

So today I met JLS.

Yeah, them. That boyband that I'm LEGIT obsessed with. Yeah.

It was all a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. Sunday evening I was just dicking around on the internet like I tend to do, and a tweet came up from JLSOfficial: "Ya boys have just landed in milwaukee.. Let radio promo begin!! Jbs is already at the doctors with a bad throat!! Ax" Reading this I doubletaked like FIVE times at the word milwaukee. Why the hell would they be in Wisconsin...my home state?

So then I did a lot of quick research. I figured that if they were in Milwaukee chances were VERY good they would end up in Chicago. After a search I found that they were doing something at KISS FM in Chicago... and that you could win a chance to see them sing a few songs and MEET THEM!

I spent the better part of Sunday evening entering the contest and playing the games that allow you more entries... not gonna lie, I entered a good 200 times ;-)

Then Monday I got a call while at work saying I'd won! Honestly I didn't think I would but I totally did. It was ahhhmazin. I may have cried a bit at that point but whatever.

So then today, Tuesday, I went down to KISS FM for the event. They had us all meet up in the front lobby and we waited for the sound checks and whatever they were doing up in the Lounge. It was funny though, because I was there with my friend Felicity, and we had one of the best people watching experiences of our lives. Seriously some super random people were there. Oh, and while we were waiting I totally saw the band walk past the window and go in a different door. No one else noticed though, and I didn't say anything... haha. It was probably good that happened though, because it sort of calmed me a bit for when they came out to sing, as I'd already seen them once.

We got let up into the Lounge and they tried to take some pictures of us and stuff for the website holding sponsors stuff. I didn't really play, but whatever. Then... the boys came out! I think I held it together pretty well considering. They preformed two songs. An a capella version of Shai's "If I Ever" which was their audition piece for X Factor... and is INCREDIBLE. Like they need to get that recorded and on an album. And then they did Everybody in Love with a backing track. I was a bit surprised that they sort of did the choreography considering they were on a tiny stage, but I wasn't complaining. Again, amazing performance! I was a bit nervous that they would suck or something and I would be disappointed, but if anything seeing them today just made me more obsessed with them... and it makes me want to make sure London happens in December.

After the songs they stayed up on stage and we were allowed to go up one by one and get a picture and an autograph or whatever. I was pretty much dying waiting in line...

When I got up there I not only got hugs off of all of them, but kisses too! Fist thing I noticed was how amazing they all smelled. Seriously, it like rubbed off on my cardigan. They signed my JLS calender (yes I have one) and were shocked that I had it considering it's not available in the US. As they were finishing signing it Felicity told them about how I was coming to London to see them perform in December. I think they were pretty surprised by that... Marvin literally asked "You mean you are coming to London just to see us?" I sheepishly nodded my head, haha. After that bit they added "Nora, We Love You!" to my calender. HAHA. Then I got my picture done with them, and then made Felicity do one with them and me too. And then we were pretty much ushered out. But still... HOLY SHIT.

I didn't actually cry at the event, but I definitely did when I got home. Whatever, it was pretty much the highlight of my life. HAHA. I'm DEFINITELY going to make December work now... I mean I told them I have the tickets, so now they are going to expect that I show up!

It was a total whirlwind though. I found out about it less than 48 hours before the actual event, but I totally made it work! Love them!!!

Here are some of my pictures from the event... I didn't take a lot because the KISS FM people had cameras all up in my business so I figured I could steal theirs later and instead enjoy the event. Here we gooo...


Jack-the-Lad Swing! Singing "If I Ever". Marvin sang it AT ME at one point... swoon.


Getting my calender signed. I was dying a little bit inside. HAHA.


JB, Marvin, Me, Oritse, and Aston. OMGGGG. This is already framed on my desk haha.

So yeah, greatest day of my life?!? Ummm, yes!

xoxo Nora

Roll Deep Ft Jodie Connor -- Good Times

This is gonna be one of my summer jams, can promise you that. So if you hear this pumping from a car next to you... it just might be me ;-)

Playlist #3--My 10 Fave Albums.

I decided that I was going to make this playlist during History of the American Revolution today because I had a song I really like in my head and then I thought about how good that album is and then I thought I could make a cool playlist out of it.

So, this playlist is my favorite single off of each of my ten favorite albums.

It doesn't necessarily mean that they are my favorite songs off of each album, but I thought it would be cooler to work with singles because they are easier to find if you were ever in the mood for looking up the songs.

I couldn't possibly rank the albums because I love them for different reasons, so they are in no particular order. Also, my opinions change a lot, so these might not be my faves in a few months time ;-)


1. Crash and Burn
By: Savage Garden
Album: Affirmation
I absolutely adore Darren Hayes, and I think Affirmation is the best album he ever worked on (although his solo album The Tension and The Spark is amazing as well). I love love love this album!!!

2. Stargirl
By: McFly
Album: The Motion in the Ocean
I first became acquainted with McFly's music through their Greatest Hits album, which I felt was a bit of a cop out on this. Then I thought about it a bit more and realized all of my favorite tracks off of Greatest Hits are also on Motion in the Ocean. This album embodies pop rock better than any I've got on my iTunes.

3. Starry Eyed
By: Ellie Goulding
Album: Lights
This is a relatively new album to my repertoire and I can't get enough of it. Goulding's voice is a bit strange but there is this sort of whimsicalness to it that I sort of love. And the sort of electronic-pop sound is great for chilling out. Loves it.

4. I Want It That Way
By: Backstreet Boys
Album: Millenium
Ok so Millenium might actually be my favorite album of all time. There are very few albums (ok, maybe one other that I'm going to mention in a minute) that I can listen to all the way through with out getting bored of a song. There is always a track or two you just want to skip right? Not with this album, I love it to death. It also has a lot of personal importance to me because I was sort of obsessed with this album from when I was ten or whatever, and my first concert was definitely the Millennium tour... but still. This album embodies the boy band sound better than any, ever.

5. Sweet and Low
By: Augustana
Album: Can't Love, Can't Hurt
This album is not of a genre that people usually associate with me, but I don't really care. I enjoy it because they are well-constructed pop songs that don't have a lot of complicated bits to it. It's good for work or for just chilling out a bit... and I like the main guys voice haha.

6. Pass Out ft. Eva Simmons
By: Chris Brown
Album: Graffiti
I'll admit straight up that I still totally love Chris Brown even though I know he is not the safest guy around. I really like Graffiti because it has so many different types of tracks on it. Instead of being the same sound throughout you can tell that they were exploring lots of different genres/beats/whatever. I prefer the dance tunes and the ballads to some of the stranger more experimental ones, but the whole album is pretty fun to listen to.

7. Popular
By: The Veronicas
Album: Hook Me Up
I pretty much played this album to death on my ipod when I lived in Paris and had to take the metro to school every morning. For some reason it was just the perfect album to get me awake and to class. That's why its still pretty important to me I guess.

8. Floorfiller
By: A*Teens
Album: Pop Til You Drop!
Judge me all you want. LOVE THIS ALBUM! There is nothing catchier than an A*Teens song, I promise you. I can play it over and over forever.

9. Gift of a Friend.
By: Demi Lovato
Album: Here We Go Again
Guilty pleasure, don't judge. Love her voice.

10. One Shot
By: JLS
Album: JLS
Not since Millennium came out in 1999 have I been obsessed with an album/band as much as I am with this one. Boy band stuff aside, this album is an excellent revival of the old school pop sound that was popular at the beginning of the 2000s. Not only are the vocal harmonies spot on boy band, the album also takes on the more current R&B/Hip-Hop sound that is permeating radio these days (think Chris Brown/Ne-Yo) and boy bandifies it. I LOVEEEE IT. (And I'm totally going to their tour in December lol). Like I said with BSB, it says a lot when you can listen through an album without wanting to skip a track... and I definitely can with this one.

THESIS DONEEEEEEE

So I turned in my Bachelor's Thesis yesterday. It's called "The Question of Equitable Representation on the United Nations Security Council: A Model for Institutional Change." Sounds like a snooze-fest doesn't it? Well its not. Its amazing. It also means that I can OFFICIALLY graduate in June. BOO YAAA. This weekend is all about celebrating!!!

WHOOP WHOOP.

xoxo Nora

ChoMUN

I don't know if I actually ever posted on here about the Cherokee Nation simulation that some of my besties and I were planning for our college Model United Nations conference, but yeah, it was a week ago. It was a pretty ahhhmazin time... they managed to sort of avoid the Trail of Tears and the Texans lost the Battle of the Alamo. Whoops.

Here are a few shoots I stole from other people from Conference.


I'm embarrassed to admit that I pretended to be Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas. I had branches and everything. Actually that was pretty awesome.


Mayon and I. Co-Crisis Directors slash Model UN soulmates. Hard at work (yes I've got fire, worst idea everrr).


Cherokee Nation staff. COLOR COORDINATED! Pink/Purple Day!!!


BLUE/WHITE DAYY!! LOVE THEM ALL (MOSTLY)!!!

Can we do this again some time? I miss the inappropriate jokes already. K great.

xoxo Nora

COSTA RICAAAA.

So I went to Costa Rica a little less than a month ago. I'm SUCH A BITCH for not posting anything about it... sorry ;-)

The trip was all I dreamed it would be an more. I got to see a volcanic eruption (only 3 out of every 1 million people ever get to witness one), I zip-lined through an actual rainforest, I went on a night hike and saw actual sloths and tarantulas in the wild, I jumped off a water fall, I swam in the Pacific Ocean... and I got RIDICULOUSLY sunburnt. SUCCESS!

So here are a few pictures of the best moments on the trip! Enjoy!





Yes that is an ACTUAL VOLCANO.



I'm on a boat... riding away from the actual volcano.



Just like flying through the rainforest with my friend Liz. Nearly died there, no big deal or anything.



An actual sloth, size of a kindergartner.



Just hanging out at some waterfall that I swam in and stuff.



PACIFIC OCEANNNN!!!



And that's the sunburn. Great moment, was eating dinner like eight feet from the actual Pacific Ocean.


So yeah, good times. Go back soon?

xoxo Nora

Plan B - Pass Out (Tinie Tempah) - Live Lounge

I don't normally like Plan B, but this cover of Tinie Tempah's song is ahhhhmazin. I like the sort of reggae vibe he puts on it.