Note to Self: When to Hit the Heartbrakes?

Note: This has been sitting on my drafts folder for a month. I never really wanted to post this. But, I think it's about time. :) 

I've been crazy about Black Kids since I heard I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You on the radio while cruising the roads of Sta. Rosa, Laguna in a red pick-up truck. I fell in love with them even harder when I heard the rest of the songs from their album, Partie Traumatic.

One of the songs I've been obsessing lately is Hit the Heartbrakes. The song's really playful and full of fun and energy. But, listening to the song again lately made me realize that this song's pretty sugarcoated with brute.

I must repeat, I think you're sweet. But ain't no way that I'm gonna meet your mother, your father, your dog or your brother, your nephew and niece, girl. I just can't be bothered.

Sounds familiar? We all have that one person that we really like so so so much but the feeling is unfortunately not mutual. Snape has Lily, Eponine has Marius, etc. And, it sure freaking hurts like your heart has been ripped by Cora or Regina (from Once Upon a Time).

Yes, I've been there like a thousand times over or not. I've learned my lessons the hardest ways, and I'm definitely not going to back to that dark corner of unrequited lurve ever. LIKE EVER.

The only way to save yourself from the harsh consequences of rejection  is to hit the freaking heartbrakes when red flags have been raised right in front of you! But because sometimes we're stupid and crazy about this person, we forget that red is not just a color of love but also the color of danger. So, ladies and lords, quickly hit the heartbrakes when these happen to you:

1. Friendzoned - Does this even need explanation?! Gurl, if he's like saying that you're like his friend or little sister or what, obviously he's not just into you!

2. Push and pull - Why will you ever like someone who's so inconsistent? If the person you like makes a move then does not when you obviously like them, then maybe it's time for you to move to another person.

3. Forever ignored - DUH.

4. I like you but - BUTS. BUTS. BUTS. Okay, so the person of interest likes you BUT there is a BUT. The person you like is not ready or blah blah blah. Well, there's nothing wrong with waiting for that person and all, but what if it never happens, what will you do huh? Cry and pick up the broken pieces of your heart?

5. If he tells you to also date other people - Uhm. It obviously means that the person you like may not be so sure if you're the one. Maybe yous should listen to what he/she says, and look for another person to smother your love an affection with.

I believe that getting your heart broken is not anyone's fault. It's not your ex's or your lover's or your BFF's or whoever's fault. It is completely yours. Yeah, yeah, yeah feelings can never be planned or what. But, I think if people are only brave and smart enough to actually let go when the signs scream that you're already losing, then people won't have to deal with unrequited whatevs.

There's nothing wrong with looking for the silver lining in a situation; but, sometimes you just have to be brutal to yourself to save you at the end of the day.

Or you just can carry on with your life and pretend this post never existed. Go on, never hit the heartbrakes and you'll sure crash when the road ends.

Christmas Albums You Should Have in Your Playlist this Season

Before I give you some of the must-listen Christmas albums this year, let me share a secret. Not so long ago, I discovered the gem that is NoiseTrade. Since then, I have been downloading FREE music from the artists themselves (with the option to leave some tip) through this awesome website! As a big (yet broke – yeah shameless here) music fan, discovering new artists and being able to download their songs for free is a HUGE thing for me.

So, I thank you, NoiseTrade and all the artists who support your movement. Dear readers, if I were you, I will definitely check out its site and look for other albums like the ones below.

Ladies and gentlemen, add these albums to your Christmas playlist now!

A Very Rosie Christmas by Rosie Thomas
With a contagiously cheery opening song "Why Can't It Be Christmas Time All Year", Rosie Thomas's A Very Rosie Christmas makes you really wish this season will never be over. Seriously, this song is so addictive it can be a refreshing replacement to all the other candy pop Christmas songs we always hear on the radio every single year. It's the new "All I Want for Christmas is You", IMHO, TBQH.




Silver & Gold by Sufjan Stevens
If you want to hear something eccentric this Christmas season, then better grab Sufjan Stevens's Silver & Gold album. I definitely like all the songs from this album that I can't choose a favorite. The songs are all fun and catchy and unexpected! I'm surely playing this album on Christmas Day while opening my gifts or something.



This album actually features 58 original and cover songs that you can check out here:


Songs for Christmas by Branches
If you're a big fan of folk/country music, Branches's Songs for Christmas album should be in your playlist this season. This group's version of "O Holy Night" made me teary-eyed, and its cover of "O Come All Ye Faithful", "O Come O Come Emmanuel", and "Silent Night" are equally impressive. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" is actually my favorite song from this album. It's dancey, fun, and festive, a kind of song that you want to play when with family, friends, and loved ones.




Over the Rhine by Snow Angels
Jazzy and soulful, Over the Rhine album by the Snow Angels adds some sultry drama to your Christmas eve. I particularly love "All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue" and its bass parts. Actually, I love all the bass parts of the whole album. With this album glaring in your speakers, your Christmas will definitely not be blue.

Perk of Being a Not Very Pretty Woman

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this a few months ago, rationalizing why I'm still single since birth. It may sound so pathetic, but no no no, I'm not that desperate. It's just me being my weird self. :)

I think I'm ugly and nobody wants to love me. – 2NE1

Quoting the baddest Korean girl group ever, I really think I'm ugly and nobody wants to love me. 

Okay, I'm not really ugly. I think I'm fairly attractive! But, I think there are more attractive girls out there. It's the simple truth. I'm not really judging guys who like physically desirable girls since I do like guys who are physically attractive anyway. I mean, that's how relationship starts to begin with. A guy likes how a girl looks. A girl likes how a guy looks. Then, they hook up. It's all about attraction.

Given that, it makes me wonder, am I really that unattractive that no guy has ever thought of pursuing me? Geez, that sounds really pathetic! So, here's my justification why I'm still single at 22: It seems like I'm not really the type as of the moment. 

Not to mention, I'm surrounded with girls and women who are leagues prettier and hotter than me in terms of today's standards. When we all go out, I guess they just stand out and I become a wallflower. I'm pleasant to look at; but I'm no head turner. If I were a household item, I'm not really a statement piece. I think I'm some wallpaper, nice and pretty grandmas and mothers and aunties will love.

Okay. JSYK, I'm not fishing or having some insecure moment here. It's just how nature goes. Some people are taller, some shorter. I'm not really sad or anything. I really like the way I am.

A family friend once asked me if I ever wanted to marry a foreigner. I said I'm really open to the idea since it looks like most Filipino guys don't like me. They prefer their girls doll-like pretty with perfect brown wavy hair, paper white complexion, and a style copied straight from a magazine. And what she told me was thought-provoking. She told me that if ever a guy likes me even I'm not the most beautiful girl based on today's standards, then he truly likes me just the way I REALLY am.

And it made me think: maybe being "ugly" can help me or you or whoever find THE ONE who will truly love us because of US--which is so much better than being loved because I look like an ulzzang or something.  No idea how to end this weird and awkward entry so pretend that I just fade into nothing please. (Insert your chosen emoticon here.) 

P.S. This whole post is a hoax. I'm just looking for an excuse to write about 2NE1's song Ugly. HA. HA. HA. 

Sharing Music: Lines by Said the Whale

Vancouver-based indie rock band, Said the Whale, is my latest music discovery. And, its song Lines from the New Brighton EP is definitely an instant pick-me-upper. 

With a catchy melody and hard-to-forget harmony, Lines will definitely cheer up your day and leave you humming for more. 

Listen to the full New Brighton EP here: 

Also, here's the band's latest album, Little Mountain

Visit http://saidthewhale.bandcamp.com or http://www.saidthewhale.com for more information about the Juno Award-winning band. 

Current Happy Song: Move on the Sun

Don’t worry cause you’re never alone / You’ll always have a friend in the sun / And even though you might just get burned / At least that you learned

I want to thank Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his open collaborative company, hitRECord, for producing this amazing song by The Morning Hollows and some other amazing collaborators. Move on the Sun has been my happy song since the first time I heard it some few weeks ago.

Because it never fails to make me smile every single time, I'm going to endlessly share it to every single person I know! I'm just spreading the good vibes! As what most people who've already heard the song say, it's really impossible to feel unhappy when listening to Move on the Sun!

The song is part of a 15-track album of the same name that features 78 contributing artists from JGL's company. Aside from Move on the Sun, the album also features a song titled, Why Am I So Dizzy? written and performed by the founder himself.

Interested? You can get a digital copy of the album through Bandcamp or iTunes. It is also available in double-vinyl LP, free digital download included, through hitRECord's store.

Visit http://www.hitrecord.org/moveonthesun for more information on the album.

Meanwhile, you can listen to the rest of the album here:

Cray, this post sounds like an ad! :P Don't get the wrong idea! I'm not directly connected with JGL or hitRECord or anyone featured in the album, although that would be seriously awesome...

I just really love the song and the rest of the album too much I just cant help but promote it. :) I hope you love it, too! And if you do, pay it forward and share the happiness to everyone you know.