music for ur ears

If ya didn't know, I'm in this group called "Creatives of Colo(u)r" where there will be tons of awesome, people of color, and gender non-conforming bloggers! If you'd like to join, plsss email creativebloggersofcolour@gmail.com, we'd love to have more members!!

For the first monthly 'Creatives of Colo(u)r' posts, we've decided to talk about bands/musicians who are people of color. To be quite honest, it took me a bit to even find these three artists, which can make sense because of the general genre of music I listen to, but also it was upsetting because I'm not expanding my horizons in the music world, which I'm trying to do!!! Anyways, here are some great artists that i've been listening to lately and fooorrreevvverr!! =^^=

BLOOD ORANGE

Alright, if ya haven't listened to Dev Hynes' (A.K.A. Blood Orange) Freetown Sound, you got to!! It is too good. It's got a lot of meaning and soul to it and you can just FEEEELLL it throughout this album. You've got poetry in it, some amazing instrumental sounds, and even Carly Rae Jepsen makes an appearance, and it's damn good. The album work gives a total 90's-early 2000's feel and it's top-notch. He also provided a few songs for the Palo Alto soundtrack, and let me tell you, Champagne Coast is a HIIIT. Basically Dev Hynes is a GENIUS and a total social activist, you'll see him talking about #blacklivesmatter a ton, and being #woke. He's very cool. (and I'll be seeing him at FYF this year...yes I am crying.)

SELENA QUINTANILLA

If you're Latinx and don't know who she is..where u been...totally kidding, but she is a LEGEND. Watching her documentary about her life makes me cry, every.single.time. She died at the age of 23, right before she became a huge hit in the world. It's quite sad that many great musicians die at such a young age. Anyways, between my friends and family, whoever it is, if Selena is put on, you knoooowwww you'll be jamming to her and belting out the lyrics. I wish I would listen to more Spanish music because listening to her and singing in Spanish is SO FUN and gets me in touch with my ~**~*~Latina culture~*~**~. Basically, she was amazing and beautiful and I wish she was still thriving and making hits.

CREDS TO ROSIE EVANS AND THE BLOOM MAGAZINE FOR THIS COOL BACKGROUND. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME!!!

TWIN SHADOW

I've listened to Twin Shadow for yeaaarrrzzzz now and I could never get tired of his 'Confess' album. It's definitely an album that makes me feel nostalgic because I got into it when I was GREATLY influenced by my sister, in all different aspects, and so it just reminds me of her and my growing years. Twin Shadow has songs that you'll feel damn cool driving around and singing along to his fun, very funky tunessssss!!!

Feels like home, home

WARNING: I say the term 'home' alot.

I am moving back to San Francisco this weekend. This move seems a bit more permanent for a few reasons:

1. Well, I'm moving into an actual apartment, not a dorm on-campus.

2. This summer will probably be my longest stay in my house from now on.

3. The majority (really all) of my belongings will now be in SF, not my 'home'.

The subject of feeling at home and calling a place 'home' is actually quite interesting because many, when thinking that term, think of a place, but not only can it be that, but also the people and the things you have to make it a home.

I'm obviously going to have to make this new apartment my home because it will be for the year. I might move into another place next year and I'll have to make that place my new home as well so I think it's healthy to think of, wherever you live, as home. But that can also be difficult to do. You're so used to this one place being home, how could you ever think of another place as that? It's just something you need to be flexible with and get used to, I guess.

Home is a very comfortable word, very safe, at least for me. When I think of home, I think of my family, including my bunny, Orange County, my room, my materialistic things, weird patterns, messiness (if I'm being quite honest), weird smells, loud conversations, just things EVERYWHERE.

And now with this new move, I think that'll change. Some will be the same things, but adding on friends, San Francisco, cold weather, laughs, and so many others that I can't really say now because this move hasn't happened and I haven't experienced it yet.

When I first moved out, I remember calling that dorm 'home' for the first time and it was really weird. I just looked at my friend, Mia, like "what the hell". It was a realization of growing up. A realization that we can have more than one home, and personally, I find that very comforting.

To end this, here's a quote I found a while ago about home. =^^=

"Home is so sad. It stays as it was left, Shaped to the comfort of the last to go. As if to win them back."  - Philip Larkin

Identity...some scary stuff.

This post was massively inspired by a PolyesterZine writer, Jonno Revanche, who wrote this amazing article about identity. I just love the way he talked about this and the entire idea of it made me think in a way I didn't before.

For those who are cis, for those who are white, for those who are straight, for those who are accepted in all different ways, it's easy to say "be yourself" because..of course, who else would you be? But for those who step out of the """"norm"""" it's completely different.

I like to think we live in a world where we're safe to be who we want to be, whatever that may be, because throughout my life, I've been told to follow my own path, and heard others say that to many others so quickly and easily...but with recent events, I've realized that's now difficult to say and fulfill.

"Be yourself." As Philando Castile gets killed for getting out his wallet.

"Be yourself." As hundreds of people are killed everyday for practicing their religion.

"Be yourself." As 49 people were killed in Orlando for doing that exactly.

Do you see how powerful two words can be and how...difficult it could be to follow it? These two words have been said so lightly, but in reality it's one of the most challenging and dangerous things to be and do in this society.

Many of us look at it as a tiny phrase to follow because we've got that privilege, but if you think about it, not everyone does.

It's incredible to see people express proudly on what they love to do and who they want to be and love who they want to love because it can be disheartening to see all of these tragedies happening every so often. The people who have been killed unfairly, others may relate to them in such a deep way, that it can be terrifying to continue on being themselves. Continuing on trying to be comfortable in your own skin because it's not only hard to do that, but now you need to be careful of where you are at because...not everyone is safe.

"Not everyone is safe." Clearly this relates to everyone, but some of us can say we've got a bigger safe guard than others.

One of the worst things about this entire idea is that, we cannot choose the color of our skin, we cannot choose who we love, we cannot stop ourselves from being who we are, and yet that is the reason why many are killed. They're killed for things that cannot be changed about themselves.

This is one of the most ludicrous actions that can ever take place.

Identity is abstract, it's frightening and can lead to something sinister. At night we can close our eyes and sometimes be able to create a world where we can walk around comfortably, but when we open up our eyes again...that world diminishes and it's so hard to realize that. That many cannot be comfortable.

To end this, here's a part of the article Revanche wrote, "If I am direct, I am always trying to gasp away my worries, am always teetering on the brink of death -- but how marvellous, how glamorous it feels to be there at all." And it is glamorous to be yourself...even if it may take a great amount of strength to realize that it is worth walking on this Earth rather than being a person who you're not comfortable being.

Identity....some scary stuff. =^^=