auburn honor band recap. & music!monday -- placebo.

hello!

oh my goodness, what a busy weekend i had! auburn honor band was just lovely -- in fact, i think it's one of the best i've ever been to. i made fourth chair in the second band, which was directed by gregg gosslin, the associate director of bands from the university of georgia! i was so excited about that, because i've been thinking about going there. (i've also been looking at auburn, but not as much as uga.) he was very nice, and i talked to him about coming to an honor band uga hosts next october.

we had two people from our school make first chair in the top band, which is a BIG deal. i was so proud of them! another guy (a freshman) made first chair in the second band, and another person in my grade made third chair in the top band. i was a little bummed out to make fourth chair in the second band, but i also came to the realization that i am not the best flutist, which is fine. someone has to fill those fourth chairs, right? :)

auburn was also SO GORGEOUS. it snowed heavily friday (for alabama, anyway) and practice friday was canceled. we went to the campus to play in the snow. i've never seen so many snowmen in my life! there were some cute themed ones: some in bikinis, some with auburn attire. i even saw one with an uga cap! there were plenty of snowball fights as well. some guys i saw had snowBLOCKS as big as my carpet bag purse! it was crazy.

i had so much fun! i roomed with mrs seymour (my middle school band director) and brenna, her daughter. they're such lovely people. brenna's style is also AMAZING. in fact, she's one of my real-life inspirations. mrs seymour is actually one of the main reasons i even got started with honor bands.

everyone was so friendly at this honor band! or maybe i talked more, i don't know. but i had a blast, and if you're in alabama & get the chance to go to this honor band, i highly reccommend it.

also, i have all-state band tryouts tomorrow, so wish me luck! i'm definitely going to need it.

here are some pictures of the snow i got. isn't it beautiful?

& to make this a tiny outfit post, here's what i'm wearing in this pic: loose-knit beanie from forever 21. peacock feather scarf from pac sun, black peacoat gotten as a gift, levi's jeans, & riding boots from somewhere or another. ;)

and don't think i've forgotten that today's music!monday! today i'm giving you one of my favorite songs i've discovered in 2010 -- running up that hill by placebo. placebo is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. enjoy!

running up that hill. official vid.

the official vid is pretty cool: it's a mash up of fan videos and the singer. i'd check it out if i were you.



it's pretty hard to find a live version of this song i like as much as the studio version, but this one is pretty good.

this song just... kills me. it's so beautiful it makes my heart break.

so. comment me!

with love,
rachel. <3

if you want to destroy my sweater...

... pull this thread as i walk away. ♥

hello lovelies!

today i give you an outfit post before i run off to auburn honor band! an outfit post containing TWO outfits! that's how much i love you guys. :D

before the pics, however, i received some fabulous news today: i made all state choir! :D i'm so happy about it! now if i can do well at auburn & make all state band, life will be wonderful. also, there's a solo i'd like to try out for in my school choir, but i'm not sure about getting it. my best friend, anna, is trying out for it as well, and her voice is just gorgeous. we'll just see! :)

and now that i've sufficiently bored you, picture time!

outfit #1: black sweater + bowling shoes



black sweater is charlotte russe. (i love $10 comfy sweaters.) it has really adorable square pockets on the sides -- you can't see them in pictures, sadly. jeans are american eagle. (OMG NOT LEVI'S!) shoes are rampage. (i also love $30 shoes bought on black friday. :D)



vintage green&rock statement bracelet. my grandmother had this in her closet and she gave it to me. she has some of the most amazing jewelry. those little chunks encased in the bracelet? those are ROCKS. it's such a unique bracelet; i utterly love it. however, the clasp is quite loose on it, so if anyone knows how to fix that, PLEASE comment below & help me out!



my chain & rhinestone earrings. they're just punk enough & just girly enough. perfection? perhaps not, but quite close.



close up! the cameo is from some cheap jewelry shop; can't remember where, though. also, JESUS CHRIST i was unphotogenic that day. xD

outfit #2: yellow&grey + zipper booties



double full-shot!
yellow&grey striped sweater is from pac sun, but i can't remember the brand for the life of me... its the softest sweater i own: it's part cashmere and delicious. it's also quite a few sizes too big. jeans are levi's. booties are zigi soho. silver belt (the picture quality of these are shit, sorry) is from some cheap trend store.



my zipper booties! i love these things; they go with so much, and are so punkbitch and... sexy. xD they're probably a 4-41/2 inch heel, which makes them one of my highest pairs. they're just really fantastic shoes -- i could rave about them all day.



headshot! trio of pearls bracelet is from avon. (i know, it's crazy!) silver bracelet -- which is not very visable here -- was a gift. i'm also wearing the chain&rhinestone earrings.

i'll be without my laptop until sunday, so i suppose i'll talk to you guys next monday! leave me some lovely comments to return to.

with love!
rachel. <3

music!monday -- classic rock: the who & steppenwolf.

hello there!

it's music!monday! turns out that all-state band tryouts were postponed... again. xD so i get to blog after all!

if you watched the super bowl this sunday, i'm sure you saw the who perform the halftime show -- which was pretty awesome, saying they are kinda old. xD so of course i'm going you give you a few of my favorites of the who! (i'll have to be honest, though, so far i've only listened to their mainstream stuff. you'll have to forgive me.)

and for the hell of it, BORN TO BE WILD. <3



although i can't embed the album version, i can give you the AMAZING WOODSTOCK VERSION. :D



baba o'riley. you know that song you can listen to and relate to over a timespan of years? this song is that song for me. it's my everlasting anthem.
i also love the little tape skips in this video, but i guess i'm kinda weird like that.



OMFG THIS SONG IS SO GREAT.
"like a true nature's child
we were born, born to be wild.
we can climb so high,
i never wanna die.
born to be wild."
how great are those lyrics? yeah, definitely one of my favorite songs. it always makes me feel like nothing could come close to stopping me. :D

so! readers, how do you feel about my selections this week? does classic rock suit you? (i will be honest, i can enjoy it, but it's overrated in my opinion. however, that doesn't stop these songs from being tremendously awesome.) comment me! :)

with love!
rachel. <3

blue stripes + black vest. or "omgpirates!" look. & some rambling.

hello lovelies!

goodness, i need to think of better outfit titles, huh? this week has been INSANE, and i'm terribly sorry i haven't blogged much! but it's starting to calm down -- at least a bit. i'll be at all state band tryouts monday evening/night, and i'll be off to auburn honor band thursday though sunday next week, though. ahh, so busy! but anyway.

oh! i "modeled" in a local fashion show this evening. i wore a slinky prom dress, a HUGE fluffy ball gown, and a short party dress. it was my first time, and although i kinda screwed up the first and second times i walked out, i kicked ass with that short dress! mom took a million pics, so i'll post some here... eventually. xD

but anywho! this outfit is the blue stripes + black vest look. OR my "omgi'mapirate!" look. (the way the vest puffs out from the belt and the skinny jeans remind me of a pirate, don't ask.)

oopsie, cut my elbow out. anywho, blue striped shirt is ralph lauren. (it's two sizes too large now, though.) black vest is also lauren ralph lauren. (and also, two sizes too large.) jeans are levis. black flats are surprisingly from avon! yes, the make up company. they have a very adorable ruffle on them which makes them just unique enough. i love those things.



these are the earrings i wore -- my beloved betsey johnson earrings! i wear these all the time. i love betsey johnson; she's one of my favorite designers.



this was my statement piece of jewelry: a metallic flower ring from mark. it's gotten a lot of wear -- it's so versatile! i can wear it with the most feminine of outfits or with a grunge-inspired look.



pic!whore. perhaps if you look closely, you can see my chain & pearl necklace i'm wearing.

if i don't get to blog for a while, i want you guys to know how completely AWE...inspiring you are! (bonus points if you caught my lame-o joke.)

with love!
rachel. <3

music!monday -- all-state choir music + 1980's depeche mode...?

hello!

it's music!monday time again!

so, for the past, oh, five months i've been working on music for all-state choir tryouts which are this wednesday. if you don't know what all-state choir is, it's pretty much where choral singers from all over the state audition to make one of either two state choirs for middle school or one of three state choirs for high school. i'm trying out for SATB high school. i made SATB last year, but personally i find this year's music to be quite harder! but excuse me, i'm rambling.

anywho! today i'm giving you my favorite piece out of what i'm singing for all-state: "african sanctus", arranged by david fanshawe.

today is also the five-month anniversary of me seeing my first depeche mode concert. (i'm obsessed, i swear.) so i'm going to enlighten you with some great live footage of them. :D



african sanctus. this isn't my favorite recording of this piece, but it's still very powerful. i'm a sucker for tribal music + latin choral music. xD



this is probably the first song i ever heard by dm. it's very... dirty. it's great to dance to, though. this video also has many close ups of alan (the dark haired man with the amazing cheekbones playing synth), whom is absolutely gorgeous. and don't you love their circa-1984 style? it's too great.



i think it may be a little obvious i love their old concerts/tv appearances. (don't get me wrong, i love their more recent appearances equally so! it's just harder to find those.) told you so is one of those "OMGI'MSOANGRY" songs. and i actually really do love their style here. maybe not their haircuts, but nonetheless. :D

and i'll leave you with those three.
so, tell me! are you into the choral music scene? ever sang african sanctus? do you even like african sanctus?
as for depeche mode... have you heard of them? you have no idea how few people know of them here -- of course, i'm starting to change that. ;) do you like their stuff, and if so, do you have a preference over old or new?

with love!
rachel.