Jams of the Week 5/27/17

Howdy and welcome to the jams of the week!

Timberland helped produce this song and makes a cameo in the background. The song is super catchy and fun, and I love how the music video is famous art come to life.  I feel like it's a small tribute to "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" which makes me like it more.

Jane Zhang - Dust My Shoulders Off

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I guess NEEDTOBREATHE (all caps annoyingly) is a Christian rock band but I couldn't tell when I heard this song? After re-listening I got it but that's kind of nice you can ignore or not ignore it if you want. You might have heard of them from their song BROTHER which featured Gavin DeGraw.

NEEDTOBREATHE - HAPPINESS

"I got dreams that keep me up in the dead of night / Telling me I wasn't made for the simple life"

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I'm obsessed with the beat of this song. I would take it without the words honestly and just play it on repeat (but ok the words are good too...)

Opia - Falling (Whethan Redo)

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I clicked this song and thought it was a cover of Heaven by DJ Sammy. Twas not, but I was happily surprised.

The Band CAMINO - Heaven - Audiotree Live

"This music's finally loud enough to drown you out"

ANDDD ok, shameless promotion, you should all go see the new King Arthur. Obviously for Charlie Hunnam, but also because it's awesome. I went with friends from work and I've jokingly been doing the "breathing song" randomly since then but the soundtrack is awesome. Check it, and the movie out! I like "The Devil & The Huntsman" and "Run Londinium" best. The vid below is a full soundtrack compilation. 

Daniel Pemberton - King Arthur Legend of the Sword

Til next time,

Maggie

Jams of the Week 5/20/17

Hola and welcome to jams of the week!

Hope you're enjoying your rainy weekend with some chill reading or movie watching.  I finished Riverdale this weekend which had a great season finale, and has a great playlist of songs on Spotify. Check it out!

First jam is by Coleman Hell, who had a big hit with "2 Heads" last year. His voice is great and I highly recommend you check out all his songs.

Flowerchild - Coleman Hell

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I've heard so much bad news lately, and this song is the perfect one to combat the gloom

Good News - Ocean Park Standoff

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I've featured Oh Wonder on the blog before and they return with this wonderful song

Ultralife - Oh Wonder

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Bonus song of the week is from Guardians of the Galaxy 2! If you stayed for the credits, as you always should for any Marvel movie ever, duh, there was an awesome song featuring the Hoff. I found it asap on spotify and have been jamming out to it since. You have to wait until like halfway through for him to start singing but it's worth it. Enjoy!

Guardians Inferno - The Sneepers (feat. David Hasselhoff)

"Getting down and dirty with a procyon lotor

Got no people skills but he's good with motors

That weird thing by his side an infantilized sequoia

The two of them walk by, people say "Oh boy-a"

They ask me why I'm bringin'

A baby into battle

"Thats really irresponsible"

And getting them rattled

I say "Give me a break

Get off my back dammit"

I didn't learn parenting

My daddy was a planet

Zardu Hasselfrau (x2)

In these times of hardship

Just remember

We

Are

Groot"

Till next time,

Maggie

The Cursed Child Play London (No Spoilers)

In October of 2015 I woke up at 4am to buy tickets to a play I knew nothing about except that it was the "8th Harry Potter." I sat in an online queue for two hours and finally got my opportunity to buy tickets. I clicked for the next best date...April 2017!! I bought two sets knowing whatever I was doing in life 18 months later I would always drop for HP.

Flash forward to this month, it was finally here!! I will admit I was pretty nervous about seeing the play in person. When the play script came out I read it and didn't feel very connected to it. I would even say I was on the verge of not liking it. So what if I had spent all this money just to be let down!?  It turns out I was worried for nothing because the play was amazing, epic, and beautiful.

The script is split into two plays, each with its own intermission, so the show takes all day to see. Our first show started at 1:30pm and the second at 6:30pm. They tell you that you have to arrive an hour early to queue in line and I stopped by the day before to ask if that was really a thing. The ticket guy assured me it was and he wasn't lying. They check all your bags and the line went around the corner to get in. It was a very fast process so we got in quickly but then there was merch to buy so we had something to pass the remaining time.

I got a sweatshirt, a tote bag, and a patch. After the first play you're able to buy the behind the scenes book (it contains first play spoilers) so I did get that later as well. One small bummer I found with London plays is no free playbill, if you wanted it it was £5. I didn't have cash so I had to skip it.

They had drinks and snacks on every level and that was helpful because after sitting for so long you need something. Speaking of sitting...ouch. I'm sure no seat is comfortable to sit in all day but they were pretty tight on the leg room. If you go make sure you take every chance you get to go walk or stretch​.



Alright, to the play itself. I'm totally team #keepthesecrets so I won't tell you too much but the way they did the magic was amazing. You might read the script like I did and think the plot was lacking or weird but it plays out much better on stage. The actors themselves are wonderfully cast so if you can try to see it before they recast this year I'd highly highly suggest it. I don't want to spoil anything else so if you have any questions hit me up in the comments.



Helpful tips and tricks:
Chloe didn't have tickets so the ticket guy said her best bet was to wait for a return ticket the morning of the play. These are tickets people bought like me very early on and couldn't end up using. The ticket guy advised Chloe to arrive around 8:45am. She did and waited until doors opened at 10am and ended up getting better seats than even we had! She paid slightly more because it was floor level but she got tickets nonetheless. She said no one else was queued up until maybe 9:20am but I also don't know how many others got to buy return tickets.

Also you cannot pick up your tickets early from will call. It's sadly part of that "arrive an hour early" business. I tried.

You also cannot bring in food or drink. There was a large box of confiscated items at the bag check. It's a bummer but at least they have options inside (alcohol included). You can also pre-order food and drinks to be ready at intermission so you don't have to queue up!


All in all, I highly recommend the play to any Potter fans. You'll be glad you went =)

Till next time,

Maggie

March Uppercase: Hunted by Megan Spooner

Hiya! So I was about to write my review of April's Uppercase when I realized I was so busy with London stuff I never did March! So better late than never here's the awesome swag that was in the March bag.

The book for March was "Hunted" by Meagan Spooner. Meagan is one half of the team that brought us the Starbound trilogy which I devoured last year. If you haven't read those, check um out.


So here is the Goodreads synopsis:

"Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?"

Here's what was in the bag!

first off, the book, signed by Meagan. I like the cover, in particular the colors and the little bit of shininess.

A hello from Lisa and a description of what's all inside. 

Then the codes to read along with others! Always fun.

a "Hunted" bookmark

a beautiful gold print of some classic books

a book hoarder sticker, totally me

and some awesome Jane Austen socks.

I loved all the goodies in this month's bag. I read the book and still feel conflicted on whether or not I like it; I'm not a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast (sorry) and I didn't think the story was different enough to want to read? I thought it was well written and once I started reading it and I flew through it but...something about it didn't stick with me. 

Have you guys read Hunted? What did you think?

Stay tuned for April's Uppercase review coming soon!

till next time,

Maggie