Oh Adventure

As I write I am listening to Infinite Arms by Band of Horses and I'm crying. It's such a good album, and they are so good live. I gotta see them live again, I also have to express some FOO FIGHTERS LOVE!!!!

I know, I know, it wasn't even a month ago I posted about loving Dave Grohl, but after seeing the Foos tear up that Weenie Roast webcast last night I'm smitten :) They crashed the party and played an hour long set including White Limo, Everlong, Best Of You, and a siiiiick version of Monkey Wrench. I watched it with my friend Isaiah over Facebook and got sucked back in time to my days riding the school bus with Stacey listening to DOA, No Way Back and My Hero.

The more I think about stuff like that the more I realize how much time has passed and how much we've all grown. I turned on the Revolver Golden Gods Awards yesterday and Dave was there, Lars Ulrich and Robert the new guy were there and it was like...weird. All the people I knew and rocked out with are gone, we all live in different cities and lead completely different lives now. When we do talk we say things "Man! We gotta hang some time!" or "Hey! Remember back when..." In our guts though, we know we have no intentions of getting together, and we hardly give a damn about our middle school nostalgia. The music is still there though, and I guess that's all that matters.

On a happier note I picked up the new Nylon Magazine ~MUSIC ISSUE~ and it does not disappoint! Florence Welch graces the cover in a Vivienne Westwood Gold Label cardigan that looks like it walked out the Viva La Vida tour dressing room, Quite BadA$$! They talk to Stevie Nicks, Sleigh Bells, and Smith Westerns. And my favorite part: Dani Stahl goes to Gibson Guitar and makes her own Les Paul in this month's edition of Factory Girl. Ummm...tell me why she has the coolest job on the planet, besides being Jimmy Page??? Shrug...

I was in LA this week and turned on KROQ to hear the new 311 song Sunset In July. It's amazing! Pure 311 goodness and a catchy riff. Needless to say I came home and have not stopped playing it. That trip and watching the Foo Fighters last night finally got me on the correct path to new music that I've been looking for!!!



Are you not blissfully in love right now?

I think it's time to go learn that riff :) Oh and I'm still in need of a new amp if anyone cares to donate.

For Boys Only

Heyyy!!! The last few posts have been really focused on Artists, whether local or retired, that have been surfing through my cell membrane like a virus. But what about Courtney??? How have I been lately? Well I'm glad you should ask. HahaHA!

As of right now there are exactly 63 days until I leave for boot camp and I am very excited! How excited? ...VERY excited XD. I feel like I'll be Storm from X-Men by the time my service is up lol. DO you see all the work those obstacle courses require???

 

I'm still sitting in my Laurel Canyon daydream and playing music and writing, writing a lot more. I think next post will feature a few of my latest poems, which seem to be all about boys. Boys I've met and boys I seem to have dated. ~Yes dated, even a bonafide Man Repeller such as myself goes out on dates sometimes.~ I've been looking back to find music from my past including Brandy, Tatiana Ali, Destiny's Child to keep up spirits since I have yet to come across a band on the music blogs the tickles my fancy.

Today has been nothing but Courtney Love and Hole and grunge. I'm in a very grungy mood. When you don't listen to Smells Like Teen Spirit for a few months it gets back all it's power and gets in your body again. And Malibu by Courtney Love and Jennifer's Body from Hole have been on repeat since I put the Gil Scott Heron cd's down yesterday evening.RIP.

She's sooo fucking cool!!! (I'm geeking out right now) I love Courtney Love, I love her words, I love her look, I love her speech/rants, I love her bad rep, and I love her need to flash people. LOVE IT. That brings me to this awesome riot grrl short from Director Tamra Davis (Half Baked, Billy Madison) called No Alternative Girls about safe sex, AID's prevention and having fun as a girl featuring a bunch of grunge goddesses like Kim Gordon and CLC.

...Pajamas LOL. While we're on the topic of sex, I'd like to say that it's pretty lame. Sex is the product of bordom and lack of cash. So if I happened to sleep with you on the regular for a few weeks and keep calling you back orrrr if on our first date I gave you a blowjob I want you to know that it's not because I actually liked you. It's because for the last six months I've been broke living in the Siberia of the desert so I don't have a better way to ease my frustrations. The best advice I've ever heard for girls was "Boys don't matter; have sex and have fun" Meaning you don't need a relationship to complete you and you also don't have to let sex hold so much weight. I live by this. We're not in a relationship, I'm not needy and I mostly just don't want to be in my house any more. GET OVER YOURSELF.

That being said (...) let's talk about CLOTHES!!!!

Chanel and Doc Martens (how original Court) have been all on the brain lately. What would Arwen wear if she was roaming Rivendell today??? Well this fucking Chanel pink cocktail dress!! DURRRR!

 

Okay, maybe it's just what I would wear if I were say... going to the grocery store or throwing a Listening Party at my house. (for some reason those are the only kinds of parties I want to throw). Isn't it lovely?  

Stella Tennant, who will be the topic of another post, is wearing it in the Chanel Ad in Vogue (Lady Gaga Cover) and It's just the perfect little girl's dream dress. ^_^ SO...MUCH...FRINGE!!!! Bless you Karl and kudos on that weird ass movie about the fairy!!! A Tale of A Fairy . 

Moving ON~ I don't even know if I really like clogs right now, but I do know that I want these shoes.

 

From me hardies at Doc Marten's I've never seen such a beautiful floral design I love em, I love em, I love em. And so I must acquire them. It's sport you know...

SHOE HUNTING

That's about all that's been new with me. I started reading War of The Worlds, and I like it so far. Oh yeah I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the first time and fell in love with the idea of love once more. Humanity needs these things so we don't swear off human affection and live as A-sexual hermits in mountains. I'm Serious! Boys and girls can be gross creatures but it's still better to love and give parts of one's self then live self righteously alone. The latter definitely makes more sense (you don't get lied to, hurt, disappointed, or pregnant) but true love can and does it exist. And you Too can find it.

LOVE THIS DRESS AND KATE WINSLETT

That's yer update Ladies and Gents, now I'm off to make some Top Ramen and read about them Aliens. :)

RIP Gil Scott-Heron April 1, 1949~ May 27, 2011

Sad news for the music and poetry world. Gil Scott-Heron has died at the age of 62. Gil was an amazing musician, singer, and most importantly writer. He talked about what it really felt like to be Black in America after the 60's. The struggles to keep an identity and thrive in a world where we were considered "others". He talked about wrong doings in politics, the seasons, and having a good time being alive. He was in essence the perfect package with all the right words and the dopest beats.

I learned about him from my mom who had long known of him and saw him perform as a kid. My little brother dances wildly when his music comes on, it's so soothing and beautiful and perfect. More and more he became my motivation to seek a truer form of myself and figure out my identity and role in our American society. He also just made me want to look outside and see beauty :) Me and my mom are so bummed we didn't make it to Coachella last year when he performed to promote his newest and last album I'm New Here.

He wrote with Stevie Wonder and has been sampled by Kanye West and Jay-Z and now that he's gone... I don't know what to make of music. Michael Jackson is dead, Led Zeppelin defunct and Stevie Wonder is a freaking talk show host. Gil, you're gonna be hella missed here. I wish I could have seen you live with your cool afro and old man hat.

When I broke the news to my mom she was stunned, the whole fam sat and listened to his cd and had an impromptu party, by morning she was in tears. He was her favorite artist, and one that will stay a part of our musical vocabulary forever. Rest in Peace Gil, I hope it's better than you could ever have imagined. You were the truth articulated to the open eared masses.

Hobbits...and Hobbit stuff

First of all check out this awesome rap my best friend Cydne wrote.

How the Elf, Jedi, and Witch Destroyed the Kraken: A rap by Cydne.

by Cydne Elliott West on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 2:00pm

There once was a creature so mighty and strong.
Tormented Elves and Jedi's all the daylong.
The beast was so evil, with an absence of Zen.
Gotta stay inside and beware the Kraken.
The Hobbits were eaten and the Wizards were slain.
Until three brave heroes came to save the day.

Troy, the Jedi with a harness of gold.
Whipped out his light saber from times of old.
He thrust his weapon high up in the air.
While the wind blew through his luscious hair.
He’s not like Luke, cause Luke is such a hoe.
This Jedi is a diva and he fucks Han Solo.
Darth Vader and Yoda can’t contain this boy.
He’s their father, bitch and this ain't no ploy.
With his battle cry of “You Bitch ass bitch.”
He was joined by another, a top-notch Witch.

Cydne, the Witch so powerful and fierce .
Has a body made of metal that none can pierce.
Wields the elder wand that she stole from Harry Potter.
And knows more about magic than Hogwarts could have taught her.
Casting spells, charms, and curses that make your toes curl in.
Hocus pocus motha fucka she pwns harder than Merlin.
Cryin bibbity boppity and a motha fuckin boo.
Lord Voldemort was killed, and Cedric Diggory too.
Boilin a potion, colder than zero degrees Kelvin.
She summoned another hero, this one is quite Elven.
Courtney, the Elf, is tough and full of strength.
She will go on any mission any time, or any length.
Gandalf is her dad, so she’s the strongest in the shire.
Ask Legolas, that ho, was killed with balls of fire.
Frodo, Sam, and the twin bend to her every will,
When she asks for second breakfast, she gets more than her fill.
A crossbow is her number one weapon of choice,
Slicin through those niggas with arrows by Rolls Royce.
Packin her shit and hittin the road once and for all.
She joins the other heroes and answers the call.

From space, from the shire, from the house of Gryffindor,
These three hot bitches simply rocked into Mordor.
The Kraken was making a big ass scene
Sellin yellow pages to the most obscene.
The nigga needs to go, the heroes said
So they pulled out their weapons and went to kill him dead
They accessed their powers as starship rangers.
Cuttin up the Kraken and diving into danger.
For Smeadle, for Chewy, for Severus Snape.
The heroes popped his head of like a giant grape.
The Kraken was gone and the world was at peace.
And everyone celebrated with a giant feast.
Turkey legs and boxes of wine went around the table.
And that my friends is the end of this fable.
Remember next time when you need some help.
From Cthulu, Davy Jones, or some monster kelp.
Don’t call ghostbusters, when the world is getting stranger.
Get the Elf, Witch, and Jedi from the starship rangers.


Yeah...she's awesome like cinammon toast hahaha
We at JSA have been going super LOTR fantasy crazy to the point we've begun discussing future plans for a Hobbit House. I thought I knew what one should look like until I ...stumbled upon this gem. Introducing the Hobbit Treehouse from architect Robert Harvey Oshatz. More Pictures :)

 

So much genius in one picture, I can't even stand it right now! I feel like rushing down to Borders....all the way in Palm Springs hahaha and grabbing a buttload of architecture books. I mean can you believe this is a house, as in residential, as in people actually live here!!!! AMAZING!!!

I've got mandolins on the brain...can't wait to open that Guitar Center credit card lol. It'll be great, Courtney's Mandolin Tribute to the Hobbits

It shall be like none ever heard.

~love you all, Courtney :)

Lauryn Hill!!!

I is eternally sorry that it's been such a lapse since my last post and I intend to make up for that riiight....now!

The music stations out here lack variety and so I did what any sensible girl would do: I put on The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill and relived the glory days when music still had a little passion in it...


Listening to the lyrics as a young adult is totally different then listening when I was 6 and 7. Lauryn is a moral of truth, I'm so glad she's back touring again. Lucky nubs that got to see her at Coachella!!!
She's just so fucking cool!!! I wanna be like Lauryn when I grow up, someone accomplished, yet searching continuously for truth and loving of one's self.

Can her style be any cooler either??? I doubt it, that's it, she's my new icon :)

Feeling Folkie

Hey hey hey!!! Last week I went through musical disillusionment. I hated everything in my iTunes library and knew it was time for change... ya know that feeling when your scrolling through your iPod and nothing gives you that chill when you think about listening to it? Well I do, so I went to work searching out new music. The result was an eclectic mix of folk-indie rock that I will share with you as well. :)

I was in Skylight Books in Silverlake when I first heard "Now That I Know" by Devendra Banhart.
It's such a beautiful melody that just keeps going and I love Devendra's voice on this. He's not over singing like in "I Feel Just Like A Child" or even "Little Yellow Spider" The words sounds so pure and full of pain. It gives me shivers every time I listen to it.



Then I went over to Fleetwood Mac for my new favorite Monday Morning. I'm ashamed to say I have someone just like this in my life. In love one day completely gone the next. This is the jam for reals, I didn't even know Fleetwood Mac got down like this until recently!!! They are the shit, and check out their fro's.



Style Rookie got me hooked on Joni Mitchell a few months ago and I've been flipping through her catalog since. If I ever have a band I'm gonna need it to be folk/jazz/rock and have some sort of flute player...and beautiful lyrics, and I'm gonna dress like Arwen from LOTR every time I go onstage. LOL Help Me Joni...help me



In fashion news my latest fantasy is Arwen meets Obi Wan in the hills of Laurel Canyon. I just want long flowing dresses and head pieces. So Complex Geometries is rocking my world and I keep getting flashes of the GTO's and the music video for Stillness Is The Move. The idea of woman being immortal to a man is beautiful and no couple pulls it off like Arwen and Aragorn from Lord of The Rings. Both the descendants of Beren and Luthien from The Silmarillion, Arwen is last of the immortal Elvin blood line and Aragorn the true King of Men come together and weave a story full of pain sacrifice and beautiful clothes. I always think of them when I'm in Hollywood Hills, because the scenery is so green and lush and there's a peaceful murmur that continues the entire time your there.

The Girls Together Outrageously are Frank Zappa's gathering of band-aids from Laurel Canyon that made music and made musicians happy with style. Once again they incorporate long dresses and headpieces into a look that screams illusion, as if you're never sure what these girls are capable of yet you're fully intrigued. I'm really into the idea of cloaks and large hoods, they make you look like you're gliding across water...enchanting. Yes my new look is "enchanting" I like it! :)

Lady Arwen

Complex Geometries Fulcrum Dress

Complex Geometries Dress

Han Cholo Earpiece

Goddess Headband

Snapped at Coachella

Screenshot of Dirty Projectors

Girl's Together Outrageously Laurel Canyon Royalty

I don't know why but this summer feels like a good time to dress like a mythological goddess, so ya know... watch out I might be hiding in your local trees whispering love poetry and weaving bracelets out of sunflowers... Don't be alarmed, I'm just in that kind of mood :) Stillness is the move, isn't it?

New Month New Outlook

I've been away for a few days and am happy to report that things are better than they were the last time I posted. After a really stressful and traumatic month of getting into arguments with boys, being without a camera and cash and fighting the law, it is finally MAY!!!! *Que the sunshine and applause!!!*

And today I picked up my first copies of Vogue and Nylon in like two or three months, how I've missed my babies so <3 Oh oh oh, before I forget lol, the new Urban Outfitters catalog came in the mail too!!! imhappyveryveryverycartwheelsstatushappy ^_^.

This morning I decided to give my life over to Salvatore Ferragamo flats and a Donney and Burke bag, so I'll now be trying to figure out ways to put myself through law school to afford them. I was in the bank and this cute old lady had the nicest white D&B bag I'd ever seen, it's commanded some much attention from its simplicity that I was in awe... the duck is twice as nice in person.

Walmart did a hiring spree and did not hire me... LOL maybe life wants something more of me, I hope it's not something less. I want to be more like Dave Grohl, I heard a double play of the Foo this morn, he's so seemingly fearless and creative without being an "artist" type ya kno? I love Dave Grohl... he's my hero. Rocking for the sake of rocking.

I'm really scatterbrained right now, but yeah all three of the new mags i got today are rad. Vogue has Reese Witherspoon on the cover and I liked her last article from when she was there so hopefully she hasn't become not Reese anymore. Annnnnd Rory Culkin and Julia Robert's spawn are on Nylon.... their outfits are cool but the Robert's women have the most unflattering noses... sorry.  The insides are nice too though, Vogue talks about architects, an old artist, and Natalia (bonus points) and Its the Young Hollywood Issue of Nylon so I'm smitten, there's few places I idealize more than the Chateau Marmont and Sunset Marque... life is good. Oh and the Urban Outfitters catalog is mucho mucho mucho much better then the last one, it has a beautiful story of young adults who look like they're as stressed as me in their day-to-day lives getting away to this isolated house on a hill in the sunshine to enjoy life like they did before life was so freaking hard lol. I can relate and am planning a secret surprise trip to said destination (Neverland) with my bestie Angela.

When I wake up in the morning I turn back into Courtney, the lawyer but for tonite Im gonna be just Courtney, the writer, guitar player, Dave Grohl worhipping, magazine reading, OCD, lover girl that Im so accustomed being. I love you all and here's to the start of a very positive MAY. Til Morning ~Courtney