Ok, so the only thing ‘holiday’ about this playlist is that I’m posting it during the holiday season. Consider it my essential holiday party playlist after “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” has played on repeat a million times.

1. Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”

2. Bruno Mars, “Grenade”

3. Robyn, “Call Your Girlfriend”

4. Katy Perry, “Last Friday Night”

5. Dennis Ferrer, “Hey Hey”

6. Rihanna ft. Nicki Minaj, “Raining Men”

7. Kid Sister, “Kiss Kiss Kiss”

8. Alexis Jordan, “Happiness”

9. The Milk, “54/36 Was My Number”

10.  P!nk, “Raise Your Glass”

11. DJ Tiesto ft. Emily Haines (Metric), “Knock You Out“

Ladies & gentlemen, it’s October. To celebrate, here are 10 things that I’m excited about, 10 things that help me get over the fact that the weather in Boston has not changed substantially in 3 months and neither has my wardrobe.

July 1. Somehow today feels officially like summer. Here are my music favs for summer so far.

David Guetta & Chris Willis, Ft. Fergie & LMFAO – “Gettin Over You”

Stromae – “Alors on Danse”

Mike Posner – “Cooler than Me”

Scissor Sisters – “Fire with Fire”

Gramophonedzie – “Why Don’t You”

Robyn – “Dancing on My Own”

The Like – “He’s Not a Boy”

Mark Ronson – “Bang Bang Bang”

Kelly Rowland – “Commander”

Dan Balan – “Chica Bomb”

]]> http://www.liberalwill.com/ems-summer-2010-playlist-pt-1/feed/ 0 http://www.liberalwill.com/not-lady-gaga-janelle-monae-big-boi-christian-louboutin/ http://www.liberalwill.com/not-lady-gaga-janelle-monae-big-boi-christian-louboutin/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:20:56 +0000 Ems http://www.liberalwill.com/?p=1103

Today, Lady Gaga’s style is mainstream and (remixed) classic Jazz, Paris nightclubs, the 1920s, suits and oxford wingtips are counter culture. Makes your head spin a little.

“Tightrope” by Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi

“Dancer in a Daydream” ft. the one and only Christian Louboutin, wearing his own red-soled shoes, of course.

The production and subsequent popularity of the “Midd Kid” song shows there is an interest in unraveling the layers, peeking behind closed doors and glossy magazine pages to catch a glimpse of what life is really like. Here are a few articles worth reading this week that peer deeper into issues like poverty, big business and politics. But caution, as the “Midd Kid” song also shows, what is revealed is likely just one perspective, not the entirety, of the truth.

• DAVID & GOLIATH: Damian Kulash of OK GO finally explains why you can’t embed some YouTube videos on your blog, roughly how much money his band makes per stream and exactly how idiotic major record labels are in reality.
• TABLOIDS: John Edwards may not have helped the Democratic Party with his little affair, but he did help The National Enquirer, which is now in the running for a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the scandal.
• POVERTY: Speaking of Edwards, it looks like his message of the poor and “two Americas” may not have been off-base given that the recession has given a whole new meaning to being poor.
• CRIME: Poverty may be increasing, but crime is not. Is it because of abortion, Democrats, Republicans or jail?
• POLITICS: Senator Evan Bayh of Indian is leaving the Senate because it’s rampant partisanship makes it dysfunctional, but Arianna Huffinton says only the best changes are made under times that are “too partisan”. Who’s right and who has the extra agenda?
• CONSERVATIVES: It was easy to say that the Tea Party movement is just a fleeting political phenomenon, but the incendiary remarks of Glen Beck, caustic attacks on the Democratic Party by Ann Coulter, and presidential straw poll win of Ron Paul, all at CPAC this weekend, make one think that activism in the Republican Party is here to stay.
• FASHION: Sometimes, in the fashion world, there are geniuses like the late Alexander McQueen, but, for the most part, the fashion industry is shaped by women like Anna Dello Russo of VOGUE Japan and Li Edelkoort who have worked 15+ years not just predicting trends, but setting them as well.

Video of the Week: The Big Green Screen. Prepare yourself. I bet you  had no idea just how many outdoor scenes were filled against a green screen.

Yes, this is where I go to school.

“Midd Kid” by the Allen Jokers

More on MiddBlog and the Allen Jokers website.

Valentine’s Day has never really meant much to me, probably because I’ve never had anything that so much as resembles a relationship that’s lasted longer than 3 weeks. I usually just get underwear from my grandmother. I did get a rose once from a boy in high school. I kinda freaked out. He never talked to me again.

I have somewhere around 100 days left in my undergraduate career, probably 100 of the busiest days of my life. I put off writing my thesis (creating a sustainable economic model for organic food in the style of the French wine certification system) first semester because of the job search so I’m writing it now…while learning German, learning GIS (geographic information systems), discussing the future of the European Union and enjoying a social life I seemed to have developed in the last year. On the whole, this is not an unsustainable lifestyle, but, it’s a good thing I don’t need a lot of sleep.

Sophomore year when life got really busy I discovered something called the fashion industry and found its business model based on creativity, color and art a perfect complement to the analytical nature of my work. (My appreciation of the industry’s art and creativity also led me to be completely shocked at the news of Alexander McQueen’s death. The industry has lost someone truly great.) This fascination is going to be no less true this semester. I’m already in love with what I’m seeing at NY fashion week, and it’s only Day #4–the draping at Costello Tagliapietra, the attitude at Chado Ralph Rucci, and the color blocking and necklines at Lacoste. Mmm, mamma like. As a student of economics, I can’t tell you that the recession is over yet. But as a student of behavioral economics, I can tell you that designers think the recession is over and the personality they’ve returned to their work is fantastic.

To stay sane and motivated right now, I’m reading bits of Linchpin by Seth Godin, a fantastic business book right next to Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano, and listening to experimental electronic music like the song “A/B Machines” by Sleigh Bells featured in the video ad for LOVE Magazine above. It’s not great for dancing but it gives you a great power-walk.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ems

I saw Editors live in Summer of ’07 in London and immediately fell in love. Here’s their newest music video for “You Don’t Know Love.” It’s freaky, I know. But isn’t it great to hear Tom Smith’s voice again?

Joss Stone’s new song, “Governmentalism” (some versions of it feature Nas), combines a sexy sound with a very un-sexy subject matter — borderline anarchy — which means it packs a punch.

Enjoy the song below and tell me it’s not the perfect song to play while applying expensive perfume and sliding into a little black dress.

Boy it’s been awhile since I posted. Seriously, there have been 3 episodes of “Warehouse 13″ since this post and the previous. I wish I could say I’ve been so incredibly uber busy that I just haven’t had time, but, sadly, that’s not true. Here is what I’ve been up to:

Interviewing: I had 3 fantastic lunches last week with various people who have gone into different areas of finance after undergrad/b-school and suddenly have tons of job ideas for next year.

Reading: Not a day goes by that I don’t clear my GReader and peruse both the NYT and WSJ. And I thought I was a news junkie before. For magazines it’s still New York Mag, The New Yorker, The Economist, Bazaar, Lucky, InStyle and Vogue Italia. As far as novels go, Elegance of the Hedgehog by Mariel Brabury Muriel Barbery took what felt like a year-and-a-half to read and seriously stymied my reading momentum. This weekend, however, I picked up White is For Witching by H. Oyeyemi and can’t put it down. Modern gothic, be still my heart.

Wearing: Black stilettos.

Listening: My iPod is my faithful companion on the T in the morning and in the Common on my way home to help me find my groove forr the day–and avoid (encourage?) unnecessary awkward eye contact. Current favorite morning groove starters include “Bulletproof” by La Roux, “Dark Neon,” from Wilco B-sides, “Lisztomania” by Pheonix.

Working: I’ve started going in early and staying late at work…just a little bit. I legitimately enjoy/understand finance when it’s not all balance sheet analysis and photocopying.

Planning: There will be a dinner party when I come home. Just warning you now, Mom. I don’t care if my brother is the only person who has a sufficient number of friends around to actually constitute a party.

Watching: Movies have been few and far between lately (Harry Potter? Anyone?) but I am seriously debating writing a letter to NBC telling them not to cancel Kings, and I finally finished the first season of Arrested Development. TV runners up for the summer include Mental, Royal Pains and Merlin. (Notice how Hulu has clearly taken over my life.)

Ignoring: I am currently trying to disregard what I call “the curse” but is really just a rather bizarre phenomenon in my personal life that began on what seemed like an innocuous bus trip sophomore year of high school.

Writing: When you write 10+ pages of meeting minutes, financial analysis or performance analysis every day, it’s hard to want to come home and blog or write anything else. My Writing.com account has officially shriveled up and died, especially since I forgot to pay my last subscription bill.

Loving: I am in love with the Fall/Winter ’09 ads for Alberta Ferretti. Dark fashion, wicked behavior, messy libraries, passionate, inclement weather, anger…pretty much all that is missing is the sex.

Buying: My shopping tendencies of late have gravitated towards uber-skinny purple jeans, uber-skinny black skirts, statement t-shirts, FCUK dresses, Chanel nail polish and Frye boots.

Socializing: I have developed a very mashed-up group of friends since I moved here that includes South Dakota acquaintances, Middlebury compatriots, ballerinas, secretaries and MIT hip-hoppers. It creates a weird dynamic sometimes but I’m going to miss it all when I’m at home for 3 weeks.