2013 IN PHOTOS

JANUARY:
January = Summer, so we spent most of our time at James' house so we could use his swimming pool and we took lots of High School Musical-esque jump shots because I have no idea why we thought it would look radical

ALSO I TURNED 18 SO I BECAME LEGAL AND AN ALMOST RESPONSIBLE ADULT so to celebrate I had a heroes and villains themed party and it was really fun

FEBRUARY:

HAVE A SELFIE OF ME AND MATT WAITING TO SEE OF MICE & MEN 

AND HAVE A PHOTO OF AUSTIN CARLILE

aND THEN THE DAY AFTER OM&M I SAW BLINK-182 AND MY CHILDHOOD DREAM CAME TRUE:

MARCH:

MARCH WAS SOUNDWAVE AND IT WAS AMAZING

and then my little sister and I took my bunny for a trip somewhere in a pram and everyone gave us funny looks but it was totally radical (and on that day MCR broke up and I was so sad I didn't talk to anyone for like, a week)

APRIL:

In April, my friends and I had lots of really random gatherings. My favourite one was when we watched Mulan and Mulan 2 and ate ice cream and Skittles and Oreos and we felt like we gained 500 kilos and diabetes

And we also had a massive sleepover and went to the Dawn Service for ANZAC day the next morning and this is us all almost falling asleep on the train home

MAY:

KATIE TURNED 18 AND WE PARTIED

(I also went to go see Funeral For A Friend but my photo is refusing to upload :< )

JUNE:

WE WENT TO ST. LEONARD'S FOR A WEEK AND WE ALL DRANK A LOT WHICH WAS REALLY BAD AND PEOPLE PLAYED PRANKS ON PEOPLE WITH TERRY 

JULY:

I went to see The Getaway Plan for the seventh time I have no regrets about that because they are one of my favourite Australian bands :))) 

and we had Christmas in July festivities and that was fun and I ate too much and I felt sick but it was totally worth it

AUGUST:

THE MOST AMAZING THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN AUGUST WAS ALL TIME LOW SO HAVE SOME ALL TIME LOW SPAN WEWWEWEWWW

SEPTEMBER:

I saw Tonight Alive for the first time and it was absolutely magical because Jenna McDougall is such an inspiration to me and the whole band have done so well for themselves especially in 2013.

AND WE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO OBTAIN 48 FREE KRISPY KREME DONUTS AND I DONT HAVE A SINGLE REGRET ABOUT IT

AND THEN WE WENT TO PHILLIP ISLAND FOR FIVE DAYS

OCTOBER:

THIS MONTH WAS PROBABLY MY FAVOURITE MONTH BECAUSE SO MUCH HAPPENED. I went to see Bring Me The Horizon and Of Mice & Men:

And on that same day I met Tino Arteaga and I won a M&G with Bring Me The Horizon

and at the end of the month I FINALLY WENT TO SEE FALL OUT BOY ALLELUIA 

AND THEN IN A TOTAL CHANGE OF PACE I WENT TO SEE 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER AND ONE DIRECTION AND NGL IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST CONCERTS I'VE EVER BEEN TO IN MY LIFE

and then it was also Halloween so spoopy 

NOVEMBER:

REMEMBER HOW I MET DITA VON TEESE???

(p much sums up my whole month tbh)

DECEMBER:

I got a band together (!!) and so far it's going really well and I hope that in 2014 things go amazingly for the five of us :))))

AND I WENT TO WARPED TOUR

and on that day too I met Cam from Tonight Alive aaay :D 

and we had christmas (in december...real christmas??) 

AND THAT'S 2013 IN A NUTSHELL I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A RADICAL 2014

2013

hey there
so i've decided to compile a list of my favourite things about 2013 along with the things i've learnt over the past twelve months and also take an opportunity to thank some people for making my year extra special.

FAVOURITE THINGS:
Favourite movie:
My favourite movie that I saw this year was Artifact, which was a film about 30 Seconds to Mars and the making of their album This Is War. It had a very interesting insight into what they endured as they fought the lawsuit that was given to them by Virgin/EMI, and how what they went through was a good foundation for them to record their best album. In addition to this, it also was good for people who work or want to work in the music industry to get an insight into how the music industry works. I think any music fan, regardless if you're a fan of 30 Seconds to Mars' music or not should watch this film-it will absolutely blow your mind.

Favourite concert:
As you are probably aware, I went to a shit tonne of concerts over the past twelve months. Many of these shows were a dream come true for me and they are some of the nights that I would gladly go back and re-live time and time again. The concert for me which was my favourite of the year was definitely blink-182 on the 27th of February. blink have been my favourite band since I was five years old, so for me this concert was almost like fulfilling my childhood. The two best parts of the night was watching my favourite songs of all time play live before my very eyes, and also having the opportunity to sneak up to the barrier of the Music Bowl to stand directly in front of my idol Mark Hoppus. The only band left for me to see on my Childhood Bands list is Green Day, who I am seeing in March. Who knows, that might be the best concert of my life!

Favourite album:
2013 was such an amazing year for music for all my favourite bands, if they weren't touring, they were recording and vice versa. The album which really had it for me hands down, was Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy (closely followed by Sempiternal by Bring Me The Horizon). While BMTH album was technically amazing and spectacular and all that amazing stuff, what really sold me with the Fall Out Boy album was that it was released without any word or promotional stuff and the end of the four year long hiatus made fans happy all round the world-and acted as a glimmer for hope after MCR broke up a month late. Anyway, the album was so spectacular and I don't think I've ever listened to a song so powerful than the title track, it sends shivers down my spine every single time.

Favourite meet and greet:
I also had the opportunity to meet a lot of bands and celebrities this year. But the best one by far was when I met Bring Me The Horizon. I won a Twitter competition to meet them and they were by far the sweetest band I met this year. The M&G was really intimate and I got to spend about fifteen minutes with the band. Oli Sykes welcomed me with open arms and I got to have a nice chat with him and the boys, as well as many hugs and well wishes from them. If I could go back and relive any M&G, it would definitely be that one.

THINGS I LEARNT:

• being in a relationship is not the be all and end all to being happy. it took me a really long time to realise that, and when i finally got my head around that concept I don't think i've been upset about it since. 
• also, don't let people sway you into doing things you're not comfortable to do. that's always really smart.
• boys can be douchebags, most of them are really sweet and very genuinely sweet. and some of them put on a dumb charade and are really dumb.
• be nice to everyone!!!!
• it might take you a while to get there, but you will make really amazing friends at university 

THANK YOUS:

there are a few people or groups of people i wanna thank for existing and coming into my lives in 2013:

• my friends-the screaming goats society-NYEAAAAHGHGGHGHGHGH you guys are the best, thank you so much for keeping me grounded and making me laugh and smile and driving me utterly insane, but i don't think i'll have it any other way.
• the soybean girls-gen, niki and katie, thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to ramble about unnecessary things to a lot of people. it's been so rad so far, and i promise i will upload more videos next year
• my band-ellie, matt, michael and james-thank you for being so rad and for helping me achieve my dream of becoming a rockstar, and for all the fun times we've had at practice so far.2014 is gonna have great things in store for us, especially once we have a band name.
•  my family-for always supporting my dreams and helping me out every step of the way. 
• the uni friends i've made this year, for showing me that i'm not as awkward and shy as i thought i was.
• nisa, for being the rad concert buddy that i'm gonna hit up more concerts with from here on in. you're such a pissa and you are the cats pyjamas.
• my two bestest buddies in the whole world-matt and ellie. i know i drive you crazy with my constant existential crises and fits of excitement and im a giant pain in the ass, but look at it this way-i'm your pain in the ass.

and that's 2013 in a nutshell

peace out girl scout

When Ellie met...Bring Me The Horizon and Tino Arteaga

October 9th 2013 was the night that proved that the rock gods are certainly with me. The morning of Crossfaith, Of Mice & Men and Bring Me The Horizon's show, a competition was announced on the Bring Me The Horizon front to win a meet and greet with the band. A bit sceptical towards my luck at winning meet and greet competitions, but ever so persistent I decided to submit an entry to win it. Using the hashtag #BringMeTheTicketsAU, I wrote:
"BMTH epitomise how not all superheroes need capes, and show that music is the most important superpower"
My entry was submitted and I had to wait until 4:45 to hear whether I won.
I left home to go to Festival Hall at 3:00pm on the warm Wednesday afternoon, and amidst getting slightly lost on my way to the venue (as I always do), I made it there just before 4:00. I momentarily forgot that I had actually entered the competition, because I was sidetracked by a white minibus driving by with Tino Arteaga from Of Mice & Men in one of the passenger seats. I nervously left my spot in line and awkwardly ran in the general direction of the bus, where it was pulling up near one of the entrances of Festival Hall. He was surrounded by fans and was letting us take photos of him and with him. As I got my photo taken with him, he said to me that I was good at taking selfies and for once I was like, actually I am...kinda. Anyway, here's the photo I took with him:

I walked back to my spot in line, slightly shaking with excitement that I just met a member of one of my favourite bands. After gloating about it a little bit to my friends of Facebook, I decided to take it to the Twittersphere. Much to my surprise, I got a notification that I had a DM. I NEVER GET DMS SO I FREAKED OUT A LITTLE BIT. I opened it, slightly nervous to get a message from Bring Me The Horizon saying that I had actually won the meet and greet competition. I almost peed my pants to be completely blunt with you, I had to restrain my screaming and my leg kicking and my crying. I thought I was living a dream-how could I be so lucky to win my second meet and greet competition in not even two months?
The show itself was absolutely spectacular (note: I'm going to make a master post after Warped Tour about all the concerts I've been to from July-December much like I did for the first half of the year-so don't get me wrong saying that meeting the band members was more important as the show, because the show went off!), and especially when Bring Me The Horizon were on, I couldn't believe that I was going to meet them in a very short period of time.
As the house lights turned back on at the end of their set, I got this raging sense of excitement-the moment had arrived! I walked to where I was told to meet the band's manager, who greeted me with open arms. He took me downstage and I was convincing myself to stay cool and to not cry and to not freak out and all that jazz, and then we turned the corner into their green room. I nervously poked my head around the corner to see Oli Sykes sprawled on a couch immediately spring up and walking in my general direction. I decided to this time remember to introduce myself to band members because I have forgotten on the occasions where I've met My Chemical Romance, All Time Low and Jaime Preciado from Pierce The Veil. But before I could even open my mouth, Oli had scooped me into a massive hug and congratulated me on winning the competition. I then introduced myself (it's really funny hearing British people say my name-they don't say EleanOR but ElenA and usually it really irks me but I really didn't care this time around) and Matt Nicholls and Lee Malia came and gave me hugs and hi-fives, and the three asked me questions about myself and the concert that they had just performed, only to be joined after by Matt Keane and Jordan Fish, who gave me more hi-fives and hugs. The manager took a photo of me and the band, which you can see here:

After that, I unfortunately had to part with these lovely British blokes. Oli gave me one more hug as he and the guys told me it was a pleasure to meet me, and hopefully they'd see me at shows in the future and maybe meet me again. I thanked them again for giving me the opportunity, and I left the green room on the biggest of highs. In two months I have met two of my favourite bands, I don't think life can get any better than this!

It was an absolute privilege to meet Bring Me The Horizon and Tino Arteaga. I extend my thanks to the bands who performed such an amazing show, and to Soundwave Tours for putting it all together. And of course to the team at BMTH, who showed me once againthat somewhere amongst all the crap that goes on, good things can happen to me-and every cloud has a silver lining. 

my worst fear

I say I'm scared of a lot of things-I'm scared of bugs, the dark, loud noises and even the ocean.

But ultimately, the thing I'm most scared of is making the people who mean the most to me upset, and for those reasons I end up losing them.

I'm so scared of hurting my family and my two best friends. They are seriously the people who matter the most to me and if I screw up, which I'm apparently very good at, I'm scared that it had the potential to destroy my relationships with them.

I cannot bear the thought living a life without these people because they have pretty much made me the person I am today. They keep me grounded, they make me smile and they cheer me up when I make mistakes or when I'm sad.

I've screwed up so many times and I've lost so many friends through my errors and I've only just started making amends with them after a long time. I just don't wanna lose my best friends, considering they so much for me.

I just wanna be the best person I could be and I know we all make mistakes, but there are just the people that I definitely don't want to hurt.

When Ellie met All Time Low

I figured out about three weeks ago about a meet and greet competition to meet All Time Low, who have spent the past few days touring around Australia. I put in my submission for the competition, not getting my hopes up because I'm notoriously unlucky when it comes to winning meet and greet competitions. I was due to figure out who won the competition by Wednesday 28th August, and after spending a good 24 hours constantly refreshing my e-mails, I accepted the fact that I hadn't won, but nonetheless I knew I was going to have a good time on the night of the concert.

 

However, good things do come in threes. As this was my third time I was seeing them, I had a somewhat of a hunch that something good was going to happen. On the 29th, I decided to check my e-mails one last time on the bus home from university and what did I come across?:

"You have won an All Time Low Meet and Greet"

I put my hand to my mouth to stifle the sobbing and screams that I was making. I couldn't believe my luck, so of course I did sob and scream and subsequently skipped the two kilometres back to my house.

Thursday night and Friday went by extremely slowly-so I spent any given moment listening to their music, watching Straight to DVD and also posing in the mirror deciding how I'll smile when I take photos with Jack, Alex, Rian and Zack (and I'm not ashamed of that okay).

Saturday morning I flung myself out of bed after a sleepless Friday night. The day was finally here! I was a roller coaster of emotions (thank you Katie for that saying)-happy, excited, nervous, anxious. I made my way into the city and met up with my friends and we made our way to Billboard. I got to the stage when I was so excited and so nervous I became fidgety. The first hour we waited went by really quickly, and the second one went on forever. Finally, we got the go-all meet and greet people gather. My friend Annie and I left our spot in the queue and assembled with the members of the Hustlers (it was awkward because we were the only non-Hustlers there) and waited to see what was happening.

We lined up and processed past Flyzik who was ticking off the names of everyone on the list and processed into the Billboard. After Flyzik debriefed us on what we can and can't do, Jack, Alex, Rian and Zack made their way into the venue to the sound of 60 or so fans.

The first member I met was Alex Gaskarth. He gave me a hug and subsequently signed my copy of Don't Panic and a poster I have of the band. He was ridiculously nice and he accepted my compliment when I thanked him for existing. 

I then made my way to Rian Dawson. He is probably the most down to earth dude ever- I had no idea how to react when I met him for some reason so as he said "how are you?", instead of responding with "I'm good thanks" or whatever, I asked him for a hug instead which he gave to me. All derps aside, after spending a good 30 seconds telling myself maybe telling him he has nice teeth, my friend Annie and I got an opportunity to talk to him for a bit after we met the rest of the band, where we talked to him about being a musician and whether Annie should learn the drums.

Thirdly, Annie and I met Zack Merrick. He was pretty funny, especially in reaction to our excitement of meeting him, calling us "turkeys" as we surrounded him. Just between you and me, he is completely flawless in reality and he gives good hugs.

Finally, we got to Jack Barakat. Meeting him was probably the highlight of my night. As he signed my poster ("right on the weiner") and my copy of the CD, I came to the conclusion that I would love him to write something for me. Hesitantly, I asked him if I could write some lyrics from the song "Paint You Wings and in response, he asked back "Are you sure? I have pretty messy handwriting." and I retorted "I pretty much write in hieroglyphics" and showed him in my messy notebook how bad my handwriting is. He examined my writing and said "your writing's really nice and really neat what are you talking about" and finished writing the lyrics (which he actually wrote wrong but I really don't mind). I gave him a hug and before we knew it, Flyzik told us that the meet and greet was over, and it was time to let in the rest of the ticketholders so we can start the show.

So there we go, I decided to write this out instead of messaging people a million times over with the same thing. But safe to say, it was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will hold that day so close to my heart. Thank you so much Soundwave Touring for hosting the competition and giving me the opportunity to meet one of my favourite bands, as well as All Time Low and their team for putting on such an amazing show

Thought Of The Week

This has been something that has been on my mind for actually, more than a week. So this is going to be a massive ramble about something extremely close to my heart.

As you have probably gathered, music has played and continues to play a massive part in my life. It has everything to do from the lyrics, the melodies, harmonies, rhythms, the work done by my favourite musicians (who I classify as my biggest inspirations in life) and all the pre and post production of my favourite records. All these things have helped give me the music that has shaped my life and it has made my life so much more bearable.

Growing up, I have copped a lot of flack for the types of music I listen to. And while I wish I could've said these comebacks years ago, even days ago, these are some of the best insults I have gotten in terms of my taste in music.

1. Your taste in music sucks.
   Let me just say. this is the most piss weak of an insult you can give anyone ever. I mean, full stop you shouldn't bully anyone about anything and I am completely anti-bullying, but I digress. No one's taste in music is inferior/superior to another. Music is something that is made for everyone to enjoy. Don't belittle something that can mean so much to someone. We all have unique tastes in music, none are identical. That's what makes music so beautiful. You can go through someone's music collection and see the most diverse collection. Even looking through mine-I have everything varying from Bring Me The Horizon to Beyonce and even Adam Lambert. But we all love this music- When words fail, music speaks.
    And I'm sure when we say we "hate" a certain band or artist-I am guilty of saying this about so many bands, particularly Paramore and Ronnie Radke. I'm sure we don't mean it, especially because "hate" is such a strong word. I have the upmost respect for every musician who puts time, effort and dedication in writing their music. When I say I "hate" a certain band, I honestly mean that their music just doesn't appeal to me.  I have tried to get into them, but I just honestly cannot. So
2.  Your favourite band can't even play their instruments. 
   Let me explain to you a thing-Music is not always necessarily about the instrument, nor necessarily the lyrics. They can complement each other, but are separate entities. They work together and separately to make you feel all these different emotions. That's the beauty of music, you can listen to something completely instrumental or a capella and they will have varying effects on how you feel. And seriously, this insult I got was in reference to one of the biggest rock bands in the world-a band that have smashed world records, have experimented with music in many different ways. And many bands just have varying ways in which they play their instruments-so they can play their instruments, but just in a different way in which you may think instruments should be played. 
3. "I have a diverse taste in music"
   And I don't? This was in reference to me disapproving to a festival line up, and saying it simply wasn't my thing and all of a sudden hell broke loose with someone really badly attempting to make fun of my taste in music. We can't all agree on everything, and while I love supporting the Australian music scene, you just have to pick the places and shows you really want to go to. And my taste in music is very diverse thank you very much, it's just diverse across selectively one or two genres, but I will gladly listen to other genres, just some more than others.
4. Why do like Kurt Cobain so much? He killed himself, he's not a good role modeI was honestly really confused about this. I don't know if it was an insult or just a blunt statement in disapproval of one of my favourite bands. For me, the people I look up to are those who push boundaries while doing minimal harm to others. Music has introduced me to the most amazing musicians who I have looked up to form a young age, one being Mr. Cobain over here. Why do I look up to certain musicians?
   From about the age of nine, I have looked up to Billie Joe Armstrong. Green Day were probably the first bands I got into which introduced me to pretty much all my favourite bands. For a nine year old girl who had been picked on for a good portion of their school years, Billie Joe kind of gave me some courage to stand up for myself and to not feel scared to express myself by whatever means necessary.
   Gerard Way gave me the ability to express myself and be proud of it
   Austin Carlile made me realise that whatever goes on, it does get better.
   Mark Hoppus gave me this talent to be able to dream big.
   Jared Leto let me see outside the box and to not feel afraid to push boundaries in achieving what I want.
   Freddie Mercury's ambition has helped me make some powerful decisions that have changed my life for the better.
   Courtney Love has helped me not give a stuff about anyone's negativity towards me.
   And of course, Kurt Cobain made me realise that it's okay being me. We all know his quote "I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not". It's been made so generic over the years but it kind of made me realise that being me is not so bad after all.
   They've all done some pretty goofy things in their lives, but I don't look at them any differently. Regardless of all their mistakes, they have changed my life and I am eternally grateful for that.

So yes, please think twice before you insult someone on their taste of music.
Have a nice weekend!

Music Nostalgia

(NOTE: I wrote this last week but my Internet has been a bit of a poop all week so here it is anyway, I'm gonna write something else in a bit as well :D)

Thursday 25th July 2013

So this afternoon I was going through my collection of albums to find some CDs to give to my best friend and I was looking at them, thinking about how each of them have somehow had some sort of influence on me and my attitude about life and all that cheesy stuff.  So I decide to compile this little list of things together.

The first album I ever bought for myself was A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars. I was thirteen years old and I had just watched the video for 'A Beautiful Lie' on television and that was probably the first time I was so inspired by music and I would say too, the moment I became so interested in music. I went to the music shop pretty much the next day and bought the album and listened to it in complete awe. Everything about the album was perfect to me, it had emotion and had such empowering lyrics, especially after entering my teenage years and feeling as if I had found some sort of solace and a place in society.

Don't Panic by All Time Low is the album I feel has a song for every occasion. I felt as if last year I was in this really weird rut for the most part. When the album came out, I listened to it on repeat for about a month (well not literally, you get me right?). But it just felt so appropriate for everything that was happening around me. It is probably my favourite album that I own.

Pretty much anything by blink-182 somehow captures everything about my time growing up. I think everyone can agree with me on that though. If you look beneath the pretty ridiculous lyrics, the meanings of some of the songs are amazing. 'Dammit' from Dude Ranch is one of those songs which have encapsulated the majority of my teenage angst. While it is about a break up, it kind of has the same messages about friendships as well. I grew up having some pretty interesting friendships and associated myself with some "interesting" (for a lack of a better word) people who I had some pretty interesting times with. But blink-182 just always seem to help me with everything. 

I got into Avenged Sevenfold towards the end of last year and I'm so bloody glad I got into them when I did. In November last year, my dog passed away-I was honestly convinced that Bonnie was my guardian angel who always cheered me up. So when I bought Nightmare, the album which is a tribute to The Rev, it helped me so much with dealing with the grief of not having Bonnie around and getting used to life without her. I do miss her terribly almost nine months down the track, but I don't think I would've gotten my act together as quickly if I didn't have that album.

The Flood by Of Mice & Men is the album I listen to when I'm getting pumped or prepared for something. It doesn't even matter what it is, I listen to it when I go for a run and it makes me feel like I'm on a mission. They're lyrics are really empowering and inspirational and there's something about the emotion in Austin Carlile's vocals that just make me what to get stuff done...or start a riot I'm not entirely sure.

When I'm sad, I listen to In Love and Death by The Used. That album means a lot to me, I used to listen to it whenever I was so inherently sad and it's really nice having a nice cry along to it. Bert's voice is just amazing and kind of raw as well and in some songs, particularly in All That I've Got. It's nice having that one album you can just let go to and this album has been the go-to album.

You're probably surprised that I haven't mentioned My Chemical Romance or Green Day in this post. It's because their albums Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and  American Idiot  are my anrgy albums. Being the genuinely angry person that I am, these albums make me feel like I'm not the victim in any of the drama that I encounter and that the problems I somehow embroiled myself in aren't necessarily always caused by me and my dumb actions. I feel really important when I listen to these albums and they make me feel like I could punch someone in the face if I truly wanted to.

So yes that's my music nostalgia for the day...or ever I'm not sure. It's really fascinating how music can have such a profound impact on everything in your life, isn't it?

FASHION *turn to the left* FASHION *turn to the right*

I feel like this is a nice little thing to ramble about while I'm on my laptop and doing nothing else.
I've recently had a really good streak with all my outfits and what I've been wearing when I go out (with the bar exception of when I went to St. Leonard's because I was in slacks all week). So yeah here we go:

Outfit One: 

Okay this was actually for a costume-my friend had an 80s birthday party and I dressed up as my ultimate favourite 80s singer Cyndi Lauper. She always had these bright outfits that just appeal to me so much, not to mention they were very kooky as well! This dress is is from Dangerfield and while it worked really well for the Cyndi Lauper inspired costume, its got this very retro 50s look to it. If anything, the 50s, 80s and 90s are my favourite eras in terms of fashion (I'll explain later), so this dress can ultimately work for anything. Not to mention that it's so easy for me to dress it up or dress it down. And those shoes *cries* they are my favourite red high heels (from Wittners) but the only thing is they are a little bit unwearable now since I tripped down some stairs and completely tore off the suede!

Outfit Two:

LR: Emily, Andrea, myself, Maddie, Niki and Katie

This dress, as you've probably seen in one of my earlier text posts, was my year eleven formal dress. Like I said, the fashion of the 1950s is the most amazing thing ever, so this dress is very Marilyn Monroe. I did a very Marylin-esque look for my formal, so two years later I decided to change it up a little bit. I attempted to go for a bit of a mix between Dita Von Teese and Marina Diamandis. In a way too, it was a bit of  a reflection on my new outlook of myself and my changing attitudes to people and my environment.

Outfit Three

What grunge softener do you use?

                                   

This for me was probably one of the most dramatic outfits I've ever worn. Along with the shoes and the tights (which were mock-thigh high socks) I never thought in my wildest dreams I would sport an outfit like I did last night. The dress itself I feel is very Courtney Love. Courtney Love is definitely a fashion icon for me and I've been trying to emulate her style from a very young age (trash talk Courtney all you want, I still love her okay). It was this perfect mix of punk and kinda sweet at the same time with the style of the dress and also the bow in my hair (which you obviously can't see).

I think the main reason why I'm now all experimental with what I wear is that I've finally found some medium and fashion icons who I can emulate for whatever reasons based on anything from personality or these people's body shapes or who and what they represent. Just expect my outfits to get crazier and more out there from here on in!

part deux to my little spiel the other night

So yes the other night I was very cranky about my friendships with some certain people. But after heaps of thinking and talking about my predicaments with other people, I've come to a conclusion which has cleared the air about it all-I need to stop pitying myself.

Why's that?

Because it's not my fault. It's these people's problems who decide to cut off all ties from me (and in all honesty, if you don't wanna be my friend you need to re-evaluate your life choices)

I try my hardest to be as genuine to everyone as I can possibly be-whether I'm in a ridiculously happy mood or I hit the lowest of lows. And I don't care who you are, if you're my best friend or if you're an acquaintance, they are usually the things that attract groups of people or a person to me and make them think "hey maybe I can be friends with this Ellie girl". I know some people can't tolerate it, or they can only tolerate my kookiness and angst in small doses. 

But in all honesty, I do not give a rat's arse about what you think of me or what you have to say about me for that matter. And don't be afraid to tell me something you don't like about me-I won't get offended, I will most likely retaliate with an insult or something to make you regret the moment you decided to even try and make my life difficult. 

I look at these situations in two lights; firstly there is the sadness when you realise that you've spent so much of your time putting in all this effort being friends with a complete douche canoe who evidently doesn't want to be your friend, sure it's sad. But I think after having some insights in the aftermath of these situations, that in all honesty I don't need to rely on these people for happiness. 

There are so many other things in life that I have that make me so happy-my family, my rabbit, my friends (who will always be there for me) and my music.

Don't let one twat waffle make your life hard, you just need to pick yourself up and tell yourself that all in all, you're the better person. They're not worth the tears and the drama, just wake up and smell the roses because there are so much more important things in life!

hmmm

I've been thinking lately about how much has changed since I finished high school in November last year. I have become so much more independent, responsible (for the most part) and mature, I got a job and all of a sudden I got a (bit of a) social life. I guess I can't complain. Right?
Wrong?
Something that still really irks me is how people who you consider to be your GOOD friends can treat you.
Growing up, I have always had some difficulty making friends. I still have this tendency to make friends with people if I can connect to them on an emotional level. It wasn't until I was about thirteen that I had finally found a solid group of friends who I could always rely on, and they still always have my back no matter what. But I always try to make new friends in different situations, like befriending friends of friends, trying to socialise at concerts and parties and whatnot. I have made some really good friends in these circumstances.
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think I'm a relatively good friend. If you want to be my friend and I want to be your friend, I will put in 110% to make sure that everything works well between us. I'm not judgemental in the slightest, I will laugh at your jokes, I will let you borrow my CDs, I'll buy you concert tickets-I will actually do anything for you to make sure that you're happy.

But it's funny how you can put your life on the line for the people who mean the most to you, and they don't reciprocate in the slightest. It's actually really heartbreaking actually.
I've gotten to the stage in my life so many times where I've lost so many friends due to the lack of reciprocation between us, but in a way, I don't think some people can handle my friendliness. I think my optimism when I finally make a new friend scares them away, as well as my really quirky characteristics and interests-the things that helped me make friends on my first day of high school.
So I guess in a way this is an apology.
I know I'm very loud and enthusiastic about everything and it makes me seem kinda...scary? so I'm sorry if that has been a factor as to why friendships that have fallen apart.
But seriously, if you have a problem in the slightest with me and you're not putting in your weight into our friendship. Can you please clearly tell me that you don't want to have anything to do with me? I won't get offended, but it will spare me the heartbreak, distress of not knowing what's happening between us, and also time that I spend putting in a one-sided friendship. You're better off calling me and friend breaking up with me than sending me one word text messages when I be myself and try and be your friend.

/endrant.

ELLIE'S ALBUM REVIEWS OF 2013 (so far)

We have passed the half way mark of 2013, and to be completely honest the past six months have been filled with amazing new albums from some amazing bands. There have been five albums which have been definite stand outs for me that have been released this year, and there are so many more to be released before the end of the year. So here it is, Ellie's album reviews of 2013.

5. Mindless Self Indulgence-How I Learned to Stop Giving a Shit and Love Mindless Self Indulgence

Apart from a re-release of their album Tight not too long ago, this is the first record that MSI have released since 2008. It isn't really drastically different from If or any of their other albums-which is really good, because sometimes when bands regurgitate the same stuff from their earlier albums it can seem boring and repetitive. It's got some really funny songs on it, my favourite being I Wanna Be Black. It's fantastic to have Mindless Self Indulgence back again!
Favourite song: I Wanna Be Black

Rating: 16.5/20

4. Sleeping With Sirens-Feel

Feel is such a different album from Sleeping With Sirens' earlier albums. It's a risky move for a band who classify as "post-hardcore" (wikipedia) to release such a light album. The good definitely outweighs any negativity in the way the album was put together. So much has happened for the band since the release of Let's Cheers to This which was released in 2011, and all these events are referred to in the lyrics (my favourite being Kellin mentioning his young daughter Copeland-my heart melted) My favourite thing about this album though were the different collaborations with Machine Gun Kelly-something that worked out unbelievably well, Shayley Bourget and Matty Mullin. All up, I really liked how it was so different and I honestly think the band has matured so much in between albums.

Favourite song: Congratulations

Rating: 17/20

3. Bring Me The Horizon-Sempiternal

I only started listening to BMTH at the start of the year, and they have gained a place in my heart as one of my favourite bands. This album is also really different to their previous albums, and I think that was my favourite thing about this record. Oli Sykes has put on an amazing display with his amazing vocals-something that in my opinion was not very apparent in their previous records. It is so much more melodic and beautiful in my opinion. I also love the emotion in some of the songs, it's just so raw and spectacular.And despite all the controversy surrounding the crediting of Jona Weinhofen, the album is still absolutely amazing and the band are truly taking over the world with this record. Not to mention, only 94 days until I see them for the first time, along with Of Mice & Men and Crossfaith! Yay!

Favourite song: Antivist

Rating: 18/20

2. 30 Seconds to Mars- Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams

Everyone knows how much this band mean to me, so having them release their fourth album that was so spectacular was just...*screams*. This album was not This Is War, but it definitely still has the epicness typical to the band. It's very experimental, and the themes of love, lust, faith and dreams (all the songs fall under some of the categories) make the album the amazing one that it is. The use of guitars and synthesizers, as well as the amazing drumming and raw vocals and lyrics, it's the recipe to the perfect album. Only 34 days until I see the band again! 

Favourite Song: Conquistador

Rating: 19/20

AND FINALLY....THE NUMBER ONE ALBUM OF 2013 SO FAR IS *cue drum roll*

Fall Out Boy-Save Rock and Roll

I think we all remember where we were when Fall Out Boy simultaneously announced that they had gotten back together, announced a promotional world tour, released a song and the date of their come back album-I fondly remember that it was 1am when my good friend casually text me "Fall Out Boy are back, just so you know" and I broke down crying in the arms of my other friends, then proceeded to sing the whole of Infinity on High loudly in tears. It was a beautiful moment. Anyway, this was probably one of the comebacks of the decade. For many people, Fall Out Boy's comeback acted as a solace after My Chemical Romance's break up-it gave hope to those who lost it (I know that was the case for me). But enough about their come back, this album is too very different and the songs are spectacular. They empower, they make you sing and they make you want to go on a roadtrip by the beach. As well as this, the collaborations were interesting-I still have no idea what Courtney Love is singing at the start of Rat A Tat-and amazing having Sir Elton John himself singing on one of the songs. It is so amazing having such a great band back on the scene and let's hope that the best things happen to them here on in.

Favourite song: is that a serious question?

Rating: magic/20

If you're so inclined, I will do a special on the past six months on my first radio show of semester two on Radio Monash! If you beg to differ on my opinions, let me know!