Music Spotlight: Get Lucky

Until recently, Daft Punk had gotten increasingly silent with releases.  With their last large studio album Human After All being released in 2005, some may have thought Daft Punk to have dissolved.  Sure enough though, Daft Punk is still kicking and stronger than ever. 

Work on Random Access Memories, their latest album started in 2008, and recently more has leaked on the details of this album as the release date draws near.  Daft Punk has really taken a unique approach with promoting their latest album, going all out on a interesting marketing campaign and really sending the message on their latest album.

With their most recent partnering with Columbia Records for their latest record release, Daft Punk is making moves to come back stronger than ever.  The recent marketing campaign for Random Access Memories reminds me oh-so-too much of how Apple markets their products.  Releasing few details until the release comes close and surrounding the album with a mystic feel, Daft Punk has made huge anticipation for Random Access Memories.  I feel like Daft Punk is absolutely trying to go all out for Random Access Memories and make a stand in music history.  As one article on the Verge put it, "They seem to realize, in a timelessly French way, that their ideas are simply too big to be constrained by the shackles of a limited budget."

Fast forward to now.  Daft Punk has released the prime track from their latest album Random Access Memories, Get Lucky as a prelude to their album release.  Combining many styles of music, from pop, to disco, to Daft Punk's classic electronic sound, Get Lucky is unparalleled by anything else and has a distinct sound.

The new direction Daft Punk has chosen to take with Get Lucky and the impending Random Access Memories seems to have a very retro futuristic vibe, mixed with a simplistic feel.  We will only see in the coming months how this will fare for Daft Punk; nevertheless, I am interested by Daft Punk's latest foray and will be excited to hear Random Access Memories.

If you are looking for a track that has a unique and unmatched sound with an interesting vibe, Get Lucky is one track to check out.

-Carmen

Revisiting Squarespace 6

Lately, I've decided to revisit Squarespace 6.  Some of you who read a blog post I made a few months ago talking about my first impressions of Squarespace 6 would know I initially did not find the latest edition of Squarespace as suitable for me.  However, I did revisit Squarespace 6, and have changed my mind on several aspects of it.

Firstly, several months ago I commented on how Squarespace 6 did not have nearly as many customization options as Squarespace 5, and while I still find this true in many ways, since revisiting I have found for the most part Squarespace 6 is still very customizable.  After tinkering around in the style editor since my first go-round with Squarespace 6, I find that there is almost as much freedom to change elements of the style as there was in Squarespace 5.

In addition to being able to customize themes, Squarespace 6 also completely redesigned the layout system for pages and blog posts, dubbing it LayoutEngine, which gives much more freedom for positioning text, images, and other elements side by side with each other easily and much more flexibly.  Making beautiful websites in Squarespace 6 really is just a click.  You can drag and drop text elements, images, and HTML all side by side, easily.  This is almost definitely my favorite part of Squarespace 6 currently.

Lastly, simply making content on Squarespace 6 feels much more right.  With an complete redesign of the blogging platform behind Squarespace, the blogging platform on the new Squarespace is much more fluid and modern.  Instead of presenting blog posts as drafts in front of the homepage after logging in, the new Squarespace represents them in list form, letting you click a blog post to edit.  Once you select a blog post to edit, the initial look and feel of the blog editor does remind me of Squarespace 5 somewhat; however, if you click the full screen icon you see a all new way to make and edit blog posts.  

The full screen editor for blog posts is much nicer for typing and editing content, allowing you to drag in images, position content, and type with ease and without distraction.  I am absolutely in love with the full screen editor; it really just feels right.

After experimenting with Squarespace 6 myself, taking to learning the ins and outs, I have fallen in love with the new Squarespace.  The new Squarespace, from top to bottom, simply blew me away.  With the all new LayoutEngine, along with the many other improvements in both the frontend and backend, Squarespace 6 makes for a superb platform for website creation.

I have to warn though that if you are switching from Squarespace 5, getting used to the new interface of Squarespace 6 will not be easy.  The new Squarespace is not at all like its precursor, being totally changed from inside out  Despite having to get used to a radically different interface from its predecessor, the new Squarespace blows it away in enough way that the backend interface alone makes upgrading well worth it.

In conclusion, I would recommend Squarespace 6 for anyone already on Squarespace 5 looking to upgrade or for anyone looking to make an simple, elegant website.

Thanks for reading, if you have any suggestions or anything to add about Squarespace 6, I would help to hear any feedback in the comments.

-Carmen

My Favorite Bands

Music can be amazing.  Music can motivate us, make us happy, can trigger past memories and future dreams.  Personally, I love music and listen to lots of it.  Over the years, I have listened to all kinds of genras of music, from a large range of artists and bands.  Throughout the progression of time, and thanks to many friends, I have been thankful to find a good, balanced selection of music, and I would like to share some of my favorite bands with all of you.

• The Lumineers

To kick off this list, I want to start off with a band that is definitely unique, and has a classic but can't put down style.  This would be The Lumineers.  The Lumineers somewhat reminds me of the kind of music that you play around the campfire while everyone dances to.  I just simply love this about their music.  All of their music definitely has some good vibes to it though, and entrances me.

I have to say my favorite track though is Flowers in Your Hair.  I feel this track tells a simple tale, with a good beat to it.  Be sure to check out their premere album, The Lumineers, and get a feel for them.

• Blink-182

Next up is blink-182, a sweet and classic rock band.  Blink-182, formed in 1993, is one band you cannot turn down.  Their music is very catchy, with lots of drums, loud vocals, and heavy guitar.  As well, their style is one that cannot be replicated and if you know blink-182 well you can pretty much tell when a song is one of theirs.  Many of their tracks, like The Rock Show and Stay Together For The Kids tell life stories.

Since blink-182 has been around for quite a while, they have many albums.  My favorite albums from blink-182 have to be Neighborhoods and the self-named blink-182; however, all of their albums are pretty good.

Check out blink-182 for a unique, and timeless rock band.

• GROUPLOVE

In the spirit of saving the best for the last, I put my most favorite band GROUPLOVE last.  GROUPLOVE, formed in 2009-10 by Hannah Hooper, Christan Zucconi, Sean Gadd, Ryan Rabin, and Drew Walker is an indie rock band with a very unique style.  I found out about them in mid-2012, and after seeing them in concert in October 2012, I have to say GROUPLOVE is my utmost favorite band.  With a style that reminds you of good days, GROUPLOVE is definitely a band that I cannot put down.  As well as having excellent music, I feel that GROUPLOVE is a very genuine group and they really do enjoy what they do and the people they are around (you can just see it from some of the videos on their YouTube - Hannah and Sean in the AMMMMM :D).

My favorite tracks from GROUPLOVE are Gold Coast, Cruel and Beautiful World, Tongue Tied, and Spun; however, pretty much all of their music is excellent in my opinion.  Check out GROUPLOVE for some excellent indie rock from an amazing group.

These are just a few of the bands that I listen to; however, these are most certainly some of my favorites.  If you have any recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them - feel free to leave them in the comments below and I'll be sure to give them a listen.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Values in Life

I take lots of time to ponder life and values.  I feel that finding values to follow in life is a good way to keep grounded, and stay helpful.  If you have good values, they can be a cause for good.  I wanted to talk about some of my values and why I have them in this post.

• Try to help others as much as you can

This is an important value for me.  Selfish motives in the world stifle advancement, and the human condition.  I try to always keep others in mind at least, and not become completely self-consumed.  Now, this isn't to say you should never make decisions about yourself, however I believe that the best place is a balance between being too helpful and not helpful enough.  If you are too helpful, you take away from yourself, makes it hard to sustain yourself and your own life.  Not being helpful enough though takes away from the human condition and may stifle others reaching to you for help who could really need this.

• Don't let others limit you

Life is limited.  Simply put.  You only have a limited amount of time on this Earth.  Whether there is an after life or not, we must appreciate our time on Earth.  Far too often, we sometimes let others limit us.  I have felt like this in the past myself, and seen this happen with many others.  My best advice, and one of my values is to not let others limit you.  I started thinking about this much after seeing an article on The Guardian several months ago about some of the top regrets of the dying from a nurse who worked with people in their last months of life.  The most striking regret to me was "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."  This almost hit a chord in me.  I felt (and still feel like) that I don't want to be sitting at my death bed one day in the far future wishing I had done more with my life.  This is why I feel strongly that you should not let others limit you, and to try to be your own self through life.  There are often many limits in this world, some that we can control and some that we can't, however I feel this is one limit that can (at least to a certain point) be controlled.

And most important...

• BE YOURSELF :D

These are a selection of a few values that I find important in my own life.  I hope that by sharing these that I may have inspired a few.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen