genre jumps, devolution, and cover art.

I'm unhappy with Fueled by Ramen [and Fall Out Boy]. All their bands are changing their sounds. And yeah, sure, I'm cool with them maturing musically and everything, but most of the time it sounds like they're devolving. Panic[!] at the Disco, The Academy Is... - it's not that I don't love the bands [because I do]. It's just that I expect more from them. Quality stuff, not the somewhat cliche, not-entirely-pop-but-reminscient-of-it, slightly boring stuff they've put out recently.

Panic[!]'s newest CD, which they worked on for years [literally], was a disappointment. With the exclamation point went the energy of the music. Sure, I liked a few of the songs on Pretty. Odd. - We're So Starving, Pas de Cheval, sometimes Northern Downpour. It's certainly not as if the rest of the songs are bad, but they just don't catch my attention like their old music did. Honestly, if the CD hadn't been by Panic[!], I would never have bought it. I only listened to it when I was getting ready to see them, because I wanted to be able to still have fun if they only played songs off that. [Luckily, they played the old songs also and sounded better than ever.] I love the band, but I expected more from them.

The Academy Is...'s new CD isn't terrible. I still haven't listened to the whole thing, but I do like a fair amount of the songs I have heard. Paper Chase and His Girl Friday are my favorites off the album at the moment. But I would never specifically choose those songs to listen to. I'll listen to them if they come up on my playlist, but I'm not going to seek them out. Even in Santi, their previous album, it was a little hard for me to find the sound that I loved about them. I grew to love Santi though, especially after seeing them perform it live twice. It's a CD I probably would have bought even if I had no idea who the band was. Fast Times at Barrington High is a CD I wouldn't have looked twice at. The music isn't bad, but it doesn't catch my attention. I hear it, but I'm definitely not captured by it the way I was with their first album - which I discovered years late. The lyrics on some tracks are brilliant, but most are slightly cliche. [Not that I can even write cliche lyrics.] Again, I love the band. I just wanted more. However, considering how often they toured between Santi and this album, it's pretty impressive.

Fall Out Boy - who isn't on Fueled by Ramen, but whatever - has a new album coming out on Election Day. I've already made sure that the CD store that I go to is ordering it. I'm buying no matter what. I adore the cover art as well as the title. I liked the new songs on the free mixtape they put out. But "I Don't Care" just doesn't really meet my standards. As selfish as it sounds, I wish Patrick had never learned to sing; in my opinion, his voice is absolutely brilliant on Take This To Your Grave [which is my favorite CD anyway] and decreases from there. That's not to say that I don't love his voice, because I do. I just don't love it as much. The lyrics to I Don't Care aren't great, but I can deal with that. I wasn't worried, because I felt the same way with Infinity On High and still ended up really liking that CD. Besides, I'd already heard other new songs that I liked [despite the constant "GET FAMILIAR" crap]. It can't be all bad. They put out a new song on iTunes the other day, and I was totally ready to text my dad to ask if I could borrow a dollar to buy the song. I was even a little excited, but I ended up not even wanting to buy it. I was just like "Eh, it'll be on the CD... Why waste money?" I never like the singles though, so I still have faith in them. :)

I'm not giving up on these bands.

Y'know, maybe it's me.
Maybe I'm outgrowing them.

Wait, "learning?" What's that?

Listening to: Drunk Girl by Something Corporate
What I Should Be Doing: Finishing up history, brushing my teeth, and going to bed
I'm Also: Talking to Allie, reading journals on songsmeanings.net, and playing Spider Solitaire [my new addiction]

I picked up Panic! at the Disco's Pretty. Odd. and Something Corporate's Leaving Through The Window today. I also saw Horton Hears a Who again [love that movie!] and had ice cream with my friends. =) All in all, it was a pretty good day.

I'm comfortable talking to the guy that owns/runs the CD store, and I'm comfortable talking to the girl that is sometimes there instead of him, but I'm not comfortable talking to either of them when they're in the same room. I don't know why, so don't ask.

It was like 90 effing degrees. I mean, I know that's normal for where I live, but I was so used to the 40-50s... I almost forgot how gross sweating is.

Wuh-oah... I spent like $72 today. $20 for movie tickets, $20 for ice cream, $32 for my CDs... Dang.

I know how to budget/save my money, but there's always stuff I want. [T-shirts, CDs, concert tickets...]

I don't like Pretty. Odd. even half as much as I liked A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, but whatever. It's okay, just not great. Doesn't really catch my attention.

I'm way too shy sometimes. Like, I can't even talk to the CD store guy when there are people I don't know in there. And I hate ordering food at restaurants/fast food places/ice cream shops. And I absolutely DESPISE talking on the phone. And if I don't have at least one friend in a class, I won't say ANYTHING. Unless it's like guitar. But I've known my teacher for like 5 years. Then again, I didn't talk to him for like the first two. xD

Your Pajamas Make Me Sleepy

Listening to: Nothing
What I Should Be Doing: Sleeping =)

Okay, so today was awesome. xD

I woke up around 12:45 and Manola and I hung out for a little bit before going to IHOP for "breakfast." Afterward we drove around for a while, looking at venues to see if tour buses were there yet, and then we went to a huge parking lot and I got to drive for a while. xD We came home around 3, I showered ['cause I'd gone to "breakfast" in my pajamas] and we decided that we were going to see Fred Claus at 4:40. We went and saw it [it was a pretty good movie] and then decided to drive around to see if This Providence and the bands they were touring with were at the venue they were playing yet.

We drove by a bridge THREE times just so I could see if the two guys leaning against it were in the band or not [I'm still not sure if they were or not. =)] because I'm indecisive and didn't want to ask them. Then we decided we might as well just go watch them play and talk to them afterward, so Manola went home really fast and put jeans on ['cause she was still in like pajamas. xD]. She also grabbed a Sharpie, because we wanted them to sign stuff. xP

We go, pay the $12 each to get in, get the 'underage' wrist bands, buy a This Providence T-shirt, and go stand with a bunch of other people to watch the first band play. It's already almost 8 and the show started at 7, so I don't know why the band hadn't already started, but either way, we watched The Reign of Kindo, who were pretty good. [We kind of played tic tac toe on the water bottle I bought instead of paying much attention though.] I hadn't heard any of their songs before, but we ended up buying their EP. Then The Higher came on, and they were amazing, even though I only knew Insurance?. I was impressed and we ended up buying their CD, too. =D

When This Providence came on, we actually got to move closer to the stage, but they took FOREVER to set up. Still, they were AMAZING. I forgot a lot of the words, but they were still so awesome live. =) I was really really sweaty and my feet hurt and I kind of had a headache, but I was REALLY happy. Plus, I had My Beautiful Rescue stuck in my head. xD

That's when we went and bought the CD and EP, and got Seth from The Higher to sign the CD booklet thingy [y'know, the thing with the lyrics?]. We also got a free poster from The Reign of Kindo. =) Then, I went and got all of the members of This Providence to sign my shoes AND my shirt. xD That just about made my life. I mean, my shoes now have seven amazing signatures from seven amazing people AND I have an amazing band T-shirt with five amazing signatures. xD Yeah, I'm a loser.

Anyway, they were all really nice about it, even though I had NO idea what any of their names were [and felt AWFUL about it]. I walked around with my shoes in my hands and now my socks are disgustingly dirty. I shouldn't have worn white ones. xD Since my shoes are kinda filled up with writing and drawings and crud, it was kinda hard for them to find places to write. David said my shoes were "filled with goodness." Dan just said something about space being limited. xD Sean signed my shoelace. That and the "filled with goodness" comment seriously made me happy. xD Gavin seemed kind of annoyed, or maybe just indifferent, and Andy was nice about it, but didn't really say anything more than agreeing to sign both things. Still. The whole thing just made my life. Especially since I wasn't even going to go to the concert in the first place.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera [since I wasn't sure if we were actually gonna go or not] so I don't have any pictures... :( But it's okay, 'cause I still had an awesome time. Even though I forgot the words and leaned against a patch of gum that was stuck to the wall. xD

I really like that they walked around after the show so that their fans got to meet/talk with them. [I mean, I guess they have to do that to make a good impression or whatever, but still.] After The Academy Is... didn't come out, I was kinda worried that I wouldn't get to meet ANYBODY. But everybody from This Providence was hanging out with people and taking pictures and signing things. I like that a lot more. =)

Daphne Loves Derby started playing during all of this, but neither of us really knew who they were and I was tired and Manola was sick, so we just left. We went to Whataburger for dinner and watched parts of movies until I was sure that I was gonna fall asleep on the couch upstairs, so I decided to go to bed. And that's when I came down here, put pajamas on, and decided to update my blog instead of going to sleep. xD

THISPROVIDENCEISAMAZING.THEEND.

Homework is Overrated

Listening to: Middle of the Night by Sherwood
What I Should Be Doing: English homework

I always put English homework off. :D ALWAYS.

It's because I hate the class. xD I suck at it... Therefore, I dislike it. :D

I'm still obsessed with The Academy Is..., but not as much as I was. =)

Bill's signature's fading. :(

I love my new CDs. Though I haven't listened to Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun by Farewell yet. =) I love A Different Light by Sherwood. xD

I'm gonna go try to get something done. =P

I Got to School Today When I Would Normally Still Be Asleep

Listening to: The Phrase That Pays by The Academy Is...
What I Should Be Doing: Working on my English essay

I've been at school since 7:10 AM. It kinda sucks. I need to work on English, but I'm lazy and don't wanna do anything.

I want Isn't This Supposed to Be Fun by Farewell and A Different Light by Sherwood. And I think I'm gonna try to get the new Armor for Sleep CD when it comes out. I should probably find out what it's called. And if I have enough money. xD

... I only have $12. I need like $45. RAWR. Well, M.E. owes me at least $12.

I need a job.

I'm so sick of school. Tomorrow's shortened classes, but I'm so sick of it. I'm so glad that it's Thursday. *nod*

I want to see Powerspace SO badly. As soon as my internet comes back, I'm making a MySpace just to ask the bar/venue whether the show's all ages or not. And then I'm gonna find some small screamo-ish band and ask them to cover Bingo for me. Because that would make me happy.

I'm tired. :)

I have a Latin test in like an hour and a half, and I haven't studied, but I don't wanna right now. I have better things to do. xD Actually, that's a lie. I should work on English but I'm updating this instead. And I can't get to like anything on this computer. Not YouTube, not Facebook, not Yahoo! Mail, not even FOB's website. I don't get it.

My hands are ALWAYS really cold. Same with my feet.

I had to watch the movie North by Northwest for Digital Video. It was okay, but I got bored, and some scenes seemed way too long and the ending sucked. I wanted them to die. And Leonard's totally my hero. xD Okay. I'm done.

My English teacher dislikes me. I'm not exactly sure why. At least, it seems like she dislikes me. *shrugs*

I'm gonna go work on my essay... *face*

MIKE, GET A HAIRCUT!

Listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c10hyBKqpo4
What I Should Be Doing: SLEEPING.

Uh. I have problems. I've been watching TAI videos for like forever. Seriously, it's been like three hours. The Butcher is my hero. Anyway, I get to see them live in like two weeks. Should be amazingly awesome. I hope. Maybe. I love them and I've already seen 'em live twice when they opened for other bands, but now that they're headlining, I'm hoping it'll be even better.

Anyway. We had a ton of homework but like none of it is due tomorrow. So I left off almost all of it, which was STUPID. But oh well. I have an AP World History test tomorrow. I said there was gonna be one like last week, but I lied. xD [The teacher moved the test.]

I dunno. There's all kind of stupid stuff happening with my friends and my parents and my sisters right now, so today kinda stunk. But yesterday was awesome. xD I dressed up like an "emo" and M.E. and I scootered down to the music store. We scared people on the street and ordered some CDs and scared the guy [I think] and then we went to Smoothie King and they had better stickers than the music store... And then we went to McDonald's 'cause I didn't want a smoothie [I tasted M.E.'s and it was GROSS.] and I got a McFlurry and then we went home. =)

I have to go pick up both our CDs next Thursday and order one for my friend, who's going to the concert with me next week. We're gonna walk down to the music store before the concert.

By the way. Mike Carden now reminds me of a kid in my Latin class and egg ho's. Don't ask. xD

I'm in love with Santi at the moment.

I Don't Roll In Sketchy Areas

Listening to: Of All We've Known by Just Surrender

I went down to the CD store with my friend and my brother to pick up/buy If These Streets Could Talk, and they had the Powerspace CD too, so I got 'em both. =) The This Providence CD will be in Thurdsay, so if I can get enough money together, I'll go back down and buy that one. xD

I started school today, too. Most of my classes kind of stink. Not that school's that fun. But usually I have better classes/like my classes more. I hate having my free period third... =( Oh well. Today just felt like a million years. It took forever. But I'm like the only one that felt like that. Funny.

Anyways. I have a TON of homework to do... Algebra 2 problems, reading for World History, reading for Chemistry, reading for Survey of Brit. Lit.... It'll be interesting. Heh. =)

Oh, and I'm starting horseback riding again this Thursday... So that'll be good. Though I'm really lazy. xD And it's like 90 degrees out every day. And it's so ENORMOUSLY humid. Heh.

Borders Hates Me

Listening to: Hey Brittany by Forever the Sickest Kids

Okay, so we went to eat dinner at a restaurant close to Borders. And I beg my parents to let me go over after I finish my food so they let me and my step-brother go basically across the street. Anyways. I go into Borders and I see two people I really dislike in there. And my brother sees the same people and is like "MY FRIENDS!" so I make a puke-face and he goes over to talk to them. And ditches me to look for my CDs.

So, I'm looking under P for Powerspace. I found two Powerman 5000 CDs, but that's it. No Powerspace. I'm like "Eh, I'll just go look for This Providence then." So first, I look under P, thinking maybe they'd have it under there. Nothing. So I figure, eh, it'll probably be under T, then. So I walk over to the other aisle, thinking half about how much I dislike the kids and half about how I forgot what the third CD was. After getting confused by the 'The ...' bands, I finally find T. Nothing. I finally remember the third CD and go to J.

This time they actually have a CD by the band. There's one CD by Just Surrender. But it's not the CD I want. It's the new CD. Hey, I know they don't always have the older CDs, but man, they have the old The Academy Is... CD! I probably just should have but We're In Like Sin, but I didn't wanna buy a CD I'd never heard songs off of. Heh. :P

So I'm home. With 0 CDs. But I'm making my brother take me to the CD store by McDonald's tomorrow to see if they have any of the CDs there.

Yeah. But I bought the concert tickets to go see The Academy Is... in October, so I'm pretty happy. =)