In between daily life, works, journey, and other routines, I find inspiration hidden everywhere. All those beautiful colors are meant to paint the world in the most unsuspected ways.
1. The Kooks – She Moves In Her Own Way
2. Arctic Monkeys – She’s Thunderstorms
3. AC/DC – Girls Got Rhythm
4. Weezer – The Girl Got Hot
5. The Beatles – Here Comes The Sun
6. KISS – Beth
7. Stevie Wonder – Isn’t She Lovely
8. Oasis – She Is Love
Here Comes The Sun is one of my favorite song of all time. Its beautiful vibe seems uplifting. My most favorite performance of this song is when George Harrison sings the song with Paul Simon in SNL back in 1976. I almost cried watching the videos a few years ago. I still do.
Time is always a friend. No matter how fast it moves, no matter how slow it goes. It’s sad that 2016 is almost passed us over, but it will be exciting to welcome anything that comes after this. So as an ode to the end of September, here’s a list of random things to read or watch that I’m recently into.
Fall in love with Bento Graphics’ portfolio. My favorite works are this and this. I always love how Japanese companies tackle design problem. The company like Nendo and Muji are amongst few companies that I adore. They always blend out of the box design thinking and simplicity really well.
There are more reasons to love Stephen Colbert each day. One of them, he loves science and technology and can’t get enough of Neil deGrasse Tyson as much as I do :))
“Something can be rare and uninteresting, because of how common its rarity is.”
Recently, there’s also another music video from Korean boy group called WINNER that inspired me. For me personally, it’s hard to like a boy band especially Korean boy band. Because the beauty standard is different there :)) (it’s also hard to like someone with heavy eyeliner and earring, dancing to a so-so music). But since they produce their own music (which is rare in Korean music industry) and their music genre is ranging from blues to rock pop and hip hop to ballad, I found them really interesting to listen to. Their latest mini album called EXIT: E consists of variety music that quite distinct them from the rest of Korean boy band.
The title track called Baby Baby is a jazzy blues that open with a crisp falsetto. The song asks for help and a sense of longing, requesting a chance not to be alone before finding solace in an instant euphoria. The other title track called Sentimental is a relaxed pop-rock which told the sudden sentimental feeling and loneliness. It sounds light and drunk at some point.
But there is nothing more interesting than how the music video for Sentimental is made. I cannot stop to be amazed on how smart it is to make the camera shot from the top. I love how all the rooms are made with so many details and props. And once again, all hail for THE GLORIOUS COLORS.
Here are the color palettes I pulled out from the music video.
A few years back, my friend Sella wrote a blog post on how she won’t be ashamed anymore to admit that she loves K-Pop music. I thought that’s not even shameful from the start. Everyone deserves what she/he loves and it’s not anybody’s business to tell you what to love and what is not. I always believe that good music is good music, no matter what genre it is, no matter in what language it speaks.
A few weeks ago, I also find this article that points out about the design of some of K-Pop Music Video and how carefully it’s crafted. In regards to K-Pop music and my current addiction of Pastel Colors, here’s what inspired me lately.
Red Velvet is the latest girl group from SM Entertainment, one of the largest Korea Entertainment Company which said to be the pioneer of Korean Wave. Having successfully debuted groups like Super Junior and Girl’s Generation, Red Velvet is their newest experiment in Korea music industry. The name Red Velvet comes from the group’s concept image which has nothing to do with Red Velvet Cake :)) According to Wikipedia, ‘Red’ signifies their vivid and bold image, whereas ‘Velvet’ reflects their classy and toned-down side. I don’t understand why this concept should exist but the group has achieved success by sweeping music chart here and there. That can only mean one thing, it works. People do accept this kind of thing, something has been right for them.
The fivesome has been around Korea music industry since 2014 and one of the thing that I love is their heavy use of colors to identify each member personality. In their debut song called Happiness, each member dyed their hair tip using the color that represents them. Though I really like the song Ice Cream Cake and has been writing it before, their latest song called Russian Roulette really catches my eyes lately. It’s upbeat tunes and catchy chorus are hard to ignore, but I badly fall in love with their music video. I can help playing Replay button all over again.
The wide shot, the composition, the complex props, the simple graphics, and THE GLORIOUS COLORS.
Even if you’re not a fan of K-Pop, this music video is too good to be missed.
I pulled out my favorite colors from the music video and made these color schemes.
Lately, I can’t seem to get out of this trip from my head. It’s been a while since I started making a list of places or trip that I wanted to go, but the train trip across Japan is always on top of everything else (well right next to the Trans-Siberian Railway actually).
The trip will cover South, Central, and North part of Japan. It will take about 22 – 23 days including flight trip from and to Jakarta. I choose Osaka as the first stop since the plane ticket is cheaper and it’s closer to Nagasaki (the most southern city in my plan). I made a lot of planning about this trip since 2 years ago I guess. I made Excel file of how much each ticket will cost and the list of all the trains, I even made a PowerPoint file of what places I want to visit. It’s an ambitious trip I would say and I’ve been wanting it for a long time. At first, I included places and cities that I want to revisit, but considering the cost will be blown up too much, I crossed up some places and added new cities to make the trip more possible. I also added some free & easy time at big cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka between the trips to rest for a bit.
The usage of JR Pass is a must since it will reduce the cost of all Shinkansen train (including the use of Hayabusa Shinkansen which is still in the Top Ten Fastest Trains in The World). I guess the most exciting leg for me would be the Yamaguchi to Tsuwano trip using the SL Yamaguchi Steam Train. The train is seasonal train which only operated between Summer and Fall and fully covered by JR Pass. Too bad that all Overnight Train is already stopped its operation :( But the long trip to Hakodate and Sapporo will be all worth it considering that I have never been to North part of Japan.
When I think about this trip, it always makes me excited to the bone. I wasn’t sure there will be other people who will enjoy this trip as much as I do, so I guess traveling solo will be the best option if I really want to make this one comes true someday. Though it will cost a lot, both financially and physically, I just want to keep this trip close to my heart. Because I’ve been dreaming about it a lot lately :)
