Who Sung It Better?

When I'm stressed, I tend to listen to a song that takes me back to some memorable happy place. (And I like to listen to it over and over again, sorry roomies and neighbors.) Recently, it's been Neko Case's Hold on, Hold on. That song brings me back to my summer in London: while visiting a friend out in Northampton, that long train ride, the gray clouds and how the sun would shine on these bucolic scenes of sheep grazing pastures covered in wildflowers. How, when I saw her, we screamed so loudly some people stopped and stared. And then the redbull and malibu, hash cigarettes and a cute dog sniffing around our ankles. Sunning ourselves out on her backyard while the song blasted over speakers.
So I've been listening to it (over and over again, like I said) and saw a Marianne Faithfull version of the song, and then I thought about those obnoxious US Weekly spreads, of "who wore it better" and thought we should have a little vote to see who sung this one better.





I don't know... each variation has it's own melancholic perspective... what do you think?

-Kastoory

Stress Relief (better than Xanax)

So lately, as the temperatures finally rise, so do our stress levels. I see people screaming at each other in the street, and hear exasperated sighs over the blaring of my headphones. The past week everyone has been downright pugnacious, it seems. Fights start out over an accidental gaze, a dismissive gesture, some badly said words. More than ever I want to lay in the ocean and float away somewhere kinder, you know, a place where everyone radiates peace and calm.
But until then I have other sneaky little devices, including smells and sights and sounds to keep my stress from choking the life out of me. For me, the best medicine is laughing, laughing so hard that I almost "lizz" a little. (To Lizz is to Laugh and Whiz your pants at the same time, thanks 30 Rock.)

1) A friend just started a blog about her serious bout of Anglophilia, and this Orgasm a Day piece made sense of her anglophilia to me.

2) I watched this movie after the longest, stress-iest day ever, and it made me so, so, so happy. Serious camp-fest, and watching it with hilarious boys I rarely get to hang out with made it even better. Quote of the night was when my-brother-from-another-mother-but-not-literally said, "I think I can speak Norwegian, it's sort of like mumbling in English."


What's keeping you stress-free and happy?

-Kastoory