Sweet things from quiet eras, quiet tunes to sweeten ears

I spent my entire day today watching Hollywood Treasures and catching up on this week's episodes of Lost Girl and Eureka that I missed. Well, that and filling my entire house up with smoke whilst experimenting with grilling inside a toaster oven. I do not suggest it.
Yesterday, at The Curiosity Shoppe--which is our newest local antique store--for four dollars I purchased four beautiful pins, which I was very sad that I forgot to include in a yesterday's post (although, I think it can be said that with the content matter, it would have been hard to fit in).

 So here they are now, an entire day late. Hmph. A short bit on each of them, then.

 Pretty pretty, pearly goodness. I have plans to sew this one into the clasp of a purse/backpack that I am making. It will make perfect sense when you see it.

 This one was so broken, and broken in so beautiful a way that I just had to have it. The chipped bronze paint in the middle of the fragments of flowers, and the way that the pin travels vertically over the tarnished backing, as well as the rose at the base (which is a bit hazy in this picture). Its brokenness is what made it the perfect piece for me to own.

 I have big plans for this one. Big, steampunk-related, plans.

This is a San Francisco pin from the 1980s. I love the 80s, and I plan to ultimately end up living in San Francisco someday.
Woo! Done with that now, and onto more fun things!
Upon getting my mail, I was ecstatic to find this bi-month's issue of Spin waiting for me. Spin is the magazine that got me into listening to indie music, fueling my love with synth-goth maven Zola Jesus, feeding me interviews with Cage the Elephant and (mainstream artist) My Chemical Romance to solidify my devotion to the magazine. Despite the fact that it was this publication that got me listening to both St Vincent and Smoke Fairies (opposite sides of the music spectrum), my devotion had faltered a bit, as I failed to read the past two issues (though I do have them in my room, so I could if I wanted, I guess). My reason? One had ICP on the cover, and the other had Das Racist, two bands whose music I thoroughly despise.
I was so happy to find that the cover of the newest issue of Spin isn't some crappy artist that I hate, on the contrary, it was shared by two people who apparently make up the newest indie powercouple (if there ever was one).

I was so happy that Spin had reverted back to articles featuring both indie rock bands I've loved for a long time, and articles about ones that I'd never heard of. I skirted around the hiphop and rap reviews, briefly scanning those about dubstep, sinking deep into those on indie rock, while writing down names of bands and artists that caught my eye.

My list includes: Wavves, Best Coast, Purity Ring, The Head and the Heart, Swedish House Mafia, White Rabbits, Sun Araw, and Charles Manson. And when I say Charles Manson, I mean THE Charles Manson. No, I had no idea that he released an album either. Apparently when he wasn't brainwashing runaways and trying to start a race war, he liked to strum his guitar and sing. I must say, his music actually isn't that bad.
The checks are by the artists that I have listened to thus far. I'm sorry my handwriting is so awful.
White Rabbits are an okay band, and if you want to listen to them, I would suggest "I'm Not Me". It's a good representation of their sound. I would never assume that they were my next favorite band or anything, but their music would do as background music for studying or a mellow-ish party you were hosting. It gives me these images in my head, of people standing around with glasses of wine in their hands, chatting as it plays from a boombox somewhere behind them. They take no notice, give no appreciation, but it fills up the emptiness in the room in a way none of them can understand.