Summertime Girls

"Them summertime girls, they drive me crazy
I think I'm in love
They're looking so good, they're so amazing
Like da-da-daa-da-da
They got the sunkissed skin and golden curls
Smiling at the world
Them summertime girls, they drive me crazy
It's all about them summertime girls
Them summertime girls,
It's about them summertime girls"

Summertime Girls - Masketta Fall

It has been two and a half months since I arrived back from my Australian adventure. I have slotted back into life in New Zealand relatively well; I got a new job, have thoroughly enjoyed catching up with all my friends, and started plotting more trips to keep the boredom at bay. Sometimes I miss Australia, especially Perth, a place that captured my heart in mere minutes, and the friends I made along the way. But I stand by what I wrote about in Back Home - that New Zealand is where I need to live.

It may have taken me a few weeks to get to writing this blog (there's been some other secret writing projects going on!), but did you really expect me to go all over Australia and not find a sweet band to follow? I came across Masketta Fall after Twitter hype about them opening for The Vamps, my favourite British pop rock band. I missed seeing The Vamps but I did get onto Spotify to see what the Masketta Fall fuss was about. And they are pretty cool. They are my favourite kind of fun music; cute guys on instruments, catchy and friendly songs, and, I don't doubt, a pretty funky group to see live.

And I really would like to see these guys play a live gig. I asked them to come over via Twitter last night and this was the response:

So, in an attempt to get these guys to cross the ditch, I'm putting the word out there about how awesome Masketta Fall are. If you know any people who love pop rock boy bands then let them know about these guys, because I'm not keen on losing this challenge. And I know that you know someone - because most people pretend to hate this kind of music but secretly love it. Or, if you're like me and loud and proud about your boy band obsession - i.e. you have music from One Direction, Hot Chelle Rae and The Wanted - then get aboard the Masketta Fall fan base. 

Australia have given us some great pop music over the past few years - Sheppard, 5 Seconds of Summer, Justice Crew and my favourite lil rocker Reece Mastin, and I think we can add Masketta Fall to that mix. But I won't know for sure until I see them live, so show them some love and help me get them across the Tasman Sea. 

Man in the Mirror

"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change"

Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson 

I have spent a lot of the past month in observation mode, specifically focussing on how people treat each other. I watched people in everyday life, I watched people playing sports, and, most importantly, I watched people interact with others on the internet. We are quite considerate in person. Sport will always have it's fair share of poor sportsmanship but that's just the game for you. But online, wow, do people let loose. 

The internet is a great place for expressing opinions; I do it every time I write a blog. But I like to think my blogs are a more structured opinion piece, where I write what I really think and feel, and tend to stay away from personal attacks against people. My Twitter feed, however, it is a different story. Clicking on any trending topic will bring a up a slew of rather disgusting attacks no matter what the story is, and most of the time it's against a particular person. And it is, quite frankly, horrible reading. 

Of course, being so rude has for a long time been the topic of many songs by my favourite pop artists. 

Taylor Swift said "Why you gotta be so mean" 

Magic! said "Why you gotta be so rude" 

And Lily Allen just went "Fuck you. Fuck you very very much" 

I don't particularly condone that last one, but it kind of gets the point across - online trolls aren't worth much time. 

But what does this have to with Man in the Mirror and Michael Jackson? Well, the King of Pop called it all those years ago. The change starts with you. It's time we took ownership of what we say and do. The best way to get rid of the nasties is to keep the nasty out of your own comments. I'll tell it to your face: those comments aren't funny, they are hurtful, and if you wouldn't say it in real life then you shouldn't say it online. I have Twitter-challenged myself to tweet only positive comments to people, and I tell you, it does make me feel great, and I like to think the person receives it smiles when they read it. 

I, of course, have much bigger plans to change the world that just telling people to clean up their internet act. I have certainly looked in the mirror and thought about all the ways I can make this world a better place. I'll start by spreading the good vibrations. And I'll finish this blog by saying two things: one, that you should listen to Man in the Mirror and get that inspiration to do some good, and two, that you are a bunch of beautiful people.