tbt

Everybody knows that Sia is basically the coolest woman to ever grace the face of this planet. Whether she has Kristen Wiig dancing on stage with her at the Grammys or whether she is walking down a red carpet with a blonde wig that’s too thick to even show her face, this lady really can do no wrong, including in this vintage studio video of her belting out “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine.”

While it’s great to see Sia getting more and more recognition on the daily, there’s something completely refreshing about this nearly decade old video of her doing what she does best behind the scenes in the studio. Recorded in 2007, I actually prefer this version of the song to the official one. Maybe it’s the fact that you get to watch her jam out, maybe it’s the fact that it’s one take, or maybe it’s the fact that there’s something extra raw about this recording of the Sia classic… but whatever it is, it makes my day. Every. Single. Time. I. Watch. It.

“A moment of love, a dream, a laugh, a kiss, a cry, our rights, our wrongs…”

These are lyrics from probably one of my favorite songs of all time. I have film fanatics on social media (because this song was featured in the movie 500 Days of Summer, which starred the beautiful pairing of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to thank for leading me to this fine tune. I remember listening to this song religiously every hour of every day and completely disregarding the other songs on my iTunes. I mean, why wouldn’t I? It was beautifully composed and the lyrics were just amazing. The actual meaning of the song took me about a good three years to discover.

Coming from the band themselves, the song is about the innocence of youth and the transition between acting on everything in the spur of the moment and having to rationalize everything and use our heads more, also known as adulthood. In all honesty, I thought it was just one of those songs that had a nice melody to it and absolutely no depth to its lyrics, but once again, I was proven wrong. Curse you, internet.

The Australian group has written many other songs, but they didn’t receive the same amount of hype as this song did, for obvious reasons. This one song gained them multiple awards and a small taste at what all artists dream of: fame in the mainstream. Though their last self-titled album was released in 2012, I still have a little sliver of hope they might release some new projects soon. *crosses fingers*

Here’s a perfect throwback for this wonderful Thursday—remember that time Natalie Portman was turned into an octopus? What!? You don’t!? Then you’re for sure missing out. Let me assist.

It happened in Devendra Banhart’s “Carmensita” music video in 2008, and it’s kind of ridiculously amazing. In fact, the whole video is kind of ridiculously amazing. Portman stars throughout the storyline, singing along to the chorus and even throwing down some dance moves for the camera.

Somehow this gem of a music video slipped through the cracks of most of society, and I really have no idea how. Have a look, show your friends, and then wonder what Natalie Portman is up to these days anyhow. It’s been a while, but “Carmensita” is a wonderful refresher of that once upon a time box office beauty.