30 Day Song Challenge - Day 2

Day 2 - A song you hate

Ok, so I'm sure this is not what you were expecting. "Did Reid forget how to count?!" you may be asking yourself. Well, yes. But that's not why I'm back to day 2. Those of you who have been keeping up with this blog (and if you're reading this, there's a good chance you have) may remember that my entries for day 2 were a bit weak. I didn't hate the winner of that day (Follow Me by Uncle Kracker) so much as I disliked its message. The song is catchy and if, as I'm told, it's actually not about adultery (I'm not convinced it isn't...and even if it really isn't supposed to be, the message is muddied to the point that a listener could still easily say the song is glorifying adultery), then I suppose it's kind of a weak winner for the day. I really don't feel myself filled with rage when I hear this song, in any case...

...not like I am when I hear this song...

Winner: Baby You're a Firework (Katy Perry)

I really don't know what it is about this song. Maybe it's the fact that it's so repetitive. Maybe it's because it's so...bubble gum cheery without any real substance ("baby, you're a firework!"...what's that even mean?). I pride myself on basing my musical taste (and any taste, really) not on what others think but what I think, so I try to enjoy things even if the mainstream thinks they're good or bad (and sometimes I'm supposed to hate things the mainstream hates...like this song), but I may just hate it because I'm "supposed to". Because it's Katy Perry. I don't know. But whatever it is, ever since I first heard this vapid, insipid song, it has filled me with a bubbling, broiling rage that I can't even describe. It might just be indigestion.

But in any case, this is definitely meant to be my winner for day 2. Hence the revisiting of it today. I even went out of my way to find a video with the most wretchedly appalling lyrics font.

But wait! There's more!

Thanks to Wal*Mart (yes the blahblahblah), I have not only one, but two winners for today. Not one winner and one runner up, but two songs that I genuinely and utterly despise.

Winner again: In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry) or, as I like to call it, The Derp Song.

What. The Hell. What the hell is up with this song? What is that sound he makes? Why does he sound so goddamned derpy? How can anyone be so blithely and ridiculously happy? How can one man sound so utterly idiotic while singing? What's so great about the summer? And what the HELL is a Mungo Jerry?

I despise this song. I did not make this the runner up for today because my rage for this song burns as brightly and as hotly (one might say...it burns like a firework) as it does for the Katy Perry song above. I call it the Derp Song because it sounds so goddamned derpy (derp herein being a sort of onomatopoeia for the sound someone makes when they're being completely and brainlessly idiotic...it's an internet meme and it's become one of my favorite words). Everything about this song just makes me cringe...it's so idiotically and vapidly optimistic, like the Firework song above, but with even less musicality and a much more...derpy feel. Man, I can't even describe it except to just say that it is derpy and leave it at that (this is why I love the word "derp". I think it actually fills a linguistic purpose that can't be filled by any other word).

So there you have it. Two songs I genuinely despise. I could put in a runnerup here...so I will.

Runner Up: Black Horse and a Cherry Tree (KT Tunstall)

This one doesn't fill me with an irrational homicidal rage like the winners of today, but I dislike it fairly strongly nonetheless. Not quite sure why on this one. Maybe it's simply the beat or the melody. Maybe it's the repetition (a woo hoo...a woo hoo...a woo hoo...a woo hoo), but repetition isn't usually enough to make me hate a song. So it's hard to say why I strongly dislike this one, but I do. It could just be because I never cared for it and the radio stations (including Wal*Mart) overplayed it. Who knows?

Deictic-Poker Face, the Avant-Poker

I know my multitudes of devoted fans (hi, Jake!) have been waiting for the next day of the 30 Day Song Challenge...but you know what? I hate my multitudes of devoted fans (hi, Jake!), so screw you guys. I want to do something different.

So it all started one night (tonight. As I'm writing this. Funny how that works) when I started using my speech recognition software on my computer. Now, it started out dutifully enough. I started "playing" with it to have a convenient way to dictate my notes as I read my research materials for my thesis (see, I am actually working on it!), but between having to wait for the words to show up so I could make sure they were correct, and the occasional problems with the program absolutely refusing to acknowledge certain words (two, and, and juice of all things), it's become more of a gimmick than anything. Besides, I seem to be able to type faster than I read aloud, so it really wasn't any more convenient.

Anyways, playing with the program kind of distracted me. For awhile I was using it to send messages to Jake and Sam, which wasn't very amusing since it kept making little mistakes I didn't catch in my computer's ongoing quest to make me look like a complete idiot. I even went into the "training" mode to get it to understand me better. Now, don't get me wrong. It's an amazing program and it's usually quite accurate if I'm very careful and watching what it writes. But it's just too cumbersome to use effectively for anything other than, as I said before, a gimmick.

Well, the night proceeded and I was busy playing with the speech recognition instead of doing my work (ironic...I started to use it to make my work easier). Jake, in his usual Jake-ish ways started taunting me with lyrics to my favorite song ever and just generally kept being Jake. Well, at one point he sent me some lyrics to the song and I, for kicks, had the program dictate them in notepad.

The result was pure comic gold:

Cause Baby, your affair work,

One, shown what you're worth

Make 'Unger all, all

You shoot across the sky.

Baby, your firework the center,

Allen, let your colors burst

So I decided to try it out with something else, specifically a Lady Gaga song. The results were too glorious to not post to my adoring and adorable fans (hi, Jake!). I may even make this a regular thing...I think it would be amusing to dictate more songs like this. My computer seems to have a good grasp of comic timing...

So, without further ado:

Poker Face (yes, I did the "muh muh muh mah"s as best I could)

I wanna hold them like they do in Texas plays

Fold and let me hit me raise a baby stay with me, I love it turned

Look in intuition play the cards with speech to start

And after he's been up the play the one that's on his heart

Oh, oh, oh

All get him talk, show him what I've got

Oh, oh, oh

All get him hot, show him what I've got

Entry by, can't read my

No heat and read like poker face

(couple of nobody)

Can't Read Like, Can Read My center

Now he can read my poker face.

(she's got to love nobody)

P-P-P-poker face, P-P-poker face

(My mama mama)

Deictic-poker face, the avant-poker

(moment and then not a)

I won the role with him a hard pair we will be

A little gambling is from one you're with me, I love it

Russian roulette is not the same without a gun

And baby when it's love it if it's not worth it isn't fun, fun

Oh, oh, oh

August in hot, showing what I've got

Oh, oh, oh

All get him talk, show him what I've got

The red light, can read my

know he can read my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

Can't Read Mind, Can Read My

No heat and read my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

P-P-P-poker face, pee-pee-poker face

(none none none now)

He-pee-pee-poker face, P-pi-poker face

(woman by mama)

(none of my mom)

(none none none knoll)

I won't tell you that I love you

Kiser how do

Cousin bluff and with mime often

I'm not wise and I'm just a man with my love glue gun and

It's like a chicken the casino

Take your bank before I pay you out

I promise this, promise this

And design Mara lis

Can read my, read my

Now he can read my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

Can read my, can't read my

No we can create my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

Can read my, can't read my

No heat and read my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

Can't read my, that read my

Now he can't read my poker face

(she's got to love nobody)

And Read By, read my

Now he can read like poker for

(she's got to love nobody)

Can't read my, and read my

No he can't read my poker for

(she's got to love nobody)

P-P-P-poker face, pee-pee-poker face

P-P-P-paca face, pee-pee-poker face

(she got to love nobody)

-P-P-poker face, pee-pee-poker face

The-P-P-poker face, P-P-poker face

(Maung Maung Maung not all)

P-pee-pee-poker face, pee-pee-poker face

(none none none got)

70-the-pocket face, pee-pee-poker face

(my mama)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 20

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry

Finally, the next few days of the challenge are mildly interesting, though I've already covered at least today's in a previous day's entry, or at least touched on it. As I said on Day 14, I believe people to be somewhat hypocritical in regards to music. We're all perfectly fine listening to songs that make us laugh and cry. We're glad to hear songs that make us happy, even songs that make us sad. We watch movies that scare us and movies that we find humorous. But why do we shy away from songs that touch on the more ugly emotions? Like anger?

Now, I know today's entry isn't "a song that makes you angry." That would be a whole different kettle of fish altogether and would be more related to a song that we hate (Baby You're a Firework by Katy Perry makes me angry...but not because it is an "angry" song). I do believe there are songs that tap into our anger and, while I would certainly not advocate people listen to angry songs and then go smash a car window in rage, I don't see anything wrong with seething a little bit as long as it hurts no one. And more to the point...who the heck wants to listen to Walking on Sunshine after we lost our job or rolled our car (yes, that is my car. No I did not feel like listening to Walking on Sunshine after it happened). Indulging in a little seething is healthy, I believe. I don't think it's healthy (or possible) to get past our anger without working through it. It's just as plausible that telling someone to cheer up will cure their clinical depression. It's just something that passes.

Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that I don't listen to music when I'm angry very often. I'll usually turn off the radio. But there are a few songs I could probably stomach listening to if I was angry, particularly the winner of Day 14:

Winner: Indestructible (Disturbed)

Hey look, an actual winner for once. I suppose I'll just stick with this one. I usually listen to this kind of music more when I'm writing a battle scene (or a particularly angry scene) in a roleplay or one of my doodles, but I think it deserves to be in this winning spot.

Runners Up:

Superbeast (Rob Zombie)

Stillborn (Black Label Society)

Man in the Box (Alice in Chains)

Stockholm Syndrome (Muse)

Ok, so at least the day was mildly interesting, even if the winners aren't really anything new. I do occasionally go to Pandora and type in "death metal" or something similar, but not with any frequency. In fact, I believe the last time I did that was when we were fighting Lord Marrowgar in Icecrown Citadel (World of Warcraft), but not because he made me angry (he was actually really easy), but just because I always felt like he looked like something from the cover of a death metal album.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18

Day 18 - A song from your favorite album

Once again, this day is extremely uninteresting. As I said in day 11's entry, I do not generally separate songs by album--even less than I pay attention to a song's artist. Albums in particular, however, are something I do not pay attention to since...well, this is the digital age where we can download songs for less than a dollar a pop rather than buy a CD (with perhaps two or three songs that we actually want) for $20. In recent memory I've only bought two full CDs: Rise Against's Appeal to Reason and Trinket's...well, it's probably their only album, but it's awesome. Of course there are other good albums that I have heard in my life, including Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Enya's A Day Without Rain. Also of course, I have enjoyed quite a few movie scores, not least of which include Braveheart, Last Samurai, and the various Pirates of the Caribbean scores (I'm sick of tracking these random pages down...find them yourselves). But picking a winner? Eh. That's too much of a pain. Appeal to Reason can't win because it's a bunch of liberal posturing with a few good songs thrown in for good measure. I don't know that I'd say Trinket's album is much better, with a couple songs I genuinely love (Superhuman and Boom, the latter of which being the only reason I bought the CD--though it was only 99 cents on Amazon...apparently these songs don't exist on Youtube, so just go to Grooveshark and look them up, you will not be disappointed) and the scores I listed are really more mood music than anything.

So once again, I can't really be bothered to pick a winner for today. Let's just move on with our lives and hope tomorrow's better. If you really want something for completionism's sake:

Winner: All the albums I listed above. Get over it.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio

I am seriously beginning to wonder if I am the only person alive that doesn't listen to the radio much. I suppose this one is a bit easier than yesterday's for someone like me who doesn't, but it's still rather vague and uninteresting. So, like yesterday, I'm going to bend the rules:

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio at Wal*Mart (yes, the * is important!)

After all, I don't technically wish I would hear any song on the radio. Since I don't listen to it much. Because if I want to hear a song (on the radio or elsewhere), I look it up on Youtube or buy it on iTunes or Amazon.

Anyways, as you possibly gathered from yesterday's (wait, two days ago? ...where the hell does the time go?) blog, I am not 100% happy with the selection of music that Wal*Mart (yes, the blahblahblah) streams over their speakers. For every Boys of Summer (yes, it's not even the original Don Henley version...bummer) and Fireflies (I will give Wal*Mart credit for introducing me to this song...I love it!) I've got a dozen songs like Baby You're a Firework (RARGHBLAGHFRRRRGHBLARGH FFFFFFFFFFFFFF) that I absolutely cannot stand (ok, in all reality, it's not that bad, but I'm being hyperbolous for effect). So this probably gives me a good opportunity to pick a winner for today...except that I basically would just throw my favorite songs in as the winner since I would, of course, want to hear those songs at Wal*Mart rather than what they usually play. If you want to see that, I suggest you go read Day 1. So you know what? To hell with it.

Winner: Yackety Sax (if you need the lyrics, you have suffered a major concussion and should see a doctor immediately)

What can I say? Yackety Sax makes everything better.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 17

Blahblahblah, been busy, blahblahblah, work, video games, research, blahblahblah, doesn't need to be consecutive days, blahblahblah, LET'S DO THIS SHIT.

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio

Blahblahblah, don't usually listen to the radio--sorry, I'll stop now. So, like I said before (several times), I do not listen to the radio usually. I have lately since I rolled my car and lost all my CDs and can't be bothered to make any new ones right now, but not enough to really be able to pick a winner out for today--at least, not playing 100% by the rules. So it's time once again to exercise my rights as the author of this widely-acclaimed blog (hi Jake!) and do a little switcheroonie on the rules.

Ok, it's not a huge switch, but as some of you may know, I have been working at Wal*Mart for the past month and a half or so (yes, the * is important!). As I spend my day doing blisteringly mind-numbing tasks, a somewhat eclectic selection of music is piped into the hear holes on the side of my head--it would be great if it wasn't the same goddamned music every goddamned day. But this tragedy provides me with a little bit of footing to be able to give my multitudes of fans (hi Jake!) what they want. So, without further ado...

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio at Wal*Mart (yes, the * is important!)

Winner: THE ENTIRE GODDAMNED RAZZAFRAZZIN' BEACH BOYS DISCOGRAPHY

Ok, I like the Beach Boys well enough. Little Old Lady from Passadena and Kokomo are great and all and I know it's summer, but they REALLY don't have to play every single freakin' Beach Boys song, day after day after day after day after day AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER...well, you get the point (yes, that took a long time...did I put one in there twice? No matter...). Anyways, I still like the Beach Boys, I just get sick of being inundated with them day after day after day AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER D--never mind.

Runner Up: Baby You're a Firework (Katy Perry)

RARGHFRGHRBLRBRLRGHRK FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16

Well, as you may have noticed (or maybe you really don't give a flying you-know-what...if that's the case, why are you here?), it's been awhile since my last post. Even my little rant was a couple weeks ago. Part of it has been work (you know, that thing you do between sleep and video games). A lot of it has been video games (Dragon Age 2, League of Legends, Minecraft...seems like a new game keeps cropping up every so often that demands ALL OF MY TIME). A little of it has been research for my thesis and working on my English 101 syllabus (but I have been working on them, rest assured). But largely the problem has been that I've been avoiding this particular day in the 30 Day Song Challenge. I've thought about it sparingly over the last couple of days, but I really have had a hard time with it...but I suppose one can only avoid paying the piper for so long. So, here goes nothing:

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16: A song you used to love but now hate.

So, as you may have gathered from previous blog entries, I generally don't listen to songs that I dislike. As such, a song that has "fallen from grace," so to speak, will generally also fall from my notice (and my collection) so far that I will no longer spontaneously think about it when asked if there is a song that I used to love but now hate. Unfortunately, I believe in completionism in all things, be they video games, work projects, or blogs, so I am left with the unpleasant task of having to think of a winner for today.

Now, the closest thing I can really think of are songs that I used to like but just don't listen to much anymore, perhaps even skip frequently if they come up on playlists (that could count as disliking them, right?). I wouldn't say I hate them (or I wouldn't even have them in my collection anymore), but there are definitely songs that I rarely, if ever, listen to anymore. So, let's just pick the most prominent of those and be done with this wretched day, shall we?

Winner: Dancing on the Ceiling (Lionel Richie)...I guess.

Like I said, it's really hard for me to pick a song that I don't like anymore since I generally don't think about songs I don't like. I guess I'd have to say this is a song I liked at one point but just don't listen to it and skip it when it comes up on my playlists. It's not that I hate it. I just...am ambivalent. But since I am sick of this day's challenge hovering over my head, I'm just going to pick this one and be done with it. I suppose it fits the bill...I do remember being somewhat fond of this song and now I really don't ever seek it out...though I doubt it was ever anything close to my favorite.

Whatever, let us just get this wretched day's challenge behind us so I can move on to the next day...which is..."a song you hear often on the radio."

...yay.

Just sit down and play by the rules, damnit

Ok, I've held off for long enough--or perhaps as long as I could. Those of you (all two of you) expecting another 30 Day Song Challenge will be disappointed (I just can't think of a song I used to love but now hate). It's time to breach a subject I had hoped to avoid: politics.

Now, you may be thinking, "It's not that hard to avoid a subject, just don't talk about it." But this particular one has been toxic, eating away at my innards for the better part of a month now. Every time I think about it, I've been so enraged that I start to feel sick. The topic du jour is the upcoming recall elections in Wisconsin, which will come as no surprise to those of you who know that I live in Wisconsin and am thusly bombarded with advertisements, signage, and news stories about this debacle.

Now, most of you who read this (all two of you) know that I am conservative; not Republican. Conservative. The difference is a fine point that I don't care to go into here, but the relevant information you should glean from this is that I do not care for the Republican party. In fact, you might go so far as to say that I hate them almost as much as I do the democrats. They are not conservative. And by claiming that they are and failing so spectacularly at everything they do, they give conservatism a bad name.

But that is neither here nor there. This is not about party. If this was a recall election of some Democratic candidate--hell, if this was a recall of Obama--I would still be outraged. Because this is not how the system was meant to work.

For those of you who haven't been keeping up with Wisconsin politics (I have avoided doing so, but I know just enough about this issue to be outraged--did I mention I was outraged?): the Wisconsin senate passed measures to limit (squash, kill, remove, whatever you want to say) public unions' bargaining power with the state. Now, without getting too much into this issue, I have to admit that I do agree that something needed to be done about public unions. They have a direct hand in getting politicians elected--politicians that they will then bargain with in a way that private companies do not. They are some of the most powerful organizations in America and they have had their way for far too long. Now, I feel that public employees should be treated fairly and earn what they are worth, but I also feel that much of the public sector has grown and grown and grown and grown with no signs of slowing for too long. There are two outcomes for public/government programs. Either they are failing, at which time the government says "They need more money to succeed" or they succeed and the government says "Look, this is a good program. Give it more money." Obviously this is unsustainable, especially when the economy is tanking.

But hard as this may be to believe, this is not the issue I have with the recall election. You can feel free to disagree with me if you want. I know public employees don't all make a fortune doing menial jobs (not all teachers are paid real well, I admit...but that is a discussion for another time). The issue is that this recall election was considered in the first place, let alone ALLOWED.

Let me spell this out for those of you who still think getting a senator recalled is a good example of democracy. We, the citizens of the United States, have elections. Every two years, in fact. At that time, we all get together and decide who we want to run the country. And we vote for them. These votes are tallied and the winners go to Washington or Madison or St. Paul or Sacramento...wherever. There, they run the country (or state, or city, or whatever). If they do a good job, we, the citizens of the United States, come back in two years and reelect them. If they do a bad job, or do something we do not approve of (though not something illegal or what have you), we elect someone new. This is how the system was meant to work. It has checks and balances.

Now, Sheila Harsdorf, the Republican legislator being recalled, did nothing illegal. Whatever the opposition says, all she did was pass legislation. This is not a matter of her breaking the law, it is a matter of ideology. Maybe you don't agree with that legislation, and that's fine. You are entitled to not agree with it, and I won't argue the point. Again, that's not the point. But the public has NO RIGHT to recall someone doing their job. And as far as I've understood from reading snippets of the news and even biting back my bile long enough to read Shelly Moore's recall election webpage, Harsdorf was doing her job appropriately. Not like the Democrats who fled Madison to unscrupulously hold off voting on a bill they did not agree with but did not have the numbers to defeat. THAT is not how the system works either.

I guess there must be something in the Wisconsin Constitution allowing this sort of thing to go on, but if this is the case, then it needs to be amended. All this does is allow the mob to rule politics more than it already does. The proper recourse to a politician doing something you fundamentally disagree with is to show your outrage at election time and get someone else elected. Perhaps someone who agrees with your ideology.

That's how America is supposed to work. And if your immediate response is, "But Reid, what if we can't get enough people to vote against the unscrupulous villains?!"

Then maybe, just maybe, they're not actually going against the will of the people. Maybe what they're doing is what the people want. MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY GOT ELECTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Anyways, come August 9, I will be rooting for Sheila Harsdorf. Not because she is a Republican (Heaven forbid!). Not because she did something that I tangentally agree with. I will be rooting for her because if this recall election succeeds and Shelly Moore wins, we have sent a message to every capital in the country that politicians better not do anything or the public will rise up and kick them out. Because the democrats aren't the only ones that can pull this shit. And don't think for a minute that their counterpart activists on the right of the spectrum will hesitate to do the same bullshit once they see they can get away with it.

I'm sure you can imagine where this will end up.

As a side note: I WONDER where they got all the money to sink in a rinkey dink district's recall election...I swear to God, everywhere I go on the internet I see Shelly Moore ads--no, they're not even Shelly Moore ads. They're anti-Harsdorf ads. I've never even seen Moore's name on any of them. They're always about how Harsdorf sneaks into your house at night and steals your toenail clippings. And eats babies.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 15

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Once again I exercise my right as the writer of this blog to give a big middle finger to the rules of the 30 Day Song Challenge. As all my copious amounts of readers (all two of you) are no doubt aware, I have not posted for awhile. Between starting work at Walmart, continuing my Plan B Thesis research, and getting back into Dragon Age (three guesses as to which one has been taking up more of my time...and the first two don't count), I haven't had (or haven't made) time to write new blog entries in a number of weeks. That and this particular one gives me a bit of trouble every time I think about it. But I guess it's about time that I just get down to it and post something or other. So here are my winners for Day 15, songs that describe me.

Winner

Real World (Matchbox 20) - I often find that my life is a constant struggle to get the monkey of the "real world" off my back so I can actually enjoy it (life that is). It's a whimsical song, but that sort of "describes" me as well. I do try to keep my sense of humor, even when I feel weighed down by the responsibilities contingent with just getting out of bed in the morning. And yes, I realize my list of "responsibilities" is not particularly long. That doesn't mean they don't feel weighty to me.

Runners Up

Escapist (Nightwish) - This one is more for the name than anything since this song is a proud member of the bizarre "fantasy metal" genre (at least in my mind), but there is something dream-like about this song, as if it was detailing a journey through an eclectic series of fantastic dreams. I am quite the daydreamer myself, particularly while attending to menial tasks like manual labor, driving, etc, etc, and sometimes, as corny as this sounds, I find myself drifting through such eclectic and fantastical dreams like the ones I feel this song to be describing. But really, in the end, it's more for the name...everything I do in my free time is a method of escaping real life for a time. Therefore I am an escapist, no?

Hip to be Square (Huey Lewis and the News) - Here's another goofy one that I found myself considering for one of the winners today. I recently asked my friend from the Ledger if I could borrow his "Best Of" CD of Huey Lewis and the News, largely for this song. I was listening to it one night while feeding dogs and thought to myself "Self, this song is somewhat apropos for describing you." This was particularly relevant as I considered the winners for today, so I made a mental note of it...and here it is. What can I say about this song? I am about as white bread as someone can be. I have never taken any great chances in life, never had any real adventures, never got into any real trouble. To me, the worst thing life can be is "interesting." But you know what? It's hip to be square.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 14

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

This one is a little hard again, but I have to assume this only counts for people that don't know me. Anyone who knows me fairly well (or has been reading my blog for the past couple weeks) knows that I have a hugely diverse taste in music. I'm just as likely to get smooth jazz as classic rock as classical as 80's rock as pop on my iPod these days (I have been collection music through various channels for 10 years now and have songs from when I started collecting all those years ago).

When I think of the so-called "mainstream" musical sensibilities, the people who listen largely to what is popular at a given time (without trying to sound too pejorative about it...after all, taste is individual, and I do not fault people for what they like. Besides, to say I didn't enjoy any pop song made in the last year would be a flat out lie), it seems to me there is a bit of a hypocritical disconnect in their minds. Music is emotion. I don't think anyone would dispute this (or, at least, that music can be emotionally charged). No one would frown on someone for listening to a song that made them cry. And I'm pretty sure everyone seeks out songs that make them happy. And we all have a couple songs that make us laugh.

What about songs that make them angry?

I am a firm believer in the connection between music and emotion. All music is emotionally charged...so why this general distaste for "angry" music? As I believe I said before in this series of blogs, I have a large collection of music for every mood. And I think the songs that would surprise some people are the songs I have for when I'm angry. And yes, there are some of these that I love.

So without further ado:

Winner: Indestructible (Disturbed) - This is not just an "angry" song. This is an angry song that I really, really like. It is so primal and visceral. So charged with hate. They may be ugly emotions, but there are some times when we just don't want to listen to Katie Perry (some would argue there are a lot of times when we don't want to listen to Katie Perry, but I disgress...). I keep a nice supply of angry songs for when I write battle scenes in RPs or just in my "doodles" (short little writings I do just for fun), or for when my more upbeat and happy songs just make me want to hurl my iPod against the wall, and this is one of my favorites. Disturbed is a pretty good band for these sorts of songs, really. Down with the Sickness is a good one if you ignore the nonsensical screaming in one version of the song (some might say all their music is screaming, but there's a bit in the middle that's just over the top on the "explicit" version of this song).

I don't listen to this kind of music that often, but when I do...Disturbed is a pretty good pick. Rob Zombie and Rammstein are other good artists for this, but they seem a little more shallow. At least Rob Zombie anyways. But the emotion is there, in my opinion, and that's what's important.

Runner Up: I really can't think of one that is drastically different than the "winner." I guess I could put I Wanna Be here, but I think everyone knows I love that song by now. I suppose I could put something cutesy like Katamichi Catch Ball here just to throw everyone off after the surprise winner today...IT'S JUST SO ADORABLE!

Yeah, let's go with those as runners up.

Honorable Mentions

Superbeast (Rob Zombie)

Scum of the Earth (Rob Zombie)

Engel (Rammstein)

Face Down (Red Jump Suit Apparatus)

Etc, etc, etc...I think you get the point.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 13

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Well, they're getting awfully specific and obscure now, aren't they? Sadly, I have just the song to give the winning spot today:

Winner: I Touch Myself (Divinyls/Blondie?) - I CAN'T HELP IT. This damned song has such a great melody, a great beat, a great /feel/...I just don't listen to the lyrics and everything is fine. Often I find myself listening and growing fond of a song without ever listening to the lyrics. This is one of those songs. Unfortunately when I DID hear the lyrics for the first time, I couldn't stop liking the rest of the song. I do not have this song in my collection, but I don't turn it off if I hear it elsewhere...

...in fact, I can't help but let the youtube video play out even now.

As a side note, I have seen people claiming this song is by Blondie and some people decrying those people and that it's by the Divinyls. I do not know enough about either group to know which one it is. If someone could educate me, by all means comment.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 12

Day 12 - A song from a band that you hate

Ok, so I promised you a little storytime for today and here goes. Back in 2009 or so, I was introduced to a band called Rise Against via a song Give it All. I liked this song enough that I tracked down a bit more of their discography and their music, in general, drove me nuts. Savior, Audience of One, Prayer of the Refuge...all great stuff. So much so that I did something I rarely do: I went to the store and bought their entire CD rather than tracking down individual songs on Amazon or iTunes. I was pleased...until I started reading more about the band.

Now, I can get past the politics. Rise Against is a far-left group that played at Rock Against Bush in 2004 and avidly supported President Obama (who is pretty much continuing everything everyone hated against Bush but you'll never hear any of his strident supporters admit it). I generally don't let my politics get in the way of enjoying popular media, though. As long as I ignored the very liberal undertone to their songs, I was ok. People are free to support whomever they wanted and if I boycotted liberal entertainers, I would probably be stuck watching paint dry. No, it wasn't their politics that immediately made my stomach turn. It was the fact that they avidly supported the efforts of PETA, one of the most notoriously disturbed, backwards, hypocritical, disgusting, misguided, TERRORISTIC jerkholes in the world. I literally felt sick knowing that I had indirectly helped fund PETA. I even tried to return the CD (I couldn't of course, since it was opened). I can put up with a lot of misguided causes in my entertainment celebrities, but this one pushed it.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), I still very much like the music of Rise Against. If they weren't such strong PETA supporters, they probably would have clinched yesterday's winner spot. Alas, I must relegate them to the status of a "band I hate" with "songs I love" thanks to their misguided support of an organization that I consider to be one of the few pure evil groups of human beings on the face of the planet.

Winner: Rise Against

I don't think there could be a runner-up, really. If I don't like a band, I generally don't listen to them (with the exception of Rise Against), so it's hard to say what other bands I really don't like. I'm not real fond of Green Day (though I like their music), but I really wouldn't say I "hate" them. That's why I had a problem with today's theme. Am I supposed to pick a band I hate personally? A band whose music I hate but pick out one song I like? Beats me...

If I had to pick out a band with a discography I'm not fond of but one song I love, I'd probably pick the Cars. Oddly, despite being one of the most popular 80's bands, I really am not fond of much of their music (that I've heard)...except, of course, for one of the two winners of Day 1, Drive. So maybe I should give them the runner-up spot? I don't know. In all honesty, I haven't listened to much of their music, so I don't feel comfortable really calling them a band I "hate" (or even "dislike"). So y'all'll just have to settle for having a winner and some political rambling.

As a final note: did you know Blogspot doesn't mark "y'all'll" as mispelled, but marks its own name as mispelled? Weird.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 11

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band

Ugh. This is going to be a tough day. I rarely separate music by bands and albums, so it's hard for me to pick a "favorite" band. And there will be a weird synergy with today's picks and tomorrow's that I will go into more tomorrow (suffice to say, one of my favorite bands is also a band I loathe for non-musical reasons...but I will discuss that more tomorrow).

Now, there are only a few bands I have multiple songs from in my musical collection. Genesis, Hall and Oates, Rise Against, 3 Doors Down, Buckcherry, Cake...but I don't know that I like the /bands/ so much as individual songs of theirs. So it's really hard to pick a winning band. Often my favorite songs are from bands whom I dislike much of their discography (Tears for Fears, for instance, only has a couple songs I like and only one that I really like), and the bands that I have a lot of their music don't necessarily make my favorite songs (just songs I like from time to time...Buckcherry is an example of this). But anyways, I suppose I should just suck it up and pick one, huh? To save myself a bit of trouble, I won't pick a specific song to win, but a band.

Winners: Between these two winners, it was really hard for me to pick ONE that I liked more than the other, so I decided to exercise my rights as the writer of this blog to bend the rules a bit and give them both winner status--besides, it's a nice mix of old and new.

Matchbox 20 - I don't know what it is about these guys. It seems like everything they come out with tweaks my music senses just right and I adore it. If You're Gone, Push, How Far We've Come...all great songs. And I have pretty much claimed Real World and Unwell as my personal theme songs, so it's hard to justify not giving them the top spot.

Journey - What's better than Don't Stop Belivin'? A lot of their other songs are really top notch too. I feel like they've aged pretty well too (Don't Stop Belivin' is still one of the most easily-recognizable songs of all time). I've only really heard five of their songs that I like, but those five songs (Don't Stop Belivin', Faithfully, Open Arms, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), and, to a lesser extent, Wheel in the Sky) are so noteworthy that I feel like Journey should get some noteriety today. I'd be willing to bet that there are other songs by them that I know and like...I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

Runner Up: Hall and Oates - They're old school and I like that. It's the quintessential 80's band, which already puts them pretty high on my list. I honestly don't know why I put them above Genesis, which would be a close fourth in my list, but I figure I have to make the call eventually. I've already wasted enough time on this day. None of their songs drive me especially crazy with adoration (except maybe Out of Touch...I do love me that song), but they're regularly good enough that they earned the runner up spot.

Honorable Mentions:

Genesis - I think the only thing keeping Genesis from being Runner Up or even the winner is that it's hard to really call them a favorite /band/ when it's more Phil Collins' discography that I enjoy. I'm not even really sure where my Genesis collection ends and my Phil Collins collection begins...they've got good stuff, though. That's All and In the Air Tonight are classics.

Nickelback - I just like Nickelback. Got a problem with that?

Chicago - I like a lot of their slower stuff, If You Leave Me Now, Inspiration, Hard to Say I'm Sorry, Hard Habit to Break, What Kind of Man Would I Be...wait. That's a long list. Maybe I need to reevaluate Chicago as a "favorite" band...

Boston - Really only has two songs I like, More Than a Feeling and Peace of Mind but they've got a good sound in general.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 10

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

At least today's is at least mildly interesting and requires a bit of a story before I really get into the meat of it and announce a winner. So, growing up, I was the biggest chicken on the face of the Earth. And by that I mean I was afraid of the dark. It was so bad in my youth that I had to sleep with the hall light on and the door open. Similarly, I could not sleep in complete silence (which may have frightened me more than the dark and might explain why I talk so darn much), so along with the hall light, I always had to have a radio on. This was particularly amusing when characters in my dreams would start singing and I would wake up only to realize the song they were singing was on the radio...but this is a story for another time.

Long past the point when I ceased needing the light and the radio, I continued listening to music while I fell asleep. I don't anymore because I like to let my mind wander before I sleep (it makes for some interesting dreams, to be sure, and I find I come up with my most creative ideas just before drifting off--though I sadly forget a lot of them), but even through high school I liked to have music on, not for fear of the dark/silence so much anymore, but rather as a soothing effect. For this reason, there are several songs that, to this day, I equate somewhat to sleeping and falling asleep.

So, without further ado...SOME ACTUAL WINNERS FOR A CHANGE.

Winner: Down By Sally Gardens (Traditional) - This is another one of those songs with a specific "version" that has significance to me. It's a beautiful song, of course, but one of the CDs I would often leave on repeat while going to sleep was filled Celtic instrumental arrangements. It was one of those "mood" CDs you see at Walmart, and it was, for the most part, unremarkable...except for this one song. For whatever reason, I always seemed to wake up to this song. Only it wasn't the usual "time to go to school" waking up where I would launch out of bed and race through my morning routine. It seemed like every morning I would wake up leisurely to this song and would have enough time to just lay in bed listening to it.

Now, I know this isn't the same as a song that I fall asleep to...but it still reminds me of that setting: laying in bed, drowsy, drifting off but not quite asleep, conscious but not quite awake...it could easily go the other direction and lull me back into sleep. The feeling of reminiscence is strong enough that I feel like I would be remissed to not give this song the win for the day. I really wish I could find the exact version of the song that makes me feel this way on Youtube, but alas, I cannot. If anyone is interested, I own the CD, so I can send the song out...as long as you promise to delete it after you listen to it. Don't want to be breaking the law, after all.

Runner Up: Final Fantasy VII: Overworld Theme (Orchestral Version)(Nobuou Uematsu) - Here is another song that requires a specific version to be relevant...but fortunately, I was able to find it. This is a beautiful arrangement of the overworld theme from Final Fantasy VII, one of the most overrated games in history...but still worth playing, in my opinion. But that, too, is a discussion for another time.

This is a song that frequently came up in the playlists I created to help me sleep (by this time I was probably in college and didn't listen to music frequently when trying to sleep...but often enough), but unlike Sally Gardens, I really did fall asleep to this song (rather than just waking up to it). It isn't quite as strong in my reminiscence as Sally Gardens, so I couldn't in good conscience call it the winner, but it's still a beautiful song that lulls me to sleep with its sweeping, lazy melody. As a sidenote: the piano version of this song from Advent Children is also quite pretty, but since I very rarely listen to music while sleeping anymore and this version is considerably newer than the original (and indeed the orchestral version linked above), it does not have the same sleepy connotations as its orchestral cousin.

Runners Up:

Dreams of the Shore Near Another World (Yasunori Mitsuda) - This song is gorgeous. I highly recommend everyone listen to it.

Rena Lanford of Arlia Village (Motoi Sakuraba, remixed by Dale North)

The Girl Who Stole the Star (Yasunori Mitsuda)

Baby Mine (Bette Midler) - This is another one that relies on my memory...not of the movie Dumbo where it initially appeared so much, but I remember quite clearly one dream I had in which the radio seeped into the dream and one of the characters began singing this song. For some reason that dream/song stuck with me all these years and the song makes me sleepy. It's a pretty song to be sure.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 9

Day 9 - A song that you can dance to

Another boring day in my humble opinion, largely because...well, me dancing is amongst the greatest crimes against nature one can commit. I kid you not, it is illegal for me to dance in 32 states (with Ohio's legislature due to pass a law next week) and against the Geneva Convention. Besides that, I just don't really care to dance. I'll bop around a bit to the music, but I don't really consider that dancing so much as...rhythmically swaying.

I really can't be bothered to pick a winner for today. I could use "Someone to Watch Over Me" since it's one of the first songs I ever really danced to, but that song alone is really the only song I have any memory dancing to. So I guess if you really must have a winner for today, let's call it that.

Winner: Who cares?

Curse you, 30-day song challenge. Give me some good ones!

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 8

Day 8: A song that you know all the words to

...seriously? Am I the only person in the world that knows all the words to 90% of the songs I listen to? Anyways, picking a "winner" for today is next to impossible. Most songs that I've heard more than a couple times (and have on my MP3 player) I know all the words to and sing along with regularly, so I'll have to get clever this time. It's not just a matter of knowing all the words to the song...but how about a song that I'm "proud" to know all the words to? A song that's so fast and ridiculous and crazy that it's actually difficult to know all the words to? Yeah. We'll go with that.

Winner: Megaman II (Duane and Brand0) - Caution. Rather "volatile" lyrics. This song is hilarious. Anyone who's ever played Megaman 2 (or any Megaman game) will probably laugh their asses off at it. Anyone who hasn't will probably think it's vile and horrible. Even I'm on the fence sometimes...but I usually just go with the laughing. Anyways, it's a rap (with extremely explicit lyrics) about Megaman 2. It's very clever, in my opinion, and filled with vulgar humor from start to finish. Did I mention it was explicit, vile, vulgar, and...yeah, there's a lot of cursing (please don't blame me if you are offended...I did warn you). And yeah. I've listened to it enough to know all the lyrics. I fumble a bit during the Metal Man part when I'm singing along (since the voice is so distorted), but I think it's safe to call this one my winner, at least until I listen to I Wanna Be enough to actually get all those lyrics down (and I'm not that far off).

Runner Up: Sunscreen (Baz Luhrmann) - ...heh, this song is all over the place isn't it? This is another one that I guess it's mildly difficult to know all the lyrics to (and I do), so I guess I'll make it my runner up. I've listened to it quite a bit and it's been drilled into my long-term memory.

Honorable Mentions:

Yakety Sax

Anyways, yeah. This day is kind of a joke. I could list 90% of my song collection here. I sing along with my music a lot, so I know most of the lyrics. But hey, at least I could pick some winners today.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 7

Day 7: A song that reminds you of some event

As I elaborated on yesterday, these last few days have been somewhat difficult for me. Songs do not generally inspire concrete memories (with few exceptions), so I kind of had to wing it with most of these. Today is no exception, though there are a few that will remind me of events /sometimes/ (just not reliably or frequently), so I guess they'll just have to do.

Events in particular are tough because I remember so few events concretely. Fleeting images are often all I get, the occasional glimpse of something a little more detailed sometimes, but for the most part I have a poor memory for things like this.

As with the past few days, there are no winners (no song reminds me more of one thing than another of another thing, blah blah blah), just a list of applicable songs.

Take My Breath Away (Berlin) - Yay! More painful memories! This one reminds me (actually surprisingly strongly) of my senior prom since it was /the/ song of the prom. For obvious reasons, it's hard for me to listen to this song anymore.

Sunscreen (Bahz Luhrmann) - Ok, this one was not actually /played/ at my high school graduation, but it kind of makes me think of it all the same sometimes, again, for obvious reasons.

You might find it odd I have no songs that remind me of my wedding. I call it proof of a merciful and benevolant God.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier to pick some winners *checks* ...nope.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 6

Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere

I had to wrack my brain quite a bit for this one. Again, I don't know that I can pick a "winner" for the same reasons I listed yesterday (how can something remind you of something MORE than something else reminds you of something else?), but even considering that handicap, I really don't have that good a memory for places. Songs remind me of feelings, sometimes of people (I actually had to think for a couple days on yesterday's "winners), but rarely of places or events (tomorrow will be a pain as well).

In any case, since I am committed to this farce, I will just wing it. Here are the "winners":

Nobody (But You) (Wonder Girls) - Pardon the ads on this one. And the lack of lyrics. It's hard finding just the right version of this song as it is. So I settled for the English version, which somehow feels like cheating, but the opening skit is funnier if you understand it, I guess. In any case, this song reminds me of Taiwan, specifically the karaoke joint the teachers all visited together. I heard it there first and, like a horrible cancer, it infected me through the entire trip to the point that I would find myself humming it while working on my daily journals. In any case, it's a good song. Catchy. Like a disease. Did I already mention that?

Wake Me Up When September Ends (Green Day) - You know, this is a good song. I should like it. But they played it SO MUCH on the damned radio that it's hard to listen to it anymore without dryheaving. It's actually because of this that it kind of reminds me of the Ledger Newspapers offices where I used to work. It was there, sitting at my desk, that I heard it about fifty bajillion times a day and got sick of it. So, in a way, it kind of reminds me of there (or at least that situation).

Someone to Watch Over Me (George Gershwin) - I didn't bother finding a link for this one because it's actually a specific version of this song, but it reminds me of dancing in my ex-wife's house (to the point that I can't really listen to it anymore). It was the first song I "danced" to (with another person), so it kind of stuck in my memory for that reason. It's not really a "place" that it reminds me of, but I guess it will do. If you really don't know the song, just Youtube it. The version I have is a rather nice bluesy instrumental version. It's a shame it brings back so many painful memories. It's a good arrangement.

You may wonder why my "memory" songs are so weak. Well, as I mentioned before, songs rarely remind me of things specifically. Even in regards to people, I had to stretch it a bit. I don't literally hear a song and think of specific people, places, or events. Sometimes my mind may drift to them, but it's not really reliable. In truth, it's just that I heard these songs at these places so, when thinking of "winners," I kind of shoehorned them in there because it was mildly appropriate. I'm not even sure if I hear "Nobody" I actually think of Taiwan, and I really don't think of my ex's house when I hear "Someone to Watch Over Me," I think of the feelings the song inspires in me.

So, in short, take the above with a grain of salt. I was winging it. And with tomorrow's, most likely.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 5

Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone

It's been a couple days I know, but I guess there's nothing in the rules that say the 30 days have to be consecutive. So I maintain that I am not out of line here and will not be doing multiple days to catch up.

So nyah.

Anyways, on to Day 5. Any good song is going to have a lot of memories behind it, so there are a lot of these. Particularly when it comes to people we've lost. "Blue" reminds me of a lot of people that have died in my life, but I don't know if I would say that counts. It's not really the memories of the person so much as their death, so I'd say that disqualifies it.

I can't really pick a "winner" of this category in my humble opinion. I don't know that any song "reminds me" of a person more than another song. So here are just a few that remind me of various people:

You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon) - Reminds me of my brother, Mark. Way back when I was a wee sprout, he declared that this was "our song" for some reason or another. I still to this day do not know why, but it's stuck with me all these years, so I think of him when I hear it.

After we watched the music video to this song, we went to Pizza Hut. Don't ask me how I remember that day. I just do.

Uprising (Muse) - This one reminds me of my friend Jake for reasons that are obvious to anyone should they know Jake. REVOLUTION.

In the Living Years (Mike and the Mechanics) - Again, for obvious reasons, this reminds me of my father. It's kind of indicative of how our relationship was, I think. I think dad and I were a lot more alike than we'd care to admit, and even though we "never saw eye to eye," I probably should have tried to be closer to him when he was still alive.

But I imagine these are typical regrets for most people. Hindsight and all that. I still think of him whenever I hear this song and though it reminds me of his death in some ways, I think more about our relationship during his life when I hear this song. So I'd say it counts.

Sky Chord (Tsuji Shion) - This one reminds me of another friend of mine who really likes this song. Since I heard it first thanks to her, I can't help but think of her whenever I hear it. Another similar song is Sayonara Solitia (Saeko Chiba).

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 4

Day 4: A song that makes you sad

Oh are there a lot of these. I do love a good sad song. Now, to be clear, there are many songs that make me cry--but for different reasons. Heck, "I Wanna Be," makes me cry sometimes, but just because of those aforementioned squishy feelings it makes me feel. Some songs, like Creek Mary's Blood (Nightwish)--the orchestral version, anyways--or the ending theme from Skies of Arcadia, which I maintain has the best ending of any song ever, make me cry because of the instrumentation. I get a little weepy at beautiful music.

But that's different from a song making me sad, of course. And there are still quite a few of these. As with my previous categories, I'm kind of limiting myself to songs that come to mind more or less immediately, and only one song hops right into my head:

Winner: Blue (Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts)

This is another animé song, but this one's in English, so nothing should be lost in translation. Sadly, the above link does not have the lyrics (I simply could not find one that did), but it's pretty easy to get them. I won't spoil the ending to this absolutely excellent series (Cowboy Bebop...anyone who enjoys animé needs to watch this. It is sublimely awesome in so many ways), but this is the final song from the series. Obviously the symbolism is thick throughout the whole song, and you don't need to know how it ends to understand the metaphors for death, redemption, and even life. It is my opinion that you don't need to see or even know the animé to appreciate this song. But it may still be one of those internal, personal things about music that makes this song connect to me.

But even still. I play this song every time someone I know dies. It is sad and hopeful all at once. So maybe it doesn't deserve to win the "sad" song award...but it's kind of bittersweet, so I think it belongs here.

"Everything is clearer now. Life is just a dream, you know, that's never-ending. I'm ascending."

And remember: "no black and white in the blue."

Runner Up: Into the West (Annie Lennox)

Ok, now...if I had thought of this one first, I may have made it my winner. But I'm relegating it to runner up because Blue popped into my head first. Even still, this song is one of the most sorrowful songs I've ever heard--possibly because it followed one of the saddest endings to any movie/book ever (Lord of the Rings, of course).

It bears noting, however, that this song and Blue share some (many) similarities. Both are about death quite clearly, but they oppose songs like "In This River" (Black Label Society) and "Asleep" (The Smiths). Each of those songs seem to almost linger on the actual death, which makes them sad, but in "Blue" and "Into the West," Kanno and Lennox go beyond death into metaphors of freedom and ascension. Those of you who know me best know I am not a religious person and do not necessarily believe or disbelieve that there is something after death--but the bittersweet nature of these songs, the metaphor and poeticism of them--make them clear top choices. They just have so much more power, so much more weight, than a song that just lingers on the stagnation of death (though "Asleep" quite clearly uses sleep as a metaphor for death--and in fact suicide--it's just never had as much weight to me). That being said, I would have to give "In This River" and "Asleep" honorable mentions. It also bears noting that "Into the West" reminds me a lot of the ending of Dragons of Summer Flame (Dragonlance) when all the Companions were finally reunited. Yeah, if you're not a Dragonlance fan, you have no idea what I'm talking about. But it made the song doubly relevant to me.

Honorable Mentions: Tong hua (Guang Liang) - I think this is the name of the song. I've heard it called Fairy Tale. It's in Chinese, but I think it's pretty clear from watching the video what it's about. I heard/saw it the first time in Taiwan at karaoke and I cried. In front of my students without even knowing what the lyrics meant. It was kind of embarrassing.

"In This River" (Black Label Society)

"Asleep" (The Smiths)

Hero of War (Rise Against)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 3

Note: Starting today I figured out how to work the url command in blogspot, so just click on the song title to go to the youtube video of the song.

Day 3: A song that makes you happy

This is going to be an odd one. I'll list the winner first and then give an explanation, because a lot of you are going to listen to this song and just...scratch your head.

Winner: I Wanna Be (Stance Punks)

Listen to this song first, then read my description below.

Ok, so, assuming you listened to the song, I can probably imagine what you're thinking. "It's just screaming. There's nothing musical about it. This is a horrible song!" This was pretty much my first impression of it. "I Wanna Be" is the first ending/credits theme from an animé called Soul Eater (one of my favorites). The first time I heard it, I went out of my way to avoid the ending credits of the series. But after a few episodes, a miraculous thing started to happen...I started to listen to it more and more.

There is something primal about this song, even before you get to the lyrics and the translation (I didn't even look up the translation for months after I started listening to the song). It has always sounded somewhat affirming--even defiant--to me, like the singers are screaming at everything that is bad and unpleasant in life, everything that would hold them back and tell them "you can't do this" or "you're not good enough". I can't help but be uplifted. I always imagine the singers saying "we can't sing, but screw that, we're going to do it and have fun with it!" (I imagine they are better singers than this song would have us believe, of course).

This probably means little to you, dear reader, but isn't that sort of what music is? Something deeply personal and internal to each of us? I don't expect you to understand. But try and give the song another listen, keeping in mind my feelings on it and see if you think the same. Here, I'll even give you the translation (thank you, animelyrics.com).

Edit: Due to formatting issues, the best I can do is link the lyrics and their translation. Click here.

I don't expect to have converted anyone to liking this song, really. It's one of those quirky things unique to me, I imagine (well, I'm sure there's others in the world who like this song, but I doubt anyone I know would). But in the end, this is a song that makes me feel happy and uplifted and even optimistic. So I would be remiss to not give this day to it.

Runner Up: Someday I'll Be Saturday Night (Bon Jovi)

For those of you who didn't like my previous choice (which I imagine is all of you...and I don't hold it against you. It's an acquired taste), you can feel free to imagine this song as my "winner". This one's a bit more straight forward. It's a lot of the same emotions as "I Wanna Be," but a little less obscure, a little less bizzare, a little more musical, and a little less Japanese. It's pretty straight forward. Life is hard. I'm down on my luck. But damnit, someday things are going to be ok.

Runner Up: Sunscreen (Baz Luhrman)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 2

So here we go, day two of the 30-Day Song Challenge. Today's is relatively uninteresting:

Day 2: Your least favorite song

Ok, so...as with anyone, there are a lot of songs here that I could list. I can't really even think of many simply because I just don't listen to songs I don't like (funny how that works, in'it?). I could list a lot of artists I don't like (Bieber, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry...though even saying those artists, I can think of one or two of their songs I don't mind...well, except Bieber), but specific songs are elusive. One song always kind of stuck in my craw for a very specific reason, however, so I suppose I should give that one the award.

Winner: Follow Me (Uncle Kracker) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg4np7GUcSw

I hate this song, but it's not so much the song as the message, glorifying adultery, unfaithfulness, and cheating on one's spouse. My hatred for it has cooled over the years, and I do have to admit, the melody is catchy (which is part of the reason I hated/hate it...I don't want to remember this song, but I just can't get it out of my head!), but since I remembered, to this day, how much I once loathed this song, I guess it better get the award for my least favorite.

That being said, I did have to stop the Youtube video from playing...I still don't want to listen to it...

Runner Up: None that I can think of.

It may seem odd that I can't think of songs that I hate, but as I said before, I simply don't listen to songs that I don't like. I don't listen to the radio much, and when I do, I simply change the station quickly if I know I do not like the song I'm listening to. That being said, I'm sure there are plenty--rap music especially--that I dislike. They just aren't coming to mind.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 1

It's been awhile since I've "blogged". I warned you (all, what, two of you?) that I don't do well witht hings I am expected to update regularly, but here's something I saw that I kind of liked. It's something I found on Facebook (see, something good /can/ come out of Facebook!) thanks to my Sister, Amber, "participating". It's called the 30-day Song Challenge.

Now, along with video games, I am kind of a music nut. I'm not into the "pretentious" indie scene or heavy metal or rap or classic rock or classical or anything like that--except to say that, in a way, I'm into all of that stuff. I enjoy all music and have a rather extensive collection that I have gathered throughout the years (most legally...some less so). So this challenge tweaked my interest just right since I have so many songs to choose from. Besides that, I enjoy using music to enhance my moods and emotions and that's pretty much exactly what this is.

So, before I begin, here are the "rules". If you want to do it yourself on Facebook or whatever, I'll list the days and their themes. Play along at home!

Day 01 - Your favorite song

Day 02 - Your least favorite song

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone

Day 06 - A song that reminds you of somewhere

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to

Day 09 - A song that you can dance to

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band

Day 12 - A song from a band that you hate

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio

Day 19 - A song from your favorite album

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry

Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh

Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument

Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty

Day 29 - A song from your childhood

Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I was going to do this all in one day just as a single blog...but it turned into quite an undertaking and I got hung up at about Day 5, so I suppose I should stick to the rules and do one day at a time. I guess I didn't stop to think how long a single blog with 30 days of music and commentary would be.

So, without further ado:

Day 1: Your favorite song

I don't really like that this is the very first day. Ask anyone this question and I'll bet 90% of the people asked won't be able to answer unless you allow them a couple of picks, so, as will become a common theme in this list, I will give a couple of my "favorite" songs. After all, this changes every year, week, and most days. Generally, how I judge my "favorite song" (and I do often think about what songs are my favorites) starts with songs I rarely, if ever, skip on my MP3 player (or change the station on the few times I listen to the radio). You'd be surprised at just how much this narrows the field down...

"Winners": Drive (The Cars) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKdDLhtvls and Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-O3kYrDPbI

Both of these songs are just viral to me. The melodies have been in my head for years and I just can't help singing along with them. Nothing in particular about either of these songs resonatewith me, emotionally or whatever, they're just the kinds of songs are stuck in my head for days (and, as mentioned above, I rarely skip on my MP3 player--in fact, I often seek them out).

"Runners Up" - Iris (Goo Goo Dolls) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIYOzL3cp5k and Good Riddance (Green Day) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLOkbW9yCI

I call these my "runners up" because, until fairly recently (this year or last year, I suppose), I would have called them both my favorite songs (don't ask why my "favorites" come in pairs...I don't know). All of the comments above are relevant to these as well, though I think the lyrics of these two songs are more resonant with me. Particularly "Good Riddance," it's just such a good song for endings, so to speak. I think they both fell out of my top spot, however, when people continued to use them all the damn time at graduations and what have you. They just got overdone.

Still, I do enjoy both songs. I just don't seek them out to listen to them so much anymore. In any case, they still deserve a spot in my "favorites" for how long they were, in fact, my favorites.

Honorable Mentions:

Livin' on a Prayer (Bon Jovi) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsmGSnq3lE

I Wanna Be (Stance Punks) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_WYx0jKc-M (more on this one later)

Savior (Rise Against) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zECISXSYOw

King of Wishful Thinking (Go West) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtoaK9EUjto

Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (Supercell?) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONVd7nfKE3g

And these are just ones that came off the top of my head. Once again, my "favorite" song is prone to change at random. I am a whimsical guy. I may deign to inform you when it does...but I doubt it. It could be that I'm missing some just because I haven't gone through my extensive list of music...but it's my opinion that a person's "favorite" song should be one that they can rattle off without a great deal of thought.