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monday morning all week long isn't healthy

but being happy is only for the wealthy

The Hoosiers, "Worst Case Scenario"

have some composure, where is your posture

you're pulling the trigger all wrong

Panic! At the Disco, "Time to Dance"

and she'd throw her feather boa in the road

because she thought that it would set the scene

The Last Shadow Puppets, "The Age of the Understatement"

you tried to be a good boy

but you couldn't stand the taste

The Hoosiers, "Cops and Robbers"

Please click on one of the links above to have a snoop around my blog.
(that has to be the understatement of the century.)

there is one internet culture moment, and this is it /6:23 AM

(Nish! HAI THAR BB! The lolcats command that you get on AIM or THERE WILL BE DISEASEZ ON YOUR MAKEUPZZ or YOUR INTERNETZ WILL GET DISEAZED AND I WILL PERSONALLY KILL THEM BY POKING THE WIRES WITH SPORKS COVERED IN... hm, what's something really disgusting that you can eat... LEMON CURD! Don't ask, NISHHHHHHH, but I really hate lemon curd. Rosewater icing! NOW THAT I CAN EAT.)

(Mari! I WANT TO KEEP MY LIMBS, SO I WON'T TALK ABOUT GERARD, KAYKAY? See, see, seeeeeeeeeeee I'm getting smarter.)

(Bee! TELL BECCA HAI THAR BB FOR ME, KAYKAY! AND HAPPY BDAY! AND HAPPY BIRFDAY TO UUUUUUU! I wish I could be there - if it were up to me, I would be, nvr fear. I MISS HOMEEEEEEE. /sad)

(Becca! HARHARDIHAR YOU HATE THAT, EHH? Well, deal, bb. I KNO YOU HAVE MSN, SO GET UR BUTT OVER ON IT, KAYKAY? I'll get working if you dooooooo-oo. -bribing-)

(Leila! HOWDY PARDNER - enjoying the vacation? WELL U BETTER GET BACK HERE! I'm so loneelyyyy, I'm so loneeelyyyy. NOT RLY, JAYKAY! The voices in my head are company enough. BUT YOU KNOW THAT ALREADY, DONCHA?)

(Nish #2! OMG UR NAMES R SO SIMILAR! Anyway, is Cory back yet? CAUSE I WANNA HANG WITH HIM, LOWL. Cause ppl u can't see are the coolest.)

And there goes any shred of internet credibilty that I held. Oh, what the hell. SLEEP, I COMMAND YOU TO LET ME HAVE A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEEEEEEEEP TONIGHT! Or I will track you down and STICK MY FOUR INCH HEEL IN YOUR EYE. Or, if you don't have eyes, wherever it hurts. I'll be back tommrow with something a bit less... yeah, well, you know what I mean.

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banners make me happy. /6:03 PM

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partaaaaaaaay /11:37 PM

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i would self-title this, but i'm not sure what my name is /6:25 PM

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omg... /3:45 PM

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popularity or preference? /2:49 PM

After spending the past three days listening to over five new albums by several different artists, I started to wonder what exactly happens in both the music industry and in the minds of listeners or "fans" when it comes to choosing music? Do the labels or scouts approach bands or artists that they would actually listen to and be a "fan" of, or do they listen for what they think would sell?

My black 160GB iPod Classic has 722 songs on it, all of which are from albums that I have in-hand and imported into my library (apart from a few that I haven't been able to get my hands on), and all of those 722 songs -- when separated in album and artist -- are quite different to one another. There are styles ranging from thirties jazz, a pinch of R&B (which is soley comprised of Amy Winehouse's two albums), heavy metal, indie rock, british punk, rock, screamo, and a little electronica (which surprised even me, I really don't like most electronica music).

A few of the bands that I love at the moment I have a "history" with. Before my second move, my English teacer used to play selections from her favorite artists, which were Coldplay, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Nirvana, and Fiona Apple and then have us write about our feelings and thoughts about the songs as a "warm up" for our lessons. All but the latter artists have become a few of my favorite bands, and I think that it was these little exercises that led for me to almost require music when I'm writing now, and that my main source of inspiration is music.

The first time that I remember really having a "favorite band" was on the way back from one of my favorite fish restaurants, Denis (too bad it changed it's name...) and I just decided that Green Day was the best thing ever on the pretense of the only song that I had heard by them at the time, Boulevard of Broken Dreams. This is when I think that I was just choosing what to like through the "popular" identity (even if GD weren't popular in general circumstances at that point, they were at my school), even though I did like the music. After "converting" my friends to fans as well, and after around two years of just listening to one or two bands, I slowly branched out and started listening to different things like Evanescence and Snow Patrol. Both were popular at the time, and Chasing Cars still makes me sad. Maybe that's why I still like them today, when the interest in them has waned in the rest of the world.

Then came the second move, and although a couple of my friends had already uprooted and moved it was still different without them. I kept getting reccomendations for music and I kept on listening to them, such as the Dutch band KANE and Within Temptation, the latter of which was a huge influence on my writing, making me lean to darker and more sullen way of writing what has an option to be dark and sullen. At this point, this is when I start to love music and actively seek it out: I'd tune into BBC Radio One and just write down the names of songs and artists that I liked the sound of: The Hoosiers and Scouting for Girls were solidified as amazing bands in this way. When I was actually in the UK, I'd tune in and I found a diamond amongst the rough in an hour, and that was the band The Fratellis (and, in extention, via Winston's Zen, The Pigeon Detectives).

One time, I went on an "emo lyrics community" and I found a few lines from The Spill Canvas's "Lullaby" (sorry for the crappy video -- and the lines were If you need anything, just say the word/I mean anything/Rest assured, if you start to doze/I'll tuck you in/Plant my lips where your necklace is close) and, even though it took me three months to run the lyrics through Google to get the song and the artist, but I'm glad I did: The Spill Canvas is one of my favorite bands *ever* (but The Raconteurs are catching up with them LOL) .

Even more bands were just found by looking through Wikipedia's list of alternative rock bands (some things that turned up: Black Lab [the art on the homepage could be considered explicit, just thought I'd warn you], The Almost, The Calling, Bubbles & Cheesecake) and just clicking on "related videos" when testing out new artists that I was interested in on YouTube (The Kooks, The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Cake, and Editors were found this way). My mother comes up with some good artists as well, funnily enough: I found Amy Winehouse through her -- she woke me up one morning singing "Rehab", that was my first Amy song, sadly... Frank's just such a better album... -- and she reccomened Lily Allen, Oasis, T.Rex, Keane, and The Eagles to me.

Not only have people reccomened bands and other artists to me, but movies have as well: T.Rex and The Clash were used the the soundtrack for Billy Elliot (which is an ah-mah-zing movie) and Samuel Barnett's cover of "Bewitched, Beloved, and Bewildered", which was used in the movie The History Boys, led me to Ella Fitzgerald's cover, which made me love Ella's music.

Now my almost sheer obsession with music and finding new people and bands to listen to has led to a reawakening in me wanting to play the violin again, and to learn to play the guitar, piano, banjo (my air banjo is ah-mazing, fyi), and the drums. Somehow, the fact that the songs, lyrics, and the actual music is so close to my heart, I don't think that I could bear the fact if the music industry just started catering to the wants of fans who wanted dance/electronica all the time.

There are a few bands that are just *odd* but are still amazing, and win awards even though they aren't the most popular genrea: for example, Klaxons... they scare me a little, but they do have music that's fantastic. I used to have their CD on repeat in the car for months last year, and I've only just imported it onto my iPod and it's such a strange feeling listening to the songs that I still know all the words to. It's like seeing an old friend again after a long time apart...

Okay, now to stop with the sheer volume of links and back to things that are a little less random. I choose music because I like it, and if I don't, then I won't listen to it, even if it's popular. I don't see how people can base their musical taste only on what's popular -- I find it terribly hard to even get through one song that I don't like. If you like the popular music because you think it's good music, then fine, but just because it's popular? That's just really annoying.

And, since I'm linking to this post for the Intrepid Classroom Ning, here are some discussion questions (and please, leave me a comment here as well as on the Ning if you have the time):

I think that music doesn't actually have an effect on people's social standing, but people seem to have this preconcieved notion that it does. Sometimes -- most often when I'm talking to people who I don't know *that* well, but I know them -- I think that if I mention a band or an artist that I like, they seem to weigh whether or not to say that they like them too just to have something to talk about, even if they don't know them or hate them so much they could die.

Chart-toppers or numbering music by their popularity seems to have labelled music as something that is either popular or not, and that can really start to annoy me, especially when I consider the fact that maybe think that I like bands, such as Panic! At The Disco, just because their new album has just topped charts.

Are older bands classic or just "lame" (an opinion question, but do please back it up!)?

Do you feel that music is more powerful when used as a fundrasier, or as an alarm bell or anthem?

And, just for fun: what are your favorite bands/artists? What bands/artists are you investigating at the moment?

And, since I'm on a high from downloading the new Hoosiers album, here are the artists that I'm checking out at the moment: Manic Street Preachers, Bright Eyes (love their song "Four Winds"), Tilly and the Wall, more of Queens of the Stone Age since I love Era Vulgaris, The Artillery, The Kills, The Bank Holidays, Mindless Self Indulgence, Metro Station, Dashboard Confessional, Nine Inch Nails, Something Corporate, Weezer, Say Anything, Brand New, Cauterize, Escape the Fate, The Used, The Courteeners, The Charlatans, Jet, Arcade Fire, Stars, Reliant K, The Cardigans, Stone Sour, The Postal Service, Incubus, The Enemy, The Cure, Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For a Friend, Finch, The Academy Is..., The Last Shadow Puppets, and All Time Low. Any feedback or suggestions?

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le pretender and other political visions /4:30 PM

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began


Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in... again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are at the ready
Are you ready?

These secrets tend to be responsible for more than just mere misunderstandings, then "kiss-and-say-sorry" solutions. These can ruin people -- and make others. And it's all just the luck of the draw.

[...]

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender!
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

OMG I LOVE THE CHORUS. /end random outburst

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if my life was a movie... /3:32 PM

Because it's almost the end of the week, I've just been part of an audience for singing teachers (including one inpersonating Elvis), witnessing a rather scary (to me, a person who *hates* High School Musical) dance routine from the movie and I'm just in a good mood, I'm posting a well-known "game" from over at LJ: If Your Life Was A Movie, What Would The Soundtrack Be?

Here's how it works:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every section, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie.

I linked to lyrics, if anyone wants them. But I highly doubt that.

OPENING CREDITS: "Atrophy" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
WAKING UP: "Aquarius" by Within Temptation
FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL: "The Truth" by The Spill Canvas
FALLING IN LOVE: "(There Is) No Greater Love" by Amy Winehouse (oh, so fitting. LOL)
FIGHT SONG: "I'm Designer" by Queens of the Stone Age
BREAKING UP: "Low Fidelity" by The Spill Canvas (OH THE IRONY!!!11oneone!!eleventyone!)
PROM: "She's So Lovely" by Scouting for Girls
LIFE: "Chasing Pavements" by Adele
MENTAL BREAKDOWN: "The View From The Afternoon" by Arctic Monkeys
DRIVING: "For The Girl" by the Fratellis
FLASHBACK: "Our Lady of Sorrows" by My Chemical Romance
WEDDING: "I Never Told You What I Do For A Living" by My Chemical Romance*
BIRTH OF A CHILD: "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance**
FINAL BATTLE: "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
DEATH SCENE: "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly" by His Infernal Majesty (now known as HIM)
FUNERAL SONG: "Succexy" by Metric (ZOMG! LOLZ! LMAO!)
END CREDIT: "Midnight Show" by The Killers (yay one of my favorite songs ever!)

*Hmmm, that shouldn't happen... shuffle settings are to no same album. Then again, they *are* different albums, just same artist... but it's alright, it's a funny wedding song.
**WTH?!?! Three times in a row?! -headdesk- But it is a rather good child song, lol. OH! AND LOOK! A SONG FROM EACH ABLUM! That worked out well. XD

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hai there lolcatz! (aka, i fail at titles) /2:51 PM

The keyboards on desktop computers are so... loud.

So this is what it has come to: my laptop has decided to kill the wireless internet connection for the umpteenth time, the Mac won't pick up a signal either, so I'm reduced to typing my "first post" for my blog on a rather old, rather rickety, and rather unstable desktop that has withstood several spills of water to orange juice, a trip halfway across the world, seven years of service, and much more than a handful of viruses.

But a first post is a first post, and they have to be done sooner or later, somehow.

Personally, I despise first posts. They're often disjointed, awkward and consist of nothing more than a whole lot of fluff and a one sentence meaning: this is my blog and I sure hope you keep reading. But rather than just jumping into the unknown, I think it's better to start with that disjointed pile of wasted time and effort (plus, I have time to waste).

This isn't going to be some blog with some teenage girl droning on about how life at school is or how mean some of her friends are. I've not got time for that, and let's face it: who would actually care? Instead, this is going to be a blog where I write about my opinions, the books I've read and the subjects that they bring up, new albums/music (watch out for an analysis of Panic! At The Disco's [yes, I know that there's actually no exclamation point anymore, but I liked it better this way] new album Pretty. Odd.), post my literary work, and to enjoy myself doing all that I have just said.

And, to stop myself from being hypocrital as well as cynical (which happens quite often), I'm going to close this post with a little bit of information that should be appearing in the near future. Though I'm not expecting anything from it (no comments, no readers, no expecation = no disappointment), I think I need to lay everything down so that I know what I'm aiming for.

• Critical analysis of Panic! At The Disco's new album, Pretty. Odd.
• Commentary on "Carrie" by Stephen King
• Essay on Geogre Orwell (made up from notes from 1984 and Animal Farm as well as his semi-autobiographical novel Down and Out in Paris and London).
• Commentary on "The Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy.
• Commentary on "Reading Lolita in Tehran", an autobiography by Azar Nafisi.
• Commenrary on the essays and ideas from "A Devil's Chaplain" by Richard Dawkins.

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all about you here.

your tagboard here.

le credit where it is due.

layout: detonatedlove♥
image: ichor
stock: heartintow
texture: ownthesunshine

le links below.

le Twitter de Moi, my Twitter account. Feel free to add me.

Intrepid Classroom, an online classroom founded by one of my former teachers.

Winston's Zen, one of my favorite music blogs.

Belle-Lolita, my graphics journal over at LJ. (It's rather neglected, fyi.)