Music

What is music? Wikipedia defines it as "an art form whose medium is sound." Plato defines is as "the movement of sound to reach the soul  for the education of its virtue. Both are true. The first is mainly scientific, and the other is philosophical. Music is definitely an art form, and it definitely  educates the soul. It doesn't matter if it's rock, rap, classical, post-rock, pop, or any of the other hundreds of genres and sub-genres, they all express feeling and (hopefully) virtue. This is why I love music so much. It expresses the feelings that essays, politics, and science can't always explain. Instead, it explains what religion, morals, the soul, and much of philosophy try to explain. And besides all that, it can be describe very poetically. You don't even need lyrics all to express emotion. A cello can express a deep sense of feelings such as love, sadness, or unspeakable joy. Trumpets and other brass instruments relay a feeling of adventure and triumph. You don't even need to fill the whole song with sound. Sometimes, the most beautiful parts of a song are the silence. An example of this is the Sigur Ros song, "Heysatan." (No, it's not a satanic greeting, it means "stack of hay.) A lot of the song has brief periods of silence. But it's beautiful. I don't even know the lyrics and I like it. 

So, we know that music can be an expression or release of emotion, so what do you think happens when you listen to it. It affects the way you feel and think, of course! Rock will give you adrenaline, ambient can induce a sleepy and peaceful feeling, and hymns attract the spirit. (Why do you think we sing hymns in church?) Brigitte asked in her post a good question. Did all the criminals in the world listen to classical music in there teens, or did they listen to hard rock, rap, and other crappy music There are many different factors as to what lead a criminal to do what he did, but music probably had an influence along the way. I disagree when she says rap isn't music, but the large majority of those artists make pretty trashy music. And as for hard rock, we have been warned not to listen to it all the time. Why? Because if all we listen to is the fast-paced riffing of rock, our senses become dull to the spirit. It becomes harder to notice. And that's my point. If all you listen to is the crappy music that a lot of the world seems to love, you will not become the best person you can be. It might seem blasphemous, but I swear it's true. Besides, it makes sense. If you're constantly feeding your mind trash, your mind will keep it. You'll get an inappropriate song stuck in your head, which will repeat. The spirit will not be with you, and if your actions will begin to reflect the songs you hear. And most of all, your mind will be more susceptible to the dirty hands of Satan. So, I beg and plead you to NOT listen to bad music. Stay away from the dirty songs like a plague. I promise that it will be worth it.

I hope you don't mind, but here's the post I was referring to-

http://vivrerireamourlire.blogspot.com/2010/10/music.html#comments

Awesome post!

Awesome Song........As Always

There is a man named Dan Adams who has put a few works of Shakespeare to music. I couldn't find that many though, and I only know one of the scenes. This scene is the "Double Double Toil and Trouble" scene. It's quite creepy. He plays the bongos and somebody plucks the cello. It's just awesome. Here's a link to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByW0tEXkDM

Heaphones Secret.

I have discovered two really cool things to do with headphones. The first one is quite interesting. If you pull the connector of your headphones, the low vocals, low notes and bass either nearly disappear or go away entirely. When I did this on "Hey Soul Sister," the vocals and Ukulele sounded wavy, and not much change happened. But soon, as it progressed to the chorus, I could clearly hear a piano being played, especially during the chorus. I never even noticed a piano. On "Fireflies" and "Viva La Vida," vocals disappear. The way to do this is hard to describe, but I will try to describe it. You pull at the end slightly so it's not completely in, but not enough for it to slip out. I would suggest you just tug at it slowly until you hear a change. Try it, it's AWESOME!

The second cool thing is not actually a secret, but I never noticed it until today. I was listening to "Uncle Jonny" by The Killers, and I had a single had phone in my ear and the the other was hanging. But I decided that I should switch ears, so I grabbed the headphone that was hanging and put that one in my ear and took the other out. I was amazed when the riffing electric guitars turned into bass and drums. I switched again, and the tune also switched back.

So, find a song and try these out. I don't know what songs work with the second example, but it's cool if you can find one.

New Music!

Over the past week or so, I have discovered new music. Well, I'm always discovering new music, but I thought these artists might be note-worthy.

First up is The London Symphony Orchestra. They have made covers of the bands Queen, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and more! I've downloaded 33 songs by them so far. I would highly suggest "Smooth Criminal." If you look on youtube, there's even a version where the vocals have been added. These guys and girls are awesome.

Sigur Ros- This is a band from Iceland. They make a sort of ambient-rock that is known as post rock. I read many of the comments on youtube, and they have all been along the lines of "this is real music," and I agree, there are other genres of music that I love, but if you want a band that makes clean and beautiful music, Sigur Ros would be a good choice. An interesting thing about this band is that some of their lyrics are in "Hopelandic," which is a bunch of gibberish that sounds like icelandic. This is used to create an 'instrument' out of noise. Listen to "Starálfur" or "Sæglópur" (Lost at Sea.) Also, check out the music of Jonsi (Yown-sigh) . He's the lead singer and since the band is on an indefinate hiatus, he's gone solo until they come together again. I would highly and extremely suggest "Lilikoi Boy." It's an awesome song with good lyrics and a tune. The drumbeat is quite invigorating too.

If any of  you have Mrs. Bitner for a teacher, you have most likely heard the the "Somewhere over the Rainbow/Wonder World Mashup." This song is made by Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwo'ole also known as Bruddah Iz. His songs are quite peaceful and he is a hero of sorts throughout Hawaii. On the day of his death, Hawaii state flags were flown at half-staff. He is the third person of that state to receive this honor and the first person that wasn't a government official. He also had a bronze statue made in his honor. Obviously, he is highly respected and his music isn't trash. Other than his famous medley, I would suggest "White Sandy Beach." It's a very nice Ukulele song.

What a Stupid and overused Statement!

I just watched the season finale of "The Amazing Race." I forgot what past season it was, but that's beside the point. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this show, it's a race around the world. Every day, people start and end the race in a new country. They have to complete tasks and challenges along the way. These challenges are associated with the culture and environment of the area. After each 'leg', a team (of two) are eliminated.
One of these teams was a mom and her deaf 20-something son. This team was on there, for one reason, to prove that deaf people really can do anything. In the end, (after coming in third place) he 'signed' this (well, something like this)-
"Since I went on the Amazing Race and I'm deaf, I guess that means that any deaf person can do anything."

What the heck?

You mean, deaf people can ACTUALLY fly on airplanes, paint faces, dance, and even eat with a spoon? I didn't realize! Just imagine, now that this man has gone on the amazing race, deaf people can now realize that they're not IDIOTS! They really are people! Guess I was wrong when I said to the deaf girl "HA! YOU CAN'T USE FACE PAINT BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAF!"

Seriously? That was a really stupid statement he and she made. Why is this something that needs to be proved? Of course you can do the same things a non-deaf person can! Anybody who keeps telling you otherwise is either worried or an idiot. Of course, when the statement was first made, it was okay to say. In the amazing race, you have to communicate with a lot of people, and being deaf brings up many challenges. So when they came in first place on the first leg, it was proven, no more proving needed. But when a problem came up, they played the 'deaf card.' (or excuse) It was all "poor me, I'm deaf." That got irritating. There was an episode where a girl accidentally bumped into the deaf guy (who I will call Bob) and got to the "clue card" box before him. Because of this, Bob's team had a big misunderstanding. He said she "intentionally" bumped into him. He started signing to her in frustration, and she started to laugh. Either because she was nervous or she found his anger funny, Bob's team got mad. They started saying that everybody doesn't understand and they started pulling the 'poor me, I'm deaf ' card again. They even said "Your black, so you should understand." That was also a dumb statement. Unless they happen upon the rare occasion of meeting a racist, the color of skin has no disadvantage. And the African-American team didn't say "poor us, we're black" at all. But here's a deaf guy whining that deaf people are at a disadvantage because of a disability. It's ridiculous. The girl even apologized to them, but Bob and mom held a grudge for the rest of the game.

You might be thinking that I'm so mean for insulting this deaf guy and that I don't know what it's like to be deaf. And you know what, your right. I'm really am being quite mean and I have absolutely no clue how horrible it must be to be deaf. I wouldn't be able to listen to music anymore! That would be devastating! And I fully realize that being deaf can be frustrating, but being deaf is no cap on ability. Sure, you might not be able to listen to music, but you can compose. Beethoven was one of the world's most famous composers and he was deaf. I saw a deaf dancer on "So You Think You Can Dance" and he was good. He didn't make the cut, but he was good. He was even able to inspire me. So, when this guy keeps using his disability as an excuse to complain, that just annoys me. Also, I'm diabetic, so I can sort of sympathize with him. But sadly, I also can't because that means I know how it is to be disabled. Does it suck? At times, yes. Defiantly. Most times, not really. So, I know that I were to replace deaf, with diabetic in the earlier statement, I would sound so stupid. Diabetes doesn't cap ability at all. Sure, it may make exercise harder and eating more work, but it has no affect on my opportunity to travel. Being a diabetic didn't stop me from experiencing a two week trip in New York, so do I have the right to say "Since I went on this trip, that means Diabetics can do anything...?" Yes, I do, but it would sound extremely dumb. And that's why I don't say it. So, I really don't have to much sympathy for the guy for being a whiner. I'm sorry, but I don't

Now, if you have some disability and people doubt you and you just need to prove this... THING to them, then go ahead, I applaud you for taking a stand. But if you use that disability to blame EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM in your life, then I'm sorry, but my applauds run out.

Also, I'm not discriminator. I might have sounded so in this post and I want to make that clear. I DO NOT THINK ANY LESS OF YOU IF YOU ARE HANDICAPPED OR DISABLED IN ANY WAY.

This team just ticked me of.

Listen-if you dare.

There is a hard punk-rock/metal band called "Evergreen Terrace." There songs "Chaney Can't Quite Riff Like Helmet's Page Hamilton" and "Sending Signals" are good. They do have 'demonic' vocals, but they actually sound good. I was trying to listen to their other songs, and I came upon "Wolfbiker." If you ever want an example of the metal I despise with a burning passion, listen to that first part. My computer died, so I don't know how the whole song goes, but the very beginning brought upon the same feelings I had in the mall.

Look it up on Youtube. I dare you. I promise that it doesn't swear. (Not that you'd be able to tell) It's just about ten seconds of pain to understand just what it is I hate.

(I only heard that first part, so the song might get good after that, but I highly doubt it. Plus, my volume is messed up again. :(

We're Halfway There

In the years of your youth, you were taught to be strong.

For the whole of your life, no matter how long.

But circumstance today would have you believe,

That you don’t need Christ, and that you’re doing fine.

Satan also wants you to think this is so,

But please, don’t fall away and never let go.

We’re halfway there, now don’t be scared, cause I’ll be there to catch you when you fall.

 We’ll help each other to stand above all.

Don’t give up now cause,

We’re halfway there.

The prize is so close now, I can almost taste it.

But it will be sweeter if you’re with me, it’s seems proper and fit.

I promise you that your suffering is worth much.

Let’s do this together so the pain is isn’t a bunch.

We’re halfway there, now don’t be scared, cause I’ll be there to catch you when you fall.

 We’ll help each other to stand above all.

Don’t give up now cause,

We’re halfway there.

 I promise to stay with you if you promise to stay with me.

I need help as well, so promise me please,

That you will stay faithful and true as I will to you.

I love you and want to be with you,

In case you never knew.

So let’s both get to heaven.

Sound like a plan to you?

We’re halfway there, now don’t be scared, cause I’ll be there to catch you when you fall.

 We’ll help each other to stand above all.

Don’t give up now cause,

We’re halfway there.

We’re halfway there.

I promise you that we’re halfway there.

Halfway there,

Halfway there.

Halfway there.

This is another poem I wrote sometime ago. I came up with the chorus (including the tune) while I was walking across my Grandma's driveway in Wyoming. Yea, I know, it's pretty weird that inspiration should hit me right at that time, but it did. Once again, I have no idea what I was thinking, but I have a good guess.

There are three songs that have caught my attention.

"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi

"Halfway There" by Big Time Rush

"Halfway There" by Rise Against

I enjoy these songs very much. The idea of being "halfway there" and persevering is quite empowering. So, looking at my views on life, I wrote this song. I'm thinking it will need more work, but it's pretty good so far, I think. I'll get the notes to the chorus on here sometime, I just need to find a piano layout or something.