* ANMLY_Blog

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was awesome. It was wonderful. My dad outdid himself again. The turkey was just perfect. The potatoes were awesome. The stuffing – delicious. String beans were wonderful and the yams were just right.

I love Thanksgiving. Wish mom could have been there to enjoy it with us. Work sucks sometimes.

I’ve been chugging away at my calculus project for several hours now – just finished all formatting. I just have to get back to Starkville and type up the descriptions for the four parts and I’ll be DONE! 10+ pages of math. Not to mention all the scratch work. I feel like I’ve just accomplished something.

I now have… an essay, programming challenge, and tons of Internet homework to do. My work is not done, but for the rest of today, I think I’ll take a break.

PS: The No Music Day – it was amazing. Due to certain circumstances, I had to delay breaking the silence another hour (the horror), but it was worth it.

No Music Day Is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is No Music Day. Are you prepared?

9. Dimension Wolfmother 2006
A friend of mine called Wolfmother “bad residue from the 90s.” Or something like that. I disagree with that and call this a wonderful song from a rocking band. Wolfmother has a good sound. The beginning of this song is all one needs to identify the song.

“I got lost in the desert baby, yeah. I found temples made out of paper, oh yeah.”

8. Clair De Lune Claude Débussy 1890
The only classical piece in this entire list, this piano piece is my favorite. Its sweeping runs are what I enjoy the most. A piece I someday want to play.

“Au calme clair de lune triste et beau,
Qui fait rêver les oiseaux dans les arbres
Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau,
Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres.”

7. Snow (Hey Oh) Red Hot Chili Peppers 2006
A very good Chili Peppers song, I enjoy the intricacies of the vocalist singing the lyrics. It just flows very smoothly and melodically.

“Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder where it’s so white as snow. Privately divided by a world so undecided and there’s no where to go.”

6. Reason Is Treason Kasabian 2004
The music video that accompanies this song has some digital effects that make riotous events both humorous and somewhat confusing – a man talking on a cucumber, a French-bread grenade launcher, and the Kasabian flag. The song is still good, never-the-less. One of the first few songs to get me hooked on Kasabian.

“See the stones coming at my window. See they left man no protection. Tell his family that he won’t be ok. K-I-LL!”

5. Yeah Yeah Yeah Song The Flaming Lips 2006
The first thing that strike many people about this song is the repeated “yeah’s” in this song. Most people, however, don’t really focus on the lyrics. It’s very critical of those in power, the authority of power, power in general, and the corruption of power.

“If you could take all the love without giving any back, would you do it?”

4. A Million Ways OK Go 2005
This song has an awesome baseline that really sticks out for me. I’ve never really heard a song that had a very prominent baseline like this one. Every time I listen to this song, also, I get very good memories of when I was at MSMS.

“Oh such grace, oh such beauty, so precious, suspicious, and charming and vicious. Oh darlin’, you’re a million ways, oh darlin’, you’re a million ways to be cruel”

3. California 2005 Phantom Planet 2005
When I listen to this song, I always have a visual of myself with a few friends in a classic car, the windows rolled down, and the radio blaring driving down the 101. This song is a touch to my dream of driving California State Route 1 – one of the most beautiful drives on the west coast. It also holds a special place with my traveling heart. This is the mellower version of California.

“Hustlers grab your guns. Your shadow weighs a ton driving down the 101.”

2. Take a Bow Muse 2006
Full of emotion and criticism of a certain president, this song remains one of my all-time favorites. It starts out pretty mellow with a series of notes that I swear I’ve heard before. I can’t quite put my finger down on where it is from. Either way, it climaxes with emotion set at 11 – truly amazing.

“Oh, our freedom’s consuming itself. What we’ve become is contrary to what we want. Take a bow.”

1. Superstition Stevie Wonder 1972
This was the theme song for the last year. Sometime around here last year, I became an Atheist. It’s been a great learning experience for me. I had forgotten completely about this song until my Uncle played it for me during the summer. It instantly fell in love with it again. Perhaps it could be the theme song for me. Perhaps.

“When you believe in things that you don’t understand then you suffer… superstition ain’t the way.”

4 Days Till No Music Day

Sorry for not posting in a while. I’ll get all caught up in this post.

16. That Smell – Lynyrd Skynrd – 1977
A fairly morbid song, the song speaks against drug and alcohol usage by pointing out the negative consequences of abuse – death.

“Whiskey bottles and brand new cars; oak tree you’re in my way. There’s too much coke and too much smoke. Look what’s going on inside you.”

15. Oil and Water – Incubus – 2007
A beautiful song about a couple who has many, many troubles because of a conflict of personalities… or something like that. I just like the song.

“You and I are like oil and water and we’ve been trying, trying, trying, to mix it up.”

14. Heart in a Cage – The Strokes – 2006
This brings to the table quite a bit of emotion, telling a story of a heart stuck in a cage – a lover who constantly seeks for his love and cannot find it.

“Well I don’t feel better when I’m fucking around. And I don’t write better when I’m stuck in the ground. So don’t teach me a lesson cause I’ve already learned.”

13. A Certain Romance – Arctic Monkeys – 2006
One of the first songs I’ve heard from the Arctic Monkeys, I fell in love with the rest of the work by the band.

“And just cause he’s had a couple of cans, he thinks it’s alright to act like a dickhead.”

12. Intervention – Arcade Fire – 2007
This song is just plain beautiful. The organ is amazing and provides an extremely rich sound and texture as a backdrop for criticism of war and religion. Epic and amazing.

“Working for the church while your family dies. You take what they give you and you keep it inside. Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home. Hear the soldier groan, ‘We’ll go at it alone.’”

11. Such Great Heights – The Postal Service – 2003
This is a beautiful song with romantic lyrics for today’s generation. I always get a smile on my face with this song.

“I am thinking it’s a sign that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned. And I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay.”

10. Steady, As She Goes – The Raconteurs – 2006
The song that made the Raconteurs known to me was also their first song. This is an amazing song with some fairly good lyrics. I constantly imagine a ship going as fast as it can go and the captain saying, “steady, as she goes.”

“Well here we go again, you’ve found yourself a friend that knows you well. But no matter what you do, you’ll always feel as though you tripped and fell.”

10 days till No Music Day

18. Enter Sandman – Metallica -1991
I’ve been told this wasn’t the best choice for the list. This is my list, and I will choose songs I like. The lyrics for this one, if read without the music, is pretty cool – especially when you find a lolcat version on 4chan.

“Now I lay me down to sleep. Pray the lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, pray the lord my soul to take.”

17. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden – 1993
A classic, the lyrics to this one are pretty non-sensical, but the music is pretty awesome. Not much more to say.

“Stuttering, cold and damp, steal the warm wind tired friend. Times are gone for honest men.”

11 days till No Music Day

20. One of the Brightest Stars – James Blunt – 2007
Where this one comes from, I’m not quite sure. I think it comes from adults constantly telling me that I’ll grow up to be something great one day. That, in a way, connects with the songs. I do want to be one of the brightest stars. I do want my story to be told, for my name to be made.

“And they’ll say told you so, we were the ones who saw you first of all, we always knew that you were one of the brightest stars.”

19. Exactly Where I’m From – Mirah – 2004
This song has a fairly catchy melody which draws me into it. Mirah has an interesting style, and this is one of my favorites.

“And in the darkness we will walk until the day does make us stop. We’ll check the belly of the sun to know exactly where we’re from.”