Category: music

Pandora Online Radio Station

r3t5nom1 Comment

This website has been out for a couple of years now but I have to say that it never gets old to use it. If you want to listen to good music of almost any kind of genre it is available for free with the click of a few buttons.

The idea that you can just listen to music for free (and no torrenting it is not legal people) instead of buying it is simply great. I was sitting in my room trying to write a blog today and I realized that I wanted to listen to music to get inspired. I couldn’t decide what song to listen to so instead of choosing i just went to Pandora and let the website choose for me :).

This site contains a technology that truly should be appreciated, it provides the music you want to hear when you ask for it. I will sit and listen to music and then all of a sudden a song that I haven’t heard in years comes on and makes my day!

Pandora has also gone as far as creating an application for phones, iPods, and tablets that allows users to use pandora on their electronic devices! I love this website, it is such a great addition to the internet and I hope it continues to prosper for a long long time.

I recommend this site to anyone that loves music, and anyone who loves NOT having to pay for music OR download it illegally!

http://www.pandora.com

ENJOY!

“Beyond La Mer”

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“La Mer

Qu’on voit danser le long des golfes clairs

A des reflets d’argent 

La mer

Des reflets changeants

Sous la pluie …”

“La Mer,” Charles Trénet.

The first time I heard “La Mer” was during the credits of Finding Nemo.  Of course, I don’t remember hearing it at all.

The reason I know it now, is because I got into the TV show Lost this winter.  A group of survivors from a plane crash are stranded on a mysterious island come into contact with a French woman, Danielle Rousseau, who had been trapped there for sixteen years.  She takes Sayid Jarrah, an ex Republican Guard, captive.  He escapes and steals her maps of the island.

He turns to another survivor, Shannon Rutherford, to translate the French writing on the maps.  Her French is “bad” and at first she is confused by the strange words and they abandon their attempts to translate it.

But later, she comes to Sayid, remembering that she heard the words -the song- at the end of the movie “about the fish.”

She sings “La Mer” to Sayid on the beach by firelight.

It is a beautiful song so I began, enthusiastically, writing out a phonetic pronunciation guide.

Then I realized it sounded like a cover preformed by Damian McGinty, a song called “Beyond the Sea.”

“Beyond the Sea” was written by Bobby Darin in 1946.  A contemporary pop song, it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Darin took the tune from “La Mer” and wrote in entirely unrelated English lyrics.

“Somewhere beyond the sea

Somewhere waiting for me

My lover stands on golden sands

And watches the ships that go sailin.”

-“Beyond the Sea,” Bobby Darin

Both songs are great.  Check them out!

That Song.

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Record Player.

I have recently become addicted to one song. When I say addicted I mean I have listened it on loop for over a week now. Believe me a song has to be pretty special for me not to get sick of it and  The Shins , “New Slang” is exactly that.

When I saw a Facebook status saying how excited my friend was for the new “Shins album” I thought I better give this band a listen and that’s exactly what I did. I logged on to Spotify, typed in The Shins and listened through their numerous albums. Little did I know that I had actually had listened to many of the songs before including “New Slang.”

It was so familiar to my ears and as I listened to it I recognized it strangely from the hit TV series Scrubs. It was one of those songs that you hear, love and search for, but can never find it on YouTube and other search tools.

So now that I know the title and band of  that song, I have not stopped listening and I am very excited to hear new material from this New Mexico indie group, The Shins.

A Music Journey

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Every event has a soundtrack in my mind. After going cross country skiing in Yosemite, this past week, my mind is full of new bands, new songs and new rhymes that highlight and sum up the fun times of the trip.

Of course there’s always the classic artists that play a large role and debut on such a trip these artists include people such as Johnny Cash and Bob Marley as well as bands like The Who and The Clash. With these pastimes also come old, iconic songs such as Jolene as well as new alternative covers of these past hits.

Next comes the worst of the songs: recent pop songs. These songs are often synthesized rubbish by groups who lip synch and Hip Hop artists that try and impress by remixing old classics. These along with other cheesy artists will irritatingly stick in your head but make you laugh because of their catchiness.

Finally there comes the new music, new tastes, different sounds and great bands.

By sitting on long car journeys everyday I heard lots of different songs and artists, which is very exciting for me as a music lover.

So now that my tastes have been expanded and my pallet rejuvenated with the fresh sounds of others I am ready to get exploring on the biggest music journey now that I am home.

Little Dragon.

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Little Dragon.

Enjoy laying in bed, relaxing on the sofa or chilling outside on a warm night? I have the perfect music for you and it comes in the form of Little Dragon.

Little Dragon is an electronic band from Sweden. Immediately you hear electronic and think how can this be relaxing in any way. For those who think that, not all electronic is crazy club, beat filled music. Being classified as electronic means that a band uses synths and other electronic equipment in some form in their music.

The band came together in 1996 releasing two albums since they formed, Little dragon in 2007, Machine Dreams in 2009 and then Ritual Unions last year.

Since coming together the four-man group has gained lots of support from indie lovers across the globe. They also have produced songs with famous groups such as the Gorillaz.

Little Dragon blend different music sounds together to create calm, cool and relaxing rhythms.  Throughout their albums they sample different genres, drawing from sounds of soul and pop and jazz and blending them with the smooth vocals of lead singer, Yukimi Nagano.

This band produces lively but relaxing music that is perfect for any evening, so give them a listen.

The Musical!

rangerthecat1 Comment

Well, this week has been a big blur of practicing for the musical. It has been very busy and very, very hectic. From sorting costumes to remembering cues, it has been a very challenging feat for all involved. But, tonight, it all payed off in our opening night performance of Utopia in America.

We have been preparing for so long now, but I still didn’t feel extremely ready in the beginning of the night. I was extremely nervous, but we had run through it quite a few times, so I was confident that everyone else knew what they were doing; it was just me I was worried about, because I’m so air headed sometimes.

Musicals are so stressful and time consuming, and get me really nervous. I mean, we’ve been practicing since a few months ago, and our directors have worked harder than ever to make this perfect, and everyone in the cast wanted to make it nothing less than that for them.

There were some extremely funny moments, some moments where we messed up a bit, and some moments where it was more perfect than I ever remember it being in the past. Even though it was very hectic and busy, it was still extremely fun and, in the end, not as stressful as I had thought.

I’m just glad to have the first performance out of the way, so everyone is even more prepared for tomorrow’s two showings. And, everyone that watched it said they liked it, and I think they genuinely meant it. Overall, it was a very solid first show and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

Down

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

“I don’t know where I’m at
I’m standing at the back
And I’m tired of waiting
Waiting here in line, hoping that I’ll find what I’ve been chasing.

I shot for the sky
I’m stuck on the ground
So why do I try, I know I’m gonna to fall down
I thought I could fly, so why did I drown?
Never know why it’s coming down, down, down.

Not ready to let go
Cause then I’d never know
What I could be missing
But I’m missing way too much
So when do I give up what I’ve been wishing for…”

-Jason Walker, “Down.”

Every year at Ojai Valley School we have a show at the end of the year called the Festival of Talent, which is exactly what it sounds like.  Last year we had a particularly beautiful performance by two fellow OVS bloggers, theotherblackgirl and rangerthecat; however, the former graduated.

They sang “Down” by Jason Walker, a song from the hit TV show “The Vampire Diaries.”  The show is based off a book series of the same name, written by Lisa Jane (Ljane) Smith.  But I’m getting off topic.

They did an amazing job at the show, a duet that left everyone speechless.

I apologize for the shaking and coughing.  It was freezing, I had no tripod and clearly, I was coughing.

You can compare it to the original:

So what’s this song really about?

Well, I don’t think I know.  I’m kind of super lame about the “interpreting the artistic and hidden meaning of stuff.”  So I couldn’t tell you what the artist meant or even what the general public thinks.

But I can tell you what it means to me.

It’s about someone who can’t find love.  This person has been standing around, waiting, hoping, wishing for the right person to come around.  It sounds like perfect love entered his/her life once, but it failed.  The singer is stuck on said love and is unwilling to forget it, for fear of it coming back and not being there to reciprocate.  Or maybe he/she is afraid that love was so perfect there will never be anything else like it.  Either way, this person is going down because of the loss.  He/she is confused why it felt like they could “fly” when they were in love, only to realize they were “stuck on the ground” and then they “drowned.”

It is entirely possible I missed the point completely.  But that’s what it says to me.

Sound familiar?

The Sound.

theycallmedame1 Comment

The sound is deep.
It resonates throughout the room,
The chamber of my heart,
And the corners of my fingers.
The sound is gorgeous.
Irresistible.
It sends shivers down my spine,
Raises my skin,
Flutters my heart.
How I long for it to be closer.
Not across a world
Or a room
But behind me.
Heat seeping to my shirt,
A breath behind my ear,
A whisper.
A whisper of anything:
Everything.
Just to hear that deep sound.
Just to send shiver to my spine,
Send bumps to my skin,
Send flutters to my heart,
Send a longing directly through me.

Your sound is deep.
It resonates throughout the room,
And throughout the chamber of my heart.

Jack Penate

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Jack Penate

Jack Penate is a singer and songwriter from London. Armed with a guitar and an excellent voice he is a man that puts his heart, soul and passion into his lyrics. He is a man who exhibits true artistry and charisma through his music.

Jack released his first album, Matinee in 2007, which debuted at number 7 in the UK album charts. Two years later, in 2009, he came back and released his second album Everything Is New and now has recently returned with new material including the single No One Lied. 

His music visits many genres and could not be labeled as anything other than alternative because many of his songs are indefinable as a genre and this is what makes him great. Each song has a different tempo, strong but simple lyrics and is full of quirkiness.

Jack Penate is an extremely gifted artist that’s music can evoke many emotions depending on your mood.

So give Jack Penate a listen.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with a Side of kirbyfullyloaded.

yrreskrap2 Comments

So my wish came true!

I was able to go to the beach with an amazing friend of mine, Emmy (kirbyfullyloaded).

It was nice being able to be away from the dorms.It felt like the first time in a long time since I had been away from school related things.

Emmy’s mom is amazing. She made us breakfast everyday. In fact, this morning she made us chocolate chip pancakes and we ate them watching the high tide with the early sun.

Chocolate. Sun. Sand. Ocean. What else could a girl ask for??

Anyways, after breakfast, we both changed from our pajamas into our bathing suits (although it probably wasn’t the best idea considering my massive food baby) and ran to tan on the deck of her house. We listened to Maroon 5 together and made plans for our next weekend date! Hopefully we will be able to surf and bake a bunch of fattening goodies.

Weekends like this really let me value my friends and realize importance of spending time with good people.
Being able to stay up late with Emmy, snacking on random cookies, seaweed, and digestive wheat crackers (trust me, they taste absolutely amazing), just to keep us awake while we talked all night until the early hours of the morning was great.
Painting our nails for hours, singing along to music, critiquing singers for foibles in their voices, and not being able to wake up from staying up so late…priceless.

It lets me step back and realize how blessed I am with my friends.

Thank you Emmy for letting me stay at your house this weekend.

You are an amazing girl. Never change.