Journey "Don't Stop Believing"
I know I'm not alone in knowing all the words to this (this has been proven many times on Facebook). It's normally on the Top 100 downloaded songs on ITunes, which is pretty freaking impressive. I have always liked this song, but it's only been in the past year that it has grown to love. A lot of it has to do with my son Truman. He first heard this song when we watched the Disney movie Bedtime Stories (which is heard at least 3 times in the movie). Then he realized that I had the song on one of my Cd's so he started requesting it. Before I knew it, Truman had learned all the words and was requesting for my Mom and I to play it several times in a row (except Mom's version is from Glee). When my sister got married and we were at the reception afterward, Truman performed this song to everyone at the venue... and stole the night! My cousin Katy recorded it and posted it on Facebook. Here is the link if you would like to view his performance (and try not to smile or laugh when you see him shaking his hips).
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150103348607033
At my work, this song is played pretty frequently (like that would surprise anyone... knowing I work at a grill and bar). I catch myself singing along with my coworkers and our regulars. I kind of get that proud feeling whenever this happens, just seeing a random group of people singing along to a song together is pretty cool. This song will forever remain a classic, for many generations to come :-)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Song #7- A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event
Snow Patrol "Chasing Cars"
This song is absolutely beautiful. Many people first heard this on the radio, but I remember hearing it for the first time watching one of my favorite television shows: Grey's Anatomy. The show has played a lot of great music, boosting the popularity of many bands and artists. When "Chasing Cars" was on the show, it was during the scene where Izzie is lying in bed with Denny, after he died. The emotional impact of this scene was heart wrenching, and for a while, whenever I would hear this song it would put me in a semi-sad mood. Now, whenever I hear it, all I think about is Izzie and Denny and how they were cheated on a long life of happiness.
This song is absolutely beautiful. Many people first heard this on the radio, but I remember hearing it for the first time watching one of my favorite television shows: Grey's Anatomy. The show has played a lot of great music, boosting the popularity of many bands and artists. When "Chasing Cars" was on the show, it was during the scene where Izzie is lying in bed with Denny, after he died. The emotional impact of this scene was heart wrenching, and for a while, whenever I would hear this song it would put me in a semi-sad mood. Now, whenever I hear it, all I think about is Izzie and Denny and how they were cheated on a long life of happiness.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
When Did KIDS Cartoons Turn Purposely Sexy???
I am fully aware that sex sells. Everybody has their own preferences, fetishes, turn ons, whatever. I also grew up in the 80's and 90's where my guy friends would rave over the hotness of cartoon characters like Jessica Rabbit and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I also have pointed out the attractiveness of some cartoon characters, especially in the world of Japanese anime (this new show I'm watching called Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt... wow, that's all about sex). But besides anime, most cartoons I watched were cutesy and fun... made to entertain the audience.
However... I need to rant.
In the past few years, there have been several 80's cartoons (and products) revamped for the younger generation. And, wow, did the animators/designers decide to make the characters... sexy. For me, this gets me aggravated for a few reasons. One, young kids are not going to be able to identify the sexiness of such characters, so what's the point of the short skirts and curvy bodies? Two, all of the characters I really enjoyed were on the chunkier side, but the revamped versions are skinny beanpoles... what is that teaching our kids? That we all want to be skinny? So wrong. Three, what's wrong with nostalgia that we have to remake everything?
Okay, to make my points a little clearer, here are some Then and Now pics of some of the characters and products that contributed to my ranting today:
Rainbow Brite
Yes, I was Rainbow Brite this past Halloween, and my costume was on the sexy side. I am an adult though, and I can pay homage to the 80's and make it into eye candy for the guys... I have that right. But I also am huge into nostalgia. I liked how Rainbow Brite was all about the big boots (this was around the time where my friends and I loved Moon shoes). Oh, and the big hair smothered in hairspray... another big thing in the 80's. I do admit that the newer version has more color (hello orange!) which makes her representation more like my costume.
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake was one of the chunkier 80's cartoon characters... and that was cool. There was something about many 80's cartoons that featured chunkier size kids... maybe that's why there's a lot of people proud to show off curve and chunkiness today (because we grew up being okay with that). She fit the part of a character representing the sweet fruit: lots of red, green stockings, brown shoes, and was a redhead!!! The new version is... pink. Me no likey. If I saw her just randomly sitting in some little girls room for the first time, I would have no idea that it was supposed to be Strawberry Shortcake. The only good thing I can say about her remake is that they didn't sexify her.
Barbie Dolls to Bratz Dolls
Yep, this picture totally represents a thousand words.
I was a Barbie girl. Had several dolls, outfits, play sets, and accessories. My sister and I played for hours with our dolls. Actually, there is a tote in my house with all of our Barbie stuff in it, hehe. One day, when I was still in high school, I happened to see an ad for these new dolls called Bratz. I noticed that they had a lot more modern style than Barbies and were quickly flying off the shelves. As the popularity of these dolls increased, the amount of clothes they wore seemed to decrease. Now, when I look at them, I see wannabe prostitutes. If I ever have a daughter, I'm going to go the Barbie route. I just feel that some of the clothes on the Bratz are not appropriate at all (even though I personally would wear some of them... like I mentioned earlier, I am an adult...).
Dora the Explorer
Hola, Dora!!! This show is a very good representation of Mexican culture and kooky, oddball characters. I liked that one of the shows that my son watches occasionally is about a girl that's got a little bit of chunkiness to her. I thought that was awesome. Then, some months ago (or has it been over a year?), Nickelodeon introduced a teenage version of Dora. I admit, she's very pretty, but... skinny. I would have liked to see Dora have a little extra meat on her bones. You would think with the success of shows like Ugly Betty (which the lead character was chunky and was able to have a successful career in the fashion industry), that more people would want to hone in on women with curves. I guess we haven't quite reached that yet. It saddens me.
So there's my rant... nostalgia good.... sexy kid's cartoon characters bad. I know there's more out there (My Little Pony, Lisa Frank collection, The Chipettes from Alvin and the Chipmunks), but I don't have to cover everything do I? Nope!
However... I need to rant.
In the past few years, there have been several 80's cartoons (and products) revamped for the younger generation. And, wow, did the animators/designers decide to make the characters... sexy. For me, this gets me aggravated for a few reasons. One, young kids are not going to be able to identify the sexiness of such characters, so what's the point of the short skirts and curvy bodies? Two, all of the characters I really enjoyed were on the chunkier side, but the revamped versions are skinny beanpoles... what is that teaching our kids? That we all want to be skinny? So wrong. Three, what's wrong with nostalgia that we have to remake everything?
Okay, to make my points a little clearer, here are some Then and Now pics of some of the characters and products that contributed to my ranting today:
Rainbow Brite
Yes, I was Rainbow Brite this past Halloween, and my costume was on the sexy side. I am an adult though, and I can pay homage to the 80's and make it into eye candy for the guys... I have that right. But I also am huge into nostalgia. I liked how Rainbow Brite was all about the big boots (this was around the time where my friends and I loved Moon shoes). Oh, and the big hair smothered in hairspray... another big thing in the 80's. I do admit that the newer version has more color (hello orange!) which makes her representation more like my costume.
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake was one of the chunkier 80's cartoon characters... and that was cool. There was something about many 80's cartoons that featured chunkier size kids... maybe that's why there's a lot of people proud to show off curve and chunkiness today (because we grew up being okay with that). She fit the part of a character representing the sweet fruit: lots of red, green stockings, brown shoes, and was a redhead!!! The new version is... pink. Me no likey. If I saw her just randomly sitting in some little girls room for the first time, I would have no idea that it was supposed to be Strawberry Shortcake. The only good thing I can say about her remake is that they didn't sexify her.
Barbie Dolls to Bratz Dolls
Yep, this picture totally represents a thousand words.
I was a Barbie girl. Had several dolls, outfits, play sets, and accessories. My sister and I played for hours with our dolls. Actually, there is a tote in my house with all of our Barbie stuff in it, hehe. One day, when I was still in high school, I happened to see an ad for these new dolls called Bratz. I noticed that they had a lot more modern style than Barbies and were quickly flying off the shelves. As the popularity of these dolls increased, the amount of clothes they wore seemed to decrease. Now, when I look at them, I see wannabe prostitutes. If I ever have a daughter, I'm going to go the Barbie route. I just feel that some of the clothes on the Bratz are not appropriate at all (even though I personally would wear some of them... like I mentioned earlier, I am an adult...).
Dora the Explorer
Hola, Dora!!! This show is a very good representation of Mexican culture and kooky, oddball characters. I liked that one of the shows that my son watches occasionally is about a girl that's got a little bit of chunkiness to her. I thought that was awesome. Then, some months ago (or has it been over a year?), Nickelodeon introduced a teenage version of Dora. I admit, she's very pretty, but... skinny. I would have liked to see Dora have a little extra meat on her bones. You would think with the success of shows like Ugly Betty (which the lead character was chunky and was able to have a successful career in the fashion industry), that more people would want to hone in on women with curves. I guess we haven't quite reached that yet. It saddens me.
So there's my rant... nostalgia good.... sexy kid's cartoon characters bad. I know there's more out there (My Little Pony, Lisa Frank collection, The Chipettes from Alvin and the Chipmunks), but I don't have to cover everything do I? Nope!
Song #6- A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
Elton John "Bennie and the Jets"
When I was eight years old, my family and I went on a vacation to Las Vegas. It was a blast and I was very surprised at how much you can do in that town that is family friendly, like visiting the dolphins at the Mirage and the Pirate battle at Treasure Island. While we were there, my parents brought the camcorder to capture some of our vacation. Part of our home video was when we were driving down the Las Vegas strip in our rental car. Mom has the camcorder filming everything we drove by that evening. We had the radio on and "Bennie and the Jets" was playing. Well, you basically heard the entire song on the video. So every time I hear that song, I think of the Las Vegas strip.
When I was eight years old, my family and I went on a vacation to Las Vegas. It was a blast and I was very surprised at how much you can do in that town that is family friendly, like visiting the dolphins at the Mirage and the Pirate battle at Treasure Island. While we were there, my parents brought the camcorder to capture some of our vacation. Part of our home video was when we were driving down the Las Vegas strip in our rental car. Mom has the camcorder filming everything we drove by that evening. We had the radio on and "Bennie and the Jets" was playing. Well, you basically heard the entire song on the video. So every time I hear that song, I think of the Las Vegas strip.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Song #5- A Song That Reminds You of Someone
Aerosmith "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing"
Summer 1998... Armageddon is released in theaters. This was one of the many movies that my high school sweetheart Ben and I saw that summer. However, this movie stood out for us. A few weeks after seeing it, we somehow got into the conversation about songs. Ben states that we should have "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" as our song. Okay, cool. We have a song!
That was 11 years ago. Whenever I hear it, I still think of Ben. But now, it also makes me think of David Cook, since he performed it when he was competing on American Idol. Looking back, I still think it was pretty bad ass to have an Aerosmith song represent what Ben and I had when we were a couple, hehe.
Summer 1998... Armageddon is released in theaters. This was one of the many movies that my high school sweetheart Ben and I saw that summer. However, this movie stood out for us. A few weeks after seeing it, we somehow got into the conversation about songs. Ben states that we should have "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" as our song. Okay, cool. We have a song!
That was 11 years ago. Whenever I hear it, I still think of Ben. But now, it also makes me think of David Cook, since he performed it when he was competing on American Idol. Looking back, I still think it was pretty bad ass to have an Aerosmith song represent what Ben and I had when we were a couple, hehe.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Song #4- A Song That Makes You Sad
The Verve Pipe "Freshman"
It's pretty obvious why I picked this song, isn't it? It's about suicide. For two people to think that this is the way to get out of life, especially as a young teen just hurts my heart. At that age, I know it's hard to know that you are different than many people. I also know that high school is a time where people that are considered different are ridiculed, bullied, and isolated. This song represents that two individuals believed this was how it was going to be for the rest of their lives. What's even sadder? Only one of them went through with it. Not only does that person get to reflect and appreciate that he didn't end his life, but he ended up losing the one friend that understood him. He couldn't save her.
I remember the night before my freshman year, I called the radio station and requested to play this song. I only did it because the song was called "Freshman." Kinda fucked up, huh???
It's pretty obvious why I picked this song, isn't it? It's about suicide. For two people to think that this is the way to get out of life, especially as a young teen just hurts my heart. At that age, I know it's hard to know that you are different than many people. I also know that high school is a time where people that are considered different are ridiculed, bullied, and isolated. This song represents that two individuals believed this was how it was going to be for the rest of their lives. What's even sadder? Only one of them went through with it. Not only does that person get to reflect and appreciate that he didn't end his life, but he ended up losing the one friend that understood him. He couldn't save her.
I remember the night before my freshman year, I called the radio station and requested to play this song. I only did it because the song was called "Freshman." Kinda fucked up, huh???
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Song #3- A Song That Makes You Happy
Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are"
When I first heard this song on the radio, I fell in love. It instantly put a smile on my face and put me on a "happy high" for the rest of the day. Actually, it still does that to me. It's a very simple song, Bruno Mars gushing about how he loves his girl for who she is. It makes any woman feel beautiful. I recall one of my friends posting on my Facebook that this should be played every morning. You know, she had the right idea.. to start of each day listening to this would instantly make me happy (whether I already was or not). For any female out there that's feeling down, for whatever reason, I recommend you play this song. You will forget why you were down in the first place. :-)
When I first heard this song on the radio, I fell in love. It instantly put a smile on my face and put me on a "happy high" for the rest of the day. Actually, it still does that to me. It's a very simple song, Bruno Mars gushing about how he loves his girl for who she is. It makes any woman feel beautiful. I recall one of my friends posting on my Facebook that this should be played every morning. You know, she had the right idea.. to start of each day listening to this would instantly make me happy (whether I already was or not). For any female out there that's feeling down, for whatever reason, I recommend you play this song. You will forget why you were down in the first place. :-)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Song #2- Your Least Favorite Song
Europe "The Final Countdown"
I was one of those individuals who went to Borders for the book release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which I had also done for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince). I got to the bookstore around 10 that evening to get in line to pick up my copy of the book after Midnight. The wonderful associates of Borders decided to play some music while we all waited, which was "The Final Countdown"... on repeat, for at least 2 hours. Umm... yeah, when you hear that song that many times in a row, you get tired of it really, REALLY fast. I'm just glad that the song didn't subconsciously associate itself with Harry Potter. That would have ruined my favorite books for me.
I was one of those individuals who went to Borders for the book release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which I had also done for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince). I got to the bookstore around 10 that evening to get in line to pick up my copy of the book after Midnight. The wonderful associates of Borders decided to play some music while we all waited, which was "The Final Countdown"... on repeat, for at least 2 hours. Umm... yeah, when you hear that song that many times in a row, you get tired of it really, REALLY fast. I'm just glad that the song didn't subconsciously associate itself with Harry Potter. That would have ruined my favorite books for me.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Song #1- Your Favorite Song
Michael Jackson's "Thriller"
I was only a couple weeks old when this video made its debut on December 2, 1983 (Hey, what a coincidence, that's 27 years ago TODAY!), so I have literally grown up with it. The song, to me, is Michael's best one (although "Billie Jean" is a very close second). Vincent Price did an excellent contribution with his rap, which is the part of the song I quote the most (Note to self: design artwork that shows off those lyrics so I can use it as Halloween decor each year). The video is pure genius... I credit that it revolutionized music videos in the way that many videos nowadays have a plot to them. I have been working on mastering the choreography of the video (which now that I own The Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii... thanks Mom... I can easily learn the moves). It's one of several songs that will instantly get me onto a dance floor.
I don't care what time of the year it is, "Thriller" is appropriate anytime, anywhere. You can't help but love this song... and I have yet to find someone who hates it :-)
I was only a couple weeks old when this video made its debut on December 2, 1983 (Hey, what a coincidence, that's 27 years ago TODAY!), so I have literally grown up with it. The song, to me, is Michael's best one (although "Billie Jean" is a very close second). Vincent Price did an excellent contribution with his rap, which is the part of the song I quote the most (Note to self: design artwork that shows off those lyrics so I can use it as Halloween decor each year). The video is pure genius... I credit that it revolutionized music videos in the way that many videos nowadays have a plot to them. I have been working on mastering the choreography of the video (which now that I own The Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii... thanks Mom... I can easily learn the moves). It's one of several songs that will instantly get me onto a dance floor.
I don't care what time of the year it is, "Thriller" is appropriate anytime, anywhere. You can't help but love this song... and I have yet to find someone who hates it :-)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
30 Day Song Challenge!!!
Oh how I love facebook and blogging!!! My buddy Sarah posted on her facebook in November of a Music Video Challenge. For thirty consecutive days you are supposed to post a music video that represents each day of the challenge. I loved her choices in videos and wanted to do the same thing. However, I thought I would add a little something to it. While I will abide by the rules and post the video, I will also add a little blip of information as to why I picked each video. These will be short blogs, but I hope that my readers will get as much enjoyment out of it as I will. This shall be a very eclectic December indeed!!!
1-Your Favorite Song
2-Your Least Favorite Song
3-A Song That Makes You Happy
4-A Song That Makes You Sad
5-A Song That Reminds You of Someone
6-A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
7-A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event
8- A Song that You Know All The Words To
9-A Song You Can Dance To
10-A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep
11-A Song From Your Favorite Band
12-A Song From a Band You Hate
13-A Song That is a Guilty Pleasure
14-A Song that No One Would Expect You to Love
15-A Song that Describes You
16-A Song that You Used to Love But Now Hate
17-A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
18- A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
19-A Song From Your Favorite Album
20- A Song You Listen to When You're Angry
21-A Song You Listen to When You're Happy
22-A Song You Listen to When You're Sad
23-A Song That You Want to Play at Your Wedding
24-A Song You Want to Play at Your Funeral
25-A Song That Makes You Laugh
26-A Song That You Can Play on An Instrument
27- A Song That You Wish You Could Play
28- A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty
29- A Song From Your Childhood
30- Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year
1-Your Favorite Song
2-Your Least Favorite Song
3-A Song That Makes You Happy
4-A Song That Makes You Sad
5-A Song That Reminds You of Someone
6-A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
7-A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event
8- A Song that You Know All The Words To
9-A Song You Can Dance To
10-A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep
11-A Song From Your Favorite Band
12-A Song From a Band You Hate
13-A Song That is a Guilty Pleasure
14-A Song that No One Would Expect You to Love
15-A Song that Describes You
16-A Song that You Used to Love But Now Hate
17-A Song that You Hear Often on the Radio
18- A Song that You Wish You Heard on the Radio
19-A Song From Your Favorite Album
20- A Song You Listen to When You're Angry
21-A Song You Listen to When You're Happy
22-A Song You Listen to When You're Sad
23-A Song That You Want to Play at Your Wedding
24-A Song You Want to Play at Your Funeral
25-A Song That Makes You Laugh
26-A Song That You Can Play on An Instrument
27- A Song That You Wish You Could Play
28- A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty
29- A Song From Your Childhood
30- Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year
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