Twilight

Confession: I'm reading the Twilight series.

Several friends have recommended it, much like Harry Potter in the early days. I've got free time, so I finished the first two books in 3 days. Scarily - that's not unusual for me. Which means, finishing them so fast doesn't mean I especially like them.

My thoughts on the first book: Meyer spends far too much time developing a relationship, then crams an action story into the latter half of the book. She's dealing with two genres, attempting to integrate them, but succeeding only in a flimsy segue between them. On the other hand, Twilight reads easily, mastering the art of cliff-hanging and driving the novel through plot. Overall, easy to understand the popularity, but far from lasting literature.

On a personal note - this is a lot of vampire for me (along with Buffy). Kind of getting tired of it; need a break. But I will have to see the movie for a comparison:

Celeb Sighting: Bruce Willis

Leaving a popular local cafe recently, I held the door for Bruce Willis.

The most remarkable part? That I recognized him!

A few basic facts I picked up about him:

1. Die Hard (1988) was his first major success
2. Married to Demi Moore for 13 yrs, has 3 kids
3. New wife is Emma Heming (March, 2009)
4. Owns Planet Hollywood, along with our dear governator.

Oh, and he sings!

Britian's Got Talent

A friend finally clued me in to the Susan Boyle phenomena. As usual with YouTube, I ended up exploring the "Britain's Got Talent" clips. I found it fascinating.

It seems like many of the acts followed Susan's "key" to success: They want the crowd to underestimate them. I saw it in a couple of other acts and it got old real fast.

Some of the other acts were just bizarre. Seriously, why does a man do a handstand on knives and pretend to slip and cut his own throat? I mean, it was impressive, but why do it?

Anyway, today's clip is a group I thought was pretty awesome. Judge for yourself:

Britain's Got Talent "Diversity"

Top of the Week: Songs stuck in my Head

I never used to understand how people could not know the words to a song - either you know it or you don't. But since I've been learning a song a day, I can't actually learn all the words. It's just the chorus running in circles in my head. It's so annoying to have a chorus in my head and no verses!

Also, I'm noticing a trend here. It's the pop songs that get stuck: "Sexy Back" and "Poker Face" especially, also "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". They're the songs that hammer one line into into your head, until it pierces deep in your brain and is triggered by every little synapse.

But it's only one sentence! So then I need to hear the rest of the song, I desperately seek out the song, and listen with the relief of an addict overdue for a dose.

Here's another catchy one....
Flo Rida's Right Round

A Little Neurology

Listening to NPR, there was a neuro-musicologist or musico-neurologist or musically neurotic ologist or something. Whatever he was, he wrote some book on the brain and music.

One caller said she has lyme disease, which affects the brain. Since developing it three years before, she can't stand music. She used to love music and be really into it. But now, she said it annoys her and she wants it turned off. She still recognizes the songs and music, but has no emotional connection / reaction.

That perfectly discribes me! Not that I think I have lyme disease... but the expert whatever said that there is a certain part of the brain that "appreciates" music. I guess this is different from the part that "recognizes" it or even "hears" it. Anyway, I'm just gonna guess that part of my brain isn't so well developed...

So, today's music is....
Mozart's Symphony 40



I chose this because Mozart is associated with improved neural development.

I Tried... Once

Kevin was shocked to her me listening to 3 Doors Down in my car. He thought I'd consider that too noisy. Truth is, the last time I tried to discover music (about 10 yrs ago), I found a few bands I liked:

• Vertical Horizon
• Goo Goo Dolls
• 3 Doors Down
• Third Eye Blind
• Matchbox 20

I've had these cd's since the 90's. I realize I still like this category / genre, including their more recent music. But they sound so similar, I needed more variety and got bored by them. BTW - what would you call this category? What genre do they all fall in?

Today's song is . . .
Goo Goo Doll's Iris

Music as Poetry

I always say lyrics make the song for me. I was an English major who specialized in poetry. Shock of the day...

The most poetic form of music is rap.

I decided to figure out the difference between rap and hip hop, but instead discovered the beauty of rap. Rap is somewhere between poetry, spoken word, and singing.

Reading the wikipedia article, it talked about rhyme schemes, diction, double entendres, and prosody. Light bulbs going off! Rap is quite an art form, one which I can appreciate. So, I decided to try my first rap song.

Today's song is . . .
Tupac's Keep Ya Head Up

How to Name a Band

I've often wondered where bands got their names. Here are a few interesting ones . . .

Black Eyed Peas - copies the Red Hot Chili Peppers name out of respect and because "Black Eyed Peas are food for the soul" (ie, their music is too...according to will.i.am)

Grateful Dead - chosen at random from a dictionary (possibly while playing a game, definitely while high)

Led Zeppelin - when forming the band, some drummer refused to join, saying it would fail like a "lead zeppelin" = a blimp made of lead (spelt "led" so people don't mis-pronounce lead as "leed", which would mean the #1 zeppelin)

3 Doors Down - a broken sign in an alley said "doors down", the 3 represents the 3 original members.

Nine Inch Nails - it abbreviated nicely

AC/DC - from the back of a sewing machine, old label for electrical wiring (Hey, I remember when things had this label!)

Green Day - "is Bay-area slang for a day with lots of green bud where you just sit around taking bong hits, hanging around" (according to their site)

One thing stands out to me: the total randomness of it all. I'm sure there are a slew of fascinating other examples, these are just ones I've stumbled across while reading for this blog.

Today's song is . . .

Vertical Horizon's Go

Top of the Week: A Rising Star

Announcing . . . Top of the Week. In an attempt to keep up with the current music, I'm going to post one song from Billboard Top 10 each week, on Mondays.

Checked out the wikipedia entry, Lady Gaga is very talented and quite the rising star. Poker Face became her second single to hit the number one spot - very impressive.

Lady Gaga's Poker Face

They're pretty tight on the copyright thing, so I can't embed the video (had one, but it was blocked). So, click the title above to see the official video on YouTube. Also, this is the zipper song - the song she sang on American Idol while wearing a zipper on her eye... and a star for a dress... not sure I get the fashion, but guess she's really into it.

Box of Evil

Ted mentioned Pandora in the comments awhile back. So, I've actually had a Pandora account for more than 3 years; I figured it would help me learn music.

Problem is, just like the radio, I had no idea how to "seed" a station, no starting point. Also, the Music Genome project focuses on the sound of music, choosing songs that sound similar to the seed song. But I don't get the connection between sounds, either I like the words or I don't... the sound doesn't make much difference to me except to accent the lyrics.

I haven't opened my Pandora account in more than 2 years: Wow! It's changed!! It's sleek, professional, and actually has ads now (I remember wondering why it didn't before).

Awesome thing: Pandora now has info on the songs playing. So, it's easy to find out about the artist or song. So, now that I have starting points, I might use Pandora to pick up leads in new directions. Today's song comes from one of my original Pandora channels (based on the Eagles).

Today's song is . . .
Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down (1989)



I think I like him. It helps if I respect the musician: His band has been together for more than 30 years, he takes a strong stand on artists' rights, etc. This song was played at a benefit for 9/11 victims.

A Weak Moment

Is children's literature acceptable as pop culture on this blog?

Probably not, but I guess I get to decide the rules. So, just for today, I'm blogging books.

I was at the library to tutor and decided to pick up a few books for the week. I went with casual fiction, most of which I've been meaning to read for years.

• Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown
• Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club
• Toni Morrison's Jazz
• John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
• Brian Selznick's The Invention of Huge Cabret

So, it was on the children's literature award winning books (mostly Newbery winners). I was intrigued because it was twice as thick as any other book. So I opened it and discovered a most unique approach to literature! The author calls it "A Novel in Words and Pictures". Think literature meets comics (er, pardon me, "graphic novels").

Today's book is . . .
Brian Selznick's The Invention of Huge Cabret (2007)

Just started, but enjoyed it. A radical concept that forces the reader to slow down. The images give more detail, the sketches have fine nuances. He even gives a strong sense of motion by zooming in from one page to the next. Then, there's the pages of words . . . well-written and engaging.

Scented Thoughts

Walking through San Marino late tonight, I passed a lovely scented tree. It made me think of jasmine, but I'd never seen a jasmine tree. I picked a leaf and flower, to research at home: Lakeview Jasmine. It's lovely.

As I returned home, inhaling the scent, a remnant of a song came to my mind. By the time I'd arrived, I remembered nearly all the words. It seemed so suitable for my mood:

There are times when all the world's asleep,
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned,
I know it sounds absurd
But please tell me who I am.

Today's song is . . .
Supertramp's The Logical Song

Stepping Outside Rock / Pop

I'm using this blog to follow up on random references I hear, especially about music. I want to explore different genres, but when you know nothing, you got nowhere to start.

I heard a song that made me think "Ella Fitzgerald". I have absolutely no recollection about the song, and no idea why I thought it might be her. But I decided to look her up anyway.

Turns out, she started recording about the time my grandmother was born and died in 1996. She recorded for 59 years. That's an impressive career. She sings blues and has an amazing voice. This site plays a nice sampling of song clips (it's selling a "best of" CD).

Today's song is . . .
Ella Fitzgerald's Blue Moon

So, as I was checking YouTube, the songs started to spark a memory. I think my favorite gelateria in Busan plays Ella a lot; they have an awesome atmosphere. I'll have to check it out this summer and see if I'm right.

Let the Beat Rock

I kept hearing this distinctive song on the radio, but couldn't figure out the lyrics. So, I decided to combine this radio thing with this internet thing. Result is: I found out the "boom boom boom" song is actually Black Eyed Peas' new release Boom Boom Pow and the current number one according to Billboard.

Also, this song is from a cd that hasn't been released yet. What's up with that? Is this a common thing? I guess it's a good marketing device.

Back to the song... So apparently sounds count as words, as in "hear the spaceship *zoom*". Also, there are allusions / slang I didn't get, such as 808 (disturbing the peace), and the clean version cuts out a lot of ****, making it hard to understand. Now I read the lyrics, I'm happy enough.

Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow



So, anyone have any idea why this is top right now?

Finished Buffy Season 2

Okay, so I figured that if I watched a season or two, that was enough to "get" the show. I've done that with others, like BSG (seasons 1 & 2), Arrested Development (1st season only), or The Office.

Getting to the end of season 2 in Buffy, I figured I might just forget about it and not see the rest.

Until I saw the final episode. Incredible ending. Yeah, honestly, I thought it was brilliant. So much that I actually do care to see what happens. Very glad I don't have to wait months to see it (like regular season finales).

But I'm not sure I want to watch either. I know there's a spin-off series about Angel, which means they must somehow bring him back. They shouldn't - it should really end right there. In fact, I'm feeling the whole Buffy series should end at the end of season 2 - great endings don't leave room for sequels.

But alas, Emi has lent me the next 5 seasons of Buffy and 4 of Angel. . . So I'm sure I'll be seeing more. Just hope it's not disappointing.

Today's song is . . .
Sarah McLachlan's Full of Grace
(Ignore the vid, only decent version of the song I could find.)



Anyone know why I chose this song?

Missing Comments

Sorry all, just realized I'd missed a bunch of comments people posted. So I went back through and read them all. Guess I'll be turning email notifications on so that doesn't happen again.

A lot of people are giving suggestions in the comments, so those are definitely going into my list of things to check out. Might take some time before they surface as postings though. This will be an excellent way to expand!

Today's song is . . .
U2's Where the Streets Have No Name



It's time for another U2 song. I've mostly been listening to the Joshua Tree CD when I can't stand the radio any longer. This is the first song on the CD, so I'm starting to learn / like it.

This video follows Eddie's recommendation - U2 at Super Bowl 36, Many people have observed that they're incredible in concert, and I think I can see why. They have so much energy, seems pretty awesome.Hmm, they're coming to the Rose Bowl . . . guess if I get really ambitious I could go to my first concert . . .

. . . but that would be REALLY ambitious.

Finally!

Okay, two weeks into this project, I finally heard a song I know on the radio: Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit on 106.whatever-it-is. Yes! This blog will pay off, though it's gonna take awhile.

So, for Easter, thought I'd find a popular song that references easter / resurrection / etc.

Well, googling "lyrics resurrection" gave me interesting results. Realized I don't know anything about pop music, so I wikipedia checked each of them:

• Nicol Sponberg's Resurrection (some new Christian artist. This is her first solo.)
• Chimaira's Resurrection (a headbanger group. Noisy.)
  

Listened to both, but decided I really had to put up the Christian one for Easter. Yeah, it's not the pop song I was looking for, but it's actually pretty good.

Today's song is . . .
Nicol Sponberg's Resurrection

CD CD

I have a handful of CD's to try out, borrowed from friends due to this blog. That's great, because I like the repetition of CD's over the radio in my car. Yes, repetition is good.

• Beatles' One
• U2's Joshua Tree
• Another U2 I haven't listened to yet and don't remember . . . newer (200 maybe?)

The way I have to learn a cd is simple: I start with one song that I know (like U2's I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking For is track 3). I let the cd play until it annoys me, then skip ahead to the one song I know and repeat. Eventually, I start to learn the song that follows my first song (track 4). Eventually this leads to track 5, then all the way through the cd.

See why I can't stand the radio? They're all mixed up and I don't know any of the songs!

Today's song is . . .
Beatles' Hello Goodbye



Love this video - they look like they're just goofing off, fits the light tone of the lyrics.

What's a Rolling Stone?

A rolling stone gathers no moss. It remains uncluttered, polished, and free. That's what I always thought. In my world view, this old proverb was advice to keep on moving. Until I met Bob Dylan,

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

A story of a girl from a wealthy family who loses everything due to a relationship and ends up on the street. The song asks the girl how she feels, having lost everything. But it also asks the listener. I can just imagine some 60's hippie listening, feeling uprooted and tumbling out of control. Not just the 60's hippie . . .

It asks me. In my own personal life, this is the very question I've been dealing with. I'm a rolling stone; I refuse to stop for fear of losing myself in the obscuring growth of moss. I'm tumbling wildly down hill, which shall end and I finally come to a rest. Then would I be condemned to bear out the eternity of my days in one place, vanishing in the thicket of grass and moss, serving as shelter to the creatures and anchor to the trees.

So how does it feel to be a rolling stone? Free. Wild. Filled with possibility.

Today's song is . . .
Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone



I don't want to be anything else. So why do I feel the slope lessening?

Retro 90's

Each generation's pop culture seems to fall in a 10-15 year period - high school, college, through twenties. By the time a generation reaches 30, they've got their own culture. They start to think that the new stuff is too shallow/loud/annoying. By 30, their generation has been defined.

Well, I'm nearing that mark myself. But I have no idea about my generation's pop culture. A big part of this blog is discovering my generation. Sure, I'm pulling from modern stuff and from the 60's / 70's, but I want to discover the things I'm expected to know.

Which means . . . the 90's. Yes, unfortunately, I'm a decade behind. But I especially want to look back on the 90's and see what I was missing (though I don't expect much . . .).

So, I give you . . .

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(The song is from Bring It On, but this is what I expected from the whole show.)



Yeah, I know. But hey, back in high school, everyone seemed to be into this. Even in college, they'd talk about it. Although I did watch TV occasionally, I never saw a single episode of Buffy. Had NO idea what it was about. It just sounded plain stupid.

I'm now on season 2. Stroke of brilliance to make Angel evil. Show would have got boring / died otherwise. DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING!!!

Maples? Oaks? Politics?

Wandering through the office, I spied a random cd lying on the desk. Akio being on hand, he immediately told me that they have the single best drummer ever. That says something coming from a drummer.

So, I stuck it in the computer, pulled up lyrics, and discovered Rush. I liked the songs I read (yes, read, it's all about the lyrics!). This made me realize how most people discover music . . . rather randomly.

Today's song is . . .
Rush's The Trees



Liked it. A lot. 'Nough said.

Living Mayberry

Utopia literally means "no place" and was the name of a book describing a perfect version of England. The irony is that no place can be perfect and peaceful. Mayberry is a utopia.

I noted before that pop culture captures the mood of a generation, including its passions and convictions. But it also gives form to the ideals and dreams, manifesting the generation's concept of utopia. TV shows seem particularly good at capturing idyllic lives.

If Mayberry was the Utopia of the 60's, what show is the utopia of today? Please tell me it's not Grey's Anatomy. What are your thoughts?

Today's TV is . . .
The Andy Griffith Show
(Love the commercial in this clip)

I've been surprised to realize I know a lot of the older sitcoms. I think I saw them repeatedly as a kid and they stuck better than those cartoons I've completely blocked out. It's also interesting to see what the actors did after their shows. As a kid, I never knew that Andy Griffith was Matlock.

Pioneers of Hard Rock

Genre names aren't always what they seem. Alternative Rock? Pretty mainstream. And hard rock? Can be kinda mellow.

After hearing a recent reference to Led Zeppelin, I decided to learn about them next. Well, I should rephrase that, I decided to learn about him. Cuz, you see, I've always thought Led Zeppelin was a man. Thought it was some cool stage name or distortion of a foreign name.

Anyway, I discovered it's a band. Hard rock, from the 70's. I respect their breakup at the death of the drummer (less drama than I would have expected) and their release of their nameless fourth album (a stick-it-to-the-man attitude).

Today's song is . . .
Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven



Long and reflective. It surprised me that this is their number one song.

A Sign of the Times

While trying to figure out this radio thing, I stumbled on the country station. Now, I kinda like country. There's usually a story and it's easy to follow, much better for new music.

One song got me thinking: Shuttin Detroit Down.

Lyrics:

And while their living up on Wall Street
In that New York City town
Here in the real world they're
Shutting Detroit down

What struck me was that it was relevant to today. This song only makes sense in view of the economic crisis, the bailouts, the Big Three, and the feelings people have towards it all. The lyrics capture the atmosphere of the times.

It may be a decent musically or not, but it'll be catchy when people think, "Yeah, that's it! They think they're so great up there in NYC, but that ain't the real world. No, in real life you gotta deal with your mistakes. Take it like a man." Popular songs are about putting into words what people really want to say.

John Rich's Shuttin' Detroit Down
(Song starts about :55)

Now I get the phrase, "the music of a generation". It's not the music that a generation produced, it's the music that embodies a generation.

Hiking Hollywood Style

I recently went hiking with a friend in Malibu Creek State Park. Been there before, but it got me thinking about M*A*S*H.

For those that don't know, Malibu Creek used to be owned by Fox and used for filming (then called Fox Ranch). The whole 11 seasons of M*A*S*H were filmed there and the filming location is now along the main hiking trail, with a rusted out ambulance and jeep remaining from the show.

Learned lotsa cool things about M*A*S*H online today. Makes me want to watch the show again. Also, I realize what I like now that I didn't get as a kid: It's a dark comedy.

I remember M*A*S*H as a show my grandmother watched when I was a kid. It was mostly black-and-white, so I, in my 7-year-old wisdom, deemed it unworthy of my attention. The final episode still remains the most watched show in TV history. THAT says something about it!

Today's TV is . . .
M*A*S*H Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen



The final scene. An appropriate ending to a long show. Yeah, I think I could tear up at this one.

Radio Silence

I've been trying to listen to these stations so I can become familiar with the current music. It's not happening. I hate the radio.

What's the issue? First, they talk. People babbling about the music, or commercials, or news. I either don't know or don't care what they're talking about. Second, sadly, is the music itself. I don't know the band or the lyrics and get annoyed real fast.

So I end up driving in silence. It's better than the radio.

Today's song is . . .
Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back
(in tribute to the most obnoxious KIIS)



Surprisingly, I get it. I mean, I get why it's popular. Not much for the lyrics, but it's catchy (good rhythm? I dunno, anyone care to enlighten me?) The best part is this video works in a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. First, I like the live vocals better than the official music video, and, well, it's just a perfect match.

Suspension of Disbelief

I am terrible at suspending disbelief. That's what you sometimes need to enjoy a movie or TV show. It's the ability to enter the universe of the show and accept things that cannot possibly be true. An easy example of that is science fiction: you accept that space ships, aliens, or amazing technology is real. You suspend your sense of reality and accept the world created for you.

It helps when the universe of the show is consistent. There needs to be a reconciling between the things they say and do in that universe. Back to the example, if we hear that a space ship can travel at the speed of light, it better not take 10 mins, or even 10 days, to travel between stars.

Personally, I think it's easier to do this with action or science fiction. But when it comes to horror / thrillers, I don't enter their universe so easily. Perhaps it's a self-defense mechanism? Whatever the reason, it means I can enjoy a thriller best when other people are scared.

So, in my very limited experience, I'd have to say there's one current TV show that requires this more than most:

Today's TV is . . .
Lost



I'm highly amused by this narrator. I've seen enough to get the cultural references (most of seasons 1-3). I don't really care how it all ends.

Meet the Beatles

Apparently, they're number one. According to Billboard. According to Rolling Stone. According to RAII. They top all the lists. They are, irrefutably, number one.

I don't know why. Ok, I really shouldn't confess this, but I don't get it. Of course, I've only sampled a few songs, but the lyrics are shallow . . . Maybe I just need to find the right songs?

"We all live in a yellow submarine" sounds like a kid's song. That's fine, but really, all we need is love? "Yesterday" was a bit better lyrically, but still seemed simplistic.

Exactly! Simplistic. Idealistic. Happy. I suppose those aren't bad things, probably the very things that made them famous. Just feels immature to me? Man, I'm such a cynic!

I'm not saying I don't like them, I just don't get why they're number one. Truth is, I think I just need to keep trying them.

Today's song is . . .
The Beatles's "Help!"



Definitely my favorite out of the five or so I listened to, although the song's opening is a bit too much. (Wasn't that used for some commercial? I think that ruins it for me.)

Also, I like this video of it (maybe from the film? I dunno). For one thing, it gives me a close up of their faces, although I don't know which is which. Also, it has a nice aesthetic simplicity.