Friday, November 27, 2009

An Award?!?

My dearest, Sarah, has given me an award!
<---- That's it, right over there. *beams* I would like to say thank you very much to her! :) Hopefully I won't mess this all up. I am not quite as brushed-up on blogger etiquette as I would like to be. Evidently I must answer these questions about myself. And because I have a lot of time on my hands I'm going to do all the questions, unlike Sarah. (My answers are also a lot shorter than hers... not to mention less inspiring! =D) {If you're here for the music, skip to the end.} Anyhow, here they are. Everything you didn't want to know about me:


1. Your hair: Moody, curly, sometimes shiny but mostly frizzy. We have a love-hate relationship.

2. Where is your phone: I don't have one. Truth be told... I don't like them. I suspect that they are out to get me........

3. Your father: He's the best dad in the world! Calm, steadfast, and very witty.

4. Your mother: My favourite person to laugh with! She has been teaching my siblings and I at home for a long time. She (and my father) also knows what's best for me most of the time, whether I want to admit it or not.

5. Your favourite food: Fruit. I wonder if the fruit in the Garden of Eden is the same fruit we have now? Somehow, I doubt it.

6. Your dream from last night: I... don't remember, oddly enough. But I remember my dream from the night before last. I dreamed I was married to one of the people who lives in my dollhouse (except he was human) and he needed to take a bath but everyone was hanging out in the room with the bathtub and I was having trouble getting them out. Yeah... I have strange dreams.

7. Your favourite drink: Water! "We never know the worth of water until the well is dry."

8. Your dream/goal: To not be afraid to try to do things I think I can't do. Like... write music.

9. What room are you in: our family room

10. What is your hobby: Music, I guess! I collect music. :) And I play music. On the piano, that is.
11. What is your fear: Not maturing and staying as stupid and childish as I am now.

12. Where do you want to be in six years: Honestly? Probably engaged or even married. I don't know if I could live my life alone... I feel so meaningless like I should have a bigger desire than that. Though maybe I'll live with my best friend and we can be spinisters together.

13. Where were you last night: At home. With family and extended family. :)

14. Something you are not: Extroverted. And warm... I'm very cold right now. :P

15. Muffins: I bake them and eat them. I am excessively fond of them. *craves*

16. Wish list items: Various albums by various artists. Out-of-print books by Noel Streatfeild.

17. Where did you grow up: In a home filled with laughter, insanity, a few annoyances... and of course, love!

18. Last thing I did: I thought about what I should put for the "last thing I did"....

19. What are you wearing: Clothes. Fact is... I never leave the house without them. *nods*

20. Your TV: Addicting... I try to stay away from it. I fail.

21. Your pets: Lots of rodents! And a little brother...

22. Your friends: I have friends... and then I have friends. The latter are few, but they are wonderful.

23. Your life: Boring by some people's standards, but I like it.

24. Your mood: I am quite content, thank you.

25. Missing someone: Yes... more than one person. Most of them are fictional...

26. Vehicle: These feet are made for walkin'... ;)

27. Something you're not wearing: Clothes. Hehe, just kidding... I am not wearing make-up. Unecessary stuff, if you ask me.

28. Your favourite store: It's a store from my imagination. It's full of old records. Shelves and shelves of them... with overstuffed armchairs near record players. I hope to find it someday in real life. (Oh, also, if it was an old book store that'd be just as good!)

29. Your favourite color: Sunset.

30. When was the last time you laughed: A few minutes ago... we're watching a Dicken's movie. I was probably laughing at one of his quirky characters.

31. When was the last time you cried: I think it was a few days ago. Pathetically enough I was making-up some story and playing one of the characters. I think they were tears of joy, though.

32. Your best friend is: Adorable, hilarious, sensible.

33. One place you go over and over: A special place in my mind. I go there every day. Don't we all?

34. One person who emails me regularly: Not a human, I know that for sure.

35. Favourite place to eat: At home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you still awake? ;)

...And now I believe I am supposed to pass this award onto some people.
This is very sad but, I don't really have anyone to pass it onto. XD
Except this Literary Dreamer. He is a writer with blog posts that I like a lot, and continually find to be quite edifying. And he always has something nice to say on my blog, which I appreciate so much! (You don't have to do it if you don't wish to!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And to wrap this all up, I bring you: "I Love You, You Imbecile" by Pelle Carlberg featuring Ida Maria! {I love the song title... and the lyrics. =D}


Sunday, November 22, 2009

My Musical Spoutings

Often I feel overwhelmed by how much music is out there in the world. Most of it is not worth listening too... but a lot of it is!
Somedays I'll be listening on some site to an artist I like, and I'll see recommendations for other artists. So I'll start clicking around and listening - weeding out who I like, don't like, and kind of like. Until I have at least 10 new artists that I have an interest in and want to learn more about, musically speaking.
This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't do it so often! I have bookmarked links of all these artists I want to listen to. Often I'll just end up listening to a couple of their most popular songs. But I don't just want to know their 'hits'!! Very often there are lesser-known songs which are buried gems!
Another annoying factor is, I don't want to listen to or become attached to a song with horrible/explicit lyrics. And the music I listen to is mostly obscure so I often cannot find the lyrics anywhere!! *pulls out hair*
This plethora of music makes me feel extremely... stressed and... exhausted.

*deep breath* Whew, just needed to let that out. I feel much better and a bit ridiculous for my petty complaints. Such is life. :)
Sorry for my ranting. (Oh! Speaking of ranting, I have another blog! You can read it if you are so inclined... or if you're really, really bored.)

To end on a happier note, here's a random music video I've been watching all week!



{I love KaiserCartel!}

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Piano Pieces for Adult Beginners

"I just want you to know - I don't want you to go..."


One thing I love about the band Woodpigeon is their long song titles that seemingly have nothing to do with the song lyrics at all. Also a lot of their music has a decidedly minor feel. Which is absolutely delightful to my dark-rimmed soul! ;)

Listen to Woodpigeons' "Piano Pieces for Adult Beginners":
(I love the piano in this song!)







....and did you know that if you write the word "woodpigeon" in cursive it looks like a roller coaster?? Mark Hamilton does.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

"Why is absence so heavy to bear? Why is Guy fading away from me? I would have died for him. Why aren't I dead...?"


Because of our mutual love for it, my new friend, Sarah, suggested I do a post about "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg". And since it's a musical I think that works perfectly!

When most people hear the premise of "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" they instantly assume the worst about it. {"I mean, come on! It's a film that's all in French? And every, single word is SUNG?!?! Sounds kind of stupid..."}
Ah, but they have never heard Legrand's moving score, seen Demy's brilliant colours, or watched the heart-wrenching story.

Undoubtedly, one of the best parts of the movie is the main, musical theme. (Mainly known as "I Will Wait for You".)




This song is absolute perfection. It doesn't need words. The melody speaks for itself.

It's a film you do not want to miss. I am no good at summing up stories, so just go watch it if you already haven't.

...and don't blame me if after you watch it you feel the need to sing, in French, everything you say for the rest of the day! :)


(The scene where Guy is leaving is my favourite. Because it's so... sad...)

"Mon amour...."


"Je t'aime, je t'aime!"

Again, watch it if you haven't. I think I'm going to go watch it now. *blissful sigh*


{By the way, I turned the video into an mp3! Click here to dowload.}

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Quel Mal y a-t-Il À Ça?

Today I pretended to do my French while in actuality I was making my blog header! Yes I'm a wicked, wayward child... ;)
But I am rather proud of my header. It's not gorgeous or professional looking, but it looks better than I though it would! :)
So, in honour of my uncompleted French homework I am posting Françoise Hardy's "Quel Mal y a-t-Il À Ça?"


Listen:




...Now if you'll excuse me, I have some homework to do. :P

Friday, November 6, 2009

Song to the Siren

"Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken lovelorn on your rocks..."


I've noticed that I've been neglecting males on my blog. Unintentionally, I assure you! XD
So today's post will be Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren".
I first heard this song on the T.V. show "The Monkees". (Don't turn your nose up, it's a great show!) Tim Buckley sang this song at the end of one the episodes, sitting on a car that had been wrecked by Frank Zappa in the previous episode...




This folk-y performance of the song is very different from the way it later, officially appeared on his 1970 album "Star Sailor". I prefer it in this simple and acoustic form!
The version I'm posting isn't the album version nor the one that appeared on The Monkees. It's from a Tim Buckley compilation called "The Dream Belongs to Me - Rare and Unreleased Recordings 1968/1973". It is very similar to the version on The Monkees. :)

Listen: