Music Challenge Day 29: A Song from Your Childhood

"Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon is a song my dad would sing to my sister and I when we were little.  Good times.

Yay songs from childhood.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 28: A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

Oh, the amazing wonder of music association.

"Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield.

Here's why it makes me feel guilty:

This song came out when I was a stupid little teenager (17 and 18) and thought that I really liked this guy I had known for a few years.  I blew off my family and friends a couple of times for him only to have it turn out that it wasn't like that on his end.  Basically, I made a fool of myself and did a lot of really immature things during that time.

This song happened to be playing in his truck on one of those occasions.  I believe it was the night of a choir concert.

So, it's in the past.  I've grown up, moved on, and become friends with him again.  (No romantic feelings, though, which is probably a good thing.)  But I still squirm when I hear this song.

Which is kind of sad, because it is a good song.

Oh well.  Live and learn, right?

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 27: A Song You Wish You Could Play

I love the love theme for Inuyasha and Kagome.  It's so pretty.  I have the sheet music and I've tried doing it on the violin, but the truth is that it just sounds better on piano.

Such a beautiful song. =D

Ah, I can't figure out the hand syncopation.

Maybe one day I'll invest in lessons.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 26: A Song You Can Play on an Instrument

I'm a classically trained violinist.

Granted, I don't play much anymore and I don't practice.

But I have performed this song many times.

Many, many times.

Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A minor.

Love it.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 25: A Song That Makes You Laugh

I can't watch this video without laughing.  Plus the song is catchy.

"A Thing for Me" by Metromony.

Something about random people getting hit on the head with a bouncing ball.  It just cracks me up.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 24: A Song You Want Played at Your Funeral

Wow, weren't we kind of talking about this one yesterday?

So, I did use to plan my funeral for fun.  But as time has progressed, I've stopped thinking about it and have moved on.  Which means I don't really remember what songs I wanted played.  I know I wanted balloons, but I can't remember the music I wanted.

Just as well.

Now, as a Christian, I realize I'm not technically going to be present for my funeral.  Maybe I'll come by while it's going on to say goodbye to people.  But other than that, I will be in a much, much better place.  That being said, you guys could play anything for my funeral and it would be fine.

But if I had a choice, I would choose "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam.

I love this song.  Yeah, it's incredibly sad.  That sadness is part of why I like it.  It's soft compared to a lot of Pearl Jam's other stuff, and it's got really poignant lyrics.  (Not to mention I write while listening to it, too.)

So if I die anytime soon - which hopefully I won't - you can play this at my funeral.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 23: A Song You Want Played at Your Wedding.

Funny story, actually.  While most girls in high school were planning their perfect proms and weddings, I was off on my own planning the details of my funeral. 

Yeah, you read that right.  I had all the details down to a near science: how I wanted the casket to be done, what I wanted my tombstone to look like, etc.

I had issues in high school, to say the least.

But don't worry, cause times change and people change.  I am living example of that.  Instead of wishing I had died before I turned 18, I'm looking forward to a long life.  I want to grow and change and get older and yes.  I want to get married.

So even though I started later than most of my peers, I too have my dream wedding planned out.

Maybe it's been too many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress".  Maybe it's too much wedding talk among my friends who are in relationships.  Maybe I've just hit that point where I'm finally coming into that stage of womanhood, I really don't know.

But for whatever it is, I have it figured out.  Kind of.

Here's the song I want played at my wedding.  I plan on walking down the aisle to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0It0KMhrhoU

"Just Like Heaven" by the Cure, the Vitamin String Quartet version.

I love the Cure.  I happen to think that they are one of the better things to come out of that era known as "the 80's".  "Just Like Heaven" is possibly my favorite song by them and a close runner up as my favorite song of all time. 

Now, a wedding is a long way off.  As of now, I'm single.  I don't know when a relationship will come my way, but that's kind of the beauty of life: not knowing the way things are going to play out.  But when it does come, I've got the wedding song all figured out.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 22: A Song You Listen to When You're Sad

I actually named my blog after this song.  That's right. 

When I'm sad, I listen to "Stars and Boulevards" by Augustana.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xih8l7YAT6g

I like how melancholy (that spelling doesn't look right at all, but I'm going to roll with it anyway) the bass is.  I love how the lyrics allow me to wallow in my heartache and depression.

(You can't go wrong with a song that talks about always being alone.  I think my favorite line is "Just like to hear your voice and pretend to touch / Any inch of you that hasn't said it all or read it all or / Sung my life away..."  So poetic and sad at the same time.)

  And really, Augustana is such a great band anyway. 

Love it.  Don't know what that says about me, but I love it. 

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 21: A Song You Listen to When You're Happy

Can you guys believe is?  The music challenge is nearly done.  It's amazing to me how time flies.

So, happy songs.  Truth be told, I'm a hopeless romantic who listens to a ton of music about heartbreak and death.  I know, I know.  It's good to have a variety of things to listen to.  But the darker, deeper stuff really does appeal to me.

It changes when I'm happy, though.  If I'm in a seriously good mood, I love stuff that is up beat and catchy with lyrics I can sing along with.  And I always end up back at this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

Taylor Swift's song, "You Belong with Me".

I love this song.  I can belt it out, I know all the lyrics, and it's super catchy.  It's up beat.  It's fun.  And yeah, it does kind of fit every non-relationship I've ever not had.  (Having trouble figuring that one out?  Give it some time and it'll make sense.)

Whenever I'm happy, I go through the realm of music - everything from "Tequila" to Beck's "Girl" - and always end with Taylor Swift. 

Because even songs about unrequited love/like can be fun and uplifting.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 20: A Song You Listen to When You're Angry

Bwahaha.

Ah, getting angry.  I don't know how much of the time I get mad or just frustrated, but I know it used to be really bad back in high school.  (We don't want to look in the closet of high school, dear readers.  Trust me on this.)

I believe it was Sophmore year when I discovered My Chemical Romance with this song, "I'm Not Okay".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOnI5GGpXck

Oh yeah.  They are the one group I can always turn on when I'm angry or frustrated (starting with Sophmore year all the way to now, actually) and scream along with.  I always feel better, too, when I do.  I think it has something to do with the fact that the music is filled with so much adrenaline and I'm filled with so much adrenaline that it can't help but make me feel better.

Or myabe it's just Gerard Way.  I love Gerard Way.  I mean, look at his hair and smile.  Listen to those powerhouse lyrics.  Admire the way his voice goes from smooth to shouty in a matter of moments.

Ah.  Anyway.

So when I'm mad, I turn on MCR.  Because honestly, it works.  Always has.  Always will. =)

Your turn, readers.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 19: A Song from Your Favorite Album

It's a fairly rare occurance for me to like all the songs on a CD.  That's why my favorite album is "The Sun and the Moon" by the Bravery; I love every song on that CD.

"Believe" is the one that got the most radio play and kind of help turn me onto the Bravery, so it's the one I'm going to post here.  Plus the video style is really neat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv2OyI0nXEE

All in all, I think the Bravery is a pretty talented group.  The self titled album had a few songs I didn't like but was over all good.  I love "The Sun and the Moon" like you would not believe.  I haven't really listened to their new CD just because the few songs I had heard didn't really appeal to me.  I should probably give it a chance.  Eventually.

And that's today's music selection. =)

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 18: A Song You Wish You Heard on the Radio

Here's an interesting fact about me: I don't listen to the radio all that much.  I like my internet radio (thank you, Pandora, for making homework a bit more managable); but for car rides, I am the master of the mixed CD. 

Oh yeah.  You kids with your fancy smancy cords that let you hook up your iPods to your stereo systems have no idea what you are missing.  Mixed CDs are a blast.  It's like a memory in a disk.

Anyway.

(I find a lot of my music through commercials, movie trailers, and the library.  You know, in case anyone was actually curious.)

So as for a song I wish I hear on the radio, the answer was not obvious.

That is, until it was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ZUV9IBEXY

"Grapevine Fires" by Death Cab for Cutie is possibly my favorite track off of the Narrow Stairs album.  Yeah, it's kind of a bummer song.  I mean, he's singing about how everything is going up in flames.  But I love it.  It's soothing to me. 

(Plus, I want to use it in a movie trailer.  It's a cracked, half-baked idea I'm working on; I'm going to write the novel first and then the screen play.)

They never play (or played) it on the radio.  I only found it because I went on iTunes to get the track they did play all the time on the radio ("I Will Possess Your Heart") and decided to listen to a few of the other tracks listed. 

Seriously, radio stations.  Play more variety.

Oh, and it is kind of appropriate too. After all, this is fire season in Colorado.

What do you wish they played on the radio?

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 17: A Song You Hear on the Radio

I'll be honest, dear readers.   I'm not much for listening to the radio.  Most of the time I feel like it's the same five or six songs on repeat.

But when I do listen to the radio, I listen to one of three stations: K-Love (Christian radio), Channel 93.3 (Modern/Alternative rock), or 103.1 (Classic Oldies).  All three play a pretty good variety of music.

I think one of my favorite songs I hear on K-Love is called "What Love Really Means" by JJ Heller.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgGUKWiw7Wk

I find it rings true.  "Who will love me for me?  Not for what I have done or what I will become..."  Aren't we all looking for that?  Some of us are trying to find it in others; some of us are trying to find it in ourselves.  The reality is that God really does love us more than we will ever know.  It's such a hard concept to wrap my mind around - unconditional love in a world where everything has conditions on it.

Plus, JJ Heller has a great voice which makes it easy to listen to.

How bout you guys?  Songs you hear on the radio?

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 16: A Song I Used to Love but Now Hate.

I love Debussy.  In fact, one of my favorite songs in the classical world - "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" - was written by him.

But seriously, folks.  Stop using "Clair de Lune" in every movie.  It is not always appropriate.  There is other music available for emotional scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LXl4y6D-QI

Twilight, the Jacket, the Darjeeling Limited, etc, etc. 

This plus the fact that I really did love the song and so I listened to it on repeat a million times has made it so that I can't listen to it now.  I just can't do it.  And I have it stuck in my head now just from typing about it. 

It's an earworm I can't shake.

Gah.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 15: A Song That Describes You

This is hard.  I, like a lot of people, have trouble seeing myself as I am.  I mean, yeah, you see the the you in the bathroom mirror.  But you also see the you that no one else really sees and it's not always a pretty picture.

So it's hard for me to see myself the way that I am.  I see where I've been in nearly perfect clarity and I can kind of see where I am right now although it feels kind of blurry around the edges.  But that's the nature of being human, I suppose.

In the end, I chose "Hands" by Jewel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfsS3pIDBfw

The reason I chose this one is because it's so true.  My hands are small: I'm a twenty year old college student; I have no idea what, or if, I even make an impact along the way.  But they are mine and basically mine alone.  I make choices and I hold by those.  I try to reach out, I try to help out, and I try to live the kind of life that is worthy of being a Christian.  (As Jewel sings in her song, we are all God's eyes, hands, etc.)

Plus, I feel like I've proven that I'm not broken.  At least, not easily.  I feel like no one can hurt me because I know I'll bounce back with God's help and my own determination.

So if any song has to represent me, it has to be "Hands". 

(And at any rate, it's a great song.  Jewel is an amazing writer and musician.)

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 14: A Song No One Would Expect You to Love

I'm not going to lie here guys.  I make fun of a lot of things from the 1980's and 1990's.  (Yes, I am a child of the '90's and I still make fun of it.)  Some of the music, nearly all of the fashion, the movies for sure, etc.

One of the people I pick on is Rod Stewart.  Now, to be fair, he's not a bad guy.  It's just that most of his music ("Maggie", anyone?) drives me insane.  I flip the station when he comes on.  I hate it when I get one of his songs stuck in my head.  And really, he's like Mick Jagger - just retire already.

But he does have one song I love more than anything and was blown away when I found out it was him.  It's called "Forever Young".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEe_zpddNI

Maybe I'm just realizing how it is to be growing up.  Maybe I'm redefining my music tastes.  Maybe it's just a really good song.  But whatever it is, Rod Stewart has won me over with it.  I currently have it on repeat on my iPod; that's a testament to how much I love it.

So there. 

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 13: A Song That is a Guilty Pleasure

"Beauty and the Beast" is my favorite movie. 

It has so many wonderful elements in it.  First of all, Disney did a beautiful job animating it: the stained glass in the beginning, the colors throughout, the way the facial expressions on all the characters is so fitting.  It has always appealed to me in that respect.

Second of all, how many princess movies do you see where the heroine actually is well educated and well read?  I'm not saying Ariel or Cinderella aren't smart girls; it's just that Belle always has a book in her hand.  She has mastered the walk-while-reading manuver (once you get the hang of it, it's actually really fun to do).  Plus, she has a wide vocabulary - she insults Gaston in the first part of the movie and he doesn't pick up on it.  (She calls him "primeval", which is like calling him a chauvanistic pig.  I laughed once I figured it out.)

Third of all, the resounding theme of love being more than skin deep is a wonderful message.  I have always thought that while you can't escape appearances, you shouldn't be motivated by them.  I would much rather be smart that drop dead beautiful.  I kind of like to think that there are others out there who would agree with me on this.  Also, love triumphs over all things.  Two really great morals for the price of one.

Finally, the music is fantastic.

Which brings me back to the music challenge: a guilty pleasure song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeDPySP4nIw

Oh yes, "Belle's Reprise" is my guilty song.  I sing it and the regular part of Belle's song in the shower, I hum it under my breath, I listen to it when I need to remind myself that things are ok.  I try not to do it when anyone is around - I mean, who wants to hear "Beauty and the Beast" all the time - but sometimes I fail.

Ultimately, though, it is my go to guilty pleasure song.  Love it.  Now I feel the urge to watch the movie again...

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 12: A Song From a Band You Hate

Hate is such a strong word.

In all honesty, I don't hate anything.  I mean, I strongly dislike some things and I really want to high five certain people in the face from time to time, but I don't hate them.  So it's kind of hard, once again, to pick something.

That being said, there is a group that freaks the heck out of me.  They're called the Black Veil Brides.  Here's their song "Knives and Pens."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEb3GQqdHD4

Now, screamo and emo music is fine.  I don't really have anything against it.  I mean, when I'm having a bad day, I like cranking up my fair share of Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Metallica, and Marilyn Manson to scream along with.  Heck, I've even been known to listen to Hollywood Undead from time to time.  (Albeit, not very often.)

But this group takes the cake.  I like the first minute of the song, but oh my gosh.  Please.  Stop screaming.  Stop looking at me like that while your screaming.  Stop staring me down like I'm the prey and your the demon possessed hunter. 

Yes, I am aware that there is a computer screen separating me from them but really.  They freak me out.  And that says a lot coming from me.  I can not handle it at all.

So to all the Black Veil Brides fans out there, my apologies.  I just can not handle your group.  They are too much for me to take in and digest.

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 11: A Song From Your Favorite Band

I will always have a special place in my heart and soul for the Beatles.  They were the one group I listened to almost exclusively for an entire year of my life, from ages 11 to 12.  Even when I rediscovered the world of rock and pop, the Beatles were (and are) always on my playlist. 

It's incredibly hard for me to just pick one song by them.  If I'm being honest with myself, I love nearly everything they do.  (There are a few exceptions, like "Michelle" and "Yesterday"...)

So here's the one I've chosen for today, because it's catchy, up beat, and oh so true:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBDF04fQKtQ

That's right.  "With a Little Help From My Friends" by the Beatles.

Because I get by with a little help from my friends, too. =)

~Meaghan

Music Challenge Day 10: A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

I have a lot of trouble with sleep.  It's one of those deals where I want to sleep - my body wants to sleep - but my mind has other plans.  I toss and I turn.  I flip over the pillow.  I fix the blankets and then kick them off again.  I stare at the ceiling, stare at the walls, stare at my alarm clock.

Basically, it's like sleep hates me.

But there is hope.  And part of it is in this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDCJXs-s3MY

"Let It Rain" by OK GO.

It's been a personal lullaby of mine since I discovered the group back in high school.  The original reason I bought the CD was because of the song "Here It Goes Again" - you know, the one with the video with the group on treadmills.  Little did I know that I would actually fall in love with "Let It Rain" more than the original single.

It's soothing.  Even though it has all the elements of rock in it, I find that it's subtle enough that if I'm having a rough night - stress about my self-image, boys, family, school, etc. - I can put it on and it lulls me into that state of sleep that I so desperately need.  Maybe it's the lyrics.  I find them to be somewhat relateable.  How many times have I been drained in relationships that didn't pan out or come to fruitation? 

And then there's the chorus:  "Let it rain, let it pour..."  Ah rain.  Please, do let it rain.

Ultimately, "Let It Rain" is my one song that I can listen to and be relaxed enough to sleep 99% of the time.

~Meaghan