Because people I know do it, so it must be cool. This is using the Genius function on iTunes.
Originating song: Knights of Cydonia - Muse
1. Empty Walls - Serj Tankian (The video is painful to watch, and if you look you'll see why.)
2. Lonely Day - System of a Down
3. Becoming the Bull - Atreyu (This song could not kick more ass if it had Samuel L. in it.)
4. Savin' Me - Nickelback (yes, I have Nickelback on my iPod; it's a guilty freaking pleasure and I self-flagellate about it, I promise, so get off my back!)
5. Look After You - The Fray
6. Dear Mr. President - Pink (ft. Indigo Girls)
7. Tear Away - Drowning Pool
8. Coin-Operated Boy - Dresden Dolls
9. I Want You - Savage Garden
10. Light My Candle - Rent movie OST
Bonus track: Awaken - Dethklok (This song is absolutely hilarious if you know the context.)
And, for one more bonus, because it is literally my favorite song ever: La Vie Boheme - Rent OST
I love all of these songs like I love breathing.
As another note, if you are a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, go here. Wil Wheaton grew up to be hilarious and snarky (and liberal, although he calls himself a libertarian).
I got my hair cut today - I have only gotten it trimmed once since 2004, and, although I planned on growing it down to my waist, I gave up because it was tangling too easy and making a general pain in the ass of itself. I had forgotten how much I love having bouncy hair (I have had it chin-length or in that neighborhood most of my life - this was the longest it had ever been, at just past mid-back), and I left it long enough to still do cute things with, so it's a win-win, and I am realizing how wonderful it feels to do things that makes me feel good about myself every once in a while.
See, most people have a hard time getting past the tomboy personality and my general INTP-ish lack of overmuch care about my appearance, and are very surprised when they are informed that, actually, whenever I pull out of my head long enough to notice that I have a body and stuff, I am very feminine in general. I love heels, makeup, dresses, and doing stuff with my hair. It really does make me feel very good to actually dress up, whether we're talking about what I have affectionately dubbed my "hooker gear" that I wear to Rocky Horror (usually complete with pigtails, white face makeup, black lipstick, and weird eyeshadow and stuff), or in more normal stuff.
However, I also have much less patience than most people with this, I think, and, if a hairstyle or makeup attempt has failed more than twice in the same attempt, I generally lose my temper, throw something at the wall, yank my hair into a ponytail, throw on my jeans, and give up on prettying up for a few weeks. ::shrugs::
I realize that my first post of yesterday was loaded with negative, and there's a reason. I have had a few people wonder before about why I never talk about my son, because some people think that the best emotional way to handle things is to talk about them constantly. See, no dice here. I get tired of it being assumed that I don't care because I don't talk about it, or because I generally do in very short sentences before changing the subject. I do this because this is, in fact, healthier for me than bursting into a vitriolic diatribe every time custody is brought up with anyone.
So all I have to say about my son is generally, "He lives in Montana and he's almost five." I don't add, "He's my heart and soul and I would give anything for him to be happy, and every day that I'm away from him feels like thirty years and hurts like a gut wound, and this fills me with absolute loathing for my ex," because it really seems self-evident. I shouldn't have to say all of that; it should be clear to anyone who knows me, and yet there are people who know me who can't get it through their skulls that sometimes the more something eats at you, the less you say about it, and the better it is.
That and it felt really good to unload that, because I am really, really tired of being nice to him. We're talking to the nth degree here. I've been so civil that it puts most custody battles to shame, and sometimes, yeah, I want to just scream at him. In fact, right after getting the first divorce papers, I had a dream the same night that I was in a room alone with him and I just screamed at him until I went hoarse and then I beat the shit out of him.
I woke up in a much better mood.
So this was my beating the shit out of him, only on my blog instead.
I do add the note that this is my one-sided perspective of it, that I don't think he's ever acted in what he doesn't think is our son's best interest, and that is the only reason that any of this is remotely acceptable.
To go back to the topic of music, my latest obsession has been Eric Whitacre's Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, the music of which can be found here.
Paradise Lost is a project that he has been working on for years, and the concept is encompassed by these two words: Opera electronica.
That's right, I said it. Opera. Fucking. Electronica.
For those of you who are not overfamiliar with my musical tastes, my favorite genre of music is likely techno-electronica (despite all appearance to the contrary here, and my tastes are still pretty varied). However, I also spent much of my life actively participating in choirs and more classical fora for music (at which Eric Whitacre definitely excels as well), and have never truly seen a fusion of any sort of classical vocal work with techno - aside from, perhaps, certain scenes in movies.
So, when I heard about this, I was excited, and, when I actually heard the exceptional work that came of it (see, for example, "Libertas Imperio," "Bliss," and "Butterflies"), I was absolutely riveted. I cannot properly express my excitement at seeing such an effective fusion of two musical styles that are so very different, and the power of the voices, both solo and joined, over the music, is absolutely stunning (most notably, for me, in "Bliss," which has the most choral parts of all the songs I have heard).
If I had more money I would get a cell phone JUST so that I could download the "Libertas Imperio" ringtone. Gods.
I love Eric Whitacre, for his incredible use of dissonance and breaking of musical rules to great effect, and, most of all, for making my favorite thing in the world. I've been following this for the past four years, and it's far better than what I expected of him, which, if you knew how much I love him (hint: he's my favorite composer by far), is a very, very high compliment for the results of the work.
Please, go give him a listen. He's young, he's absurdly hot, he's absurdly talented, and he deserves all the love in the world for his incredible music.
No comments:
Post a Comment