Holiday Music

This is one of my favorite times of the year regarding weather and music.  The cold weather makes me want to sit inside and listen to frosty the snowman all day long.  Another perk of holiday music that it is nearly impossible to be in a bad mood while listening to it which makes me listen to it more because it is a very stressful time of year with finals and shopping for presents.  I really like how the sound of music this time of year is a universal sound of happiness and joy.  

White Album

The white album was extremely random; that is just about the only way I can describe it.  I think that the randomness could have been more effective in a shorter album of 10-15 songs rather than 30 songs for over 90 minutes.  Some of the songs like one about Bungalow Bill are not only random within the album but just weird songs in general, no matter the setting.  Another problem that I have is the length of many of many of the songs ranging for less than one minute to more than right minutes.

Jimi Hendrix

I think that Jimi Hendrix may have been the most talented musician that we have listened to so far in class this year.  The part of the movie where he played his guitar with his teeth was just amazing.  I also am still wondering as to why he lit his guitar on fire and then smashed it into pieces. The only logical reason I have thought of is that is was some sort of "sacrifice" toward a greater musical power but that that doesn't make too much sense.  Regarding his musical talent I was very impressed and enjoyed it a lot but his personality seemed rather odd.

Zeppelin

My biggest critique for Zeppelin so far is that there are too many guitar solos.  I mean they are very well done but I am just not a fan of instrumentals.  I enjoy a song the most when I can sing along as loud as I can and as bad as I can.  I also think that some of the songs were unnecessarily long which bored me at times.  Other than that I do not have a very serious opinion of his music and/or style of performance. 

Movie

I think it was really cool how a bunch of random parts and gizmos can make a "guitar".  Although the sound is not exactly the same it is still a really awesome thing to do.  The sound of guitar is the key to rock and roll in my opinion and it doesn't matter how you make it as long as it gets the job done.  I also thought it was really cool how the guitar riff could be made so much better with that one device (I can't remember the name of it) but I know it is used for many songs and by many people.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The beginning and end of Sgt. peppers is very good, the middle is not bad but compared to the rest of the album it just doesn't compare.  I really like the idea of combing this album with several songs from Magical Mystery Tour to create a so called "super-album" which could compete for the best album of all time.  It was also really cool listening to how they encorporated styles from Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys into their already great music.  I can't imagine receiving praise from the Beattles like that and I definitely would not have released another album if I was Brian Wilson.

Small vs big shows

I have never to been to a large performance of any type but I feel like I would not fit in very well.  A small venue with one it maybe two bands appeals to me much more. It would be much easier to focus in the music and not the event itself.  I see the appeal of larger events but they definitely a directed toward a set group of people.  Another reason is that I do not like a wide range of music so I could chooses a smaller event with just the music that I like, rather than wander around a park hoping to find a good band.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

To be completely honest this is the weirdest song I have heard in a while, and especially coming from The Beatles. The whole album was disappointing to me compared to the first couple of albums but still well written and played.  The repeating end to the last song was very creepy and I don't think I would want to have something like that on an album I wrote.  It would definitely be a reason for me to not buy the album if I were on the edge, and like Ryan said, if I were to fall asleep with that on I don't think I would ever sleep again.

Pet sounds

Pet sounds was one of the best albums as a whole that I have listened to this year. Each and every song got together to make the entire album like one piece of work.  Although it is very different from the first beach boys songs they are still very catchy and fun to sing along too.  The whole Brian Wilson situation is a little bit confusing to me, I know that he went crazy after releasing this album and it took him almost 40 years to complete the next one but I just can't really understand how somebody can be that crazy but wrote so well. 

Revolver

In my opinion Revolver is not as good as the first couple albums of The Beatles but that is only if you are basing it off of the same criteria.  It is a different sound and therefore cannot be judged the same way as Please Please Me.  For what The Beates were trying to make I really like the songs but I just don't like the style as much, some of the songs were not as up-best as I like and had a tiring effect on me.  Norwegian Wood was a really weird song and after thinking about it I would have to agree with Alec, he most likely burned the house down after he woke up.

Destiny vs Free Will

I think that destiny and free will are on a spectrum.  There are some choices that a person makes that can decide their destiny from that point in.  For example, a person that chooses to do a stupid stunt or take a risk that then paralyzes them would be destined to not achieve in an athletic field.  In this case a choice would lead a person to a different destiny.  One could always make the arguement in this situation that they were just destined to mess up and become paralyzed but I think that is invalid.  Honestly this arguement is impossible to ever decide because nobody will ever be able to tell if destiny is real.

Types of R&R

Something that I think is really cool about Rock and Roll is that it comes from such a variety of music and therefore can be very different from other types of Rock and Roll.  Several types of music that fed into the making of Rock and Roll are country, blues, swing, and jazzy tunes.  With a mixture of all of these types out together there is not a limit to what Rock and Roll can be.  We talked about what size "boxes" we sort things into and how it depends on the person for a given topic.  For me I have tons of boxes, each with a very small amount ideas or topics. This makes me want to create a single type of music that is just rock, but I have realized that is simply just not possible. There is just too much variety.

Beatles movie

The movie we watched in class was very weird, especially the part where they cut the guys leg off while trying to steal ringo's ring.  The entire film was more entertaining than some others we have seen but it was just incredibly odd and I never completely understood the plot.  I enjoyed the color in this movie because it makes it easier to follow the important ideas that is trying to be made.  There was music mixed in to different parts that I didn't think fit very well but I'm not the expert so what do I know.  

Church music

One of the most common times I listen to/sing along to music is during Church.  I don't know if I could say that I like the music we sing in church for my normal standards but for church music, I think that it is really powerful.  To me it is really fun to sing along with the rest of the community and just feel like we are all together, as one.  It is also really fun because I am a horrible singer and I can't be judged at at church!  Church music is very catchy, at least at my church, and is also a good way of expressing your views on religion in private.

Listening vs. hearing

One of the things that I have started doing because of History of Rock and Roll class is changing the way I listen to music.  Before the class I would do what I call now hearing music, I would be doing homework or watching TV with headphones and just hear noise in my head. I never actually made an attempt to understand what a song was trying to tell me.  Now my music listening has changed.  I never really knew how every song was a completely different story, well I knew but I didn't actually KNOW, if that makes sense.  I have learned to enjoy music much more now and an starting to become more interested in the making of it, not just the outcome.

Really dad?

One thing that probably does not help with me disliking the Rolling Stones is that I had heard many good things about them prior to actually listening to them.  I know that my Dad enjoys the Rolling Stones and I have always considered my Dad's taste in music to be pretty good, wrong this time Pops.  I was sold to high on them and therefore was disappointed. I think that if I had never heard about them before and then started listening to them that I could actually enjoy them. But as everybody knows, first impressions make a huge difference in the world today.

Rolling Stones

To me the Rolling Stones are almost like a worse version of the Beatles. They are very unoriginal and wrote very little of their own music at the beginning of their career.  That takes away a lot from what I think of them and is really disappointing.  I do not know very much about music and/or how to play instruments well but one thing that stands out to me while listening to the Rolling Stones is that they just don't sound completely together, which is especially noticeable during their instrumentals.  I know playing the guitar is a very difficult thing to do but I feel like you should be able to play better if that's what you spend your entire life doing. 

When I feel like $H!T

Whenever I feel bad and just do not feel like doing anything I start off by taking a nap.  When this happens one of two things always happens, I either wake up feeling great and have forgotten that I felt bad or I feel twice as worse as before.  If the first thing happens I normally go about my day like nothing happens.  If the second option happens I already know that my day is worthless and basically try to make it as boring as possible.  Normally I just lay in bed and watch TV or old movies that I don't get until I fall asleep again and hope its morning.

What is Rock?

By definition Rock & Roll is a genre of music that consists of a combination of styles such as blues, jazz, gospel music, country, and swing.  Although that is true my definition in different in a view categories.  To ME to think of something as Rock & Roll it has to energize me and sort of pump me up to a certain degree.  I also think of guitars when I think of Rock & Roll, I guess they are not necessary but they definitely help with the feel of the music.  One thing that also sticks out to me when I think of Rock & Roll is superstars.  For a band to be famous by means of Rock & Roll there has to be a superstar, not just a couple guys who work well together.

Pandora

For me, Pandora is an extremely awesome and easy way of listening to and finding new music.  I often start listening to one of my favorite artists but then in a few minutes find myself listening to a completely different genre that was just a few clicks away.  This helps me find out about new types of music and expand my knowledge of music.  Recently I've been listening to the "George Jones & B.B. King" station that my Dad introduced to me and I've been pleasantly surprised with what I have found. 

ACL

I think ACL is a great idea and is run very efficiently but it is just simply not for me. First of all I do not like do be with large groups of people because it seems like there are few productive things that come from those situations. Secondly there are very few bands at ACL that I follow closely or have even heard of. And for that matter, even if there was a band I liked I probably would not want to go see them perform. I don't see the point of watching live music when you could just listen to it on your iPod. Maybe that would change if I ever go to a concert.

George Strait

George Strait is on his final tour this year called "Cowboy Rides Away". Country music fans are ecstatic yet sad that this great is leaving the country music scene. I am a huge fan if George because he can be related to so well. My favorite Strait song is "Love without end, amen". I hope to have the same relationship with my son that he had. I really hope that I will be lucky enought to get tickets to his concert at the Erwin Center but they will be hard to come by. George should be the exmple for every up and coming musician of every genre. 

Hard Days Night

I think it is really amazing that the members of the Beatles were able to film a movie at the same time of writing such an amazing album.  The movie really shows the different types of characters each guy is and how they interact with each other on a daily basis.  It also shows how dedicated they are to their fans by giving them more material to entertain them.  Although the movie was not one of the best I've ever seen it was okay to watch and kept me interested throughout most of the film.

Cultural differences

The differences in the perceptions of things or places around the world is something that really intrigues me.  It is really hard to imagine what a brand new place would be like.  The lack of knowledge by some people can give very inaccurate ideas to people who have never been somewhere.  For example, somebody who has never been to Texas could be persuaded not to go simply because they have assumption we ride horses and watch tumbleweed roll around all day; when in reality there are very few people who rely completely on horses for travel.

With the Beatles

I think that the Beatles second album is much better than the first one because of the song Please Mr. Postman. I'm not exactly sure why I like it so much but it is very catchy and easy to sing along to, which I like.  A song that I can't understand the words to is worthless.  The story that takes place is also pretty interesting because it is something I find hard to relate to.  The thought of not being able to contact somebody at any moment in time is hard to think about nowadays.  

Beatles II

After looking back on what I did today I feel completely ashamed. The Beatles recorded one of the most famous albums ever in about 16 hours. I went to school and played a football game, that's it. And to top it off my throat is sore just from a little bit of yelling, I couldn't imagine singing for an entire day.  The fact that something so great can happen in such a short period of time can really teach you some lessons about life and how you are much more than you think you are.  Moral of the story is that Lennon is a badass.

Beatles

In class Thursday was the probably the first time I have ever listened to music just to listen to music. I have always used it as a background noise while I'm doing another activity.  At first it was a little difficult to focus but then I realized that if I  actually listen to the story that the music is telling me it's a lot easier and a hell of a lot more fun.  Thursday was also the first time I have listened to an entire album all at once, which is probably because I am not patient enough but it was cool to see trends between different songs and the patterns that show up.

Ylvis?

So my brother told me about this crazy Norwegian band that wrote a song about trying to find out what sound a fox makes. I guess it's a good point considering I have no idea what sound a fox actually does make. The song is all in English, here's a link: http://youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE

The song is definitely weird and I wouldn't want it on my IPod or anything but I thought it was cool how a band could be inspired by something like a fox's sound.

Elvis

I don't think I can say that I like Elvis' performances but he does make some good music. I think he tries too hard to please the crowd with his physical movements rather by music. I guess to some people, mostly women, it could be entertaining but it's just not my style. I don't know if I have a favorite song by him and I've never spent any time to just listen to his music.  Maybe there are some of his songs that are great that I've never heard of that could get me interested but I don't think that's very likely.

Jerry Lewis

So I've done a little bit of research and cannot find any concrete evidence that Jerry Lee Lewis murdered three of his wives but its is sort of sketchy how one of them "drowned" in a pool and another just happened to overdose just a short while after they married, come on media get with the picture.  Although this could just be cover up stories I find it pretty hard to believe that he would have gotten away with this stuff especially after being found outside Elvis' house with a loaded gun.  Well anyways I think his music is pretty good but just getting over how crazy he is keeps me from actually listening to it on my own time. I would make me think about murder the whole time...

Chuck Berry

After listening to some more music by Chuck Berry I have found that I really enjoy it.  The up-beat rhythm provides a great environment for me at home, especially while doing homework.  I think my favorite song by him is Johnny B. Goode because I feel like it can relate to me somehow, but I'm still trying to figure out why.

Intro

Music does not play a major role in my life but I definitely enjoy it.  My favorite genres include country, rock, and rap; although country is my favorite.  My favorite artist is probably Tim McGraw and song is Something Like That.