30 Song Challenge

As I’m sure everyone is aware, I’ve been wasting my life away in my attempt to obtain a degree in World Literature from a reputable university. Obviously, I should drop out right now and become an opera singer. I am the future of the next generation, after all. And I am verr, verr talented.

There’s a thing going around Facebook right now. That right there made it sound like some sort of disease. Which is kind of fitting. Anyways, there’s something going around Facebook called the “30 Day Song Challenge”. I think it’d be cool to do, but I don’t want to go around pissing people off, clogging their newsfeeds daily with my song choices. If only I had some sort of semi-private outlet for things like that… What to do…

Obviously I’m putting it on my blog. Again, on my blog, I do what I want when I want. What follows is my “30 Day Song Challenge”, with brief justifications for my choices. I know you’ll take note, because I have such excellent taste in music and you all value my opinion more than you value your own children (I’m looking at you, Ashley).

1. Favorite song: In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel

            This is the song that John Cusack plays out of his boom box in the iconic scene from Say Anything. This is probably the most romantic thing to happen in any film, and it pretty much makes this movie. I often play it on loop on my iPod. I have a playlist that has the PGabriel original, a Sarah Bareilles cover, and a string quartet version.

2. Least favorite song: Something by Stephen Lynch

            I can’t actually remember of the specific song I’m thinking of. Stephen Lynch is one of those singing comedians that I love so much. For the most part, I really like him. However, he has one song that starts out quite lovely, and ends up being about ways to self-induce abortions. It comes out of left field and I cannot sit through it. It makes my skin crawl.

3. Song that makes you happy: Jai Ho by A.R. Rahman

            I would think this one is fairly self-explanatory. Every time I listen to this song, I think of the Jai Ho dance that Danica and I choreographed on a bus back to London from Oxford. I think of teaching it to the tour group outside of our dorm in Wales. I remember dancing in the parking lot, seeing the rest of the group off before starting our own adventure in Prague and Paris. I remember doing Jai Ho in my living room, the Kathaumixw hotel restaurant, Jenn’s campground. Best of all, it reminds me of commandeering the year-end concert last year. Jai Ho is probably the greatest thing I will ever do with my life. I know that’s a sad prospect, but this song just makes me happy.

4. Song that makes you sad: I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley

            This isn’t a sad song, but it makes me very sad at the moment. This is the song that David Clark and I always dance to together at the Youth retreat in Harrison. This year, he was in Sierra Leone teaching all the African children. Since Harrison, I’ve heard it a few times, and every time, I feel terrible. It just makes me miss him a lot. That being said, once he gets back from Africa, this will probably be more of a song that makes me happy. Just to clarify, I am not in love with David Clark.

           

5. Song that reminds you of someone: Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry

            This is the song my brother sang the first time I ever saw his band performed publicly. It reminds me of how his guitar strap broke and he had to awkwardly navigate the microphone while preventing the guitar from falling. I was still in elementary school, and I have never been more in awe of him. And I’m in awe of him a fair amount. I mean, the kid is tone-deaf, but he’s my big brother and I think he’s pretty amazing.

6. Song that reminds you of somewhere: Come So Far by the 2007 cast of Hairspray

            This song reminds me of Five Corners in White Rock. Last summer, they showed it as part of the summer outdoor movie thing they do in WR now. After they showed Hairspray this summer, the Shoplands started a dance party in the middle of the street as everyone was packing up. When I drive by that spot, I always sing this song in my head.

7. Song that reminds you of a certain day: One Day More by the cast of Les Miserables

            The best day I spend in England was the day we saw Les Mis. We went to Stonehenge, sang at Salisbury Cathedral, saw the Magna Carta, toured Oxford. It was ridiculous, and way too long of a day. But after all that other business, we saw Les Mis (holy shit) and then walked back to our hotel in the warm British summer air. When I think of that day, I think of Les Mis, and when I think of Les Mis, I think of the genius of this song.

8. Song that you know all the words to: Curbside Prophet by Jason Mraz

            Some people know that I have this secret ambition to be really good at free-style rapping (embarrassed). I feel like this is the closest that I’m ever going to come to reaching that goal. I know all the words and I can actually rap all of them. It makes me feel really good about myself.

9. Song that you can dance to: I’ve Got A Feelin’ by the Black Eyed Peas

            When this song came on when Danica and I were eating at the Hard Rock at Universal Studios Orlando, we both started chair dancing in a harsh way. Another acceptable answer to this question should be 42^nd Street from 42^nd Street, because Lord knows that I am an amazing tap dancer.

           

10. A song that makes you fall asleep: The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice

            This song is beautiful. And soft and it tapers off nicely into silence. The only problem with falling asleep to this one is that right after this song is one with some intense upright bass and violin, so as soon as you start drifting off, you wake right up again.

11. A song from your favorite band: Blame It On Me by Barenaked Ladies

            BNL is my favorite band, and this song has my absolute favorite BNL lyric of them all. “I wax poetic as you’re waxing your legs”. It’s so good!

12. A song from a band you hate: Any song by Nickelback

            I didn’t even dignify this question with a specific song. They are all the same, so it doesn’t even matter which one I choose. All of their songs are terrible. And the lead singer looks like, and thinks he is the reincarnation of, Jesus.

13.  A song that is a guilty pleasure: If You Get Down on Me by B44

            Nothing says guilty pleasure like the 90s, and nothing says 90s like a boy band that only had one mildly successful, wildly inappropriate hit. This one is my favorite simply because of the line “I’m gunna make you come tonight (over to my house)”. Seriously. How transparent can you be? This is my favorite song to play in groups of people, because no one exactly knows all of the words, but everyone always yells that one line.

14. A song that no one would expect you to love: Spaceman by Babylon Zoo

            Ahhhh, Spaceman. This song is about Jesus. And despite the subject matter, it was not appropriate to sing at a family Christmas concert. We spent an entire Christmas season trying to dissuade Mr. Ho from making us sing this (it had a bit of the U2 “Beautiful Day” syndrome, if y’all recall) to no avail. And any time you want to annoy anyone, you just have to sing “Oh the whole world is waiting!” and you will be met with raucous groans. Jordan put it on my Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog CD to piss me off. Secretly, I kind of like it when I do not have to perform it.

15. A song that describes you:

            This one is stupid. If I were to have to pick one, I would pick “A Loaf of Song”, which is the song Danica wrote for me. It’s about how I go to bed super early. But I still think this is a stupid question.

16. A song that you used to love but now hate: Holding Out For A Hero from Footloose

            I like 80s dance movies a lot. They are so mindless and fun, and everyone dances to terrible music. I sincerely apologize to Jordan for saying this, but her grade 12 production of Footloose was the single worst thing I’ve ever had to sit through. Jordan was good. I was just spoiled by the EMS theatre program. Regardless, I can’t listen to anything from this show ever again.

17. A song that you often hear on the radio: Free Willy Theme by Michael Jackson

            I have no control over the radio at work, which means it’s tuned to QMFM, I think. Sometimes, I quite enjoy it. They often play A-Ha and Duran Duran, which makes me nostalgic for the adolescence I never had in the 80s. I feel like I would have been a really cool teenager in the 80s. The point is, without fail, every Friday they play the Free Willy theme song twice. And every time, I love it.

18. A song that you wish you heard on the radio: Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

            I don’t care which song. I just feel like it’s about time that he got some airtime outside of Alberta. The sooner he gets on the radio, the sooner he will have enough clout as an artist to play a show in Vancouver that is not on a night that I have choir.

19. A song from your favorite album: I Am Mighty by Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

            Of all the albums Michael Bernard Fitzgerald has released thus far, I love Black and White Phonetics the best. Which is saying a lot, because I love everything by Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. This is my favorite song off this album. It’s a ton of fun to sing in the car.

           

20. A song that you listen to when you’re angry: Santoria by Sublime

            This is just a good song to sing along to when you’re angry and trying to get over it. Nothing says “I’m angry” like singing “And I won’t think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho’s throat/ Believe me when I say that I’ve got something for his punk ass” as loud as you can. It’s in a fairly good register for singing in chest voice, which is completely necessary when you’re singing the shit out of a song. Also, I always love it when people strum their guitars on the up beat.

21. A song that you listen to when you’re happy: Shosholoza by the Soweto Gospel Choir

            When I’m in a particularly good mood, I like listening to Afro-Jazz. This particular song reminds me of the South African Youth Choir, who I competed against in the summer of 2008 at the International Choral Kathaumixw. They were phenomenal. I feel like nothing says “joyous” like African music, which is why, when I’m driving along the beach at sunset feeling content, I like to crank some Shosholoza and pretend that I know how to speak Afrikaans.

22. A song that you listen to when you’re sad: Casimir Polanski Day by Sufjan Stevens

            If you’re sad and want to stay that way, listen to this song. It is so upsetting. It’s the story of a boy who falls in love with a girl who has bone cancer. Spoiler alert: She dies. It is beautiful, and very very sad.

23. A song that you want to hear on your wedding day: Brand New Spaces by Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

            Should I ever get married, I definitely want to get my entire reception up on the dance floor doing a bit of the stomp clap. It will be a requirement. If you want to come to my wedding, you MUST stomp clap.

24. A song that you want to play at your funeral: For the Widows of Paradise, For the Fatherless of Ypsilanti by Sufjan Stevens

            This one is embarrassing. I watched the first two seasons of The OC back in the day. I gave up on the third, and then years later, Lisa got me to watch it with her. The only character I ended up liking fell off a cliff. His funeral was on the beach, and they played this song. It was pretty appropriate. Also, this question is morbid.

25. A song that makes you laugh: Reading a Book by Julian Smith

            I’ve mentioned this on my blog once before. Julian Smith is the comedian who introduced the world to hot Kool-Aid. This song, while meant to be hilarious, is also pretty good. Every time he says the bit about being a criminal for not paying for library books, I laugh, which makes me that crazy girl on public transit.

26. A song that you can play on an instrument: William Tell Overture

            I quit piano after two weeks because reading music was too hard (Ha!) and because my left hand is uncooperative. I never learned how to play guitar even though my dad bought me one. Again, my hands don’t do what they’re supposed to. I did, however, rock the trumpet something fierce in grade 7 band. The William Tell Overture was the first thing we learned, and despite the fact that grade 7 was a million years ago, I think I could still pull it off.

27. A song you wish you could play: Any song

            Seriously. Who quits piano after only two weeks?

28. A song that makes you feel guilty: From My Home by my friends and I

            I feel guilty for this one because it’s a recording that I am on a fair bit and it just seems egotistical for me to like it so much. The city of Surrey commissioned the keyboardest from Loverboy to write a song for the Olympics and he asked the choir to record it for him. It was a lot of fun, and I really like listening to it, which makes me a crazy narcissist.

29. A song from your childhood: Louisiana Man by someone

            My dad used to sing this song every night when he put me to bed. He’d sing a line, and then I would sing a line. Danica once sang a different song my dad used to sing to me and I tried to sing along, but my dad is so tone deaf that it turns out I learned it wrong. However, this one is only two notes so I think even he can do it right. Bless his little heart.

30. Your favorite song at this time last year: Touch Me by the original cast of Spring Awakening

            This time last year, I discovered Spring Awakening. It is such a great musical. It’s innovative, and the concept for both the story and the music is really interesting and extremely artistic. The play it’s based off of is a bit on the rape-y side, but no such rape occurs in the musical. Jonathan Groff doesn’t hurt, as he is beautiful. This song is my favorite because there is a guy who plays a secondary character who has my favorite voice of anyone ever. He’s not even a lead, but  his voice is so interesting.

So that’s the 30 Song Challenge. Honestly, it wasn’t so challenging. 

Note: I’m finished papers for the semester, so I will be blogging like a normal person. It’s not like you can tell, but I’ve been writing blogs whenever I get a spare moment and saving them. This will be the last of those stock blogs.