Wednesday, November 16, 2011

My Place

It’s such a strange feeling, to suddenly be humbled so quickly it makes your stomach drop and your head spin. A strange feeling, to suddenly realize that something you’ve put heart and soul into is really not good enough compared to the time spent by others on something similar. Something you’re proud of is suddenly insignificant, and someone else’s hard work is much better than your hard work, probably because they worked harder.
Why is my passion not as good as someone else’s passion?
Why is my effort not as significant as everyone else’s effort?
Isn’t effort the same for each person?
Isn’t “my best” the same as another’s “best”?

Well, I guess it’s really not. Times like these make me realize that I actually suck, and that my effort isn’t really my best at all, because else’s time and best effort kicked my ass. Sure, I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished, but I’m an ant in this world. My “work” is shit, compared to the work of the people who shape our existence.

There are people who save lives in this world. There are people who are builders and artists and entertainers, and there are people in this world who make a difference to the majority of the seven billion people on this planet, pretty much every day of their lives. Who am I?

I’ve saved a life before. How many regular old people like myself can say they’ve saved a life in a matter of 20 years? I’ve built things before, things that come in great use in other people’s every day lives. I’m an artist, as well. I can draw. I can paint. I can sing and play instruments. I can entertain people around me, I’m funny. I’m interesting to be around. I make a difference in some way, every day.



For those of you who don’t know, now, you will.

Music is the most prominent aspect of my life; it is my one true love and passion. It is my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When I hear music it fills my soul and it paints a picture in my mind. With every byte of sound that enters my ears, I want more. I hunger for it. I want to see more, hear more, and feel more. Most of all, I want to learn more. I want to learn about what I'm hearing and know why music makes me feel so much. I want to reach to every corner of music and grasp every aspect of it. I believe it is one of the most powerful things in the world because music is everywhere. In today’s society, technology allows us to bring music anywhere we go. We listen to music in the shower, in the car, at work, while riding the bus, while exercising, and even while trying to fall asleep. We meditate to music and we use music therapeutically. We use music to help us concentrate and relax. It is used to connect people, share memories, and sometimes to promote ideas. Music is believed to have a positive effect on us; emotionally, mentally, and physically.

With my blog, I hope to share my love and passion in ways that will inspire others to feel as strongly as I do about music. The title of my blog, “Spread Thy Wings”, embodies this idea in a way that if people will open up to new possibilities and allow themselves to grow, they will gain new perspectives on the world around them. I feel that the power of blogging is similar to the way I view the powers of music. I recognize the potential I have to bring together very diverse groups of individuals from across the globe and use music as my driving force. As the author of an art-based blog, I can connect art and technology and use this power to unify many cultures throughout the world that may not have any other way or reason to make a connection in the first place. My goal is to aid the connections people make in this world by providing good music to discover and fall in love with. Blogging is the best way I know to achieve my goal because my posts are easy to read and easy to share. If I inspire at least one reader to enjoy a song as much as I do and give them a song to play when they’re happy, or to help them feel better when they’re sad, I will have done my part in this world.
My newest Pandora station- give it a listen

Wordless Wednesday


Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Girl From Ipanema

My best friend told me this song reminds her of me... I just think it's beautiful. <3


Saturday, November 5, 2011

Refreshingly Dangerous

This morning as I was laying in bed, I felt that certain craving for something refreshing. My throat wasn't thirsty, but my ears were. I felt like I needed to splash water on my face in a way, like I was desperate for something good to listen to. Not necessarily something new... something that would warm me.
A few years ago, I came upon a song that refreshed me in a way I hadn't really experienced before. I wasn't looking for it, but as I listened to it, I felt like I had just jumped into the ocean. Like I was standing on a beach, letting the wind whip over me... This may sound crazy, and it probably does. But if you've ever experienced something like this, you'll understand what I'm saying.
The sound of this man's voice, the melodies of the guitars, the rhythmic pounding of the drums... I know it sounds like I'm explaining every band there is, but I swear I'm not. 
I'm trying to find the words to describe The Dangerous Summer, founded during the summer of 2006, in Ellicott City, Maryland. These guys were seniors in High School. I promise, though, they're not your typical kid rock band. If you like Third Eye BlindBright EyesU2Phil CollinsExplosions in the SkyJimmy Eat World, and Andrew McMahon, you'll love The Dangerous Summer.
Their music sounds like a breath of fresh air to me. Good for anytime, any day, anywhere, always.






Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Trending on YouTube

I just watched three AWESOME currently trending videos on YouTube, and holy crap I have to share them. The first one I watched is adorable, the Deaf Professional Arts Network made an ASL video to the White Stripes' song, "We're Going To Be Friends". For more info about D-PAN, visit them at www.d-pan.com.




Okay, next video is mind blowing. These guys definitely know how to move. I love comparing their "dancing" to our American hip-hop dancing. Different, but still with a few similarities and fun to watch. This is like seeing OK Go and The Postal Service have Asian babies. Phenomenal.




This last one is gunna make you poop your pants, I'm not kidding. I've never seen anything like this before... Maybe it's just because I'm from Alaska, or maybe it's because sometimes I'm okay with living under a rock. But this totally threw me for a loop. I just wanna party with these people, and their neighbors.... must love them.


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Yonas: Pumped Up Kicks

If you don't know by now, well, now you know, that Foster The People is pretty much the fastest new band to get popular with a single song in basically forever... FTP was only together for 3 or 4 months before their song Pumped Up Kicks started topping the charts.
The song is about a troubled and delusional youth with homicidal thoughts. Foster said, "I was trying to get inside the head of an isolated, psychotic kid."* Others have interpreted that the song could be about the Columbine High School Shootings in 1999, which is also believable.
We've heard many remixes to this song by now, but I feel that this one deserves some recognition. Yonas has put an interesting but fun twist to the song in his video that was released today, and despite the song's dark roots, I think he did a pretty damn good job. I also feel that Yonas needs more publicity, and hopefully he'll get it.





*Doyle, Patrick (2011-06-08). "Band to Watch: Foster the People's Pumped-up Psych-Pop"Rolling Stone.

October Bomb


October has officially ended. I know it's been way too long since I've posted anything, but I'm going to pull out my usual excuse and say that I've just been busy. October has been a pretty big month for me, and I've made a few big decisions, like moving back home next semester because I miss my family and I need to save money for moving out of state next year. I'm basically going to become an ĂĽber nerd and do nothing but go to class and do homework so I can get good grades. I don't even care about anything else at this point, I've had enough of it and I'm ready to focus on school.
Enough about me, though. How about we talk about music, yeah? It's been a pretty exciting month for many bands,  like Feist, Bjork, Ryan Adams, Radiohead, Kelly Clarkson, and of course, Coldplay. I don't really have enough room to talk about all of these albums, but I have room enough to say that all of them need to be listened to, except for Kelly Clarkson's. It's all pretty much the same as what she's been singing since she won American Idol 27 years ago, or whenever that was. I'm over her.
Now let's get down to it. Here's my October playlist. Thanks to all my readers lately, I've had a big boom in views lately. It's greatly appreciated :)

OCTOBER BOMB
In The Dark
Dev
Chain Gang (Prod by JCW & Siegel - Stoner)
MOD SUN
All Night, Everynight feat The Ready Set (Prod by Dave   Siegel)
MOD SUN
Shaun White (Prod by Sam & Sluggo)
MOD SUN
Minez _ Yourz (My Body)
Cherub
Love You Right
Cherub
How Bad Do You Want It Now
Sex Ray Vision
5 O'clock (Ft. Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen)
T-Pain
Eat Your Heart Out
Lydia
Dragging Your Feet In The Mud
Lydia
Hailey
Lydia
Ghosts
Lydia
No More Secrets
Carolina Liar
Miss America
Carolina Liar
Lessons In Love
Cartel
Conduit
Cartel
American Dreams
Cartel
Something to Believe
Cartel
In Stereo
Cartel
Gucci Swag
Chrishan
Love U More (RAC Mix)
Sunday Girl
In This Life
Mike Stud
Bottle It Up ft. Kinetics
Mike Stud
Top Of The City
Mike Stud
Gone In September (DJ Lil Raskal Blend) ft. Mike Posner
Mike Stud
College Humor
Mike Stud
In The Rain ft. Justin Cohen
Mike Stud
ID 2
Avicii
Yes
Beyoncé
Phone Rings Goodbye (Long Edit)
Brenton Duvall
iTribute
Timeflies
Chris Brown's Temper (Rihanna x Axwell & Dirty South x Temper Trap)
Kap Slap
Without Jagger (Maroon 5, Usher, David Guetta)
Basic Physics
Sweat (feat. Lil Wayne)
Bow Wow
Make Me Proud (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Drake
And WE Danced
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Otherside
Macklemore
Wild Boy feat. Waka Flocka (DatPiff Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
STFU (DatPiff Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
The Morning After Voicemail... (DatPiff Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
LTFU (One More Time) (DatPiff Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
Half Naked and Almost Famous (DatPiff Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
Welcome To The Rage feat. The Madden Brothers (DatPiff   Exclusive)
Machine Gun Kelly
Jello (feat. Rye Rye)
Far East Movement
Out Of Town
August Coupe
Stars (Prod. DJ DStar) (Bonus Track)
Silver Medallion
Sexy and I Know It
LMFAO
In The Kitchen
Asher Roth
Bigger Than You (CDQ) (Prod. By Emile)
Kid Cudi
San Diego VIP (Nothing Yet)
Skrillex
I Hear Them Calling
KiD CuDi
Heaven
John Legend
Donald Trump
Mac Miller