List-Mania: Fleetwood Mac Songs

I seem to go in cycles when it comes to listening to music. I will spend a lot of time on one band and then suddenly switch and pick another band to listen to. This time around I went to a band that I am sure I heard first from my list of favorite musicians/bands.

My parents owned and the fantastic Rumors album and they must have played it over and over again to engrave it on my mind. I quickly became a fan of them when they released the album Tango in the Night and it was like being reunited with some old friends. I then became reaquainted with them and they are never far from my playlist. One of the reasons that I love about them is that there is not a single lead singer. Stevie Nicks definitely made an impression on me with her raspy voice and I grew up wanting to be just like Lindsey Buckingham (I still do). They have such a unique sound.

5) Hold Me

I love to play the bass along with this song. While I prefer Stevie to Christine, I absolutely adore Christine on this track. 

4) Seven Wonders

This was the song that made me pay attention. I watched MTV's Top 20 Countdown pretty religiously back in those days and this video/song was one that I made sure I caught. 

3) Go Your Own Way

This song makes me want to get up and go. Lindsey's vocals and the thunderous drums are the perfect combination.

2) Silver Springs

This is one of those songs that I will stop whatever I am doing and sit back and listen. Stevie is absolutely perfect on this track

1) Tango in the Night

This song gives me the chills. I love to pluck the bass to this song nice and loud.

Mission Memoirs: Afterglow

It seems like I get melancholy every Christmas season and I like to go through my things and reminisce. I was cleaning out some old files in my filing cabinet and I came across a Bible that I used on my mission. It is marked up and banged up. I had this Bible since I took seminary in high school so it has been awhile. I also took this set with me on my mission, and I used this set out on the streets. I didn't want to take my nice leather ones out in case I get mugged and someone takes off with my scriptures.

I thumbed through the pages and out fell this note:

This note was written by Elder Buckner (one of the missionaries I lived with) when I served in Jamaica, Queens. His companion when he was getting ready would carry this portable tape player with him constantly and he would only play Afterglow. For those that are not familiar with Afterglow, they are an LDS duo that sings LDS material. Now I have nothing against them or their music, it is not my cup of tea (and I like cheesy music!). But Elder Buckner's companion listened to them non-stop for months and it was grating on all of our nerves. Elder Buckner passed this note to me when I was reading in bed right after his companion passed me singing and listening to Afterglow loudly.

I am totally hanging on to this keepsake. It is now a bookmark in my set of scriptures.

I Remember... Mix Tapes

Before I get into this blog, I want to first congratulate my cousin Jeremy for recently completing his 365 Trek! I know it has been a hard journey but one that is totally worth it. And to honor my cousin, I am going to swipe one of his column ideas. A good idea is a good idea! I hope he doesn't mind but by the time he finds out it will be too late.

I have been in another one of my melancholy moods where I get reflective about the past and I spend way too much time reminiscing. Combine this mood with my "I have too much crap" mood and that spells trouble. This afternoon I targeted my small filing cabinet. I file a lot of things away (schoolwork, church stuff, notes, drawings) and it was time to go through it and clean out some stuff that I really don't need. I found a small cassette insert and it made me smile.

A few years ago I threw out all my old cassette tapes. I don't use them anymore and they were just taking up room (I must have been in this mood then). I had a ton of cassettes, most of them were mix tapes. For those that are unfamiliar with mixtapes, basically you would either record (using blank tapes) music from another tape, record or even from the radio. Like I said, I had a ton of these mix tapes ranging from musical scores to Queen to heavy metal to well... ...just about everything. But there were about 10-12 tapes that I struggled to part with. These were tapes that I made when I was young and living in Canada.

Living in a big city like Edmonton definitely had its advantages. One of the biggest was their library system. In downtown Edmonton they had this huge library and my dad used to take my sister and I there quite a lot. But I was not interested in the books, I was interested in the music! They had a ton of records (of course this is really all they had since this was back in the 80's) but they also had those small 45 records that normally had only a single song on them. But they usually had the latest hits! My sister and I would spend hours looking for songs and we would come home with about thirty of them. Then the next day I would get up early and record them on to tape and make my own mixtapes. I loved spending all that time mixing music. It was like I was Dr. Johnny Fever! I made about ten volumes of music from borrowing those old 45's from the library and I listened to these tapes all the way until I started getting CDs. But now they are just taking up space so I made the tough decision and dumped them.

But I filed one of the tape covers in my files as a remembrance of those old glory days.

This was Volume One. Can you name some of the artists? And yeah, that is not a typo. I had a song called Sexcrime 1984. I don't know how that slipped past the parents.

About a year ago I found these cool USB Flash discs that mimic mixtapes. I need to get me one of these things. Aren't they nifty?

30 Day Song Challenge: The Conclusion

I'm kinda sad that this is ending. I hate coming up with new topics.

Day 26 - A Song That You Can Play On An Instrument

Vertigo - U2

I love the bass line of this song that I had to learn it. It was a little more complex (and fast!) than I am used to but after much time and practice, I think I have it down. Now if I could just sing the song along with playing the bass which is a lot harder to do than you think.

Day 27 - A Song That You Wish You Could Play

Dragon Attack - Queen

If I could play this on the bass guitar, I could play ANY Queen song on the bass guitar. I was never a huge fan of this song until I heard it live. The bass guitar was just so loud and thumping, you could feel it in your chest. The song was so awesome live that it made me a huge fan of this song.

Day 28 - A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

Lit Up - Buckcherry

I love, LOVE this song. The guitars, the raspy voice, the pounding drums. This song has everything. The only drawback is it is all about cocaine. And there is a rather large f-bomb smack plum in the middle of the song. I have a copy of the radio edit which does not have the f-bomb in it but I couldn't find one to share here. If you have iTunes you can sample a copy of the radio version there. I know I shouldn't like it (which is why I feel a tiny bit guilty when I listen to it) but I absolutely love it.

Day 29 - A Song From Your Childhood

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler

Yeah, I really liked the theatrical feel of this song and I still like it because of that grand, sweeping feeling. The video I remember being a little strange and weird (hey, it was the 80's). Now some very clever people have remade the song so it matches the video in a literal sense. You totally need to see this video. I laugh every time I even think about this video.

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Literal Video Version by BalloDaSballo

Day 30 - Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year

The Other Side - Pendulum

My British friend Tim introduced me to this band awhile ago (it might have been longer than a year) and I really like a few of their songs. It has a driving drum and bass line (see the trend here?) that appeals to me.

Random Ramblings: Bottoms Up!

Eating: Our family was invited to a birthday BBQ for our neighbor yesterday. The food was wonderful, and the company was even better. My family and I are blessed to have such awesome neighbors. I thought it was cute that Kara told Logan that he needs to kick Kristy and I out so she can babysit him again.
 

This was thier backyard. The river is pretty full, last year when we were here, the water was nowhere near this level.

Drinking: Mountain Dew Livewire. Not only had it finally returned to Cache Valley, the 12-pack has also returned!

Drinking II: So I was at the store picking up some Livewire when I found another soda that I used to love. Tahitian Treat! This was one of the best fruit punch sodas ever! I thought it was only available in Canada but I did find some limited quantities in New York. But I have not had one since then. And then I found a 12-pack so I had to have it. And it tastes just like I remembered.

Listening: To a fun mix of the 80's. Bangles, Rick Springfield, the Spoons... ...I definitely grew up in the BEST decade!

Eating II: I ate way too much last Saturday. Saturday was Richmond's annual Black and White Days. So we headed up to Richmond to watch the parade. We first picked up Kristy's sister Lynn and her daughter Jessica since their jeep was on the fritz. We headed up and dropped off some chairs at my mom's house and then went to Big J's (a local burger joint) and got an early dinner. Then we headed up to watch the parade. The parade was nice but not as good as it has been in years past. Funny thing is that we see a couple of our neighbors in the parade. Logan did get a bunch of candy and it was nice to see Jennifer and her family as well. After the parade we waited for Justin to come back (he was leading the parade in his cop car) and headed back to Big J's and got some ice cream. I got a large (and I really shouldn't have) Rice Krispie Treat shake and it was awesome!

Waiting for candy...

I told Logan that he needs to wave cutely to the cute girls. Here he is awarded a candy from one of the girls. Logan should trust me on this.

Our neighbor Sister Weeks playing the bass drum.

Winning: Kara's little brother Justin has been wanting to kick my trash in Madden. Finally last Saturday we had a showdown. It was close for a little while and then I pulled away and won the game. I guess I should feel bad for beating a 10-11 year old but he was a huge Steelers fan so it was deserved. The winner had to make cookies and so he made his sister Kara make me a plate of delicious cookies. Don't worry, I will pay them both back with a batch of cookies sometime this week.

Itching: Last week Logan was at a basketball camp for three days and he came home with a case of Athlete's Foot!

Reading: I am still a kid. I just finished a comic trade paperback G.I. Joe: Cobra and it was absolutely enthralling. This is not your daddy's G.I. Joe!

His name is Chuckles. He's the Joes' top undercover agent. And he's just infiltrated a top secret, highly organized terrorist organization... one the Joes aren't familiar with... one with a snake motif. As Chuckles is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of Cobra, where one misstep means death, can he pull off the ultimate deception and bring them down from within?

I am very surprised (and pleased) that Hasbro (the toy company that owns G.I. Joe) would allow a book like this to be published. This is a very dark book with a couple of surprising twists. This is nothing like the old cartoon, it is a much more serious look at America's top fighting force taking on a dangerous terrorist group. There are two more volumes in print that I definitely want to track down.

30 Day Song Challenge: Part IV

Ugh... I have been under the weather for the last couple of days. I slept through most of yesterday and most of today. I am feeling a bit better but still plenty blah. But I am able to crank out another set of songs.

Day 17 - A Song That You Hear Often On The Radio

Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

I drive to my dad's for work almost every day and it seems like no matter what the time is I will always hear this song either on the way there or on the way back. It doesn't matter if I leave early or if I am running late. I do think this is ZZ Top's best song so I guess I shouldn't complain!

Day 18 - A Song That You Wish You Heard On The Radio

Waiting for Tonight - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

It is no secret that I love Tom Petty. One of his best songs unfortunately never made it on to an album (except for Anthology; a greatest hits album) and therefore never made it to the radio. This song is typical Tom Petty but he also has the Bangles singing the background lyrics. I really think this could have become one of the Tom Petty's top songs if it would have made it to the radio. Oh well, at least I have it on my iPod.

Day 19 - A Song From Your Favorite Album

Dirty Day - U2

I have a lot of favorite albums but the only one that I will listen to as an album is U2's Zooropa. I rarely just play one track from that album. I usually have to play the whole thing. Dirty Day is one of my favorite tracks but I found that this remix (Bitter Kiss Mix) is so much better than the original. This song has nothing to do with the movie Departed. You don't have to watch the video, just listen to the music.

Day 20 - A Song That You Listen To When You’re Angry

Come Out Swinging - The Offspring

At my last job, when I was having a rough day I would play my Offspring playlist. Usually after listening to them I would be in a better mood. I don't know if it was the clever lyrics or the hard guitar riffs but I would end up smiling. Maybe it was because they are one of my favorite bands. This song was usually the first one that I would listen too. If you are going to fight me you better come out swinging!

Day 21 - A Song That You Listen To When You’re Happy

Paperback Writer - Beatles

I don't think there is a particular song that I listen to when I am happy. But when I am in the mood to sing (and that usually means I am in some sort of good mood) I will always crank out some Beatles. And when I play the Beatles, I always play thier awesome album Revolver. I just love this song, maybe it is because I want to be a paperback writer.

30 Day Song Challenge: Part III

Time for another round!

Day 12 - A Song From A Band You Hate

Paint it Black - Rolling Stones

Hate is such a strong word. I don't think that I hate any band in particular. There are bands that I dislike but I wouldn't say that I absolutely hate them. I am just either unfamiliar with their work or I their sound just doesn't do it for me. Now I know I am going to get a lot of hate  (hopefully not hate... just dislike) for this selection. It is not that I hate this band because I don't. I just don't feel the love so strongly. But on the flip side, I absolutely love this song. Just plain love it. Just something about the sound and the lyrics.

Day 13 - A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

Barry Manilow - Can't Smile Without You

My mom listened to Barry Manilow a lot when I was younger and I think it must have become ingrained since I actually listen to him from time to time. I only listen to a few of his songs but one of them recently has become a favorite of mine. And I blame Hellboy for it.

Day 14 - A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love

Reggae Cowboy - Bellamy Brothers

Many, many years ago my dad went through a country phase where all he listened to was country music. Now I am not a country music fan. Just not my style of music at all. I can appreciate some country music but I don't actively pursue it and I will change the channel. My dad listened a lot to the Bellamy Brothers and there was this one song that I kinda liked. And I have absolutely no idea why I liked it but I did. I think it was because it was a different country song. Sure it had all the typical country sounds and stuff but it seemed different. I liked it so much that I actually bought the song off of iTunes.

Day 15 - A Song That Describes You

White and Nerdy - Weird Al

I admit it. I am white. And I am nerdy. Yeah, I do collect X-Men comics (and I can name the issues he holds here and tell you exactly what happens in each one) and I do have some action figures. And when I dance, I do dance a little a lot like Donny Osmond in this video. Now I don't get freaky with bubble wrap (like I would admit that here anyway) and I have never stayed up at night debating which Star Trek Captain was the best (isn't it obvious which one is?) and I don't think I am that nerdy. 

Day 16 - A Song That You Used To Love But Now Hate

Love Bites - Def Leppard

I grew up with hair bands and Def Leppard was the biggest one around. Their whole Hysteria album was awesome and I loved all the songs. Their ballad Love Bites was one of my favorites but for some reason in the last 10 years or so, I cannot stand it! I have tried to listen to it many times but I just can't get the love back. In fact, I dislike it so much now that I won't even look it up on YouTube and play a clip here!

The Queen CD Situation

A couple of blogs ago I blogged about being part of a CD Club. The first one that I participated in was on the Joe Quesada Boards. We had a ton of people sign up (we would choose which month we would do it) and I remember being so excited that I started to brainstorm what I would put on my CD months before I would send one out.

Can you guess what my CD was all about?

Finally, the time crept closer and I decided to do something that had not been done before with the CD club. Instead of choosing a bunch of different songs, I decided to choose all my favorite Queen songs and do a Queen-themed CD. I didn't just want this CD to be all of the more popular Queen tracks, I went with some personal favorites and tried to pick some of the deeper cuts and definitely some of those that covered their wide spectrum of musical genres. It was rough but I finally made my choices and started to burn the CDs. I made my own cover art which featured all the members of Queen along with me photoshopped in it so I looked like I was part of the group. On each CD I also sketched in black marker something that I thought the person would like, just for fun. I put a heck of a lot of work into it but I really enjoyed myself in doing so.

I threw myself right behind Roger, in between Freddie and Brian.

Unfortunately the original cover art did not survive the big hard drive swap and I lost it forever.  I kept a blog at work during this time and I blogged about one specific review:

* * *

7/27/2006

People on the JQ boards are getting their Queen CD's and I am a little curious to hear what people think about it. I do not mind honesty at all, I am sure that Queen is not every one's cup of tea but I have to admit that I was a little surprised by some people's reactions. If you don't like it, you don't have to be mean about it. Just be truthful. If you have to be brutal maybe it would be best if you just bit your tongue. And if you have to say something, at least extend some appreciation for all the hard work I put into it. I was surprised by one particular post:

"Got the CD and got a sweet Hellboy sketch on it! Unfortunately for me that's all the enjoyment I'll get out of it. I listened to it and it still didn't change my dislike towards Queen. I've always found Queen to be a homosexual band. Not meaning all band members were gay, but that the music, lyrics and style all lent itself to the gay culture. I'm not meaning this as negative or a slam either, don't misunderstand my meaning. I just find it difficult to relate to their music.

Kind of the same thing with Elton John... I like a few of his songs but for the most part I feel like he's throwing a party I wasn't invited to. Just to illustrate my point a little further I'd say Aerosmith is a heterosexual band. Which is not to say you can''t be straight and like Queen, nor gay and like Aerosmith... I just have a mental block in regards to some things that I feel were not made for me.

I'm pretty sure I've lost you all at this point. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to do it and I'll probably hang the CD up at work next to my Hellboy calender."

I was happy that he liked the quick sketch that I did for him of Hellboy but I was certainly troubled by his response. Are there gay bands and heterosexual bands? Sure, Freddie was gay, but does that matter? Music is music. So I responded with this:

"Glad you liked the sketch. I enjoyed putting the CD together. To be honest, your comments seem very close-minded. Music shouldn't have any stereotypes or any stigma attached to them. Music is just simply music. I don't want this to turn into a huge discussion about sexual orientation, I do appreciate your honesty. A few people here are excited by the CD and some are looking forward to receiving it. And I don't think sexual orientation has anything to do with it. Remember that this is a piece of me. When you bag on it, you really are bagging on me."

He was a nice enough fellow and I remembered we shared our love of Hellboy comics but I just couldn't understand his thinking. He has the right to say and think what he wants but I am amazed how backwards his thinking was. How sad it must be for him, he unfortunately is going to miss out on a lot of stuff because of our narrow-minded he is. We should be celebrating our talents and sharing it with others no matter what our race, religion or sexual preference. We all have two big things in common, no matter what we look like and what we do, we are all human. And more importantly, all of us are all God's children* and we need to love and respect each other. No matter what our differences are.

How awesome is this pic?

*Queen actually has a song called All God's Children which was from the Innuendo album. 

Rule with your heart and live with your conscience

We're all God's people give freely

Make welcome inside your homes

Let us be thankful, He's so incredible

I will let you voice your opinions on whether you think this song lends itself to the gay culture.

30 Day Song Challenge: Part II

The last few days of my blog have been a little heavy so I wanted to do something fun today. I still have 25 days to go to complete the 30 Day Song Challenge so I thought I could crank a couple of them out.

Day 7 - A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz

This was the last CD that I bought before going on my 2-year LDS Mission and I must have listened to this song thousands of times. Now many years later, I am taken back to those special last days before I left whenever this song comes up on the radio or iPod or iTunes. It takes me back to cruising around in my mom's red Laser with some friends and going out and visiting other friends. It especially takes me back to the time my cousin Jeremy and I went cruising the day before my mission farewell.

Day 8 - A Song That You Know All The Words To

Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburys

I have always loved this song but I really never knew the words so much. This is one of the first songs that I wanted to learn on the bass guitar and now I am at the point to where I can sing it while playing. And I guess I didn't know the words as well as I thought. After repeated sessions, I can now say that I know all the words to this song.

Day 9 - A Song That You Can Dance To

One Night in Bangkok - Chess

Many years ago I took a part in a musical called Chess. It is my favorite Broadway musical, I highly recommend that you check out the music. Back in the 80's there was this quirky song that would come on the radio and I loved it then. I had no idea that it was from a musical until much later in life. Now this is the radio version, the one that I think most people are familiar with. But the American version from Broadway is a lot faster and more upbeat. And then reason I dance to this song is because I still remember my dance moves that I had to learn and master for when I starred in the musical. I played one of the guys at a bar drinking away. Even though this is a slower version, I still dance to it.

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

The Revolution - Brian Tyler

This peaceful instrumental song comes from the Children of Dune soundtrack. My friend Zack turned me on to this awesome soundtrack and I would listen to it over and over again. Some nights when I couldn't sleep, I would play this on my iPod and I usually would fall asleep just a few minutes into the album. If you like classical music and soundtracks, I highly recommend this one.

Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band

Tie Your Mother Down - Queen

I have to admit that this song has grown on my quite a lot over the years. It was not a huge favorite of mine really until recently especially since I am trying to learn this on the bass. Logan really likes this song too.

The U.S. vs John Lennon

I was six years old when John Lennon was tragically killed outside of his apartment in New York City. I don't remember it and it was years before I knew who John Lennon was.

The tumultuous time of the late 60's to the early 80's is one of my favorite times in history and it is one that I don't know much of and I am eager to learn. I am highly interested in the civil rights movement and I am in awe for those that gave their lives in these significant strides in history. So many interesting things happened in our world during this time that changed the course of history both for the good and for the bad. Watergate, the Vietnam War and Martin Luthor King are just a few of the dramatic things that happened. 

I only knew of John Lennon from his time with the Beatles. My sister listened to a lot of the Beatles and turned me on to their music. I knew of John Lennon the musician but I had no idea that the man was much, much more than just an influential artist.

My dad is a big fan of John Lennon and we were talking at work one day and found that there was a movie recently made about John Lennon and how the United States government was so against him. This fantastic documentary details his time of when he transformed from just an artist with the Beatles but into a larger figure; a spokesman for peace.



I highly recommend watching this documentary. Whether you love John or hate him; this will make you respect him.

I had no clue how powerful John was. I had absolutely no clue how influential he was until I watched this. I always had this underlining feeling that he was much more than just one of the Fab Four. I had one experience in high school that brought this to forefront. My senior year, for the Sr. Prom we wanted the John Lennon song Imagine to be the theme song. And most of the administration was dead against this. They didn't think that was an appropriate song for it and from what I remember it took a lot of convincing to finally get our way. I didn't know this song at all but I quickly became a fan of it. Again I had no idea that this was controversial, I thought it was a beautiful song. Our administration thought it was a rebellious song and that it is anti-Christ and anti-establishment. How clueless they are. This song is not about that at all. Sadly, human nature can ruin families, it can ruin religion, it can ruin any social event. In his eyes it can ruin everything.  Wouldn't it be nice if we can all live together in peace, with no borders, no classes, essentially with no hate.

I wish I was alive during this time to truly appreciate what he stood for. But at least I can learn from history so I am not doomed to repeat it.

30 Day Song Challenge: Part I

A friend of mine is taking this challenge on Facebook and I thought it would be a good idea for a blog. The rules are pretty simple. All you have to do is post the song of the day on your Facebook for the next 30 days. Instead of doing it on Facebook, I am going to do it here and I am going to do 5 songs at a time. And as you can guess it, it will probably be littered with Queen songs.

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen

I am sure I have covered this song before. When I was doing the 365 Day Blogging Challenge, I considered doing a Top 100 Favorite song blog. Each week I would post 10 songs. That fun idea turned out to be a nightmare since it was a lot of work and I really couldn't decide on the order. But I knew what my favorite song of all-time is though. I just love this song. The fun lyrics, the awesome guitar lick and driving bass and drum. Just a fun rock and roll song.

Day 2 - Your Least Favorite Song

Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones

This is a tricky question. Does this mean a song that I absolutely hate? Or is it a song that I still like, but I like the least? Well, since it is my blog, I am going to go with a song that I just absolutely despise. I am not a huge fan of the Rolling Stones anyway but I just cannot stand this song. I don't like the stupid train lyrics (Woo! Woo!) and I don't like the sounds of the drums and the jungle feel. This is definitely one of those songs that I quickly turn the radio to another station when it comes on. I cannot even sit through it.

Day 3 - A Song That Makes You Happy

Beautiful Day - U2

I am sure that there are many other songs that make me happy but this one came to my mind first. This song has a wonderful message. It is a beautiful day, there are many things in this world that are great and we should enjoy it as much as we can. I appreciate the world and I think about how thankful I am for all that I have when this song comes on.

Day 4 - A Song That Makes You Sad

Everyday is Exactly the Same - Nine Inch Nails

There are a ton of songs that make me feel sad and that I listen to when I feel a little blue but I wanted to choose a song that was a bit different. This song takes me back to the last few months when I worked at my last job. This song captures my feelings perfectly, my feelings of hopelessness and my feelings of being inadequate. Every time I hear this song it brings me down since it reminds me of that horrible time. I do love this song but I hardly listen to it because it evokes such hopelessness. I don't even listen to this song when I am down.

Day 5 - A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

Summer Rain - Belinda Carlisle

The month before I left for my LDS mission to New York was one of the most memorable. I had a lot of great experiences that I will never forget. I think what makes me think of this song is that I was listening to it at the this time. Belinda Carlisle's Greatest CD got major play before I left on my mission and I hung around someone at this time. I just love this beautiful song and the beautiful arrangement. So who is this person? Well, I am just not comfortable divulging that identity without that person's permission. And besides, that was many, many years ago.  :)

Next week I'll do another five set.

When in Doubt... iTune Shuffle!

I am not sure what I want to blog about but I know that I want to blog about something. So when in doubt, I now turn to my iPod for some shuffle action.

I always worry that the songs that come on are ones that I rarely listen too and so I have nothing to say about it. And then there is always the chance that my iPod will pick something that I may not want everyone to know that I own. But I will take the chance.

A few years ago on some of the message boards that I frequent a group of us made a CD club. Once a month we would burn a CD of some of our favorite songs and then send them out in the mail and then we would all review them and we would do this once a month. In that way everyone would have time to receive and review a CD. I loved this and participated in about 4 clubs and I got a TON of music. Some of the music I already had but most of it was completely new. It exposed me to a lot of different groups and genres and music. In some cases I would get all rap, in some cases I got all British music from one of my friends in England. But in almost every case, I found at least one song that I absolutely loved.

In sending these CDs out, you really have to put yourself on the line. The first time I did this I sent out an all Queen mix which met to some interesting reviews. I'll have to share one for a later blog. The last CD group I was in was with a small set of really good friends. I have known these guys on the net for about 10 years and some of them I have had the pleasure of meeting in person. Hopefully I will meet more in the next year or so. What was fun with sharing with friends is that I got to know them better because of the music they shared. I found that the songs I shared meant a lot to me and therefore my friends could see why and appreciate me for who I am. I wish we still did these.

One of my friends (nicknamed Spindle) sent out a CD and put a note in it saying that we should not be ashamed of our music. Because if we are ashamed of our music, we are somewhat ashamed of ourselves. I totally agree even though a few songs on my iPod might make others cringe. :)

I will have to share the CDs that I made and the songs that were on it here on the blog. That little club was a lot of fun and would be very eager to do something like that again.

Now onto some tunes!

Parlay- Hans Zimmer

My dad and I are huge fans of original soundtracks. All we listen to at work is classical music/soundtracks. When we get board we listen to online radio stations and we found a station that plays just music from movies. Every time this song came on we thought it was something from the Man With No Name trilogy but it wasn't. This song comes from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. We looked it up and found that Hans Zimmer used music from the Man with No Name trilogy as a homage for this song. We quickly scooped up the song through iTunes.

Time Out For Fun - Devo

Funny that this song would come up. This was my opening song on one of my CDs that I sent out. This song totally takes me back to the 80's and listening to records with my sister. For some unknown reason she bought this album and we used to listen to it endlessly. I remember how excited I was when I found this album on CD many many years ago. This is still one of my favorite tracks on the album and this was the first time I have seen the video. I just love this song and its great message. Make sure you take some Time Out For Fun!

Cinnamon Girl - Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet

Oh man how I love this song! Of course it does help that my favorite Bangle, Susanna Hoffs, is singing this fantastic remake of an old Neil Young song. I just love the driving drums and beautiful harmony of the two. They have put out two albums with a bunch of remakes and they are awesome. If you like older music you definitely should check these out. I couldn't find the original on iTunes but this live version is pretty kick butt.

Scare Easy - Mudcrutch

Mudcrutch was the name of the band that Tom Petty used to be in before he formed the Heartbreakers. A few years ago he reunited them all and they put out an album. Unfortunately youtube will not let me embed the video so you will have to trust me and click on the link and listen to a fantastic song. If you like Tom Petty and his type of music, you will LOVE this.

The next time I do a blog about music, I will blog about my CDs.

Tuesday Tunes

There are just some days where I don't feel like talking blogging. So let's see what my iPod will come up with when I hit shuffle.

Crush - Megadeth

I am not a huge fan of Megadeth since I only own a few of their songs but this one I just love because it gets me going. Whenever I have had a hard day and I am frustrated, I listen to this song in particular. There are times when I would just love to crush my opposition. This song also takes me back to when I coached 9th Grade Girl's Basketball. This was often our cheer before games and after timeouts. CRUSH 'EM! Now I am pumped.

In This Together - Apoptygma Berzerk

This is one of my favorite bands. My sister introduced them to me and I have been hooked ever since. This song was panned by critics saying that the sold out by adding guitars and sounding more "pop" but I like the new sound as much as I like their old sound.

Spread Your Wings - Queen

One thing for sure is that I need to get me a pair of sunglasses like Freddie's in this video. This is one of my favorite Queen songs. Whenever I am blue I listen to this song and I feel the same way as Sammy does. I just need to spread my wings and fly away and do what I need to do to make me happy. I guess when you have every Queen song out there, the chances of them coming up on my shuffle is good.

Sunshine - John Murphy

I am a huge fan of movie scores and this piece of music is one of my all-time favorites. You might have heard this one before since it is used in a lot of movies and movie trailers. It originally came from the underrated movie Sunshine (you will hear a clip of the movie in it ). The song evokes a lot of emotion, I feel hope while listening to this but I also feel a deep sadness. In case you were wondering, the girl says this in the middle of the song:

"Only dream I have ever have. The surface of the sun? Every time I shut my eyes it is always the same."

Yellow Submarine

I don't know which is worse. Putting up all the Christmas decorations or taking them all down?

We have a ton of Christmas decorations and while I don't have a problem with that, I do have a problem with how we pack it all back together. Every time I think I have a handle on it, I find a new pile of stuff that has to be put away. But what really irks me is that everything fit the Christmas before! We only have maybe one extra decoration to pack away. How can that small little ornament cause such a packing logistics nightmare?

Every year Logan gets a new ornament. This time Santa choose to give Logan this:

Can you tell what it is? If you can't look at the topic dummy!

Lately Logan has really taken a shine to singing and to music. Nothing warms my soul more than hearing him play some games on the computer singing along with the likes of Alice Cooper and AC/DC. At first he also disliked music in school but now he has taken a liking to that. He also will join me in singing when I have to practice for a musical number in choir. He learned about the Beatles in his class and they sang Yellow Submarine.

I am so glad that he likes music. I could have a new partner in crime!

The Shuffle

A few weeks ago my cousin and fellow blogger, Jaimee had a neat idea for a blog topic that she stole from her one brother that is not blogging.

Basically you take your iPod or whatever mp3 player you have and hit Shuffle and blog about the first 5 songs that come up and list why you like them and why you have them on your iPod.

A good idea is a good idea so I am stealing it from her and doing it today

Mephistopheles' Return - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Funny that this one would pop up first considering that this my absolutely favorite TSO song off the Beethoven's Last Night album. Most of you know that I have a real big soft spot for musicals and theatrical music and this rock opera is one of my favorites. I don't know why most of the musical songs about the devil are the most rocking and most entertaining and most fun to sing but they are and this one is a fun one.

Ballad Of Dwight Fry - Alice Cooper

"Mommy where's daddy? He's been gone for so long. Do you think he'll ever come home?"

Who would have thought that some of Alice Cooper's best would be his softer ballads. Well, ballads as far as Alice Cooper goes. This long song (clocks in at 6:33) is a real pretty song about a man that is in an insane asylum.

Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) - Mika
O boy. You know how there are some songs on your iPod that only you know are there? Those type of songs that are so cheesy that you are a little embarrassed that you have them? Well, I am coming out the iPod closet. I like Mika. There I said it. I discovered one of his songs from a movie and I really liked it so I got his albums and man are they cheesy.  AND I LOVE THEM.

I feel better now...

This song is probably one of my favorite ones of his. It has a fun beat and fun lyrics.

Dear Friends - Queen
I was a little worried that my favorite band of all-time would not make an appearance but when you have all their catalog on your iPod along with all their concerts and rare stuff, I knew my chances were good. This is one of the shortest songs they have (only 1:09) but it has to be one of their more beautiful and poignant songs that came from one of their earlier albums.

So dear friends

Your love is gone

Only tears to dwell upon

I dare not say

As the wind must blow

So a love is lost

A love is won

Go to sleep and dream again

Soon your hopes will rise

And then from all this gloom

Life can start anew

And there'll be no crying soon

Written by Brian May and sung by Freddie. Only his voice and accompaniment by the piano. I love it because of how simple it is.

Now That You Got Me - Honeymoon Suite
Honeymoon Suite is a Canadian hair metal band and it was the first tapes that I bought. Hair Metal is another love of mine and you never forget your first love and Honeymoon Suite was mine. The whole album is pretty good and I still listen to it but I do it now for more nostalgic purposes. This is one of the better songs of that album. My tape finally gave out and I bought the CD on eBay from Canada.

An Evening with the Transiberian Orchestra

Last night my dad, sister and brother went down to Salt Lake City to attend the Transiberian Orchestra concert. This is my second time that I have seen them, the first time a couple of years ago.

This type of music is right up my alley. For those that are not familiar with them and their music they are a progressive rock band founded in 1993. The orchestra's musical style incorporates classical, orchestral, symphonic, and progressive elements into hard rock and heavy metal. In fact they have taken pieces of classical music (Carmina Burana, Beethoven's 9th symphony as examples) and incorporated them into their rock operas. Essentially, it is theatrical rock music. They are also known for incorporating Christmas music and having Christmas themes in their operas.

The first time I went and saw them I had a good time but I was not completely won over. It probably had to do with the timing. I was still working at my last job and hating it, my car got a flat tire at the gas station and I had to walk back to work in the snow and cold. So I had to leave my car there and my sister took Kristy and I. We ate at a Greek restaurant and I got a horrible, horrible case of the hiccups. Seriously, these were body shaking, headache inducing hiccups. So I think that affected my enjoyment of the show.

So I have to admit that I was not as excited to see them again. Sure, I knew I would like it but I wouldn't say that I was going to be knocked out by it.

I am sure glad I went again. We ate afterwards and I didn't have a flat tire beforehand. We had better seats and the set was much better looking. The music was fantastic. It was relentless, it was pounding and the lights, fire, fireworks and video screens enhanced the feeling. The show is split into two parts, the first part is centered around one of their Christmas rock operas and does have some fast and furious moments but can be a little slow at times. The music is still phenomenal and sends a great message about how we should treat each other and not just during the Christmas season. But the second half of the show they just rock the roof off. I have always loved orchestra mixed with rock guitars.

Jennifer and I feel we have missed our calling in life. We both want to be rock stars! But I think I would be happy to be the guy that escorts the pretty violinist up and down the aisles.

The only thing that kinda bugged me about the show was one of the performers. He has such a great voice but he was also in love with his own hair. And he would thump his chest and air guitar and I felt like I was watching a parody. But really, I am being quite picky and petty here.



I had a wonderful time. This was definitely a better concert than the last time I went. I am not afraid to admit that I am a fan of them and their music.

Thanks dad for taking me and for taking us to get some tasty gyros after! It was fun on the drive home singing to the iPod.

The Log Driver's Waltz

One of my favorite memories of living in Canada was the neat TV spots they would air on Canadian TV that was produced by the Canadian National Film Board. Basically these were TV spots that would spotlight Canadian culture and its nation. They had a bunch of them but the best one was the Log Driver's Waltz.

"The Log Driver's Waltz" is a Canadian folk song, written by Wade Hemsworth and is also a Canadian animated film from the National Film Board, released in 1979. Kate and Anna McGarrigle and the Mountain City Four, sung the song for the animated short film. The film is one of the most-requested in the entire collection of the National Film Board.

Occasionally, The Log Driver's Waltz appears on Canadian channels like CBC Television as filler between two programs, much like Heritage Minutes. That was one of the few films that I would stop and watch.




I still remember this classic like it was just yesterday. I know the words by heart and I can tell you exactly what happens in the cartoon. It was things like this that made Canada so unique.

Got Clutter?

Day 354

I have been doing some thinking. Yeah, that is what happens when I am feeling sick, I sit around and think about stuff. Lately I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed, a feeling that my life is too cluttered.

And then I look around my home and I know why.

Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. [D&C 132:8]

Now this is not a shot at Kristy or the way we live our life. This is a shot at me. I have way too much stuff and I hold on to things for very stupid reasons. I believe that my house should be a house of order, I know that when my house is clean, I feel good and I feel like I am in order. The more stuff I have cluttering where I live, the more cluttered my brain feels.

I watch Hoarders and it makes me feel better about my mess. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for these people; I am not making fun of them. I am just thankful that my hoarding problem is not this severe. This is NOT a picture of our home.

And then I came across this blog: Do you hoard your underwear? I have to admit that I am like this. I hoard things. I hoard things that I don't even need. At first glance at reading this article I thought this was not me. But then I look around and I see this behavior in many ways. Take comic books for instance. I buy and read comics but then I will sell them so I can get a nice paperback or hardcover. But then the hardcover stays on the shelf UNREAD! They are just so nice, I don't want to ruin them! So why the snot did I buy them? I still want to read them right?

So I have been thinking...

It is time for me to make a change and last night I made a huge change. No, I am not selling off all my comic books. But I am getting rid of stuff that I have not read/used/listened too in years. I have been paring down my comic book collection for the last few years and I am proud to say that I have sold close to 2,500 books. I sell them to this online comic store and I get double the credit. So I do get comics in return but I am getting comics that I really want. So instead of having all this comic clutter, I have a collection of comics that I absolutely love.

Last night, I bit the bullet and I am moving into the digital age.

The last physical CD I purchased was Queen + Paul Rodgers The Cosmos Rocks which came out about two years ago. Every CD I have purchased since as been online through iTunes or some other online music service. Most of my CDs that I have now are in my iTunes library on my computer. I rarely grab a CD and listen to it. All my music is digital. So I have decided to get rid of my CDs. I have the music already, I just don't need the physical CDs anymore.

My main "worry" is that I won't have a copy of my music. Everything will be on my computer and what if that crashes? I make regular backups on an external hard drive which includes all my music files. And not only that, since I am so worried anal, I am going through my entire music library and converting everything to mp3s and then burning them to a couple of DVDs. So I will have another set of backups. Only this time, my physical backups will only take a few DVDs instead of the large stack of CDs I have now.

Now some CDs I will not sell, at least not at the moment. I will keep my Queen collection as well as others. I like to look at the CD pamphlet and I like to read the lyrics too. But I am only keeping a small percentage, merely a handful of what I had. The rest of them I have already sold online.

Not only am I getting rid of stuff I don't need, I am also making a tidy profit too. Sure, I paid much more for the music than what I am making back but if I don't use them anymore what's the purpose? The $150 I am making is worth it. I can find many, many things comics that I can spend that money on and I bet I will not even miss the CDs I have sold back.

Why would I? I don't listen to them now anyway.

So I am dejunking. And I am uncluttering the place where I spend the most time in. And already I can feel my brain work. It is hard work and I still have lots to do and it can be difficult to let things go but it will be well worth the effort I put in. Besides, I don't want to move and have to take this crap with me.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Day 342

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

This is going to be one of those blogs that are a bit scatter shot. I have tons of things that I can say and share about my sister and it will be hard to put them into any order.

First things first. I have an awesome older sister and I couldn't ask for a better sister. We have always got along and we always have a good time together. When we were younger my sister went to great lengths to make sure I was taken care of. Here is just a small sample of some of the stuff she did for me:

- Jennifer is a protective older sister. She always told me to tell her if any kids at school were giving me a hard time. Having a sister a couple of grades older than you definitely had its advantages. I didn't have any huge problems so Jennifer never did have to open a can of whuparse on anyone. But I remember one occasion she was ready to punch the lights out of a friend of mine. This friend stole my BMX bike and she went right over to his house and "stole" it right back out of his yard. It is too bad that my friend was not there. I would have loved to have my sister and her friend Mindy beat this kid up.

- Our parents used to go out quite a bit leaving my sister to babysit me. It was never really babysitting since we always ended up playing. Our evenings were full of dancing and singing to loud music, making crank calls, eating candy, letting the hamsters out in the living room, letting me watch TV past my bedtime, going to the mall (when I was older), playing Atari and just plain having fun. Some of my favorite memories of my sister were during these times.

- Jennifer would wake me up very early Saturday mornings so we could watch this show called Hammy Hamster. It only came on like at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. We would scrounge for some sort of treat and then watch the show. Most times she would go back to bed but occasionally we would play board games like Full House.

- I also fondly remember the last few days I was in Edmonton. I stayed with her overnight at her apartment and we hit the town. We ate at the Progi House (or sooooo good) and we went to West Edmonton Mall and she spoiled me rotten. We had an awesome time together and I will never forget it. "Baddest Living Bikers" indeed!

I don't think I need to say anything about this pic.

- One of the best things about having a sibling is that you can share things together that only we get. All I have to say is LATE NIGHT RAVIOLI'S and I am sure it will make my sister giggle or gross out.

- Even though we were separated when my mom and I moved to the States, Jennifer still made sure she stayed in contact with me. She called at least once a month and I would get letters and packages in the mail all the time. This is where she debuted her first novel "Hey Bro". It was always good to talk to her.

- Jennifer always supported me in whatever I did. When I left for my LDS mission to New York I had her full support. She helped out in preparation for my farewell and gave me my first mission journal. She wrote me quite a bit too. I guess that my sister missed me so much that she called me while I was on my mission! Here is the journal entry (April 18th, 1995) of when it happened:

That evening the phone rang and Davidson answered it.  He said “Who you looking for?”  Then he turned to me and said, “Hey Matt, the phone is for you.”  I thought it was strange that he called me Matt.  Did the person ask for Matt?  I got the phone and it was my sister Jennifer.  That totally surprised me.  She said she was thinking of me and wanted to call.  It was fun talking to her.  Davidson I am sure was suspicious that it was my girlfriend or something.  I told him it was my sister and there was a small family emergency and he asked why they didn’t call President Bailey.  I told him they might have but it is not a big deal, it was after the emergency.  He then suggested I call the President if there was a problem.  Yeah right, that would be the last thing I would want to do.  I said that the family emergency had already passed and that she just wanted me to know right away.  I hate that I have to lie to my companion but it is much easier to deal with him this way.

Jennifer and her family came to the airport when I came home from my mission. This is one of my favorite pictures of us.

Jennifer also called the local McDonald's the day before I came home from New York so they can post this special welcome.

- After I got home from my mission Jennifer wanted to make sure that I was dating an awesome girl. She met and liked my future wife in Kristy and she even took Kristy to come see me when I was acting in the musical Chess. I am not sure how many times Jennifer saw me in Chess. But I appreciated her coming to support me and for taking my girlfriend. Jennifer also came over the morning of my wedding to do Kristy's hair. I had no idea she planned that. Jennifer has always supported my wife Kristy.

Now that we are both older I can clearly see the qualities that my sister has and has always had.

- One thing that Jennifer and I have in common is our love of music. And any type of music. Jennifer was the one that introduced me to Rob Zombie. We love that type of music as well as broadway stuff (she also introduced me to Sweeney Todd) to Billy Joel to classical stuff to...  ...well, just about everything. When we were kids we would pretend to sing (oftentimes we would sing out loud anyway) and make our own music videos and reenact them in her large mirror. Some of the ones that I remember are Billy Joel's Pressure, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain (remember the birds crapping on us?) Prince's, Let's Go Crazy, the Beatle's Eleanor Rigby and Elton John's Funeral for a Friend. Throw in some Black Sabbath too. Like I said, we listen to anything. This is good because we can go to concerts and musicals together. It is nice to have someone I can share my love of music with.

- One thing (out of many) that I really admire about my sister is that she will tell it like it is. And she does it in such a way that it gets her point across but it doesn't come out angry. She just says it and I wish I could do that. Even if it is in the middle of the night, she will call and say exactly what she feels.

- Jennifer is also a very hard worker. From working at a doctor's office to Convergys to the Police Station to her current job at the Alternative school. She does her best and works very hard. I admire that quite a bit and I wish I had a shred of her hard work. She takes great pride in her job and she should. She always does a great job.

- One of the biggest things about my sister that I admire is watching her be a mother. She is very good to her kids. I love watching her interact with her children and I try to live up to her example in her relationships. This started early on with Jill and continues today. She is a great mother!

You are a great sister Jennifer! I am proud of who you are and I am proud to call you my big sister. Love ya!

And since I am the little brother, I get to tease my big sister by posting this picture. My dad and I wanted to include this picture in her wedding picture book but she wouldn't let us. So many years later I can finally include it. You thought since you took the pictures I wouldn't have this gem didn't you?

Please don't give me another black eye (inside joke).

List-Mania: Rob Zombie Songs

Day 300!

Do I look like someone who listens to Rob Zombie?

I am a big Rob Zombie fan. In fact, I kinda wish I was Rob Zombie. He gets to do every thing that I would love to do. He writes and sings in a rock band, he writes and directs movies and he writes comic books too.

But what I really appreciate and like about his music is that it is different and unique. His songs are dark and often times a bit disturbing. They are all tinged with horror and things that are creepy and campy. It is hard to explain what his music is all about, you just have to sample it yourself.

Now I will warn you. This music is not for everyone. I am pretty sure that most of you that read my blog will hate this type of music. It is not for the weak hearted but you have to admit he is pretty creative. When I am in a major writing slump I watch some of his videos and it reignites my creative drive. When I am feeling down I listen to him for a kickstart.

I am in the final stages of negotiations to attend this concert October 4th! Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper on the same stage? Will curiosity kill the cat again?

5) More Human Than Human

I had heard this song before my sister introduced me to Rob Zombie. I loved this video when it was on MTV and is one of my favorite running songs.

4) Feel So Numb

Again another fun running song. I am learning this one on the bass.

3) Burn

This is one of his newest songs from his latest album. I admit that I have to stop typing and air guitar during those awesome guitar licks.

2) Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)

This is one of Kristy's favorites too. I especially like this video and all the "Clockwork Orange" references. I have developed a character of the scene where he is sitting down with that cane.

1) Dragula

This is the song that my sister introduced me too and I loved it right from the start. You know what Dragula is don't you? That is what Grandpa Munster drove in the TV show. I could watch this video all the time. The images of the kids laughing and the nuclear explosion plastered on top is just awesome.

I am looking forward to seeing him in concert. It should be a memorable experience.