Friday, September 24, 2010

Muzac Marathon



last weekend i ran a marathon.  it was awesome.  it is always amazing to me that something so difficult can be so fun.  26.2 miles is a long way, but i would say the fun outweighed the pain.  this was marathon number 2 for me, both of them the logan top of utah marathon.  this was also the first race that i have run with my ipod playing tunes.  i kind of did for part of a half marathon once, but it was too cold, and my ipod didn't work all that great.  i don't think that the music really enhanced the marathon much.  some people can't handle quiet for that long, but i like being alone with my thoughts.  also, races are rather social events.  i talk to a lot of people on the course.  but what does someone listen to for four and a half hours?  i had a half marathon mix already, and i was going to make my marathon mix the night before, but i forgot my ipod chord in orem.  so i cam up with one rather impromptu.  the half marathon mix was chosen based on pump up value/awesomeness and beats per minute to help me stay on pace(the bpm songs are also awesome, but their main purpose on this mix is pacing).  since part of my marathon mix includes the half mix, i'll indicate which songs were for awesomeness alone, and which were also bpm.

i started listening to some music on the way up.  i had b.o.b.'s magic stuck in my head, so i listened to him on the bus ride to the starting line.  i had wanted to talk to someone on the way up, but the guy i sat next to curled up into a ball around his backpack and was oblivious to the world.



when the race started, i started my for real tunes.
1. john williams - star wars theme
2. richard wagner - ride of the valkyries
3. andrew lloyd webber - pie jesu (amanda, i thought of you when i listened to this)
4. john williams - imperial march
5. john williams - raiders of the lost ark theme
6. the star wars theme again(so sue me, i'm a nerd)

this is where i switched to my half marathon mix.  it's two and a half hours in total song length

7. the beatles - across the universe (bpm)
8. journey - don't stop believing
9. fall out boy - of all the gin joints in all the world (bpm)
10. the ting tings - fruit machine (bpm)
11. fleetwood mac - go your own way
12. bloc party - helicopter (bpm)
13. jack johnson - hope (bpm)
14. the proclaimers - i'm gonna be 500 miles
15. r. kelly - i believe i can fly (you know you like it too)
16. feist - i feel it all (bpm)
17. jack johnson - if i could (bpm)
18. coldplay - lost (bpm)
19. foo fighters - miracle
20. paramore - misery business (bpm)
21. gorillaz - november has come (bpm)
22. reo speedwagon - take it on the run
23. collective soul - run
24. tom petty and the heartbreakers - runnin' down a dream (seeing a pattern here?)
25. coheed and cambria - the running free
26. head automatica - scandalous (bpm)
27. death cab for cutie - sounds of settling (bpm)
28. the raconteurs - steady as she goes
29. muse - stockholm syndrome
30. coldplay - strawberry swing (bpm)
31. the postal service - such great heights (bpm)
32. gwen stefani - sweet escape
33. the ting tings - that's not my name (bpm)
34. coheed and cambria - the velorium camper III: al the killer
35. ben folds - you don't know me (bpm)
36. copeland - you love to sing (bpm)

at this point, my half marathon mix was over.  this was about 3 hours into the race, so i was kinda too tired to really think about what i wanted to listen to.  i picked the first band that came up that i like running to, which was thrice. so i listened to all of their alchemy index albums, part of artist in the ambulance, and part of beggars.  then i got tired of thrice.  i finished off my run with these awesome songs.



the hours - ali in the jungle
peter tchaikovski - 1812 overture
ludvig van beethoven - ode to joy


the watch says 4:30, which was exactly my goal time

quite the excellent mix, if i do say so myself.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Creative Fulfillment: The Quest

this is one of my senior pics, 6 years ago.

i've never really considered myself a creative person.  it mostly stemmed from the fact that i wasn't creative in the ways that are regarded as creative when we are young.  children who are labeled as "creative" are generally artistically so, whether it is in painting, sculpture, or music, etc.  my sisters, especially my little sister, were both more inclined towards the arts than i was.  i participated in art, i'm talented enough, especially musically. participation isn't the same as creation though.  creation is making or organizing something in a new, original, or innovative way.  participation is the proliferation or performance of something previously created.  
now, all of this isn't to get down on myself because i wasn't gifted similarly as others.  in fact, i feel like i am growing to know my creative side.  this blog, for example, is an expression of my creativity.  i am creative with words, ideas, abstract thought.  i am witty, and situationally funny.  i create skilfully in many different ways, and i recognize that now.  in fact, all of us are creating our own lives, whether consciously or not.  i strive to live on purpose, so the my life is the creation i want it to be.
my photographically creative lil sis took this one, about 2 years ago

but post isn't about that stuff either.  i love music.  like i said before, i've been performing musically my whole life.  i've done choir, musicals, solo performance, bands, etc.  these days, i choose not to perform in choir(except in church), or in musicals.  the time required for those things is prohibitive.  i would play in a band, but i haven't been able to put one of those together.  instead, i play my guitar to myself in my room.    i like learning new songs.  i like playing stuff other people made.  i also like writing music.  it isn't something that i feel confident in.  i like playing in bands because i can write a part, and contribute one single thing to the whole, one of the reasons i choose to play bass.  trying to write a song on my own is frustrating.  i have written a myriad of intros and single verses.  i've written several songs all the way through, but just the guitar part.  i've only written one song with guitar and vocal parts.  i thought it was horrible.  playing the guitar part, i liked that.  for some reason, my verbal creativity abandons me when i try to couple it with melody.  for some reason, my most experienced performance instrument, my voice, is unwieldy and weak when i try to come up with something new.  i am not sure why, but it makes me want the comfort of a band, so that i can contribute to something i respect as a whole, without having to bear the whole burden of creation.


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

15 Albums

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen albums you've heard that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.


1. Led Zepplin: Physical Graffiti
2. Paul McCartney: Paul Is Live
3. MxPx: The Ever Passing Moment
4. Moneen: The Red Tree
5. Assorted Composers(especially Samuel Barber and Tomaso Albinoni): Favourite Adagios
6. Thrice: The Artist in the Ambulance
7. Radiohead: Pablo Honey
8. Johnny Cash: American IV- The Man Comes Around
9. At The Drive In: One Armed Scissor

10. Sugarland Run: Nothing to Offer August

these guys were local, and they broke up while i was in high school. even google doesn't know much about them.

and google knows everything

i teared up at their last show.


11. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me

12. The Beatles: White Album
13. Taking Back Sunday: Tell All Your Friends
14. Sigur Ros: Takk
15. Foo Fighters: The Colour and The Shape


honorable mentions:
Brand New: Deja Entendu
Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American
Straylight Run: Self Titled
Blink 182: Enema of the State
Jay-Z: Black Album
Green Day: Dookie

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Insomniacacacacacac

i have been battling insomnia since i was in high school. it comes and goes, and right now, it is hitting me hard. i am struggling to make it in to my classes that start at noon and 10, because i fall asleep generally between 3 and 6 in the morning. i think i might be surviving solely because my awesome friend kourtney hooked me up with about 50 bucks worth of red bull before she moved to california. i felt like i was going to lose it this afternoon in my business ethics class until i hit up a red bull energy shot. then i was all twitchy walking to my next class. i think i am just one step to full on fight club split personality disorder. i'm pretty crazy already, so maybe my alter ego will be a responsible, diligent conformist. if my more boring, less colorful clothing starts getting used more, i'll know that is happening. until then, i'll just keep watching scary movies late at night, and keeping other people up irrationally late so i'm not so lonely. so next time you are up at 3 in the morning, check and see what i'm up to. chances are, i'll want to hang out.