Friday, May 20, 2016
Personality Factor Test Results
These are results from a lengthy online personality test I took via Personality Factors (personalityfactors.net). The website takes your answers and estimates the impact each of their 16 personality factors have on your life. They're estimated in percentages (not adding up to 100%, just on average). I've presented them in order of lowest percentages to highest. I also added literal definitions of the personality traits. I can only assume you see those words at the bottom and you automatically think of me. hehe...
Distrust 4
the feeling that someone or something cannot be relied on
--
Emotionality 21
the observable behavioral and physiological component of emotion, and is a measure of a person's emotional reactivity to a stimulus
--
Anxiety 42
a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome
--
Orderliness 50
associated with other qualities such as cleanliness and diligence—and the desire for order and symmetry, and is generally considered to be a desirable quality
Assertiveness 50
the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive
--
Reserve 54
refrain from using or disposing of (something); retain for future use
--
Emotional Stability 63
refers to a person's ability to remain calm or even keel when faced with pressure or stress
Friendliness 63
the quality of being friendly; affability
--
Imagination 67
the ability to form new images and sensations in the mind that are not perceived through senses such as sight, hearing, or other senses
Gregariousness 67
fond of the company of others; sociable
--
Intellect 71
the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively, especially with regard to abstract or academic matters
Sensitivity 71
the quality or condition of being sensitive
--
Warmth 79
the quality, state, or sensation of being warm; moderate and comfortable heat
Dutifulness 79
Careful to fulfill obligations
Self-Reliance 79
reliance on one's own powers and resources rather than those of others
--
Complexity 83
the state or quality of being intricate or complicated
Sunday, May 1, 2016
My Semester, Explained In A Soundtrack
How did my semester go?
Well, between stage managing my first show, oddball relationship scenarios, foot injuries, a stint with internet dating, and working 4am shifts awhile assistant stage managing a musical... it was easily one of my favorite semesters of my life.
Here's a storied soundtrack.
JANUARY
I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) Jamie xx (ft Young Thug and Popcaan)
This song gets stuck in my head at least once a day. For the last 6 months. I never liked The xx or Young Thug, but together they made the catchiest song of 2015.
NSFW. Very NSFW. Actually, don't listen to it. 'Tis quite vulgar.
Damage Yo La Yengo
If I Could Cry (It Would Feel Like This) Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala is a literal list of the most important girls in his life; friends, girlfriends, crushes, sisters, etc. Listening to this album was like an oracular prelude to my breakup experience. When the moment hit me, the song I turned to most was the only one that didn't talk about a girl. These are the entire lyrics: "If I could cry, if I could cry, if I could cry, it would feel like this."
Cue the hand claps!
FEBRUARY
Make You Feel That Way Blackalicious
I've been a stickler against positive hip-hop for years now. In search of new music, I went to Tiny Mixtapes' Favorite 100 Albums of 2000-2009. Stumbled across Blackalicious, a rap duo straight outta Sacramento. Somehow, this psychedelic rap song-- that goes over winning championship games, brand new days, chilling with your family-- won my cold heart.
I Luv The Valley OH! Xiu Xiu
Another find from TMT's 2000's list. Pitchfork's Brian Howe describes this song as "someone vividly describing their pain." Of all the songs on this playlist, I doubt anyone would like this one (namely for the hollow screaming mid-way through). But to me, it's dark, beautiful, mysterious. I love its song structure more than its pain. This will be on my shuffle for a long time.
Iron Galaxy Cannibal Ox
Produced by El-P in 2001, Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein is the perfect underground hip-hop album. Members Vast Aire and Vordul Mega present two depressed black kids from Harlem who are acquainted with the streets but rather enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons. This song tries to make the sonic sounds of the future on a $10 budget.
NSFW
MARCH
Song for the Asking Simon & Grafunkel
Even more so than most Logan winters, this winter was butt-crack cold. Even when there were turds of snow left on the ground, I considered it "spring" enough for me. I had been wearing shorts around the house since Valentine's Day. To me, nothing transitions winter into spring like Simon & Garfunkel. This song surprisingly brought me to tears in a humbling moment this year.
Random Rules Silver Jews
Loved this song for a while now. Love it to death. Finally bought the album via Amazon. It apparently got lost in the mail and I had to cancel the order.
But at least I got my refund.
Little Green Joni Mitchell
I've listened to Blue a million times. Wasn't until this semester that "Little Green" hit me in the soft spot. Much like my life, things were 100% "green, like the color when the spring is born," and there was "sometimes sorrow." But it became one of the greatest semesters of college life.
APRIL
Holes Mercury Rev
I missed Priesthood session of LDS General Conference because I was ASM at a Dogfight rehearsal (as usual). I later attended the music recital for a friend of mine. On this warm night, I had an overarching "in-the-moment" feeling I hadn't felt since I was 18. I recall standing outside, looking to the stars, soaking in the moment.
Long ago, a counselor once warned me, "Don't freak out once you start feeling things again." I forgot that advice this night and got lost in this song. Glad it happened though.
Someday The Strokes
As I started to live in the moment again, I was able to feel the amount of love I have for my friends.
This was one of my favorite songs back in high school; a soundtrack for my yearbook-ready mind. As sad as the lyrics may seem, this song finally has me reminiscing about the good times again, just like it did high school. There are people in my life now who I will miss dearly when they leave. I'm grateful for what I have now; emotionally, socially, literally.
You Get What You Give New Radicals
Like I said before, I usually dislike positive messages in music. But I've always loved this song, and it means more to me now than ever before. I feel like I've found what truly matters to me in this life. I can breathe from my diaphragm and not worry about everything everywhere I go. Maybe I'll write a hit song about it.
Well, between stage managing my first show, oddball relationship scenarios, foot injuries, a stint with internet dating, and working 4am shifts awhile assistant stage managing a musical... it was easily one of my favorite semesters of my life.
Here's a storied soundtrack.
JANUARY
I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) Jamie xx (ft Young Thug and Popcaan)
NSFW. Very NSFW. Actually, don't listen to it. 'Tis quite vulgar.
Damage Yo La Yengo
"I used to think about you all the time. Now it just feels weird; there you are."
Does anybody else feel this way in a relationship? It's an awkward transition for an underdog. And nobody knows more about social anxiety romance as well Yo La Tengo.
If I Could Cry (It Would Feel Like This) Jens Lekman
Cue the hand claps!
FEBRUARY
Make You Feel That Way Blackalicious
I Luv The Valley OH! Xiu Xiu
Iron Galaxy Cannibal Ox
NSFW
MARCH
Song for the Asking Simon & Grafunkel
Random Rules Silver Jews
But at least I got my refund.
Little Green Joni Mitchell
APRIL
Holes Mercury Rev
Long ago, a counselor once warned me, "Don't freak out once you start feeling things again." I forgot that advice this night and got lost in this song. Glad it happened though.
Someday The Strokes
This was one of my favorite songs back in high school; a soundtrack for my yearbook-ready mind. As sad as the lyrics may seem, this song finally has me reminiscing about the good times again, just like it did high school. There are people in my life now who I will miss dearly when they leave. I'm grateful for what I have now; emotionally, socially, literally.
You Get What You Give New Radicals
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
10 Days of Tinder
I've never tried out internet dating. I've always hated it. Thought it to be a sign of desperation. Although I've recently discovered that it's something done by even the most commendable of my friends. Not everybody uses Tinder, but anybody. So I decided I'd give it a shot, if only temporarily. I wanted to know who does internet dating, and I wanted to know why. I
wanted to know how to do it right. I wanted to know what it meant. So I now give you: The 10 Days of Tinder.
OK, so the app was actually called "6tin," but it's all the same crap.
What Happened
I felt surprisingly shameless the entire time. I started off wanting to be the most superficial swiper possible. The first day, I was borderline-addicted. Thought to myself, "I may have to do this for longer than 10 days!" As experimental and fast-paced as my experience was, I was doing it the wrong way. And I'm not referring to morally or tactically. I mean, like, literally.
I went a few hours without knowing you could actually press on the picture and actually learn about the person. How did I not know that? How did I not assume that? Anyways, once I figured that out, I was still loving it. Not sure why, but for the first day, it seemed like the app was working as fast as I was using it. For the next 9 days, it got slow and the became less appealing. I spent more time looking at bio's than pictures. Some of the people they were offering me weren't even in the same state. Weird.
I had heard that it's a classic pattern to just swipe right on every single person to get more matches, where you can narrow it down from there. I think I tried this once for a spree of 10 photos. Can't remember how it turned out. Most of the time, I was actually pretty picky. My reasoning as to who I'd sweep right was beyond anything theoretic. I'd swipe right I found them attractive, yeah. But profiles were super important. I made some harsh judgments. Some examples:
(poorly-angled, sepia-tone photo of girl making duck face) SWIPE LEFT
"Looking for a cowboy ;)" SWIPE LEFT
"Common Interests: Kendrick Lamar, Thomas S. Monson" SWIPE RIGHT
I noticed about half the girls on there specifically wrote the words "Not looking for a hookup." It's sad how often guys out there actually do use Tinder just for that. Yet I know 0 of these people. I think it's gotten to a point where perhaps guys and girls need to make all their intentions known. Like maybe honest profiles that state things like:
"Semi-sexually frustrated Christian male looking for make-out buddy."
"I'm here because all the girls I actually know hate me."
"I am here for sex."
Any information about your moral standing is appreciated, good or bad. In Utah, stating whether or not you're LDS is a popular thing to point out, but I suppose it's for good reason. But you guys don't want to hear my boring thoughts about how the website works. You want to know the juicy stuff!
The Matches
So the first time I got a Match, I kinda felt like this:
Hear that? It's the sound of sweet victory blended with pure luck.
A match kinda means something to me in the Tinder universe. Considering how often I swept left, I had kinda set it up so that the matches I got were with girls I actually wanted to match with. In short, they were cute girls. The match itself was always exciting, but what follows? Most of the time not much at all.
Well, here are the stats and stories! I will be leaving out names...
-12 Matches
4 of these unmatched me immediately, so I don't really count those. Technically, I got 8.
Why did they unmatch me right away? I'm not sure. My best assumption is that these girls were sweeping right for any guy and once they actually looked me up, they realized they were uninterested and hid the the evidence. To quote the Barenaked Ladies: "Can you blame 'em? Well, yeah."
-4 Matches Who Actually Messaged Me
...Ouch. I was worried at first, like it wasn't normal. Then once I started messaging more often, I realized I actually hated Tinder messaging. So in a weird way, I thank the non-respondent girls for not wasting my time (or theirs).
I had a match with this one girl on Day 2. I had never met her before, but I had actually seen her name/face a million times. With nearly 40 facebook friends in common, she pops on my facebook news feed all the time in the "People You May Know" section. Weird, I know. When I matched with her, I was going to quit right then and there. I felt like I had succeeded as a social networker! And it was somewhat of an attractiveness-confidence boost. So I messaged her and never heard anything back. I guess we'll cross paths eventually. Until then, this whole ordeal was pretty comical and I have people I can annoy about it.
As for the girls who messaged me, they all had different outcomes. One girl messaged with me for a few days and we eventually met. Another had sent me 2 messages and I was starting to get bored with Tinder, so I asked her on a date immediately and never heard back from her. That was a bad move on my part, but somewhat on purpose... I'll get to that later. One girl started off messaging a lot, then kinda faded out. The best story here is a girl who looked at my photos and told me she liked my mustache. I had to break it to her that I shaved mustache 3 weeks ago. She unmatched me shortly thereafter. Who knew the 'stache was the key?
-1 Date
It was refreshing to know I had been messaging a real person. Legit. We met on campus and had smoothies. It was a good time.
Facts + Tacts
From a video titled "What NOT to Say on Tinder" (Simple Pickup): Avoid the general and boring. It works in real life, but this is an app with specific features and you need to take advantage of that. Use the bio info! Prove that you're a living human being.
The rest of that video mention above really sucks, but I thought that this was a great point. 2 of the girls who never responded to me were greeted with a pretty boring/general message from me.
As for how to keep up the conversation, I dare say it's all luck, If you're actually attracted to other person and what they're saying, it's a lot easier. Just keep asking questions and you can learn a lot. I know that if I myself ever lost interest, I'd wait longer to respond. As members of an non-personal internet dating site, we owe almost nothing to each other. We don't have to have thriving text-ersations with everyone. Just avoid booty calls.
The Conclusion
You get to know people on Tinder via text messaging. And still, after over 10 years of being a popular practice, texting is still bad communication. I had to quit. I hate the idea of getting to know someone through texting. In comparison to doing so in real life, it's pretty stupid.
In Tinder's defense, the one immediate thing you learn about the other person is if they're attracted to you. In real life, it's the other way around. You can be talking with a girl for a week and maybe start to read some signals. On Tinder? Right off the bat, the two persons find each other cute. But it may take you an entire week to find out what their major is. I was never really sure whether to prolong the conversation or just ask to meet right away. I can see reasoning for both.
So it changed my dating life a little bit, if not my dating perspective. And not every Tinder user is totally desperate. Most of them aren't. But text messaging is bad communication. I'm done, son!
Here's my favorite song about internet dating.
OK, so the app was actually called "6tin," but it's all the same crap.
What Happened
I felt surprisingly shameless the entire time. I started off wanting to be the most superficial swiper possible. The first day, I was borderline-addicted. Thought to myself, "I may have to do this for longer than 10 days!" As experimental and fast-paced as my experience was, I was doing it the wrong way. And I'm not referring to morally or tactically. I mean, like, literally.
I went a few hours without knowing you could actually press on the picture and actually learn about the person. How did I not know that? How did I not assume that? Anyways, once I figured that out, I was still loving it. Not sure why, but for the first day, it seemed like the app was working as fast as I was using it. For the next 9 days, it got slow and the became less appealing. I spent more time looking at bio's than pictures. Some of the people they were offering me weren't even in the same state. Weird.
I had heard that it's a classic pattern to just swipe right on every single person to get more matches, where you can narrow it down from there. I think I tried this once for a spree of 10 photos. Can't remember how it turned out. Most of the time, I was actually pretty picky. My reasoning as to who I'd sweep right was beyond anything theoretic. I'd swipe right I found them attractive, yeah. But profiles were super important. I made some harsh judgments. Some examples:
(poorly-angled, sepia-tone photo of girl making duck face) SWIPE LEFT
"Looking for a cowboy ;)" SWIPE LEFT
"Common Interests: Kendrick Lamar, Thomas S. Monson" SWIPE RIGHT
I noticed about half the girls on there specifically wrote the words "Not looking for a hookup." It's sad how often guys out there actually do use Tinder just for that. Yet I know 0 of these people. I think it's gotten to a point where perhaps guys and girls need to make all their intentions known. Like maybe honest profiles that state things like:
"Semi-sexually frustrated Christian male looking for make-out buddy."
"I'm here because all the girls I actually know hate me."
"I am here for sex."
Any information about your moral standing is appreciated, good or bad. In Utah, stating whether or not you're LDS is a popular thing to point out, but I suppose it's for good reason. But you guys don't want to hear my boring thoughts about how the website works. You want to know the juicy stuff!
The Matches
So the first time I got a Match, I kinda felt like this:
Hear that? It's the sound of sweet victory blended with pure luck.
A match kinda means something to me in the Tinder universe. Considering how often I swept left, I had kinda set it up so that the matches I got were with girls I actually wanted to match with. In short, they were cute girls. The match itself was always exciting, but what follows? Most of the time not much at all.
Well, here are the stats and stories! I will be leaving out names...
-12 Matches
4 of these unmatched me immediately, so I don't really count those. Technically, I got 8.
Why did they unmatch me right away? I'm not sure. My best assumption is that these girls were sweeping right for any guy and once they actually looked me up, they realized they were uninterested and hid the the evidence. To quote the Barenaked Ladies: "Can you blame 'em? Well, yeah."
-4 Matches Who Actually Messaged Me
...Ouch. I was worried at first, like it wasn't normal. Then once I started messaging more often, I realized I actually hated Tinder messaging. So in a weird way, I thank the non-respondent girls for not wasting my time (or theirs).
I had a match with this one girl on Day 2. I had never met her before, but I had actually seen her name/face a million times. With nearly 40 facebook friends in common, she pops on my facebook news feed all the time in the "People You May Know" section. Weird, I know. When I matched with her, I was going to quit right then and there. I felt like I had succeeded as a social networker! And it was somewhat of an attractiveness-confidence boost. So I messaged her and never heard anything back. I guess we'll cross paths eventually. Until then, this whole ordeal was pretty comical and I have people I can annoy about it.
As for the girls who messaged me, they all had different outcomes. One girl messaged with me for a few days and we eventually met. Another had sent me 2 messages and I was starting to get bored with Tinder, so I asked her on a date immediately and never heard back from her. That was a bad move on my part, but somewhat on purpose... I'll get to that later. One girl started off messaging a lot, then kinda faded out. The best story here is a girl who looked at my photos and told me she liked my mustache. I had to break it to her that I shaved mustache 3 weeks ago. She unmatched me shortly thereafter. Who knew the 'stache was the key?
-1 Date
It was refreshing to know I had been messaging a real person. Legit. We met on campus and had smoothies. It was a good time.
Facts + Tacts
From a video titled "What NOT to Say on Tinder" (Simple Pickup): Avoid the general and boring. It works in real life, but this is an app with specific features and you need to take advantage of that. Use the bio info! Prove that you're a living human being.
The rest of that video mention above really sucks, but I thought that this was a great point. 2 of the girls who never responded to me were greeted with a pretty boring/general message from me.
As for how to keep up the conversation, I dare say it's all luck, If you're actually attracted to other person and what they're saying, it's a lot easier. Just keep asking questions and you can learn a lot. I know that if I myself ever lost interest, I'd wait longer to respond. As members of an non-personal internet dating site, we owe almost nothing to each other. We don't have to have thriving text-ersations with everyone. Just avoid booty calls.
The Conclusion
You get to know people on Tinder via text messaging. And still, after over 10 years of being a popular practice, texting is still bad communication. I had to quit. I hate the idea of getting to know someone through texting. In comparison to doing so in real life, it's pretty stupid.
In Tinder's defense, the one immediate thing you learn about the other person is if they're attracted to you. In real life, it's the other way around. You can be talking with a girl for a week and maybe start to read some signals. On Tinder? Right off the bat, the two persons find each other cute. But it may take you an entire week to find out what their major is. I was never really sure whether to prolong the conversation or just ask to meet right away. I can see reasoning for both.
So it changed my dating life a little bit, if not my dating perspective. And not every Tinder user is totally desperate. Most of them aren't. But text messaging is bad communication. I'm done, son!
Here's my favorite song about internet dating.
Friday, March 4, 2016
He's Draymond Friggin Green
Draymond Green's Ridiculous Underdog Stats (NBA season leader rankings)
Triple-Doubles #1
Assists PG #6
Rebounds PG #13
Double-Doubles #20
Blocks PG #27
Steals PG #27
There are 30 teams in the NBA. This means Draymond could represent any given NBA team as team leader in these categories.
But of course, Curry is the respective MVP... (NBA season leader rankings)
Points PG #1
Triple-Doubles #5
Steals PG #5
Assists PG #11
HOW DID THESE 2 END UP ON THE SAME TEAM?
Triple-Doubles #1
Assists PG #6
Rebounds PG #13
Double-Doubles #20
Blocks PG #27
Steals PG #27
There are 30 teams in the NBA. This means Draymond could represent any given NBA team as team leader in these categories.
But of course, Curry is the respective MVP... (NBA season leader rankings)
Points PG #1
Triple-Doubles #5
Steals PG #5
Assists PG #11
HOW DID THESE 2 END UP ON THE SAME TEAM?
Sunday, February 21, 2016
My Mom's Cookie Recipe
Choc-chip cookies
1 cup butter or margarine -- I melt this in the microwave for 30 seconds--
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Cream together
Add
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix together
Add
3 cups + a little flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix together
Add
2 cups choc-chips--- that would be 1 package
Stir together
Put on cookies sheet and bake for 10- 12 minutes....depends on oven and how you like them---at 350 degrees.
Eat
Friday, February 19, 2016
The "Importance" of Music Videos
I rarely watch music videos. And when I do, I rarely take them seriously.
15 Archers of Loaf- Web in Front
Recipe for winning my music video heart:
-1 FFA jacket
-1 midget who kinda looks like me
-Add whatever the heck is going on in the picture below
14 Animal Collective- Who Could Win a Rabbit
The tortoise and the hare will never be the same. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Peacebone" and "Brothersport.")
13 Beck- Loser
Beck was given a $300 shooting budget to make this video. In case that wasn't obvious.
12 Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica
11 Pavement- Painted Soldiers
Sometimes your band gets fired and replaced by attractive cool kids, which disappoints a random family. Sometimes your Lambo gets pulled over by an ambulance. Sometimes you lose a horse-racing bet. Sometimes you wear a yellow t-shirt over a blue long-sleeve shirt. Sometimes every other person in your friggin video is smoking a cigarette (or cigar). It happens.
10 St. Vincent- Cruel
Being a mom is hard. Suffering from paranoia is also hard. Being a mom who's afraid that her family is out to kill her is a bad combo. You give your entire life's work to these people and it will never be good enough for them. So how does it end? You invite them to bury you alive. They'll then shrug their shoulders and agree like it's no big deal.
9 Avalanches- Since I Left You
That one time when you were mining in an old-timey, sepia-toned world and you magically appear in a modern, high-class dance audition. "I never saw Arthur again. But I bet wherever he's gone, he's having a damn good time."
8 Bob Dylan- Subterranean Homesick Blues
Confession time: I don't know a darn thing about the origins of music videos. But I do know Bob Dylan made this in the 60s and it's freaking genius.
7 Hot Chip- I Feel Better
The story of the neuro-vomiting killer of boy bands! And everybody dies in the end! (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Boy At School" and "Ready for the Floor.")
6 Dinosaur Jr.- Over It
I love Dinosaur Jr. They are the best at what they do. This includes both shredding on guitar and shredding on your skateboard. Still the best... after all these years. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Feel the Pain," 'Watch the Corners," "The Wagon," and "Just Like Heaven.")
5 Pulp- Bad Cover Version
So it's bad cover version of celebrity musicians recording a bad cover version of a song titled "Bad Cover Version." Got it. Clever.
4 The Replacements- Bastards of the Young
To me, this is the greatest music video idea of all time came in 1985: The Anti-Video. With their first major label album, Warner Bros forced The Replacements to replace a lead single with a promo video. So they sped up the album's best song one half-step and raised it a pitch (which kinda ruins it). As for the video? Well... let's just say it's extremely uneventful. PUNK ROCK.
3 Destroyer- Kaputt
I watched this video the week I got from my mission and it changed my life. The song did as well. The ultimate artistic representation of hopelessness. The old man dying in the desert, the anti-social young boy with bad internet habits, the whale who needs a balloon to fly... Watch it.
2 Pavement- Gold Soundz
Pavement is my favorite music video band. Heck, they might just be my favorite band period. I mean, every corny band out there needs to look they're friendly and unified in their music videos. Pavement does this here by all dressing up like Santa Claus and bow-hunting frozen turkeys around Irvine, CA. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Cut Your Hair," "Stereo," "Shady Lane," "Carrot Rope," and "Rattled by the Rush.")
1 Yo La Tengo- Sugarcube
First off, shout out to my former co-worker Dillon for introducing me to this song in the Redfish Lake Lodge kitchen. I thought it was Sonic Youth. But I digress...
Limozeen, the fake classic rock band from Homestar Runner, makes fun of alternative rock bands. "Their bassist is a girl!" "Their drummer has short hair!" "The lead singer wears glasses!" This describes all 3 members of Yo La Tengo.
Now despite both sounding and looking like an anti-classic-rock band, YLT has paid ode to the genre in their lyrics and videos multiple times. The "Sugarcube" video is what my brother Keith has deemed "The Original School of Rock." Within 4 minutes, we learn what rock 'n' roll is truly all about. It's about getting chewed out by your manager and going to school. Once your band has read Rush lyrics like a children's bedtime story, released a live double-album, and found songwriting inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkein, you are ready to make "your first number one video!" (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Ohm" and "I'll Be Around.")
Overlong Honorable Mention List:
Outkast- Hey Ya!
Nirvana- Heart-Shaped Box
Grizzly Bear- Knife
Superchunk- Digging for Something
Avalanches- Frontier Psychiatrist
Fatboy Slim- Weapon of Choice
Every OK Computer music video
Anything from Aphex Twin
But I thought I should speak out m opinion because people are making big deal about the new Beyonce "Formation" video. People, it's a music video. People will dress like members of the Black Panther party. People will get naked. People will eat raw animals. Whatever. The purpose of music videos is to entertain. If not that, then to commercially promote your music beyond using your actual music. In either event: Music Videos are FAR from important.
I kinda shrug my shoulders when I see videos making big bold statements. Not like they're bad, but they're usually super long and have high-quality directing. There's nothing wrong with that. I just never watch things for longer than 5 minutes. My favorite music videos are stupid. Because the artist making this video realizes the same thing I do: It's a music video. And music videos are stupid.
Now, I'm about to share My 15 Favorite Music Videos Ever! Yes, it basically is an altar for 90s worship. But it will fill your heart with the spirit of America. Feel free to turn back now.
Recipe for winning my music video heart:
-1 FFA jacket
-1 midget who kinda looks like me
-Add whatever the heck is going on in the picture below
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnIBBbWFJ38 |
14 Animal Collective- Who Could Win a Rabbit
The tortoise and the hare will never be the same. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Peacebone" and "Brothersport.")
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTbd0Ncsyus |
13 Beck- Loser
Beck was given a $300 shooting budget to make this video. In case that wasn't obvious.
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSPaXgAdzE |
12 Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica
D R U G Z
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwi7d0f91Y |
Sometimes your band gets fired and replaced by attractive cool kids, which disappoints a random family. Sometimes your Lambo gets pulled over by an ambulance. Sometimes you lose a horse-racing bet. Sometimes you wear a yellow t-shirt over a blue long-sleeve shirt. Sometimes every other person in your friggin video is smoking a cigarette (or cigar). It happens.
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9JxkiLImU |
10 St. Vincent- Cruel
Being a mom is hard. Suffering from paranoia is also hard. Being a mom who's afraid that her family is out to kill her is a bad combo. You give your entire life's work to these people and it will never be good enough for them. So how does it end? You invite them to bury you alive. They'll then shrug their shoulders and agree like it's no big deal.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8 |
9 Avalanches- Since I Left You
That one time when you were mining in an old-timey, sepia-toned world and you magically appear in a modern, high-class dance audition. "I never saw Arthur again. But I bet wherever he's gone, he's having a damn good time."
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpqm-05R2Jk |
8 Bob Dylan- Subterranean Homesick Blues
Confession time: I don't know a darn thing about the origins of music videos. But I do know Bob Dylan made this in the 60s and it's freaking genius.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0 |
7 Hot Chip- I Feel Better
The story of the neuro-vomiting killer of boy bands! And everybody dies in the end! (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Boy At School" and "Ready for the Floor.")
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GOZjlwIwfk |
6 Dinosaur Jr.- Over It
I love Dinosaur Jr. They are the best at what they do. This includes both shredding on guitar and shredding on your skateboard. Still the best... after all these years. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Feel the Pain," 'Watch the Corners," "The Wagon," and "Just Like Heaven.")
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgTJtdn6VjM |
5 Pulp- Bad Cover Version
So it's bad cover version of celebrity musicians recording a bad cover version of a song titled "Bad Cover Version." Got it. Clever.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR5xGHPUEew |
4 The Replacements- Bastards of the Young
To me, this is the greatest music video idea of all time came in 1985: The Anti-Video. With their first major label album, Warner Bros forced The Replacements to replace a lead single with a promo video. So they sped up the album's best song one half-step and raised it a pitch (which kinda ruins it). As for the video? Well... let's just say it's extremely uneventful. PUNK ROCK.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl9KQ1Mub6Q |
3 Destroyer- Kaputt
I watched this video the week I got from my mission and it changed my life. The song did as well. The ultimate artistic representation of hopelessness. The old man dying in the desert, the anti-social young boy with bad internet habits, the whale who needs a balloon to fly... Watch it.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puu3IvKnSb4 |
2 Pavement- Gold Soundz
Pavement is my favorite music video band. Heck, they might just be my favorite band period. I mean, every corny band out there needs to look they're friendly and unified in their music videos. Pavement does this here by all dressing up like Santa Claus and bow-hunting frozen turkeys around Irvine, CA. (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Cut Your Hair," "Stereo," "Shady Lane," "Carrot Rope," and "Rattled by the Rush.")
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPvhKV3Yg2k |
1 Yo La Tengo- Sugarcube
First off, shout out to my former co-worker Dillon for introducing me to this song in the Redfish Lake Lodge kitchen. I thought it was Sonic Youth. But I digress...
Limozeen, the fake classic rock band from Homestar Runner, makes fun of alternative rock bands. "Their bassist is a girl!" "Their drummer has short hair!" "The lead singer wears glasses!" This describes all 3 members of Yo La Tengo.
Now despite both sounding and looking like an anti-classic-rock band, YLT has paid ode to the genre in their lyrics and videos multiple times. The "Sugarcube" video is what my brother Keith has deemed "The Original School of Rock." Within 4 minutes, we learn what rock 'n' roll is truly all about. It's about getting chewed out by your manager and going to school. Once your band has read Rush lyrics like a children's bedtime story, released a live double-album, and found songwriting inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkein, you are ready to make "your first number one video!" (By the way, this is a perfect music video band! I also recommend the videos for "Ohm" and "I'll Be Around.")
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgpQBaziy0 |
Overlong Honorable Mention List:
Outkast- Hey Ya!
Nirvana- Heart-Shaped Box
Grizzly Bear- Knife
Superchunk- Digging for Something
Avalanches- Frontier Psychiatrist
Fatboy Slim- Weapon of Choice
Every OK Computer music video
Anything from Aphex Twin
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
3rd Annual Valentine's Day Playlist... Awwww Yeah!
Here are links to my previous 2 playlists:
2014 http://bluenotesusu.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-valentines-day-playlist.html
2015 http://blogoscottys.blogspot.com/2015/02/love-songs-2015-ed.html
2014 had 10 songs. 2015 had 11 songs. This year has 101/2 songs. You'll see.
Here's this year's playlist:
'I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY' -Whitney Houston
I had just gotten back from a run while working at Redfish Lake Lodge last summer. I was covered in sweat and in my running clothes. Someone was having a wedding reception at the lodge that evening, where I could hear this song cranked up. I wanted to bash the wedding and make a scene by going totally bananas on the dance floor among grown men in tuxedos. I ran to the entryway, ready to look the biggest fool in the room. However, my Jamaican co-worker Marlon Taylor had beaten me to this title. Ah well. But I promise you-- if you play this song around me, I will dance like a madman.
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| From its epic music video. |
(sigh) This song always takes me to another place. It's an instrumentally gorgeous piece of music and the lyrics fly everywhere-- love, marriage, sex, smoked chicken, Cadillacs, schizophrenia-- it's all fair game. 34 yr-old Josh Tillman is madly in love with his wife. His entire universe and imagination is wrapped around the fact that he got to marry her. Oh, honeybear, honeybear... whether or not I'm ever in love, this song will force me to feel that way anyway.
'MORE STARS THAN THERE ARE IN HEAVEN' -Yo La Tengo
+/- 90% of all Yo La Tengo's songs are love songs. I could have picked any of them. This is a personal favorite of mine. Nearly 10 minutes of hearing the same, chugged-out couple of chords while the lines "We'll walk hand in hand" slowly get repeated. And if the shoegaze guitars aren't enough for you to fall in love, listen for Georgia's vox vocal effect in the background.
'LOVE ON TOP' -Beyonce
I remember my sister introducing me to this song shortly after my mission. I didn't get it. It's like Beyonce was purposely trying to rip off Mary J. Blige and Whitney Houston. Maybe she is. But even if that's the case, who better to succeed at this imitation? This is serious high-quality studio music. A beat you won't forget. Shiny keyboards. Shiny (fake) horns section. And Bey's unstoppable vocals on top. This song's my JAM. I only cringe a tiny bit knowing this is a song about Jay-Z.
'SMALL PLANE' -Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan's voice sounds like a narrator for a documentary. This isn't so much a love song as it is a puzzle of lines that hint at a love song. I mean, it could be about his dad. Or some close friend who taught him how to fly planes. It's all possible. But his wedding following this album's release kind of narrows it down. Hearing the aging 90s songwriter crisply pronounce "I really am a lucky man" is a pure moment of zen for fans and new-comers alike.
'REALLY LOVE' -D'Angelo
This song has a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year! R&B homeboy D'Angelo getting his just rewards! Anyways... D'Angelo is too old to be the sex god he used to be, so on his new album he resorts to sincere, age-old sentimentalism. Here, with a simple snap-driven beat, string quartet and Spanish guitar, he nails it. I also love his '98 Lauryn Hill duet "Nothing Even Matters" (forced music reference for a friend of mine, whom probably won't read this).
'HEROES' -David Bowie
Had to put a pitch in honour of Bowie this year. As brilliantly weird as the recording technique for this song is, "Heroes" is a love song on the most epic scale. She is a temperamental queen, he is an alcoholic king. Nothing will keep them together. The couple kisses by the Berlin Wall in hopes that they won't get shot and their love will be sealed forever. Now nothing can tear them away. With production and songwriting help from Brian Eno, Bowie made what was possibly The Greatest Song of the 1970s.
'INTO MY ARMS' -Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
First line of the song: "I don't believe in an interventionist god."
Trust me, this eventually becomes a love song. Just keep listening.
'BEST OF MY LOVE' -The Emotions &/or 'BEST OF MY LOVE' -The Eagles
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Both of these songs are #1 US hits from the 70s with and have the same title. Also, both songs were written by people who have passed away in the last month.
The Eagles' country twanged soft rock ballad "Best of My Love" was co-written by the band's co-founder Glenn Frey. The Emotions' R&B wedding reception classic "Best of My Love" was written by Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White.
NOW YOU KNOW!
'THIS MUST BE THE PLACE (NAIVE MELODY)' -Talking Heads
I used to think the production in this song was cheesy, but that's just me being picky. Because we know what ambitious things the Talking Heads can do and this song is beyond an exception. It's a lyrical grab-bag of instant classic one-liners. Hearing David Byrne sing about love in his own beautifully neurotic way pulls me heart-strings every time. Wedding Songs for the Anxious 101. And oh yeah-- reggaeton!
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| Byrne singing this song to a lamp. |
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