Thank You For The Music

I thought I'd make this blog about music and write about some of my memories that are associated with certain songs and what I think about music in general.

I think almost everybody likes music! Maybe not all the same type of music but some sort or another. I feel like music is so expressive, expressive for the creators of it and for the listeners. It can stir emotions inside of you and what is it about certain songs that make you just want to dance or songs that you can't help but sing a long to?!

Not only is music great to listen to on your iPod and what not but it can also give you great experiences like when you go to a gig. I don't go to many concerts but I've had some amazing times going to them in the past. There can be fantastic atmospheres at gigs or events. Some of my favourties are when I saw Busted when I was a teenager at Newcastle City Hall, small venue, their first tour, I loved it. I enjoyed seeing Britney Spears at Wembley for her Onyx Hotel Tour - her performance was amazing, great show. Another favourite is Green Day at Milton Keynes Bowl for their American Idiot tour, an incredible atmostphere and as a bonus I got see one of my favourite bands supporting them, Jimmy Eat World. My experiences weren't solely enjoyable because of the music however, it was also to do with the people I was with.

Something I try not to do is let a bad memory stop me from listening to a song I like. I'm pretty good at it because I don't like songs being ruined. Here are some songs that remind me of something or someone:

• The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup reminds me of my mam and how she'll ring me if she hears it.

• Lifehouse - Everything reminds me of Tegan and Martin because it's their song, it reminds me a little bit of Smallville too.

• Blondie reminds me of my dad.

• Meatloaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light reminds me of my friend Steve because he introduced me to that song as it's his favourite.

• No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom album reminds me of when I was young and lived in Gateshead, it was the album being played in our car at the time so I would always hear it when driving home.

• Britney Spears - Sometimes reminds me of being very young and camping out in my friend's backgarden and like most Britney songs, it reminds me of my sister.

• Westlife - My Love reminds me of my Nanna, I used to play it for her on my CD player because she loved it.

• ABBA - Take A Chance On Me reminds me of driving around in a limousine for Tegan's 8th birthday.

• Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth reminds me of being little because I loved that song when I was a child and still do.

The music I love is varied, I couldn't imagine only listening to one genre of music. I don't like all music but I mostly like pop, pop-rock, rock, some dance music, some country, some oldies and some classical. I love some instrumental music too, I think John Williams is a fantastic composer.

A lot of people listen to music throughout their day now, almost everyday, more than they used to. We listen to it while we're out and about, commuting to different places, it's a habbit for some people to constantly have music playing. Something I don't like seeing however is people that have an earphone in while in the company of others. I've seen people sitting with their friends and they still have an earphone in, I think it looks rude and impolite, it's a distraction. I think that some people become too attached to it because while having a conversation with friends, listening to music alone isn't really a necessity.

The reason I love music so much is because of how it is tied with all emotions. I love feeling the music and making a story in my head that mirrors what I feel from the song. Whether it be a happy song, sad song or any kind of song at all.

the ABCs of me

This is a challenge I thought would be quite fun. I found it through Facebook on the This Is Me Challenge page. One of my friends "liked" the page so I checked it out and as it turns out I "like" it too =P I've also started following the This Is Me Challenge blog cos I think it's really great and interesting.

The challenge is to think of something about yourself for each letter of the alphabet!

A: Aurora Borealis - something I want to see in my lifetime.

B: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - the show my sister and I grew up watching and love to this day.

C: Clark Kent - my perfect guy.

D: Dogs - Oska and Boomer =)

E: Eight - the age I was for my favourite birthday.

F: Family - my mam, sister, dad, nanna, brother-in-law, pets and those you make your family =)

G: Greece - the place I'm going to go visit this September and stay with one of the greatest people I've met.

H: Halloween - my favourite holiday.

I: iPod - what keeps me entertained on the commute to work.

J: James - the name of the first boy I kissed.

K: Karaoke - something I find fun even if I'm not the best singer.

L: Loser Like Me - one of my favourite Glee songs which I think is my theme tune.

M: M - the first letter of the name of my favourite guy in world.

N: Newcastle - the city where I work.

O: October - the month I was born.

P: Pop - the thing I drink too much of (favourites: Dr Pepper and Cherry Coke).

Q: Quizzes - something I like doing if they're good ones.

R: Rav4 - the best car I've ever had.

S: Sky Dive - one of my best experiences.

T: TV Shows - the ones I like, I really love watching especially with my mam and Tegan.

U: USA - one of the main places I want to travel.

V: Vans - my favourite brand of shoes, followed closely by converse and anything weirdly funky.

W: Writing - something I love doing but don't do enough.

X: X - the chromosome I have two of.

Y: Year 3000 - my favourite Busted song.

Z: Zip Slide - another thing I find fun.

Thought Provoking Question Number One

I think every now and then when I don't have a specific topic in mind that I want to talk about, I'll ask myself (and whoever is reading) a thought provoking question.

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

Personally, I hope I wouldn't do that much differently. I try to stay as true to myself as possible and be brave enough to just be myself no matter what. However, being realistic, almost everybody changes even if it's just in small ways because of the fear of being judged, I am no exception.

I'm pretty honest about my opinions on different things even if my opinion differs from the majority. I actually like being different and I like being right even more (I almost always am). Although I must admit there are a couple of times (none in specific) when I haven't voiced my opinion as loudly as I should have. On these rare occasions it's usually because what I have to say will cause major disagreements and I can't be bothered with the stress of arguments. So perhaps if I knew I wouldn't be judged at all, I would make my opinion clear at all times without fear of consequences.

Another thing that I think would change for a lot of people is appearance. In terms of clothes, I pretty much wear what I want, sometimes I wear some weird stuff, clothes/accessories that may not be "cool", colours that don't match etc. but I as I said before, I like being different as long as I like it then I don't care. I like that I'm weird. In the past, I have got on public transport without any friends with me and I have had my face painted at the time and I don't care when people stare. I sometimes deliberately wear odd coloured shoes. I'm sure there are other people who are confident enough to dress how they want but not everybody is. Although I do generally wear what I want, I can't deny that the thought of what people will think has crossed through my mind before. And obviously on some occasions you may dress to impress someone so you've picked something to wear based on what you think the other person will like, however I'm thinking more of the overall wardrobe choices, as long as you're not dressing for other people all the time.

Next up to do with appearance is make-up! I wonder how many girls would wear less or no make-up if they knew they wouldn't be judged. I myself don't wear much make-up, partially because I don't have a clue how to put it on and it doesn't seem to look right on me anyway. I do wear eye-liner, eye shadow, sometimes mascara and every now and then some foundation but nothing heavy. Oh yeah and eye-brow pencil. I don't wear a lot and I don't wear it every day. On the days when I don't wear make-up I feel less confident in myself unless I'm in the house all day and not socialising. If I go to work without make-up on I have actually been known to apologise, how bad is that?! But it is a psychological battle I'm trying to fight - I think I'm winning :P I don't wear make-up everyday for 3 reasons: 1. I can't be bothered, 2. I like to let my skin breathe and 3. I deliberately don't because I don't want to become so reliant upon it that I have no confidence to leave the house without it.

I think I've went on long enough, those were just the first few things that popped into my head when asking myself that question.

Peace out homies :P

Good Intentions

Earlier tonight, I had a talk with my dad. We were talking about a situation in my life that I'm going through right now. This particular situation involves me not making the right choice and doing something that could cause someone else a lot of hurt. It's something I've been meaning to correct for a while. When having our discussion he said that most people generally want to better themselves and do the right thing, become a better person. However in most cases, this is just something we think about.

We assume that by having these good intentions in our head that we are a good person. But good intentions really don't mean that much. Sure, it's better than having bad intentions but as the saying goes, "actions speak louder than words". These good intentions count for jack if you're not doing anything about them.

If I'm honest, I know that if you were to stack up all of my good intentions against the good intentions that I've actually put into action, one stack would be a lot higher than the other. I'm sick of putting things off and just intending to make the right choice next time. Becoming a better person isn't easy. Procrastination, however, is easy. Developing a character, a character that is good and moral is hard, and is something that you continuously have to work at. It's something I no longer "intend" to do, it's something that I am going to do.

Maybe this only makes sense to myself and that wouldn't surprise me but I'm sure there's someone out there who has felt similarly at some point in their lives.

I leave you with a quote...

"You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one." - James A. Froude (1818 - 1894)