2 cents worth

I would have to agree with Cohn’s opinion about the Rolling Stones being ‘honest trash.’ The easiest way to put that would be is that they do not present themselves to be anything other then trashy. Not by lyrics, but simply because of the clothing they wear, and how they allow themselves to be viewed by the public, in most cases drunk. This is not to say that the Stones are a bad influence but that their image is partly determined by the era they grew out of and into. They were also part of the British invasion, but had a very different look from the Beatles, the Kinks, and other groups that came over from the UK.

Being called Trash, as the Stones were, could either make or break a group’s reputation.

1. What’s your earliest memory of music?

My parents dancing in our basement to John Denver’s Leaving On a Jet Plane. To this day, that song can still make me cry, if I’m feeling nostalgic.

2. Did you have a favorite song when you were growing up? What, and why? Do you still like that song?

Anything Mary Poppins (it didn’t have any sad parts) and all the music from the Lion King – it had so many fun songs that my friends and I would sing together (not very well). I still love, love, love my Disney movies!

3. What role does music play in your parents’ life?

Music plays a HUGE role in my dad’s life – he just launched an indie music website that’s actually pretty cool. It’s www.sixtysecondhero.com if you’ll excuse the quick plug J. But we trade music back and forth all the time. My mom listens to a lot of Josh Groban and John Denver. My dad wasn’t too happy when I started listening to country; he’s a huge Southern Rock fan.

4. What was the first song or album you bought with your own money?

Backstreet Boys – Millennium

5. What was your first concert? Tell us about the experience.

Spring 2007 (February/March–ish?)

Sparky’s Flaw and Army of Me, at Jammin’ Java. I went with one of my best friends, who goes to UMW too, and we listened to their EP all the way to and from the concert and sang along about two feet away from the band.

6. Who are your favorite bands and solo artists today? Why do you like them?

Matt Nathanson, Carrie Underwood, Wideawake, Blue October, Sparky’s Flaw, Dusty Springfield, Flogging Molly, Tracey Chapman, Josh Groban, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional, Counting Crows, Brad Paisley, Billy Joel, Lily Allen, Teddy Geiger, Dixie Chicks, Sara Bareilles, Brand New, Rico Kiley, Regina Spektor, James Taylor, John Denver.

7. Do you play a musical instrument – or instruments? What, and for how long? Do you sing?

I don’t play any instruments very well… I tried flute, clarinet, viola, piano, and

guitar, but none of them really worked out for me.

8. Have you ever been in a band? Tell us about it.

I played in my school band in middle school, if that counts?

9. How does it feel to take a college course in rock, soul, and progressive music? What do you hope to learn as a result?

It’s kind of weird taking a college class about rock music – it wasn’t something that I ever thought I would take, even though I love music. I hope to learn about more musical terms and how music has progressed since the 1950’s. Mostly, though I really wanted to learn about new music (or old music) that I hadn’t heard of or listened to before.

Why do most people listen to music while they work out?

One reason why people listen to music while doing mundane tasks, such as working out, would be so they have some thing to listen to. This would help keep them focused at the task at hand, keep them grounded in a way that having actual people there wouldn’t be able to do. I also find that listening to the music gives me something to keep my mind off of the people that are around me, I know that might sound repetitive, but it keeps me running, biking, or rowing to a specific beat. This comes in very handy when you need to get used to marching at a specific beat again. This example also correlates to my previous blog about the song Romeo and Juliet; for I have to get used to the 158 tempo of the song. Granted the song changes tempo several times either direction by increments of two, but for all intents and purposes the song generally stays around 158.

Another reason for using music to help focus you when you work out is because music can calm you, which is needed for when you work out. The more tense you are the more it will hurt the next day. The music that calms may also help you keep a steady heart rate.

I can’t seem to think of anything else to write about tonight, so thats my two cents worth.

“Romeo and Juliet,” is a song that has been covered by several bands, the one group that I find most memorable would be the Indigo Girls. This version of the song was released in 1992, and consists of the vocals of Amy Ray and the chords from an acoustic guitar. The song first came about in 1980, from the group Dire Straits on their album Making Movies. One of the reasons that I like the Indigo Girls’ version better than the Dire Straits’ version, is simply the fact that I have heard that version more than the other one. I listen to the song probably several hundreds of times in one weekend, due to the sheer fact that I do winter-guard and the Indigo Girls’ version is the music for our show. However, I believe that by the end of the season I will be done with the song for a long time. This has happened with other show music that I have had in the past years, the most recent song to have this done to it would be “The Sound of Silence,” by Simon & Garfunkel.