The song "Mornin" by Star Slinger is not my usual taste but it's so summery and smooth and cool. It reminds me of the sunny, warm days that I'm dying for right about now. Maybe it's because it's March 30th and the weather forecast for the morning includes snowflakes. That sentence should have been written in all caps followed by seventeen exclamation points. Anyways, I also enjoy the video for the song quite a bit.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Mash-Ups
I've done my best to avoid music mash-ups. Usually, I find them irritating. In most cases, if I like one of the songs being used, they ruin a perfectly good song by mixing it with an awful song. That is not the case with this mix of "Wonderwall" by Oasis and "What You Know" by Two Door Cinema Club.
In 1995 when "Wonderwall" became a hit, I was 14 and I was completely hooked on the song. I listened to it over and over and over again. I could sing it forwards and backwards. Then, it became one of the most overplayed songs in the history of music and I could no longer bare to listen to it. I am as much to blame as anyone else. It took about 7 years before I could hear it without cringing.
I hadn't heard the other song used in the mix, "What You Know," before. When I heard the mix, I thought I would love it so I immediately searched for it and gave it a listen. It's upbeat and listenable enough but it's just ok. I found it a little disappointing after hearing the mix.
That being said, "Wonderwall You Know" is the perfect mix of these two songs. It takes out the lyrics from "Wonderwall," which I can barely stand to listen to, and replaces them with the lyrics from "What You Know" making a new, much more enjoyable song. It's nostalgic and completely fresh at the same time. Needless to say, I've already listened to it way too many times.
In 1995 when "Wonderwall" became a hit, I was 14 and I was completely hooked on the song. I listened to it over and over and over again. I could sing it forwards and backwards. Then, it became one of the most overplayed songs in the history of music and I could no longer bare to listen to it. I am as much to blame as anyone else. It took about 7 years before I could hear it without cringing.
I hadn't heard the other song used in the mix, "What You Know," before. When I heard the mix, I thought I would love it so I immediately searched for it and gave it a listen. It's upbeat and listenable enough but it's just ok. I found it a little disappointing after hearing the mix.
That being said, "Wonderwall You Know" is the perfect mix of these two songs. It takes out the lyrics from "Wonderwall," which I can barely stand to listen to, and replaces them with the lyrics from "What You Know" making a new, much more enjoyable song. It's nostalgic and completely fresh at the same time. Needless to say, I've already listened to it way too many times.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
I Really Don't Care for Cats
I am not sure exactly why, but I feel a little silly blogging. It could be a little shyness, a little insecurity, or a full-on, crippling social disorder that will eventually lead to me becoming a shut in with only anonymous internet accounts and an unhealthy number of cats, too afraid to face the world outside or the fake world on the internet. Man, I hope it's not the last one. At any rate, this silliness* has kept me from posting about this blog on Twitter or Facebook. I haven't added a link in my profile for either site. I've mentioned it to one person and told that person that I will probably delete it.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am not always the most confident person. I would love to be someone who says and does whatever she wants without giving a second thought to what anyone else might think but, the fact of the matter is, I do give it a second thought. What if this person doesn't get my sense of humor? What if they figure out just how much of a geek I am? What if they find out how entertaining I find this? What if they are irritated by my use of "they" when it should be "he/she?" It's pretty lame.
Today, I realized that none of this really matters. Nothing I write on this blog will matter. I wanted to have a blog, to write about whatever I'm interested in writing about. People can read it or they can not read it. It does not matter. The people who really matter already know how awkward and nerdy I am, and if they don't, they probably should.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am not always the most confident person. I would love to be someone who says and does whatever she wants without giving a second thought to what anyone else might think but, the fact of the matter is, I do give it a second thought. What if this person doesn't get my sense of humor? What if they figure out just how much of a geek I am? What if they find out how entertaining I find this? What if they are irritated by my use of "they" when it should be "he/she?" It's pretty lame.
Today, I realized that none of this really matters. Nothing I write on this blog will matter. I wanted to have a blog, to write about whatever I'm interested in writing about. People can read it or they can not read it. It does not matter. The people who really matter already know how awkward and nerdy I am, and if they don't, they probably should.
(Photo from Stefan's fantastic 365 project)
*The word "silliness" looks strange to me. I started to type "sillyness" but the red squiggly lines appeared and, apparently, "silliness" is correct. I think it sounds like a brand of medication.
I Hate the Radio
In recent years, my musical tastes have expanded and changed a lot. This probably has some to do with getting older and a lot to do with the internet. It used to be difficult finding new music but thanks to the internet, I hear a great song that I've never heard before several times a week, if not daily.
If you're anything like me, you hate music radio. Living in the D.C. area, we have no station that plays alternative/indie music. The only station that plays any type of rock music made this decade is DC 101 and they mostly play music I don't care for, like Seether and Papa Roach. They will, occasionally, play a song I like but it's smashed between 90's grunge and a Linkin Park song. How many times can you play The Rooster, by Alice in Chains? Why would you even want to? And when they do pick a decent band to add to their play list, they choose one song by that band and play it over and over until it is no longer enjoyable.
For the most part, I never even bother turning on the radio in my car. I just plug in my phone, which has most of my music library, a Pandora app, a Last.fm app, and a number of different apps for listening to anything other than the radio. I even have an app that let's me listen to radio stations from all over the world, stations that play new, interesting music.
This brings me to my favorite websites for new music.
Last.fm is by far my favorite music related site. It has streaming radio but is so much more. It uses "scrobbling" to track what you listen to and recommend music, new albums, and shows in your area. It also has pages with information on bands and musicians which shows similar artists to those bands. I can scrobble tracks from Last.fm radio and the library of music stored on my computer via whatever media player you use. I prefer Media Monkey but Itunes and Window Media Player also scrobble. I also have a music player app on my phone that scrobbles to Last.fm automatically and an app for Last.fm that lets me listen to their radio. A lot of the other online radio sites, like Pandora, Grooveshark, and The Hype Machine, have options for scrobbling to Last.fm. There are also plugins for web browser that scrobble anything you listen to on the internet. If you watch a video for a song on Youtube, it can be scrobbled. It's all very cool. Since I started heavily using Last.fm last September, I basically know every song I've listened to and how many times. The Shins are my most listened with 461 plays. It's also got a social networking aspect where you have a profile and have friends. So you can check out what your friends are listening to and recommend songs to them. There's a lot more to it but I think I've sang it's phrases enough. Check it out. Here's my profile, if you're interested: http://www.last.fm/user/janna890
Pandora is, what I consider, the O.G. of internet radio. This is mainly because it was my first introduction to internet radio like it. It's pretty simple. You enter the name of a band or musician that you like, and it plays them and music like them. Like I mentioned above, I have an Pandora app for my phone so I can listen while driving or at work. If I'm on my computer, I use LastPandora.com which scrobbles to Last.fm. I've use Pandora less than I did in the past because they're ads are getting a bit annoying and it seems to play the same songs too frequently. Also, you are limited to the number of skips your allowed. That being said, it is still a great option for internet radio.
The Hype Machine is a more recent discovery for me. It compiles songs that have been talked about across the internet via music blogs and sorts them so you can easily listen to the newest song by your favorite band and find new bands/songs that are blogged about. It's great for finding more obscure songs that would not normally play on one of the internet sites. If you hear a song you like, you can find out who else has liked it and see what else they've liked. In your profile settings, you can set it to scrobble to Last.fm. My profile: http://hypem.com/#!/janna890
Grooveshark like Pandora, streams internet radio but it also let's you search and play a specific genre or even a specific song. It also let's you queue songs so you can create a play list of sorts. It also let's you save songs as favorites and replay them. I've only just started using Grooveshark so I don't know all the ins and outs but so far, it's a pretty good option. It only allows scrobbling to Last.fm for premium members, which is completely lame.
So there you have it. There are tons of other options out there but these are the ones I use most frequently. It's nice not to be stuck listening to the radio. There's so much music out there there. Go find some.
If you're anything like me, you hate music radio. Living in the D.C. area, we have no station that plays alternative/indie music. The only station that plays any type of rock music made this decade is DC 101 and they mostly play music I don't care for, like Seether and Papa Roach. They will, occasionally, play a song I like but it's smashed between 90's grunge and a Linkin Park song. How many times can you play The Rooster, by Alice in Chains? Why would you even want to? And when they do pick a decent band to add to their play list, they choose one song by that band and play it over and over until it is no longer enjoyable.
For the most part, I never even bother turning on the radio in my car. I just plug in my phone, which has most of my music library, a Pandora app, a Last.fm app, and a number of different apps for listening to anything other than the radio. I even have an app that let's me listen to radio stations from all over the world, stations that play new, interesting music.
This brings me to my favorite websites for new music.
Last.fm is by far my favorite music related site. It has streaming radio but is so much more. It uses "scrobbling" to track what you listen to and recommend music, new albums, and shows in your area. It also has pages with information on bands and musicians which shows similar artists to those bands. I can scrobble tracks from Last.fm radio and the library of music stored on my computer via whatever media player you use. I prefer Media Monkey but Itunes and Window Media Player also scrobble. I also have a music player app on my phone that scrobbles to Last.fm automatically and an app for Last.fm that lets me listen to their radio. A lot of the other online radio sites, like Pandora, Grooveshark, and The Hype Machine, have options for scrobbling to Last.fm. There are also plugins for web browser that scrobble anything you listen to on the internet. If you watch a video for a song on Youtube, it can be scrobbled. It's all very cool. Since I started heavily using Last.fm last September, I basically know every song I've listened to and how many times. The Shins are my most listened with 461 plays. It's also got a social networking aspect where you have a profile and have friends. So you can check out what your friends are listening to and recommend songs to them. There's a lot more to it but I think I've sang it's phrases enough. Check it out. Here's my profile, if you're interested: http://www.last.fm/user/janna890
Pandora is, what I consider, the O.G. of internet radio. This is mainly because it was my first introduction to internet radio like it. It's pretty simple. You enter the name of a band or musician that you like, and it plays them and music like them. Like I mentioned above, I have an Pandora app for my phone so I can listen while driving or at work. If I'm on my computer, I use LastPandora.com which scrobbles to Last.fm. I've use Pandora less than I did in the past because they're ads are getting a bit annoying and it seems to play the same songs too frequently. Also, you are limited to the number of skips your allowed. That being said, it is still a great option for internet radio.
The Hype Machine is a more recent discovery for me. It compiles songs that have been talked about across the internet via music blogs and sorts them so you can easily listen to the newest song by your favorite band and find new bands/songs that are blogged about. It's great for finding more obscure songs that would not normally play on one of the internet sites. If you hear a song you like, you can find out who else has liked it and see what else they've liked. In your profile settings, you can set it to scrobble to Last.fm. My profile: http://hypem.com/#!/janna890
Grooveshark like Pandora, streams internet radio but it also let's you search and play a specific genre or even a specific song. It also let's you queue songs so you can create a play list of sorts. It also let's you save songs as favorites and replay them. I've only just started using Grooveshark so I don't know all the ins and outs but so far, it's a pretty good option. It only allows scrobbling to Last.fm for premium members, which is completely lame.
So there you have it. There are tons of other options out there but these are the ones I use most frequently. It's nice not to be stuck listening to the radio. There's so much music out there there. Go find some.
Where I'm From
One of the things I enjoy doing in my free time is reading shelter blogs. I can spend a ridiculous amount of time ogling beautifully designed rooms. That being said, you can expect posts from me about decor related stuff. I thought I'd start by posting about one of my favorite aspects of home decor, artwork.
I love the idea of having artwork throughout my home that represents where I'm from. I have lived in Northern Virginia, just south of D.C, my whole life, so I will sometimes search out Virginia and D.C. specific artwork. Here are a few of the favorites I've found.
I own and love this poster from Ork Posters. They sell similar posters for a bunch of different cities and very cool posters of the human heart and brain.
Another favorite Etsy seller, Gingiber, sells this beautiful cardinal print. I am also partial to her owl calender.
Yet another Etsy favorite, BeeThings offers this print.
And one more from PosthaDesign. I love the simplicity of this one.
One of my favorite things about living so close to D.C. is getting to go walk around the Mall and Tidal Basin when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Etsy seller Karingrow frequently features cherry blossoms in her artwork. Here are two of my favorites.
I love the idea of having artwork throughout my home that represents where I'm from. I have lived in Northern Virginia, just south of D.C, my whole life, so I will sometimes search out Virginia and D.C. specific artwork. Here are a few of the favorites I've found.
I own and love this poster from Ork Posters. They sell similar posters for a bunch of different cities and very cool posters of the human heart and brain.
Virginia's state bird is the cardinal and I've found a bunch of great prints featuring them. The first is a fantastic print from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, BerkelyIllustration.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Lions in Cages, Just for Fun
Here's a few songs for your enjoyment.
"Lions in Cages"
"Dancing With the Devil"
"Back to Back"
A Blog!
Hello and welcome. My name is Janna. I started this blog a couple of weeks ago, wrote a few posts, decided that blogging was not right for me, and deleted all the posts. But now I've changed my mind again. Maybe blogging is for me. Then again, maybe not. We'll just have to see.
What should you expect from this blog? Well, a lot of indecision, clearly. To be honest, I am not sure exactly what I will write about. How's that for a ringing endorsement? I just want to write about things I'm interested in. When it comes to the internet, I guess you could say that I'm a taker. I get a lot of entertainment from this world wide web of ours but I don't contribute much back into it. That is changing right here. I want to be a giver.
The title of my blog, Hurry, Rabit! Run! is from a song "Turn On Me" by The Shins. They're my favorite band, currently, so you may expect a post about them at some point.
For now, here's the song to hold you over.
What should you expect from this blog? Well, a lot of indecision, clearly. To be honest, I am not sure exactly what I will write about. How's that for a ringing endorsement? I just want to write about things I'm interested in. When it comes to the internet, I guess you could say that I'm a taker. I get a lot of entertainment from this world wide web of ours but I don't contribute much back into it. That is changing right here. I want to be a giver.
The title of my blog, Hurry, Rabit! Run! is from a song "Turn On Me" by The Shins. They're my favorite band, currently, so you may expect a post about them at some point.
For now, here's the song to hold you over.
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