Adele - 21

I know the Adele album isn't supposed to be out in the US, but I managed to get the UK release, which was released in January. It has 5 more songs than the US version will initially release, who is to say they won't release them later, but why wait...

I fell head over heels in love with this album. There are 3 songs I have kept on repeat for the past week that I've had it. Tracks 1 - Rolling In The Deep, 11(recorded)/17(acoustic) - Someone Like You, 14 - I Found A Boy. I don't know, it's... well, to be perfectly honest, this album really struck a chord with  me. I could connect with nearly every lyric in these songs. I am willing to bet it's because Adele is my age. She was born in May of 1988. She is experiencing a lot of the same things I am and have, at the same ages. That is what makes an album great, isn't it? When you can connect with a song so entirely. . . Sunnie and I had a long conversation today about it all. How funny it is that these ages the 3 of us are at really are a time for growth, love, loss, and just learning who we are. It's the same with Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson who were both born in 1979. Their music and lyrics are incredibly simliar, but they still manage to resonate with people 10 years their junior... It's just the way of life I suppose. Emotions are the same no matter what age, race, or gender. Music is a way to release those emotions.

Track by track interview by Adele

Rolling The Deep

Someone Like You

P.S. On the UK Album Adele sings a Brandi Carlile cover. Hiding My Heart. May I just tell you I about peed my pants when this song came on. It is an acoustic recording, the original song. I had a mini freak out in my car, so much so I am pretty sure I freaked out the people driving next to me. My arms waving, mouth wide open as I screamed. . . I immediately sent Sunnie a text message, as I knew she would be able to fully  understand and appreciate the magic and wonder that is ADELE singing BRANDI... Oh. My. Holy. Goodness!!!

Day 15 (10/31/10)- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play

Well this one should prove interesting... Lets see what happens shall we!

1:  Adia - Sarah McLachlan, Closer: The Best Of Sarah McLachlan
2: This Is Me - Demi Lovato, Camp Rock Soundtrack
3: Damn Girl - The All-American Rejects, When The World Comes Down
4: !Viva La Gloria! - Green Day, 21 Century Breakdown
5: You Can Run, But We'll Find You - Matchbox Romance, Voices
6: Last Letter - Katharine McPhee, Unbroken
7: Can't Stay Away - Kris Allen, Kris Allen
8: I'm Not In The Mood - Shania Twain, Up (Red Disc)
9: Megalomaniac - Incubus, A Crow Left Of The Murder
10: The Hat - Ingrid Michaelson, Girls and Boys

Day 10 (10/26/10) - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Hyped, Bored, Mad

Songs I listen to when I am happy: The upbeat kind...? Nah, I have so many songs I listen to when I am happy. I love music. What can I say!?

Songs I listen to when I am sad: Erm... Bad Day - Daniel Powter...? Haha, seriously though it depends on what upset me at the time. More often than not, Train, Brandi Carlile, Sara Bareilles, or classical.

Songs I listen to when I am Hyped: HA! Venga boys was on that list for a long time, thanks to Brooke for that... For some reason I love listening to R&B when I am super hyper.

Songs I listen to when I am bored: I will typically put my ipod on shuffle and let it play whatever. Like now for example... this is what came up...


Songs I listen to when I am mad: Honestly, Beth Hart has the best angry lady voice I have ever heard! I love listening to her gravel voice. It's amazing. Brandi Carlile of course! Then you also have Skillet, Shinedown, Seether, you know the harder edge Rock stuff. Though, if it's boy related it has to be Lover Lover by Jerrod Niemann!

Day 7 (10/23/10) - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

I would need a bigger posting for all of the people that have had an impact on me. I will give you the first 5 that came to mind though!

 

 Aaron Durrant

 Johanna Adams

 Marisa Hall

Stanley Lloyd

Sunnie Rushton

Day 4 (10/20/10) - A habit that you wish you didn’t have

Hmmm, well there are a few actually, but I'd have to say apologizing. I apologize for everything. Even if it isn't my fault! I'll take the blame for it. It's silly, but there you have it!

Wow that was a short post! Haha! So I'll post a photography I have entitled Apologize.

Day 1 (10/17/10) - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

This is the most recent picture of myself I have on this particular computer. :) It's from this past February, when I went on the Bahama/Mexico Gulf cruise with my family. This is my sister Leesa and I at the beach in Honduras.

1: I am naturally a strawberry blond, but I highlight my hair to blend in the platinum blond strips that grow in along my face line. If I don't it looks like I have racing stripes when I pull my hair into a pony tail. :)
2: I have an obsession with french fries, and RedBull.
3: I read. All the time.
4: I prefer to 'feel' a situation out before I really take active part in what is going on.
5: I tend to date people with the same name. Un-intentionally.
6: I love to learn about new ways to learn how to read/identify/understand different personalities.
7: I have always wanted a summer wedding.
8: I have more guy friends than girl friends.
9: I hate the cold, and I can't stand snow after Christmas passes.
10: My favorite dessert is Cannoli.
11: My favorite flowers are lilies, roses, and Gerber daisies.
12: I love to travel.
13: I haven't had a 'real' job in over 2 years. Not really by choice, but it's turned out to be a blessing.
14: I love old movies. Pride and Prejudice, Gone With The Wind, Roman Holiday, etc.
15: I understand/speak car language, and can fix my own vehicle, but am rarely 'allowed' to because I am a girl.

30 Days and Counting

I have been failing at maintaining my blog, and I think this might help me a little bit. It's a 30 day, day by day, blog posting all about you chart thingy... Also, I find it interesting to read the other blogs I've seen this on. This is the list. Feel free to copy and paste!

Day 1 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 2 - The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 3 - A picture of you and your friends
Day 4 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 5- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 6 - Favorite super hero and why
Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and why
Day 9 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogs and why you made one
Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23 - Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25 - What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?

Jerrod Niemann - Lover, Lover

Can you say Mmm Thank you!

I See My Red Door And Must Have It Painted Black

Deciphering Right And Wrong Has Never Felt So Empty...

Dear Mr.

There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around
I swear that you could hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell



Dear You.

My Dog Days Are Over
The. End.

I Get Lost Inside The Sound...

It took me just under 5 hours to drive from Cedar City Utah, to Logan Utah. In those 5 hours I was able to accept, move past, understand, and reach an important decision.

I drove to Cedar City friday morning with my dear friend Marisa. She graduated from Southern Utah University, and I am so happy I was able to watch her participate in the graduation ceremony! I stopped to visit my twinbrotherIneverwantedbutloveanyway Chris. I met his fantastic girlfriend Stephy! I spent Friday night and Saturday morning with my darling Jo, where we talked till we couldn't speak anymore! I love her so much and I am extremely grateful we are family! After the graduation ceremony I went back to help Jo pack some of her things into my car. I had volunteered my boat sized lumina to her, and offered to drive her stuff to her home in 'K-Town.' I was headed in that direction anyway. During my solitary drive to Kaysville I was able to think about everything that was going on in my life, from my dad and his current state of being as well as my current family situation, to my school and what I want out of life, etc. I finished the night by driving to Logan to visit with a friend. The next morning I left around 7am; it was snowing in Logan (go figure... Ha!) but I found I didn't mind it. That funny little town has a comforting feel, and a gorgeous scenery. Driving back through the canyon was somewhat of a surreal experience. Logan was very green, the colors of every thing around held such depth! Suddenly the world turned into a gray scale, it was sort of like walking into a black and white film after passing through one of Disneys Remastered films. It was so unique, and oddly pointed. I felt like I was watching Nature paint out my life. As the canyon walls picked up color again I finally reached a few conclusions, and made an important decision that will be seen within the next few months. I didn't go straight home. I stopped at the Jordan River Parkway, and took a little walk. I took a few pictures and let my ipod play on shuffle for a bit, while I enjoyed the color depth the rain had left.

On the drive home from the parkway this song (Melody - Kate Earl) came on. I really resonated with what she is saying, and cannot stop listening to it. I know I say this all the time, but this really fits me in this moment. I love that music is always there as an escape, and there is always, and will always be a song that sings out what my heart cannot, or will not display. I may not have my dad's ability to pull out the music in my head for everyone to share, but I at the very least am able to lose myself in the sound of my own melody. 

No matter what has ever come to me
I got my own brand of company
I got da da da inside my head
And i play songs back to back until i got to bed

Wake up by myself inside an empty room
There's no body next to mine to oooh
But my skin is warm and my heart is full
It's the do do do do do do

Walking waking on a crowded street
With my headphones loud
So my hips can swing, so my head can nod
To the rock and roll to the boom boom beat

and i find that i'm never alone
and i find that my heart is my home
and the music within makes me whole
A world that i built on my own

and i know that i'm never alone
and i know that my heart is my home
Every missing piece of me
I can find in a melody

No matter what has ever come to me
I got my own kind of company
I got ba ba ba inside my head
And i sing songs back to back until i go to bed

There's a river in my mind that's never still
Swirling, soothing all the time gives me a thrill
Swimming in the notes that go
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Wandering, waking in an empty wood
It is quiet here, i am powerful
I look down below serenade the world
From inside my soul

and i find that i'm never alone
and i find that my heart is my home
and the music within makes me whole
A world that i built on my own

and i know that i'm never alone
and i know that my heart is my home
Every missing piece of me
I can find in a melody
I can find in a melody

When the walls begin to creep in
And the sky is fallin down
When i'm swallowed up in feelings
I get lost inside the sound...

and i find that i'm never alone

and i find that my heart is my home
and the music within makes me whole
A world that i built on my own

and i know that i'm never alone
and i know that my heart is my home
Every missing piece of me
I can find in a melody
I can find in a melody

Carpe Diem - Seize The Day

Carpe diem quam minime credula postero – "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future"





Carpe Diem: Seize the day 


We always put off being happy, convincing ourselves that after this one last obstacle we will find happiness. The truth is, there is no better time than right now to stop and create happiness for ourselves! Because if not now ... When? Life will always be filled with challenges and excuses. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy and satisfied with how things are anyway! 


Alfred D. Souza said: 
" For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." 


Crystal Boyd wrote:
"So stop waiting until you finish school... until you go back to school... until you lost ten pounds... until you have kids... until your kids leave the house... until you start work... until you retire... until you get married... until you get divorced... until Friday night... until Sunday morning... until you get a new car or home... until your car or home is paid off... until spring, until summer... until fall... until winter... until you are off welfare... until the first or fifteenth... until your song comes on... until you've had a drink... until you've sobered up... until you die... until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy... 


Happiness is a journey ... not a destination!!


Thought for the day: 
Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching."


Time after time we sit and wait for happiness to come to us, to find us. When we should be giving our hesitations a seat in the back and move forward towards those goals and dreams that make us happy! Rather than focus on why we can't be happy right now, or what more we have to do until we can be happy... let us focus on what we are doing to be happy! When we are actively pursuing that which makes us happy, we find that we already are. 

Let It Go

Brandi Carlile released a new single March 8, 2010. A duet with Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. It is available exclusively on Amazon MP3, all proceeds go to Fight The Fear Campaign

Let It Go -

Haynes, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

There are moments in every girls life when she just needs to stop everything and just scream... One loud, high pitched or belted note/sound to express frustration, relief, accomplishment, pain, anger, annoyance, you name it.

Then, there are the moments when we need to blast the music and dance around in our underwear. Be it a fiesta at 2 in the morning, or mid-day -- a loud, stress relieving, Haynes/aerie/V.S. sponsored dance party is a must! 

"I'm afraid to sink, I'm afraid to swim. I'm sad to say I miss my friends I know that I'm supposed to step away but they need me to stay"

Again Today - Brandi Carlile. I woke up this morning with a specific part of this song stuck in my head. It was very ironic, especially as I handn't heard this song in awhile. After the happenings and conversations of last night and the continuation this morning I realize there was a specific meaning for those lyrics being there. "I'm afraid to sink I'm afraid to swim. I'm sad to say I miss my friends. I know that I'm supposed to step away But they need me to stay." 

(Don't forget to turn the music player [at the bottom of the screen] off!)

Broken sticks and broken stones
Will turn to dust just like our bones
It's words that hurt the most now isn't it
Are you sad inside, are you home alone
If I could just pick up the phone
Maybe you could see a better day
And you won't waste away
under my watchful eye
Because I'm your hero and you're my weakness

Who's gonna break my fall
When the spinning starts
The colors bleed together and fade
Was it ever there at all
And have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today

I'm broken down, not good enough
The broken promises add up
To twice their weight in tears which I have caused

I'm afraid to sink, I'm afraid to swim
I'm sad to say I miss my friends
I know that I'm supposed to step away
But they need me to stay and keep a watchful eye
On all my heroes and all their demons

But who's gonna break my fall
When the spinning starts
The colors bleed together and fade
Was it ever there at all
And have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today

Not today
Not today

Was it ever there at all
Or have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today
Broken sticks and broken stones
Will turn to dust just like our bones again today
I'm broken down
Not good enough
The broken promises add up again today

Was it ever there at all
And have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today
Again today 

Life is not a looking glass, Don't get tangled in your past

I have been an avid lover of Brandi Carlile since the day I first heard her music! I was introduced to Brandi just before her second album (The Story) was released. I sat and waited for The Story (2007), and then again Give Up The Ghost (2009). This latest album of hers has been a really moving one for me. The song Pride and Joy especially. It's one of those songs that will relate to so many different people, and remind you of a different person each time you hear it, but it's always the perfect song. The second chorus... Can you get any more pure than that! So much said with so little!

(Don't forget to turn off the music player [at the bottom of the page] first!)



I believe this to be true
There's nothing sacred, nothing new
No one tells you when its time
There are no warnings, only signs
And you know that you're alone
You're not a child anymore
But you're still scared
All your mountains turn to rocks
All your oceans turn to drops
They are nothing like you thought
Can't be something you are not
Life is not a looking glass
Don't get tangled in your past
Like I am learning not to

Where are you now
Do you let me down
Do you make me grieve for you
Do I make you proud
Do you get me now
Am I your pride and joy


And Then you get live performances like this...





Have I mentioned that I LOVE Brandi Carlile!

Message in a lyric...?

This video reminds me of someone in particular right now. Oddly it  feels more like it is from them to me, and for some reason I feel compelled to put this on my blog. So, here you go... Whatya Want From Me - Adam Lambert

(Don't forget to turn the music player [at the bottom of the screen] off)

Don't ask me what the reason is behind it, because I truly do not know... All I know is every time I have come across this song in the past week I have had an urge to put a video of it on my blog. You would not believe how many times I have heard this song this week purely by chance and at the most random of times... Eerily enough it is almost as if it was intentionally played each time... If ever there was a message in a lyric, here it is. Oh the things that happen in day to day life.

Black Box of Colorful Wonders

Isn't if funny... music is able to fill us completely, speak the words that won't come, express the unknown feeling, and calm even the most dangerous of storms...

Magic is the world where the touch of rhythm and sound will draw a smile from even the darkest of times.



With a simple photograph you are left breathless, and painted in a world of wonder...

What a wondrous world we live in where still art has the ability to make you feel, dream, and express without the need of a single word...

Musical Dreams...

When I was about 5 years old my daddy brought home a huge beautiful upright grand piano. That night he sat down and started to fiddle with the white wood pieces on this massive wooden contraption. I climbed onto the piano bench and watched as his fingers made these sounds that created stories in my head. It was like he had taken these sounds I had always been able to hear in my head and used to create stories when I would play pretend and made them part of the real world. I was entranced. The next morning as soon as I got home from kindergarten I climbed on that piano bench and started to play with the keys. I wasn't sure if I'd get into trouble or not so I always tried to make sure mom was downstairs when I would play around. I started to pull out notes, and figured out songs. My mom naturally noticed, so when I was in the first grade she tried to put me into piano lessons. Mrs. Baker taught me the fingering methods, and how to count the beats before she moved away. I never had lessons after that. I took the books I had, and figured out how to read music, and what the notes of the piano were on my own. After that I would just pull out whatever song I had heard that day and would figure out the notes on the piano. I first learned the talent I had was called perfect pitch when I was in the 6th grade. Our orchestra directior Mrs. Mortensen was teaching us the string notes on our instruments. I had chosen the viola. It was the one instrument that seemed to call out my name when I decided I wasn't going to play the cello because my best friend had decided to play the cello. (I was 12 don't ask where my thinking came from)I wanted something different, and the viola as the perfect match. It has the same strings as a cello, but is held like a violin. The music is written in the Alto clef. I learned an entirely new musical language with the viola. Mrs. Mortensen proceeded to teach us the scales, 1st position fingering, and how to hold the bow properly. She pulled her bow across the D string, holding the second finger down. Which is F. She was playing F#. She asked if we could remember what note that was. I knew what it was. In my head I pictured the 3rd black key above middle C. I raised my hand and told her what it was. With each corresponding note she would play I would picture the key on the piano that made the same sound. Each note seems to have a specific place in my head. It's like one of those light games, when a note plays a light goes off and you match the sound to the light... She told me that was what most people referred to as perfect pitch, or relative pitch depending on how well you knew the notes. Though I stuck with the viola throughout school I never lost my love, or fascination with the piano. I've never had real lessons. I have always wanted formal lessons, but haven't done anything about it. Instead I play with the songs I know, tinker with songs I sound out, and occasionally I'll pull out a book and try to teach myself the correct fingering techniques. So, instead of encouraging my own possible talent at the piano I watch. I listen, and I enjoy. I have a passionate love for watching a pianist play. The passion that emanates from them is unlike any other musician. All musicians fall into their instruments and the music they create, but a pianist... a pianist is the music. Words fail me when I attempt to describe the magic that is the piano. Every single boy I have ever had an interest in has been a pianist of some sort. I love sitting on the bench with them and watching their fingers. Watching as they dissolve into the instrument and forget everything for just a moment. Watching as their hands move with grace, and passion, and direction. I truly cannot even begin to fully explain what I mean. The pictures that dance in my head during a piano piece. Of all the music that is going on continually in my head, most of it is piano. If I could learn to bring the music out of my head, and onto a piano... I am cocky/confident enough to say it would blow you away. I don't have the skills I need to play the piano as well as I like, but I have a capacity to learn, and to appreciate when others have taken the time and effort to learn. Maybe one day I will find someone who can hear what I hear, and together we will create a masterpiece symphony. Or, maybe one day I will sit down and actually learn how to properly play the instrument I love so dearly.

This compilation done by Jon Schmidt is simply brilliant! I have always loved his orchestrations. I cannot seem to get enough of this specific video. My dad sat with me and listened to it for 3 straight run throughs... It's unbelievable! It's... Magic!

La musique est mon poison ...

We all fall into it. We all share a connection with it. Music. It is my poison. It is the first thing I turn to after a bad day, a triumph, a spiritual moment, or a heart break. It's my refuge, my happy place.

We all label music, and often times we are labeled by the music we enjoy. But when you take away the music artist, strip off the music behind it, and just read the lyrics... you most likely wouldn't be able to tell what genre it went into. The interior of each song is where you find the heart, and soul of that song. Just like people. Look past the exterior, and what you first see and listen to their heart song... I hear a song, and I look at it from my perspective. "Oh my gosh, you have to listen to this song... it describes me perfectly!" That is when I halt and I have to remind myself that song isn't about me. It's about the artist, and what they see, but that is the magic of music. It is universal. It is something that can, and will be likened unto everyone. When you listen to a song, take a step back and try to listen to it in the way the person sitting next to you is listening to it. Watch as that song takes on a whole new meaning...

For me personally I didn't used to stop and wonder what the story behind the song was until I was about 10 years old. I grew up listening to my dad write music, writing lyrics, and figuring out the right guitar chords to express what he was saying. I remember the night I asked him what he meant by the lyrics to his song 'The Road' and the story he gave me behind it. I started to look at my daddy a bit differently. He became a bit more human to me. Listening to Not An Addict by K's Choice once again hit me with a different side of the world. Growing up in Bountiful Utah I was sheltered from just about everything. Going to K-mart was a night on the town. For the most part I sang to myself outside in the backyard up in one of our apple trees, or under the peach tree. I wrote most of my poetry beginnings hidden in this corner of my yard that was completely encased by ivy, and sun flowers that grew to impossible heights. My childhood was spent in this jungle, and all I remember is the music that filled my head. I had my own soundtrack. I didn't realize there were really drug addicts, or suicide. There wasn't such a thing as murder, or rape, or death... outside of old people. I didn't realize there was a sadness or pain outside of listening to parents fighting, or falling out of trees. Listening to this song opened my eyes to a new side of things. It wasn't until I was in high school that I realized these things were real, and to have someone who had fought a real drug addiction was incredibly powerful to me. I remember the first night I looked at a song I connected with on a high level from someone elses perspective. I had played a specific song to try and say something to the person next to me in the car. He heard the song and it made him laugh because of the context of the song. Instead of hearing my side, he heard his own. After dropping him off I replayed the song to figure out why he left my car laughing at how perfect the song was. The song was Boys Don't Cry by Plumb. I heard the song from a whole new perspective, and it changed the way he and I interacted because I finally understood why he felt the way he did... it had been an argument we'd both tried to argue, believing we were right, but being un-able to fully express why to the other person leading to more frustration... But to step out and listen to his side I understood his side and I changed what I was doing... and it made us better.

When we feel as though we aren't the only one in the world going through something, we smile. We learn. We grow. When we feel validated, and understood... We smile. We learn, and we grow. When we step outside of ourselves and are able to look at something from another's perspective we smile a little bigger. We learn a bit more, and we grow into that much better of a person. Music does all of that... it fills us with emotion, conviction, desire... no matter the genre. Music is universal... Music is my weakness. Music is my poison.

...I learned at a young age music speaks to all people. No matter race, age, religion. Music knows no barrier. Put a word to a rhythm and you've created a magic everyone can experience... So, Step outside yourself and... See their side, their story...