"I'm gonna base this moment on who I'm stuck in a room with. It's what life is. It's a series of rooms. And who we get stuck in those rooms with adds up to what our lives are."
Well, it's been almost two full weeks since my last blog post, which is definitely too long in between posts. So I decided to go back into the archives and find something I said I would blog about. Luckily, music is always there for me, and I have a few blog posts up my sleeve for times like these (pun intended). So, here are eight songs with one really good lyric in them.
1. One Headlight - The Wallflowers I think your death, it must be killing me (3:45)
I'm a huge fan of contradictions in writing, and not that this is necessarily a contradiction, but it uses a similar theme in a contradiction sort of way. I dunno, it's just really, really awesome. The whole song is, lyrically, so it's an easy choice for the first song on the list.
2. A Long December - Counting Crows It's been so long since I've seen the ocean, I guess I should (3:40)
Again, a song that I had in mind when I was coming up with this list, full of excellent lyrics. There must be something about the last line before the final chorus...songwriters seem to want to make that count more than the rest of the lyrics.
3. Passing Afternoon - Iron & Wine A baby sleeps in all our bones, so scared to be alone (3:00)
In addition to being the music played during the saddest part of House ever, this song follows the seasons in the lyrics, which I'm a big fan of. I think that I remember these words because they're the last ones sung, but it's a really fascinating line if you give it some thought.
4. Waves - Young the Giant We can analyze, philosophize, but who's to say? All we know is we're here today (0:24)
Such a cool song on a really good second album by Young the Giant. This line in particular kinda says everything I think about the world. A very similar thread to cultivating our garden, à la Candide, which is why this line makes the list.
5. American Baby - Dave Matthews Band And if I don't see you, I'm afraid we've lost the way (2:11)
Again, a song that is written well up-and-down, but I love the harmonies for this particular line. Again, also the last line before the final chorus. Psychologically this makes perfect sense, because we tend to remember the ends of lists (hey, song lyrics are lists) better. Possible music thesis?
6. #41 - Dave Matthews Band I will go in this way, and find my own way out (1:45)
More fun with contradictions, and while I've been saying that a lot of these songs have great lyrics throughout, Dave Matthews' lyrics anywhere are phenomenal. I could probably have ten songs here just from him, but I'll diversify.
7. Last Train Home - Lostprophets Even when you think you're right, you have to give to take (0:48)
One of the best lines of all time. One hundred percent a true line, and I love how the give and take plays off each other. Which reminds me of another excellent lyric!
8. Break the Spell - Daughtry I can fight you 'til the end, but I will lose you if I win so I guess I'll just keep on giving in (1:21)
Lots of opposing words in single lines throughout this song, but I particularly like how this one sounds. If you follow along with the whole song, you can see how this line makes perfect sense in the scheme of the rest of the lyrics.
What a series finale of House. Still as perfect as it was the first time around. I attempted a running diary of the episode, but I realized that I needed to take it all in at once, and that I couldn't be stopped by typing every few minutes. For starters, there was absolutely stellar writing throughout the entire episode. Each of the four hallucinations (Kutner, Amber, Stacy, Cameron) played to character perfectly, and what I came to realize this time around is that all of the people who were a part of House's life were an extension of him. Whether it be through his teachings as a diagnostician, or House imposing his beliefs upon those close to him, we got to see House through the eyes of other people. Each hallucination had a pretty resonant line, one that neatly captured the moment and what House's subconscious was thinking. And the funeral scene was amazingly done, too. Everyone was aware of the impact that House had on their lives, good or bad, and when it came down to it, the last thing House did was sacrifice all that he had in his life for five months of being with his best friend. Pretty remarkable for a person who believes that people don't change.
The whole series though...I had seen most of the episodes in the seventh and eighth seasons only once, so it was interesting to kind of follow along with the storyline after two or three years since I first saw them. A lot of the older seasons I've seen a half-dozen times, so I know those episodes much better, but to track everything for a second time, was pretty cool.
What made the first three seasons so strong, and Seasons Four through Six strong in a different sense, was that we got very in-depth with learning about the team. With the new members of the team in the last two seasons, we didn't have much of a chance to get to know them - they existed merely as extensions of House. But by the end of the series, we knew Cameron, Chase, Foreman, Thirteen, and Taub, very well. Even Kutner, in the limited time he had across two seasons. This show was really good at showing us the challenges each character went through and what the importance of it was, whether this was shown through a relationship with a particular patient, or something about the secondary storyline that was going on.
All in all, fantastic show. Favorite of all time, and easily the show that I've learned the most from and have made a part of my life. Pretty spectacular. If you've been keeping up with my favorite posts, thanks for doing so, and if you've never seen House, hopefully I've done some things that will get you excited to watch it.
To be honest, I've wanted to write this blog post for over a year, but I've actually never got around to it. In a fashion very similar to when I blogged about the first Mumford & Sons album, I want to go through Babel in its entirely and talk about each song. We're both in for a surprise, because I have no idea where this will take me, so we're in for the ride together.
1. Babel. I'm coming out with this now, I'm also keeping track of how many songs on this album have either a "whoop!" or a "har-har" part in it. From past listening experience, at least half of the songs fall into one category or the other. That being said, this is a good song that starts off the album, which I will do my best to say doesn't sound like the first album. Even though it might. Favorite part: The start of the second verse. It's like the first verse, but I like it more, for some reason. Whoop/Har-Har: Whoop (1:22)
2. Whispers In The Dark. I'm not really sure what to make of this song, I mean it's pretty decent but it's never really been a song I've went out of my way to listen to, unlike some songs on this album. I'll spend this song bringing up the YouTube video and finding out where the whoop is.
Favorite part: The background guitar in the beginning, which is honestly more of an extension of "Babel" than anything to do with this song.
Whoop/Har-Har: More of a "woo!", but it's at 2:26.
3. I Will Wait. This was the first single off the album, and it's pretty decent. Your run-of-the-mill M&S song, which, if you ask the right people, is just like every M&S song.
Favorite part: The piano buildup from 2:30 to 3:17, leading up to none other than...
Whoop/Har-Har: Whoop (3:17)
4. Holland Road. What's cool about this song (and some others by M&S) is that you can simultaneously count in two or in three (one, two, one, two or onetwothree onetwothree). There's definitely a name for when that happens, but I have no idea what it is. This is the first song on the album to feature a har-har, but this one is actually good, as opposed to the cliche har-har that pervades most other M&S songs.
Favorite part: When the brass section pretty much plays the exact same melody as the har-har (another M&S staple). Many find this to be the reason they can't stand this band, but I like it. Expectations are good.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (2:52 and 3:25)
5. Ghosts That We Knew. This might have been the first song I heard off the album, and it might have been the first one that I showed any affection towards (no correlation). This just feels like a tender song, one that you kind of have to listen to in the right moment, in the right mood.
Favorite part: I'm a huge sucker for choruses that have piano chords playing whole notes, and the first chorus has exactly this. Really peaceful, with a slight feeling of conviction in there. I also love the guitar at 3:55 and 4:14. Perfectly captures the tone of this song.
Whoop/Har-Har: Surprisingly none.
6. Lover Of The Light. I think this was a song I listened to a lot the summer after Babel came out, but it's faded quickly in terms of songs I really enjoy. I do really like the cymbal crash after "lover of the light", and I've always felt that "sanguine eyes" was always a cool phrase, but there really isn't much to this song for me.
Favorite part: The little banjo riff/solo kinda thing that leads into the last chorus of the song.
Whoop/Har-Har: For the second song in a row, neither!
7. Lovers' Eyes. Definitely one of my favorite song off the album. I've always loved toying with the idea of whether or not Marcus Mumford means to say lovers' eyes, or lover's eyes possessive, but the title kind of gives it away as the former. If anything, the cymbal crash in this song is way better than in "Lover Of The Light," and there's another really cool "one, two, onetwothree" part.
Favorite part: The two-minute buildup that features the banjo preparing the brass section preparing the lyrics preparing the har-har. Vintage Mumford & Sons.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (4:49)
8. Reminder. I almost don't even count this as part of the album. I just don't get it...it's two minutes and five seconds short, while the rest of the album averages in the ballpark of 4:45 per song. This feels like a song that people would play standing on the side of a road, or maybe in Harvard Square or something like that.
Favorite part: 2:05.
Whoop/Har-Har: Neither, but there isn't much time for one anyway.
9. Hopeless Wanderer. Here's where it gets good. This is one hell of a song to play on piano, and equally fun on guitar. The music video says everything that you need to know about what kind of song this is and what kind of band Mumford & Sons is. It's pretty much a crystal ball view into what their music is really like. Portrayed beautifully.
Favorite part: The smashing guitar at 1:41.
Whoop/Har-Har: None, but this song gets a pass because it's so awesome.
10. Broken Crown. This song kicks ass. Easily the closest thing to "Dust Bowl Dance" or "Thistle and Weeds" from Sigh No More. Bonus points to the band for swearing in this song and being really loud. The part that starts "But I will not speak of your sins" is really good and sets up the rest of the song. That part of the song is almost eerily preparing you for something badass to happen.
Favorite part: The yelling part for pretty much the second half of the song. But also the last chorus, because it's real quiet and whispered, but has just as much power as the yelling parts.
Whoop/Har-Har: None, but again, it's okay.
11. Below My Feet. This song is definitely my favorite off the album. A few songs battle every now and then for the second spot on the list, but this one has everything wrapped into a neat little five minutes. I love love love the guitar in the background, pacing the song with sixteenth notes. There are so many great rhythm combinations, too. It's just perfect. Perfect lyrics, too. They make everything seem very real, and in classic Mumford & Sons fashion, seem to flawlessly tread the line between the sacred and the secular. (Ooh, I like that phrase. Sounds like an album title.)
Favorite part: When everything comes together at 3:37, the emotion and the guitar, once in the background, now prevalent with everything else.
Whoop/Har-Har: Har-Har (3:21, and again at 4:12)
12. Not With Haste. Another great line in this song, "And I will love with urgency / But not with haste." It's one of those lines that you don't really know what it exactly means, but you also absolutely know exactly what it means. That's the kind of thing that I love about Mumford & Sons, and it seems like a nice end to the album.
Favorite part: The background harmony is pretty great in this song, but there's no one part that I particularly like over any other. Let's stick with the harmony.
Whoop/Har-Har: None.
Well, there you have it. A whoop or har-har on only six of the twelve songs, which was definitely the under (which I would have probably set at 7.5, for those keeping score at home). This album is certainly no Sigh No More, but it's still a really good album that deserves a listen. At least most of the songs on the album, which you hopefully have gleaned from this blog post. As usual, thanks for listening and thanks for reading!
If you've seen both Inception and Lost, then you'll get what I mean when I say that this piece of music has elements of both in it (alright, it's pretty obvious that it has Inception elements, but I definitely hear some Lost in there, too). Currently, I'm in one of those moods where I think that nothing exists, so naturally, I'm going to blog about it. I read through all of my posts regarding time, and the general consensus that I don't really believe in it. One of my posts has a line that "time" only exists as an arbitrary assignment of a word to a concept that we don't really have any control over, or understanding of. I want this idea extrapolated to lots more concepts. Take the word "smart" for example. What exactly does it mean to be smart? Seriously, try and break it down for me. In my sport psych class, we talked about "talent" in the same way, that we just use the word "talent" in the face of not really being able to explain it any other way. I'm wondering if "honest" can be similarly considered. What does it mean to be an "honest" person? Are you honest 100% of the time? If the main mantra from House ("Everybody lies") is true, then it would follow that no one is perfectly honest. So where's the threshold for being considered honest, and how do we measure that? If we think of time as an arbitrary assignment to something that doesn't really exist, how many other things are there that we regularly use and think about that don't really exist?
Sorry it's been a while since I've blogged anything here...busy busy in recent weeks, but it's been enjoyable and exciting and lots of fun things all at once.
Something that I wanted to talk about is the idea that nothing is as it seems. I would have called this post "Through the looking glass" if I didn't already have a post with that title, but the general idea is that we can't really take anything at absolute, pristine face value. Anyone with half an idea of how I operate within this universe knows that I think everything is relative. Now before you throw counterexamples at me, let me qualify that. I know that every time I take two of something and add two more, I'll have four. What I mean is that with higher-order stuff, the implications of reality are something that are never absolute. An example of this - for my math thesis, I wanted to mess around with GPA and come up with some all-encompassing formula that takes into account circumstances such as overall courseload, general difficulty of an individual class, when that class meets...and many other variables. (Editor's Note: I'm not sure if I've ever talked about this on my blog before, and since it hasn't come to me immediately, I'm wagering that I haven't here.) Let's say you get an 82% on a given test. On one hand, you got 82 percent of the possible points. But that's not to say that you would get an 82 on that test every single time you took it. Let's say that you had another test in a more important class to study for, and let's say that you had a cold that week, and that you were in a fight with your best friend from home. In that case, an 82 looks pretty good - in more favorable circumstances, you might end up with something north of a 90. Nothing is absolute.
There's a quote from an ESPN the Magazine article about a prospect in the Los Angeles Angels farm system a few years back, and all of the hype surrounding this player (no, it wasn't Mike Trout).
"We plan for the future by averaging our expectations - 30% chance of rain, 20% chance of catching a spade on the river, 50% chance [the player would be an All-Star] - but we play it out only once. You never catch 20% of a spade. So [the player] was never going to be worth an average. He was going to be worth one thing, and that one thing could conceivably be anything."
I think it's a really cool example of how things either happen, or they don't. As much as I love statistics and numbers and analysis, things either happen, or they don't. And even when they do (or don't), we can't take that for granted. Despite all of the percentages and likelihoods, what we get is what we get, and what's important is what we do with it.
