The Three Albums That Inspired Me

Recently I read a post in the LA Times about the three albums that influenced the last three contestants on American Idol (turns out Lee DeWyze, who has tool-ish facial hair, does not have tool-ish tastes). I started thinking about what I would list as the three albums that have most influenced me, as someone who has a casual passion for music.

At first it was kind of hard. I had to weed through the pre-teen crap, then the punk obsession, and now my current passion for female singers/performance artists. It's also hard because rarely do I listen to whole albums anymore. We are living in the playlist generation, the one where we can make a mix CD and transport it anywhere at lightening speeds. So, after some careful consideration, these are my three CDs.

Once more, I told myself they couldn't be CDs that I appreciate in retrospect. For example, I had a physical copy of Jagged Little Pill but it didn't make it's way onto my iTunes or into my heart until college. It had to be a full CD, that I appreciated when I first purchased it.

John Mayer--"Room for Squares"

So I first stumbled upon John Mayer when I was a sophomore in high school and I was desperately trying to escape a musical past littered with 'NSync posters from Tiger Beat and roll on glitter. I feel like this CD was my introduction to the singer-songwriter genre, as well as an the first one that seem much more introspective and less whiney than a lot of the punk music I was listening to. "Why Georgia" and "3x5" are still two songs that I play over and over again. It's even nice to listen to this CD and think back to the days before John Mayer grew up to the be The World's Biggest Douchebag.

Lifehouse--"No Name Face"

"Hanging By A Moment" was by far a loved song on the radio when this CD came out, but it was actually one of my least favorite songs on the CD. I liked it that much. Lifehouse, who were formally a contemporary Christian band, were now mainstream, but the metaphysical, religious undertones were still there. I appreciated the hooks as much as I appreciated the lyrics. The songs could have been about love, or they could have been about God. I don't love the CD as much now as I did then, but I played it to death and still listen back on some tracks, like "Unknown" and "Everything."

Michelle Branch--"The Spirit Room"

I'm pretty sure I have Michelle Branch to thank for getting me to pick up a guitar when I was 12. I haven't touched a guitar in years, but I still listen to this CD. On countless trips with my family, I listened to this CD from beginning to end, pretending that I was her, strumming along, and singing my heart out. "Goodbye to You" is a great song about a break up and "If You Wanted" and "Everywhere" were good, almost creepy, but still cute songs about relationships and crushes. She's got some groovy, catchy tracks and some great, quiet moments that show off her perfect pitch. I'm just sad she never did very well after this CD (though The Wreckers CD is pretty good).

Things In Cincinnati I Will Miss

Oh, Cincinnati. We have come to the end of our time together. It's been real. VERY real. First off, I would like to say thank you. You've been good to me. Xavier was the best four years of my life and I'm sad to be leaving behind some of the things, and people, I've grown attached to.

Sure, there is the fact that it's ridiculously expensive to fly in and out of your airport. You also have neighborhoods without sidewalks and this blows my mind. And it's true, I'm not a fan of humidity. And sometimes it makes sense that Mark Twain would want to come to Cincinnati when the world is because it's ten years behind. I know I carry on and on about how I'm excited to move back to Colorado, but there are things I will miss here in the Queen City.

Skyline's

So yummy. And the only way you can get it in Colorado is if you order it off the Internet and it comes in a can and that just doesn't taste the same. Oh well. I'm pretty sure that for the rest of my life, whenever I hear someone sing "what can make me feel this way?" I will sing back "Skyyyyliiinnneee....talkin' 'bout Skyliiiiine."

Hyde Park

So many of my favorite restaurants and hangouts in one convenient place. Arthur's, Indigo, and Teller's are my top 3...not to mention Graeter's!

Mt. Adam's

I never have a terrible time when I go to the many hot spots. Summer nights in this little neighborhood so wonderfully nestled on a hillside are highlights of my plus 21 memories.

Xavier

I will miss going up to campus for basketball games and just the general happy sight of seeing a beautiful blooming spring campus.

Having a "crisis" and my family is there to help

My family has saved me from the following problems:

-My dress for Senior Ball will not zip up. Can I borrow a dress?

-I am freaking out about schoolwork. Can I come to your house and study?

-I have no clean underwear. Can I come to your house and do laundry?

-I'm lost. Where am I?

-I have no where to live. Can I stay with you?

-It's hot. Can I come swim at your pool?

-My flight get in at 8. Can you pick me up from the airport?

-the list goes on...

(They also forgive me when popcorn gets burned while I'm babysitting.)

Hofbrahaus, Oktoberfest, Labor Day Fireworks

Pretty sure Denver doesn't have either of those things and if they do, they are probably very lame.

Clifton: Indian Food and movies at The Esquire

Clifton boasts two of the best Indian food restaurants, Amol which has fabulous naan and a great lunch buffet, and Ambar, which is classy Indian food cooked to perfection. The Esquire, the indie movie theater, not only brings good movies, both mainstream and independent, to Cincinnati, but it has really good deals. Tuesday night tickets are $6, and the student discounts are great. I will really miss an affordable movie-going experience.

Movie Trailer Mash-Ups

Sometimes there's nothing funnier than a random trailer mash-up. I seriously think people who put this stuff together are very clever or very obsessive or both. Either way, they are seriously entertaining. Below are some of my favorite movie trailer mash-ups.

The Dark Knight as Toy Story 2

I laughed at the Morgan Freeman voice belonging to Mr. Potato Head.

Pride and Prejudice as Harry Potter

The lips don't match the words in some of the scenes, but clever nonetheless.

Resevior Dogs as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Watching this only makes me wonder when the TMNT will make a huge comeback.

Secret Shame #6: Guilty Pleasures Playlist

Sometimes I like to think I am a music snob, but a quick glance at my 6,000+ iTunes library will show you that it's not true. At all.

I have music from many different genres and time periods. It's hard to classify what I like exactly. The majority of my iTunes is alternative rock with some pop and hip-hop thrown in there. But if you look carefully you will come across some songs that are just shameful to own. And now I'm laying it out there for the Internet to see. Behold, my Guilty Pleasures Playlist.

"Crush" by David Archuleta

"See You Again" by Miley Cyrus

"Penny and Me" by Hanson

"Crash and Burn" by Savage Garden

"Bye Bye Bye" by *NSYNC

"Hero" by Chad Kroeger

"Heaven" by DJ Sammy

"Back Here" by BBMak

"Holler" and "Stop" by the Spice Girls

"Lose Yourself" by Eminem

"Only One For Me" by Brian McKnight

"Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks

"He Loves U Not" by Dream

"La La" by Ashley Simpson

"Punk Rock 101" by Bowling for Soup (oh, high school...)

"Build A Bridge" by Limp Bizkit

"Why Haven't I Heard From You" by Reba McEntire

"Nobody Wants To Be Lonely" by Ricky Martin & Christina Aguilera

The Entire Soundtrack to "A Very Potter Musical"

"Show Me Love" by Robyn (this song is still awesome)

"No Scrubs" by TLC

"Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down

Oh, this song too....

So much denim on denim.

Thoughts on this Wizarding Independence Day

So today is the anniversary of Harry Potter finishing off You-Know-Who for good (J.K. Rowling said so). I am a self-professed huge Harry Potter nerd and I have loved the books since I read 'Goblet of Fire' back in...was it high school? I think so. Gosh, I can't even remember.

Anyways, this fictional, Internet-fueled "holiday" is the perfect excuse for me to write about Harry. If you do not like how nerdy this post is about to become, by all means, scroll down and read how I vent about 'Glee.'

The thing about Harry Potter, especially for people of my generation, is that we feel a certain sense of ownership when it comes to the books because we were the ones who waited, speculated, argued, and discussed what we thought would happen in the next book. I'm sure at some point people thought about what they wanted to see happen in the series and when that didn't happen, some people got really mad.

I can remember hearing comments like "that wasn't how the book was supposed to end!" or "it didn't go the way it should have" from people when they finished 'Deathly Hallows' three years ago. In fact, some people may even say things nowadays. I think that these people forget that the story comes from a real person. In Jo Rowling's mind, she had it all planned out. She knew how it was going to end, and they are her books, so really she is the one who should determine the ending (at least in my opinion).

So really it's not up to us about how it "should" end, but instead it's up to the writer. Therefore, it's stupid to argue about certain canon things in the book. For example, some people think Harry should have married Hermione. Now, I can understand if you say 'I wish they had gotten married' or 'I always liked them together best.' That's all well and good, we are entitled to our own opinions. But, I can't understand why people say that she should have married Harry, especially after reading the fifth book where Hermione scolds him like she's his mother. Some people even still hold to this claim after reading the seventh book, in which Harry tells Ron that he loves Hermione like a sister and ends up marrying someone who is NOT Hermione!

Sorry, I got on a bit of a tangent there. Clearly I was in the camp that wanted Ron to marry Hermione and I based this on the subtle hints. I just like to read closely (and I believe if you do the hints are there). Another thing that Harry Potter readers complain about is the epilogue.

Now, I myself have a few beefs with the Epilogue, but I completely understand Rowling's thinking behind it. The Epilogue is silly and poorly written. It's clear that she wrote it well before she wrote the rest of the books because the style is just...younger and less sharp. It's also quite trivial. Some of the dialogue is cheesey and almost painful to read. It seems like it was twisted so Rowling could tell us as much as she could about what happened to character who were not the Trio.

If you take a step back and look at the epilogue in an abstract way, it makes perfect sense and really it's kind of sweet. Think about this: when we first meet Harry, before he goes to Hogwarts, we see this little eleven-year-old boy who is neglected and treated horribly by people who are "family" but really act nothing like it. In the span of the first book we see Harry coming to terms with what really happened to his parents. We also see that his heart's greatest desire is to have a family. Throughout the series, Harry is plagued by the shouts of his mother before she died and he's reminded of his father every time he uses his Patronus. They burst out of his wand in the graveyard when he faces Voldemort and they walk with him to meet his death. He comes close to them, but never gets to experience life with them. It's really, really, REALLY sad. I challenge any reader not to feel bad for Harry.

So we get to a point, nineteen years later, at the end of the epic tale of Harry Potter, and we see that Harry got his heart's greatest desire. He was then surrounded by people who he not only loves, but who are his family. He and Ron are brothers-in-law. He has children. He has a wife and instead of foggy images in a mirror or ghostly apparitions they are real people and they act like a real family. After all that Harry's been through, I think he deserves the family he always wanted. He saved the Wizarding World, people! And I think as readers you want the hero of a book series you invest time, money, and possibly your sanity and reputation in to come out on top. And he did.

That was the way that Jo Rowling intended it. I give her props. And really, I feel a certain ownership of the series as well, but I understood that it's Rowling's writings. She's the one telling the story to us. If you want to some interesting insight into her writing Deathly Hallows and her post demons you should watch her 'Year in the Life' documentary, which is on YouTube (this is where she mentions that the anniversary of Voldemort's final defeat is May 2). It's pretty candid.