So, I have been working on another song that I started to lay down some tracks for.  I have to give my brother some credit for this one as he is the one who introduced me to the original Woody Guthrie tune and a recent cover by Billy Bragg and Wilco.  I like folk music, it is always fun to play.  I wish I had the chance to play this song over the summer with my brother, but he never made it up to camp.  He wanted to play it too, so maybe sometime in the future.

The song is “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” and it is a great, simple folk melody.  Here is my current recording, hopefully if time permits I will be able to add a little more depth to it.  Right now all the tracks are me, I played guitar and did all the vocal tracks.  nothing fancy, just some help from Garage Band.  So, let me know what you think, I am always open to comments and criticism.

It is that time again.  Bloggerstock is here and this time we have expanded beyond the ten founders of the event.  Personally, I have been quite impressed with the turnout, and how easy it was to really keep things organized.  I shouldn’t dawdle on that subject though, that is not the purpose of this post!

In an ironically convenient twist of fate, the bloggerstock post date falls on a Monday, which suits the theme that I sometimes have for Mondays, “Mondays on Music.”  So, here to tell you a little bit about personal theme songs is Susie Q from Out of the Ordinary.  Susie Q is a blogger who doesn’t hesitate to just lay it all out there.  Her blog has recently moved, but if you track down her old one, you can see she has been at it for a while.  She is days away from graduating from uni, and has just lined up a great job.  If you like to read life unedited, you might enjoy reading Susie Q.

If you are looking for my post, you can find it over on That Ain’t Kosher.

Without further ado, I give you Susie Q!

Hello peeps, Susie Q here! I am guest posting here on Alex’s blog today after Bloggerstock enticed me to do a blog swap! If you haven’t checked it out already, click on the link and see what’s going on! Basically it’s a ring of bloggers who all love taking using and abusing other people’s personal space. Nah, it’s a great way of discovering new bloggers and readers.

Every month there’s a new topic that all the bloggers will write about. Then all these bloggers are muddled up and write on other people’s blogs. It’s not just a simple swap of “you write on mine and you write on mine” but all blogs link together. Like, I’m here on Alex’s space and I have received a wonderful post from Michael. You can read his post right here. Go ahead, click.. It’s a good one!

When I heard the theme for this month’s bloggerstock, the first thought that came to my mind, was *zomgh* am I meant to know what my theme song is? But I don’t listen to music unless it’s pounding in my ear as I’m doing my daily run!

But as I thought about it, it did become very clear what my theme song is. It’s the one song that gives me that tingly feeling in my tummy as it comes on. It’s the one that makes my heart skip a beat as it plays on my iPod.

Now, I have to tell you; there is a backstory to the song. Basically, my ex left me two years back. He left me while I was at work; he must’ve started packing as soon as I left. Imagine my surprise as I came home in the early hours of the morning! He did come in the next morning to explain but the damage was already done. It hurt. It was the betrayal that I cried about, not the ending of a year-long relationship.

So I went to my safe-place, where I felt happy. I pulled out my Tori Amos cd’s and stuffed myself full of ice-cream all the while whining about how terrible my life was. I trawled the internet for relationship advice (cos the internets knows it all y’all!) and my search led me to youtube. It ended up being a pointless link that had nothing to do with relationships. It was this girl doing hip rolls. (search it if you don’t know what they are. If done right, it looks so sexy!) I was just about to close the screen as the music came on. ‘Ice Box’ by Omarion. And the melody caught me immediately. And I sat there and started feeling better. The song was all about the break-up. The lyrics were about the break-up. EVERYTHING in the whole wide world was about the breakup!

“I got this ice box where my heart used to be … Why can’t I get it right? Just can’t let it go/I opened up, she let me down, I won’t feel that no more/I got memories, this is crazy/She ain’t nothin’ like the girl I used to know”

And that’s how it stayed for a long time. Every time I heard the song, it reminded me of him. Every time it played, I would go to that sad time in my life. Up until a few months ago even. And that’s when it all changed.

You see, I’ve been called the ‘Ice Queen’ by some. Because unless you’re in my inner circle, you would not know that I have emotions. I do not talk about problems, I hide them like a secretive mole. I don’t cry in front of people, and even smiles have been few and far between. And it’s because I’ve been hurt in the past.. “Just can’t let it go/I opened up, she let me down, I won’t feel that no more” So there I was, listening to this song again. And I realised; I am no longer THAT GIRL. I no longer drag my past with me. This song no longer reminds me of the ex. Now reminds me of the past. It reminds me of how far I have come.

“She ain’t nothin’ like the girl I used to know” Yeah, I am nothing like the girl you used to know. I’m stronger, wiser and unfortunately older. I am who I am and where I am because of what has happened in the past, not despite that. But sometimes, just sometimes it’s quite nice to jump deep in the pool of the past. So here you go guys; my past.

Thank you Alex for letting me invade your personal space, I enjoyed it! Now people, get clicking!

It has been a while since I have done a music post on Monday.  Last night I pulled out my guitar to play for a while as I was feeling inspired by the nice weather.  I like playing the guitar, and I am looking forward to the summer and being back at camp and doing a bunch of playing.  There is definitely something about the nice weather of the summer that makes me want to do more playing.

Last summer, my brother and I played together at camp.  Unfortunately he won’t be there this summer as he finally has got a “real” job.  Last year we tried to do a tour of 90′s music every week at campfire.  Though we did throw in a couple other folk songs like “Shenandoah.”  I also brought back some favorites of the kids and staff like “Freshmen” by the Verve Pipe.  Hey, does anyone else remember that song?  I have always been surprised by how many of the kids who were born well after that song was recorded know it and ask for it!

So this year I need new music to bring to camp.  I am always up for some classic rock and I have a couple songs that I had started working out last summer but never played.  I also thought that maybe I could bring some newer music to the summer.  I am pretty sure that I will find the opportunity to play “Fireflies” by Owl City.  I bet that the kids will know it and be able to sing along.  I like getting the kids involved.  I am also sure that I will be asked to learn a bunch of songs on short notice to play for services at FA.  I like doing that as I get a few newer songs in my repertoire.

This summer I also have the added bonus of heading off to camp with Ruth, who also likes to sing.  I know that she has some ideas for songs to do which means that I will have some new material there.  She keeps telling me that we should learn some Nora Jones.  I can do that, we just need to pick some songs to focus on.  I am looking forward to a music filled summer!

So, if anyone has some suggestions of songs to learn for the summer, please, let me know!

I am sure that by now almost everyone has heard or seen the Discovery Channel’s commercials with the “I Love the World” or “Boom-de-ah-da” song.  If you haven’t, you might just want to check it out below (I even linked a version with lyrics so that you can sing along!):

From the first time that I heard this advertisement I think that I have had the song stuck in my head.  I suppose that is exactly what the Discovery Networks are going for!  I don’t think that I needed a catchy tune to get me to watch the Discovery Channel because they have a lot of fascinating programs and I find that every time I turn it on I get sucked into whatever is on.  There are a few programs that I avoid, but generally I find it intriguing.

So, I suppose this ad really illustrates the power of a well developed song.  When you think about it, this song is not even a very complicated or interesting song.  The verses are “short and sweet” and the chorus is so simple that anyone could sing it.  The melody is catchy and easy, and I would bet that like me, once you have heard it, you go through your day: “boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da boom-de-ah-da!”

The funniest thing about this catchy little tune is that it has spawned many people to create their own renditions based on the things that they do.  If I was really gung-ho about it and if I had a video camera I might consider making one around the theatre.  For now though, I have been content surfing YouTube to see what people have come up with.  There are certainly plenty to choose from.  Though not musical, this song has even made it into the web comic XKCD:

XKCD Loves the Discovery Channel

So, do you love the whole world?  Will you now be humming this song to yourself all day?  I hope so!  How do you “boom-de-ah-da”?!

So, I have had a song stuck in my head for weeks, maybe months.  I have even started to learn it on the guitar.  What song you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you.  Fireflies by Owl City.  It is only on the radio every  day.  Sure, generally I listen to classic rock stations, but i mean really, sometimes you just have to surf for something different or to avoid the commercials.  Though sometimes it seems like every station goes to commercials at the same time…. Whatever.

So, what is it about this song that is so great?  I am not really sure, but it sure is catchy.  I think that the first time that I heard the song was at camp last summer because I am pretty sure that it made it into one of the promotional videos for the camps.  Not sure if it had the words or if it was the just the instrumentals in that.  Then, a little while back I got a tweet that Ithacappella, the men’s acappella group from  Ithaca College (my alma mater) had a video of them singing Fireflies with the PS22 chorus.  It is actually a great video and arrangement of the song that went pretty viral on youtube.  While this may be a little late coming, here is the video:

I suppose maybe the biggest thing about the song is that it speaks to the inner child in a lot of people.  How many people tried to capture fireflies in jars are kids?  I usually still find fireflies to be pretty fascinating when you are sitting out on a summer evening.  I think maybe the fact that the song speaks on that level, the level of innate wonderment with the world that probably keeps it pretty popular.

It will certainly make a great song for campfire at camp this summer.  I bet most of the kids (the girls anyway) will know it and be able to sing along.  I like finding songs that get people involved or singing along!