30 December, 2010

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

It's a 'funeral-y" enough song that I would think it appropriate for a funeral. Other, than that, I just love the song...

08 December, 2010

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

This is a song that WAS played at my wedding. This was Katie and my song (WAY before it became everyone else's song, because I owned the album before it became a single, so :p) and yes, it was played at our reception. It's a cute song. I like it.

29 November, 2010

Apologies...

I am sorry I accidentally posted the Newsies song under my "angry" category. That is not at all the case and would be very funny... But not my point in posting angry music. I fixed it now, you may see the real post.

26 November, 2010

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you're sad

Music is such a part of my life and my emotions that to really describe my reasons for listening to a given song is quite next to impossible. However, here are some songs I enjoy listening to when I'm "sad." That's such a vague, broad emotion... But, here we are nonetheless. Enjoy! :)








Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you're happy

There are MANY songs that both make me happy and that I listen to when I am happy. These are but a few:





Ignore the cheesy 80's music video-ness of this, it's a GREAT SONG!

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you're angry

There are two types of "Angry Songs". There are those you listen to out of rage or a need to feel rage. They are loud, screamy, angry songs. Like this one!




But then, sometimes, you're not really in the mood to feel rage, you're just angry and actually want to feel better... I can't find any right now... but it's true, just because you're angry doesn't mean your music has to be loud and rowdy as well.

27 October, 2010

My Profile!

I'm a Mormon.

Day 19 - A song from your favorite album

Though I have favorite artists and favorite albums, this album takes the cake. I always liked Sara Bareilles' music. When I married my wife, I learned to like her even more. With the release of Sara's latest album, Kaleidoscope Heart, I have come to see that she is one of the most talented artists of our generation. This is also the best album of the year, if not the best album I have EVER heard. It's incredible. Here are a few of my favorites off the album. (no real music videos yet, they haven't been released.)







24 October, 2010

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio

Well, anything Collective Soul I would love to hear more often. I guess there's something to be said for owning and listening to music that's not "mainstream", and I enjoy that as well. However, I love these songs. Two of these are off of my favorite Collective Soul album, the last is my favorite Collective Soul Song ever. (The music videos are always strange... CS isn't the best when it comes to videos, though one of them is soon to be featured on my blog.)

I know, I know. CS this, CS that... Whatever.





19 October, 2010

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio

I would have to say that Katy Perry's new songs are pretty overplayed... However, I cannot post any of them here, due to content. Her videos are pretty scandalous.

However, I can post some other overplayed songs.


(Not that I don't like this song... because I do!)


Also on the list is:

Anything by Ke$ha (even once is overplayed)
Half of Black Eyed Peas' Music
and the most overplayed song of the decade is the following:



I told everyone I wouldn't get sick of this song, and I still am not. I enjoy it just as much now as I did 5 years ago. Still... it bugs me when they overplay music. Good or bad.

18 October, 2010

Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate

This was the hardest one yet... I don't hate most music, and when I do love a song, I normally love it, or at least like it, forever. This song, however was way overplayed. I still don't "hate" it, but it's by far not my favorite anymore. It still has its merits, and i'll still listen to it if it comes on the radio. The music video is pretty lame though, which I'm sad about. Coldplay has some pretty awesome music videos, which you will see in a couple weeks.

17 October, 2010

Day 15 - A song that describes you

This blog is harder than I thought it would be. I come across songs that are perfect to use, but there is no way I could post half of them, because most of the music I listen to isn't popular enough to be on youtube or yahoo. :)

Well, this song could accentuate my true eclectic nature. My music tastes, my sense of humor, my mentality, (if you listen closely to the spoken words) my random, strange side... etc.




This song tells you how I feel every single time I walk out of the house... Well, the music video does all the talking. The song is just a good one.



Okay, so maybe it's not THAT bad... Everyone just loves me, what can I say?

But it does make you wonder if people actually like you, or just like what you have or your popularity... (Not that that has ever been too big of a problem for me...) ;)

13 October, 2010

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

Anyone who knows me exceptionally well would not be surprised to learn that I love the music of Sara Bareilles. I post this song, merely because I can't think of anything else that people wouldn't expect me to love. I love everything! Ask anyone... I was going to save this posting for Day 31, and I probably will re-post it at that time anyway.

I very much love this music video. I think the song is amazing and the video is very original and moving.
Here you go:

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Is it terribly hypocritical of me to have posted a blog about unnecessary swearing, then to post a song like this? Oh well... At least this song is catchy and humorous. Yeah, probably not the best thing to listen to, but, for some reason, I just love it. Maybe it reminds me of people in my past, or maybe I just like the vindictive nature of the song, but somehow it makes me happy... and guilty... ;)

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate

There's not a lot of music I don't appreciate. There are, however a few bands I cannot stand no matter how much anyone tells me they are awesome. Here is one example:



I dislike this band considerably. That being said, there are a couple of songs I don't mind hearing every once in a while. My main beef with them comes down to three or four items:
1. Chad Kroeger's unbelievably overprocessed, overcompressed voice is not natural or real sounding, and becomes monotonous and excessive after just a couple of minutes. There's no way I could listen to an entire album of theirs.
2. Half of their songs use the exact same melody and chord progression. Don't believe me? Check this out: Nickelback Artistfacts
Also look at this video: How You Remind Me of Someday: Nickelback to Back
The song I posted has the exact same sound too. Listen closely...
3. Half of their songs use unnecessary swearing or crude lyrics. I hate when a band puts inappropriate material into a song when it is completely pointless and just makes me not want to listen to their music.

Anyway, that's my take on this band. Not a big fan...

11 October, 2010

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band

My favorite band has long been, and always will be, Collective Soul. I could go on and on with the reasons I love them... and I think I will. This is, after all, my blog, right?

I've always thought their lyrics were original and interesting, even deep at many times. I LOVE their music and the way they can put a good mix together. They are all talented and fun to listen to. They all are great guys in real life too. Especially Ed Roland, the lead of the band. Ed may not seem like the brightest person in the world in an interview, but he is a musical genius. He writes pretty much every song the band sings and has since the early 90's. Ed is also a good Christian, the son of a reverend, and a clean lyricist. He is also a single father who has time for his son, and a platinum-selling rock band. This band was built from the ground up, and struggled for years until they became what they are now. I respect them as people and as musicians. Here's a good bio, if you like.

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

Well, this is just such a beautiful song, I don't know about making me fall asleep, but it could, I'm sure. Maybe I should listen to it right now, as I just woke up and can't seem to get back to sleep anyway. :)

So, there's no video of this song that I could find, so here's a mock-up with lyrics.

Jason Mraz feat. James Morrison - Details in the Fabric


This is another AMAZING song that I have fallen asleep to in the past. Now, some may wonder at the meaning of this song. It's about skinny dipping. It's called Nightswimming. No don't judge until you've listened to it. It is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard and I love it. In my opinion, it's less about the obvious, and more about... well, it's about a simpler time. Growing up and loving certain things that now seem taboo or have become un-"PC", etc. I think this is a beautiful commentary on the way things used to be, and don't worry, there's nothing risque in the video, it's just a video of people swimming. If you are offended by the idea of the song, then you don't understand what they're really singing about. Sometimes you just need to do something silly and risky. Sometimes you need to forget what other people think and do something for yourself. Sometimes... you just need to go nightswimming...

R.E.M. - Nightswimming: "Automatic For The People"

Sorry, the ability to embed the video isn't working right now, so you'll have to click the link.

02 October, 2010

Licorice, Cairns, and the Pain of Triumph!

Yesterday marks the hardest thing I have ever done... physically that is. Well, to start off, I am now working a graveyard shift that demands me to sleep all day and work all night. Well, Friday morning at 1 AM, I went to work. At 7, when I got off from work, I began preparing for the most difficult hike of my life.

I have been told that the Pfeifferhorn, a peak next to Lone Peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range, was a more technical and more difficult version of the Timpanogas Hike. Well, they were wrong. It was more akin to my Everest. The hike was fun, but very hard. Of course, it may have been easier if I had actually slept at all, but I was hiking during the time I would normally have been sleeping.

The hike started off at a fairly level grade but soon steepened and became pretty steep in parts. It was also very long. Needless to say, I was slowing down before we were even a quarter of the way done. Once we got to the meadow/lakes below the peak, it was time for lunch and a rest. From the meadow on up, the hike consisted of climbing from rock to rock and boulder to boulder. Only it was also straight up. Once you climb to the saddle, everything gets a little easier for a moment, but by this time, I was too tired to even move.


(This is a shot from the Maybird Gulch side, but it gives you an idea of the terrain from the meadow on up.)

Moving on, you can finally see the Horn itself and you begin to feel quite daunted. I did not take these pics myself, they are web stock. I'll post ours later, but needless to say, the peak was, in the distance, a veritable peak of depression (one thing that made it seem less scary was the fact that it smelled like licorice up there... we could not figure out why...)



After climbing over refrigerator-sized boulders with sheer two-three hundred foot drops on either side, you finally come to the base of the peak. This is where I sat and attempted to tell myself I could do it. The final ascent to the peak was about a 70% grade with rocks and grass and loose dirt. It was not nearly as scary as it looked, but it was a whole lot scarier looking than anything I'd ever done. I was also, by this point, a little sick from the elevation and very, very tired. I would walk a few steps and rest for a few seconds... It took me a half hour to scale what should have taken 5-10 minutes. To make matters worse, we both ran out of water at the peak. Good stuff!



When we finally got down the mountain (two empty camelbacks filled with filtered streamwater later...) it was getting dark, and the last five minutes of the trail were in basic black. I missed my mission reunion due to lateness and mainly soreness, but worth it? You tell me.

10/8 - Anyway, it was a very intense, but very worth it hike. I then spent the weekend sick with a fever and sore throat and missed three days of work. Still worth it? You bet! It is the essence of Triumph!

Oh, and you may ask, "what's a cairn?" Well it's one of these things:



Hikers will construct these rock piles along a path where the trail is not clearly defined, so as to show the "easiest way"... supposedly...

28 September, 2010

Day 9 - A song that you can dance to

I'm not a fan of this "day"... Being that the only dancing I enjoy is ballroom or such things... I won't dance to any hip-hop songs or any such things because I look like a friggin moron. So, dare I say it? I can dance to this song. Or at least I could at one time...

Day 8 - A song that you know all the words to

As you may have noticed, I've failed on the daily post thing, but I'm going to see this 30 day blog through until the end, I just may not make it happen in 30 days. :) Hey, I'm working a graveyard now, so sue me. (Just realized this is the second time I've said that in a week... I hope nobody sues me...)

Here are two songs which I love and when they come on the radio, I sing them at the top of my lungs. Every word.




Day 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event

Anything by Ryan Shupe reminds me of the best day ever, up to that point, in Katie and my relationship. We had our first kiss after going to a Ryan Shupe concert and now his music reminds me of that day. If you can, check out "Be The One" because it's my favorite. I just couldn't find it on youtube. So this will do for now.



Also, coming in at number two, I have a song that reminds me of the night Katie and I started dating.



I know, I know, it should remind me of Casablanca, but it doesn't. :)

21 September, 2010

Day 6 - A song that reminds you of somewhere

This song reminds me of Lake Powell. I heard it for the first time while in a boat at high speeds, cruising over beautiful warm water and having the time of my life... oh, how I love Lake Powell... I like this song too. It's a classic!

Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone

Okay, so you might think I'd write this blog about my wife, but I realized that there are hundreds of songs I'd have to put up here to even kind of cover all the songs that remind me of her...
So, I figured I'd post a few that remind me of my friends. You'll know who you are... Here they are:





These two remind me of my friend Nathanael. I would put songs about Court in here too, but he's not talking to me right now... (as in, he's probably just busy and not answering my texts...)

19 September, 2010

Day 4 - A song that makes you sad

Okay, I admit... I skipped a day. So sue me.
I can't think of many songs that "make me sad", but I can think of a few that are good, sad songs... Here's a couple.

BTW, the videos parameters are too large, but I'm too lazy to fix them, so make sure to watch them full screen.










Anyway, that's basically it... for now...

Day 3 - A Song That Makes You Happy

I love this new song. You may find it strange... But that's why it makes me happy!




But if I'm going to list a song that makes me happy, I'd be remiss if I didn't also post this song...

17 September, 2010

Day 2 - My Least Favorite Song (follow the links, they're better)

Well, I know that most people love this song, but for some reason I don't. In fact, I loathe it. I despise it... In short, I cannot stand it. I do, however love the cover that premiered on the TV show Scrubs. The episode was "My Soul On Fire (Part 2)." Check it out too if you like. It may seem a little hokey to those who have not watched the show, but I love it.

I also just found this one, which is also great and doesn't have dialogue in the middle of it!

The following, however, can die. I would say a slow death, but that would mean it would exist longer... So... A painful, quick death, if you please:


16 September, 2010

Day 1 - Your Favorite Song

Well, by no means am I ever going to narrow THAT down... So, I'll just pick one that I love right now over most others. Hopefully it will not be one that I'll also want to use later...

Dave Matthews Band - You And Me: "Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King"

LOVE this song! I heard it in my sound class. It was used as an example of a high energy song that is mixed and mastered well. I tend to agree.

Music Blog? Why not?

Okay, I have to admit, this is not my idea, nor, I'm sure, was it Britt's. But I have stolen the idea she stole and have decided to do a thirty day music video posting. I love music and I have not update my blog in forever, and this sounded like fun. Each day I will post a music video/song that fits the following prompt for the day. It is thirty days long. Obviously.

Day 1 - Your favorite song
Day 2 - Your least favorite song
Day 3 - A song that makes you happy
Day 4 - A song that makes you sad
Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 6 - A song that reminds you of somewhere
Day 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 8 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 9 - A song that you can dance to
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15 - A song that describes you
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year
[(9/17/10) I'm adding a day or two to this blog.
Day 31 - Best music videos of all time]

So, ladies and gents! Here goes!

03 June, 2010

The Tooth Shall Set You Free!

I was reading my wife's post on our other blog, and realized I had my own two bits to put in. I would post it there, but she did such a wonderful job, I didn't want to ruin it. Thus, here is my post:

Is it weird that I'm a risk-taker, a trouble-maker, and a boundary-shaker... but never a bone-breaker or pain-pill taker? I've never had any broken bones, any stitches, any surgeries... nothing. Never even had anesthesia, short of Novocaine. Well, all that is about to change come this next week. (Okay, not all of it, but you get the idea.) Next Thursday, I will be going in for my first-ever-oral-surgery-that-they-put-you-under-for-and-give-you-stitches-in-your-mouth-and-lots-of-painkillers-event in my life! Is it weird that I'm kind of excited for it?

Okay, so, I've always wanted to experience drifting off into an IV induced coma and waking up to find yourself in a different chair/bed in a different room with stuff missing from my body. I know that sounds crazy, but I've always wanted to see what it's like! (Don't judge, just appreciate.) Secondly, I've always heard the stories of the funny things people do and say while on painkillers, and I want to join the club. Third, I'm an attention-whore. It's true. I am. I know, I know... Hard to believe, right? Well, I figure it will be fun to get a week or more off of work while my loving wife waits on me and I can eat ice cream and popsicles and juice and smoothies and stuff while playing video games all day. Who wouldn't want that? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to milk it or be a tyrant at all. I respect my wife and friends and I'm not going to be all needy like that. But I sure as heck am going to enjoy myself while I can.

We have decided however, that if I do feel better, I'll go back to work early. I still have the next weekend off though, to take care of my wife. She's going to be blessed with her HUNDREDTH-ever-oral-surgery-that-they-put-you-under-for-and-give-you-stitches-in-your-mouth-and-lots-of-painkillers-event... Poor Katie... Don't worry, I'll spoil her even more than she did me. It's in my nature. I can't help it.

28 May, 2010

The Art of Plagerism

I will not attempt here to persuade you that movie makers are getting desperate for good stories and stealing ideas from other places. I am perfectly confident that they try their best to come up with original plot-lines and premises... Okay, I'm fibbing. I finally saw the "critically-acclaimed" Avatar last night. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the movie. I thought the graphics were incredibly cool, and the action scenes and climactic elements were very exciting and intensely fun to watch. However, I have my complaints.

I felt, before I ever saw the movie, that I didn't need to see the movie because I'd already seen Disney's Pocohontas (Not to mention Fern Gully, Dances With Wolves, etc.) I felt like the story lines sounded so similar that it was pointless to see the newest take on it. Of course, I conceded and decided to see it as I was interested to see what all the hype was about... I will admit, I truly enjoyed myself.

The only problem is that when I watch a movie, I judge based on many aspects. I usually give about 50 percent of my opinion to the story and how well crafted it is, and the other 50 is divided respectively among cinematography, acting, scripting, etc. The latter elements of the movie were, to say the least, incredible. (Even though I've never liked Weaver's acting, and even in this film, it left something to be desired...) I just felt that the story itself was very predicatble and a little hackneyed. I did appreciat Cameron's "flare" that he added, but overall, the story was a little blah. Add to that the awkward hokeyness of the chanting, swaying, communal tree cult with glowing bums, and we can say there were some somewhat lame parts as well. (Really? Sigourney Weaver died anyway? No way! Never saw that coming!)

Again, don't get me wrong. If I want to watch a god action movie with awesome effects, I'm all over this movie. But let's sum up my feelings on the plot-line with this link...

I also think Avatar was a stupid name for the movie... especially being that M. Night Shamyalan's new Avatar: The Last Airbender movie is coming out soon! Blah!

06 April, 2010

Well, of course this is a blog. But my name's not Jack. It's Greg... I mean Jason...

See, I published that last post because I want people to see how funny my friend thinks he is. Very nice Court. Very nice... I'll jack your blog! But I won't grease your handle.

05 April, 2010

heh heh heh....blog-jacked!

Yup yup yup, this isn't Jason. This is a mysterious 3rd party member who has snuck into his account and blogged without mercy!!!!

.....I have nothing to say.

22 February, 2010

Okay... You Got Me...

So, I promised that I would never have a blog, then I promised I would never get too far behind in my posting... well, we see the results of both of my promises now. So, here I am at work, posting when I should be working, just so I can catch up a bit.

I mostly feel guilty because my friend Court, who is really good at posting, especially lately, has been bugging me for days to read his blog. Anyway, here we go.

I'm pretty excited because my brother, Michael, and his family are coming next month to visit for the weekend. As I haven't seen any of them in a year and a half, it will be nice to visit with them again.

Among the activities planned for this visit is a trip to the Space Center in Pleasant Grove for to celebrate my nephew Alex's birthday. I am also stoked because they have also invited Court to come.

It is interesting to me how much of my life this friend has been there for. Also interesting is how much Michael and Tiffany and the kids love and appreciate him. To quote Mike, "Yeah, get Court's butt over there, he's part of the family too!" It's really true. He has been there for me through much, but also for my family. My wife, whom I love more than anything or anyone, even Court, continually jokes that Court and I share more than a friendship. "Your lover is on the phone," she'll say. While this is obviously an exaggeration, we truly do hold more than a friendship alone. (Though it stops long before the word "lover" is ever considered... *shudder* icky...)

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a post about my undying love for my best friend, but I guess it turned out that way.

Let's just say, it's been a busy few months and leave it there for now. Hopefully I can get to more posting later... phew!