BUT, I did recently get a copy of Imogen Heap’s latest album, Ellipse, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. Okay, the truth is that I’ve been obsessed with it for the past 2 months while I eagerly waited for it to be released yesterday (8/25).

ANYway, this is my favorite song from the album. It’s called Earth, and it’s great!
[See post to listen to audio]

I’d love to see Mia Michels choreograph a piece for SYTYCD with this song. I think it’d be perfect!

I first read through her biographical summary there on Pandora and found out that her story was quite a tragedy. First, she struggled with stage fright and thus had a difficult time getting herself noticed by people from the music industry. Then, perhaps due to poor management, record companies wouldn’t sign her up because she always presenter herself as a type of Jill-of-all-Genres. And if that wasn’t enough, right before she had a chance to make it big, she discovered that she had cancer all over her body, which led to a very abrupt end to her life.

Most of her music has only been released after her passing, and much of it seems to have been recorded live. I went out and downloaded one of her albums, which REALLY sounds like a live recording, and it is so good. It is a really neat blend of pop and jazz, and, as far as I can tell, it is mostly her covering songs from other artists. However, when a person “covers” a song by recreating it as their own I really admire their ability to do so. Such is the case with her rendition of “Over The Rainbow.” It is absolutely amazing. I’ve already posted it over at my Musicality site, so here is a link to listen to it there.

Wow.

I’ve recently had a few in-depth discussions with friends about various aspects of music, and so it made me stop and wonder – why do I listen to music?

I listen to music for different reasons at different times. In the car, I listen to music to be entertained while I drive or sometimes to release some extra stress after a long day (or morning over my lunch break). At home, I sometimes listen to music to occupy my mind while I clean or otherwise work around the house. Other times, I listen to music to experience new sounds and thoughts and for sheer enjoyment. At work, I often listen to music to keep myself motivated.

On top of that, I typically listen to music for the musical part of it. One of my friends tends to listen to music for the words so she can memorize them and sing along. Another friend tends to listen to mostly instrumental music because he gets distracted by the lyrics. I like to listen to music to see how all of the sounds come together to make the song. Sometimes I’ll play a certain type of music to relax or chill out. Other times I’ll put on some “heavy” music to blow off some steam. Sometimes I’ll listen to dance-type music to enjoy the beat, and other times I’ll listen to something that is more vocal-centric to appreciate the amazing talents that are out there.

There are times when I will re-listen to a CD ten times in one day, each time finding different nuances within each song. This sometimes makes be enjoy the music more than I did before, and other times it can be disappointing. I’ve found many CDs that end up being quite lame when it comes to complexity and musicality. There are some discs that have been great “sellers” on the market, but really lack in many aspects.

I don’t consider myself to be a music snob, however. I will sit through songs from all genres and from all artists, and then, perhaps after hearing it a time or two, I will form an opinion about the song. Some things are difficult for me to tolerate – excessive vulgarity (as found in most rap music) and an emphasis on the “twang” of country music can both be difficult to sit through, but there are rap songs and country songs that I really enjoy. I like classical, new age, techno/electronica/dance, rock, heavy metal, soft rock, indie, emo, oldies, classic rock, opera, show tunes, chamber, orchestral, a capella, folk, and pop, with a little bit of country sprinkled around the edges. There is SO much good music out there that I can’t seem to get enough of it.

I’ve shared my ever-growing love for Pandora Radio with many of my friends, although I wonder how many of them have actually checked it out for themselves. Pandora allows you to create your own internet-based radio station(s), based on your musical tastes, for free. You can create an account and then enter the name of a song or an artist that suits your fancy at that particular moment. Pandora will then begin to play songs that are similar, in some way, to the song or artist that you first entered. As it plays, you have the ability to “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” the song, which helps your radio station become “tuned in” to the stuff that you really like to hear. You can also add additional references to a station, either to make it more selective or varied. Then, once you’ve created a station you like, you can allow it to play from your computer while you sit at your desk, work around the house, or where ever you listen to music from a computer. They have also created means by which to play your stations from many cell phones and have worked with some manufactures to create home stereo components that allow your music to stream through your in-place hi-fi setup. It is really one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen. Now if they would just finish the application for the Blackberry so I can listen on-the-go…

That’s more than enough of my babbling. It’s your turn to reply. Why do YOU listen to music? How do you listen to music? Where do you do it? What do you enjoy the most about music? (C’mon, peeps – don’t make me beat it out of you )

After you read through my list, go ahead and share your own list in the comments. I’m excited to get to know you better through music!

This list is in actually in a particular order, whether you can believe that or not. It will probably seem extremely random to most, while it will seem to be completely appropriate to the rest of you.

1. “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crue

2. “Thriller” by Micheal Jackson

3. “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega

4. “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal

5. “I Want You” by Savage Garden

6. “Tonight. Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins

7. “Blind” by Korn

8. “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago

9. “Bittersweet” by Big Head Todd and the Monsters

10. “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne

11. “Everlong” by Foo Fighters

12. “Come Thou Fount of Ev’ry Blessing” by Freddie Ashby

13. “Dance You Down” by Gus Gus

14. “Jupiter” by Gustav Holst

15. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” by The Postal Service

16. “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” by Jack Johnson

17. ”So She Dances” by Josh Groban

18. “My Stupid Mouth” by John Mayer

19. “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis

20. “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from “Rocky”)” by Bill Conti

So now that you’ve made it through the list, feel free to hop on over to my music blog to hear each song and to see an explanation of why they made the list. Right now, I don’t have any of these on the Musicality site, but they will be added over the next few days. I need to find the CDs for a few of them, but I should have plenty of time to get this finished before the weekend is over.

I don’t know how long it is going to take me to come up with this list, but my goal is to have it done by the end of the week. So, you’re all invited to prepare your own lists to share.

Keep your eyes (or browsers) open for the next Pop-Philosophy entry: The Soundtrack of My Life.

Kaki King was the musician that composed/performed the really funky, yet amazing, guitar music for the movie August Rush. Since hearing her there, I have been absolutely amazed at her facinating style. I have purchased and downloaded every bit of her music that I can find.

On my recent trip to NYC, I was listening to MP3s on a random playlist, and this song came on. I LOVE it. It is a really neat song that seems to tell a story by the way that it moves through it’s theme.

Here, have a listen!

 [See post to listen to audio]