Anything but Ordinary

Avril Lavigne  Let Go
Oh the teenage angst! I was 16, it was a time where you felt like your feelings betray you, you’re always conflicted…

Losing Grip: As soon as I played this song I was in love again; It is so good! Why should I care? The lyrics are so simple and honest. If only we had appreciated that in our teenage years..

Complicated: This was the radio hit, but I think Losing grip is a better song. I do still love this song, it is a pretty good description of my transition from junior high to high school, not fitting in anymore, feeling like all of my friends have changed who they are and left me behind, and finding the one friend who would stay constant and honest with me. (Thanks Sarah!) Lately as I have been working with the teenagers at the treatment home, I have been telling them that the one thing I have learned that made dating easy was being open and honest, that we think the opposite sex is playing a game so we try to play and that makes them play, and no one is being true to themselves and are all confused… we all make it too complicated!

Sk8er Boy:  This song is so iconic of the early 2000s. Spelling words with numbers, being so hung up on the stereotyped person… I think this song also started the MTV craze of teenaged mother shows…

I’m With You: I actually still love this song, it is a great blend and perfect for those cold nights that you are alone but wishing you were with that guy… I think this song really does a great job of depicting a night you are at a random party in high school and you feel alone and wish someone was looking for you, to make you feel important.  I also love that when I was 15 I thought I couldn’t sing the word Damn, so I would say dang. Ha..

Mobile: This isn’t my favorite song on the CD, but it always gets me tapping my finger, nodding my head, singing along to the chorus. I use to think that she said ”everything is changing, I’m immobile” Which I think could work too, but she is talking about a mobile that hangs from the ceiling, spins in the wind. I think that if the words were actually immobile, it would show that she doesn’t want to change, she is stuck in the past and can’t handle the changes. This might also be true about her being a mobile, that she has no say in what she does and must change. So perfect for an adolescent, not knowing what part of your self to be and when…

Unwanted: This is a moodier song, a little darker. 

Tomorrow: to me, this song sounds like one from the Josie and the Pussycats movie… (not that I saw that and love that soundtrack…) This song reminds me of when you can’t really handle things today, and you don’t know how you will be feeling tomorrow either, but you just can’t deal with things right now. I think this song can also be one about hope, that tomorrow will be a different day, it could be different, better. 

Anything but Ordinary:  I don’t entirely remember why I thought this was cool, but I distinctly remember in 8^th grade health class, we had to draw a picture of ourselves and be some type of super hero… or write about some of our qualities… and somehow I decided to name myself “Super Loser” and it was a good term… I think that this song explains why, I didn’t want to be ordinary. I wanted to be different, because I was different. I have laughed myself to sleep (maybe not quite true… but I sure loved laughing and did it often!) 

Things I’ll NEVER Say:  Ahh, we were 16? So in love… at EFY… singing to our teddy bears and thinking of those sweet boys. Wishing our lives away with things we would never say to those attractive men… It is a cute little song, but it will always remind me of Sarah and how we loved Phil Collins? All the pranks we played, all the late night chats… It was a good time to be a teen!

My World: What I love about this song is how she just tells about all of her little quirks. One of my favorite things is to go into a lot of detail about the little things I do, why I love something. I have always loved filling out those “Get To Know You” surveys that we use to get in e-mails when we were 13. I just love how light and fun this song is, she’s just happy being in her world, being herself and she is confident in herself. A good lesson for youth!

Nobody’s Fool: I think she was trying to rap in this song… not my favorite but it isn’t too bad. The chorus is actually pretty good. I still don’t really know what the line “I’m not the milk and cheerios in your spoon” means… but I kind of dig it. 

Too Much to Ask: this is the song you’d go to if you had just been dumped or hurt by your boyfriend. That anything you do isn’t enough to please him. I see now that that was a time I was in a very unhealthy relationship, but you aren’t quite aware of that when you’re in it or a teenager. Hopefully I can help my kids see the difference when I am a parent. 

 Naked: I like this song. It flows well and I like how she sings, I like the message of being real with yourself and others, seems like that's the main message I've gotten from this cd this listen through.

Overall: Listening to this CD made me want to be in my car blasting the songs, and singing really loud! I was in the Laundromat instead… so that wasn’t as much an option to me. It made me quite nostalgic, thinking of when I was 15-17, going to BFD with Sarah and Katie, getting tickets to the Avril Concert and trying to get her signature afterwards, sitting in the movie theater in Utah when my crush “Spiderman” came in and told me that Sarah and I had gotten tickets to the concert, It was a more carefree time in my life and I enjoyed it! 

Buy the cd here 

The Hardest Thing

It was 1998.

The Battle of Backstreet Boys and Nsync.

How could I choose?

Well, I'll tell you.

This was the time in my life when I didn't want to conform. So, I went with 98*. Naturally.

I do remember that this was one of the first cds I bought on my own, with the 10 Things I Hate About You Soundtrack. (obviously)

Intro: Later on in life when I would listen to this CD I would get really nervous while driving and listening to the first track... It sure sounds like cops are coming up behind you... I deleted that.

Heat It Up: Once the song started playing I had a moment of embarrassment, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue doing this review! I started laughing. Oh 1998... It makes me want to dance like Kevin James as Albert Brennaman form Hitch. (before Will teaches him) I can't quite find a reason to keep this song... But I do want to love you to the 98th degree. I'll heat it up, are you down? (I think those are the ONLY words in the song)

If She Only Knew: Okay, this song makes me feel like I'm 14 again, thinking it is such a beautiful love song... But really it is about a guy who messed up and if she only knew she'd want to slap him and not take him back. But with all of those harmonies... how could she say no? And who is that man who has such a low voice!?

I Do (Cherish You): I think this was my song with my boyfriend in 8th grade... but I can't be sure. Either way, this is an actual good love song. It goes to the depths of his soul!

Fly With Me: I kind of still dig this one. What girl doesn't want to be whisked away to a place she doesn't know? I know I do! Today even my husband texts me saying, how long in advance do you need to schedule time off? He said he found a little trip on living social or something, and that he would only tell me dates. He won't tell me anything else about it, and I kind of love that!I have been noticing that their songs typically go long...

Still: I don't remember ever hearing this song.

....
True To Your Heart: I remember enjoying this song because it was also on Mulan and I thought it was fun.
...
She's Out Of My Life: they do a really good a cappella.

Overall: I couldn't finish this review. I still claim to choose 98 over Nsync and Backstreet Boys, I loved that Drew Lachey was on Dancing With The Stars, but I just can't... finish... this review...

Can't You Just Adore Her?

So I've been married only a few months, but my husband has learned a lot about me. One thing in particular that caught me off guard. He came home one day and I was listening to Mandy Moore and he said, Hon are you feeling alright? And I said, yeah sure. He said, well I know you listen to Mandy when you're sad and want to feel better. I said, Really? And thought about it... it's true! I love her. My best friend (great hair, artist, domestic goddess, amazing at everything, made my wedding flowers) Rachel laughs at me with my girl crush on Mandy. I think she is just down to earth and classic and just an all around great person.

So this leads to me to my review of Wild Hope. It came out in 2007, but I don't think I knew about it until 2010ish. I think this is a great CD, fueled with some feminism, self empowerment, and a little bit of heart break.

Extraordinary: Sometimes this song can seem too cheesy, but it is a whimsical little song about how amazing you can be. I like the little mentions of small details you can see in the world if you're looking, like the wind in the tress kicking up confetti leaves... I just like it.

All Good Things: this one is a little bit sadder than the first song, but shows a lot of restraint. It talks about a failed relationship, but wanting the best for that person anyway. I don't think she is dwelling on that person, but has enough control to move on and be a better person because of it.

Slummin' In Paradise: I'm not sure what it is about this track, it isn't my favorite but I do enjoy the music. I like her voice in it, but it's not one that I put on repeat.

Most Of Me: This song is raw and honest to me. One of the lines that I love is "You should know my story by now  And why I'm optimistic-- cautiously..." I think it is a good thing to be optimistic, but to not be so reckless about it. She is being cautious, not jumping all the way in, and she lets them know, "Just wait for me patiently And you'll get all of me" Listening to this song, I wonder if my Husband wishes I would hold back and only give most of myself instead of all, but that's just cause I've gotten more and more crazy! (secretly he loves it though haha)

Few Days Down: This is one of my favorites. Especially when I am crying... the song just starts off telling you "It’s a fake-out smile and pretend, If nobody sees you cry, You can say it was raining outside" It seems to help get you through a tough time.

 Can't You Just Adore Her?: She likes chocolate in the morning (so do I!) She drinks her coffee late at night (I don't drink coffee, but I sure do drink caffeine at night... ) This song was my anthem. I just wanted to be adored, I wanted someone to notice those silly things I do and tell me I was cute for them and that they are endearing.   I love that this song starts off being about some girl, but at the end she admits it is about her... and I love it.

Looking Forward to Looking Back: This is a haunting song, it's hopeful but full of sadness. It is so beautiful.

Wild Hope: This song embodies melancholy. It is not quite cautious optimism as she talked about in an earlier song, but more like wanting to change from being pessimistic to being more optimistic about what she can achieve.

Nothing That You Are: I think this is a great song to help you through a breakup. Having some anger to fuel you, to give you the distance you need to deal with the situation.

Latest Mistake: Just a good song, a little bit of angst and unhappiness but a perfect blend.

Ladies' Choice: Just a sad and beautiful song. I like how the music almost ends like a cliffhanger, waiting... and then it finishes.

Gardenia: Talk about heart break! It is such an amazing song. I love how it is just stripped, it is just her voice and a piano. In this song she kind of seems to make a realization, about the things she likes and that in the relationship she leaned more about herself than the other person. I think that is something that typically as girls we don't pay attention to or take time to develop, the getting to know yourself and letting yourself have an opinion and knowing what you like.
    This live version of Gardenia gives me chills


Overall: I think this has a slight country or folk quality to it. I think it really shows how Mandy has grown and kind of sticks to her true self and is honest and raw. Perfect for a good cry, and overall just beautiful. All songs stay on my playlist, but some get more play time than others!

**Side note, you must also look up Mandy Moore's version of Umbrella. INCREDIBLE. I love how sad and slow it is.

Buy Wild Hope here

All I Need

Summer 2011. AWOLNATION. I think I had heard one of their songs on the radio earlier in the year and maybe got a free song download? I don't recall.. but I remember I had to have their CD and then I bought concert tickets and went with a friend in Portland! They are so great live... more on that later...

Megalithic Symphony: Mainly instrumental, an interesting way to open a CD. Not something I've kept on my playlist because it is short and meaningless to me.

Some Sort of Creature: Weird little story about some sort of creature and it really did not blow my mind so I took it off my itunes.

Soul Wars: I think this is a great song for running! It is upbeat and has a little bit of angst in it to help keep you motivated while you're running

People: Meh. I am not too connected to this song. It is a fun tune, I guess I mostly don't like how the song starts off, but the chorus is catchy and I enjoy the "hoo hah" and drop out of sound.

Jump On My Shoulders: This is one of my favorites. It's a little slower but not... It is like a Robin Hood themed song, the music is great and I enjoy the slides.

Burn It Down: Such a great pump you up song! I remember listening to it in the summer of 2012 when the Mountains in Utah were burning and I felt slightly bad... but I was really rocking out to it and loving it. I love to pump my fist in the air to this song.

Guilty Filthy Soul: Not my favorite track, but it is catchy and fun. I like the sounds in this one, especially the effect they use around 3:00

Kill Your Heroes: This is a very catchy song and I really enjoy it. I think it is talking about living a little more in the moment.  I looked up the music video and was a little surprised yet humored.

My Nightmare's Dream: deleted.. I thought it was weird and unnecessary. Also placed in a weird spot...

Sail: Intoxicating. There is something about how they drop that beat that reverberates, how angry he is in the song and how addicting it is.

Wake Up: I've never thought that losing my mind would sound so enticing!

Not Your Fault: It's just nananana.... lovely song. That said, I do not approve that he yells at someone, especially when it's not their fault.

All I Need: This song reminds me of holding hands. When we were at the concert there was a couple who got engaged right before this song! We hadn't know that this band was big enough to have the following of that couple, but they did and that couple wanted to get engaged at their concert. So there was some slow dancing and it was a romantic moment.

Knights of Shame: This is one of my favorite songs because it is every type of song! Its not a song that pumps you up from the start, but it is fun! I am a Robot. And the ending, it is beautiful and kind of chaotic... but I love it.

Swinging From The Castles: I was expecting a more epic and dramatic ending to the album, but it was an okay song. I like the idea of swinging from a castle, I love castles! I guess swinging from a chandelier is a little more the idea I have in my head.

Overall: I really enjoyed this album last summer, I thought it was great music to get me pumped up and good for driving. I took  Megalithic Symphony, Some Sort of Creature, and My Nightmare's Dream off of my iTunes so they don't interrupt my flow of the music.

Buy the album here

Camera Talk

It was the Summer of 2010.

I had worked 6 weeks of Especially for Youth (EFY) and a few counselors and I had decided to go hiking.

We went and it was nice! One the way back we listened to some music that one of the guys had, and this was the first time I had heard of the Local Natives. I was hooked! It was so smooth and unique, very folky and indie and upbeat and just something different that I loved.

Wide Eyes:  Something that will be common through this review is the drums added in the music. That summer I had been on a date with a guy who had taken me to a music store and tried to teach me to play a little bit of the drums, which is a secret hidden desire of mine. I love in this song the collision of sound.

Airplanes: This song was a haunting melody for me, so beautiful yet so weird. But if anyone can slip in the word "encyclopedia" into a song and you keep on jamming to it... they've got to be good. I like the story of this song, It's always a girls dream for a guy to want to call you and want you back. This is just a sweet song, the way the music is played, and his voice...

Sun Hands: This is a great song to rock out to. I love when the singer is slightly yelling at 2:57, its a great moment to just get out some frustration wile driving... I love all the chaos of noise around 3:15  This is the song that made me recognize this album as road trip quality. I love how the song just ends without finishing...

World News:  This is kind of a sad song to come after such a rocking song, but it fits and flows and is a lovely song. Something that I have noticed myself being attracted to in a song is a telling of a deep story. This is something I noticed starting back in 2005 and have seen in some songs but this band seems to do it well. Throughout the song it is calm but slowly building up, then fades out beautifully.

Shape Shifter: This song is intoxicating. I like it, in my mind it is kind of like a ship in an ocean storm being tossed around... but somehow being peaceful.

Camera Talk: This song is fun because it slows down a little and then picks back up. It's a song about traveling, how sometimes you aren't sure if it is going to be a good trip but you want to work to make it a good trip. It isn't one of my favorite songs on the cd, but it is good and I like the guitar solo at the end.

Cards & Quarters: A slower song, a little introspective sounding, it seems like each line of the song is a sentence unfinished.

Warning Sign: I really like the beat in this song, and I like the flow. It is a smooth song

Who Knows Who Cares: This is a much slower song in the beginning, almost a lullaby... with a few sections that are rocking.

Cubism Dream: This song is a sweet and sad one. When you first hear it you don't think too much about it. But really listening to the lyrics makes it much sadder and deeper. It is like in a cubism picture where there are so many different pieces, and in this song he ends it by saying the pieces couldn't be put together in a way that made sense.

 Stranger Things: I love the beat made with the drum sticks I believe. It's just a little thing in the background but it makes the song for me, along with the clapping section. I really enjoy all of the layers at the end.

Sticky Thread: This isn't one of my favorite songs on the album, but I still enjoy it. It has a feeling of a song I listen to as you have the windows down on a perfectly warm day, just driving no where and feeling content. I don't really love that the song is about spiders making webs though...

Overall: This whole album stays on the iTunes, I don't delete anything and still enjoy having any song come up on random and keep it on for long drives.  I want them to become a more popular band, I am excited for their new album to come out!

Buy this Album here

Something Kinda Funny

So one of my first CDs was Spice by Spice Girls. I think my first cds were Brandy and Toni Braxton--reviews to come.

Spice by the Spice Girls came out in 1996, I was ten years old. I remember idolizing Ginger spice, not caring for Baby spice, and being really scared by Posh. That said, I remember jumping around on the couches in the office/computer room with my sister and we would pose as each of the different spice girls, and our favorite to imitate was Posh, I think because on this album cover she looked like she only had one arm...


Something else I remember, I wasn't introduce to Spice Girls by my sister or my girl friends... but my best friend and neighbor, Brad. I remember being at his house and he had this cd and Hanson and my life had changed.

Now, onto the review by song!

WannaBe: One of the best party and road trip songs ever! This song can pump you up and remind you of all the good times. I think because of the nonsense words it really helps make the song a little lighter and fun. It took me awhile to figure out all of the rap part but I've got it down now.
    I see it now as an empowering song to women who are dating guys that are not putting much into the relationship.

Say You'll Be There:  This was one of my favorite tracks. I think it was then what Single Ladies is now. It's an anthem of what girls want and all that we expect. I love Sporty Spice's solo at the end, it is powerful.

2 Become 1: This song features each of the spice girls singing on her own. I remember being uncomfortable with this song as an eleven year old. Listening to it now, I don't think I would want my children to listen to something like this at that age, but their voices sound really good. It is a little too blatant, so  not my favorite, but I do like the music and their singing.

Love Thing: I remember loving to dance to this one in my room, it was a good jam. I loved the rap portion, and the line " God help the Mister that comes between me and my sisters" Cause my sister and I love that part of White Christmas.

Last Time Lover:  I think this is one of the songs I would skip past. I didn't like how low their voices were. It sounds a little bit like they are trying to be TLC.  While I've said that I liked some of the rapping in earlier songs, I do not like it in this song. I think I also don't care for all of the slides they do in the song. The song also lasts too long in my opinion...

Mama: I don;t think that as a ten year old I really related to this song. My mom and I had a good relationship, I also wasn't sneaking out and didn't need much reprimanding. So this song wasn't one I would listen to often.  Listening to it now, I still can't relate cause I was a mostly respectful and obedient teen. I do love my mom and consider her one of my friends. Working in a treatment center I kind of want to play this song for the girls to see if any of them have noticed a change and feel this way towards their mothers now.

Who Do You Think You Are:   After such a somber and loving song, it was always great to get to this track! It is so fun and funky. It makes me think of a race track, and I love the music and how playful the song. I think this is still a great hip shaking kind of song that can help you get out of a bad mood and pump you up.

Something Kinda Funny: I don't remember loving this song when I was younger. I think I liked it, but the tone of the song was a little off for me to love. I still don't love it, I expect something different because of the title. I expect it to be a funnier song, but instead it is something kinda bland to me that lasts a little too long.

Naked: Again, another song that I didn't care for. I think it was a little too sexy for me.I do like how they sing the chorus, but I am still not sold and couldn't make it through the whole song.

If U Can't Dance: This became an anthem to me, I was determined to marry a dancer. Luckily, my husband tries to dance and lets me dance and that's a good match for me! I never understood the random Mexican rapping, these are British girls... it wasn't a good fit for me but I like the song otherwise. It is a little repetitive but not a bad song.

Overall, this CD reminds me of the time in 6th grade that a group of girls and I were going to do a song in the talent show... Well the talent show ended up getting cancelled so we just had one in our classroom, but the day of no one else remembers except for my group, so we threw together a Spice Girl concert! I ended up being Sporty Spice, I think because another girl wouldn't be in the group if she wasn't Ginger... whatever. I also remember dressing up with my friend Cherise who was always Baby Spice, and I would be Ginger and yes... I would stuff my bra. It was a fun time, a fun album. I don't think that the album flows as a whole, they didn't mix all of the slow songs in the best way but it is a great album and I am still a fan!


Songs that are currently on my iTunes and make the cut to stay: Wannabe, Say You'll Be There, Love Thing, Who Do You Think You Are, and If U Can't Dance (I had deleted the other songs when I uploaded the CD because I hadn't cared for them)



Buy the album here

Latest Mistake

As a New Year's Resolution I have decided to review all of the music on my computer/cds I own/whatever music I decide I want to review.

My goal in this is to go through my music to give a backstory of why I have that music, my thoughts of it when I was first introduced to it (if I can remember), what it reminds me of, and what I think of it now.

One plan I have is to have all of my posts be song titles! I think that this title, Latest Mistake, is a great choice. I love Mandy Moore, and feel like this blog could end up being a mistake or not end up being written in very consistently...

With that said, here we go!