Monday Morning

Gregorio Allegri's Miserere. Breathtaking, no?

The Degeneracy of Modern Music

An eye-opening (and extremely depressing) video showcasing the way songs wooing women have changed over the years. There are not emoticons enough to describe how hopeless I feel about the fate of the human race right now. Where has the elegance, the grace, the not-using-obscenities gone?

A Design, An Alignment, A Cry

Better Off Outside than In

Personally, I've always found "Baby, It's Cold Outside" to be one really creepy song. The guy in the song deserves to have the snot beaten out of him by an older brother. Here is a rewrite of the song, sans creeper-ness.

Magic

Magic.

Being lost in your own world. With music. On a bus.

Going from home to home.

People surrounding you can't hear the strains of Wagner in your ears.

The dark of the night world is lit up by the starry streetlights and cars.

The straining of the violins breaks your heart.

King of Anything

I have actual blog posts coming up...I promise...

But here's a song I discovered recently that strikes my fancy. Sara Bareilles is one amazing songstress. Like Love Song, it's got some angst and some bite to it, but the music itself is so cheery and bubbly. It's awesome possum.

Can't Be Moved

This is absolutely beautiful.

Portia and I discussed the various ideals and ideas that this song represents and illustrates. I seriously considered trying to type them out into this post, but then I thought better of it. I realized the song is powerful enough to speak for itself.

So...

Watch it.

Be moved.

Heavenly Music

It has been said that God speaks to us through music. When hearing truly beautiful music our human souls are lifted and elevated to unimaginable heights. Music has the ability to express to our senses the beauty of God's presence in the world and to realize his greatness.

Ave Maria - Verdi



O Mio Babbino Caro - Puccini

Say it Again

This is such an adorable song!

5 Quick Takes Saturday

1.

The past couple of Fridays have seen me being called in to do something unexpected. Last weekend it was going on in Alice. Yesterday, it was a call from work to go on as a character. It was nice, because I got my calculus homework done between runs. And anything, even being trapped inside a stuffy, sweaty box and being punched and poked by little kids, is heaven compared to finding derivatives... PHF=80

2.

There was an absolutely gorgeous, humongous orange harvest moon last night. PHF=90.

3.

Security guards rock. Majorly. I had a nice exchange with one at one of the entrances. And as I was leaving, a security guard drove by on a segway. That's right. On a Segway. PHF=95.

4.

PHF=99

5.

Have you seen the homepage of Google these past few days? PHF=100

If Music Be the Food of Love...

...then by all means, stop the music, burn the pianos, and shoot the composer.

We all have those moments.

When we just feel like breaking down...

When we just want to cry our hearts out...

When love (ha! Love. PUh-LEEZE.) is not helping. It's just. not. helping. It's just tearing your heart to shreds and making your eyes red with tears.

When those times hit, these are what I listen to:

NB: You may notice many of these songs are in the form of Pride and Prejudice fan videos. You will remember my previous comments about my *ahem* extensive researching...

S Club 7! British pop group...I love this song so dearly.


I first heard this when I was performing in PostSecret at Stages. I absolutely loved this song-it played at the dramatic climax of the play, and it fit so well. Ingrid Michaelson is an awesome singer/songwriter-I'm officially a fan.


This song makes me cry with joy. Some music has the power to reduce you to tears-and this is totally one of them!


I do dearly love Leona Lewis-these are my two favorites of her songs:



Hooray for North and South! I will admit that I love this more for the video than the music sometimes. XD

Ummm...what more can I say? This is the ultimate heartbreak song. Again, I listened to this a TON during PostSecret, since the director mentioned to me that this was one of the songs that reminded her of my character.

(P.S. I very, very much enjoy the Disney video that goes along with this song. :D)

A Few of My Favorite Things

When people ask me for my favorite song, I usually get stumped. There are so many songs-how do you ever narrow it down!?!?
These are a few songs, however, that never fail to excite me when I hear them play. They are all definitely on the "Constantly Singing Them All the Time Until They Annoy People and They Get Them Stuck in Their Heads" playlist. I'm thinking that most of you won't be surprised by what's on here-I'm pretty vocal about my love for them!

So, to begin:

I first heard this while riding in a friend's car, and I've loved it ever since. It' from the '70's, I think. It's an oldie. :)


I can't help but admit I love this song. The first time I heard it, I was in Claire's (I'm making myself sound like a stereotypical teenage girl here...) and I stopped dead in my tracks and started tearing up. True story.



This song makes me smile. Most of these songs have a story behind them, but I honestly cannot remember when I first heard this song. But it's one of my long-time favorites!



I love this one! So sweet. I found this one while doing Pride & Prejudice research during the spring. A ton of my character research took the form of watching Youtube fan videos. That's what we theatre professionals call method acting, my friends. It's how the greats operate. How do you think Meryl Streep wins all those Oscars, people? She ain't no improv artist. It's Research. Extensive Research.


I love this song. Like many good songs, it was introduced to me by my sister. I sang this constantly over the summer, after she first played it for me when we picked her up from ND.


You gotta love the Backstreet Boys! This song makes my heart melt.



There's really nothing to say, except that this is one of the most amazing songs ever! When I feel particularly joyful, I start singing it to God-it's a good song to start singing during adoration. Try it sometime. :)



P.S. I love Jason Mraz!-he's super funny, and he's got such a unique voice. I heart him muchly.

And last, but most certainly never least!
Again, you can blame my dear sister for my obsession with this one. I drove my family absolutely bonkers by singing it constantly this past spring. Literally, if I woke up in the morning and I sang just one line from the song, it would be stuck in my head the whole day. I literally could not stop singing it. Not even during rehearsals, as Celia and Portia can attest to!


And, if you want to hear the bestest song ever, click here. Unfortunately, youtube won't let me embed the video... siiiiighhh...

So there you have it! My go-to songs that never fail to make me happy. I love music. It's fantastic stuff.

Coming soon...my Lovesick playlist!

Music to Sooth the Soul

"If music be the food of love, play on..."

~Count Orsino, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

A lovely aria from Handel's Rinoldo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yPfrpWyCF8