30 Day Song Challenge, Day 10: A song that makes you fall asleep
Almost two months later, I’m back. It’s not like I have devoted followers, so I don’t feel too bad… I guess this is more like a scrapbook anyway. When I don’t miniblog, the world doesn’t end.
I’ve had problems with insomnia since my early teens. I just can’t fall asleep and when I do, I usually wake up in the night. But there was a time when there was one thing that would ensure I fell asleep reasonably fast:
The “American Idiot” album by Green Day.
I’d just start playing it and usually around “Holiday” I’d fall asleep. I have no clue why that particular album did it for me – I suspect that it was because it worked once and so I created some kind of placebo effect for me. But hey, I won’t complain! It was during a time I actually had to wake up early, so I was grateful for anything that helped me get more than three hours of sleep (or any at all, really).
Maybe I’ll try it again.
Like the song that never ends, but more real.
fuckyeahexistentialism (via neonloneliness,macmankev, hannahisdeceased)
I still remember that day, even though it was years ago. Why don’t we allow ourselves more opportunities for pure joy?
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 8: A song that you know all the words to
I used to never feel justified in getting a new CD or even downloading a single from iTunes unless I knew all the words to what I already had. I kind of miss that – I felt much more of a relationship with the music I owned. “Sam’s Town” by The Killers is one song I do know the words to, though, and there’s just something I like about this version of it. Piano-based music really appeals to me.
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 7: A song that reminds you of a certain event
“Secret Handshakes” by The Ataris reminds me of what happened after one of their concerts. My dear friend and I got invited onto the tour bus and had a long discussion with Kris Roe about music and life. He explained the story behind this song, which was based on his experience living in a Freemason community. It was an amazingly beautiful and interesting evening, one that I remember every time I hear this song in particular.
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere
So, this might be a kind of odd one. “Gives You Hell” by The All-American Rejects reminds me of one of the Utah-Idaho border. For a while, I was staying with some family members who lived there. I would work with my uncle some days, and so we’d have to drive between the two states to get back and forth. He listened to satellite radio (nothing was too reliable or great up there) and the same songs were always playing. For some reason, the ones I remember from those drives with him are this one and “Circus” by Britney Spears. But this one is the one that is forever linked with that border… Go figure.
30 Day Song Challenge, Day 5: A song that reminds you of someone
“Rough Landing Holly” by Yellowcard reminds me of one of my best friends from high school. In fact, Yellowcard was a huge part of the soundtrack of my high school years. This friend and I went to several of their concerts together – at least three, maybe four.
We decided to make a video for this song once. I had an electric guitar and she had an electric violin, so it seemed like it would work out. We wanted to film part of it in a mall, but were confronted by a mall cop when we were shooting on the escalators. Unfortunately, he told us to leave the premises. We never did finish the video, but it’s a good memory.
Are you a different person when you speak a different language?
This is really interesting. I grew up bilingual and have noticed that I do, indeed, feel different when I speak each language. My voice sounds different, too. I wonder how differently I act “in” each language…
People who are bicultural and speak two languages may actually shift their personalities when they switch from one language to another, according to new research
“Language can be a cue that activates different culture-specific frames,” write David Luna (Baruch College), Torsten Ringberg, and Laura A. Peracchio (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).
Alice Ganda (NY):
I am a 22-year old Chilean-American, raised in New York City while spending my summer vacations in Chile since I was six months old. I spoke Spanish at home and learned English in school and have always been able to switch between both languages very easily. When I speak in English, my voice is very monotone, low and at times soft-spoken. But when I speak Spanish, the pitch in my voice is much higher and varies more in sound, its also more assertive sounding and stronger.Any one of you out there experience this too?
