Hey Big Spender

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 7: A Song That Reminds Me of A Certain Event
     This was kind of a hard one too. My wedding was the first thing that came to mind, but there's a question about that on a later day, so I saved that one. Instead, I thought back to all the dance recitals I've done since I was little and there's one song that still stands out to me today and reminds me of my days on stage.
     I grew up doing jazz, tap, and ballet. I did competitions and recitals and I had a lot of fun. I miss those days. I miss dancing. One of the songs we did was Hey Big Spender by Peggy Lee. I think I was fourteen at the time. I listen to the song now and think, sheesh that song is racy for a 14-year-old! Especially since we were also lip-syncing as we danced, making it kind of a musical theatre number. I wish I had a video of it. Well, I do I think somewhere but it's VHS and I have not a clue how to convert those into actual usable DVD's. Anyway, when I listen to this song, I sing along at the top of my lungs. Warning: you might feel the urge to do it too, if you know the words. So if you feel it coming on, I would make sure you're somewhere where people won't mock you, or worse, think you're coming on to them. Just, keep that it mind.

     Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there. In an hour I'm heading to my sister-in-laws where my husband will deep fry the turkey and I'll get to drench my food with my mother-in-laws cheese sauce and hopefully there'll be some fruity pie. Yum! Then tomorrow I 'll have to go back to the real world of eating right, exercising, and catching up on my writing.

Pachelbel and Hugh Jackman

30 Day Music Challenge, Day 6: A Song That Reminds Me Of Somewhere
     This was one of the hardest to come up with. I've lived a lot of places but I haven't travelled all that much. I hear songs that make me think of tropical locations I've never been to, or songs that make me think of Italy or France or Ireland. (I have been to France but there wasn't a song I could associate with that trip.)
     I decided on a song that makes me think of the two years I lived in Hartford, Connecticut. I did grade 11 and 12 there. It was an interesting time for me, for a lot of reasons. I spent a lot of time playing this particular song on the piano. Hearing this song conjures up images of the living room where the piano was, and missionaries.

     And completely unrelated, and so the opposite of a relaxing classical song, I saw the movie Real Steel last night. I went in not expecting much and was surprised by how good it was. Seriously. I even got teary-eyed at the end (although that's not saying much since I get weepy in a lot of movies). So, obviously, my Crush of the Week is going to be Hugh Jackman. He's a great actor. He can be tough, sensitive, serious, AND he can sing and dance. Major bonus points for that. Love you Hugh.

You Put Your Arms Around Me And I'm Home

30 Day Song Challenge, Day 5: A Song That Reminds Me of Someone
     Here's my choice. A song I absolutely adore. And to Forrest Gump-it, that's all I'm going to say about that.
     And because I'm sick, I'm way behind on my writing and critiquing, and I'm trying to get up the energy to exercise, I'm going to leave it at that. Enjoy the song though, because it's awesome.

ARMS by Christina Perri



Don't Cry

30 Day Music Challenge, Day 4: A Song That Makes Me Sad
     Who wants to think about songs that make them sad? Not me. I like to listen to music that buoys me up.
     Oh well. There are some songs that make me sad. One of them is this one, Lover Dearest by Marianas Trench.

  
     I read recently that Josh Ramsay, lead singer of Marianas Trench, wrote the song as a letter to Heroin when he was struggling with the addiction as a teenager. When I listen to the song, I take a completely different meaning out of it, but now that I know that, I see it in a whole new light.
     No matter how you interpret it, the song is heart-breaking. And Josh Ramsay's vocals are amazing in all of his music (I love the scratchy-screamy power to his voice). This song is no exception. And if you've never heard of Marianas Trench, or don't know their music, try out Beside You and Good to You for slow songs, and Cross My Heart, Celebrity Status, and Acadia for faster tunes (All To Myself is good too, except it's got F-bombs in it, and I hate that).
     What songs make you sad?

RTW and Save The Last Dance For Me

This week's Road Trip Wednesday:

What supporting character from a YA book would you most like to see star in their own novel?

 

     Ooh, that's a toughie. On YaHighway, the poster chose Ron from Harry Potter and I immediately wanted to go with the same one. Because c'mon, Ron is awesome. But I'll try to be a little more interesting and come up with my own idea...
     There's a lot of characters I'd like to see star in their own novel because frankly, I love them and I'd love to learn their backstory more thoroughly or read about where they go next. I can't pick just one. So, my choices after perusing my bookshelf are:

Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss.

Giovanni from Rampant and Ascendant

Ridley from Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness

And even though some of Breaking Dawn is in Jacob's perspective, I loved his voice so much that I would easily read whole books about him.

And on to my 30 Day Music Challenge, Day 3: A Song That Makes Me HAPPY
     Easy peasy. Actually, not so much because there are A LOT of songs that make me happy. It's hard to choose sometimes right?
    Anyway, I loved this song back when Harry Connick Jr sang it. I love it even more when Michael Buble sings it. It makes me happy. It makes me sing along. And it makes me want to dance (but that's a question for another day). I wish I was the girl dancing with Michael in the music video. I don't know what it is about it but I SMILE when I hear it.
     And I had a wicked story set around it which will probably never get written but hey, you never know.

Moves Like Jagger

     30 Day Song Challenge, Day 2: Your least favorite song.
     Why, why, why would I want to figure out my least favorite song? I don't even want to think about songs that I hate because then I'll get them stuck in my head.
     The first song that popped into my mind was for just that reason. I get this song stuck in my head and I can't get it out. Not only that, the only words I know are "I got the moves like Jagger, I got the moves like Jagger, I got the moo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ves like Jagger."
     Annoying. (And I actually don't mind Maroon 5.)
     I know some people love this song, so if you do: Enjoy. But Beware. You will be singing it in your head for the rest of the day.

     Any other hated songs out there?

30 Day Song Challenge and an iPad Question

     I found this neat idea over at Crow River Writer. I decided to do it, even if it means a post of just one song title (although I probably won't post on Sundays since I like to have a day off from the computer). 
     It's no secret I love music. Like, LOVE it. (I know, a lot of people do.) But music is such a huge part of my life, I can't go a day without it. I have it on almost all day- thanks mostly to the speakers my husband had installed throughout our house that hook nicely up to my iPod. Love it.
     So the song challenge goes like this:

Day 01 – Your favorite song
Day 02 – Your least favorite song
Day 03 – A song that makes you happy
Day 04 – A song that makes you sad
Day 05 – A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06 – A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 07 – A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08 – A song that you know all the words to
Day 09 – 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 

     So, for today- Day 1, my favorite song. Usually I have a hard time picking favorites of anything, but for song choice- it's easy. Because I love this song and I will for FOREVER. The song is, da-da-da-dum:
     Your Guardian Angel by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

     Fact 1: No, this song does not specifically apply to me. There is no one in my life who's died and I consider my Guardian Angel. I just love the whole idea, the lyrics, the music- everything about this song.
     Fact 2: I don't really listen to anything else by them, they are very heavy metal. In fact, on my iPod they are designated as "Screamo".
     Fact 3: I first heard this song on So You Think You Can Dance. It was a ballroom number.
     Fact 4: I've pictured this song in my last Jessica book in a very specific scene. If I ever get that far.

     In a completely unrelated note, I need some iPad help. My mom-in-law just gave me her old one (thanks Deb, you rock) and I'm wondering how to work on my WIPs on it. It has a notepad that I can write new stuff and then email to myself, but to work on existing stuff- how do I do it? Anyone know? Any writers out there have an iPad and use it to write? I write in Word and backup on a USB stick, but I don't know if either of those will work. Do I have to get a completely different APP? What's the best/easiest way?