If you're looking for that howling horror show that is James Blunt's "You're Beautiful", keep moving through the blogosphere. You'll find only actual beautiful songs here, not just those that sneak the word in the title, hoping they can fool you. Britney Spears could sing a song called "I'm a Rocket Scientist", but that doesn't mean she'd actually be one. Though don't let her fool you, ya'll. She's got some deep though...nah, I can't even lie in blogform very well. Sigh... Alright, onto this week's "Beautiful" tunes.
Let's get the obvious out of the way, shall we? Yes, I'm obsessed with both Glee & Christina Aguilera (whose new music video is apparently so hot, it will impregnate you about 1 minute in), so when I heard that Mercedes would sing 'Beautiful' this week, my blog idea was born. It didn't disappoint, and I watched it with several good friends who also felt the power of finally loving yourself for whoever you are. And thankfully, now that I watch Glee with friends, I'm not the only one whose eyes get all moist with emotion. Ahem, here's the Glee version of "Beautiful".
"Beautiful" - Amber Riley
Speaking of good friends, my buddies Miguel & Pablo dragged me out to see the new J.Lo. movie, 'The Back Up Plan'. I've never been a fan of Ms. Lopez' acting career, but I honest to god enjoyed the heck out of this movie. As a bonus, there's an awesome song by India.Arie, that's about how beautiful life is, and how many of the worries and concerns we have aren't that big of a deal. It's my new 'start off the day smiling' song, so I wanted to share it. :)
"Beautiful Day" - India.Arie
The last song might not have beauty in the title, but it screams it in every possible way. And before you judge me when you find out who it is, I'll just stress that this song is so moving, as is this artist's voice, so the fact that he's the hottest thing to ever consume oxygen is merely icing on the cake. His record label decided he couldn't put his new single out by himself, so they recorded a version with Pat Monahan, who sounds like a monkey receiving a catheter. So before that atrocious version is released to the radio, I wanted you to hear the original version of "The Truth", which made me cry the first time I heard it, and sometimes still does. It's by Kris Allen and it's beautiful. Just like his love for me. Shut up.
"The Truth" - Kris Allen
In summary, you are beautiful, life is beautiful, and Kris Allen is my future life partner. I'll invite you to the wedding. Shut up.
4/29/10
4/21/10
Gleeology.
Glee! Seriously, if you haven't watched this show, I don't ever want to talk you again. Just kidding. Mostly. Except not at all. Okay, I'm kidding, but I will attempt to convince you to watch via some of the most moving Glee moments ever. I affectionately refer to them as "Gleegasms". You by no means have to. Except you should...
So let's start with some weepy time. So many songs have made me cry on this show, and all hilarity and cheesy dance numbers aside, I have been sufficiently moved by this show on several occasions. Oddly enough, the character I hated the most at the beginning turned out to be one of my faves. Dianna Agron is amazing, and when her character Quinn felt everyone turn their back on her because of her pregnancy, it was the Glee kids who stood by her. I'm not a big Avril Lavigne fan, but again, the arrangement made the song so much better, and the look on Quinn's face as they sang it to her melted my heart, so much so that I had to find the video for this one, just so you could see it. To anyone who's ever felt so rejected by the world, and then embraced by people who understand them, this-un's for you.
"Keep Holding On" - Glee
So I know last week was Madonna week, but you're absolutely full of crazy-bubbles if you think that'll be the last appearance she'll make on my blog. In fact, it'll probably be more shocking when she's not here. Anywho, this week's Madonna episode was unbelievably madgeical (see what I did there?). I spent all day facebooking Madonna lyrics to my friends and whistling Madonna songs at work, all while fighting the urge to skip, occassionally unsuccessfully. I could go with the obvious choir anthem Like A Prayer, but in all honesty, it was the following mashup that blew me away. So lovin it. This one's for my friend Cam, who I hope spent all day twirling around his work station singing this song.
"Open Your Heart & Borderline" - Glee
A perfect close for this blog would be a song I just shared with a class I'm teaching on music & psychology. I've had some of the most amazing students this semester, who took on the task of defining their thoughts, feelings, and identities through music. They not only made the class fun while still taking it seriously, but they also beautifully shared so many different parts of who they were. They shared their triumphs, low points, happy times, and painful experiences, and when they asked me to close the semester by sharing a song of my own, I picked this one. To me, it's about sharing who you really are with people, the good and the bad, and knowing that you are still beautiful and worthy of being loved. The 10 students in the class did that so well and really inspired me, and this Glee-ed out song is for them.
"True Colors" - Glee
And there you have it. I could go on and on about this show, but if you're not convinced by now, then you're absolutely hopeless. And you're also a heartless kitten-puncher. Just kidding. Mostly. Except not really. Glee! :)
So let's start with some weepy time. So many songs have made me cry on this show, and all hilarity and cheesy dance numbers aside, I have been sufficiently moved by this show on several occasions. Oddly enough, the character I hated the most at the beginning turned out to be one of my faves. Dianna Agron is amazing, and when her character Quinn felt everyone turn their back on her because of her pregnancy, it was the Glee kids who stood by her. I'm not a big Avril Lavigne fan, but again, the arrangement made the song so much better, and the look on Quinn's face as they sang it to her melted my heart, so much so that I had to find the video for this one, just so you could see it. To anyone who's ever felt so rejected by the world, and then embraced by people who understand them, this-un's for you.
"Keep Holding On" - Glee
So I know last week was Madonna week, but you're absolutely full of crazy-bubbles if you think that'll be the last appearance she'll make on my blog. In fact, it'll probably be more shocking when she's not here. Anywho, this week's Madonna episode was unbelievably madgeical (see what I did there?). I spent all day facebooking Madonna lyrics to my friends and whistling Madonna songs at work, all while fighting the urge to skip, occassionally unsuccessfully. I could go with the obvious choir anthem Like A Prayer, but in all honesty, it was the following mashup that blew me away. So lovin it. This one's for my friend Cam, who I hope spent all day twirling around his work station singing this song.
"Open Your Heart & Borderline" - Glee
A perfect close for this blog would be a song I just shared with a class I'm teaching on music & psychology. I've had some of the most amazing students this semester, who took on the task of defining their thoughts, feelings, and identities through music. They not only made the class fun while still taking it seriously, but they also beautifully shared so many different parts of who they were. They shared their triumphs, low points, happy times, and painful experiences, and when they asked me to close the semester by sharing a song of my own, I picked this one. To me, it's about sharing who you really are with people, the good and the bad, and knowing that you are still beautiful and worthy of being loved. The 10 students in the class did that so well and really inspired me, and this Glee-ed out song is for them.
"True Colors" - Glee
And there you have it. I could go on and on about this show, but if you're not convinced by now, then you're absolutely hopeless. And you're also a heartless kitten-puncher. Just kidding. Mostly. Except not really. Glee! :)
4/15/10
The Power of Madonna
So it's very fitting that for my first post, I'm doing a mini-Madonna-marathon. And no, it's not JUST because Glee is doing it very soon (though anything Glee-related is definitely inspiration-worthy). The truth is that ol Madge is not only the inspiration for this whole blog, but also for much of my life. A line from one of her poems was the reasoning behind the name "Gabbia.Di.Luce", which means Cage of Light. I've been doing much soul-searching lately, about who I really am, who I've let people see, and what it is that keeps us all from sharing ourselves with each other. Fittingly, Madonna's poem from her most recent documentary talks all about this, and ends with the line "and I console myself each night, but at least my cage is filled with light". For me, music is so powerful because it connects people through emotions and experiences that they either can't face yet or have trouble vocalizing. How amazingly beautiful is it, when we share ourselves and our light honestly, and connect with people as a result. It's what I hope this blog is about, and what I hope you feel from my very first dedication, to anyone who reads this. From the Confessions tour, here's "Live to Tell."
"Live to Tell" - Madonna
Sigh. Now that I've gotten all deep and intense, let's lighten things up a bit. Openly being myself has always been difficult, as it is for lots of people during those wonderful teenage years (watch Saved by the Bell, 90210, or Glee for visual yet hilarious evidence). But I remember that somewhere around my senior year of high school, I really started hanging out with my friends more, and realizing that I could open up a little with them. That's when I really started living for myself for the first time, and it just happened to be around the time that Madonna released "Ray of Light." My friends and I spaz-danced to this in my electric blue Dodge Neon countless times, and the line "and I feel like I just got home" really resonated with me, and still does (though a rewrite of the song involving feeling 'like a grape sno-cone' may or may not have really resonated with me as well.) So to all my ol RHS spaz-dancing, sno-cone loving, best friends after over a decade, this ray of light is fo you.
"Ray of Light" - Madonna
Alright. Sit down, de-dizzify yourself, and get ready to appreciate the range of Madonna. She's mostly known for being the ultimate queen of dance pop, and while that's entirely true, she also has a way of writing songs and hiring video directors that take me to the other edge of the emotional spectrum as well. Most of the dedications I post here will be for specific people and moments in my life, though I won't always elaborate. All I'll say is that someone with a very beautiful soul shared with me a story of pain and confusion, at the hands of a parent. Their courage and honesty moved me more than they realized, and the video below immediately popped in my head. "Oh Father" is for them, and for anyone whose ever felt the same way.
"Oh Father" - Madonna
And thus ends my first post! What Madonna song should I have included? What did my choices bring out for you? Do you care at all about this blog? And if not, why did you get all the way down to here? :) I'm seriously very excited to have an outlet for all my musical obsessions, and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
"Live to Tell" - Madonna
Sigh. Now that I've gotten all deep and intense, let's lighten things up a bit. Openly being myself has always been difficult, as it is for lots of people during those wonderful teenage years (watch Saved by the Bell, 90210, or Glee for visual yet hilarious evidence). But I remember that somewhere around my senior year of high school, I really started hanging out with my friends more, and realizing that I could open up a little with them. That's when I really started living for myself for the first time, and it just happened to be around the time that Madonna released "Ray of Light." My friends and I spaz-danced to this in my electric blue Dodge Neon countless times, and the line "and I feel like I just got home" really resonated with me, and still does (though a rewrite of the song involving feeling 'like a grape sno-cone' may or may not have really resonated with me as well.) So to all my ol RHS spaz-dancing, sno-cone loving, best friends after over a decade, this ray of light is fo you.
"Ray of Light" - Madonna
Alright. Sit down, de-dizzify yourself, and get ready to appreciate the range of Madonna. She's mostly known for being the ultimate queen of dance pop, and while that's entirely true, she also has a way of writing songs and hiring video directors that take me to the other edge of the emotional spectrum as well. Most of the dedications I post here will be for specific people and moments in my life, though I won't always elaborate. All I'll say is that someone with a very beautiful soul shared with me a story of pain and confusion, at the hands of a parent. Their courage and honesty moved me more than they realized, and the video below immediately popped in my head. "Oh Father" is for them, and for anyone whose ever felt the same way.
"Oh Father" - Madonna
And thus ends my first post! What Madonna song should I have included? What did my choices bring out for you? Do you care at all about this blog? And if not, why did you get all the way down to here? :) I'm seriously very excited to have an outlet for all my musical obsessions, and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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