A Discussion About Music...

Today I feel like discussing music.

I have a love for much of the music from the past, such as folk and classical, but this doesn't mean I don't like some of the modern music of today's world.  This list I have conjured up features my personal top favorite singers and bands that range from the late 90's to the present.  
   
7) Adele

What I like about Adele is how she doesn't put up an act to get extra attention like so many artists today, but presents to us the pure, simple talent that she possesses - her voice.  She is a straight forward musician that lets her personality shine forth.  "Rolling in the Deep" is my favorite song of hers.  

6) The Backstreet Boys

Songs by the Backstreet Boys are somewhat of a "guilty pleasure" for me.  I think the reason I love their music so much may be because they remind me of my early childhood.  I like 90's music because it brings back memories.  And music that brings back cherished memories is the best kind of music.  The Backstreet Boys is very nostalgic.  I was born in the mid 90's, so I was too young to be really fully aware of the Backstreet Boys, though I have a distant memory of the song "I Want It That Way".  When I was fifteen, I rediscovered them and began to listen to their music.  I like both their early songs from the 90's and their late songs from the early and mid 2000's.  

This is their most well known song, "I Want It That Way", from 1998.

Here is a song by the Backstreet Boys from 1997. 90's music just makes me grin from ear to ear. :) 

A more recent song by them, from 2005.

5) Imagine Dragons

Well, I don't have much to say about Imagine Dragons, since I'm not quite as familiar with them as I am with the other people and bands on this list...but they deserve a spot, because I like their sound and style, and this song.  There are a lot of other songs of theirs that I like, but "It's Time" is my favorite, and in my opinion, their best.  It's also the most well known of their songs.

One of the reasons I'm so interested in this band is because they remind me of one of my uncles when he was young.  He was a fan of "Guns and Roses". Somehow, "Imagine Dragons" reminds me of that band and my uncle. Perhaps its their style, the color scheme, or mood in this music video...I'm not sure.

4) Mika

I don't have too much to say about Mika...he's just a great singer, has style, is full of energy, and I love listening to his songs.  And he's awesome.  Pretty simple.

This was the first song by Mika that I heard.  I was taking a sewing class at that time.  I heard the teacher's daughter listening to it frequently during class.  Years later, I remembered that song and tried to find out who had sung it.  Thus, my knowledge of Mika was born.  This is from 2007.

This song is a personal favorite of mine.  It's "We Are Young", from the movie "Kick-Ass".

And two more songs by Mika, to show more of the overall sound and style of his music....

.....yup.  He's awesome.

3) Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe, to me, is like a hidden jewel.  She is underrated and underexposed.  She writes songs with meaning, which is refreshing, since so much of the music today is devoid of any meaning or truth.  I love how her album, "The ArchAndroid", feels like a film with emotional ups and downs when listened to from beginning to end.  She's a fantastic singer and an intelligent, well spoken, unique individual.  Also, I love her culture and sense of style.  Oh, and her hair is just amazing.  I always like when someone embraces their natural self.

This is the music video for one of her songs, "Tightrope".

...and here's another version of it.

In this interview, Janelle explains the meaning behind the suits she is always wearing.

2) Amy Lee and Evanescence 

Evanescence speaks out to the dark side in all of us.  Their songs feel real, because they are so connected with what people go through in life, their struggles, and feelings, whether they are happy, angry, or sad.  If I'm having a bad day, a song by Evanescence helps me vent any emotions closed up inside. It is healthy to let go of those emotions every once in awhile.

This is one of Amy Lee's most beautiful songs, "Good Enough". It seems more happy than most of her other songs, I feel.

Another aspect of Evanescence that I love is Amy Lee's voice.  I find her voice to be hauntingly beautiful.  She is also very talented at writing lyrics and expressing the feelings so many people feel.  A lot of this comes from her own experience. The raw emotion she has comes out in her music and connects to the listener emotionally.  I will always be a fan of hers.

"Lithium" is one of my favorite songs by Evanescence.  As Amy Lee explained in an interview, this song speaks of the difficulty of letting go of your sorrow.  Because it's been a part of you for so long, you are afraid of letting it go and allowing yourself to be happy.  Lithium, the drug, is a metaphor for being cold and dead emotionally.  When someone takes lithium, they don't feel sad or happy - they are emotionally numb.

This is the video that led to my discovery of Amy Lee and the band, Evanescence.  This is my favorite of the songs Amy Lee covers, since it was the first time I heard her voice.  I am in love with her version of this song and like it even more than the original.

Two other favorites...

1) Jessie J

I love Jessie J!  She is a great inspiration, and my favorite pop singer. I have been a fan of hers for a long time, even since before she became well known. This is she singing "Who You Are", my favorite song by her.

"Nobody's Perfect" is my favorite of her music videos.  I really like the outfit she wears when she walks on the table and holds onto the chandelier.  It seems like a very British style to me, and reminds me of London.

Her voice is just so powerful.  She's got an incredible vocal range. Plus, she sounds even better live, which is pretty rare nowadays.

Jessie is an amazingly talented musician, and will never cease to be my favorite singer of today.  

And that concludes my countdown!  

A Piece of Advice

“Don't try to write anything you can't feel” 

- Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery

Well, I've decided to follow a piece of advice once given me;  I'm going to begin a blog.  Ever since the idea was suggested to me, the thought of it often came to my mind.  Finally, I decided to create one...well, two, actually.  There will be "The Alpine Path", and "My Period Drama Obsession".

The reason I've decided to begin a blog called My Period Drama Obsession is simply because I need somewhere else to discuss the film genre of period drama (which can also be called costume drama or historical drama, though I personally prefer the term period drama).  There's just so much I want to say about this film genre.  If I were to discuss the subject of period drama here, everything else would drown in it.  Therefore there will be a separate blog for that purpose.  My Period Drama Obsession will be a place where I share my opinions about various period drama films.  I may change the title "My Period Drama Obsession" to something more creative, but for now, whether or not I ever change it, I'll keep that title.

The Alpine Path will be a place for me to express my thoughts, whatever they may be at the moment.  Being a writer, I have always felt the need for a place to vent my thoughts, an outlet for my writing.  Writing has always been and always will be a driving force in my life.  To be a writer is my past, present, and future.  As someone once told me, "keep writing".  I plan to do just this with this blog.

So, why "The Alpine Path" for a title?  It all has to do with my favorite author and inspiration, L. M. Montgomery.

L. M. Montgomery is my soul where writing is concerned.  I admire her, her style of writing, and her stories, and she makes me feel motivated to write.  When I read her stories, I feel like writing my own.  I have this feeling whenever I'm reading, no matter what book or what author it's written by, but I feel the urge to write most strongly when I read an L. M. Montgomery novel.  What I enjoy writing most is stories.  Not short stories, but novels.  A problem I have, however, is that I struggle with staying with one story at a time.  I am constantly getting new ideas for other stories, so even when I may have just started a new story, I already feel like starting yet another one.  The result is writing numerous stories all at once, and though I love writing them, they each progress very gradually.  Some of the faults I wish to improve upon in my writing are repetitiveness and long descriptive passages that diverge from the plot.  Hopefully, I will be less repetitive in my writing here.

But where does the name come from?  Throughout the Emily series by L. M. Montgomery (Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest), the heroine, Emily Starr, refers to something she calls "the alpine path".  The Emily trilogy is darker, emotionally raw, and more spiritually in touch (in an unearthly eerie way) than the more well known Anne books (the first of the Anne books being her most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables), and the character of Emily reflects L. M. Montgomery in many ways.  

My copy of the first edition of Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery, from 1923. 

One of the similarities between the character of Emily and her creator, L. M. Montgomery, is that their life ambition and dream was to write, and to be a writer.  Emily lives through writing - in fact in one of the three books, she describes it as being as necessary for her as breathing.  The "alpine path" represents the path we must climb in life to reach our dream.  It of course could hold many more meanings than this simple one, which is so common among us, yet so treasured.  When I think of the alpine path, I think of my journey as a writer and the road I will take on that journey.  I am always reaching new heights on the alpine path, and I have a long way to go.       

"When I read that, the flash came, and I took a sheet of paper...and I wrote on it:  I, Emily Byrd Starr, do solemnly vow this day that I will climb the Alpine Path and write my name on the scroll of fame." 

- Emily of New Moon, by L. M. Montgomery

An illustration by Maria L. Kirk on the frontpiece of the book, depicting Emily
Starr as a young girl with the mystic "Wind Woman".

Although I am looking forward to writing in this blog about all the things that interest me, such as history, literature, film, art, music, and dance, I may not begin writing for a while.  For now, I'm just going to dive into starting my period drama blog.  I may write here again sooner than I think, then again I may not.  Still, either way, welcome to my first of two blogs, The Alpine Path.

Note:  I have since changed the title.  It is no longer called "The Alpine Path", but "Climbing the Alpine Path".