Day Twenty-Seven: A Song I Wish I Could Play

Sorry about no posting! I just been being (been being?) a good ninja and keeping up to date with my Australian schoolwork!

Today, however, I am posting, and it will be a song that I wish I could play. Hmm. No shortage of those! That's the reason why I have about two-and-a-half A4 display books full of sheet music. Right now, though, there's a song I started to work out myself. One of those times where I accidentally knocked a key on the keyboard and think to myself, "now, hang on a minute..." and end up extremely proud of myself. It's nowhere near done, because it's a fuller sounding bit, but I got a basic idea. Very basic, actually. But I'm slowly getting there. Bit by bit, it will come together.

The song is one that I really really loved just before I came to New Zealand. Though of course, I still love it. Why else would I bother trying to teach it to myself? Why would I even bother thinking about learning it? No reason. Exactly. It's a little song by P!nk from her album Funhouse. Unless you actually have that album, you probably wouldn't know about it at all. It's one of those songs shunted to the back that no one really gives much credit. Everyone pays attention to the singles that shoot straight to the top of the charts, and the poor later tracks sit unnoticed at the end of the CD. I love the underdogs, and I really love this song- Glitter In The Air. Obviously, it doesn't have a flashy music video, but I don't think it really needs one. Just listen to it; that's all it really needs.

Glitter In The Air- P!nk

Next post- whether that will be tomorrow or some other time this week, I don't really know, but it will be up before I die. That next post is a song that makes me guilty. Hmm. Interesting concept.

Right now, I'm itching to update my Wattpad. It's something I hate to admit to not having done in a while. I've been giving Death By Chainmail a bit of tender love and care, and I have a fresh idea to add to the story. I hope it'll breathe some new life into the story! (If you read the next few updates, you'll pick up on the flaw in that metaphor! Fingers crossed some of you will read and enjoy! Be warned though, it's a pretty dark storyline, so read the description before you start the story to know whether you're really up to it!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Day Twenty-Six: A Song I Can Play On An Instrument

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I adore music. Heck, I'm pretty sure you lot have gathered that by now. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that my iPod is pretty much an extension of my body and I listen to its contents every day.

But to me, music is more than that. Music is about self expression, and it's writing, in another form, which is more audio, obviously. You can tell a story without words just by the tone, pitch and general key of the song.

As my host mother said to me, music is a very personal thing, which is absolutely right. Chances are you like music that's different to that of your friends. I know I do. I know for a fact that only one of my friends likes Queen and Van Halen as much as I do. I know that half my friends think that listening to Short Stack ranks about as high on the scale of desirable noises to listen to as listening to someone scrape their nails down a chalkboard does. I know some of my friends would be more than happy to jump on stage and start dancing to Justin Bieber at his concert (even though to me, the very idea raises bile in the back of my throat. But that's just me).

The point is, when I'm playing music, I'm telling my own story. I can't write music to save my life at this stage, but I know in my heart that's not true. Everyone can write music, if they try. It's just poetry with a beat behind it. I suppose that's one reason I really love poetry. I used to hate it with a passion and avoid writing it like the plague if I had the chance- now I'm writing a blog dedicated to it here. Anyone who shares my previous view on poetry and really can't stand it- think of it this way. Poetry is music that you create your own backing track to. It just takes a little bit of imagination.

So, what instrument do I play? I play piano. I love playing piano. I've played for five years and counting, and I love it as when I started. Though technically, you could say I've been playing for longer than five years. A couple of years before I started playing, my uncle bought us (my sisters and I) a toy piano for Christmas. I used to love tinkering around on it, relishing in the sound of the different notes and HOW they were different. Committing each one to memory. Then one day, I taught myself to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by sound. It was then that I realised what I still believe today. I think of the piano as containing all the songs in the world- ones that have been written and forgotten about, ones that have been treasured for decades, ones that haven't been found yet and are just waiting to be discovered. All it takes is open ears and imagination to learn them all. So mum arranged for me to start taking lessons, and I never looked back.

What's one of the songs I can play? There's not just one. I can play Not Pretty Enough by Kasey Chambers. I can play The Addams Family. I can play the Australian National Anthem- a project I set myself before coming to New Zealand that took about ten minutes, tops, to polish. I can play lots of things in between. But there are three songs I'm particularly proud of. Firstly, there's two Short Stack songs. The Back of My Head, which my piano teacher and I decoded by sound alone once we realised the chord chart we'd dug up from the internet was in a different key. Correct, but I like to play things as they actually sound. Then Planets, which I figured out completely on my own. It's far from perfect, as I only have the treble vocal line, which I want to improve. Then there's Look What You've Done by Jet. To me, it's perfect. I got a chord chart and, looking at it, I could just play it. I'm very, very proud of that.

Here's the three songs that I'm proud of:

The Back Of My Head- Short Stack

Planets- Short Stack

Look What You've Done- Jet

Tomorrow is related to today, by the fact that it's a song I wish I could play. I hope you liked today's deep and meaningful reflection on music and what it actually means to me. I hope those of you who aren't poetry's biggest fans to just give it a chance. I don't ask you to sit there and write it during class instead of whatever boring maths assignment you might have to do- because that would be wrong- I just ask you to appreciate it a little and make an effort to understand it. That's all it takes. Please leave a comment. Tell me what music means to you, what instrument you play, what you can play- tell me your musical story!!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Day Twenty-Five: A Song That Makes Me Laugh

Back to posting guys, and almost finished the challenge! Only five more categories to go!

Today's post is much more cheerful than the last one, being a song that makes me laugh. I don't know how many of you would have heard of this group, but they sing many, many kinds of funny. To me, they're actually funnier than "Weird Al" Yankovic, and I've always thought he was funny. No; this lot, as they put it, "only write songs in one magical key- The Key of Awesome." They are The Key of Awesome. They have lots of videos on YouTube, and a free podcast on iTunes. The podcast is how I discovered their existence and shared them with my friends. Basically, they take the mick out of current pop songs, known as a parody, if you didn't already know that. I find the earliest ones the funniest.

I have many favourites from their earlier videos. These include the second video they made- Trick or Treat or Die, the Jersey Shore Parody and, of course, the first one I ever saw- their Baby Parody. And it's not even because it picks on Justin Bieber- that's the job of Sleep On You- it picks on the obsessive tweenage girls.  Here's the videos, so you can watch them and laugh 'till you cry.

Trick Or Treat Or Die!- The Key Of Awesome

Jersey Shore Parody- The Key Of Awesome

Bieber Fever- The Key Of Awesome

A song I can play on an instrument is the next installment of The Thirty Day Song Challenge. Hope you enjoyed those hilarious videos!! Feel free to comment your own funniest song!!

Until next time,

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Day Twenty-Four: A Song I Want Played At My Funeral

Really, how depressing can you get? Deciding what songs you want played to celebrate your life and to mourn the ending of it? But it's an interesting question, and besides, I've known the answer for a long, long time.

The answer is simple. A song played at a hell of a lot of funerals, as far as I'm aware. It's a song you would have heard of before, definitely. And if you haven't, you probably need your ears cleaned out. I'm talking about a little song called "You Raise Me Up."

You probably reckon I'm thinking of the little song that you would've heard Westlife singing way-back-when. But I'm not. I'm talking about a version that is about 10, 000 times better, by The Secret Garden. Listen to it, all the way through, and tell me the Westlife version (which I've posted for comparison purposes only) is better. Well, try, because it never could be.

You Raise Me Up- The Secret Garden

You Raise Me Up- Westlife

Sigh. It's beautiful, isn't it? Dad and I both love this song, and I'm pretty sure it would now be really obvious why.

The next post is a lot more cheerful and happy; it's a song that makes me laugh. And I know just what song it's going to be. Or actually, no, I don't know. I just know the group that it will be. There's a wide variety of songs that are awesome. Wait, I probably just gave a bit too much away!!

Try not to miss me too much; as I won't actually be posting tomorrow, and maybe, maybe I might post Sunday. Depends. I'll be out all of tonight, and tomorrow we're staying overnight for a rotary trip with all the exchange families of the South  Island- I think. So on Sunday, I will be very tired. But I will try and post because I like doing it.

Oh, and let me know what you would think of actually reading something completely different to the usual from me in the form of fiction!! I'm getting pretty proud of what I've written so far!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Day Twenty-Three: A Song I Want Played At My Wedding

Hey ninjas!

Tonight's topic is a song I want played at my wedding. Easy. Easiest post ever. It's a song that's really special to me- always has been; always will be. It's one of the first songs I ever remember listening to with my dad. Dad and I have always shared a love of music, and this is basically our song.

Dad used to have this song on tape- he actually still might- back when tapes were all the rage. Remember?? Anyway, we used to listen to it all the time. Whenever we were in the car together, we'd listen to it. It's a beautiful song. I want to dance to it with my daddy at my wedding. I've never seen the video, so I hope it doens't ruin the song. Hope you enjoy:

Butterfly Kisses- Bob Carlisle

So yeah, that's a song that I really want to be played. But it's not the only one. There's a bunch of songs I currently have on my iPod that I really love and they're what I would love to play at my wedding. A lot of them are songs by Lifehouse and Savage Garden- I don't think they can even HAVE a bad song!!- but there's another song that I think everyone who ever lived in the year of 2003 should know. And if you don't... where have you been??

Angels Brought Me Here- Guy Sebastian

Bet you remember it now!

Ok, so tomorrow I'll be writing up a song I want played at my funeral. A morbid sort of post, isn't it? Hmm... but I know the song, very specifically, anyway.

I'm going to head off so I can keep writing a story I've been stewing over since last night. I've been just itching to write it! It's inspired by a song. I don't know if I'll publish it on my Wattpad since it's similar to another story by another writer. But if you guys want, I might publish it here. Let me know if you want to read it or not!!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Day Twenty-Two: A Song I Listen To When I'm Sad

Told you I'd get back to the challenge at some point!!

This one's a tricky one. I don't usually listen to music when I'm sad, because my taste in music at that point in time tends to be sad, and I get more sad, and so on. Well, I don't really get sad that much. I do, but whenever I do, I end up more angry than sad in a matter of seconds. And if I'm sad because someone's died, I'm usually crying to hard to listen to music anyhow.

Whenever I'm the weird angry/sad mood though, there's one song that I tend to listen to. Well, one CD really, and I listen to all the songs on that. It's a compilation CD, and whenever I try to find its cover on Google, it doesn't register!! It's very distressing to me!! I like to have the cover to all my albums on iTunes. It's a little thing that I'm pedantic about- not important in the long run, but it keeps me sane. If anyone finds a picture of the cover of the album "Kill Pop: Scream 'Till It Hurts", can you please link it in the comments box? I will actually love you forever.

That's actually the CD I listen to when I'm sad. I like the whole thing. Here's the listing:

This Ain't A Scene; It's An Arms Race ~ Fall Out Boy

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) ~ My Chemical Romance

Take It Away ~ The Used

Prayer of the Refugee ~ Rise Against

The Kill (Rebirth) ~ 30 Seconds to Mars

Monsters ~ Funeral For A Friend

Godspeed ~ Anberlin

MakeDamnSure ~ Taking Back Sunday

When Your Heart Stops Beating ~ +44

It's Not Your Fault ~ New Found Glory

Voices ~ Saosin

Do It For Me Now ~ Angels & Airwaves

Take Me Back ~ Story of the Year

Image of the Invisible ~ Thrice

Tears Don't Fall ~ Bullet For My Valentine

Writing on the Walls ~ Underoath

Calling All Cars ~ Senses Fail

Shakedown ~ Behind Crimson Eyes

Papercut Skin ~ The Matches

My Only ~ Goodnight Nurse

Don't Wait ~ Dashboard Confessional

As you can see, it's an amazing CD. Don't know where you buy it or anything- it's my friend's; I just borrowed it to put on my iPod- but it's awesome all the time. And that's what I listen to. I'll paste a couple of my favourites.

The Kill (Rebirth)- 30 Seconds To Mars

 

Don't Wait- Dashboard Confessional

I'm Not Okay (I Promise)- My Chemical Romance

Yep; that was more than a couple, and I love them all, but those are the three that best sum up me when I'm sad. I'm going to go and send my darling mother a nice long email now, because I miss her and I love her. I think the next post is meant to be a song I want played at my wedding, or maybe my funeral. Or maybe that's the next day. I'm not sure. Oh well, I know what I want for both of those anyway. Very specific!!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Entertainment of Epic Awesomeness

I haven't done reviews and stuff in a while, so I thought I might give you an idea of some stuff that I am loving right this moment!

Bookwise, I'm reading True Spirit by Jessica Watson. In 2010, 16-year-old (at the time) Jessica Watson of the Sunshine Coast sailed her yacht Ella's Pink Lady into Sydney with the title of being the youngest person to do a solo circumnavigation of the world. She is an absolutely inspirational young lady who followed her dreams despite all the criticism she and her family received. She wrote a book about her experiences which has been on the shelves for a while now. On what we thought would be my last day at home, mum presented me with an oddly shaped package. I unwrapped it to find True Spirit and a notebook for recording my own adventures. I'm not quite finished it yet- I'm about three-quarters of the way through- but it's a really, really good read. Not only for people interesting in sailing- I'm in no way a sailor, believe me!- but for everyone. All the sailing terms are explained as they're used, there's lots of pretty pictures and heaps more. I highly recommend it- to anyone and everyone!

In terms of music, I'm listening to everything at the moment. However, there's this one little band that really stands out to me at the moment. They aren't signed and they're not well known; they don't have any albums out or songs on iTunes, but they're really sticking to their dreams like Jessica did and deserve to be heard! They go by the name of Lurid Midnight and you can check out their Facebook, YouTube channel, home page and/or Twitter. You really should have a look at them, especially their demo to the intro of Short Stack's "17". Support Amanda, Sian, Lisa and Kione, guys!! They're cool (and they cover Short Stack. Can you possibly get any cooler?)!!

Anyways, I'm off to eat chocolate and watch my host family play Guitar Hero- another thing I'm really loving. Well, I'm loving chocolate and Guitar Hero, actually. I'm on my last row of choccie at the moment, and I'm dreading throwing away the wrapper!!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo

Sorry!

Hey guys, sorry my posting has been non-existent for the past ages! As you might have guessed, I've been really, really busy getting ready to head off to New Zealand- and as you might have determined- I'M HERE!! It's been really good and a lot of fun, however I have missed the good ol' Aussie accent!

The flight was really good- when it happened! You may probably have heard about the ash cloud from the Chilean volcano? That stopped us from flying anywhere on the 25th of June like we were supposed to. We'd packed, driven to the airport, said our goodbyes and shed a few tears... and then we got a message to tell us to go home. We flew out a few days later though. 

Flying Sydney to Christchurch was very, very exciting! We flew out at 7.15am, which meant we were up and moving at 3am. I'm not normally much of a morning person, and I don't have much of a personality at that hour, but I was running on pure adrenaline! So exciting! And it was even better when we could actually see the south island of New Zealand from in the air! Most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

This week, instead of going to school, we went to Wellington! WELLINGTON WAS G-R-E-A-T!! Absolutely incredibly awesome time, despite the early mornings to catch the ferry from Picton to Wellington and back again.

When we got there, we had a bit of a walk around the streets, and I saw yellow buses. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm basically the only person who finds that so exciting, but they were like tram/buses, because they were run by electricity! If that wasn't cool enough for you, we then saw another bus drive past with a completely amazing pattern on it- paua shell! It was blue and had the paua shell pattern all over it! I took a photo, but it looked  much better in real life.

The next morning we headed off to Weta studios. In case you don't know it by name, Weta Studios made Avatar (the blue people one, not the airbender) and The Lord of the Rings movies. Unfortunately you can't actually walk through it because of confidentiality issues since they're making other movies, but they have a little shop and you can watch a movie about it. It was very cool.

Then off we went to the Te Papa museum. They've got lots of animals and even a giant squid on display! It was very interactive and not at all boring. We went to the Botanical Gardens as well (thought mum might like that) on our way to the observatory. Yes, the one where you look through the telescope and everything. That was by far my favourite part of being in Wellington. We started off their by watching a big movie on the ceiling which was sort of like a big dome. The seats were very comfortable in there! Then we went upstairs to where they have a great big telescope. It weighs five tonnes. It was a bit of a cloudy night, but in Windy Wellington that wasn't that much of a problem. We looked at the surface of the moon close up- very cool- and we had a look at Saturn. Yes, Saturn, the planet with rings! That was so cool. I can't even describe it that well. It basically looked like a glow-in-the-dark sticker, which is what I told the guy who was operating it. He thought that was pretty funny!

We went to Wellington Zoo the next day. It's not very big, but it was really cool. I saw a kiwi!! Very cool!! However, everyone thought I had a bit of a blonde moment, even though I swear I was joking! At the zoo, I walked into the kiwi house, saw a bird in there and said "It's a duck!!" You're probably thinking, "oh my God, how blonde can you get?" so I'd like to lay out the facts which are, that a) I did say that it was a duck, BUT b) I didn't mean it, honestly! Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a bit of stink about that... Later on we headed to the Beehive, aka, Parliament House.

Anyway, I'm going to sign off now. I'll resume the 30 day song challenge at some stage, hopefully!

Sayonara, fellow ninjas!! xoxo