Month: March 2016

Books, Music

In Medias Res in Music

Aubrey Leaman

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Book 1

 Argument: In a council of the Gods, Minerva calls their attention to Ulysses, still a wanderer.

                                                                                           -The Odyssey

             In medias res is the technique of starting a work in the middle. For example, The Odyssey begins when Ulysses is still wandering the earth after the Trojan War, skipping how he became a wanderer and jumping right into things.

In music, you might hear an in medias res beginning in multiple ways:

1) A loud, fast opening (you are right in the middle of the action!)

2) Conversely, a soft opening which increases Continue reading “In Medias Res in Music” →

Books

Why “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Makes Me Feel Like a Fake

Aubrey Leaman

One of my favorite poems is “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas.  As a poem that focuses on death and hope (or perhaps more accurately, defiance), it fits well with the story in which I discovered it: the YA dystopian/romance Matched series by Ally Condie.  There’s just something about it, particularly in the context of the story…

Here are the first few lines:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Why do I like this poem, though? The Continue reading “Why “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Makes Me Feel Like a Fake” →

Songs For Every Book

Songs For Every Book: Wuthering Heights

Aubrey Leaman

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E.T. by Katy Perry = Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship

Both are filled with a lot of passion and otherworldliness.  Heathcliff is also someone to be afraid of, like the song suggests.

Heathcliff’s desire to be haunted also has parallels with Perry’s language:

Heathcliff: “Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!”

Perry: “Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison”…
“Wanna be a victim, ready for abduction”

 

 

Songs For Every Book

Songs For Every Book: Cinderella

Aubrey Leaman

“Nightingale” (Demi Lovato) reminds me of “Cinderella” (from the Brothers Grimm).

Not only does the Disney version of Cinderella have her singing specifically about a nightingale, but the feelings of exhaustion and a certain degree of hopelessness in the song also remind me strongly of how Cinderella might have felt while with her stepsisters and stepmother.  I can just hear her singing this to her (at the time, imaginary) prince.

“Can you be my nightingale?
Sing to me, I know you’re there
You could be my sanity
Bring me peace, sing me to sleep
Say you’ll be my nightingale.”


 
Do you agree? Feel free to comment below!

The Other Stuff

Italo Calvino, Red Riding Hood as a Silent Film, and Psychoanalyzing Veggie Tales

Aubrey Leaman

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Seven more things about me…

  1. I am SO excited to read Italo Calvino’s “The Castle of Crossed Destinies” and “Cosmicomics.” Just checked them out from the library and the anticipation is real.
  2. Last week I wrote about the Veggie Tales song “I Love My Lips” for my literary theory and criticism class because I realized that Dr. Archibald was basically psychoanalyzing Larry…#childhoodruined.
  3. My newest music obsession is Say Lou Lou.  I would particularly recommend “Wilder Than the Wind” and Angels (Above Me).
  4. Last week I also had my senior piano recital.  For the Haydn sonata, I had created a silent, black and white movie with some friends based on Little Red Riding Hood.  I performed the sonata as the “film score” live on stage.
  5. Yesterday I discovered the glories of making my own fruit smoothies.  Why didn’t I do this before? How much of my life have I wasted away??
  6. I like to eat my almonds two at a time.  They fit so perfectly between my fingers and form the perfect amount of salty, nutty goodness in my mouth, so a lot of the time I’ll even count them out to make sure I have an even number.
  7. I own Disney Princess Uno cards.  It’s just like Uno but there are two dragon cards in the deck, which, when played, have to be vanquished by a prince card.  It’s hardcore.

Continue reading “Italo Calvino, Red Riding Hood as a Silent Film, and Psychoanalyzing Veggie Tales” →