Tag: #music

Books, Music

In Medias Res in Music

Aubrey Leaman

books-1149959_1920

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” →

Songs For Every Book

Songs For Every Book: Wuthering Heights

Aubrey Leaman

9781593081287_p0_v4_s192x300

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

IMG_4659

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” →

Books, Music

If You Like 1984…

Aubrey Leaman

…the book, not necessarily the year.

If you like George Orwell’s 1984, then you might like the band Muse.  Their sound is  classified as alternative, but I think you could also call it rock.  The vocals are particularly fantastic, there are some incredible electric guitar lines, and they even play off of classical music at times.  Overall, their sound is hard to describe but it’s fantastic.

Some of their songs have this rebellious and apocalyptic feel (hence, my association with 1984).  A prime example:

 

Are you already familiar with Muse? Do you think the song matches the book?

Songs For Every Book

Songs for Every Book: The Little Mermaid

Aubrey Leaman

This is how I imagine the little mermaid must have felt towards the prince:

 

Compass by Zella Day:

“Compass point you home, calling out from the east
Compass point you anywhere closer to me
If we make it out alive from the depths of the sea
Compass point you anywhere closer to me”

A heartbreaking song for a heartbreaking story.

The Other Stuff

Rapscallions, Norway, and More

Aubrey Leaman

Rapscallion

Thanks to NapoleonSplit for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! If you want to follow a personal experience of the Fifty Books challenge and find some great books while you’re at it, go check it out!

1) What is one of your favorite words? Why?

This is an easy one! Rapscallion.  Because it makes me think of a rapping scallion.

2) What is the third book on your bookshelf (from the left)?

A Theory of Musical Narrative by Byron Almén

3) What was your favorite childhood series?

Hmmm…probably the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  Classic!

4) What book would you recommend to everyone to read?

Let’s say 1984 by George Orwell, because it made my brain hurt as I questioned everything I’ve ever known.  In a good way.

5) If you could see any band in the world in concert, who would you see?  Continue reading “Rapscallions, Norway, and More” →

Judging the Book By Its Cover

Judging the Book By Its Cover: Suffocating Expectations

Aubrey Leaman

25142924

My Idea: Well, with a name like Presto, what was Frankie supposed to do? Ever since he can remember, people have told him he should be a musician.

When he banged on pots and pans as a toddler, the neighbor lady would yell through the window to his mother: “Hey, would ya look at that! I told ya Frankie would be a natural!”

In first grade when it was his turn to tell the class what he wanted to be when he grew up, the teacher interrupted him with, “Oh, Frankie, well obviously you’re going to be one of those music people!”

Now as a 5th grader, the day is rapidly approaching when all of the students will get the chance to learn a few notes on a string instrument of their choice to Continue reading “Judging the Book By Its Cover: Suffocating Expectations” →