It is rather impossible for someone to know who i am through a series of ten songs, but through this playlist i hope for a general idea to be formed about me. My playlist begins with the song “Hey Mama” by Kanye West, which i believe to be one of his best songs ever. This song commences my playlist because it is a symbol for the most important person in my life; my mother. It is only right to put the most important person as number one. The second song comes from a fellow country-mate in “Aint Worried About Nothin” by French Montana. This is essentially my anthem as it symbolizes what i consider my care free attitude. “F**ckin Problems” follows as another one of my anthems. Although i have far more respect for women than the song would suggest, the song expresses my affinity for beautiful women. Similarly, “Beware” by Big Sean symbolizes the troubles that come with the opposite sex and various relationships and interactions with them.  As the proverb says, “Too much of anything can kill you”, various relations can kill you emotionally. The next song comes as one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite artists in “Dumb It Down” by Lupe Fiasco. The song shows how music can be so influential to the learning and intelligence of its listeners. By “dumbing things down”, one can keep their listeners in a perpetual state of ignorance or misinformation. Lupe stresses the power of intelligence in this song by mocking those who do not value intelligence. Intelligence is what i pride myself on the most so this song is a very powerful reminder of how important it is. The next song is “Tom Ford” by Jay-Z which has a similar message to that of “Dumb It Down” in that Hova stresses his affluence and wealth while also poking fun at those who are caught up in the drug culture. He sees making money and having the finest clothing (Tom Ford) as being more important than popping a molly and doing nothing. “Started From The Bottom” by Drake is fairly self-explanatory. The song expresses Drake’s rise to fame and success and i hope to follow the same path. “What We Talkin’ About” by Jay-Z sends a powerful message of speaking the truth and speaking words of relevance as opposed to nonsense. He is focused on success and would rather talk about that and conversations related to success. “Fallin For You” essentially shows my soft side and how i have always had a thing for “softer” music. Im a big Taylor Swift fan as well. Finally, “No Interruption” is just a solid song that expresses the desire to succeed and have fun at the same time. Hopefully this playlist has given you a glimpse into who i am.

Playlist: https://play.spotify.com/user/121722051/playlist/39NOPROJpopTEx0RtFTDIb

so i was asleep literally like twenty minutes ago…then suddenly, i remembered that i had more shit to do. so i turned on the alarm, brushed my teeth, and now im doing this blog. but yeah, i’m not going to make a playlist like most of the people doing this assignment…ten songs and describe how each one relates to our lives? thats hella work!

since i was in second grade, my parents would be all asian like, “yo eric, you chinese baby. learn how to play the violin!” so…then i went on to be the orchestras concert master at school for a few years..all that jazz. i realized that i really like music. cool. but violin got so boring. one day i decided to pick up a random guitar my mom bought(seriously she never even played it) and i taught myself how to play. so ive been practicing for four years..i feel like i wanna try something new though.

anyway heres my two minute video(its more than two minutes.) you can probably tell that im falling asleep…LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvCa7AF2GmU&feature=youtu.be

yay im done..good night ya’ll

A Playlist, And All That Entails

This list of ten songs were actually chosen pretty carefully, no matter how random or generic the choices may seem. It’s just that it’s a pretty impossible task to try to describe your life within ten songs that could have any matter of content within them – but the ten that ended up making the cut create together a rather unflattering, awkward, and misguided portrait. So it seems that I succeeded, at least in part. The songs themselves have several binding ties, the greatest being their very tone and sound – which convey stories about nerves, anxiety, and general social illiteracy, so the playlist did it’s job in capturing a bit of me. 

The first even, “Blister In The Sun” by the Violent Femmes, with its title and main recurring chorus lyric (When I go walking I strut my stuff and I’m so strung out), and it just exudes restrictions and unease. That and I refuse to wear caps in the summer, so this actually rings more realistic bells. This goes further within “Forget Myself” by Elbow in a more explicit and clear sequence – ie. (Do you move through the room with a glass in your hand?/Thinking too hard about the way you stand?). Which is in fact something I do a lot of both literally and metaphorically. Trying to be aware of how one appears to the rest of the world, it’s not a proud trait, but it’s an exhausting one.

Of course not to the extent that the next song, “Flagole Sitta” by Harvey Danger, takes it – which is why I placed it here – to show the extreme and the thing that I try to avoid. Also it’s the theme song to a show called “Peep Show”, which features a character who reminds me of a hyper-exaggerated version of myself – and who would take this song’s lyrics to heart. Besides who hasn’t felt like (Paranoia, paranoia, everyone’s coming to get me/Pretend you never met me) once in a while? Pulp’s “Like A Friend” and Blue Swede’s “Hooked On A Feeling” are both tied to my simple tendency to get lost in whatever fixation I have at the moment, – a movie, a song, maybe some random assortment of words (hyperbole). Sometimes it’s detrimental, sometimes it’s not, and sometimes it’s detrimental.  (You are the car I never should have bought…the train I never should have caught).

Of course one cannot ignore the rather overt and blatant theme that has been running through all of the songs so far, it’s pretty in your face. But I’m going to so let’s move on. In comparison to the rest of the playlist “Out Of Time Man” by Mano Negra is actually a very simple one, as it simply represents my rather retentive need for order and more specifically just not being late. Losing track of time is a very worrying thing especially with the trains and crowds, so this reflects a sort of commuter’s plight. (Time don’t do it again/Now I’m stressed and strained/With my anger and pain on this subway train).The next three songs, “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine” (Spoon), “Wolf Like Me” (TV On The Radio), and “Can’t Hardly Wait” (The Replacements), are grouped together into being basic escapist fantasies.

The first song stating things pretty much outright (Every morning I get a new chance/I want to land the part of Eddie in The Stranger Dance), while the other two simply in their beat and the energy they exude. Meaning the sort of familiar irregularity, the fun, which I want to see more of in life. The tenth song, “Lighten Up Morrissey”, is really only there for an out of context reason. It was written as a joke by the band about one of their friends, the Morrissey of the title, and that just goes to say that even if you’re being self-deprecatory you can still have a laugh about it. Learn to take a joke. (I’ve got comparisons coming out my ears/And she can never hit the pause).

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Musical+Personality/90692583

In a world of commonality, some people strive to escape the norm. Categorizing myself as one of those individuals seeking distinctiveness, I can say that following the crowd isn’t something I do. Everyone that knows me well can say that I clearly depict my horoscope sign, the Gemini. Each sign has its positives and negatives. Some of the positives of a being a Gemini include adaptability, versatility, enthusiasm, and wittiness. The negatives that exist in a Gemini are inconsistency, indecisiveness and lack of focus. I express all these qualities, both good and bad, which creates my atypical nature. For instance, the playlist I created has a wide array of different genres, ranging from soul to hip-hop to electro house. This variety of genre compliments my sign’s traits because it proves that I am not only versatile, showing how a lot of different things interest me, but also inconsistent, being not engaged in only one particular thing. These ten songs listed portray my adaptable personality quite well. Track 1, In Da Club, starts off by showing the listener I like a strong beat, common in Hip-Hop and rap. The next song, Track 2, The Party & The After Party, shows I like to slow things down a bit with calming and relaxing songs. Track 3, Seek Bromance, displays that I like to quicken the pace with dance music. Continuing down the play list, Track 4, Turning Tables, exhibits that I slow things down once again, proving I have a sensitive side with soul and acoustic pop. Tacata, Track 5, proves that I can’t stay mellow for too long, with this catchy and fast paced Spanish beat. Track 6, Give me love, reveals that I like meaningful lyrics. Tracks 7-10 are similar in a way because they are all categorized under dubstep or electro house (edm). That is my favorite genre, given that it is a majority of my playlist. Live for the night, Track 7, demonstrates that I like to have a good time, and enjoy the night while it’s still young. Track 8, Crave You, has a combination of mellow and strong beats, which makes it one of my most played songs on my Ipod, due to its uniqueness. It gives off a powerful vibe, which edm is known for. Second to last, Track 9, Feed the Dada, is a song I play when I feel energetic. The strong bass and drops make it impossible to not put it on repeat. To conclude with Fire in your new shoes, Track 10, I feel is the best way to end my playlist. It gives off that enthusiasm shown in my Gemini traits, with its slow and composed beginning and later erupting chorus. It’s extremely catchy and makes it a signature song to play at any time of the day, putting me in a better mood. In reference to my personality, this playlist I feel correctly represents who I am as a person and how I interact with others.

http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/10+Songs+That+Describe+Me/90679179

This is 10 songs that describe my life, where I’m going and who I want to be.

The first song is “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled. This song is self-explanatory. I refuse to fail. I do what it takes to succeed.

“Headlines” by Drake explains my drive to make a lot of money. They lyrics that i want to focus on in this song is “We drinkin’ everynight cause’ we drink to my accomplishments” and “money over everything, money on my mind.” Those two lyrics describe why i chose this song. I want to accomplish every dream I ever had and have the money to do so.

“Warrior” by Ke$ha. I will fight to the end and I won’t let anyone tell me I can’t or I’m not good enough or too “different.” I’m going to do things my own way.

“Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato. This song means to me that no matter what people say or do to me I will always stand tall and never let them break me. “Go ahead and try to knock me down, I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper.”

“Baby Blue Eyes” by A Rocket To The Moon. I just love this song because I have baby blue eyes. Also, it’s a love song so it reminds me of my boyfriend and that he’ll do everything and anything to make me happy and keep me safe.

“Party In The USA” by Miley Cyrus. This song reminds me of my adjustment from Long Island life to city life. It’s going to be hard at first but I know I’ll end up loving it here. It also describes how it’s obvious I’m a Long Islander and everyone looks at me and goes “She must be from out of town.”

“Champion” by Chipmunk and Chris Brown. Once again it explains my drive to succeed and how I’m always pushing myself to be on top. “I was born a champion.”

“Donald Trump” by Mac Miller. Just another song that describes how I want to make a lot of money, enough to take over the world. Also, it explains how badly i want the best, crazyiest life possible.

“Is Anybody Out There?” by K’naan. This song is a bit more personal. It makes me appreciate my parents, family and friends for every single thing they have done for me to make me the person I am today. The song is right when it says “lonely is hard to survive” and I would never be able to survive all alone.

“I’ll Be There” by Mac Miller. My mom and dad have always been there for me. They are the reason I’m here and the reason I’ve become who I am today. Because they have always been there for me and such great parents I will always be there for them now and when they’re old.

Alright, I have attached a link to my playlist. Why did I pick these 10 songs in particular? Well, to be honest, I would usually have picked all 10 slots as instrumental anime/video game music since those are what I listen to in my free time. I didn’t because that would have felt like the easy way out and I wanted to do some song digging until I found the right ones. (I will try to talk about most of the songs, but the 500 word mark will make that tricky…)

http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/10+Songs+That+Define+Who+I+Am/90658472

1. Pokemon Theme Song: I selected this song to be part of the 10 because the lyrics are pretty inspiring and I agree with the words:
“Every challenge along the way
With courage I will face
I will battle every day
To claim my rightful place”

That can sum up a lot of my college life. The homework can be seen as a challenge and you’ve just got to tackle it head on!

2. Open Your Heart: I selected this one because of its heroic sound and the overall message is good. Sometimes you really can’t count on others and you’ve just got to finish the job yourself. It is good to rely on others and use teamwork sometimes, but there are times when you will have to complete the task on your own.

4. Crossing Field Sword Art Online Opening 1: Well, it’s no secret why this one made the list. The beat is good and the song is very catchy. This opening helps to symbolize that I’m a big anime fan and I do enjoy this particular series as well. The lyrics may be in Japanese, but you can always recognize quality when you hear it, even if you can’t understand it.

8. Blow Me Away: Do I believe that only the strongest will survive? No! I picked this song because it mentions how when you fall, then you shake it off. You’ve always got to keep moving and that’s definitely true. You can’t get wrapped up in something and forget the future.

10. Nankou Furaku: I picked this song because it is an example of the music that I listen to in my free time. No lyrics, just a really awesome song. The rhythm is spot on and it’s one of the first anime battle themes that I heard. It’s very nostalgic for me and I’m sure that I’ll continue to listen to it for years.

Alright, I only mentioned 5 of the songs, but I’m very close to the 500 word mark so I need to wrap up. In closing: My favorite film is Yugioh 3D, My favorite video game is DBZ BT3, My favorite tv show is Yugioh GX, My favorite manga is Megaman NT Warrior. I run a successful blog at DReager1.com. I’m going to have to stop now, but I’m always available on twitter/my blog. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your college experience!! Time to get back to my Saturday. 500 word mark in 7 more words. I’m there. I am at 500!

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Assignment+1/90647177

Continue reading Blog Post 1- Playlist →

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Moi/90595915

Everyone has their moments where they need some words of encouragements, but not through the voices of the people they know. It feels great when a singer portrays the same emotions that you feel at that moment, which gives the listeners the opportunity to utilize songs to illustrate who they are. “Wrong Address” illustrates a woman who constantly gets knock down even though she is always on her “A” game, even academically. That is who I am. I get knock down but still find a way to get back up. As Miley Cyrus sings in “The Climb”, I tell myself that there will always be another obstacle for me to face and I just have to overcome it. In “I Smile” and “I Gotta Believe” it encourages the listener to believe in the man above. I believe in him and believe that I can become a champion, conquer and thrive,like Rihanna sings in “Fly” and Katy Perry sings in “Roar” . I am the change you see in the world. In “My Life” and “Ghetto Story” these artists illustrate the things they have seen and experienced in the area in which they lived. I am one who learns from different experiences,whether it’s mine or yours. In addition, I am a person who love to feel free and jovial, “Holiday”, and “I love it” helps to define these traits.