Day 20: A song that you listen to when you're angry

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
I HAVE SO MUCH RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!!!!!

No, totally kidding. I'm only mildly pissed off that my dad murdered my morning glories. But anger is the theme of the day so angry I shall be... GRRRRRRR!!!!

Today's song is "Emergency" by Paramore. Paramore and I go way back. I'm proud to say that I've been a fan long before any of this Twilight non-sense. They came into my life when I needed a particularly strong, angry teenage girl to relate to because my inner angry teenage girl (we all have one, don't deny it) was becoming a bit too rampant.

"Emergency" is the perfect angry at your lover (or in my case, crush) song. Sometimes they just act like an idiot and do stupid things and treat you less than how you should be treated and you're just like... RAWWWWWWWWWWWWR!!!!!!!! It really does feel like an emergency, like your relationship is a dog who was hit by a car... Horrible metaphor, I know. Either way, it's really easy to relate to and it's real. Kudos, Hayley, kudos!

Day 19: A song from your favorite album

I'd like to start out by admitting something: I'm getting really sick of this challenge. I'm sure many of you have noticed due to my relatively short posts that are filled with meaningless dribble... Oh wait, that isn't anything new, is it? Regardless, I refuse to give up when I'm almost 2/3 done! So please, bare with me loyal readers and randos who occasionally stop by over these next 11 days. We'll get through this together.

I'm not really sure what album would qualify as my favorite but one of my favorites of all time is the No Doubt classic Tragic Kingdom. Without question this album is one of the greatest albums of all time and if you think otherwise... I'll shiv you in the kidney.

A favorite track of mine has always been "Just A Girl." Holy fuck, that song rules so hard. It's super catchy and features one of my favorite features a song can possibly have, angry female vocals. Gwen's expressing her frustrations about being stereotyped because she's a girl, something I can relate to... kind of. Not about being a girl, but about being a man. My whole life there have always been these expectations about how I should be simply because I possess a penis and I've never really lived up to them so I've gotten a lot of shit. People would tell me, "You can't listen to bands with girl singers! That's GAY!" or "You can't be friends with girls unless you want to FUCK 'EM!" or "You look up to a woman? You can't do that!" Well you know what? Fuck you all. I'm sick of being told I have to fit this mold because I'm a man.

Yes, I like a lot of bands that have female singers. Their voices sound better to me. SO WHAT?

Yes, I consider Gwen Stefani to be my idol. She can teach anyone a thing or two, man or woman. SO WHAT?

Yes, I actually respect women on a non-sexual level and see past gender when it comes to abilities and qualifications... SO WHAT?

We need to get over these culturally set up gender roles. They're so stupid. And it's not like anyone perfectly fits them, either. So get over yourselves and stop acting like you're hot shit just because you (think you) live up to what society tells you a man should be.

Day 18: A song that you wish you heard on the radio

I'll repeat something I said yesterday: It's very rare that I actually listen to the radio apart from CBC Radio 3. So today is another day that really doesn't apply to me because I don't listen to the radio enough. I guess more than anything I'd like to hear some VARIETY on the radio. Even the short snipits of radio I hear always seem to be the same song. Come on, mix it up!

For that reason, today's song is by an artist who DOES mix things up. "Play Your Part (Part 1)" is the first track off of Girl Talk's Feed the Animals album, although the whole album really flows like one big song. Girl Talk takes popular songs from today and yesterday and mashes them up and puts them over a new beat so it seems completely fresh and new. It'd be nice to hear something like this on the radio... Not necessarily the Girl Talk mash up style but just a real VARIETY being played.

Also, if any of you are looking for a fantastic live show go see Girl Talk. He mixes the songs up even more so it's not like he just puts on a CD. His shows are INSANE. I can't wait for him to come back.

Day 17: A song that you hear often on the radio

I'm not much of a radio person because very rarely does the radio play anything I actually want to listen to (the one exception being CBC Radio 3... best radio station ever!) so for this one, I'm counting all the times I'm riding in someone else's car, commercials, TV shows, etc. This is a song I'm sure you're all familiar with and it goes a little something like this...

CAN WE PRETEND THAT AIRPLANES IN THE NIGHT SKY ARE LIKE SHOOTING STARS...

Yes, that's right: Today's song is "Airplanes" by B.o.B. feat. Hayley Williams. I love this song, largely because of Hayley, but it's waaaaaaay overplayed. I swear every time I turn on the TV it's in a commercial or something and on the off chance that I catch a bit of the radio it's ALWAYS PLAYING. I think the worst part, however, is that EVERYONE has it as their Facebook status. I mean, Jesus Christ... Every few minutes someone updates with, "Can we pretend that..." NO. NO YOU FUCKING CAN'T. SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE.

One of my favorite internet personalities, GloZell, does a lovely translation of this song. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out here:

Day 16: A song you used to love but now hate

When I began this challenge, there were certain artists I didn't think I'd ever add to my playlist. One of the was J. Beaver which I did a few days ago. Another is today's less than talented artist, Nickelback. Both artists hail from a country I happen to love, Canada. Normally, Canada produces music that is far superior to music found anywhere else. However, it seems like America still manages to find the talentless, generic, boring musicians up there and make them famous instead of more deserving musicians.

As embarrassing as it is to admit... There was a time when I liked Nickelback. Of course, I was in middle school and was mainly just doing it to fit in. I did, however, genuinely enjoy the song "Far Away" the first couple times I heard it. Then, like almost everything on the radio, it got over played and it began to make me want to take an ice pick to my head.

It was about this time, too, that I began to discover music on my own for the first time in my life instead of just listening to what was on the radio... I started listening to Green Day which eventually lead me to New Found Glory and No Doubt (don't ask me how that happened, I'm still not sure haha). From there I started listening to Rufio, Motion City Soundtrack, Tsunami Bomb... Then I discovered Metric which lead me to Stars, Broken Social Scene, and all of the GOOD music Canada has to offer. I branched out and figured out what I liked to listen to and finally stopped giving a fuck what people told me to listen to and it forever changed my life.

Day 15: A song that describes you

If asked to describe myself in one word, the word "insecure" is one of the first that comes to mind. Thankfully, I've learned to deal with insecurities (and there are many of them!) much better than I did when I was a teenager largely thanks to one woman who happens to be just as insecure as I am: Gwen Stefani. Yes, you read that correctly; despite being one of the most attractive and talented women on the planet, Gwen went through her own insecure phase and it is documented on No Doubt's album "Return of Saturn." One song where Gwen's insecurities become particularly apparent is "Magic's in the Makeup." While I can't relate to the makeup aspect of the song, I can relate to her feeling unsure about your identity and feeling the need to hide part of yourself in order to attract a mate.

The second verse of this song is one of my favorite verses from any song ever. It goes like this:

If you bore me then I'm comfortable
If you interest me I'm scared
My attraction paralyzes me
No courage to show my true colors that exist

But I want to be the real thing
But if you catch my eye can't be authentic
The ones I loath are the one's
That know me the best

That's exactly how I feel whenever I find someone attractive; I get so afraid that I can't do anything about it and end up coming off as this awkward weirdo (not a far cry from reality, I guess haha). I know it's normal to be nervous but I think I take it to a new level in that I can't move or speak or anything. Kinda pathetic.

On a side note, this blog marks the halfway point through my 30 day blog challenge... Woo hoo! Not gonna lie, kinda ready for this to be over. As much as I've enjoyed picking a song for each day, sometime it's hard to find stuff to say about each song. I am, however, going to keep going. Only 15 days left!

Day 14: A song no one would expect you to like

Those of you who know me (and I'm assuming that's all of you unless my blog has somehow attracted creepers) know that there's one type of music I can't stand: country (the new stuff, anyway). Today's song, however, is from that awful genre and I happen to LOVE it. The song is "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss. This song is so sad but so beautiful and Brad and Allison's voices harmonize so perfectly. If only all country music were like this. The story of the song is so sad and heartbreaking but it's also real. There are probably thousands of untold stories of people who become alcoholics after losing a lover.

This seems like it would be a good blog to share a sad, intimate story of me losing a lover... but I don't have any such stories. Sorry, guys. =)