Study Tip #4

For difficult classes, make study groups with people in the class, preferable one's that are taking it seriously

Elvis' Influence on Music

To imagine a world without Elvis Presley is to imagine a world with very little going on in music.  Wether you love him or hate him, without Elvis, most modern bands would not be who they are now.  Elvis was the king and for good reason, too.  He was the first to blend sounds and even though I believe in time someone else would have done it if he had not, it would not be as appealing as Elvis was.  Elvis had something the rest did not, those hips.  Elvis' revolutionary style and presentation caused him to influence music for generations.

The hips influenced bands like the Beetles.  True the Beetles never shook their hips, but their long hair was considered different and drove some girls crazy.  It became apparent to record producers that sex appeal could sell and so they made bands like the Monkeys.  This same ideology would lead to boy bands and girl groups that did not exactly focus on the music and more on the look.  Elvis departure from the norm of the time may also paved the way for bands in the genres of punk, metal, grunge, and alternative rock.  All the genres were considered very different from what was being played at the time and grew out of a resentment of that music.  Elvis did the same thing in challenging the norm with his new style.  Without him these styles may have never come around and we would not have bands like the Ramones, The Clash, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Green Day. 

Five New Songs I like

1. Icky Thump by the White Stripes of the album of the same name.  Oh, I love this song.  I think Jack White is a genius and should continue to make good music in whatever band he is in.

2. North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem off the album Sound of Silver.  Great song with simple chord progression of E, G, A.  "For those of you who think we are still from England, we are North American".  I listened to this song on the forth of July a couple of years ago all day.  It was a great day.

3. Theologians by Wilco off the album A Ghost is Born.  Great song about people telling you things about yourself that may not be very true as it is that they are not you.  They make good use of the guitar in this song.

4. I am Trying to Break Your Heart by Wilco off the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.  Funny song I think but also their most psychedelic one also.  There is nothing but ambient sounds for the first two minutes of it.

5. Get Innocuous by LCD Soundsystem off the album Sound of Silver.  I honestly can't make out the lyrics of it at the beginning, but I just love the beat.  It is very electronica, but it just pumps me up.  I always end up bobbing my head a little on this one.

The Weird Art of the MLK Library

Of all the strange and peculiar art pieces at the library, my favorite had to be the electronic version of the Rosetta Stone on the 3rd floor.  Sure, there was cooler looking art pieces like the rotating bookshelf or the redwood tree pillar, but nothing stood out to me as much as the Rosetta Stone.  I don't know was on it either.  There seemed to be some sort of streaming information on it that which I have no idea what it means or was.  I have always seemed to enjoyed history classes and the rendition of the stone just comes at me.  Without that stone, the information that we have learned from the Egyptians would be not known.  Its importance to history drew me to the piece.  Even though it was my favorite, I also really liked the one with the tally of all the books ever checked out in the last five years.  the number was over 45 million when I saw it.  that just astounds me since I never go to the library.  I probable should too with some of my research projects coming up.  I'll be proud to apart of the millions on that board.  I mean really, millions!  That is just unbelievable to me.  Not a bad library all in all.  I look forward to seeing more of it as I start using it.

Study Tip #3

Remember to give yourself ample time before a test to begin studying or any project.  Try not to start it the week it is due.

Early Music Memories

My musical taste in life has changed several times adjusting to the times, the radio stations' preferences, and to what my family is listening to.  Now in my life, I can say I have a variety of tastes in music, at least a little bit.  I try not to get stuck in one place for so long, but I would like to find a genre to call home.  As I grew up, I tended to go with either the crowd or what my family liked.  I was lucky though that my family had pretty good taste in music. 

As a kid, the earliest music I can remember other than Raffi would have to be the White Album by the beetles.  I don't know why, but this album I can remember listening to as far back as I know.  But, after listening to this music for so long, I think I just got a little tired of it or something because after awhile any Beetles song just seemed boring.  I guess listening to music that was written during a time of heavy drug use and social conflict might come across as boring.  I can say though that now I do not believe that they are not boring.  By about the age of seven or eight, I believe the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brother Band started getting played or at least I remember them getting played.  My dad would play them on all road trips.  To me during the early and mid 90's, it didn't seem like there was any other music around.  I can't tell you any of the musicians that were around then except for Michael Jackson.   Even then, I could tell something was up with him.  Honestly, I remember two songs from that time, Zoot Suit Riot by god knows who and that Michael Jackson song for Free Willy. 

I don't know the exact year, but when the late 90's pop star revival happened, you know with all the rejects from Star Search and the Mickey Mouse Club, I took a step back from music that was popular which still affects me to this day.  All that crap just came across to me as crap(pardon my simplicity).  It wasn't music, it was, is, an abomination created by the record companies to make money.  Well, at least they got there's with karma; online downloading of music has hurt them terribly.  I started listening to bands that were on a rock radio station called Kroq.  Not bad for the time.  They played many different stuff from Nirvana and Weezer to Sublime and Blink -182.   For a time, I thought Blink-182 was so good, but now looking back at it, they sucked, a lot.  I did and still do love Sublime and Weezer though, so for that, I am grateful to Kroq.  Kroq itself slowly has become a radio station in the last few years that stuck with the same music it played in the 90's.  The music they play now is bad and I believe they know it.  I can see that station turing into a 90's rock station very soon, if it technically is not one already.

Entering the 2000's, Kroq still ruled my life, but music like Led Zeppelin, Donovan, CCR, Cream, The Steve Miller Band, Traffic, Beck, Bob Dylan, The White Strips, and specifically Jethro Tull start getting to me.  I only say specifically Jethro Tull because I can clearly remember listening to them for the first time.  I heard the on the way to my drum practice and I kept asking my dad who was this and he always told me, yet I usually ended up forgetting the name within a few days.  I don't listen to them quite that much now, but the were the beginning of a different music wave in my life.  Listening to that group of music eventually lead my to groups like Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, AC/DC, the Band, David Bowie, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Johnny Cash, and Eric Clapton and all his endeavors.  He has been in 9 major music groups since 1963 not to mention several studio appearances for albums which include, if you didn't know, even the Beetles.  I hung around this group for a good while along with the other guys that were played on Kroq.

Not until maybe half way through high school did I really change what I listen to and to this day still listen to.  My brother's friend, Nick, was a huge Phish phan, but with their demise, had to change and find a new band; he did.  Wilco.  He subsequently got my brother hooked on them and eventually me as well.  I listened to their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.  The first 2 times I listened to it, I really didn't know what to think.  Even for all the music I had ever listened to, I had never listened to a band like them.  I still don't know what it is, but by the 3rd time I listened to it, it hit me that this was good, really good.  I can only describe it as everything that pop music and crapy late 90's music wasn't.  To be completely honest, the singer is absolutely atune, without tune.  It is conventional and unconventional all at once.  They were the beginning of a new wave of music for me, a wave that is still washing over me.  They have lead to bands like Of Montreal, Radiohead, and LCD Soundsystem.  They say that the music taste of your 20's is the musical taste of your life and I hope for it to stay this way.  I really wouldn't mind having this kind of music the same sort I am listening to in 30 years.

Exercise 1.2 and 2.5

1.2

1.  I wish to be in school still, have a job, and have a GPA of 3.4 or higher.

2. Many people drop out of school or flunk out and  i hope I am not one of them.  I would like to have a job so I have money to spend on items.  I personally just want to keep up the GPA I had in high school into college.

3. I guess my goal is to have a job within six months.  Yes it is a lot of time, but I am giving myself some room.

4. I will do my homework quickly to allow me to see that I have too much time on my hands.  I will plan my schedule next semester to allow myself to have a job.  I will start looking around town for businesses that I wouldn't mind working for.

5. Every week I will go out into the city to look at businesses in the area within walking distance.

2.5

1. I will get a job by the start of second semester.  I wish to have money.  this is not very challenging, but I can be picky about who has a employment.  This is very realistic.  I will check out businesses in the area.  I will make sure I have time in my schedule for work.  I will make sure I don't fall behind with my work.

2. I would like to have 15 new friends by the end of the semester.  I would like to know more people so I have people to hang out with.  It could be challenging, but no it is not.  It is very realistic.  Speak up when introduced to new people.  Go out to parties.  Be eager to meet new people.

3. Get a 3.4 or higher this semester.  I have always gotten above a 3.0 and I would like to start off my first semester doing well.   This goal could be challenging, but I doubt it will be in the end.  This is realistic.  I will not procrastinate.  I will not turn in late work.  I will stay up to date on all my subjects.