Kristen Johnson - Aspiring Journalist Discovering Postgrad Life

Seasonal Soundtrack

2008-10-31T07:52:00.000-05:00

Every year I try my best to hold off my Christmas music madness till at least after Halloween, in order to maintain my roommates' sanity. Since tomorrow is November 1st, I've prepared a list of seasonal music to get you in the mood for cold weather and jolly spirits.

Marc Broussard - "Come in from the Cold"
Acceptance - "December"
MGMT - "Come on Christmas"
Elliott Smith - "Angel in the Snow"
The Rocket Summer - "Christmas Present"
Action Action - "Father Christmas"
Death Cab for Cutie - "The Ice is Getting Thinner"
Anathallo - "The Snow Man"
The Rocket Summer - "December Days"
Nada Surf - "Ice on the Wing"
Daphne Loves Derby - "Come Winter"
Jason Gleason - "Sleigh Bells and Wine"
A Change of Pace - "December"
Spitalfield - "It's Cold Out There"
Arcade Fire - "Cold Wind"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Cold Wind"
The Matches - "December is for Cynics"
The White Stripes - "In the Cold, Cold Night"
Joshua Radin - "Winter"

Online videos are better than real television?

2008-10-30T16:35:00.001-05:00

As a college student who is involved in all ways possible to the college lifestyle, I rarely have time to watch T.V. However, I'm always on a computer, whether it be in the study room at my sorority house or in one of Purdue's 5k randomly dispersed computer labs. Being near the internet makes procrastination all too easy, and of course, Youtube often comes into play.

I am amazed at the popularity of some of the most amateur videos on the internet. Take 15-year-old Jordan for example, (and there is no way she is 15). You know those times in your life when you're all alone and your favorite song is blasting through your speakers and you just let loose and rock out, dancing across your room and using whatever you can find as your rock star props? Well, Jordan records these moments of hers and posts them on the internet. I'm not going to lie - I have a great deal of respect for her crazy bravery. My favorite video of is her lip sync to Rihanna's "Disturbia," which presently has over 500,000 views. (She doesn't give permission to embed her videos or comment on them -- probably a good idea for an under 15-year-old).

Youtube helped me discover Reina Del Cid. Reina is a 20-year-old girl with such a great deal of talent that I can guarantee she will be more mainstream within the year. Her voice is naturally gorgeous. Just listen to this clip. She records original songs and covers and performs them on her blue guitar.

I have developed the biggest crush on comedian Brandon Hardesty who uploads the most random videos, ranging anywhere from his documentation of his Mono to his reenactments of movie scenes. This clip is simply funny faces and voices, yet it had over 5 million views. This clip has been bought by Geico for a commercial.

And then there's Fred. Fred made this month's list of most viewed videos on Youtube with multiple different submissions. His videos features him talking about everyday things. However, he has the most annoying hydrogen balloon voice of all time. Regardless of his ear piercing sound, he still racks of views reaching the 10 million range. Internet community...why?!

Yo-Yo Ma and Andrew Bird

2008-10-28T22:03:00.000-05:00

Music is constantly taking new steps and new risks. In the more recent generations artists have been taking further steps in combining different worlds of music. Gym Class Heroes hit mainstream consisting of guitar-based hip-hop, while The Roots have been holding strong with Tuba Gooding Jr. rocking out on his sousaphone while band member Black Thought rips marathon-long soul-blasting raps. Rap is definitely not the only genre being played with - just look at Anathallo or Tilly and the Wall, using hand claps and foot stomps predominantly as their percussion beats amidst their melodramatic folk voices and lyrics.

Now, again, further steps in combining worlds through music have been taken. This past Monday, October 27, Chicago's Andrew Bird, violist and whistler of indie rock, performed with Yo-Yo Ma, the globally renowned, child prodigy, Grammy Award winning cellist. MTV Iggy, a newer sector of MTV featuring more global underground artists, posted this video with a very minor explanation. Where and when did these two artists meet? All that we know so far is the two artists decided to improvise for a bit for MTV, and it ended up on Iggy.

Yo-Yo Ma begins playing and instructs Bird to jump in whenever he wants. Ma also ends with a very endearing approval of Bird's contribution, as if teacher to student. The fact that this clip appears to show Ma in a teaching standpoint with Bird as the student is proof alone that all artists can improve themselves. As amrit at Stereogum writes, Bird probably doesn't mind Ma's tone, since it is Yo-Yo Ma.

Check out one of my favorite Andrew Bird live performance Youtube videos for more insight into Bird's world of unique rock: