A Belated My Gen Night Post

I had VIP Airband tickets last fall and told you about it, then posted some vid links the next time around (scroll down in this post if you missed it).  However, I failed to even mention one of my school’s other music-related, fun fall traditions, My Generation Night.  Basically, people cover pop songs from our lifetime, and it’s lots of fun, with “commercials” and gimmicky, fun videos in between.  This year’s was very, very good, and I should’ve posted about it sooner, but I’ve had a lot on my mind.  Also, I didn’t have VIP tickets to that show, so the experience wasn’t quite as surreal as the Airband one I described.  It’s been awhile since My Gen happened, of course, so rather than try to recap, I’ll just post some youtube links and comment…

Show Opener: “Boston” by Augustana
Pretty good rendition.  It’s a rangy song, and the guitars, which were a little sharp and loud live, actually sound pretty nice in this video.  Also, I need more Eric Riggs with his guitar in my life.  If he’s not in a chapel band this fall, I’ll be quite disappointed.

“Drumbone” by Blue Man Group
Yep, that’s my roommate on the left of your screen (he only rehearsed this once, as he was formerly the bass player but stepped up when a sub was needed.  Kudos again, Bryant, and we’re praying you make it back safely from Europe this week).  Anyway, I think it’s great that they even tried this one, let alone did it so well.

 ”Comfort Eagle” by Cake
This one is, in a lot of ways, a huge, TU in-joke-that’s-not-really-an-in-thing anymore (and this performance is when the cat really got out of the bag in a big way).  Anyway, they did a nice job with this, I must say.

“Karma Police” by Radiohead
Okay, I’m going to be a little bit of a nitpicker here, because they did a really, really nice job – the piano, voice, and electric guitar parts are all spot on, which is impressive (vocals especially).  However, the acoustic guitar part is just a little off in a couple places, which is alright, but it’s really not very hard to play this song right on guitar, and the mistakes are subtle but noticeable.  But like I said, that’s nitpicking, they pretty much nailed it, and I enjoyed it.

 ”Hey Ya” by OutKast
Well, this is really a lot different than the OutKast version, but it is a cover of that song.  Actually, it’s kind of a cover of this cover.  That’s all beside the point, this was probably the most fun performance of the night (although the performance of Sufjan Steven’s “Chicago” was also great, there were some mic problems with the choir), lots of that probably due to the call and response “What’s cooler than being cool?”, etc. parts.  It doesn’t hurt that this is one of my generation’s most recognizable and best pop songs.

Well, hopefully you enjoyed this linktastic post.  I had fun reliving My Gen Night ‘07 a little, and my recent unintentional pop music theme might carry over into next post.  Stay tuned.

Filed under: Fall 2007, college, friends , My Gen

Some of my Favorite Songs of 2007

Well, I thought it would be lots of fun to list a bunch of my favorite songs from last year.  Things to keep in mind as you read:

1.  This is not exhaustive.  I’ve certainly forgotten things.
2.  These are in no particular order.
3.  These songs had to be released in ‘07.
4.  “my favorite” does not necessarily mean the same thing as “the best.”
5.  Obviously, I can only list songs I’ve heard.
6.  I’m biased, of course, towards music that I generally like.

Alright, here we go…

“Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, “Say it to Me Now” by Glen Hansard, both from the “Once” soundtrack.
“D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice
“15 Step” and “Videotape” by Radiohead
“Fake Empire” and “Mistaken for Strangers” by the National
“Umbrella” by Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z)
“Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco (feat. Matthew Santos)
“The Underdog” and “Don’t Make Me a Target” by Spoon
“The Mending of the Gown” by Sunset Rubdown
“Misery Business” by Paramore
“Peacebone” and “Fireworks” by Animal Collective
“1 2 3 4″ by Feist
“Dance Around” by Paul McCartney
[I'm leaving a spot here for Sigur Ros, who I'm certain had something great on "Hvarf/Heim", but I haven't heard it yet]

Honorable Mention:
…because  they were actually ‘06 songs I caught onto this year: “Put a Penny in the Slot” by Fionn Regan; “Typical” by Mute Math; “What Goes Around…/…Comes Around” by Justin Timberlake; “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani (feat. Akon)

…for other reasons: “Hey There Delilah” (Plain White T’s) deserves a mention since I didn’t get tired of it despite hearing it more than anything short of  “Umbrella” on the radio, and, strangely, I remember the first time I heard it.
“The Con” by Tegan and Sara – I’ve only heard it a couple times, but…
I also like what I’ve heard of Vampire Weekend.

Anyway, I suppose this was sort of a pointless exercise in  the grand scheme, but it was pretty fun.  I’m sure I forgot something, or there’s something I just haven’t heard yet, but that’s a rather varied list.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Hey Thanks

Wyatt, I’m still praying for you.  I love you.

Bigtime thanks to everyone who’s prayed for my brother over the past 5 days or so as he’s been going through a burst appendix, its removal, and his recovery.

Thanks also to everyone who listened to me talk about it.

Filed under: family, friends