DAY 17- A SONG I HEAR OFTEN ON THE RADIO

Lay Me Down by the Dirty Heads. I hear this song a lot, and I guess I'm not quite sick of it yet. I don't instantly change the station like I do when I hear other overplayed songs like airplanes and shooting stars, california girls, cooler than me, billionaires, or even that new one by Maroon 5.

Man, I'm in a horrible mood. Probably no emotional state to be blogging. All I can say is that this week MUST go better than last week. I need to find some positive energy, good karma, or what ever. Or I might have a mental break down. And move to Costa Rica. And sell bananas for a living.

I'll letcha know how it goes.

DAY 12- A SONG FROM A BAND I HATE

Now ya see, this one is tricky too, because I don't know songs from bands that I hate, because I don't listen to them. I had a hard time thinking of any bands, or even artists for that matter, that I absolutely can not stand. I think this is as close as I'm going to get this morning. Although I think Amy Winehouse is a trashy mess, and most of her music isn't worth spending my time on, I really actually do like her song Rehab. Do you have a band/artist that you hate more?

DAY 11- A SONG FROM MY FAVORITE BAND

This is almost as hard as choosing my favorite song. There are so many bands that I like. And those bands have so many good songs! :) Here, in no particular order, are my favorite songs from 5 of my favorite bands.

The Beatles- Something (The Radiohead cover on the playlist isn't bad either)

The Rocket Summer- Around The Clock

U2- All I Want Is You

Iron and Wine- My Lady's House

The Postal Service- Brand New Colony

And here, in no particular order, are 4 things that are frustrating me about school.

I have non-residency tuition status in a state that I've lived for 22 years of my life

I still don't know who my cello teacher is going to be

My textbooks for remedial theory cost $150

The graduate quartet can't find more than 2 hours of rehearsal time that work for everyone

Dear blog readers, do you have a favorite song from a favorite band? If so, let me know!

DAY 10- A SONG THAT MAKES ME FALL ASLEEP

Not that it's boring or uninteresting at all, but Godspeed by the Dixie Chicks is a song that I love falling asleep to. It's just a beautiful country lully full of love and comfort. And it flies me away to dreamland.

It seems like no matter what school I go to, Wednesdays are crazy. 2 and a half hours of Graduate Quartet, followed by 2 hours of Orchestra, followed by 2 and a half more hours of Theory Survey. Not to mention cello practice. Looks like no more home-made pizza wednesdays.

DAY 9- A SONG I CAN DANCE TO

I don't know if I can necessarily dance. I like music, and I like to groove to it, but I'm pretty sure I look more like a fool than a dancer. But who cares, right? A song that I have danced to since high school, in the car, at a KOA campground in Cedar city, at sleepovers, and most recently at Katie's Wedding, is I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. A friend once told me that no good music came out of the 80s. Well, dear friend, with this song as top evidence, I'd like to disagree.

What do you groove to?

DAY 8- A SONG I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO

Alright, I'm not usually the type to gush over broadway soundtracks, but this one is completely worth it. I was first introduced to it by vocal performance roommate Karlie (from the prenup story). And I was surprised when I moved to Michigan that many of my friends out there knew it too. Karlie and listened to it at top volume as we mopped the kitchen floor. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I spent a few nights crying to it in Kalamazoo. I absolutely love the music, and the creativity of the plot line- how Jamie and Kathy's stories weave in and out of each other. I love that this musical only has two actors. And that the orchestra features two cellos. When I got an email from a musical director in Benton Harbor looking for a Last Five Years cellist, I jumped at the chance. And brought along cello pal Bethany and violin pal Ishtar to fill out the string section. And that's how we all spent spring break 2009- rehearsing and performing in a little off-broadway production of my favorite show. And because of all of that, I now know every word of every song of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. And I still sing along at the top of my voice. If you've never heard this music, even if you hate broadway, check it out!

Today is my first day of 19th grade. I'm starting my Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of Utah. I've figured out how to get to school on Trax, I impressed my new professors with my music history placement exam, and I landed co-principal cellist (why always CO principal?) in the top orchestra at my audition last night. So I guess I'm off to a good start. I'm full of high hopes and anticipation- the kind that only come along with the first day of school. Wish me luck!

DAY 7- A SONG THAT REMINDS ME OF A CERTAIN EVENT

August 2006, Nathan and I haven't spoken for most of the summer due to an epic break up in early June. He calls me up to remind me that he still has the Death Cab For Cutie tickets that we bought together almost 4 months earlier. He wants to know if we still want to go- as friends- or if he should try to sell them. I apprehensively agree to go, not knowing at all what to expect. He drives to Logan on his motorcycle, but we drive my little Escort down to the concert in Orem. We have lots of time to talk. I apologize, he listens. At the concert, we miss most of the opening band, but we still have time to buy t-shirts. We laugh together as we change shirts under the bleachers. We have seats in the stands, but we wish we were with all the cool people on the floor. The music is awesome either way. Ben Gibbard plays guitar, keyboards, drums, and sings. They don't even really need other band members. After 2 or 3 encore numbers, including a cover of Weezer's Sweater Song, they pull out the one we came to see. Imagine only Ben and his guitar, alone on a black stage, singing I Will Follow You Into the Dark. Something about that night changed Nathan and me. Or maybe just changed me. But I realized what a lucky lucky girl I am to have a friend like him. A friend who listens, and respects, and forgives. A friend who, no matter what we're doing, I have the time of my life with. A friend who really does, in a sense, follow me into the dark. And no one ever compares. From that moment on, I stopped taking him for granted. This song reminds me of that concert. And that concert reminds me of a path, chosen at a fork in the road, that lead me to where we are now.

DAY 6- A SONG THAT REMINDS ME OF SOMEWHERE

This is a post dedicated to songs that remind me of Michigan. My day 6 pick is called All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands by the wonderful Sufjan Stevens. But I'd say that pretty much any Sufjan song reminds me of my time spent in the 269. I think I got my first Sufjan Stevens song on a Bekah-made mix CD, so I knew about him in Utah. But when I moved to the land of trees and lakes, something with me and his music really clicked. Many a cozy night was spent in my little studio apartment drinking peppermint rooibos and chillin' out to the Greetings From Michigan album. The general mood of his music is a close match to my general mood in Michigan, which I think created a kind of sympathetic vibration with my soul. That also happened with the music of another Midwest native, Daisy May, who will always remind me of Martini's delicious margherita pizza, and a delightfully crowded CD release party upstairs. And when we randomly found her and Seth Bernard at the Lansing Art Festival. Alexi Murdoch's song Wait is another Michigan-esque song for me, as well as anything by Brett Dennon, Rachel Davis, or Wilco. Oh. And Breathe Owl Breath, and Crooked Still will forever be great musical souvenirs of my last Michigan Hurrah!

DAY 5- A SONG THAT REMINDS ME OF SOMEONE

I have one song that reminds me of two people. Both memories are from the era of the Yellow House in Logan, UT. With two of my favorite people from my Utah State music family. And the song is Gold Digger by Kanye West.

This is Nyle. He is one fantastic pianist. A loyal friend. A dance dance revolution champion. And a killer karaoke singer. Where ever there is Nyle, there is a party. We were singing karaoke one such spring night at Yellow House, and Nyle busted out Gold Digger. Now you might not think Nyle to be the type, but he totally rocked it as if he were Kanye himself. And now any time I hear it, I think of him. And wish that Austin, Texas were closer to Utah than it really is.

And THIS is Karlie Ann Rhodes Keisker Ady. And she was my roommate in Yellow House. Together we braved the cold cold winters of no heat plus no hot water plus spiders as big as my hand plus frequent basement flooding. So naturally we became pretty close. Gold Digger reminds me of her, because, bless her heart, it taught her a new vocabulary word. Karlie and I are both quite fond of food, and we would cook together often, listening and dancing around to our trusty ipod docking station in the kitchen. One night while cooking together and listening to Gold Digger on the ipod, she decided to make some appetizers while we waited for the real dinner to be done- and she called them "prenup"- meaning (in her creative mind) the food you eat before you eat dinner. Ha. And she seriously thought that's what prenup meant. So now whenever I hear Kanye say the line "Holla WE WANT PRENUP! Yeeeeaaahhhh" I can only think of dear Karlie. And to me, appetizers will always be prenup. :)

Do any songs remind YOU of ME?

DAY 4- A SONG THAT MAKES ME SAD

I know this is a throw back, but it was one of my favorites for a long long time. And maybe it still is. But Let Her Cry by Hootie and the Blowfish is a classic Jamilyn song that still makes me sad sometimes.

Day one of placement exams- OVER! And I'm feelin' good.

DAY 3- A SONG THAT MAKES ME HAPPY

It's been a wonderful day. Tongan musical number in church, BBQ veggie burgers, the idea of Nathan changing his last name to Beckstrom in a non-conventional move, and many rounds of 'delmudi' with the adult fam. And tomorrow starts the dreaded graduate school placement exams. Even the idea of 8 hours worth of music history essay questions makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Wish me luck.

In lieu of that, I'll make this entry short so I can get some good pre-exam sleep. A song that has been making me happy for a long time is called MERRY HAPPY by Kate Nash. Something about the brittish accent, appreciation for good bums, and ending phrases with "doot doo, da doot doo!" make me merry happy. :)

A song that makes YOU happy?

DAY 2- MY LEAST FAVORITE SONG

Remember how the CD player and ipod adapter were stolen from my car last spring? (jerks!) Well, I used the insurance money to buy my awesome bike, and was lucky enough to have a car friend help me install a new tape player from the junk yard. And since I discarded all of my most awesome tapes in ... maybe the 4th grade, I've been listening to lots of radio in the car. That is the major component in the selection of my two least favorite songs, tied in first place for the songs I would least like to hear ever again any time soon. Your Love Is My Drug by KE$HA and also California Gurls by Katy Perry. If simply listening to them isn't enough to drive you out of your mind, imagine turning on the radio every day and having one or both of them playing on at least one radio station. And then again 20 minutes later. And again. And again. And again. It's enough to make a girl drive around in silence! Fellow Utah Cd-less drivers- Do you know of any radio stations where I can find solace in some Ingrid Michaelson, Nick Drake, or Iron and Wine? And also, what's your least favorite song?

It's All About The Music!

I'm completely stealing this idea from Adrienne, but I like the sound of it. Music is kind of a big deal for me, so this should be fun. And ya might learn a thing or two about me in the meantime!

"It's the 30 day music challenge. Everyday for the next 30 days I'm going to dedicate a post to a certain song, according to this list:"

Day 1 - Your favorite song

Day 2 - Your least favorite song

Day 3 - A song that makes you happy

Day 4 - A song that makes you sad

Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone

Day 6 - A song that reminds you of somewhere

Day 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event

Day 8 - A song that you know all the words to

Day 9 - A song that you can dance to

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

Day 11 - A song from your favorite band

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

Day 15 - A song that describes you

Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate

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

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

Day 19 - A song from your favorite album

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

Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you're happy

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you're sad

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh

Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument

Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty

Day 29 - A song from your childhood

Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

DAY ONE- MY FAVORITE SONG

Hmmmm. This is ALWAYS always a hard question for me to answer. My favorite song right now? My favorite song of all time? My favorite song by my favorite Regina Spektor or James Taylor or the Beatles? ... or maybe my favorite Bach or Shostakovich? I'm going to go with my favorite song TODAY. The Bird and the Worm by Owl City. It's so happy, and silly, and reminds me of everything sun and summery. And lately I feel silly and happy and in love. Plus, this adorable video is where I first heard it. And I'm so excited that this guy is going to be our wedding videographer :)

At the end of these music posts, leave a comment and tell me your "song of the day" pick. I'm always up for awesome new music ideas. So... what's YOUR favorite song?

Wedding Sneak Peaks

Ok, ok, I know that Nathan and I aren't getting married for an entire 4 and a half more months, but here's the thing: Life has been pretty same old same old around here. There's not a whole lot to blog about, besides to tell the world that life is good and all is well. Nathan and I have been doing a fair amount of wedding planning- trying to get everything arranged before school starts and life gets crazy again. Also, best friend Katie is getting married TOMORROW (woo hoo!), so I've got wedding on the mind. Here's a little sneak peak:

We're getting married on December 18, 2010, in the Salt Lake Temple.

That night, we're having a dinner/reception for family and close friends at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Since we're getting married on my Grandparents anniversary, we're incorporating elements of 1940s vintage.

Our colors are black, white, and red.
These are the shoes that I love!
Our cake might end up looking something like this:

This is the veil I chose, and I'll probably do my hair something like this:
We're going to use red calla lillies and hypericum berries

Cute little Caroline and Brecklyn might wear something like this:
And the centerpieces at the dinner will probably look something like this:
I've also been doing a lot of "marriage prep" kind of reading, since the wedding is just one day out of the rest of our lives together. May I recommend "Before You Plan Your Wedding, Plan Your Marriage" by Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley. And also "The Newlywed Handbook" by the editors of thenest.com.