Three Completed Weekly Projects

1. Watch a new movie every week. (143/143)

24. Listen to a song by a new (to me) band every week. (143/143)

28. Listen to at least one piece of classical music every week. (143/143)

I completed these three projects this week.  I know I stopped updating the lists on the blog, but I have actually kept up with these tasks.  Watching a new movie each week was not hard at all.   You wouldn't think that finding a new band would be difficult, but there were a few weeks that I had to search around a bit to find something I actually wanted to listen to and enjoyed.  I often listen to classical music at work in an attempt to make my brain focus on whatever I'm doing.  I won't stop listening to new bands or classical music, but now I don't have to listen every week or remember to do so.  I will probably continue to watch a new movie each week just because I like movies so much.

26. Go to a concert or musical.

Complete!  I actually went to two musicals at Shenandoah University this summer.  I saw South Pacific and Aida, which were presented as part of the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre.  I loved both performances.  I thought the casting was fantastic and I was extremely impressed with all of the performers.

At the beginning of August, I traveled to The Miracle Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Miracle, a musical about the life of Jesus.  The Miracle was a powerful, moving experience.  I actually sat beside the sister of the man who played the devil.  She leaned over and said, "That's my little brother."  I wanted to tell her that he was perfect for the part because he was amazingly sinister, but that didn't exactly seem like a compliment, so I think I mumbled something lame like, "Oh, really?  That's cool."
 
While The Miracle is serious, Joseph is a fun, fast-paced musical.  And now for a sentence that I never guessed I would type: I fell in love with Pharaoh Elvis.  In Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the Pharaoh character is based on "the King," even dressing and speaking like Elvis.  It was love at first sight.  My suspicions were further encouraged by the fact that Pharaoh Elvis took my hand while singing.  Then, he proceeded to sing and dance in front of the stage (also right in front of me).  I swear he smiled at me and looked right at me while performing.

Probably, this was wishful thinking on my part.  However, if my life were a movie, I believe that at this particular moment, Sarah Chain would have squealed, "They love each other!"  Alas, that was not the case and this is CLEARLY getting progressively more embarrassing/crazy, so I'm going to stop now.  Moral of this post: I like musicals and enjoyed all of the ones I have seen this summer. 

68. See Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway in Roanoke.

Complete!  My sister and I went to see Beauty and the Beast back at the beginning of May.  I enjoyed the performance.  I am always amused by the unique touches that each cast brings to the production. 

27. Create soundtracks that define each remaining semester/summer of college. (5/5)

Well, this is the last of the soundtracks that I had set out to make for this project.  It is interesting to go back and look at what songs I put on the first four.  This summer's soundtrack consists mostly of country music.  There is just something about summer that makes me want to listen to country music!  It seems like this has been a good year for fun, summer country songs on the radio, due in part to Zac Brown Band.  I wasn't a fan when I first heard "Toes," but I have grown to love a few of their other songs.  (What I'm really saying is that sometimes I listen to "Whatever It Is" on repeat for inappropriate amounts of time.  But it is so good!)  Without further ado, here is my summer 2010 soundtrack.

1. "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band
2. "Water" by Brad Paisley
3. "Rain Is A Good Thing" by Luke Bryan
4. "Our Kind of Love" by Lady Antebellum
5. "Gimmie That Girl" by Joe Nichols
6. "Whatever It Is" by Zac Brown Band
7. "Cowboy Take Me Away" by Dixie Chicks"
8. "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
9."Heart of Glass" by Blondie
10. "Telephone" by Lady Gaga
11. "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz
12. "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille
13. "It's Five O' Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson feat. Jimmy Buffett
14. "Stay (Wasting Time)" by Dave Matthews Band
15. "Free" by Zac Brown Band
16. "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert
17. "What Can I Say" by Carrie Underwood feat. Sons of Sylvia
18. "Gotta Get To You" by George Strait
19. "Smile" by Uncle Kracker
20. "Alright" by Darius Rucker

27. Create soundtracks that define each remaining semester/summer of college. (4/5)

Let me be honest.  What I really wanted to do for this semester's soundtrack was list all the songs that have ever been on Glee.  I love Glee and have listened to its music more than anything else this semester.  However, that seemed a little ridiculous, so I allowed myself to use one of my favorite songs from Glee and came up with 19 other non-Glee songs that I have also enjoyed these past few months.

Spring 2010

1. "Don't Stop Believin'" performed by the Glee Cast
2. "Lean On Me" performed by Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, and Kid Rock
3. "Hallelujah" performed by Justin Timberlake and Charlie Sexton
4. "American Honey" performed by Lady Antebellum
5. "From Where You Are" performed by Lifehouse
6. "The Rain" performed by Vedera
7. "Something To Hope For" performed by Undeserving
8. "Live Forever" performed by Matt Morris
9. "Resistance" performed by Muse
10. "Kick Drum Heart" performed by The Avett Brothers
11. "Chances" performed by Five For Fighting
12. "Time After Time" performed by Matt Ketteman and Cameron Mizell
13. "Come Home" performed by OneRepublic
14. "Such Great Heights" performed by Iron & Wine
15. "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" performed by Muse
16. "Wonderwall" performed by Ryan Adams
17. "I Try" performed by Ben Taylor
18. "Vanilla Twilight" performed by Owl City
19. "Cello Song" performed by The Books feat. Jose Gonzalez
20. "When I Get You Alone" performed by Thicke

65. Attend 5 JMU events: speakers, concerts, art exhibits, etc. (5/5)

Complete! 
Last night, I attended a performance of Oklahoma! by students from JMU's School of Theatre and Dance and School of Music.  It was wonderful!  I love the movie version and seeing a performance in person just added new layers of meaning for me.  This performance was delightfully funny and captivating.  I did not want it to end.  The music of Oklahoma! is one of the big draws for me and these performers' music and voices did not disappoint.  I'm so glad I was able to go! 

Photo Credit

New Pages

Blogger finally created a pages option (yay!).  So, I have created pages for my movie lists, movie watching, and music listening.  From now on, I will update my progress on those lists in each page, rather than the original post.  It was getting pretty annoying to scroll down to those old, old posts.  Now, it's easy to click on each list from the sidebar!

27. Create soundtracks that define each remaining semester/summer of college. (3/5)

Fall 2009

1. Hologram by Katie Herzig
2. Party In The U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus
3. Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble
4. Sink or Swim by Tyrone Wells
5. Quicksand by Everly
6. Fearless by Cyndi Lauper
7. Belated Promise Ring by Iron & Wine
8. Forever & Always (Piano Version) by Taylor Swift
9. You Wait for Rain by Kyler England
10. Wonder by Jack Savoretti
11. Gravity by Lucy Schwartz
12. The Chain by Ingrid Michaelson
13. Jump Then Fall by Taylor Swift
14. Consider Me Gone by Reba McEntire
15. White Liar by Miranda Lambert
16. Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
17. Satellite Heart by Anya Marina
18. Possibility by Lykke Li
19. Set the Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol & Martha Wainwright
20. I'm Alive by Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews

Because I love Christmas music, here is my Christmas Favorites playlist as well!

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra
2. Winter Wonderland by JoDee Messina
3. It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Johnny Mathis
4. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing by Frank Sinatra
5. The Christmas Song by Martina McBride
6. Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
7. Wonderful Christmas Time by Demi Lovato
8. Baby, It's Cold Outside by Dean Martin
9. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
10. Home for the Holidays by Perry Como
11. Angels We Have Heard On High by Chris Tomlin
12. Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song) by Amy Grant
13. I'll Be Home For Christmas by Martina McBride
14. Jingle Bell Rock by Brenda Lee
15. Do You Hear What I Hear? by Third Day
16. Silent Night/Away In a Manger by Relient K
17. Mary, Did You Know by Kenny Rogers
18. O Holy Night by BarlowGirl
19. Silver Bells by Bing Crosby
20. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!  by Dean Martin
21. Jingle Bells by Sammy Davis Jr.
22. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
23. White Christmas by Martina McBride
24. Let It Be Christmas by Alan Jackson
25. Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald
26. The 12 Days Of Christmas by Straight No Chaser

27. Create soundtracks that define each remaining semester/summer of college. (2/5)

Summer 2009
1. "Funny The Way It Is" by Dave Matthews Band
2. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles
3. "Alone" by Holly Williams
4. "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel
5. "Shy That Way" by Tristan Prettyman & Jason Mraz
6. "One Day You Will" by Lady Antebellum
7. "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers
8. "Stuck in the Middle with You" by Stealers Wheel
9. "Then" by Brad Paisley
10. "I Run to You" by Lady Antebellum
11. "Use Somebody" by Brooke White
12. "It's Only Life" by Kate Voegele
13. "I Saw" by Matt Nathanson
14. "Save You" by Matthew Perryman Jones
15. "Bring on the Wonder" by Susan Enan feat. Sarah McLachlan
16. "You" by Fisher
17. "Born" by Over the Rhine
18. "Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" by Brendan Benson
19. "I Know I Know I Know" by Tegan and Sara
20. "Right Round" by Flo Rida

27. Create soundtracks that define each remaining semester/summer of college. (1/5)

So I feel the need to say that the songs I chose do not necessarily represent my own feelings or circumstances during this past semester. In working on these soundtracks, I realized that I have a tendency to like sad songs best. I'm not sure what that says about me. I think it's the actual music itself, not the words, that draws me to the less than happy songs. I just love music and I listen to a variety of songs. This is really a sampling of the songs I liked to listen to the most this spring. The order is intentional; it is chronological as best as I remember. For future soundtracks, I will add songs to a playlist all along. Enjoy!

Spring 2009
1. Supermassive Black Hole by Muse
2. Flightless Bird, American Mouth by Iron & Wine
3. Easy to Love by Sons of William
4. Fifteen by Taylor Swift
5. Where I Stood by Missy Higgins
6. Everything I'm Not by The Veronicas
7. Break Me Out by The Rescues
8. Madly by Tristan Prettyman
9. Lift Me Up by Kate Voegele
10. Stand by Rascal Flatts
11. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
12. Take a Chance On Me by ABBA (but as sung in Mamma Mia!)
13. Friday I'm In Love by The Cure
14. Do You Believe Me Now by Jimmy Wayne
15. All the Above by Maino
16. Change by Taylor Swift
17. Life Boat by Miranda Lee Richards
18. Off I Go by Greg Laswell
19. Dream by Priscilla Ahn
20. Show Me What I'm Looking For by Carolina Liar

24. Listen to a song by a new (to me) band every week.

Week 1: "Everywhere" by Common ft. Martina Topley-Bird
Heard it on Grey's Anatomy. So typically Grey's music.
Week 2: "Easy to Love" by Sons of William. Pretty song. Heard it on OTH.
Week 3: "A Storm Is Going to Come" by Piers Faccini. I really like the sound of this song. First heard it on Grey's.
Week 4: "I Know What I Am" by Band of Skulls. It was the iTunes single of the week. Fun beat.
Week 5: "Life Boat" by Miranda Lee Richards. Heard it on Bones. Pretty.
Week 6: "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant. Another iTunes single and fun beat.
Week 7: "On the Wing" by Owl City. Heard it on OTH. Very smooth, yet electronic.
Week 8: "Stay Over" by The Rescues
Week 9: "Off I Go" by Greg Laswell
Week 10: "Charmed Life" by Joy Williams
Week 11: "Cartoons and Forever Plans" by Maria Taylor
Week 12: "Brand New" by Emilie Mover
Week 13: "Red Light" by David Nail
Week 14: "Beautiful Is Gone" by The Ruse
Week 15: "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" by Mayer Hawthorne
Week 16: "Alone" by Holly Williams
Week 17: "Next in Line" by Meese
Week 18: "The Ballad of Love and Hate" by The Avett Brothers
Week 19: "Heavy Cross" by Gossip
Week 20: "You" by Fisher
Week 21: "In the Jungle" by Rootz Underground. Super fun song.
Week 22: "What Went Wrong" by Mindy Smith
Week 23: "Melody" by Kate Earl
Week 24: "Love Lives On" by Mallary Hope
Week 25: "The Motions" by Van Risseghem
Week 26: "Brave the Storm" by Graham Coxon
Week 27: "Read Between the Lines" by KSM
Week 28: "Bulletproof" by La Roux
Week 29: "For The Love Of Love" by Butterfly Boucher
Week 30: "Vapours" by Islands
Week 31: "Junebug" by Robert Francis
Week 32:  "Hands" by The Dutchess & The Duke
Week 33: "According to You" by Orianthi
Week 34: "Keep On Lovin' You" by Steel Magnolia
Week 35: "The River" by Audra Mae
Week 36: "Flaming Arrow" by Jupiter One
Week 37: "Be Set Free" by Langhorne Slim
Week 38: "The Coventry Carol" by Mediaeval Baebes
Week 39: "Star of Wonder" by Matt Alber
Week 40: "Oh Come Emmanuel" by Aliqua
Week 41: "Trouble" by Bitter:Sweet
Week 42: "Adore Adore" by Yoav
Week 43: "Satisfy" by Vedera
Week 44: "I've Got Friends" by Manchester Orchestra
Week 45: "July Flame" by Laura Veirs
Week 46: "Something To Hope For" by Undeserving

28. Listen to at least one piece of classical music every week.

Week 1: "Clair de Lune" by Debussy
Week 2: One of my all time favorites, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite
Week 3: Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G"
Week 4: The Magic Flute "Overture" by Mozart
Week 5: "Suite for Orchestra No. 3 in D Major: Air" by Bach
Week 6: Vivaldi's "Spring" from The Four Seasons
Week 7: Bach's "Partita for Solo Violin No. 3 in E Major"
Week 8: Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46"
Week 9: Pachelbel's "Canon in D"
Week 10: Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5 in C Minor"
Week 11: Liszt's "Liebstraum No. 3 in A-Flat Major"
Week 12: Mozart's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21 in C Major"
Week 13: Vivaldi's "Concerto No. 1 for Mandolin, Strings and B.C. in C Major"
Week 14: Mozart's "Symphony No. 40 in G Minor"
Week 15: Myers' "Cavatina"
Week 16: Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins, Strings, and B.C. in D Minor"
Week 17: Giazotto's "Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ"
Week 18: Beethoven's "Bagatelle for Piano in A Minor 'Fur Elise'"
Week 19: Bach's "Cantata BWV 208: 'Sheep May Safely Graze'"
Week 20: Beethoven's "Overture to Egmont"
Week 21: Bach's "Fugue for Solo Guitar"
Week 22: Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"
Week 23: Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise No. 14 for Cello and Piano, Op. 34: Lentamente"
Week 24: Haydn's "Symphony No. 94 in G Major, The Surprise"
Week 25: Tchaikovsky's "1812 Festival Overture"
Week 26: Chopin's "Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9 in E-Flat Major"
Week 27: Puccini's "Nessun Dorma"
Week 28: Mozart's "Requiem Mass in D Minor"
Week 29: Holst's "Jupiter" from The Planets
Week 30: Telemann's "Concerto for Viola and Strings in G Major"
Week 31: Verdi's "Dies Irae: Tuba Mirum"
Week 32:  Mahler's "Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor: IV. Adagietto"
Week 33: Bach's "Mass in B Minor"
Week 34: Mendelssohn's "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra"
Week 35: Haydn's "String Quartet"
Week 36: Dvorak's Symphonie No. 9 in E Minor "From the New World"
Week 37: Haydn's "Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major"
Week 38: Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major"
Week 39: Ravel's "Bolero"
Week 40: Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies: Gymnopedie No. 1"
Week 41: Grieg's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 16 in A Minor"
Week 42: Massenet's "Thais: Meditation"
Week 43: Brahms's "Hungarian Dances No. 5 in G Minor"
Week 44: Barber's "Adagio for Strings"
Week 45:  Borodin's "String Quartet No. 2 in D Major"
Week 46: Handel's "Water Music Suite No. 1 in F Major: Air"