Rants n' Rambles

     Sorry for the unprofessional, super-duper informal and messy format of my blog lately.  There's been a lot going on-- which at least does mean that I have a lot things to say.... (as if that's ever the real problem, haaaaaa...)


     I know very little about Asian culture, but I am happy to say that I am learning more about it these days.  On a sort of related note, I have noticed that many Asian restaurants have potted plants in the dining room, but very few American restaurants do.  In fact, most American restaurants have a very warm color palette, while a lot of East Asian restaurants tend to use cooler colors in their decorating.  It's very interesting, each strategy attempts to create a pleasant and inviting atmosphere, but the approaches are slightly different.  I wish potted plants were more ubiquitous, and I plan on purchasing a parlor palm when the opportunity presents itself.  Really a fan of palm trees, and it looks like they can survive indoors just fine, so I can't wait until I am in a position to get myself a bunch of houseplants.

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     Oddly enough, I really like harp covers of pop songs.  It sounds really weird, but give it a try!  They're lively without being too energetic, and calm without being that-music-that-is-basically-rain-and-pan-flutes.  Here are some of the ones I really liked:

Cover of "Hot Air Balloon," Owl City
Cover of "Fireflies," Owl City
Cover of "Against All Odds," Phil Collins

     (To be honest, I just love Owl City.  The cheerfulness, the whimsy, the interesting lyrics that are not always about the same thing every other song is about.  Adam Young's stuff is such a breath of fresh air!)

     I basically never enjoy watching covers on YouTube that involve people singing (sorry, but once you've heard a song a thousand times and always sung by the same voice, it's really hard to heard any other voice sing it), but I do really like several of this particular woman's covers:

Cover of "How Deep Is Your Love," the Bee Gees
Cover of "Baby, I Love Your Way," Peter Frampton

     Whilst on this particular YouTube binge, I remembered that saxophone is something I rarely hear on the radio, whereas it seems to have been much more popular during the 90's.  It's got a great sound with almost a vocal quality to it, so I'm really sad that it tends to come off sounding really dated.  I have found another reason to love this type of musical instrument-- I can always sing along to pop songs if they're alto saxophone covers!  Because it will necessarily be in my range!  Forget "Bein' Green," and how hard that supposedly is, because what really isn't easy is being an alto who enjoys singing with the radio.  Come to think of it, there were days when popular music was sometimes sung in my range.  The sad news, is that I have a hard time finding stuff in my range that I like and does not require any other voices.


     On a negative music-related note, I really don't understand everyone's obsession with Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years."  I am not a fan.  I suppose I need a better reason than, "I just don't like it."  It was used for Twilight, so that definitely counts for something.  I suppose I should listen closely to all the lyrics at least once so I can better defend my position.

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     Pending future rants n' rambles (which maybe should have been the name of my blog, actually):

Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Nutcracker, movies in general
The more well-known ballet stories and adaptations of them
Food