The Rise and Fall of Sara and the Hipsters From Ashland

[ThePhanastasio]

I thought I'd do this journal in a way that it's kind of like my life soundtrack. Basically, I'll pick a song or a few songs, and write about what's going on, using those songs as the soundtrack for my day / week / etc.

As of April 10, 2011, I will also be expanding this journal, and making it more of something I'd be interested in updating more often. I will still have the strange, dubiously music-related bits that have seemingly become the norm when I go to this journal, but it's also going to have a bit more to it.

Still, it will serve as a musical soundtrack of sorts. There will, however, be more in the way of album reviews, concert reviews, songs worth checking out, playlists, general musical ponderings, and the like. For a more guided and organized journaling experience, I choose not to start over, but improve the quality of posts within the journal itself; the previous entries will, of course, remain for nostalgia's sake, but things are going to work a little bit differently around here, starting now. The types of posts you will find in this journal:

Soundtrack: These posts will be similar to several other posts already contained within the thread. It will consist of the goings-on in my life, and the music which sums it up. It's a little like the "Which song describes how you're currently feeling" thread, but the length of the posts for my journal will be a bit longer and more in depth.

Playlist / Mixes: A bit about playlists and mixes I have made will be the content of these sort of posts. In some ways, this is similar to the above. It serves to remind me of precisely what I was listening to at a given moment in time, and why those songs were selected. Probably most importantly, it displays how the common act of making playlists and mix CDs can be cathartic or serve as the soundtrack for a particular moment in time.

Album Reviews Project: This is a part of the journal to which I'm going to dedicate a lot of time. These may come once a week, once a month, or occasionally, perhaps even a few within a given day. This project is me, with a list of 300 albums I have queued to listen to in a specific order via a randomizer. These albums are in a variety of genres, a variety of eras, and hopefully there's a little something there for everyone. Some are well-known, while others are albums from artists with very few plays on last.fm. For this project, I'm not intending to review these completely in typical album review format - they will probably contain a lot more personal thoughts about the albums and songs themselves.

Check This Song Out!: If I find a cool song, you can bet that it will fall in this category. I'll offer opinions on the song itself, and some background about the artist.

Cool Music Things: Super nifty websites, information and news about bands I've discovered recently, things within the music world which have piqued my interest, and musings about all aspects of music from songwriting to live performance will go here.

Dubiously Musical Rambling: This is for random things I will probably end up posting which are only loosely related to music. Dreams about musicians, and foolishness of that nature will probably round this out.

There will probably be more additions to types of posts within this journal. I also will not be labeling posts with these categories, but this is just an explanation of what you'll find here.

So kick back, enjoy, and crack open a cold PBR. Hopefully you'll enjoy your stay!



Metric - Help I'm Alive (Acoustic)

I'm currently working very hard as a performer in a play in my community. It's "Nightfall With Edgar Allan Poe", written by Eric Coble, and I'm a narrator during "The Raven", as well as playing the role of Sante in "The Pit and the Pendulum".

I've had many roles in theatre previously, including multiple credits for directing, as a playwright, and such. I don't really get nervous anymore, but I know when I'm getting a really intense role. One of those roles that reminds me that there's no way you can coast through an acting performance.

Sante is one of those roles.

I'm playing a male, ultimately, although the idea is that I'm supposed to be playing more of an androgynous / sexless prisoner during the Spanish Inquisition. The material is...intense to say the least. Very physical, very demanding.

Ultimately, I know that I should be completely happy with this, but I'm kind of terrified. I'm so thrilled to have been given the role, particularly as I get to perform for the first time in this gorgeous, historic, 1400 seat art deco designed theatre in my area - something which has been my dream since childhood.

I just don't want to blow it.