End of the Semester [Fall 2005] (Discourse Chronicle)
Comments(2) [I believe all of us have a soundtrack to our lives, usually reflected by a CD collection, or general music tastes. I am unable to speak for anybody else, but there are certain moments throughout my life when my own soundtrack plays loudly in my head, such as today. Once I turned in my final papers and term projects for my graduate courses, I realized that doing so not only signals the end of my first semester, but also a baptism of fire as I transition from undergrad to grad work.
Which song was playing the loudest in my head as I threw my Research Guide and Primary Source Study about Edith Wharton into my Bibliography professor’s mailbox, followed by a term paper about Hamlet for my Renaissance Drama professor? Easy: “Top Gun Anthem” (The “Fanfare” from Final Fantasy games comes in a really close second).
If you are not familiar with Top Gun, then I strongly urge you to rush out to your video rental store and get it. Now. Stop reading this blog posting and watch it. I have more to say, but I am not going anywhere, so this posting will still be here when you get back. I will just carry on without you for the two hours or so that are spent watching that awesome movie. Afterwards, I am sure an entirely different perspective toward Tom Cruise will open up revealing a time before scientology, TomKat, and Cruise Gone Wild! on Oprah. BK]
category: Life
I’m all about the life soundtrack, and I believe the music changes as we change. 10 years ago, for me it would have been Queen, Black Sabbath or Led Zep. In my later high school years it would have been Radiohead (“Lucky” off of OK Computer definitely comes to mind, something about surviving a life or death situation in song that makes me glad I’m alive). In the latter part of college it was all types of indie rock (Dismemberment Plan, Death Cab for Cutie, Travis) and now as I work for the first time, I find bands like the Aracade Fire and Broken Social Scene work best for me. For exam music, I always use Debussy’s “Claire de Lune.” It makes me feel as if I’ve already won.
Good call, Ted! I know when I was younger, I listened to a lot of oldies music, so bands like Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Association, Mamas and Papas, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, along with others were not out of the question for me. Once I got into high school and college, I expanded to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers along with Aerosmith, and then Eminem came along with D12. Now, country music creeps into my head, although I refuse to buy or download it.