i love pandora.com

The Heart of Life
by John Mayer
album: Continuum (2006)

I hate to see you cry
Lying there in that position
There's things you need to hear
So turn off your tears
And listen

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way
It should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it's nothin new
Bad news never had good timing
Then the circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No it won't all go the way
It should
But the heart of life is good

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who is
Misunderstood
But the heart of life is good

I know its good

• electric rock instrumentation
• folk influences
• mild rhythmic syncopation
• major key tonality
• a breathy male lead vocalist
• electric rhythm guitars
• prominent percussion
• romantic lyrics

The Sound Of Settling
by Death Cab For Cutie
album: Transatlanticism (2003)

I've got a hunger twisting my stomach into knots;
that my tongue is tied off
My brain's repeating if you've got an impulse,
LET IT OUT!
but they never make it past my mouth

(Bop Ba...) This is the sound of settling
(Bop Ba, bop ba...)
(Bop Ba...) This is the sound of settling
(Bop Ba, bop ba...)

Our youth is fleeting, old age is just around the bend
and I can't wait to go gray
And I'll sit an wonder of every love that could have been
If I'd only thought of something charming to say

(Bop Ba...) This is the sound of settling
(Bop Ba, bop ba...)
(Bop Ba...) This is the sound of settling
(Bop Ba, bop ba...)

I've got a hunger twisting my stomach into knots

• electric rock instrumentation
• a vocal-centric aesthetic
• major key tonality

So Real
by Jeff Buckley
album: Grace (1994), Grace (Legacy Edition) (2004)

Love, let me sleep tonight on your couch
And remember the smell of the fabric
Of your simple city dress

Oh
That was so real

We walked around til the moon got full like a plate
The wind blew an invocation
And I fell asleep at the gate
And I never stepped on the cracks
'Cause I thought I'd hurt my mother
And I couldn't awake from the nightmare
That sucked me in and pulled me under
Pulled me under

Oh
That was so real

I love you
But I'm afraid to love you
I love you
But I'm afraid to love you
I'm afraid

Oh
That was so real

• electric rock instrumentation
• a subtle use of vocal harmony
• varying tempo and time signatures
• chromatic harmonic structure
• thru composed melodic style
• a vocal-centric aesthetic
• minor key tonality
• electric guitar riffs
• a breathy male lead vocalist
• abstract lyrics

Pretty Babies
by Dishwalla
album: Pet Your Friends (1995)

Everything about the world is sex
And it's a message, of popular culture
Telling all our children how to do it right
And all through their innocence you may ask yourself
why?
why the need?
why the need to eroticize our children?

Oh our pretty babies
How they're ready
Oh our pretty babies
Oh how they're not ready

Just down the street in beautiful
There is tension, for a popular child
And it doesn't get much worse than that
In little beds in little rooms
Are the lost things, are the silver spoons
Why the need?
Can't you see all the damage that it's doing?

Oh our pretty babies
Oh how they're ready
Oh our pretty babies
Oh how they're not ready

And does it bother you to see her
Wrapped up?
Why the need?
And why the need to eroticize our children?
Oh our pretty babies
Oh how they're ready
Oh our pretty babies
Oh how they're not ready

• hard rock roots
• great lyrics
• a subtle use of vocal harmony
• extensive vamping
• thru composed melodic style
• a clear focus on recording studio production
• mixed minor & major key tonality
• an electric guitar solo
• an emotional male lead vocal performance
• subtle use of acoustic piano
• heavy instrumental improvisation

Collide
by Howie Day
album: Stop All the World Now (2003)

The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah

But I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find, you and I collide

I'm quiet, you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
You somehow find, you and I collide

Don't stop here
I've lost my place
I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills your mind
You finally find, you and I collide

You finally find
You and I collide
You finally find
You and I collide

• basic rock song structures
• a subtle use of vocal harmony
• a vocal-centric aesthetic
• major key tonality
• acoustic rhythm guitars
• subtle use of strings

I just love finding out about stuff. Honestly, pandora.com is really neat. I mean I didn't realize that the songs that I love, all share some common elements. When they put it in writing somehow it all makes sense. Don't you just love technology?

[Will add more to this later]

tout d footie

Last Sunday saw me cheering for my friends in the game of futsal (indoor version of football). I guess I didn't do much except for stretching my vocal cords shouting like mad. I put my sharpie on paper and somehow I was/am their manager. Oh, I just love the attention. The sore throat was temporary(nothing that plenty of water and some mint candy can't soothe) but the excitement is everlasting. Once again, I am a fan.

I must say, my team have improved tremendously from the last time I saw them play. (Refer to the scores for team A5) Great footwork, remarkable stamina and star player attitude. Made me proud. I'm thinking of joining them on one of their sessions, I've been meaning to join them since forever but I never had the time or the extra motivation to do so. But now, I believe a bit of running around chasing a ball and some kicking would definitely help me in settling some issues.

A little bit of confession, I enjoy sports a lot, through watching them and being at a safe distance from flying and/or big burly speeding objects. Ever since primary school, I managed to exclude myself from participating in many athletic activities. Mainly due to my asthma, and another because I was such a lazy bum. My idea of improving my hand-eye coordination and burning calories is through playing the PC/PS and the occasional trips to the loo, kitchen and any other side quest. What a geek..

It's worth mentioning, that during the semi, the team were playing against Senorita(a team consisting of our sporty lecturers). According to them, it was the best game they had for the day. It was almost hilarious, seeing them struggling with the opponents like never before. It was the time to prove to everyone more than ever, that they are playing like professionals and a game is still a game.The lecturers had some good moves too, man.. I was really impressed. There were moments when I thought.. Hey, I don't think that was humanly possible, at least to me. Kudos to our educators for educating us still.

Anyway, it was indeed a tough fight in the finals. My team, "Sepatu Ungu" (Purple Slippers/Shoes), went up against their arch rival the Bunga Tahi Ayam (Chicken's Droppings, the flower-literally or Lantana Camara as known by scholars and botanist). My gal pal, Faizah told me how she dislike the team just because they played rough minus impressive skills. She recalled how she suffered more bruises in 5 minutes playing against them than she could accumulate playing against ten other teams. I could sense the anger still.

It was decided, the final score was 1-0. There were plenty of times when we could have sink in a goal but it just wasn't happening. Once again, they played their hardest. Even though Sepatu lost, it shows how they had given the Tahi Ayam a run for their money.

Well, it was very rewarding to be able to spend time with my friends. I am glad that they had that pen and paper for me to sign. We'll see whether I'll take up a new hobby in the weeks to come.

Ghost

Long time no bloggie. I will attempt to conclude some things in this entry, if you don't mind. The thing is, I often wonder if I have yet to lay my ghosts to rest. Am I still affected by the past? If so, how much? How do we quantify our feelings so we could have fix numbers and hard facts of where we stand? And if that is not possible, how do we know that we've moved on?

Funny, I know I would sound like a person unable to let go. Am I unable or is it a matter of wanting to hold on? Just so I could lament and ramble on and on about my strings of doomed love. Just so I could write depressing songs about unrequited infatuations and poor people diagnosed with broken hearts. If that was the case, then it's true that I am sadistic.

What if I am that sort of person? Self-destructive, quick to be suspicious of too much happiness. Like I know, I just don't deserve it and it would probably melt like a box of crayons forgotten, left under a burning spotlight. Maybe I sabotage things subconsciously to test whether it'll work out. I have been told that it was me all along, the spoiler, so it might be true.

But, who cares? I don't want anybody back. If I did, I wouldn't be wasting my time lamenting about it here. I'll be too busy strategizing my plan of action. So what am I doing now really? Indulging in a little love affair with my honey, my life, my guitar. Oh yes, it's smooth and curvy, makes the right sounds if handle properly and best of all, just enough happiness to last for a long long time. I am content.

can you see this cut,
above my heart,
the one that you drew,
and pierced through

i gave you the knife,
that took away my life
and now,
i'm haunting you

the blood on you is real
and my death was not fake
i died the day you took my heart to break
i should have known that you
would never understand
the little boy pretends that he's a man

did i give you a scare
did you even care
the tears i've shed for you
are more than a few

i gave you the rope
that took away my hope
and now,
i'm tied to you

the blood on you is real
and my death was not fake
i died the day you took my heart to break
i should have known that you
would never understand
the little boy pretends that he's a man

foolish lover, now she's a ghost,
drifting in despair and nobody cares.

Words and music by Ana Raffali (anaraffali muzik ent.)

Note to self. Try writing a positive song. See if you could actually do it.

EDITED:

I performed this song live in Layar Tanchap Merdeka. I was awfully nervous since it was my first time performing this song and I haven't been playing it for a while. ;p