Numa Numa Dance

(That is, Dragostea Din Tei)

I'm not sure if I'm the last person on the planet to be referred to this, but just in case I am not, y'all must go watch the Numa Numa dance. Tell me if you aren't happier afterwards. Chalk it up to happiness through the somewhat absurd.

The actual words, when I find them in translation, aren't exactly as happy as the music sounds, and its a bit strange, but hey, who cares? Well, for one, a friend of mine who happens to be Romanian and doesn't exactly appreciate this phenomenon taking off as a representative of Romanian music. I recalled her telling me about a song that had become popular, that contained the following, “I sent you a beep/and I'm so buff” (her Romanian to English translation to the best I can remember it from six months ago), but I only realized after looking up a translation of this song that this was the same song. Heh.

Enjoy, but just keep in mind it shouldn't be taken as a representation of Romanian musical taste.

I Will Listen

I had not listened to this song in ages, but it has been stuck in my head for the last few days. I figured I might as well post part of it here, as such.

Hard as it seems
Standing in dreams
Where is the dreamer now
Wonder if I
Wanted to try
Would I remember how
I don't know the way to go from here
But I know I have made my choice
And this is where I stand
Until He moves me on
And I will listen to His voice

—Twila Paris

Song Du Jour: Every Time it Rains

This song caught my attention the other day when I first heard it. The words are pretty good, although you really need to hear it to appreciate it. It is available via iTunes Music Store if anyone interested.

Every time it rains I listen to the sky
And wonder what's so great about sunshine
Everybody lives and everybody dies
And no one's gonna love you like I do

When it was getting dark
I didn't need a match
I never needed light to see you
You thought I disappeared
But I was always here
I could never get that far from you

Though I misunderstand
And been misunderstood
So love me 'cause you can
And not because you should

Every time it rains
I know it's good to be alive
Every time it rains
I know I'm trying to survive

—Charlotte Martin, Every Time it Rains

So what are you listening to right now?

Music with Tim

John-Thomas did a post in which he posted on the first five songs to randomly shuffle from his music collection, so I thought I'd do the same. My collection is a bit different than his, although it does have some classical, none of which happened to come up during the shuffling period (it all seemed to play earlier today, oddly enough).

Purified (Michael W. Smith): This is my favorite song from the first Worship CD from MWS. It is a studio recording (unlike all but one of the other songs), but that isn't the treat. It's words make me think — am I really ready to stand in cleansing fires?

I will open up my heart Search me in the deepest part
And I will stand in cleansing fire
By You, purified
By You, I'm purified

Us (Sixpence None the Richer): This is a new song in my library from the Best of Sixpence None the Richer. I have all of Sixpence's CD's, but the Best of collection includes three unreleased tracks, of which this is one, plus a lot of the songs they contributed to other CD's, such as some of the multi-artist worship CD's. It is catchy, in fact, it has been stuck in my head. Hopefully the sentiment of it will fit my situation some day, God willing.

Let the River Flow (WoW Worship Blue): This comes from a CD that my church pawned off on unsuspecting members walking through the building one Sunday. It has a few good songs, but there was a reason why the youth group was so desperate to unload these on the innocent people heading to the coffee pot. I'll admit I don't usually by the stuff the youth are selling, so maybe this was poetic justice. It isn't very good as a whole. This song is way too slow. The first time I heard the first disc of the two CD set, I had to turn it off to avoid falling asleep.

I Will Remember You (Sarah McLachlan): This is a new purchase of mine off of iTMS. It isn't my favorite McLachlan song, but it has stuck in my head a few times over the years (from hearing it on the radio). I wish there was a studio recording of it.

Run for it (Leigh Nash/Delerium): This track had good timing, I just mentioned this song the other night. Like “Us,” this has been stuck in my head; clearly my iPod is thinking like I am. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I'll try. It is a fusion of Leigh Nash's always stunning vocals (from Sixpence None the Richer) and a sound that reminds me of Enigma to some extent. Nash actually penned the words, I understand, and she did a good job. I purchased this off of iTMS, you should go and do likewise for just $0.99.

Curious to see the trends in my shuffling? Some interesting ones occur tonight, and some other favorites appeared in the next ten songs, which I shall now proceed to list.

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In Lieu of Actual Content

Read what I am presently listening to:

I can't love a hater, it's a losing game
I'll never love a quitter, you'll get left in the rain

I can't help the helper when my feet are bound
I can't feel you near me if you're not the only sound

you are, you're not
you better run for your life, love, I'm walking I'm walking
you better run for your life, love, I'm walking I'm walking
you better count up your reasons, I'm leaving I'm leaving
you better count up your reasons, I'm leaving I'm leaving

—Leigh Nash (formerly of Sixpence None the Richer), Run for It

A Band Fallen

Two young Christians meet at a retreat, the one overhearing the other singing, and they decide to form a band. I seem to like the music that comes from such arrangements. That is the oversimplified history of Sixpence None the Richer, which I have promised to deal with really soon now. Interestingly, it is also the oversimplified history of Evanescence, and indeed, part of what intrigued me about the latter band early on. The following is a short history and reflection on the direction of Evanescence (including a convenient link to a legal, free Real stream of a song, should you wish to hear them).

The latter band, founded the better part of a decade after Sixpence, spent its first few years in the so-called “Alternative Christian Rock” genre. It gathered a loyal following, so I am told, there, but it took a few years before it finally wound up at the small, but growing label Wind-Up Records, which does both secular and Christian music distribution. The first Evanescence CD through Wind-Up, Fallen had several singles featured in movies even before its release, something that set in motion its almost immediate rise up the charts. Prior to the release, the group in some form decided that it wanted to distribute the CD through Wind-Up's Christian distribution division, in addition to its standard distribution system.

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What I Bought

More on Dad later, I've already put out the gist of it below, but I learned a little more since then from the cardiologist.

To alternate back to what I was talking about yesterday, Kevin got pretty close to guessing what I had purchased. He was right to guess music, and given his guess of Metallica (which he also correctly figured out is not my type of band), I suspect he was also going off a good hunch based on the phrase “sad, but true,” that I included.

So, what was it? It was the original “Kiss Me” single. The “single” contains four tracks, three renditions of “Kiss Me,” which is a fine song, albeit not one that I need three additional copies of (I already have the self-titled Sixpence CD that includes it). It is the fourth track that had me looking for this single: “Sad But True.” Googling last night — which is how I found the eBay auction that had it — I noticed that Metallica has a song of the same name, but I checked the lyrics and they are entirely different songs, if you are wondering.

Here's a bit of history about why I was aware of this almost unknown Sixpence None the Richer song. I first heard the band in early 1999, when the radio started playing the aforementioned song, “Kiss Me.” Leigh Nash has the type of voice that catches your attention and I was curious to see who this band was. I diligently went on the computer, located the album on Amazon and listened to some of the clips. I didn't like what I heard. But their music stuck in my head. Not yet convinced that buying the CD was a good idea, I decided to fire up “Imagine Radio,” which was a neat service where you could select artists and the site stream fairly good quality audio, even over a dial-up connection, to you. Imagine Radio had Sixpence None the Richer, and after listening a few times, I quickly grew quite fond of their self-titled album. But Imagine Radio had also purchased the “Kiss Me” single, which, as I noted, included “Sad But True;” the only other place that track appears is on a limited vinyl edition of the self-titled album.

Imagine Radio, as I knew it, closed in the Fall of 1999, and since then, I have not heard the song “Sad But True.” Unlike many songs which I've heard more recently, and more often, however, I still can recall the entirety of the music that goes with the lyrics. Eventually, I purchased the self-titled CD, the older “Beautiful Mess” CD and — as soon as it came out — their last CD of original music, “Divine Discontent.” All of these are excellent, and I may do a further treatment on those in the next few days, as long as I am on the subject. But, every once-in-a-while, I'd remember “Sad But True.” Amazon had long since switched to the newer post-hit version of the “Kiss Me” single that took off the said track, and I had all but given up finding a copy. Until last night, when I found it on eBay.

So, I bought it. And now I wait for it. The lyrics are below if your interested.

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Coping, Part I

October 5, 2001 was a brisk, beautiful autumn day, the kind of crisp day that is really enjoyable. I spent the day frequently glancing out the window, but tied to my desktop: after weeks of work on a project I had naively decided to work on, I had announced it to the world. Originally, it was going to be a set of whitepapers and how-tos on GNU/Linux migration, but even in its brief time under development it had started to move toward what it would ultimately become: Open for Business. I was pleased with the initial reception and spent much of the day communicating with those giving warm wishes to the new site. For me, however, that would not be what I remembered the day for.

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I Found It... Finally.

Last year, I had ordered the older Michael W. Smith Christmas cd to compliment the newer Christmastime I already had purchased. I played it only once because I procrastinated and did not get it ordered until after Christmas. Today I went to pull it out, and the jewel case was… empty. That's not good. After digging through numerous other Christmas CD's, I finally located it, but I was worried for a bit. I don't even have it ripped onto my computer yet, I can't lose it yet!

That was about the biggest excitement of the day, otherwise I've been taking a day off to recuperate from the last few weeks. I slept in, read the Post-Dispatch, a bit of Voltaire's Candide and checked on the articles over at OfB. If only life was always this peaceful!

Dante's Prayer (Lyric)

When the dark wood fell before me / And all the paths were overgrown / When the priests of pride say there is no other way / I tilled the sorrows of stone

I did not believe because I could not see / Though you came to me in the night/ When the dawn seemed forever lost / You showed me your love in the light of the stars

Cast your eyes on the ocean / Cast your soul to the sea / When the dark night seems endless / Please remember me

Then the mountain rose before me / By the deep well of desire / From the fountain of forgiveness / Beyond the ice and fire / Cast your eyes on the ocean / Cast your soul to the sea / When the dark night seems endless / Please remember me

Though we share this humble path, alone / How fragile is the heart / Oh give these clay feet wings to fly / To touch the face of the stars

Breathe life into this feeble heart / Lift this mortal veil of fear / Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears / We'll rise above these earthly cares

Cast your eyes on the ocean / Cast your soul to the sea / When the dark night seems endless

Please remember me
Please remember me

-Loreena McKennitt