So recently, one of my friends introduced me to this site called Grooveshark.  The interface is quite simple, with the home page just being a search box.  So the first thing I did was search for my favorite band, Say Anything.  Once the search was complete, over 65 songs came up that I could put into a playlist.  Now if you're not a member of Grooveshark, you can only put up to 12 songs into your playlist.  But as far as I know, you can make as many playlists you want. 

After searching for Say Anything, my next logical search was Led Zeppelin.  After searching I realized that Led Zeppelin wasn't the only thing that came up.  Symphonic Led Zeppelin popped up, brass quintet versions, and even covers.  So the site not only offers the originals, but some twists that you may have had to search a little harder for on Google or YouTube.  The first playlist I created was "classic rock orchestral," which consists of Zeppelin and Pink Floyd symphonic renditions.  Then I made a playlist that consists of the top 90s alternative rock songs, including a string quintet version of "Today" by Smashing Pumpkins. 

I like Grooveshark because unlike Pandora it doesn't just pump out random songs that it thinks you may like.  You get to pick exactly what you want and in which order you want to hear it.  And there isn't a monthly cap on how many hours you can listen to your music.  It's unlimited. 

So, check it out for yourself and tell me what you think below.

Here's the site link: Grooveshark

Hello all! So I believe this is my 2nd Song of the Day. The song I've picked is one of my favorite songs (as of late) and it was stuck in my head all day yesterday. Without further delay, I have chosen "Barlights" by Fun. Fun is a great band that has quickly climbed it's way into my top 5 list of favorite bands. They have a indie-rock sound while sounding slightly like Queen. Their use of many different instruments and choir/harmonies make them an outstanding band.  Their lead singer, Nate Ruess, was in the band The Format for five years before they broke up where he used a lot of brass which you can hear in the album ("Aim and Ignite"). 

This specific song, Barlights, is just packed with brass and backup singers that sound like a full gospel choir. Great/awesome sound. If you like this song I hope you can get into them. Enjoy.

So my mom was watching Good Morning America...this morning and they were featuring this violin player named David Garrett. He has 4 years of Juilliard behind him, no big deal right? Well to say the least, he is a virtuoso. On YouTube there is a video of him breaking the world record for "fastest violin playing." (Here's the link, skip ahead to 5:30) But he is more known for taking popular songs and arranging them in an orchestral/symphonic way. It's like Symphonic Led Zeppelin on steroids. The song he played on Good Morning America was "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. They haven't posted that video yet so I've decided to share with you instead, "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson. Here it is:

So I'm posting one of my playlists that I have on my iPod. This specific one helped me out when I went on a school trip to California.  I'm scared of heights, so the idea of going on a plane didn't really get me too excited. So one day "Be Calm" by Fun was playing on my iPod and I decided to finally try out the "Genius" feature. Let me tell you, it works perfectly. If you haven't used it yet, get to it! But here is my playlist:


1) "Be Calm"- Fun.
2) "I'm Actual"- The Format
3) "From A Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins"- Panic At The Disco
4) "Let Your Troubles Roll By"- Carbon Leaf
5) "Boat Behind"- Kings Of Convenience
6) "Ragoo"- Kings Of Leon
7) "Why I Am"- Dave Matthews Band
8) "Come Around Again"- JET
9) "Dog Problems"- The Format
10) "I Wanna Be The One"- Fun.
11) "Slow Night, So Long"- Kings Of Leon
12) "Folkin' Around"- Kings Of Leon
13) "What About Everything"- Carbon Leaf
14) "If Work Permits"- The Format
15) "17"- Kings Of Leon
16) "Timothy"- JET
17) "Benson Hedges"- Fun.
18) "I Have Friends In Holy Spaces"- Panic At The Disco
19) "Pick Me Up"- The Format
20) "McFearless"- Kings Of Leon
21) "Grey Sky Eyes"- Carbon Leaf
22) "Take It Or Leave It"- JET

     So I am sitting at my computer listening to the smooth sounds of "Carbon Leaf;" an Celtic band from Virginia that has an awesome song.  I was first introduced to them a number of years back when my father was playing one of their hit songs ("The Boxer") on his boombox. I listened only to that song for awhile until myself and a family friend realized we both listened to them. My family friend gave me a CD of their debut album "Indian Summer" before I shipped off to college. I have to say that getting "into" them was the best thing ever. They're great to listen to especially when you just want to sit back and enjoy life. 
     The song I have decided to pick tonight is their song "Grey Sky Eyes." This song packs it all, great electric guitar licks as well as the soothing voice of their lead singer Barry Privett.  I encourage you to take a listen, especially if you're just about getting ready to crawl into bed. Easy listening folks, enjoy the song :)

-Michael

So I woke up this morning (surprisingly not feeling like P. Diddy) and had a song stuck in my head. This song isn't the most popular song, and many people may not recognize it.  But it comes from the TV show, "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia."  The song is called "Temptation Sensation" by Heinz Kiessling.  Kiessling was a German composer who wrote most of his work during the 1960s. His style can be classified as "easy listening," and I'll completely agree with that. Whenever I find myself just sitting around, I'll put it on. Here, check it out:

All of his songs just have a smooth silky sound to them. Making it something nice to listen to all the time. Here are some more links to his songs:
Charming Girl
The First Flirt

I have recently finished crafting a baton from my limited woodworking skill set. My family just recently had a garage sale and in finding anything we could to sell my mother stumbled upon a few pieces of wood; one of which resembled a baton. So I snatched it and played around with it for a while. After a week or so I decided that I was going to full out create a baton from scratch! It took a long time, but only because I would not work on it for a few days and then get back to it later on. I first took the found piece of wood which is about a centimeter in diameter, and I shorted it to about 12 inches. A normal sized baton is anywhere from 7 inches to a ludicrous 24 inches. After cutting it I proceeded to round the top point.  Next I was able to find a long dowel (a wooden stick) that was about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. I drilled a hole down the middle so it would fit onto the baton stick and then I used a chisel to get the basic "pear" shape at the bottom of the baton.  I hand sanded it and stained it over the course of two full days.  The product that came out? A fairly well hand-made baton.  I don't want to "toot my own horn," but I'm pretty proud of the work I did. Also considering that I took a chunk out of my index finger and almost broke my thumb (while using a clamp) in the process. 

So with this page I hope to interest you in some new musical tastes as well as share my own.