Oct 242005
 

Origin/Composer: Kanye West, Devon Harris, John Barry, Don Black
Year: 2005

So back in 8th grade, our Social Studies teacher, Mr. Iverson, started us on this service project to help the kids suffering from the civil war in Sierra Leone. We learned all about their war, the RUF, the lack of foreign support, the amputating of arms, and the problem with the blood diamonds. It was one of the most exciting and disturbing service projects I’ve done, so I’ll remember it for a long time. Then, in 10 grade, for Enriched English Block, Mr. Holm assigned our research paper on the diamonds and civil wars, specifically those in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. So this whole thing with diamonds and civil war has been with me since 7th grade, so I was very excited when Kanye West came out with this song. To top it off, it features Jay-Z, even though that last part kinda ruins the song.

Oct 172005
 

Origin/Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Year: 1798

It’s amazing how many people recognize this piece, especially the second adagio cantabile movement. Many people even recognize the first and third movements. However, most people unfortunately do not know the name of this piece. It is a piano sonata, nicknamed the “Pathétique” by Beethoven himself (the only nickname of Beethoven’s sonatas to have that distinction). It is a relatively difficult piece requiring sustained tremolos and extreme precision of rhythm and finger pressure.

Oct 102005
 

Year: 2005

There are so many things that make this song great. First of all, the length of the song is 3 minutes 14 seconds, which has a remarkable similarity to pi. Secondly, Bond is a classical/dance group from Australia. All four of their members are very good string players, and base their songs off of famous classical pieces, and combine it with a techno beat and sound. This one is obviously using “Summer” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, which is one of my favorite classical pieces.

Sep 262005
 

Origin/Composer: Originally by Free, performed by the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band
Year: 1975

This is THE song. Played by the notoriously famous Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band, this song celebrates the victories of the Stanford athletic teams and good times. There’s a part in the song called “The Jump” where all students jump. It occurs at the end of the transition section. Go Stanford!

Sep 052005
 

Album: Silent Alarm
Year: 2005

Holy crap, gas is expensive. That’s the only reason I chose this song. The lyrics are interesting, probably with some deep meaning, but I haven’t taken the time to decipher those meanings yet. Bloc Party is an awesome band, with this song not being one of their better ones, unfortunately. I remember adding gas last week, and thought it was incredibly cheap at $2.79 at Costco. Of course, it’s still much cheaper than that of Europe and the rest of the world, so we should have nothing to complain. We should switch to hydrogen cars and harvest the fuel from the sun. Or not.

Aug 262005
 

Origin/Composer: Joey Tempest (of Europe)
Year: 1985

I think I first heard it sophomore year of EPHS at someone’s house, because I remember humming it during my first debate meet (where I went 0-4). I heard it a few times after that, and every single time, I tried to find the name of the song, since I really liked it. I actually never found the name until I saw “How to Kill A Mockingbird,” quite coincidentally made be a Stanford student. The song was in there again, but fortunately, there was a soundtrack-like think on the page too, where I finally discovered the real name of the song. This was in February, near the beginning of AP English, as I remember Wally saying “How bizarre!” after I showed it to her. But now that I do know the name, it’s time to share it with everyone who hasn’t heard it yet, or even better, to those who have heard it, but just don’t know its nam