Post #3 Music of the Early 2000's

     Do we all remember when Kidz Bop came out? The very first Kidz Bop CD came out in October of 2001. That was almost fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago, the majority of us would have been around four to seven years old. Now, I won’t go on to explain my opinion of how Kidz Bop has gone on for far too long in this blog post, but let’s take a moment to think about some of the songs that were horribly mutilated by the addition of children’s voices on this CD. This CD included songs such as “All Star” by Smash mouth, “Oops… I Did It Again” by Brittany Spears, and “All The Small Things” by Blink 182, just to name a few. Are any of these songs sounding familiar? The songs on this CD are from the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

     Being that I had two older sisters who listened to “the hottest jams” of the 2000’s, I too listened, and therefore a lot of my early childhood memories consist of such songs, as well as many more. It’s sad that the only time that songs from the early 2000’s are played is on weekdays during some radio station’s “throwback lunch hours.” I would like to commit this blog post to sharing what I consider to be the “best” songs of the early 2000’s. My hope is that you will either recognize some of these songs or look them up and listen and possibly discover some great music.

     Let’s kick off the list with the music group Destiny’s Child. Some of their most popular songs include “Survivor,” “Independent Women, Part 1,” and “Say My Name.” This group was formed in the 90’s but found most of its success in the early 2000’s. A few of their songs play a very important part in creating my “Ultimate 2000’s” playlist. Moving on from there, let's go to the artist, Pink, who is still quite popular in today's music. Two songs of her's that really stand out to me from the 2000's are "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Get the Party Started." And how could we ever forget to mention Avril Lavigne? She was a very popular artist at the time with songs like "Sk8er Boi," "I'm With You," and "Complicated." But would the early 2000's even be what they were if it were not for Shakira? If you have never heard of her, I don't know what went wrong in your life... Some of her most notable songs were "Hips Don't Lie," "Objection," and "Whenever, Wherever."

     Of course the list could go on and on with artists such as Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, Nelly, Kelly Clarkson, Sean Paul, and Even a little bit of Outkast. And that is only naming very few. If you were to look up "2000's Radio" on Pandora or Spotify, you would surely find most of these songs on that station.  If you ever have the time, I encourage you to look up and listen to some of the songs and artists/groups that I have listed below.

Sean Paul - "Get Busy"

Mary J. Blige - "Family Affair"

Alicia Keys - "Fallin'"

Outkast - "Hey Ya!"

Jennifer Lopez Ft. Ja Rule - "I'm Real"

Daniel Powter - "Bad Day"

James Blunt - "You're Beautiful"

Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"

Outkast - "The Whole World"

Vanessa Carlton - "A Thousand Miles"
Michelle Branch - "Are You Happy Now?"

Sum 41 - "In Too Deep"

Good Charlotte - "The Anthem"

Simple Plan - "I'm Just a Kid"

Interpool - "Obstacle 1"

Weezer - "Beverly Hills"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps"

3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite"

Post #2 Why Sit in Silence?

     Because I live in Caro, work in Frankenmuth, and attend school in between Bay City and Saginaw, I spend a lot of my time driving. I don't mind driving at all, in fact I like it. I view my commutes from home to work and to school as my "me time." This "me time" is very important to me because for about two hours a day, I am by myself and able to listen to whatever music I'd like. A lot of the time, the music that I listen to on my way to school or work sets the tone not only for the beginning of my day, but also for the rest of my day. I usually get an ear worm from the music I listen to earlier in the day and carry it around with me for quite a while. SIDE NOTE: If you were unaware of what an ear worm is, it is a song that is stuck in your head. We've all had those before. If the song that is stuck in my head has a good groove to it and is somewhat of a "feel-good" song, I will generally be more positive throughout the day. Therefore, if that song is one that is more on the depressing side, there is a good chance that my day may seem a bit more overcast than usual.

     Music does not only impact my day, but on a larger scale, it impacts my life by way of my memories and feelings. Like everyone else in the world, I can listen to a certain song and instantly be thrown into a flashback of a time where that song was playing, or when that song was popular or when it had just come out. For example, let's go back about seven years to middle school. More specifically, the first middle school dance that I had ever attended. It was a Friday in October and I was in sixth grade. Many kids surrounded the DJ's loud speakers and flashing lights, jumping, because let's face it, we didn't really know how to dance. The DJ had announced that it was "time to slow things down a bit" and that this would be the last slow song of the dance. I had watched the boy that I liked at the time slow dance with several girls throughout the evening and wanted very much to slow dance with him. The song "21 Guns" by Green Day came on as I got up to approach him to ask if he would dance with me. I was only a few steps away when this girl, you know the one who had a new boyfriend every two weeks or so, put her arms around his neck. At that moment I wanted to put my arms around her neck too, and not in the same way. I sat there on the bleachers for the remainder of the dance. Now, every time I hear that song, I instantly think of that dance and the depression I felt at the time. (Just for the record, I really dodged a bullet there with that kid and can now laugh about the whole experience)

     As you may have learned from my last blog post, and as you will continue to realize in my future blog posts, music has a great impact on my life and is very important to me. If I am not listening to music for even a minute while I'm driving, I feel like I am wasting my time by sitting in silence and not having a single creative or complex thought in my head. Because that is one of many things that music does to a person, it can be a base for your thoughts, ideas, and emotions. There are so many memories and connections to be made while listening to music, so why waste a single minute in silence?

Post #1 Why I Chose to Write About Music

     Regardless of what emotion you are feeling, whether it is happy, lonely, angry, or depressed, there is a song out there that fits the way you feel at that time. You could be angry one moment and then "Tay Swift" comes on the radio and tells you about how "the haters gonna hate" and how you just have to "shake it off, shake it off." That may not be the best example in the world, but I'm sure we have all experienced a time in our lives where music has truly helped us and has molded or changed the way we feel. I have chosen music as my topic to write about, not only because it is a great love and interest of mine, but also because I am fascinated by where it has gone, how it has changed, and what it can do. I believe that music is essential in living a happy and wholesome life. 

     I have always loved listening to music and always had the desire to learn how to read and play it, however, the requirement of learning the recorder in elementary school wasn't very helpful in learning any musical skills and just didn't cut it for me. When I began middle school, in sixth grade, I joined band and learned how to play the trumpet. When I first began, I used to just open my trumpet case and stare at my trumpet, thinking it to be the most beautiful and shiny thing that I had ever seen. It made me happy just looking at it. FUN FACT: I named it Ed, short for Edward, because Twilight was a popular thing at the time. And a primary instrument should always have a name. Joining band had opened me up to different genres of music that I had, and most likely wouldn't have, considered listening to. I now have a wide selection of genres that I enjoy listening to, 90s alternative, rock, funk, and indie genres being at the top of the list though.

     There are so many wonderful and amazing things about music that I will highlight in my future blog posts. In the 2004 movie, Mean Girls, when the main character, Cady Heron, is asked why she likes math, she replies by saying "because it's the same in every country." Music is the same in that aspect in that it is also the same in every country. It is a universal language, hence the title of my blog, "Universally Speaking," which is named after the song by my favorite band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The fact music is universally read and understood is just one of the many interesting things about music.