Things I'm Thankful For

Tomorrow is the final day of my Thanksgiving Break, and for the first time, I'm not anticipating the coming Monday. I've had a pretty productive week. Wednesday I went to see Love & Other Drugs with Tammy & Amy and it exceeded all my expectations. Despite my strange man-crush obsession with Jake Gyllenhaal, I think Anne Hathaway really stole the show here. But, they are both incredible, and I don't think I need to talk about it, just go see it.

Black Friday was exciting despite the fact I didn't get up at 3 A.M... I went shopping around 3 P.M. and got several good deals on DVDs, including the DVD I've been wanting for a long time, Prince of Persia, and Paranormal Activity, which I hadn't seen until tonight. We also put up the Christmas tree, although it didn't feel very Christmas-y this year as my parents insisted on having football on TV while doing it.

But Thanksgiving really made me think about all the things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life. My TRUE friends. I just honestly can't believe I'm blessed with so many amazing people in my life.

Well, that's all for tonight. Until next time, Daniel.

There's not really on album I'm focusing on right now, any suggestions?

And You Call Me Pessimistic?

So, yeah. I finally started a blog. I've been meaning to for a while, but I just never got around to it. So, if you're wondering how it's going... I'm breathing. I'm not unhappy by any means; but there's a lot on my mind right now. I even broke down tonight because I realized that I've been sixteen going on five months now and I still can't drive, I still haven't been writing music like I wanted to, and still feel lonely. I know that stuff isn't very important and I shouldn't feel like a failure, but I do. Not that I think I'm a total fail. I just think I'm lazy, and who wants to deal with a person like that? I wouldn't. - But don't think I'm upset with myself or anything, I'm just venting... but in the end I'm perfectly happy with where I am right now.

I DID began writing songs again today and actually came up with some pretty good ones. It's nice to finally put down some things I've been concealing in my mind onto paper. Especially considering all of the things I've never got a chance to say due to my extreme shyness. Hopefully you'll get to hear these songs soon. I'm still not sure what style or genre I want to ultimately go for with my music, so I have a lot of experimenting to do.

I guess that's all I really have to say at the moment. Until next time...
Daniel

Album of the Moment: "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift

Katy Perry "Teenage Dream" Album Review

If there's one thing that Teenage Dream shows, it's that Katy Perry knows how to market herself, even if she has to dumb the music down a bit. From the butt naked album cover to the booklet that smells like cotton candy, its seems she did just about everything to ensure she got maximum sales. Perry also ditched the pop/rock that made her debut album so appealing for a care-free dance-pop record, bringing back Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who gave her both "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot N Cold," to produce the majority of the record. While the new style fits her fine, it may not be exactly what fans of her debut were hoping for. What's perhaps most disappointing is the lyrics. While the lyrics on One of the Boys were clever and funny (for the most part), the lyrics here just sound unoriginal and played. Lines like "That was such an epic fail" and "I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock" are far from poetry and come of as awkward and annoying. Lyrics do improve as the disc plays on, starting about halfway through, but it seems as once the lyrics get better, the production gets worse. "Who Am I Living For?" would be an instant standout if it didn't have painfully generic production. Perhaps the true standout (and best single choice) would be "The One That Got Away", where good lyrics and a good beat finally mesh together and create a super adorable pop song. With all this taken into account, it's a good, average pop album. The only problem is she seemed like a talented musician bursting with potential on her debut, now she just seems like a manufactured pop star. That said, most of the songs are enjoyable, just don't expect to be blown away.

2.5/5 - STANDOUTS: Teenage Dream, Circle the Drain, The One That Got Away