The Thoughts of an All-Night College Student

Last night, instead of finishing my final papers by midnight and going to sleep, I instead finished them around 2 a.m. and didn't sleep at all. To pass the time, I watched The Marx Brothers' fantastic Duck Soup (one of the funniest films of all-time), and watched YouTube videos, including:

"Round Here" by Counting Crows

Round here, we're carving out our names
Round here, we all look the same
Round here, we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here, she's slipping through my hands

"Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes

"Idiot Wind" by Bob Dylan (alternate version)

I been double-crossed now for the very last time and now I'm finally free,
I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.
You'll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above,
And I'll never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love,
And it makes me feel so sorry.

"Pig" by Dave Matthews Band

This love will open our world
From the dark side we can see a glow of something bright
Oh, there's much more than we see here
Don't burn the day away

"The One" by Backstreet Boys

There you were, wild and free
Reachin' out like you needed me
A helping hand to make it right
I am holding you all through the night

My friend Kayley and I had a long discussion about "The One" and the album it's from, Millennium, last night. Not in its artistic merits (of which it, of course, has none because, come on, it's boy band music), but rather what it means to us. For me, it brings me back to middle school going into high school, not having developed a strong sense of musical quality quite yet, and listening to what was popular on WFLY 92.3, a top-40 station for Albany, NY. During that time, when boy band music was at its peak, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC were everywhere, and you couldn't help but hear their songs no matter where you went.

Looking back at that time, everything seemed so simple and there was no worrying about finishing up finals, getting an apartment and the financial woes that come along with it, and it was a time that had a certain amount of innocence attached to it that'll never be reached again.

I'd never want to return to those days, but while listening to the simplistic "The One," I can't help but look back on them with fondness.

(As for the picture, I didn't take it but rather grabbed it from a Facebook group. I feel I have the right to do so because that's my graduating class and I know everyone in the picture, and it also reminds me how little I want to go back to high school.)

Early in the Morning, I'm Callin' YouTube, Vol. VI

It took me awhile to come around to Sufjan Stevens (who my friend, Kayley, saw last night at the Brooklyn Acamedy of Music in a concert about the Brooklyn Queens Expressway--it was supposed to be better than it sounds) but lately, I've been listening to him a lot. The reason? Songs like "Casimir Pulaski Day."

I have no interest in rap, except for "Ghost Ride the Whip"--although it's pretty much the worst rap song ever (especially with lines, "Ghost ride, ghost ride/Get out the way, let Casper drive/Ghost ride, go crazy/Who that drivin'? Patrick Swayze." For all those who don't know how to ghost ride, Urban Dictionary describes it as, "When you put your car on cruise control and climb out and dance on the roof." So lame, but a catchy song.

There's a plethora of great Who clips on YouTube, but this, a version of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" from '68's Rock 'N' Roll Circus, might just be the best thing out there.

Here's a pretty good version of "My Back Pages," with help from Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and, of course, Bob Dylan, although Dylan does sound terrible in it.

I normally hate videos that consist only of pictures, instead of video, accompanied with music, but in the case of the Everly Brothers' "Take a Message to Mary," the song is so good, I don't really care.

Once in a Lifetime

Every so often, you find a line by an artist that you listen to but not on a consistent basis. This morning, while doing research for a blog posting that didn't happen (Five Best..."Upstate" Songs), I found this line from Sufjan Stevens' "Pittsfield":

Since that time we meant to say much more
Unsaid things begin to take their toll
After school we shovel through the snow
Drive upstate in silence in the cold

The main reason I haven't posted in a few days is because two of my best friends, Kayley and Nadia, came to visit me. The three of us worked on The New School's newspaper, Inprint, and although Nadia graduated this past year, I still think of her as a New School student--whether she likes it or not.

On August 23rd, it'll be my one-year anniversary at the school because, although I'm going to be a junior, I spent my (disasterous) freshman year at SUNY Purchase. I mention the date because although it's only been 362 days since I've become a student in Manhattan, I can't really imagine another college I'd like to be at right now. I mean, of course, kickin' it with the kangaroo's in a college in the Outback or learning to speak Italian in Italy would be spectacular, but those aren't practical choices--not yet, at least. So, for now, I'm quite happy to be living in New York City, taking interesting classes, working on the newspaper, and having friends like Nadia, Kayley, Bruiser, Hannah, Liz, Ilana, Kayley F, Linh, Danielle, Rosalyn, Michelle, Kevin, Almie, Mari, and Sydney

And all this came from a single verse of a Sufjan Stevens song...