More Light Stuff: Napoleon Dynamite and thoughts on music

Skills and Drills

I saw Napoleon Dynamite Saturday with Steve and my friend Megan.  I was worried that the show would be sold out, but as it turned out there were probably 20 people total in the large theater.  Anyways, the movie was great.  There were some pauses that dragged a bit, but it all added to the movie because, hey, in real life, time drags on!  I appreciated the fact that it wasn’t completely action-packed, but rather more subtle.  I get so tired of movies with the unrealistic storyline and the unrealistic, fast-paced layout.  I particularly liked Napoleon’s fondness for “tots.”  That was pretty funny.  I recommend that you all strap on your skates and glide to your nearby grocer’s freezer—I mean--participating cinemaplex. 

Music:  A love-hate relationship

I’m not a music buff, but sometimes I can pretend.  And by that I mean I know enough to maybe look cool while talking to a music buff.  But since my priority is not to look cool, I often find myself admitting, "Yeah... I've never heard that before."  Well, for the past few years I've kind of gotten into the the folk-indie-urban-(emo?)-alternative-hipster-whatever stuff.  At least enough to be familiar with an artist and maybe a song or two, but overall I'm pretty non-committal to music.   

An old friend (who was really into music) once made me a CD that has a lot of great songs on it, but I don't know who the heck the artists are (except some Travis, Coldplay, Radiohead, Built to Spill?).  Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter.  I have rather high standards for CD-purchasing:  I have to like all of the songs on the CD (or at least 90%), and it has to be cheap.   But even then, I really have to go easy on music, because it really gets into my head and my heart. 

I used to be a huge Weezer fan (and still am to some extent, I have some fond memories from high school).  I thought I was the biggest fan in the world; it seemed like they'd written all of the songs for me!  But when a friend of mine offered me a ticket to see Weezer in concert my freshman year of  college, I declined to my surprise.  I realized that I'd be standing in a huge room full of shreiking fans, and the Weezer gang would just be dots on a far off stage.  The reality hit that I was just one of a million Weezer-ites-- one of the many who thought, "Man, this my music!"   

So, as much as I love music, I try not to get to attached into it.  Music can move us in so many ways, and I think that I let myself get too emotionally involved with certain genres (I know that must sound so funny...).  These days the only tunes I like getting stuck in my head are hymns and chants, as they take the focus off myself and bring my thoughts to pleasing God.  Now don't get me wrong, now and again I love just listening to my favorite CDs.  But finding my identity in music and emotionally attaching myself is a weakness that I've run into in the past. 

That said, I just wanted to mention that I'm actually considering buying a CD!  Jaycob Van Auken plays in Newberg now and again, but I've only seen him in concert once, and that was two years ago.  When I discovered his CD being sold on CDbaby.com, I had a chance to sample some of his songs Let me just say that I was very impressed, every song is unique and different.  If you like classic rock or are just into well-crafted music, you'll like Mr. Van Auken!  Lend him an ear!  :)  The price is nice too!