Feature Friday - Anuna

As my son would say, "Yay! It's Friday!" He already knows, at the age of three, that Friday is a day worth celebrating :)

So my feature today is the beautiful choral group Anuna, based in Ireland. My husband and I have had the CD The Best of Anuna for a while, and I've always loved it. I've been listening to it in the car a bit and am always struck by its beauty, no matter how many times I've heard it. No matter that a lot of the songs are either partially or fully sung in what I believe is Gaelic, they resonate nonetheless. I listen and I see ancient cathedrals with stained glass windows that echo the haunting melodies of the ladies and resound the deep bass of the male singers. I see fields with workers and mysterious green forests and villages and the sea and it all is surreal and magical. I feel longing and joy, grieving and acceptance, foreboding and excitement. It's all in my head but it's magic, brought about by the crystal clear sound of their beautiful voices. As you can imagine, with all these visions running through my head, listening is great idea fuel for the characters in my head.

So I'm listening to this beauty and then I need to change to the radio, because I need to hear the traffic to determine if I'm going the best way to get to work. Do you have any idea how grating that was on my ears to change to? Ah, it was terrible! I mean, usually I don't mind the radio music too much--although I don't often listen to it as I'd prefer the non-commercial CDs I've heard at least a thousand times--but after listening to voices that reverberate through my body and very nearly take me to a spiritual place, today's music is just noise.

If I ever get the chance to see them live, I want to! My husband was fortunate enough to hear and meet some of them one day years ago while he was working in a bookstore where they put on a small performance.

Until next time,
Julia

Feature Friday - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Hello there. It's Friday, hooray! Man, what a week. Started out with the little one having a stomach bug, and guess what? It's ending with an upper respiratory thing, what fun. Stack that on top of my insomnia and anxieties about making some pretty important decisions, and I'm pretty much a goner right now.

Anyhow, it's  Feature Friday, and today, I'm sharing what's been stuck in my head all week: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' CD Don't You Fake It. Yeah, it's a bit old, I've had the CD for at least 8 years, but that's no reason to cast it aside. The song that's been most stuck in my head? "Your Guardian Angel." Of course, as soon as I popped it in, I remembered every word to every song, and you can bet I sang my heart out while driving down the road (and several times since).

Some lyrics:

From "Seventeen Ain't so Sweet"

There's a fire in your eyes

And I hope you'll let it burn

There's a scream in your voice

And I hope you will be heard

There's a fire in your eyes

And I hope you'll let it burn

Until you're heard, you're heard

From "Your Guardian Angel"

I will never let you fall

I'll stand up with you forever

I'll be there for you through it all

Even if saving you sends me to heaven

From "Waiting"

Take time to contemplate who you are and where you want to go

Well, enjoy!
Julia

Feature Friday - Taylor Swift's Blank Space Performance at the Brits Awards

So it's Friday. But it feels like Wednesday. The first half of the week was spent hiding inside from the ice outside, and today it's snowing! So Friday crept up...but it's still Feature Friday, and this video blows me away.

If you weren't aware, you are now, I'm a Taylor Swift fan. And this performance?! Whoa! I love that she puts her all into whatever she is doing, and this is no exception. I also really like the visual effect when she starts walking out on that long part of the stage. All the dancers, her voice, her smile at the end, the visuals, it's all just incredible.

I want so badly to go see her on her 1989 tour this year, and she is in Dallas TWO DAYS after my birthday. I WILL find a way. Went to the Speak Now tour with my mother-in-law (also around my birthday) and it was just so cool! (I also sent her this video and said it was more entertaining than the entire Superbowl halftime show, just my opinion.) Anyways, enjoy the video. I'm gonna go watch the snow.

Julia