Can't Get This Outta My Head

   Do you ever just get a song stuck in your head and no matter what you do, you can't get it out? The tricky thing is that sometimes you don't exactly want it to get out of your head, because you really like the song, but at the same time, it's driving you nuts. And then you have this war inside of yourself every time you get onto YouTube, because you want to listen to that song again, but somewhere deep inside, you know that replaying it will only make it even more impossible to make it go away!

   I've been going through what was described above all of Easter weekend.
   There's this singer/songwriter/musician named Regina Spektor and she is so incredibly amazing. You might know of her song, "The Call", because it was the credits song for the Chronicles of Narnia movie "Prince Caspian". That song is really breathtaking, and when I first heard it, I went crazy for it. It really got me.
   Even though I loved that song so much, I never really listened to any other songs by Regina. I guess I just didn't think of it at the time. So, I sort of forgot about her. That is, until last Thursday.
   I was listening to my Sara Barellies station on Pandora, just minding my own business and enjoying the music. Then, suddenly, a catchy, upbeat song started sneaking through the speakers of my computer. A breathy, beautiful voice started singing wonderfully written lyrics, and I immediately knew that that would be my new favorite song.
   The song is called "Fidelity" and it's a break up song. Now, before you start rolling your eyes, thinking 'Man, I wish girls would stop writing stupid, pathetic, sit-in-your-room-and-cry songs', take a deep breath and keep reading. Instead of being a song of revenge or remorse, it's actually one that shows the relationship as something really beautiful. Though she is brokenhearted, Regina doesn't regret the relationship, and she makes that very clear. She cherishes the moments that were good and she won't ever forget them.
   How refreshing is that? A song about a girl who is facing a really tough time in her life, but that doesn't involve keying her exes car, hooking up with his best friend, or crying so much that her face eventually melts off! Amazing, isn't it? So, I highly recommend you go check out 'Fidelity' by Regina Spektor. I'll put  link below to the lyric video. I hope you like it, because I know I did.

Fidelity

Musical Memories

   Once, someone told me that we can't remember things until we're 3 years old. I didn't believe that, so I started thinking back to my very first memory. Interestingly enough, the first real memory I have was of my 3rd birthday.
   My birthday is exactly 6 days after my Grandma's birthday. When I turned 3, she was turning 60. I remember that we had planned a really awesome surprise birthday party for her. We had invited a lot of her friends, and most of her family was going to be there.We had sort of tricked her into coming down from Houston by inviting her to my birthday.
   Here's the thing about my Grandma. She's awesome. Like, seriously, I've got one of the best Grandma's in the world. She's beautiful externally, but internally, she's even more than beautiful; she's radiant.
   Something that's really cool about Grandma is that she writes songs. She wrote a song for each of her grandkids when they were born and she writes others just to filter her emotions into something. That's one of the beautiful things about music. You can filter so much into it.
   My Grandma wrote this song called "Alphabeta". It's probably my favorite song of hers (other than the one she wrote for me, of course! :P). This song is all about phonics and how, by learning to read, we become smarter. It's a super cute song, and my big sister and I had decided that our present to my Grandma would be us performing it. We practiced singing and dancing to it for days, trying to perfect it.
   When the day of the parties arrived, I was so excited that my Grandma was coming to my party, and I was even more excited about surprising my Grandma! I remember how hard it was for little me to keep such a big secret.
   You know, the funny thing is, I barely remember any details from her party, and I remember only a few things from mine. The thing I remember the most from that day was my sister and I performing "Alphabeta" for my Grandma. I remember the rush of joy that I felt when my Grandma clapped and said that that had been the best present she had received.
   Thinking back, I realize how lucky I am to have that as my very first memory. I mean, think about that! My first memory involved three of my favorite things: my Grandma, music and birthday parties.

This Whole Catholic Music Situation

   There is this feeling that I always get when I stumble across a song or band that I love. It's literally a feeling that I cannot explain. My heart starts pumping, I start smiling like a crazy person, and my brain starts working over time as I try to figure out what exactly is making me so excited. It's like an adrenaline high for a music junky. My friend Sabrina likes to describe this feeling as me, "loosing my ability to even."
   So what/who exactly gave me this feeling, made me rush home from a concert and jump on my computer, break my blogging schedule and kept me up until I finish praising their music? Well, this can be answered in two (three?) words.
   PawnShop kings.
   I had the privilege of going to a Matt Maher concert with my youth group. For those of you who don't know, Matt Maher is a Catholic musician who writes fantastic songs and honestly has a beautiful voice. I was super stoked to be able to attend his concert with some of my closest friends.
   When we got there, we clapped and danced as Matt played his upbeat, feel good songs. We were so pumped up and happy to be there with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I honestly was blown away by Matt's musical skill and his ability to connect with the audience in the way that he did. As an aspiring musician myself, it truly fascinated me.
   Then, Mr. Maher asked us to all sit down. Now, you can imagine how hard it really is to force yourself to sit down when you're feeling as good as we all were. However, after a small struggle, we all found our seats. Matt then explained to us that he had some special guests with him, and introduced the PawnShop kings.
   The PawnShop kings are two brothers, Scott and Joel Owen, who were born in Texas, but spent most of their time growing up in Memphis and now reside in Orange Country, California. They explained to us that they are also Catholic musicians and that they were going to play a few of their songs. We all nodded our heads in agreement, too excited to object to anything.
   As they started to play, I felt myself start smiling. I was at a loss for words. Their voices...the music...the lyrics...the inflection in their voices...the beautiful harmonies...it was all too much. I started to bob my head to the music and then eventually stood up, joining everyone else as we clapped and wished desperately that we knew the words to their songs. After listening to them play, I couldn't even think about anything else. The only thing I could do was replay the music in my mind.
   After the concert, my friends and I actually got to meet them. We got a picture with them, and I even got Scott to sign a book I had in my purse, since I had nothing else that was sign-able. On the way home, they were all I could talk about and when I got to my house, I rushed to the computer so that I could type this up.
   I really encourage any of you who are reading this to go check out the PawnShop kings and Matt Maher. Honestly, this music could change the way you think about everything. I literally mean everything I'm saying right now. They were amazing. I'm going to be leaving links below to my favorite songs that they performed. I hope you are as moved by them as I was!
   Brigid


PawnShop kings~ Fall Apart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgR9flxuD6o

Matt Maher~ All The People Said Amen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnOA3HN_4EY

PawnShop kings Official Website
http://www.pawnshopkings.com/

Matt Maher Official Website
http://www.mattmahermusic.com/