Javi

Pick 5 bands / artists that you love before reading the following questions: fun. The National The Airborne Toxic Event The Hold Steady Bright Eyes What was the first song you ever heard by 1? "Walking the Dog". I still remember the day my best friend showed it to me..like..vividly. =P I had no idea that I had just been introduced to an artist that was gonna have such a huge impact on my life..it's weird, thinking back on it, that fun. wasn't ALWAYS a part of my life. Is there a song by 2 that makes you sad? Hah..it's The National! All of them. =) "Runaway" once made me cry.."Mr. November".."Slow Show".."Baby, We'll be Fine".."Lucky You".. What is your favorite song of 3? Hah..basically all of them except "Neda". =P I guess I'd have to say my absolute favourite is and will always be "Wishing Well"..I was so blown away when I heard that song. It's hard to say that I like any Airborne song more than another, though... What is your favorite song of 5? Either "Haligh, Haligh, a Lie, Haligh" or "First Day of My Life". They're both pretty equal to me.. What kind of impact has 1 left on your life? Oh my God..I can't really describe the impact fun.'s had on my life. I happened to be introduced to them right before a period of ups and downs, lost friends, a crush on a certain girl I couldn't be with (but am with anyway)..fun. was there through all of that, making things better, whether things were good or bad. We drove six hours from North Carolina to Macon, Georgia to see them in concert. Words cannot describe the love I have for this band. What are your favorite lyrics of 5? "Besides, maybe this time it's different - I mean, I really think you like me." How many times have you seen 4 live? I'd love to see The Hold Steady live..but I'm still waiting for a concert in the area. =P What is your favorite song by 2? Oh, god. I would try to make a condensed list, but even that would come out to over thirty songs, I'm sure. I guess I'll just say "Slow Show", because I think I listen to it most frequently. Not that that's that much more frequently than the others. xD Is there any song by 4 that makes you sad? "First Night". Less because of the lyrics, and more because I fell in love with "Separation Sunday" and its characters: Charlemagne, Holly, Gideon, and the narrator. Hearing Craig sing about them like this - not partying, not being born again, not hopping from Stillwater to Ybor City, not doing hoodrat things - there's something incredibly sad about hearing how these characters self-destructed. What is your favorite song by 1? I can't answer that. It's fun. When did you first get into 2? Hah - I saw "Alligator" as a similar items listing on iTunes. I clicked it, read a really pretentious interview from some guy, and then listened to "All the Wine". I remember being unimpressed, leaving the page, and forgetting all about it. Later, I read about a favourable review for "Boxer" somewhere and decided to give them another shot. I immediately fell in love with "Fake Empire", and the rest of the album not long after. It was awhile before I got into their other records, but once I did, The National became one of my biggest musical influences. Since then, I've always been careful to never judge a band based on one song or one review. =P how did you get into 3? I'd been listening to "Wishing Well" for a week or so. I was staying up late one night. I happened to be sad, and I wanted to hear more songs like "Wishing Well", so I started the rest of the album. Needless to say, I was incredibly disappointed when I heard these upbeat indie-rock songs (it took awhile before I realised how dismal they really are lyrically). However, I came back to the album awhile later and slowly listened through the whole thing over the course of a few days. It just sort of grew on me and became a favourite record, and not long after that, a favourite band. What is your favorite song by 4? I guess I'd have to say "Your Little Hoodrat Friend". Though "How a Resurrection Really Feels", "First Night", and "Cattle and the Creeping Things" all might as well be tied, too.

I love you. Carry On by fun.

Ahh..I just attended my first concert on October 7th. fun. at the Grand Opera House in Macon, GA. I live in North Carolina - me and five friends drove six hours that afternoon to see an eight-song set. And it was totally worth it. They put on a really fantastic show; Nate Ruess really gets into it. Plus, half of those eight songs were new, so it was pretty exciting. Of course, I'd heard them all on video sites, but still. I might see The Airborne Toxic Event on November 23rd at the Fillmore Charlotte. My girlfriend's parents were actually debating letting her go with me. I would love to see them - they supposedly put on a great live show, and All I Ever Wanted is the only live album I can honestly say would make the top of a "favourite albums of all time" list. So I'd imagine they're pretty amazing live.

Indie! 'Course, I have 14,860 songs, so not all of it's indie..but for the most part, indie's my favourite to listen to. Just cos it feels like it has more substance, I guess. Some of my favourite artists are Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Bright Eyes, fun., I Am Kloot, Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, Okkervil River, Say Hi, Spoon, Steel Train, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Antlers, The Format, The Hold Steady, the Mountain Goats, The National, The Unicorns, and The Veils. Though there are a lot of really fantastic bands that I simply can't list..

I write songs, which I assume most of you count as a form of literature. I've always been kinda conflicted on how people should interpret writing and what emphasis should be placed on the author's true meaning. There are a lot of people who say, "I don't want my audience to know what I really meant by such-and-such", but when you're actually introducing the piece to an audience and they interpret it differently than you intended, you desperately want to correct them. I have that problem, anyway. I think it really depends on the piece, though. If it's something very specific and you're emphasizing one specific meaning and that's what you want to get across, then the author's opinion should matter. If you're writing and you want your audience to be able to relate, though, you should let them interpret it in the way that they wish. Consciously or not, they're probably going to interpret it in a way that relates most closely to them. However much you like the true meaning, your audience will probably like it more when it feels personal to them. For example - there's a song called "All I Ever Wanted" by The Airborne Toxic Event. I adore the lyrics; the song gives me chills and conjures up some beautiful imagery. However, I recently read the short story it was based on ("The Hitchhiking Game" by Milan Kundera), and it nearly ruined the song for me. The real meaning was something completely different than the personal meaning I put behind it, and it alienated me from the lyrics. Of course, I'm speaking solely with poems and lyrics in mind, but I think this applies to short stories and novels, too. Like I said - it really just depends on your piece and what you, as the author, want your audience to get out of it. If you're a good enough author, though, your message should shine through without any additional prompting.

I Will Grab You by the Ears by the Mountain Goats.

Banging Camp by The Hold Steady.

First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes.

Tall Saint by The National.

So I'm one of those obnoxious indie people..but Coldplay's still one of my favourite bands. xP I've been waiting for a leak for months (I swear, I plan to buy it - but I really wanna hear it ). Wait..it releases in Japan tomorrow? I swear it was the 19th..pfft..ohwell. xD

Lately (I've Been on My Back) by BOAT.

Black Eye by Steel Train.

Them That Do Nothing - Field Music.

Nah..my interest in Lego and Bionicle dwindled awhile ago. I guess I just use BZP still cos..I like it. xD And I still read the Bionicle serials when they come out..

Oh, wow..BZPower is up..I can start using my pointless blog again. So..pff..is anyone who used to read my blog still there? No? OHWELL! =) Ah, wow..my last entry was in April, after I kissed my girlfriend for the first time. xD Oh, how things have changed.. I think I'm just gonna use her name, cos "my girlfriend" gets annoying.. Corrina and I have been dating for..about seven and a half months? Uhh..8 months on November 1st. =P Things are actually still going really, really great. ^.^ It was nice to read through some of my old entries and remember what it was like to fall in love with her (sorry if that's cheesy. Or geeky. Or both. Cheeky. Cheeky? Geesy). --- Another fantastic thing..I think I mentioned that Corrina and my best friend broke up because of me. Sorta because of me, anyway. It was..complicated. Their relationship kinda fell apart..I guess cos it wasn't really a relationship..ANYWAY! When I asked her out, my best friend stopped talking to me..completely ignored me..didn't speak a word to me for over three months. He wanted nothing to do with me..which excluded me and Corrina from our group of friends..which was, y'know..kinda mizzerble..but in June, I finally got the guts to try to talk to him. He was really mad at first..then we decided to try to just "get along"..he didn't think we could be friends again. And then..I managed to convince him to hang out with me..just see if it could work again..and it did. =P So we're friends again - probly even closer than we were before - and everything is going quite fantastically. All the people I want to be close to are close to me again..so, I'm happy. =) --- Finally! Last Friday, me, my best friend, and three of our other friends went to see one of my favourite bands, fun., in Macon, Georgia. It was a 6-hour drive from North Carolina..fun. wasn't even the main act..but all of us were pretty satisfied. xD They played Some Nights, Walking the Dog, All the Pretty Girls, All Alone, Barlights, Carry On, At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be), and We Are Young. It was amazing..I was singing along to every song..beaming from ear to ear and singing the parts I knew of the new songs..and I was just ecstatic when they played All Alone, cos I hadn't even heard it on ####### yet. It was a fantastic night. We all camped out that night, and left really early Sahturday morning..me and another one of the guys had to be back home by 1:30pm to go to a marching band competition. xD We were late..our director was mad..but, ohwell.. WE SAW fun. =D --- To anyone who read that - I am terribly sorry for the far-too-long message. I'm just excited to have a blog again. ;P

Well..I realised that I haven't been on BZPower in around a month..so I figured I'd post something. Uh, everything is going great with my girlfriend still..other than the fact that we haven't had too many chances to be together, and very few alone..but that should change next week. Her mom has a friend that's been living with them for the past few months, and he's moving out tomorrow..and her mom doesn't get home from work until 6PM..so I'm gonna start biking over to her house after school. ;P So hopefully now, we can be together as much as we want to.. Also, we may be going to Carowinds (amusement park) today! Just me and her..I'm still waiting for an answer..but it sounds likely. So, I'm rather excited..

I thought it looked interesting too, even though a lot of the news sites made it sound like it won't look all that much bigger than the regular moon. Still - it's really bright out today and the sky is clear - so I invited my girlfriend over to watch it. Should be a fun day..sorry it's cloudy where you are, though..

Hah, uhm...I used to swear a lot...but I've gotten out of the habit lately...cos I realised I don't really need to most of the time, and I can still get a point across without sounding nasty. I just avoid even using "replacements" - heck and darn and dang and freakin and such - cos I really think those sound weird when you say them out loud..so, yeah..it's rather unnecessary, except when you're quoting something or someone.

I got contacts last year..and I remember how difficult it was those first few weeks..but y'know, after a while you just get used to them, and in a few months, it wasn't even a problem. Really beats wearing glasses - glasses just look terribly misplaced on me...I would like laser eye surgery, though, if it wasn't so expensive...cos then you could see anytime, whenever, wherever! Even at night! I dunno, it seems exciting..

Pff, I kept forgetting to reply to people's comments on my blog posts..I really wanted to..ah, well..it's been quite a few days; I'd feel odd going back to those now. So - I kissed her yesterday! (Well, really, two days ago - Wednesday..) It was rather pleasant; my first kiss. Today (uhm, yesterday)..we kissed again..and I said something like "I don't think that was good enough, can I try again?" And after that, we just kept kissing over and over again for a long time - it seemed like a long time, anyway - and..it was just nice. I dunno - I guess what I'm saying is, things are going wonderfully so far. =)

So we hug as a hello/goodbye...but today was the first day I held her hand, and I believe the first time I've ever held hands at all (beyond jokingly, anyway)..and I was surprised at how pleasant it was, and how warm I felt from it..I didn't expect holding hands to be that nice. I believe that just leaves kissing - I'm not ready for that, even though she more or less told me that she'd be ohkay with it...ehh..I think that's something to wait for the right time for. We're going to an amusement park on April 9th - which is kinda far off - but it seems like a good time, potentially. But I'll probably do it sooner than that, assuming I get the chance..

That's..rather negative-sounding. But yeah, it is nice right now. Hah, thanks, Protosteel! I think that's the most positive reaction I've gotten from anyone. Well, we're pretty comfortable with each other...and apparently she likes me as much as I like her..so this part really isn't all that difficult so far. She's very mellow - I'm not scared to hug her or hold her hand or anything. Thanks! =)

It's quite a complicated situation. She's the best friend I've ever had, and I've liked her since..October? November? I dunno..but she was dating my best friend until a few weeks ago (they'd been dating for nine months, since sometime last year, before I really started to become friends with her). Anyway..things weren't going so great for them for the last few months..it was practically like they weren't even dating..and I felt incredibly guilty for liking her so much while they were going out..but I finally made up my mind to ask her out, and it turned out she's liked me for just as long..so we're dating now. Uhm..this isn't how I'd have liked to explain it..it just sounds dumb..but she's really a lovely girl, and I'm really happy to be with her. I wish I could explain the situation right..but oh, well.

The things that have not made sense...that I've known for a long time now...but seem perfectly clear right now. First: I hate him. Not for anything he did to me, but for what he said about her, and for what it made her do to herself. And I wish I could make her see what a terrible person he really is, but I don't know how. I also remembered that I'm not him...for everything we both are, I'm not him. He hates kids..and in that, I can never be him. Second: I love her. I don't know why, and she can't know, and I just don't care. I know she at least cares about me, and she likes to be around me, and she's the only person who ever seems happy to see me...and as long as I make her happy, that's all I care about. It doesn't matter if I can never have her...only I also know it does, and it breaks my heart to know that. Third: I also love him. He's the brother I don't really have. He's my best friend, he's my closest friend, and both she and him actually care about me, I think. Whether I'm right about that or not, between the two of them, they are the reason I'm still around. And I'm happy with the way we left things - I'm happy that it's all incomplete.

Things will never be the same, she took the blame and took it out on herself - and I will never forgive you for that. Anyway...I got ungrounded, since my PE teacher very kindly allowed us to take a few of the tests that we hadn't finished..my grade went up to a B..and, as promised, I was ungrounded, although my social activity is still gonna be limited until after end-of-course assessments.