Alright, well, I'd like to

Alright, well, I'd like to thank Jo (and later Phil) for making herself the first to post. I know that was tough, because I started the topic and even I said to myself that I'd post after somebody else. The topic is, "Are the questions band when you're upset and band to make you feel good' different. First, perhaps, I'll offer as brief of an explanation for the source as I can.

It was Sunday night, and I should have been working on homework, and actually was until an old friend who I hadn't spoken to in a long time asked me to name one band that I listen to when I'm upset over something. I offered my most recent experience, in which I found myself listening to solely the slow and sappy songs of the Ben Folds Live CD (points for the ones that were about love). However, I told him that it all depends, because that's just one instance and that if I really had to choose I'd say Portishead, because they're like emo on acid. Although, afterwards, I appended that I actually could say that I listened to Dashboard Confessional once when I was upset.

And while I told him he was free to put either Portishead if he wanted a straight answer, or Dashboard if he wanted a popular choice anser, he put Portishead and told me to check his profile. At the top read "Bands people listen to make themselves feel good." Let's just say I was pissed off, because, in my opinion, this was not the same survey question I'd been asked, and I was being misrepresented (even if my name was not included). So I gave Ryan, the bloke who asked me this, my explanation.

First of all, a CD to listen to when you're upset, can be one of two things. The first is the album that leaves you wallowing in self-pity, and therefore does not remove you of your depression. Best instance would be the Portishead and sappy slow song ben Folds approach. Usually artists feature strong minor keys with prominant voices booming their emotions. The option within this same option is the Dashboard Confessional approach, which is basically saying "damnit, why are you crying over ::insert:: ... you should be crying over the fact that you listen to fuggin Dashboard Confessional." But we've already touched this topic once, let's not try again.

The other approach to the question of "an album to listen to while upset" is the album that will do what the second question asks, which is make you feel good. This can be any range of songs from fast paced techno, rawkin' power chords, to paul simon and art garfunkel (although their songs are mellow enough to keep you tranced). These songs get you singing along (which the last set does as well) but not only add about five beats per minute to your heart rate, but they add about five miles per hour to your driving speed. Once again, there are albums for different types of feel good. Examples can include love emotion filled songs like Frou Frou (no one has heard of, I know) to I'm a badass music like Cirrus (this one adds not just five but ten to my mph) all the way to call me a rebel with some Indie like Modest Mouse or Built to Spill.

The truth comes down to the fact that I'm a conservative, and like many that means I'm a strict constructionist. If the question asks "What artist would you listen to when you're upset" then I don't go outside that and read it as "what album" (because it said artist). So I wouldn't say "oh, the slow sappy songs for Ben Folds Live" because that's an album, and the actual Ben Folds artist as a whole is generally not very depressing. He's more make you feel good (which the question didnt' ask). As a side note, I wouldn't choose Ben Folds in any situation, simply because there's only like 6 songs that are truly slow and sappy and that one day I was feeling down I kept repeating Emaline, Brick, and Fred Jones over and over it seemed and it got boring.

I'll post more when it comes to me.

Spork.