Anyone who really knows me knows that I love John Williams.  (For those of you who don’t know who John Williams is, he composed the music for the Star Wars saga, Indiana Jones series, and many others.)

Until I was a teenager, I didn’t really listen to music unless my older sisters or my parents were listening to it.  I guess that’s fairly normal since most kids don’t start getting into music until the end of elementary school or the beginning of junior high.  Anyway, when I was in the 7th grade, I was introduced to and became obsessed with The New Kids on the Block.  Their music was the only music I listened to on my own.  Their popularity didn’t last long, however, and even though I still loved them (in secret), I stopped listening to them when I was in the 8th grade.  (I even threw away all my albums.)

After I stopped listening to NKOTB, I went back to my old ways of not listening to music … until I saw Jurassic Park.  When I saw Jurassic Park, it had a very profound effect on me.  First, it was the first scary movie, in who knows how long, that didn’t give me nightmares.  Second, I absolutely fell in love with the music.  The Jurassic Park soundtrack became the first of many soundtracks I own.

Even before hearing the music in Jurassic Park for the first time, I had loved music composed by John Williams.  I had been raised with his music in my ears practically from birth as most of my family are huge Spielberg/Lucas/Williams fans.  I just didn’t pay as much attention to his music until I saw Jurassic Park.

John Williams will always hold a very special place in my heart.  But, another composer’s music is beginning to touch my soul more than Williams’s.  Every time I listen to this composer’s music, I experience an extreme emotional response that tugs at my heart strings.  I feel more connected to it than I ever did with Williams’s music (other than the music from Schindler’s List).  I think this music touches me so profoundly because it’s normally written in the minor key and I love the minor key more than any other key in music.

The composer I’m talking about is Hans Zimmer.  I first heard his music when I watched The Lion King.  Even then I was hooked, I just didn’t know by how much.  It wasn’t until recently I discovered the emotional response I feel when I listen to his music.  Gladiator and The Last Samurai soundtracks are two of my favorites.  I also enjoy the soundtracks to all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies (although the first Pirates movie score was composed by Klaus Badelt and only produced by Zimmer, but I’m sure he had some influence), Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight.  The music from Sherlock Holmes is a lot of fun too.

James Horner (composer of Titanic and A Beautiful Mind) has always been on the verge of surpassing my fondness for John Williams, but he has never quite done it.  I could always say that I loved Williams’s music more.  With Zimmer, that’s no longer the case and it seems weird to me to admit that I like another composer’s music better than Williams’s.  Fortunately for me, in this instance, I can have my cake and eat it too.

Corey and I wanted to make it to the Muse concert so we could see the opening band, Silversun Pickups, but we met some of my friends (Luisa, Holly, and Jamie and her husband Ryan) going to the concert at Chili’s for dinner, and the restaurant was extremely busy and slow.  My boss, who also went to the concert with some of his kids, said that we didn’t miss much.  His exact comment was, “The band that opened missed Melody 101 during their music education.” Corey and I were quite surprised at this comment since their song “Panic Switch” is one of our favorites.

Not seeing Silversun Pickups was a little disappointing, but that disappointment didn’t last long at all. For one thing, we had a great time eating dinner and hanging out with my friends.  And, for another thing, we only had to wait about 20 minutes before Muse came onto the stage, which gave Corey and me some time to get situated in our seats and take some pictures of the arena.

When the lights went out and the intro started, the atmosphere in the arena was so intense!  Everyone was so pumped and excited for Muse to come out.  The intro flawlessly meshed into the band performing “Uprising.” (I thought I recorded some of the concert, but, on the way home last night, I realized that I had forgotten to press Record. But, I found a video of the intro and “Uprising” that’s very similar–not the same–to what we saw last night on youtube.  I recommend searching for live 2010 performances by Muse so you can see the awesomeness of their concert.)

That video doesn’t even begin to cover the awesomeness of the visual effects during the concert.  The lights were so amazing! I especially liked the lights on the light tape grand piano Matthew Bellamy played during a few of the songs.

Each of their songs were choreographed so well that it made them so much fun to listen to and watch as Muse performed them.  Seriously, if you ever get the chance to see Muse live, I would take it.  They put on one heck of a show!

I really want to go to another concert now.  I want to see how other bands compare to Muse.  Muse sounded just as good live as they do recorded.  I’ve heard live recordings from quite a few bands and most of them are off key, which bugs me to no end and is probably one of the main reasons I haven’t been to a concert until now.  I’m worried that I’ll be sorely disappointed in other concerts because I was so spoiled with such a good first experience.

PS–Don’t you love the sea of square lights in some of the pictures?  I think it’s hilarious to see so many cameras/camera phones.

I want to share a couple of stories that I think are cute.  The first happened yesterday.  The song “Alice” by Avril Lavigne plays during the credits for Alice in Wonderland.  While Corey and I were watching the credits, there was a little girl sitting behind us, maybe six or seven years old, who was singing her heart out to this song.  I thought it was so cute because she had no inhibitions; she was just enjoying herself, signing along with a song she knew.

The second happened in church today. Another little girl, maybe 10 years old, was sitting in front of us drawing.  She’s a pretty good little artist.  She drew a picture of a palm tree on a beach.  After she had finished coloring it, she turned it around and wrote a copyright with her “signature.”  It made me smile and laugh.

Some of the things kids do just make me smile and burst with joy.  Like I said, they usually have no inhibitions and they find fun and happiness in everyday things.  My brother-in-law Brett Raymond is a musician.  A couple of his albums are remixes of primary songs jazzed up a little bit.  On his first album “Primarily For Grown-Ups,” he wrote a song called “Through a Child’s Eyes.”  I love the lyrics because they illustrate what seeing through a child’s eyes is like:

These old eyes are getting tired of losing faith in this world from day to day
Down the road, getting deeper, innocence lost along the way
Then I see you laughing and I’m reminded how the world is meant to be
See those eyes filled with wonder
And, I wonder if my heart could ever see like that again
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes
There’s hope, there’s peace, there’s love, and I can almost see Heaven above
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes
And, I think it will be all right
Just close our eyes and see again
Imagination, play again
See through the eyes of love again
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes
Through a child’s eyes

I wish children didn’t have to grow up and become jaded and cynical because of the awful things in this world.  I wish they could keep their innocence, but I know it’s impossible.

If only we could see through a child’s eyes again, though.  The world would be a much better place.  No wonder the Savior said, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4).

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I have a very eclectic taste in music.  It may not be as eclectic as some, but I don’t seem to stick to one genre more than another; it just all depends on my mood.

Until I was in high school, I didn’t really listen to music.  Before that, my older sisters always had control of the radio, so I was forced to listen to their music.  Although I have fond memories of 80s hits, that genre isn’t my favorite; it seems too corny now.  In fact, almost all things 80s seem that way, which includes some of my favorite movies, unfortunately.

Once I got into high school, I started to listen to four styles of music: movie scores, religious music, Broadway show tunes, and The New Kids on the Block.  Now, I still love movie scores, religious music, Broadway show tunes, and even NKOTB, but my preferences have broadened and I also like alternative, punk, indie, industrial, rock, and some pop.

When I first liked NKOTB, they played in concert in Utah.  I wanted to see them so badly, but I wasn’t able to go.  Other than that one time, I had never had an itching to see anyone else in concert.  Particularly, bands like Green Day and Nirvana (when they were still around), even though I love their music, because of the unwanted “high” factor.

In recent years, however, I have wanted to go to a concert more and more just to experience one.  I tried to get tickets to the NKOTB concert in Utah last November, but they sold out way too quickly.  I almost saw Linkin Park, but I didn’t know about the concert until the tickets were sold out or too outrageously priced.  So, all my attempts to be one with the “cool” crowd has gone unrewarded … until now.

I really like Muse and I’ve really wanted to go to their April concert since I first heard about it in December, but I didn’t think I was going to be able to.  First, it’s on a school night.  Second, it’s the week of my niece’s wedding.  And third, the cost.

After I heard that a lot of my friends and even my boss and three of his kids are going, the draw to go became too unbearable.  I threw caution to the wind and bought tickets yesterday! (Okay, I really didn’t throw caution to wind.  That’s not something I would do.  I checked my syllabuses to see if anything pertinent is due on April 5. I only have an English paper due on April 6, so I’ll just have to get that done early.  I decided my niece’s wedding didn’t matter as far as the concert was concerned because she’s getting married April 8, and the only reason I was worried in the first place was having to take more time off of work.  I realized I don’t need to take time off for the concert, so that relieved a lot of the unneeded stress.  And, Corey and I figured out a way to do it financially and I’m considering it my birthday present for this year.)

I’m so excited to go! I think it’s going to be great fun and I’ve heard that Muse puts on a fantastic show.

So, Alan and Becky told me about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog today at work.  I just finished watching it and it’s AWESOME! 

Happy belated birthday, Debbie! Happy birthday, Tyler and Ainsley!

My last post was about rumors regarding the New Kids on the Block getting back together. … It’s been confirmed. After 14 years apart, NKOTB is reuniting. They’re returning to Today on May 16 to perform live for the first time since 1994. … I’m quite speechless. I never thought this would happen in a million years.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. There’s a part of me that’s super excited because I really loved them. But, then there’s a part of me that’s asking why. I guess I’ll have to check out their new album when it comes out to see what I think. I may even purchase their old albums on iTunes just to reminisce about the old days.

My co-worker Erin just sent me a link with a picture of what the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) look like now. It was quite unexpected as I didn’t think I’d ever hear about them in the context of “now.” But, I guess there are rumors they might be getting back together. Whatever. However, everyone will know on Friday as they’re appearing on “Today” to address those rumors.

As I looked at their picture, a rush of memories went through my mind. If you know me, you know I was obsessed (understatement of the year) with them when I was in my teens.

• I used to always think I’d marry Joey McIntyre or Jonathan Knight. After all, they’re only six and ten years older than me, respectively.
• I had all their albums and some of their music videos.
• I had a couple of story books about them, a puzzle, and millions upon millions of magazines featuring them.
• My bedroom walls were plastered with posters and pictures from magazines. You couldn’t see the paint on my walls.
• I still remember each one of their birthdays and Joey’s, Jonathan’s, and Jordan’s middle names.
• I even wanted to name my daughter after Jonathan–Rashleigh Marie.

Without further ado, here’s a picture of what they looked like then and what they look like now.