"Mind Games" - This American Life

It has been known for quite a while now that This American Life is one of the hottest radio documentary stations on the East Coast. Personally, this is the first time that I found one of their shows interesting enough to compel me to listen to an hour of talking. I was astounded. Not only did I get to hear the types of stories that I love so much (because psychology interests me greatly), but I really got to experience a somewhat different type of media for the first time.

Let's get down to the program itself. This program was the most recently aired audio documentary on the sight, and it was (of course) about mind games. It was "stories of people who try simple mind games on others, and then find themselves way in over their heads." Just this summary is enough to grab the attention of any passers-by. The program was just as the summary had described. Host Ira Glass covered three stories which each revolved around a different type of mind game.

You may have heard of the group Improv Everywhere before. This a group which coordinates "missions" which have the goal of giving random people a day of bizarre happiness. This is what made the show for me. The stories that Improv Everywhere are involved in (two in this show) are both stories which involve a lot of fun and a bit of heart break. You are kept in the dark until the very end about whether they were successful missions at all.

The other two main stories are slightly more serious and showed the darker side of these mind games. In the first story, a woman told a little white lie and ended up being lied to herself. In the last story, the program focuses on the event where a girl was taken hostage, brainwashed, and ended up walking the very streets she used to live on for months before she was even noticed. These two stories, although much more serious than the other one in my opinion, offer a much more realistic depiction of what can happen when people mess with each others' head.

If you find psychology or any other types of trickery interesting, Mind Games is a audio documentary that I highly recommend. If you don't find those things interesting... Oh let's face it everyone finds those things interesting at some level.

Here you can listen to and read the summary for "Mind Games": http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1329

Website for Improv Everywhere (You know that you are interested): http://improveverywhere.com/

SR-71

SR-71 is an rock band that was formed right next door in Baltimore, Maryland. As you may know, SR-71 is also the name of a supersonic aircraft that is used by the U.S. Air Force. SR-71 has gained renown for their singles "Right Now" and "Tomorrow."

SR-71 Website: http://www.sr71music.com/
SR-71 Discography: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sr71/discography
SR-71 Bio: http://www.sweetslyrics.com/bio-Sr-71.html

Korn

Korn is an American metal band that was formed in 1993. Korn has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and have won two Grammy awards (they were nominated six times in total). Korn is seen as a pioneer band for the genre of nu metal even though the band's members don't all agree that this is the proper genre for their music. The members state that the term nu metal doesn't mean anything. Korn is simply Korn and nothing else.

Official Korn Website: http://modlife.com/korn
Korn's discography: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/korn/discography
Korn's biography: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Korn-Biography/62593FBB6059AC5948256860002E6662

Tenacious D

Tenacious D is a band that was formed from the acoustic duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Critics have dubbed the duo's style of music as mock rock. This is because of their rock music which is used as a basis for absurd and vulgar songs. At times they also use music to tell stories, an example of such as song is "Tribute." Tenacious D has been the subject of a television series as well as a movie. The members played themselves in both the series and the movie, but the plots of both movies are fictional.

Tenacious D's Website: http://www.tenaciousd.com/main.html
Tenacious D's Discography: http://n82records.blogspot.com/2009/10/tenacious-d-discography.html

Mix 106.5

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I generally listen to 98 Rock in the afternoons. During the morning however, I prefer to listen to Mix 106.5. Just like 98 Rock, they play songs in the afternoons and have a talk show portion in the morning. Surprisingly though, the talk show for this station is very entertaining. They have contests and giveaways every day. It's always fun to listen to.

Website for Mix 106.5: http://www.mix1065.net/

Music Appreciation

I have noticed a trend nowadays (partially because I used to be like this myself) where people like music, but they do not know why. They have no true appreciation for the art of making music. Especially concerning all of the work that goes into recording and editing songs before they are put on a CD. I notice this trend now because I think differently. At this point, I cannot help but think about everything that goes into a song whenever I listen to it.

Life Starts Now

Life Starts Now is the newest CD from Three Days Grace. Frankly, this CD wasn't nearly as good as it should have been coming from such a good band. On their last CD, I wasn't able to find a song that I wasn't thrilled with this CD however, most of the songs are average at best. Last to Know and Break are the two songs that are the best on the CD so far in my mind. Maybe if I listen to it some more, it'll grow on me.

Three Days Grace's website: http://www.threedaysgrace.com/
A good review on the CD: http://www.411mania.com/music/album_reviews/116916