Music Reviews
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Ok, to be honest I really HATED Funeral. It was hugely praised by critics, David Bowie, and music listeners worldwide. I HATED Win Butler's voice on their debut. It just grated my nerves and I could never really understand why it was just so great. When The Arcade Fire released their follow-up, Neon Bible, I decided to give it another try after going to Wyoming and a friend recommended the album because of its dark tone. So, a few weeks after I came back from Wyoming I re-listened to Neon Bible, after listening to Keep The Car Running on iTunes, I decided to get the album. After several listens, I am pretty much addicted to this album. Not only are the lyrics stunning, the instruments varied and complement each other (everything from church organs to bass guitars), and Win Butler's deeper, more resonant voice make this album an addictive listen. The Arcade Fire is considered an art band and frankly, they have a lot to say from topics ranging from religion (Antichrist Television Blues) to the Iraq War (Intervention). Their songs come across frank, clear, and unwavering. The turn into darker, more sonic territory has made me intensely appreciate this group. To really understand this album, you should listen to the entire album and not in pieces, but the songs are very good individually. The flaws of this album are several of the songs are just meh such as Ocean Noise, which I could never really get into. The standout songs are Intervention, Keep The Car Running, No Cars Go, The Well andThe Lighthouse, and Black Waves/Bad Vibrations. No wonder its one of the best albums of the year by critics :). It may be a little too early to say, but I think that Neon Bible is the best album of the year!

Rating: A

Kala - M.I.A.

Let me be honest, I dislike many rap or hip-hop songs because of the crappy lyrics. Fortunatly, M.I.A. does not fall into any of these categories. She skirts Bollywood, dancehall, reggae, hip-hop, electronic, and chicken noises in her music. M.I.A. is one of the most eclectic artists to date. Growing up in poverty and in civil war stricken Sri Lanka gives her more experience and confidence when singing songs ranging from sexism (Boyz) to hustling (Paper Planes). The production is much better on Kala than Arular. Some fans may dislike Kala as it has a more poppier sound than Arular which was covered with more rough beats. In case you were wondering, Arular is her father's name and Kala is her mother's name. M.I.A. has an in-your-face, DJing singing style. Unlike many artists, she doesn't use sexuality or materialism as song material. She recorded the album in several countries which give her album a world feel. After listening to the album, I feel like she is actually trying to unify the world with her groovy and sometimes strange beats. Her lyrics need work as Mango Pickle Down River is cringe inducing and her album has a loose feeling since it mostly feels like a collection of songs. This detracts away from the album, but sometimes you just get caught up in the addictive lyrics (Boyz there? How many? Boyz there? How many?). M.I.A. is a growing, powerful artist and while she says her music is not political, her voice and confidence would disagree.

Rating: A-

Best Songs of 2007 (so far...)
1. Keep The Car Running - The Arcade Fire (New!)
2. Back In Your Head - Tegan & Sara (-1)
3. Boyz - M.I.A. (+3)
4. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse (New!)
5. I Feel It All - Feist (-2)
6. Radio Ballet - Eluvium (+1)
7. Glamur - Amiina (-1)
8. Marry Me - St. Vincent (=)
9. Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn, and John (=)
10. Intervention - The Arcade Fire (New!)
11. Paper Planes - M.I.A. (+2)
12. Down Boy- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (New!)
13. Icky Thump - The White Stripes (-3)
14. Thinking About You – Norah Jones (New!)
15. LDN - Lily Allen (-8)
16. Can I Get Get Get – Junior Senior (New!)
17. Ice Cream - New Young Pony Club (-1)
 18. F--- Was I - Jenny Owen Youngs (+1)
19. Heretics - Andrew Bird (-1)
20. Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin (=)
21. Dashboard - Modest Mouse (-6)
22. Windowsill – The Arcade Fire (-12)
23. I Don’t Feel Like Dancing – Scissor Sisters (New!)
24. Breakin’ Up  - Rilo Kiley (New!)
25. Everybody Get Movin’ – Get Set Go (New!)

Field Natural History
Day 14
Today was the day we would get a wonderful hike! Mt. Washburn, the third highest peak in Yellowstone would be the mountain we would be climbing today. There is a fire patrol station at the top of the mountain that we would rest at. The sixteen of us were split into two groups, one that would scale the back of the mountain and the other group which would scale the frontside. I got the easier side as the frontside of the mountain ascended the mountain gradually creating a pleasant hike from start to the peak. The scenery changed interestingly enough. First, at the base, the mountain was covered in subalpine firs, limper pines, and douglas fir trees. Yes, I even knew which tree was which! Limber pines had branches which were flexible an could be tied in a knot - thus the word limber. Sub-Alpine firs were trees with short, blunt needles. Finally, douglas firs's needles grow in bunches of two and they are the most plentiful in Yellowstone. Moving on, the air was fresh, and although the sun was hot, the hike began with a whole lot of fun.

Now this hike would take 5 hours from one side to the other and as we hiked we talked about various things. The most common topic was different types of music we liked. Our group enjoyed mainly hip-hop to indie rock artists. Of course, everyone admits they like a little bit of everything but that's not always the case. The people in our group included Izzy, Alida, Roderick, Georgina, Laura, Kortney, and Yvette. Yvette, my Bronx girl was busting out so many experiences she had when she was crank calling people that I had trouble walking straight. Yvette, I love you girl! Now above the treeline, there were MASSIVE cliffs filled with lichen. Lichen are a blend between algae and moss and brow on rocks. The lichen ranged from interesting colors such as blue, orange, and pink. In this general area the temperature picked up slightly because we were literally getting closer to the sun. I finished 1 quart of water by the time we got here and beginning on my second. Our instructors forced us to drink water which cause several detours of peeing stops (nicknamed "Chasing the coyote"). The trail we were hiking was the old service road so ancient rocks and broken gravel littered the trail and made for some uneven hiking. No one got a broken or twisted ankle during this trip.

This picture was taken at about 7,000 feet. We started at about 6500 feet and would get to about 10,000 feet when we reached the peak. I had no problems with the altitude but I think that the water was helpful to prevent breathing problems. One short activity we had was to count as many different species of wildflower as we could. I got to eighteen total and I was amazed that even at the peak several alpine lupines could still grow against the hot, raging sun.

The cliffs were rampant as we got higher and higher. They were even more towering towards the peak. However, it was difficult to notice as we were racing the other group to the peak. I distinctly remembering seeing the service station and thinking the other group had already made it which made me push harder. After two and a half hours, we made it to the peak. There was a lot of haze in the lower areas so it was hard to see anything beyond the nearby forests. However, I still think the view was beautiful and there is nothing as good as a feeling as hiking a mountain to its peak. It was fun, long, and crazy but I made it!

Yellow was my color of choice that day, and everything seemed to reflect that xD!

One of my biggest accomplishments was crossed off that day! At the peak we learned how to use compasses and painted a watercolor of a specific part of the scenery. We also ate lunch up there and I had 2 pita bread sandwiches which have made me realize I LOVE PITA BREAD! It was so thick and tasty with hummus, tomatoes, swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, goldfish, and turkey. That's right! I even remember what was in my sandwiches now! The hike down the other side of the mountain was awesome! Except for one little thing:

Yes, you are right there was herd of mountain goats! They all had threatening horns and were just chilling out alongside the trail. I thought they would attack or ram us, but they just stared at us and went back to looking out at the view. the herd numbered about thirty and they were just standing there at the side of the trail without a care of the world. That must have been nice though =). We also saw the leader of the herd. His horns were the biggest and curviest and look a little TOO threatening. Some of the goats were panting as you could see thir tongue flopping outside of their mouth. Mating season was in spring so some of the baby goats were out running about the hill which was cute and a little endearing. The backside of the mountain was difficult as there was no shade and just the hot, beaming sun smacking your face like there was no tomorrow.

When we were at our van, I ran into the outhouse to use the bathroom and when I came out...

A dust devil, literally. It was about 3-4 stories tall and since we were on the ridge with north, west, east, and south winds blowing it created this force of nature. The winds in the dust devil were going about 10-12 mph and kicked up gravel around your legs. I wanted to run into the actual dust devil, but Kirsten told me not to :(. I shouldn't have listened, but its too late now. I told Roderick and Alida we should go National Geographic on the dust devil and just get a closer look. The gusts were really strong as it blew up my shirt and whipped my bandanna around. The dust devil eventually went away and we headed back to camp. Nothing else of interest that day, but hiking Mt. Washburn would be the peak of fun I would have on my trip. I never thought of myself as the mountain explorer before, but this hike proved otherwise. The sights, nature is something completely indescribable. Looking over  at the entire park had a weird giant feeling. Everything such as the trees, cars, and the distant mudpots all seemed insignificant. Nature really opened my eyes on the trip and this would be one of those block builders. The wind picked up at the top and the bugs (surprisingly grand in population at the peak) buzzing freely, a chipmunk dashing along the sides, and a hawk in the distance just made being at the peak wonderous and profound. What's to come? Old Faithful and some smelly hot springs and the BEST PLAYGROUND EVER!!! Stay tuned...

Last official day I'm 15 =( but, yay sweet sixteen here I come!

Moment of Zen
...........................

Field Natural History
Day 10 & Day 11
Day 10 loomed and today was a pretty relaxed day. This was the day we had to work on our portfolios for our showing tomorrow. I also worked on several of my species accounts. Now for those who are wondering, my class was trying to teach us how to be naturalists. So, taking the time to observe a species, sketch it, and write down any and every possible detail about it including what the species would be doing there were taken into account. In our portfolio we needed to have three pieces and representing at least two artistic mediums (poetry, watercolor, sketch, etc. etc.) My first piece was a poem entitled, "Kill It! Kill It! Kill It!" a poem that is about bugs and how hostile we act towards them:

Kill It! Kill It! Kill It!

It was so beautiful it literally took my breath away and no it just wasn't because I was tired xD. Day 11 loomed. Now at the FRS we had no running water, so you had to hike 1/2 a mile down the rocky hill to fetch water from the giant water storage tank. We stored water in big plastic containers which held about 5 gallons, and we cycled through about 20 gallons a day on washing dishes, preparation of food, and refilling our water bottles. Here's how a schedule at the FRS went. We would be woken by a triangle and would brush our teeth at 7AM. Since there was no running water, we had to fill up a cup with water and rinse our mouth and spit through a funnel that led to a place where we could dump our waste water. 7:30 was breakfast which usually consisted of black pepper eggs that came from a carton (blech), yogurt, bacon or sausage, and milk or fruit juice. Eating at the FRS was so peaceful as we were on a meadow and there were many flowers in bloom. At 9 am we had a morning session which we were then required to read a passage or a poem. For an hour and a half we would discuss its relevance to our daily life and record our notes in our journal (which was being filled up quickly in such a short amount of time, to give you a better example, the first 100 pages were used up by now). 10:30 we would then embark on a hike where we would do some species accounts, activities that would team build, or personal reflections. Lunch while usually during the hike at noon. We packed our lunches in tupperware and they would always be sandwiches. So, yes for twenty straight days I had a sandwich (sometimes 2!) for lunch (which majorly sucks because I always enjoyed leftovers for lunch). Lunch was a fun time as this was an hour we could freely talk to our other groupies and teacher surrounded by wonderful scenery. Everything in Wyoming was so beautiful and untouched that it made the place seemed sacred (which it is in a sense). We would return to the FRS by 4 PM and until 6:00 we could finish up anything in our journals or have free time. At 6 we would then have dinner. Dinner ranged from spaghetti to hamburgers, the usual American diet. 7:30 would then be the evening session. At this time we would usually have a guest teach us an artistic medium. At 9 we brushed our teeth and went back to our canvas tents and by 10 we had to be asleep, but everyone whispered in their tents until about 11 when everyone generally went to sleep. The scariest thing I had to do in the dead of the night was pee. Now, I unzipped my tent with my headlight and everything is PITCH BLACK. You can hardly see whats in front of you and I was a so scared to walk in the forest that I usually peed in the meadow that was about 20 steps from my tent. So, peeing in the pitch darkness can scare the soul out of you if you have no idea what to expect. It was really memorable, but I would NEVER do that again. Oh wow, moving on to Day 11. This was the day we had our portfolio showing! Yay! We drove back to campus and prepared for our gallery showing. We shared our showing with the other high school group known as High School Field Ecology. They would present first at the showing. Each of the groups presented a research topic they had been working on and out in the field for a week. The groups were water quality, bird biodiversity, and tree coring. After they had presented, Field Natural History, our group, presented. We each presented 1 piece of art we had created, I chose to present Kill It! Kill It! Kill It! and got the BEST applause out of anyone or any group that presented that day. While that last sentence made me sound full of myself, getting the best applause at the gallery made me really appreciate what I had learned and developed on during the program. I was much more comfortable presenting myself and expressing how I really felt. I also felt that my poetry skills had improved greatly which was something I found frustrating in high school. So, yes I felt that the gallery was great for me and a lot of people congratulated me for my portfolio! Following the gallery, we had dinner and then had a dance mixer with HSFE. For the first half of the dance we performed contra dancing. Contra dance is a mix between line dancing and square dancing. Everything is performed at a beat of four and the pairs would be facing each other causing two vertical, parallel lines to be formed. I danced with Natalie from HSFE (who I also knew from my high school!) first, then with my gracious canoeing partner Izzy! Contra dancing can get repetitive, but it certainly is a lot of fun. After that, the dance turned into a sort of club as the music was changed from bluegrass to much more pop and dance music. Meeting some of the other students was interesting and everyone was sad when the dance was over. Our group drove back to the FRS and fell asleep quickly. One thought was going through my mind as I fell asleep: I am going to go to Yellowstone tomorrow!

    Day 7-9
Mardy Murie was a famous conservationist in the twentieth century and on Day 7 we visited her and her husband's ranch. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in sixties and she passed away a couple years back but you can still feel her soul in the ranch. The house was decorated with a lot of old antiques such as an old fashion record player and even some of Olass Murie's (her husband) sketches. Mardy lived quite the life and constantly fought to save enviromental habitats in California, Colorado, Wyoming, and Alaska

That day we also hiked on one of Mardy's favorite trails called the Around The World trail. It doesn't actually go around the world, but we did see some cool riparian areas and a small creek. Everything seemed so peaceful for the couple as I can imagine not many people would bother disturbing them. We practiced how to be a naturalist today. For those in the unknown, a naturalist observes an organism in detail, documenting its observations, and even sketching it. I chose a simple purple flower growing by the Snake River, but I never figured out what plant it was. The unknown is killing me xD! On Day 8 was probably one of the funnest I had so far. We drove half and hour to the nearby town of Jackson AFTER moving up to the Field Research Station. The FRS as it will be known now is a lot different than the cabins I was staying at. First, the FRS has no running water and you would have to hike all the way down the hill to fetch water from the giant water storage tank. It was fun and made me grateful that I actually have running water now =). So visiting Jackson was weird. Everyone seemed so friendly but they drove giant 4x4's. Keep in mind we had to flag some of the trucks down so we could cross the street.

On that special day we visited the Museum of Natural History prior and saw some fantastic art pieces! I remember one even now that had a young child looking at a sad caged Siberian Tiger. The pastels used captured the mood perfectly of dreariness and depression. When we went to Jackson, we had to visit 5 galleries amd answer 5 questions before we were allowed to shop. Naturally, being as competitive (sometimes too much) me and my group raced around the town. Given only a map, we manage to be the first ones done. It was frankly quite awesome to roam around the town so freely and with friends you enjoy! We saw many sites including this deer antler arch surrounding the town's park. I bought some postcards which I would later mail out to people and a new pair of sunglasses since my had broken the day prior. From now on you should see me wearing a different pair in these pics :).

Day 9 approached and it was the first day up at the FRS. We sleep in cots on our sleeping bags up there and it was still warm and comfortable (Thank you Columbia!). This time we hiked along the steep canyon that was the South Fork trail along Ditch Creek. We first had to made a big push to hike up the hill though and the mosquitoes were not friendly today. I got my first five bites today and since we were close to still water most of the day, they kept coming back. Even the horseflies liked the erratic rainy then sunny weather of the day. This is where I really chatted it up with both the whites and non-white groups. I could feel our group slowly split from 16 to 5 and 11. However, I still remained on good terms with both groups. Yellowstone splits the groups even more as you will come to learn. Kortney, Alida, Yvette, and Izzy were in my group and quite frankly, were very pleasant and cool to chit-chat with :). We also learned how to use pointalism which is pixelated painting (think a ton of dots on a page to form a single image) in abstract ways. An artist from the Bay Area showed us and she was really quite eccentric. Her hair was just so frizzy but she had a sparkling personality and I think she liked me. All of our skills we were learning were leading up to the gallery showing that was coming up in a few days...