Music

Via Johndan, a music perception study. You listen to pairs of tunes and then answer whether you think they're the same or slightly different. I got 22 out of 30 right, which appears to be about average (random guessing would yield a score of 15, according to the researchers).

Remember that computer I used to tinker with? Well, some months back, I tinkered with it a little too much, because it wouldn't boot up. I just started using my iBook full time, but I still had two hard drives full of files, including music, that were trapped. Finally I broke down and paid an accomplished professional to investigate it. Well, I'm sad to say the motherboard is fried, but the guy who tried to fix it burned all my files to DVDs, so at least I have everything. It's nice to have music again. In honor of my data recovery, a random list of ten:

1. Me, Myself and I (De La Soul)
2. If Anyone Falls (Stevie Nicks)
3. Second Hand Rose (Barbra Streisand)
4. Gettin' It In (Jadakiss feat. Kanye West)
5. Head Over Heels (Go-Gos)
6. I Try (Macy Gray)
7. When Doves Cry (live) (Ani DiFranco & Aimee Mann)
8. Clair de Lune (Claude Debussy)
9. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Carole King)
10. Talking in Your Sleep (The Romantics)

Shakespeare's Sister wants to know, What movie scenes always make you cry?

I am such an easy target when it comes to crying at movies, which is why I try to avoid sad movies at all costs, but here are some of mine.

Pretty in Pink, when Blaine says to Andie, "You said I never believed in you, that's not true, I always believed in you. You just didn't believe in me." *sniff*

The School of Rock, at the end when the kids perform on stage. And the girl who's so self-conscious about her weight sings her solo! And she's so GOOD!

Stealing Home, when Billy (Mark Harmon) has the flashback to something Katie (Jodie Foster) said, finally knows what he must do with her ashes, and then runs out and scatters them.

On Golden Pond, when Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) defends Norman (Henry Fonda) against Chelsea's (Jane Fonda) harsh words. Then again in the "you're my knight in shining armor" scene.

Steel Magnolias, Sally Field at the funeral.

And then Amanda asks which scenes always make us laugh.

The School of Rock, when Jack Black is showing that one kid how to adopt the "power stance" when he's playing the guitar.

Raising Arizona, as Nicolas Cage is being chased through the store but still trying to get those Huggies. The physical comedy is pure genius, and the word "huggies" is hilarious in their accents.

Over at The Valve, there's a recent post about spoilers in which Laura and the commenters are talking about "the long-term durability of a story (ie its ability to withstand and reward repeated engagements.)." So far Coleridge has been quoted, but Kenneth Burke talks about this too in "Psychology and Form" in Counter-Statement when he makes the distinction between the "psychology of form" and the "psychology of information." There's more to say about that, but I'm too tired. I'll just end with this link to "the 5 songs that we've ruined thanks to irony." This guy, by the way, has the best blog title ever.