We Made A Music Video!!

My friend Luca and i were just listening to this song by Relient K while driving and she decided to record us jamming along. I think it came out pretty cool and we love Relient K!! (especially me)

Here's the link to view it on youtube -> Lost Boy

And here is the video:

Courtesy of Luca Byleveld (for the recording).

Favourite Bands

There are certain bands that i first heard fourteen years ago that i still listen to today. Those bands have shaped my outlook on life in a big way and their music is really special to me. Once i like a band, i fully commit to being a lifelong fan because their music is satisfying enough to listen to forever. I'm still open to listen to other bands, obviously, but i won't necessarily make a point of learning the lyrics or names of each member. I'll do some lists of my favourite solo artists and my favourite old school bands sometime, but for now here's a list of my favourite bands:

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I first heard them back in 1999 when Californication was released. I remember the Californication music video constantly played on MTV. Since then I've never stopped listening to this band and i was privileged enough to see them live in concert last year. Here's a favourite older song live - She's Only 18 - and a favourite recent song live - Annie Wants a Baby - that i recommend you watch.

Nirvana - I first heard their music back in 2000 when i was eleven. My friend's dad loudly played their music around their house and i remember him singing Where Did You Sleep Last Night to me. This was truly a beautiful discovery in music for me. When you're that young, you listen to all kinds of crap - Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera - but that music doesn't stay with you the way real authentic music does. Kurt Cobain will always be a true artist and genius in music, it's sad that we lost him so early. Check these live performances out on youtube - Drain You and Blew and a little acoustic melody with the Meat Puppets.

Relient K - I discovered this punk rock band while working at a Christian bookstore back in 2003 when i was fifteen and I instantly fell in love with them. I didn't know that Christian bands like these existed! And of course with my strict upbringing it was a relief to not have to hide it from my mother (i don't do that anymore though). Their vocalist, Matthew Thiessen, is one of the best songwriters in the world and has an amazing voice that i could listen to all day long. Their music isn't really 'gospel' per se, they're just a regular (awesome) band with some Christian beliefs. Some cool songs to check out: Pressing On (old classic), Let It All Out (a slow jam with amazing lyrics), Deathbed (most amazing song), I Need You (a song i really love) and a brand new one PTL. (Here's a cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun for fun!)

Hillsong United - They're a band but technically they're not. They are from a church in Sydney called Hillsong and is more of a Praise & Worship team, but i see them as a band. They've produced some of the best music you'll ever hear and have such good songwriters and musicians and singers, it's just unbelievably beautiful music. I grew up listening to them and will always continue to listen to them. Go listen to King of All Days, Yours Forever Live, Oceans (acoustic version) and What the World Will Never Take.

Showbread - I first heard them in 2006 and since then my life was changed forever. Their music is so unique and different to anything else in the rock genre that they had to come up with a brand new subgenre called Raw Rock. And that term perfectly sums up what their music sounds like (it's basically 'screamo'). I absolutely love this band, what their music means and what they stand for, plus their frontman and songwriter Josh Dies (Joshua S. Porter) is a genius. He's also a writer and writes very thought-provoking, out of this world stories. Oh and they are also classified as a Christian band. Let that sink in for a second and prepare to have your face blown off. Some songs to listen to: Journey (Nervosa Album), Dead By Dawn, Oh! Emetophobia!, Lost Connection With the Head, The Pig and You Will Not Die in a Prison (slow jam). 

Underoath - Unfortunately this band broke up last year, but they're still one of my favourites. I first heard them eight years ago in 2006. It's funny how you think you'd never listen to a certain type of music and then one day you just suddenly do and you like it. Underoath is a metalcore band and pretty much the only one that i really listen to. I can't really say exactly why i like their music, because i just do and i think they are brilliant musicians, good people and write good music. And by the grace of God i got to see them live here in South Africa in 2008. Songs to check out: A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White, Writing On the Walls, Desperate Times, Desperate Measures and Paper Lung.

Muse - Back in either 2007 or 2008 someone recommended that i listen to this band called Muse. Again, you think you won't like a certain type of music or a certain band, but when you hear them, you just can't help it. Talk about brilliant musicians! These guys are off-the-charts good and I'm so thankful that i heard their music and can listen to it now. I really love their unique style and Matthew Bellamy's songwriting skills; not to mention his amazing voice. Go watch: Stockholm Syndrome, Undisclosed Desires, Supremacy Live, Madness and then a slow jam, Blackout Live.

Kings of Leon - Even though they've been around since 1999, i only discovered them around 2009. They have such a different sound - especially their old stuff - and Caleb has the perfect voice in my opinion. They have some of the best songs ever written as well. It's southern rock at its best and i was lucky enough to see them live back in 2011. Some cool songs are: Holy Roller Novocaine, My Party, Molly's Chambers, Closer Live and Beautiful War.

Paramore - This is a band with a very interesting history. They started off as a small (Christian) band in 2004 and did really well. Then in 2010 two of their members (guitar and drums) left because, according to them, the lead vocalist treated the band as her solo project. So after they left, the band's popularity exploded, which means that they had decided to go more mainstream to reach more listeners. I don't think there's anything wrong with that especially when the music is still as good, if not better, as ever. I only discovered them around 2009 and love this band to death. I like the songwriting and i like her voice a lot. I would also love to see them live! Some songs i like are: Crush, crush, crush Live, Ignorance Live and Still Into You.

No Doubt - They are a recent favourite band of mine. Growing up i obviously heard their music, i mean Don't Speak was a massive hit across the world back in 1996, but i didn't really know their stuff. Then about two or three years ago, i bought a special dual pack with both Tragic Kingdom (1995) and Rock Steady (2001) albums in. When i heard all the songs (that weren't massive hits) i was just hooked. The fact that they were broken up for ten years and then reunited speaks volumes of this band. They are a timeless treasure and i hope i get to see them live! Songs: Detective, In My Head Live, Tragic Kingdom, Hey You, Looking Hot and Push and Shove

The White Stripes / The Raconteurs / The Dead Weather - For me all three these bands are the same thing because of Jack White and his musical genius. I totally have a crush on him and I'm into anything that he's involved in. Everything he touches turns to gold in my opinion. So much rock 'n roll in one person and the amount of music he's put out there is just phenomenal. Songs: Seven Nation Army & Icky Thump (White Stripes), Level & Blue Veins (Raconteurs), Treat Me Like Your Mother & Blue Blood Blues Live (Dead Weather)

                                                                  The White Stripes

The Raconteurs

The Dead Weather

In my opinion these are some of the best bands to ever exist because of the following combined reasons: brilliant song writing, stunning vocals and unique musicians. I like bands that sound different to any other band out there; music that is original. I don't really care whether they are the best musicians in the world or not, all i want is something that i can really connect with. When i hear one of their songs, i want to feel the melody either prodding at my heart or ripping it out. When music can bring tears to your eyes, a smile to your face or goose bumps to your hair, then you know it's real and magical at the same time. 

A Stellar Explosion

I once wrote an article about a Supernova. It was just a little over a year ago for my Writing studies. I had to write an article commemorating any interesting and little known anniversary and because I like space so much, i decided to write an article about the anniversary of one of the brightest Supernova's in Earth's history. So tonight when i read this article (and this one and on this site) about a new Supernova (SN 2014J) in the M82 galaxy that was first seen this week (21st Jan), i got so excited and decided to post my article from my studies. The article explains, for those who want to/don't know, how Supernovas are formed. I think it's one of the most spectacular events that can happen in the universe. It reminds me of how dangerous outer space can be and i sometimes can't believe that we (Earth) are still here! Only by the grace of God.

A Stellar Explosion known as SN 1006

About a thousand years ago on 30 April 1006, the brightest supernova in Earth’s recorded history first appeared in the constellation Lupus. The stellar explosion – known as supernova SN 1006 – was discovered a day later on the 1^st of May.

This magnificent light show was documented in China, Japan, Europe and the Arab world, with the Chinese and Arab astronomers providing the most complete historic descriptions of the supernova.

The first known North American representation of the supernova was an explanation of a rock engraving by the Hohokum – American Southwest ancient culture traditions - in White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Maricopa County, Arizona.

The Egyptian Arabic astronomer Ali Ridwan stated that the display was 2½ to 3 times as large as Venus. It is said that if you position this supernova in the place of the sun, it would destroy everything around it, stretching as far as Jupiter. Which of course means Earth would seize to exist.

It was brighter than Venus and visible during the day for weeks. Some sources state that the star was bright enough to cast shadows and the modern-day astronomer Frank Winkler has said that “in the spring of 1006, people could probably have read manuscripts at midnight by its light”. According to Songshi – official Chinese historical works – the size of the visual explosion was half that of the moon and shone so brightly that objects on the ground could be seen at night.

There seems to have been two distinct phases in the early evolution of this supernova. There was a three-month period at which it was at its brightest; after this phase it diminished, then returned for an episode of about eighteen months.

While most astrologers interpreted the event as an omen of warfare and famine, the Chinese astrologer – and astronomer – Zhou Keming, described the star to the emperor on 30 May as a lucky star that is yellow in colour and brilliant in its brightness that would bring great prosperity to the state over which it appeared.

The distance to the supernova is about 7000 light-years. This means that the explosion actually happened 7000 years before the light reached Earth in 1006; round about 6000 BC.

Early observers were fortunate to experience this heavenly display, but they didn’t understand its cause or implications. Astronomers now know that SN 1006 was caused by a white dwarf star that captured mass from a companion star until the white dwarf became unstable and caused a thermonuclear explosion that destroyed it.

A nova is a dreadful nuclear explosion in a white dwarf star. A supernova is a cosmological explosion that is more energetic than a nova.

White dwarfs are considered to be the final evolutionary form of all stars that aren’t heavy enough to become neutron stars. Over 97% of the stars in our galaxy are neutron stars.

A white dwarf star is very dense and its mass is similar to that of the sun and its volume is equivalent to that of the Earth. After the hydrogen-fusing existence of a dwarf star, with low or medium mass, it will expand to a red giant which fuses helium to carbon and oxygen in its core by a set of nuclear fusion reactions.

If a red giant has insufficient mass to generate the core temperature required to fuse carbon, a motionless ball of carbon and oxygen will build up at its centre.

After shedding its outer layers to form a glowing shell of gas, it will leave behind this core, which forms the remnant white dwarf. Therefore white dwarfs are composed of carbon and oxygen.

The material in a white dwarf no longer undergoes fusion reactions, so the star has no source of energy.

A white dwarf is very hot when it is formed, but since it has no source of energy, it will gradually emit its energy and cool down. This means that its radiation will diminish with time. Over a very long period, a white dwarf will cool to temperatures at which it will no longer produce significant heat or light, and it will become a cold black dwarf. According to astronomers, however, black dwarfs don’t exist – yet.

But wait! There is an alternate ending to a white dwarf’s existence – it is possible for a carbon-oxygen white dwarf to capture material from a companion star. If this transfer causes the white dwarf to approach the limit of 1.4 solar masses (solar mass is the mass of the sun), it may explode as a supernova through the process known as carbon detonation. This is exactly how supernova SN 1006 came about.

The supernova remnant from this explosion was not identified until 1965, when Doug Milne and Frank Gardner used the Parkes radio telescope in Australia to demonstrate that the previously known radio source near the star Beta Lupi, had the appearance of a 30-arcminute circular shell. It is now known as the ‘SN 1006 supernova remnant’ and the remains appear to be about 60 light-years across.

Recent observations of the remnant reveal the release of elements such as iron that were previously locked up inside the star. And because no material falls back into a neutron star or black hole after this type of supernova explosion, the deliverance of this star’s contents is complete.

Over the next few years, both X-ray and optical discharge from this remnant were also detected, and in 2010 a gamma-ray observatory announced the detection of very high-energy gamma-ray emission from the remains. In the visible spectrum the remnant is yellow, in X-ray it is blue and at radio it is red in colour.

Humans don’t always grasp the sheer size of the cosmos compared to the relatively small size of the Earth within the universe. We think that it is only astronomers who should occupy themselves with the activities of the stars and galaxies, yet we are all a part of it.

1 May 2013 will be the 1007^th anniversary of supernova SN 1006. It is important for people to remember such universal happenings as it illustrates the magnificence of our heavens. Since stars appear as small white dots from here, we forget that they significantly surpass the size of Earth. When you start to perceive the world as part of a massive universe, you begin to understand the bigger picture and realise what is important in life. 

Kings Of Leon Challenge

Kings of Leon are one of my favourite bands. I found this questionnaire from someone on Tumblr and decided to fill it out and post it here. I haven't got the latest album - Mechanical Bull - yet, so i might redo this list when i get my hands on it.

For reference:
YAYM - Youth and Young Manhood
ASH - Aha Shake Heartbreak
BOTT - Because of the Times
OBTN - Only By the Night
CAS - Come Around Sundown

Favourite Song/s From Each Album?
YAYM – Happy Alone / Molly’s Chambers / Holly Roller Novocaine
ASH – Milk / Razz
BOTT – Charmer / My Party
OBTN – Closer / Crawl / Be Somebody
CAS – Mary / Pyro

Favourite Album?

Because of the Times

Favourite Followill?

Nathan (drummer)

Best Live Performance?
T in the Park 2004 / O2 London 2009 

Least Favourite Song?
Beach Side (Come Around Sundown album)

Favourite Lyric?
“Stranded in this spooky town. 
Stop lights are swaying and the phone lines are down.
Snow is crackling cold,

She took my heart, I think she took my soul.” – Closer

“Razz the kid.” – Razz          

Least Favourite Lyric?

“We’re gonna come together, we’re gonna celebrate.

 We’re gonna gather ‘round, like it’s your birthday.” - Birthday

All Time Favourite Song?
Happy Alone

Least Favourite Video?
Radioactive

Least Favourite Song From Each Album?
YAYM — California Waiting
ASH — Velvet Snow
BOTT — Camaro
OBTN — 17
CAS — Other than Beach Side, Birthday

First Song You Heard?

Soft

Least Favourite Album?

OBTN

Favourite B-side?

Woo Hoo

Favourite Music Video?

Four Kicks

Favourite Album Artwork?
BOTT / OBTN