A very long blog about what media has affected me! (BLOG 1)

Two main forms of media have drastically shaped my life. In fact, they have probably shaped more than they should have. Those forms would be film, and music

When I was in the sixth grade, I made some friends that watched a lot of movies. Some of them were excellent films, some of them were pretty awful, but they were nonetheless, films. In that year, a film came along called Gladiator. I loved it, and watched it more than a couple times. Then, for Christmas, I got the special edition DVD of Gladiator. When I got it, I didn't really think that much of it. It looked pretty cool, with some special features that might be kind of interesting. At one point,when I was in the audio options, I saw something called Commentary by Director Ridley Scott. So I hit it, and let it play. WOW!! From the moment that the commentary started, I sat absolutely immersed in everything the director, Ridley Scott, was saying. I never thought about all that went into making a film. The script, the cinematography, the acting, and direction... I listened to that commentary probably about five or six times. Gladiator was my gateway film. It catapulted me into an obsession with film up until my freshman year when music kind of took film's place. Every weekend, I would go see a film in the theater with some friends, but then I would also rent two films from blockbuster. I discovered the website Rottentomatoes.com, and lurked in the forums reading everything I could about classic films, and modern masterpieces. I searched for everything I could find that Ridley Scott directed, and fell in love with his visual style...it fascinated me how every shot in his films seemed to be filled with steam, or fog, or interesting lighting. I then moved onto Scorsese, and fell in love with practically everything the man directed (except Taxi driver surprisingly), and found that Goodfellas was probably my favorite film. I still have a lot of interest in film, and am currently trying to come up with a best-of list for 2006. Once I see a couple more films, and decide whether David Lynch's Inland Empire was brilliant, or a piece of crap, I should have a complete list.
My love of music started in my freshman year at Lake I believe. I remember coming back from a school trip, and sitting with my friend who was a film buff like me, but also a huge music connoisseur. I didn't really listen to any music at all. I tried. I tried to get into the Christian music that everyone at my old school, Lake Center Christian was into, and said I should listen to but nothing was clicking. Then my friend on that bus trip, let me listen to some of The Beatles #1 album. I always liked what I heard by them, but I never realized how consistently melodic, and catchy their songs were. Then he let me listen to some of Led Zeppelin IV, with Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, and Rock and Roll on it. He explained to me a little bit the significance of Stairway to Heaven, and it was like my eyes were being opened to a whole new world that I never realized was there, just like my experience with Gladiator (now I find it hard to believe that that was my first time to hear Stairway, but I never listened to any classic rock radio station before). I kept borrowing albums from my friend, and finding stuff on my own also. One day, I ran across a band called YES, and thought I'd heard the best musicians in my life. From there on, I really got into bands like Genesis, Yes, and Rush. Rush, especially the drummer, Neil Peart gave me a real desire to practice drum set. I had always "played", but never really listened to much music, so I never knew what I was supposed to sound like. Neil Peart started me actually practicing drum set. When I learned the song Tom Sawyer, and made it all the way through, the feeling was indescribable, and a thousand times more fulfilling than beating an intense video game (at least in my experience). It is interesting now that I hardly ever listen to Rush, because I don't find the rest of the music other than the drumming THAT intriguing, although I still have a lot of respect for them, and enjoy them from time to time.
Then came Dream Theater. I remember being sick and home from school one day, and stumbling onto them. I just remember thinking, "Wow, that song was really long and complex". I liked it, but it was a little much for me at the moment. A couple months later, I came back to them, and was really impressed by how melodic yet complex the music was. As time went on, I really looked into their back-catalogue, and traced their evolution as a band. I was stunned by each musician in the band, and said to myself "These are like all the best musicians ever all in one band". After a while, I realized that was the general consensus of their fans also. One day, I sat down at my drum set, and tried to play through one of their songs. Of course, it was impossible, so this lead to about 3 hour practice sessions every day in the summer after my Sophomore year on drum-set, which made me into a decent drummer for my band. Over time, I've only come to appreciate Dream Theater more. When I first listened to them, I didn't appreciate how emotional their guitarist, John Petrucci could be at times, but now listening to his slow, emotionally drenched solos in The Spirit Carries On, Hollow Years, and Lines in the Sand, it's very hard to keep from getting goosebumps.
The good musicianship in Dream Theater has lead me to look for less complex modern music to balance with their complex music and I've found some great stuff like Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan, John Mayer (mostly the new bluesy John Mayer), and some of Jason Mraz's stuff, along with some Country music like Allison Krauss and Union Station, and Brad Paisley, and Jazz like Dianna Krall, and Chick Corea.
The two bands that have had the biggest influence on me and are definitely my favorites are The Beatles, and Dream Theater. The Beatles for their innovation, melodies, and the sheer joy you can feel with their music, and Dream Theater for their ability to balance melody, and complexity so well.