Music of the Night

Genre: Broadway Musical

Artist: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart

Album: Phantom of the Opera

I can't believe I haven't done a song from Phantom yet. It was hard to pick which song to do. But I ultimately chose Music of the Night because it is one of my absolute favorites. It is the song where the Phantom beckons Christine to join him, to sing for him, to believe him. It is essentially a marriage proposal. Throughout the song he shows her around his lair, extending his hand out towards her and she takes it. Not the hand of a monster, but the hand of someone who loves her with a very tender love.

I saw Phantom on stage on my fifteenth birthday. I fell in love with it. Everybody who knows me will say that I fell in love with it too much. I must admit, perhaps they are right. But never before has a play delved so deeply inside me and stirred my emotions so passionately. I think the main reason it struck me so deeply was because of the time of my life, a time of change and when I felt misunderstood by everyone around me. I could understand the Phantom's yearnings to belong, to be accepted. I could understand his fear of cruel treatment from others. Although I cannot agree with all of his actions, I can understand the emotions behind them, emotions which he let control him. I ached with him and shared his loneliness. The imperfections I have that people were so quick to point out to me at that time I felt were as ugly as the face behind the Phantom's mask. Was I obsessed? Yes. But at that time of my life, Phantom was what I could relate to more than anything else.

There were many good things that came from it, though. For one, it got me into acting. For another, it also gave me confidence in my writing. I asked Eldon, one of my most favorite teachers, if we could perform Phantom at the school. The royalties were too high, so I asked him if I could write my own version. He helped me and encouraged me and I ended up writing a script for the show. Eldon praised it. Reading it now, it is awful. I am almost embarrassed that I ever let anybody else see it, let alone perform it. But Eldon gave me that boost I needed. He helped me have confidence in myself and my abilities. Performing Phantom was one of my biggest highlights from high school.

Edelweiss

Genre: Broadway Musical

Artist: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein

Album: Sound of Music

This song is a very special song on so many levels. For one thing, it was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein composed together. While they wrote this song, Oscar Hammerstein was suffering from stomach cancer. He died nine months later. This song is a memorial to him. Indeed, in more ways than one, it is a song to say farewell.

I love the connotation that this song has. Captain von Trapp is about to leave Austria, a country that he deeply loves. He sings this song as a last farewell to his country. I love the scene in the movie where he begins to cry and can't finish the song. His country means that much to him. He knows it is time to say goodbye to a wonderful era, but it is so hard to make that change.

Even though the lyrics don't really mean much to me, the emotion of the song really touches me. I have also experienced such moments of having to leave an era that was so beautiful to me that I could hardly bear leaving. Many experiences on my mission fit this experience. Whenever I had to leave certain areas or certain friends, it was really hard knowing that things would never be the same again. The best thing that can be done to honor those eras is to remember them.

Is Anybody There?

Genre: Broadway Musical

Artist: Sherman Edwards

Album: 1776

This song is the culmination of John Adams's struggle as he fights for American independence. Throughout the play he is constantly arguing with Congress and meets obstacles almost at every turn. The final obstacle is the South, who refuses to vote in favor of independence unless they are permitted to continue the slave trade. When the South walks out of the room, Adams feels alone and helpless. In desperation, he sings, "Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?" Then he tells what he sees: a vision for America!

"Through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory!" He describes the glory of the scene and then concludes, "I see Americans, all Americans free!" He then ends asking again, "Does anybody see what I see?"

Fortunately, others did see what he saw. American independence was won. I am so grateful to live in a country where I am free, where I can worship as I please, where I can say what I want, and where I have the potential to be anything I desire to be. I am so grateful to live in a country where the Gospel could be restored. I am grateful for the men and women who still see what John Adams saw. I refer to those men and women both home and abroad who protect our freedom. May John Adams's vision never fade from our eyes!

The Sixth Extinction

Genre: Progressive Rock

Artist: Ayreon

Album: 01011001

This song does not seem like a song that I would like because it is quite heavy. But there is a purpose for the heaviness. Each of Ayreon's albums is part of a huge story. This album focuses on a race that has evolved to the point where it has eliminated all emotions, and thereby eliminated all the bad things in life. There is no more crime or pain. They have even made themselves immortal. But there is no happiness or joy. So they decide to live vicariously through another race--ours. Unfortunately, our race eventually destroys itself, becoming extinct. As they see the destruction, they cry out, "I can see them crying! I can see the fear!" until "not a self . . . left alive."

But as they witness this destruction, they think of what they have learned. "Don't give up, remember how we felt--fire rushing through our veins . . . the meaning of life is to give life meaning!" How true that statement is! This race lived without feeling, without emotion. They could not die, but their lives had no meaning. Eventually, in this song, they reach the conclusion that they need to turn off the machines they depend on and deal with emotions and regain the will to fight and live.

The song ends with this race crying out to the Univsersal Migrator to make them whole, healing them from their meaningless lives. There is a God who is the Ruler of the Universe to whom I can cry out. He heals me and gives meaning and purpose to my life. If life starts to seem stale and empty, it is because it has lost its meaning. We must give our lives meaning, and there is only One who can do that. I personally know that I need to stop depending on other things, just as this race depended on their machines. By giving my life meaning, I will not meet my own extinction, nor will I be reduced to the same hopeless state as the race called Forever.

This is England

Genre: Progressive Rock
Artist: It Bites
Album: The Tall Ships

Out of all the new albums I've heard this year, this is the best one! There is not a song on the CD that I don't like. But "This is England" is certainly one of the best, possibly my second favorite of the whole album. What is it about? Um . . . England? I'm actually not really sure! But there are some very poetic lyrics in the song and the music is also incredible.

My favorite line in the entire song is, "I'm so ready to fly with nowhere to fly to!" Isn't that beautiful? I picture myself spreading my arms and preparing to fly, but just as I lift off the ground, I look around and I am not sure where to go. I have so much potential inside of me, but I'm not sure what to do with it. The song seems to be a conflict, going through the mundane and striving for something more. The end of the song leads to a sense of fulfillment and conclusion. "At the end of the day I'm coming home."

One of the things I love the most about It Bites is their vocal arrangement. They do fantastic harmonies. This song has quite a few examples. When my friend Nate first talked about this band, I didn't think I would like them very much. In fact, he even showed me this song and I wasn't impressed. But at the moment I put on their CD in my car, I fell in love with them. (The first song on the CD is an AMAZING example of vocal harmonies). I cannot wait until this CD is released in the U.S. I am definitely going to buy a copy.

The Way Home

Genre: Progressive Rock

Artist: Neal Morse

Album: Lifeline

I first heard this song at the Neal Morse concert that I went to. It was one of the best birthday presents ever that Nate gave me. Neal had not yet released Lifeline, but he played this song at his concert. I loved it immediately. One of the great things about Neal is that his music is either based on personal experiences or else on people that he has met. This song is a combination of the two, but it could also be a song for me.

"Running from a destiny I wasn't sure was mine, I chose a life of obscurity and I left my dreams behind. I traded my ambitions for the safe and simple life. But lately I feel far away and inside I feel like I can't find my way home!" I love the first line about running from destiny. Sometimes I feel like I do that. I also feel the same way. I get lost. "And if I stay here too long, I may never find that place where I feel like I belong! Can't find my way home!"

"Eeking out fulfillment in a tiny plastic jar, there isn't much to go around when you don't know who you are!" This song is very touching to me. He explains that he knows that he is a child of God, but feels so far away from Him that he is no longer sure who he is. He does not feel fulfillment in his life. At the end of the song, he begs the Lord for help. "Lord, show me the way home! I know somehow I'll find the place where I feel like I belong!"

This song is about changing. It is about someone who feels lost and is finally turning to the true source of Light for guidance and help. I go through moments like these. It's not so much that I am running from my destiny as it is that I feel like I am going nowhere. Maybe, in a sense, I am running from my destiny. But, like the speaker in this song, "I feel just like a dark cold night that's reaching for the dawn!" Through the Lord, I will not only find the way home, but I will also find fulfillment in this life.

Disney Afternoon Theme

Genre: Disney

Artist: Unknown-some person connected with Disney, obviously

Album: The Disney Afternoon

Ah...this song takes me back to my childhood. Every day from 2-4, my time would be spent watching Disney Afternoon. My favorite show for a very long time was Gummi Bears, but I loved the other original shows, such as Ducktales, Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers, and Tale Spin. I loved Gummi Bears a lot. I remember going to see a play with my Grandma Wanlass in California (the whole family went). She had some taffy, and I liked it because there is a Gummi Bears episode about taffy. I also longed to make Gummi Berry Juice so that I could bounce like the Gummi Bears.

For a while, Kelloggs cereal came with four characters from each Disney Afternoon show. I collected all of them, but then I lost Gruffi, one of the Gummi Bears. It was years before I found him again on the window sill of the den, behind the computer. He was faded from the sunlight, but I still have him. Eventually Grandma Wanlass gave me all the characters she has (I think they were a recent Christmas present, actually). So now I have my faded Gruffi and a brand new Gruffi.

When I was nine-years-old, I went to Disneyland with my parents and with Char and Samantha. Char bought me a cassette tape of the Disney Afternoon soundtrack and I was so happy to get it. I remember me and Samantha singing the Ducktales theme song as we drove back home that night. The cassette eventually broke, but years later my aunt Dee gave me the CD. I was ecstatic!

As the show went on, I had other favorites, such as Darkwing Duck. I collected almost all the action figures, and even got the Quack Attack (his ship) for Christmas. My favorite toy was Megavolt, who would actually shoot sparks. I wish I could get them again. Then Bonkers came on. I LOVE Bonkers. I can't believe it's not on DVD yet. Oh, well. Great times! This show was a big part of my life up to the time I moved to Utah, and I'm already collecting all the volumes of each show on DVD.