Arianna O'Dell

I haven’t been blogging lately. School, work, start-up, etc, etc, but today I thought I’d break the dry spell to tell you about an awesome new service that I am completely in love with.

Turntable.fm

I just stumbled upon this site a few days ago from my Twitter stream, but have already spent countless hours on it. So far, I’ve connected with people in Seattle, Europe, and all around the world.

For the past few years, the digital music community has been trying to solve the problem :“How do we make music social?” I have not seen another site that solves this problem in a better way.

So what is Turntable? Turntable, put simply is a chat room where you can play songs with your friends. The room is set up like a club, and you and your friends can take turns DJing and playing songs. In the room, your friends can either “awesome” or “lame” your song, giving the DJ points for whoever put on the song. This gaming mechanism makes the game even more addictive.

You can hop around rooms, create your own room, and meet people from all over with similar taste in music. In the past, I’ve always found it intrusive to my friends to constantly post songs I want to share in my Twitter and Facebook stream (though I still do it sometimes .  I’m so glad to finally have a platform where I can share the music I like with friends.

Listening to a song together creates a feeling I can’t describe. It’s sharing happiness.

Go try it out!

and I hate it. Two weeks ago I was free. I felt liberated. I got to venture into the world. Ever since I’ve come back from backpacking in Europe I haven’t felt the same. Near the end of the trip I had wanted to be back home in Seattle – landing proved me wrong. The day after returning to the USA I’ve been longing to go back overseas. Every day I have been looking at plane tickets, visas, apartments, jobs and trying to figure out financially how i would be able to afford to stay there for a much longer period of time.

While traveling I never once felt confined. The world was the limit and I could come and go as I pleased. These past three weeks have felt somewhat miserable. Coming back to my “box” and returning to my daily hamster wheel routine was depressing.  I’m now realizing that part of the reason I was sick of social media was that coming back to my “routine” – only frustrated me more, not because I really hated Twitter or Facebook. There is so much value in all mediums of social media and I have reaped so many benefits from it in the past. Maybe I’ll come back soon, or maybe not. 

Yesterday was the first time since my trip I had felt the same sense of happiness I did while traveling – why? I found a program through the University of Washington to study abroad in London this Spring. Even though the deadline had already passed, I emailed the trip adviser seeing if there was any way I could still apply. I turned in my application today and will find out in a few days if I will be able to go. There is nothing more I want more at the moment than to live in Europe and get to experience the culture for an extended period of time. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will get into the program.

I’m obsessed with British culture – in particular the music scene:

Tinchy Stryder – You’re Not Alone

Chipmunk – Oopsy Daisy

Maximo Park – From Books to Boxes

Jamie T – If You’ve Got the Money

Kate Nash – Merry Happy

5 I’m digging ATM. Need more recs? I know hundreds

Far away, this ship is taking me far away. Far away from the memories, of the people who care if I live or die.” Music is a ship that can whisk me far from reality and sail me towards the mindset of my choosing. Music is one of my greatest passions and I cannot imagine my life without it. Whether I’m streaming music online, playing from my own collection, or plugged into my iPod – I am constantly connected to music. Music is happiness. Music is sadness. Music is everything in between. I don’t know of anything else that evokes such emotion, allows us to connect with one another, and can convey such powerful messages.

A song has the unique ability to tap into every human emotion and can provide a sense of comfort even in utter despair. For almost every emotion I have ever felt, there is usually a song to accompany it. The melody and lyrics of a song have the ability to empathize in such a way that even good friends sometimes cannot. Often times a song can express my mood or sentiment better than my own articulation.

Currently, the majority of my disposable income goes towards buying music and attending concerts. Not only do I enjoy songs of American orgin, but music from all across the globe. My dream is to one day travel the world, attending concerts in all different countries. In the near future I would love to learn more about the musical history of the United Kingdom. Many of favorite bands originated or have close ties to the UK thus spurring my interest in the overseas music industry.

While I have no experience creating music of my own, learning to play an instrument is goal I have set for myself in the near future. Prior to reading a book on American Popular Song I had no knowledge that songs had different structures or even a clue as to how they have progressed over time. After hearing more about the different facets of music creation I have become more inspired to learn to create music. I am highly motivated to create beautiful music of my own that may one day impact others in the same way music does for me. “I’ll never let you go, if you promise not to fade away, never fade away.” Music will never fade from my life.

Muse. “Starlight.” Black Holes & Revelations. Warner Bros., 2006.