5 songs for feeling accomplished

accomplished. ac·com·plished. uh-kom-plisht. completed; done; effected.

5. "One Down" by Ben Folds

Legend has it that after the break-up of Ben Folds Five and before his first solo album Folds was still under contract to Caroline Records for an additional 5 songs. Rather than breach his contract he chose to write the songs, and in the midst of doing so penned this number about the songwriting process. First appearing as a B-side to the "Rockin' the Suburbs" single, the most well-known version appears on "Ben Folds Live." Even though the song is more about the process than the completion (Folds sings, "I've got 1 I finished yesterday, and I've got 3.6 to go") there's a quiet confidence to the song, a sense that even in the face of adversity and misunderstanding, the artist can be proud of a job well done.

4. "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional

One of the better-known Dashboard Confessional singles, this song originally appeared on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack. And in spite of frontman Christopher Carrabba's typically countertenor vocals I have always heard it as a fairly triumphant song. Carrabba sings, "I am right, I swear I'm right, swear I knew it all along," and the drums beat and the music swells to a book-standard pop music crescendo. And if, like me, you find that you're a sucker for that sort of thing, it can all be terribly affecting.

3. "Who Killed Tangerine?" by Tears For Fears

This song, from Tears For Fears late sixth album Everybody Loves A Happy Ending (released in 2004 following a reconcilliation) may seem like an unorthodox choice. With haunting verses focused on futility and the isolating repetitive nature of modern life, it seems like it would be hard to find a sense of accomplishment in this tune. But then the chorus swells, and they key changes, and the entire band sounds as if they've suddenly transitioned to singing around a piano down the pub. "And when you think its all over," they wail, "It's not over, it's not over."

(OK, I admit it. It's embarassing but it's true: my feelings for this song are completely colored by its use in the climactic moments of the deplorable movie adaptation of Fever Pitch, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, which transformed Nick Hornby's brilliant tale of soccer obsession into a romantic comedy about baseball. I'm a Red Sox fan, and I'm not made of stone. Judge me if you must.)

2. "We Are The Champions" by Queen

Sometimes, as they say, clichés are cliché for a reason. And pop culture has really drilled this one into my psyche, from genuine sports victories to the Mighty Ducks movies. Many people have heard the story of how this 1977 song was irrevocably paired with "We Will Rock You," but in my opinion it stands pretty well on its own. With an excellent guitar part and stirring vocals, this song stands as a testament to Freddie Mercury's enduring genius. And, as thablueguy and I discovered in college, there's nothing quite so regal as swaggering into a room just as the chorus is poised to begin.

1. "Bitches" by Mindless Self Indulgence

I'm honestly not that big a fan of MSI, and it would be posing to try and pretend otherwise. This song is off their sophomore album Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, released in 2000. But my love for this song was undoubtedly kindled by the infamous Pikachu AMV that was my introduction to the entire concept of anime music videos. It has stood as my anthem of completing an arduous task for many years, from long papers and finals in college to projects in my life as a pseudo-adult. There's nothing quite like rocking out as the band sings "and this is how it should be done, this is how it should be done, with style, style, style done."

Next week: 5 songs for feeling aggravated.

feels like reckless driving when we're talking

Its only Wednesday and I'm already having kind of a weird week in more ways than one. My rhythm is all off-kilter, ranging from the fact that I didn't blog at all on Monday to the fact that I didn't end up going to work yesterday. I also didn't run open gaming night either, due in part to sleetfall being out of town and in part to my not feeling up to it. Compensating for that is the fact that, unexpectedly, I did a little producing for Primetime Adventures on Friday night at human_typhoon's birthday shindig.

We ended up pitching and playing a series called Ham-S.T.A.R.s, a children's science fiction cartoon about animals in space. It was an interesting experience, as it so often is, introducing story games to traditional RPGers. We had a big group, and by the time they had started to acclimate to the different style the game was ready to wind down and be over. As a result the play itself suffered from a lot of negation. (Scene 1: "A tractor beam pulls your ship in!" Scene 2: "No, we immediately escape!" Scene 3: "Your ship is boarded and you're taken prisoner!" Scene 4: "No, again we escape completely!") I guess I should have done a better job of point out that what your character wanted and what's in the best interest for an interesting and fun story are not always the same.

(I should, if I'm compartmentalizing correctly, cross-post the above to nachdemspiel, but I don't feel like it. I confess I am moderately disheartened that, even though the community is going pretty well, my Exalted players are still keeping mum about a chronicle I feel is going spectacularly.)

Saturday I did nothing of consequence all day and then went out for drinks with sleetfall and various friends in Harvard Square. Why we picked Harvard Square shall be a mystery for the ages. None of us could quite put our finger on it, but there was something weird about the entire evening, something just the tiniest bit surreal. I had a good enough time I guess, and ended up catching the last train back to Davis. Upon arriving home I discovered I was more intoxicated than I thought I was, which was moderately entertaining for a little while, and then I went to sleep. Sunday was the cursed 23 hour day due to the DST shift, and I squandered most of it hanging out, although I did manage to get out and see 300. A review of that movie may be forthcoming. I enjoyed it more than some and not as much as others; on the whole I thought it was a good movie, and everything I wanted it to be.