What's a song without lyrics?

"Music's the medicine of the mind." ~John A. Logan

The answer? Just music.

I was trying to figure out what to write tonight's blog about and realized I hadn't even talked about lyrics too much...and lyrics help establish what a song is like (not including the music). I am sure, you can enjoy music without words, but personally, adding lyrics adds a whole new depth and level. After all, the lyrics help express emotion. There are songs for EVERY emotion out there-whether you're feeling powerful, upset, in love, etc, there's always a song to help you out. Those songs probably wouldn't be much without the lyrics.

Some of my favorite lyrics:

Everything You're Not-Demi Lovato

"I used to sing
to your twisted symphony
the words that had me
trapped inside your misery..."

Fifteen-Taylor Swift

"And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be...fifteen"

Paranoid-Jonas Brothers


"It's like a poison in my brain
It's like a fog that blurs the sane
It's like a vine you can't untangle
I'm freaking out"

Stronger (Back On the Ground)-Nick Jonas and the Administration



"In the sunshine down on my face
Braking through
Old things that were once lost now are new"

Can't Take That Away-Mariah Carey

"They can say
Anything they want to say,
Try to bring me down,
But I won't face the ground,
I will rise steadily sailing out of their reach,
Although they do try,
Hard to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all
But I refuse to falter
In what I believe or lose faith in my dreams,
'Cause there's a light in me,
That shines brightly"

I asked some of twitter followers to share some of their favorite quotes too. Here's what they came up with. (Btw, huge thank you to Lindsey, Kelly, and David!) :)

"Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year."

"Dedication takes a life time...but dreams only last for a night."

"All your mistakes are easy to change...Don't let regrets stand in your way"
"So, baby keep drifting on, your endeavors ain't just selfless wasted time
Seek and find...You're not that far from what you've hoped and wished for all along"

"My heart beats like a melody that has never been played."

What are some of your favorite lyrics?

I'll catch you guys next week! :)

<3 Labanya

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."

Hey everyone! Hope you had a great week! Excited for Valentine's Day? In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to dedicate this blog post to love songs...of course, they are plenty, but I'd thought I'd share a few with you to share with your special someone if you'd like. :)

I was somewhat braindead when I was trying to think of a list to share with you guys, so I'd like to give a special shoutout and thanks to Donna and Ariel (our very own advice DekoPosh columnist) for helping me out! :)

"And I love her"--The Beatles

Love this song...any song by The Beatles is great!

"Can't help falling in love"--Elvis Presley
"Love Me Tender"--Elvis Presley

Same with Elvis Presley...amazing music. I remember singing "Love Me Tender" and almost becoming obsessed with it back in the 4th grade.

"How did I fall in love with you--Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys will always be a favorite of mine...and "How did I fall in love with you" is a great song!

"I Could Fall In Love"--Selena

Selena <3 She was a resident of where I live and was also killed here...we have a museum, a statue, and an auditorium in her memory. Amazing song and amazing performer.

"Sweet Caroline"--Neil Diamond

Love this song too! I remember hearing the Jonas Brothers sing it at the Houston concert I went to on their world tour! So awesome!

"Please Be Mine"--Jonas Brothers

I realize not all of you guys may be Jonas Brothers fans, but this song is absolutely amazing. "Please Be Mine" was the very first song they wrote together and it'll always remain one of my favorites. Such a sweet song and the acousticness (is that a word?) is my favorite. :)

"Then"--Brad Paisley

Love love LOVE this song. I first heard this song on our Bus Radio and fell in love with that. I had never heard Brad Paisley's music until then so it really opened my eyes to country music.

"Hey There Delilah"--Plain White T's

This one's not only one of my favorites, but my sister's as well. Such a cute song and if you haven't checked out the video, check it out! It's the perfect love song. :)

"Morning Light"--Truman

Donna suggested this one :P I haven't heard it yet, but I'm gonna check it out!

Some of the ones Ariel suggested...check them out too! :)

"Two is better than one"--Boys Like Girls
"Only you can love me this way"--Keith Urban
"This never happened before"--Paul McCartney

Hope you guys listen to some of these songs...you never know which ones might end up on your favorites!! Have a great Valentine's Day guys! :)

--Labanya

Grammys & Newly Released Albums

"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music."

Hello everyone!

How are you all? Are you excited for Valentine's Day? Just wanted to say that I am still working on the getting artist interviews done and will hopefully be blogging about those soon! Can't wait, I'm really excited! :)

Thought I'd use this time to catch up on what's going on in the music world right now. Did any of you catch the Grammys? Beyonce took home 6/10 she was nominated for and Taylor Swift won 4/8 of the ones she was nominated for, including Album of the Year! If you didn't get to watch the performances, which by the way were AMAZING, check them out on YouTube (www.youtube.com). Beyonce, Lady Gaga w/Elton John, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Pink, Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, Drake, and others performed! Also, if you get the chance, check out the Michael Jackson tribute that was performed by Carrie Underwood, Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, and Usher!! Overall, it was a great award show, congrats to the winners...you can go here http://www2.grammy.com/grammy_awards/Winners/ to see a complete list of winners.

Also, a lot of great albums came out this past Tuesday!!

To name just a few:

Lifehouse-Smoke and Mirrors
Lil Wayne-Rebirth
Jamie Foxx-Body
Nick Jonas and the Administration-Who I Am
Toni Braxton-Pulse

Upcoming albums that I'll probably check out (February 23...check them out if you can!!)

Michelle Branch-Everything Comes and Goes
The Rocket Summer-Of Men And Angels

Check them out and let me know what you think!

I'll catch you next time!

-Labanya

Hope for Haiti

Hey everyone! Hope you guys have been having a great weekend so far. As a lot of you have probably already heard, Haiti is currently suffering from post-earthquake damages. I kindly ask that you please keep Haiti in your thoughts and those of you who are religious, in your prayers, because they really do need help to get their country and lives back today. I wanted to dedicate this post to the Hope for Haiti concert and telethon that was held last night to help raise money to help Haiti. Live performances from Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, and more helped to raise funds for the grief stricken country and although the amount raised hasn't been reported yet, the event was a success. Over a million people called to help in whichever way they could and celebs like Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Keke Palmer, and Taylor Lautner helped answer phones during the telethon and collect funds. iTunes is also allowing customers to buy the full 2-hour performance video for just $1.99 (original price would be around $7.99) in order to hopefully help raise more funds for Haiti. Everyone can help during this difficult time. You can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti. The $10 is added onto your phone bill and is probably the easiest way you can help. Also, help organize a drive at your school where students can donate blankets, canned food, etc to help the Haitian victims. Haiti can really use all the help and every penny.

Also, on a lighter note, I am very excited to say that I'll be starting interviews with music stars this week!! Stay tuned for future blogs because some of them will include interviews from up and coming artists!! :)

Have a great week!

-Labanya

Happy New Year!

Hey guys!! Happy new year!! When I posted my last blog, I forgot to mention that it was my last one for 2009...and that this one is my first blog of 2010!! Although I'm excited about a new year starting and giving us a fresh start, I want to dedicate this blog to all of the memories in 2009 music history, good and bad. I know there's a lot...so I'll just list a few :)

1. American Music Awards: Amazing performances by Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas, and more
2. MTV VMA's: Kanye West & Taylor Swift moment
3. Teen Choice Awards: Jonas Brothers hosted it
4. Kids Choice Awards: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson hosted it
5. Eminen's Come-back
6. Black Eyed Peas: Grammy nominee
7. Susan Boyle
8. Jonas Brothers (Nick Jonas' solo project announced & Kevin Jonas gets married)
9. Michael Jackson & DJ AM: RIP <3
10. Oasis band break-up

Some songs which in my opinion were very popular this year:

1. Fireflies
2. Bad Romance
3. Tik Tok
4. Party in the USA
5. Pokerface
6. One Less Lonely Girl
7. You Belong With Me
8. Already Gone
9. Just Dance
10. Love Story
11. I'm Yours
12. Single Ladies
13. I Gotta Feeling
14. So What
15. White Horse

Top Tours of 2009 (in my opinion of course):

1. Madonna
2. Celine Dion
3. Britney Spears
4. Miley Cyrus
5. Taylor Swift
6. Jonas Brothers
7. Paul McCartney
8. Beyonce
9. Coldplay
10. Tina Turner

And...of course I could probably go on and on...can't wait to see what 2010 brings. After all, it is the start of a new decade :)

Catch you guys next time! Have a great week!

-Labanya <3

Happy Holidays!!

Hey everyone!! Hope all of you enjoyed Christmas and those of you who don't celebrate, I hope you had a great day!! Although we're not Christian, we celebrated it as well! :) I personally love the holiday spirit: the fun, the laughter, the joy in the air. To me, Christmas is really the most wonderful time of the year. It's a great time to show your family, friends, and loved ones how much you care about each other. And of course, leading up to Christmas, not only did we shop for each other, we heard Christmas music everywhere we went!! Even my teachers put up decorations, wore Santa hats, and played music in class about a month before Christmas!! :)

Growing up, I remember singing in Christmas/holiday concerts at school, where the whole grade would get together and sing favorites like "Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer" and "Deck the Halls," as well as some others that weren't necessarily as popular. Needless to say, those are still a part of my favorites and I love singing them. It helps to get me in the holiday spirit...and to enjoy and be thankful for what I have.

We've all heard songs like "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells," but did you know that a lot of artists have recorded these traditional songs, and have added their own touch? Some even record a separate Christmas/holiday album to release. I haven't listened to all of them, but I love Aly & AJ's (they're now known as 78violet) Acoustic Hearts of Winter album that was released a couple years back. Recently, I've heard David Archuleta perform songs off of his album, Christmas From the Heart, and they're all really great too. Also, if you're a big Taylor Swift fan, and haven't checked hers out yet, check it out. I haven't checked it out yet, but I'm sure it's great. It's called Sounds of the Season. Check them out if you get the chance to :)

And lastly, there are a lot of "remixed" songs that I absolutely love to listen to around this time of the year. For example, "Do you hear what I hear" has been performed by Carrie Underwood, Copeland, Whitney Houston, and a lot of other great artists. The Copeland version is on my favorites right now!! :)

Alright guys, I'll talk to you later!! Enjoy your week!! Have a happy new year!!

-Labanya <3

Musical Mania!!

Hey everyone!! Hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend so far!! I just took my English final this past Monday...and am excited to say that I almost made a perfect score on the final!! :) Glad that it is over, even though midterms will be coming up in early January.

So my friend and I were talking about movies and the subject of musicals came up...and yes, I decided to talk to you guys about musicals today!!

Musicals are yet another great way to explore music...and you never know what you might end up liking. I, personally, haven't seen any musicals, but I have a lot of friends who have seen Broadway shows and musicals. They didn't think they would become fans, but guess what? They did. :)

And of course, there have been a lot of musicals, but some of the well-known ones include:

-Mary Poppins
-High School Musical
-High School Musical 2
-High School Musical 3
-Chicago
-Les Miserables
-Jersey Boys
-Dream Girls
-Hairspray

AND much, much more!! Sometimes, you can probably find that a lot of movies have been turned into musicals. For example, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. I have only seen snippets of those two, but they look amazing! Personally, I love the singing and dancing that gets involved and there is so much energy that comes off of the performers!! The music is great and lively, and definitely addicting.

Also, a lot of the movies my parents watch--Hindi and Bengali--tend to be similar to musicals because they are filled with songs--and of course, the singing and dancing. If you watch a Hindi movie, you will probably find that there is at least one song every 30 minutes and the movies tend to be about 3-4 hrs on average. The songs are long too and they resemble musicals. They're great! If you ever get a chance, be sure to check them out!

Alrighty guys, that's it for tonight; have a safe and enjoyable week!

-Labanya

Music quotes!

Hey everyone! Hope all of you are having a fabulous weekend? Are you excited for the winter holidays? :)

Just thought I'd keep today's blog short, simple, and sweet, and share with you some great music quotes!! Quotes are a great way to inspire and there are a lot of great ones about music!!

You can find picture quotes, such as these:

http://www.commentbuddy.com/comments/Quotes/quote9.png

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i263/myspaceye/freeglittergraphics/glitter-graphics/general-graphics/music/lyrically_1.gif

http://media.photobucket.com/image/music%20quotes/Shellybelle10/Music/musicrock1vl4.jpg (<--this user has a lot of great ones by the way!!) And of course, just textual quotes, found on websites and in quote books, about music (I added some commentary on some of them :P):

"Don't play what's there, play what's not there."

"Music is what feelings sound like.”
I love this quote, mainly because, for me, it's true. You can put your own feelings and emotions into lyrics, which eventually transforms into a great song. A lot of great music have lyrics attached to emotion. That's what makes music so healing to the soul anyway. :P

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.”

"To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable."
Definitely true...music is constantly changing and adapting!!

"Music is love in search of a word."

"Music is the universal language of mankind"
Agreed! It's the one language most anyone can "speak!!" Babies included. :)

"Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit."
Couldn't have said it better myself.

Let me know if you have any favorites you would like to share!! My apologies for this short and simple blog, but I have a final coming up soon and have to prepare for it!! I'll catch you guys next week!!

Have a wonderful week!!

~Labanya

Do you listen to the radio?

Hey everyone!! Hope all of you are having an awesome weekend so far...did you enjoy Thanksgiving? :) My sister and I threw ourselves a mini-sleepover that night and guess how we partied? By listening to the music--the radio specifically, which is coincidentally, the topic of discussion for my blog today!! ;)

Radio is a great way to "discover" new music, whether it be different songs (which normally ends up being the most popular ones at the time), different genres, or different (and sometimes new) artists. Both my sister and I "discovered" our favorite bands and artists through the radio actually...and we're thankful we listened the day that we did (those songs are still on our favorites!!)

And of course there are a lot of local ones (for example, in my area, HOTZ95 is a popular one) and then, there are a lot of national ones too....for example:

Radio Disney (www.radiodisney.com <--covers all of your favorite Disney artists + more!!)
Kidd Kraddick (www.kiddlive.com <--Morning radio show, but they bring a lot of popular artists to interview (Jonas Brothers, Ashley Tisdale, Miley Cyrus, Colbie Caillat, and a lot of non musicians like Ashley Greene from Twilight) )
Radio shows like Ryan Seacrest's AT 40 countdown play the top 40 songs based on radio airplay...it's a great way to listen to new songs and every once in a while, artists host or co-host the show :)

Radio is definitely a great way to find new music and/or artists...and you never know, what you thought you didn't like three years ago may be your new favorite genre. You'll never know, unless you expand your horizons and listen to other types :) Let me know what your favorite stations are and why you love them...or if you discovered a favorite artist through radio, let me know also.

I'll catch you guys next week!

-Labanya

Are YOU ready for Turkey Day?

Hello all you beautiful people!! Hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving break (those of you who are on one) and an excellent weekend!! Are you excited about Thanksgiving? I know I am, because this year, my sister and I will be doing almost all of the cooking and I can't wait to get started!! Speaking of the holidays, how many of you guys love holiday music? I, for one, can say that holiday music is one of my faves...and it definitely puts me in the holiday spirit!! :)

In honor of Thanksgiving, which is only days away, I'll be sharing some Thanksgiving songs with you guys!! Personally, I didn't know so many Thanksgiving songs existed...but now that I reminisce on past memories, I remember listening to some of them back in elementary school!! (Wouldn't it be fun to be a kid again?) Two of them include Everyday is Thanksgiving and Turkey Dinner Dance!! :) The songs are definitely silly, but catchy at the same time!! I have a feeling I might be sharing some of those with my little siblings this year!! :)

Also, really quick reminder before I forget, don't forget to catch the 2009 American Music Awards, tomorrow night (November 22)...check http://www.tvguide.com/ for local channels and time listings!! A lot of your favorite stars and celebs will be there, including Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, and more!! Find out which star will take home the awards!! I hear Taylor Swift is up for quite a bit :)

Another quick reminder, don't forget to catch Keke Palmer, Mitchel Musso, Katharine McPhee, Tiffany Thorton, Jay Sean, Boys Like Girls, and much, much more on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!! The parade will air Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, at 9AM (CHECK YOUR LOCAL TIME LISTINGS AND CHANNELS!!!)!! I've watched the parade in the past with my family...you won't want to miss it!! :)

Alrighty, that's all for now friends. Have a safe and fun Thanksgiving with your family!! Eat lots of turkey!! :)

-Labanya

Daechelle the Official Celebrity Blogger from Baby & Tween Celebration LA

Daechelle, The Official Celebrity Blogger at Baby & Tween Celebration LA with Deko and Posh...Watch out for this girl, she is an amazing young lady. She can sing like you can't believe...

Savvy & Mandy will be performing at Baby & Tween Celebration LA

Tune into Radio Disney on April 11th...vote, vote, vote...

Demi Lovato gets her license before Selena Gomez

Demi sent out a twitter saying "YAY I GOT MY PERMIT! :D you guys know before Selena does... Haha gonna call her now!" Stay off the sidewalks...JK

Congrats Demi, you rock! Stay safe, always use your seat belt, don't eat and drive, and don't twitter and drive. Use your headset!!!

Another cool recycling website

Recycle Bank

I found another fantastic website. It rewards "Greenies" (people who recycle or have 'gone green').

Recycle Bank is a company that rewards households in over 12 states for recycling with a program that is similar to how airlines give you rewards miles. I strongly encourage all of you to check out their website to see if their service is offered in your area.

They have a running tab in the top right corner of how many trees and gallons of oil they have saved so far.

As of five minutes ago it was:
Trees saved: 1,320,866
Gallons of oil saved: 88,233,893

Oh the Plastic!

Okay readers, we're back on plastic. Bags to be specific. I was thinking about it the other day when I came home from Target. I was unloading groceries, and I decided I would count the number of plastic bags I had used on my trip.

Final Tally: 19

Nineteen. NINETEEN! For a week’s worth of groceries! If my mother gets the exact same number of items for the next year, that’s 988 bags a year.

Thinking about that many plastic bags sitting in landfills made my head hurt. And plastic bags aren’t even biodegradable. They photodegrade, meaning they break down slowly into smaller toxins. I don't want to be responsible for the release of 988 toxins!

How icky.

So we have to recycle them, peeps. Or at least re-use them.

Plastic bags serve many purposes, so get your full use out of them instead of just throwing them away.

On the side of the Target back alone you have ten suggestions:

1. Tiny Trash Can Liner
2. Doggy Duty
3. Water Balloon
4. Road Trip Rubbish
5. Soggy Laundry
6. Ice Pack
7. Toiletry Tote
8. Kitty Litter Liner
9. Tomorrow Lunch Bag
10. Care Package Padding

Save your planet. Be the change :)

The Story of Stuff

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Coolest recycling website ever.
CHECK IT OUT!

A few fun "Did you know?"s to get you started...

-50% of our (America's) federal tax money goes to military funding.

-1/3 of the planet's natural resource space has already been consumed.

-40% of the U.S's waterways have become undrinkable.

-In the Amazon rain forests we lose about 2,000 trees a minute. 2000 A MINUTE!

-Food with the highest level of toxic contaminants:breast milk.

If this doesn't scare you green, I don't know what will.

Save your planet. It'll thank you later :)

The Ins and Outs of 2009: Greening our World

In--
electronic e-vites

saving and then recycling catologs (that you don't want and won't use)

cameras with rechargable batteries

donating gently used and unabused clothing

shorter showers

reusable lunchboxes

monitoring your electronics and unplugging them when they're finished charging

edible birthday gifts

washable cutlery

Out--
paper invitations

tossing catologs in the TRASH as soon as you get them in the mail

cameras that run on Double or Triple A's. Give that energizer bunny a rest!

throwing away gently used or unabused clothing

wasting water on washing

paper lunchbags

leaving your wall charger plugged in after your electronic device is completely charged

inexpensive but poor-quality birthday gifts (that will most likely be tossed in the TRASH when they break)

plastic cutlery

**small but SHOCKING fact: 99% of the products purchased by Americans are thrown away within six months of their purchase.

Sources: The Story of Stuff, Mama's Rant