Two weeks ago, I invited those who were interested to ask me any question they liked, with the promise of an honest answer, provided that the question wasn’t asking me my street address or Social Security number. There were some great questions asked, and while these answers are a week late, I hope they still prove to be interesting!

No question of the week this week, but I do have many answered questions to make up for it:

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Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I remember the media (or the US media, at least) had a field day when it was announced that Nicholas Sarkozy’s new wife, Carla Bruni, was an ex-fashion model. Prior to Bruni’s marriage to Sarkozy I had never heard of her, but after she became First Lady of France I heard a few things about her here and there, mainly about the media scrutinizing her wardrobe when on diplomatic visits with Sarkozy or other useless, trivial news¹. I also heard bits and pieces of career as an ex-model when nude photos of her surfaced, but not once did I hear a peep about her singing career. So when I discovered that she has not one, but two recorded albums released (one in French and the other in English) and that they are really good I was incredibly surprised!

Without a doubt, her song Quelqu’un M’a Dit, which translates to “someone told me,” is quickly becoming one of my favorite songs, and the other songs on her French-language album (also titled “Quelqu’un M’a Dit”) are also superb. I’ve always wanted to add more French music to my iTunes, and Bruni’s songs are a great find. I just wish I had known about her music career sooner. If the media hadn’t been so focused on her ex-modeling days and her marriage to Sarkozy and talked a little bit about her music then I wouldn’t be so late on discovering the magic of Bruni’s songs like Quelqu’un M’a Dit!

I wonder, though, that if I had known Bruni had a music career in addition to being an ex-model and the wife of the President of France, would I have given her songs a try? Probably not. I stumbled across Quelqu’un M’a Dit on the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack and hadn’t known who sung it the first time I listened to it. When I realized it was sung by Bruni, though, I was shocked for two reasons: I hadn’t known she was a singer, but I also didn’t realize she had actual singing talent (unlike the majority of singers out there these days)!

1. Yes, it is important to know that Sarkozy was on a diplomatic mission with so-and-so country. Is it important to know what designer his wife chose to wear for the rendezvous? No. [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I’ve had my Last.fm account since January 2008, and in the last year and a half I have scrobbled nearly 15,000 songs to my account. While my favorite song fluctuates from time to time, generally my all-time favorite songs and artists remain the same. In order, these are my current top five Last.fm artists:

• Tegan and Sara
  Favorite songs: Superstar, Not With You, I Know I Know I Know
  I don’t remember how I first heard of Tegan and Sara. I think it may have been through a friend of a friend, but I can’t remember. I didn’t like their songs when I first heard them, but now I love all of their songs and think they are an amazing duo. Absolutely amazing.
• The Veronicas
  Favorite songs: Untouched, Revenge is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were), Mouth Shut
  I’ve loved The Veronicas since the first time I heard their single 4Ever on the radio while I was living in Australia. Their songs are the soundtrack to my teenage girlhood. Jess and Lisa seem like such fun girls and their music is so irresistible and catchy. And my God, I want their wardrobes!
• Lily Allen
  Favorite songs: LDN, Back to the Start, Him
  I think Lily is superb, and I’m always excited to see what her newest releases are. I love the sound of her voice and the edginess of her lyrics. She’s very clever, and that’s strongly apparent in her songs.
• Taylor Swift
  Favorite songs: Forever and Always, White Horse, Fearless
  I’m not a country music fan, but I do like Taylor (and I think she is becoming more pop than country, at any rate). When I saw her video for Love Story, I had to get her album. I think her voice sounds incredibly sweet and her lyrics are always relateable.
• Jem
  Favorite songs: 24, I Always Knew, How Would You Like It
  Krissy introduced me to Jem’s music, and I’m so glad she did. I love Jem’s voice, and how the mixture of melody and lyrics and vocals work so well together to create a really haunting and memorable sound.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I’m the kind of person that can listen to a song on repeat for hours on end if I decide that I really, really like it. Usually there’s a reason behind why I like a particular song enough to listen to it on repeat for ages, such as I really like the lyrics or the song really reminds me of someone in particular. Not everyone I know is like this; it drives my roommate crazy whenever I get into one of my “phases” with a particular song and I have to bring out the headphones so she won’t have to listen to the song on repeat!

Currently, the song that I am listening to on repeat is “Wonderwall” by Oasis. I’ve always loved this song; I love Liam Gallagher’s voice and the lyrics are so meaningful, yet open to personal interpretation. Last week, I had a lovely evening out with my friends, and this song was played. It was the perfect song for that moment, and now I can’t stop listening to Wonderwall because it brings back memories not only of that night, but of my friends that were there and how amazing that night was, and how I wished it didn’t have to end.

Question of the Week: What song(s) are you currently listening to on repeat?

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

Olga passed this award along to me this past Tuesday. I was very pleased and flattered to receive it (thanks, Olga!), and as a Kreativ Blogger Award recipient, it is my job to post the award on my blog and link back to the person who gave it to me. Also, I must pass along the award and list seven things I love, and seven blogs I love¹. So, here goes:

Kreativ Blogger Award

Seven things I love:

• My fantastic work supervisor. I’ve always known I was lucky to have such a great supervisor, but this week I realized she was there for me not only as a supervisor, but as a friend. That’s an incredible feeling to have in the workplace.
• The internet as a tool which allows me to keep in touch with my friends overseas. It’s been a lifesaver lately.
• My Embodiment journal. Last month I wasn’t all that dedicated in keeping up with Embodiment, but some recent upheaval and decisions I’ve made in my life has left me needing an outlet to bounce off ideas, and my journal has been fantastic for that.
• Etsy! Last weekend I bought some knitting patterns for cupcakes and donuts, and I’m very excited to make them once I am done with school for the semester.
• Google Analytics. I’ve only recently started using it, and it provides so much information about any website’s stats.
• The third season of The Tudors! I still miss Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn dearly, but season 3 is still as good as ever!
• The song “Believe” by The Bravery. I’ve been listening to it on repeat lately; it’s really good.

Seven blogs I love, and pass along the Kreativ Blogger Award to:

• Alice; Only Anne
• Amanda; Jingwen
• Clem; Oh Clementine
• Kaylee; Reliquesce
• Krissy; Girl Disappearing
• Melody; Bittersky
• Rose; Life as Rose

1. I’m abandoning the “five” theme I have for Fridays; I figure an award is as good an excuse as any to bend the rules for a week! [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.