Vitamin C and Other Musical Graduation Supplements

In sticking with the graduation theme, I thought it would be appropriate to mention some of the greatest "graduation songs." Most of these were not actually written for graduation purposes, but have more of a transitioning theme. They are songs we love because they mark times of change, even when we don't always love the change itself. I love how music has the ability to offer stability. Today I listened to Mumford and Sons just to see how they sound in China. They sound good. Really good. Anyway, before I digress into my love affair with music, here's a list of 13 "graduation songs" 1 for each year of high school and 1 to grow on! Some are personal favorites, some are just too classic to ignore, and some you might have buried deep down into that same grave that holds your high school yearbook photos and first kiss. Enjoy!

Seriously, great advice that everyone ignores.

Graduation is the Reason
While the rest of the songs on this list could be considered in a context other than graduation, there is no mistaking that these 3 which are clearly meant in a "you're free from high school" kind of way.  
1.School's Out-Alice Cooper
Memorable Lyric: Schooooool's out Completely! (That's about as final it gets.)
2.Everybody's Free (Wear Sunscreen)-Baz Luhrmann
Memorable Lyric (if you can call it a lyric):You are not as fat as you imagine. (A. Freaking. Men.)
3.Graduation (Friends Forever)-Vitamin C
Memorable Lyric: When we look back now, will that joke still be funny? (Nope. Probably not.)


Gone Country
It's no surprise that these country songs carry sentiment, but it is surprising that they have the staying power to make us feel a little emotional when we look back (and forward) on life.
4.Leaving On A Jet Plane-John Denver
Memorable Lyric: Don't know when I'll be back again. (I love a good open-ended journey.)
5.My Wish-Rascal Flatts
Memorable Lyric: Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small. (Funny how the exact opposite happens.)
6.The Dance-Garth Brooks
Memorable Lyric: I could have missed the pain, but I'd of had to miss the dance. (That pain will look like a measly splinter compared to what's coming.)
7.I Hope You Dance-Lee Ann Womack
Memorable Lyric: When you come close to selling out, reconsider. (Oh to have this option.)


Gonna Make You Cry
If you haven't slow danced in a group with your friends to these songs then you haven't lived.

8.It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday-Boyz II Men

Memorable Lyric: And I'll take with me the memories. (Years later it turns out that all your "memories" are yearbook photos.)

9.End of the Road-Boyz II Men

Memorable Lyric: Although we've come to the end of the road, still I can't let you go. (How is this about anything related to graduation at all?)

10.I Will Remember You-Sarah McLachlan

Memorable Lyric: Weep not for the memories. (Don't you dare.)

How is that lamp even on?

Going...Going...Gone
Now these...these are the songs I like to think of when I think of graduation. They offer a healthy perspective on the past but offer some hope for the future.
11.Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Memorable Lyric: I'm as free as a bird now. (Fly while you can!)
12.We Are The Champions-Queen
Memorable Lyric: No time for losers cause we are the champions, of the world! (So mean, so innocent, so wrong.)
13.(Good Riddance)Time of Your Life-Green Day
Memorable Lyric: It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. (Best "graduation" song ever.)

What's Your Favorite "Graduation" Song?

Can't Repeat the Past? Why Of Course You Can!

It was late Wednesday night in China when I saw that the trailer for The Great Gatsby had been released. I pulled it up on my computer, full screen, and played it. Then I played it again. I played it 6 times in that sitting. Since then, I've played it about a dozen more. Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

Forget polarizing celebrities...this might be the most polarizing movie of the year. Or at least the most polarizing trailer. It's the biggest buzz this week, and people are either thrilled to see it, or angry and critical. Here's my take:


1. The Great Gatsby is the most perfect book ever written. Every word is thought out, impeccably placed. It is not too long, not too short. The language is elevated while still accessible. The images of the bored rich play beautifully against the themes of unrequited love and unexposed vulnerability. It is full of flawed characters that reveal in us our own shortcomings preventing us from judging them too harshly, and yet it toys with the reader's struggle between resentment of money and longing for it, the role it plays in happiness, even while emphasizing that money cannot buy everything. It is timeless in that these themes and characters only repeat themselves and are reborn into every generation, every age of society. It is bold, mysterious, lovely, and tragic.

Those eyes taught me about symbolism.

2. Having said that, it cannot ever be replicated perfectly in movie form. So for the 10% of America who has actually read the book, stop the strict comparisons. Think of it as a cousin of the book. If you go into it with the minimalist expectations that your high school brain wrapped itself around when you first read it, you will feel confused when you watch it. This must be embraced as a tribute to The Great Gatsby, not a replica.

This might be as close to "Gatsby" as Leo gets.

3. I'm not gonna lie...I have my doubts about the cast. First of all, I would have liked to see Topher Grace as Nick Carraway instead of Tobey Maguire. Tobey is goofy, Topher is...well, more graceful which I would find more appropriate for someone like Carraway. Instead of Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, I'd like to see Tom Hardy. Hardy seems scary, and I've always read Buchanan as slightly irrational. Carey Mulligan as Daisy doesn't sit right with me. She's too mousy, not the exquisite beauty that you hope for, and her eyes show layers of depth. January Jones' role as Betty Draper has already showed that she can master the shallow sadness of Daisy. And as for Leonardo as Gatsby. Sigh. I love Leo. But I think Ryan Gosling is more chiseled and could have nailed this one. Leo is too round in the face. But honestly, anyone is gonna have a hard time competing with Robert Redford's Gatsby. At least we know Leo has the acting chops to try. If Leo and Carey can pull off the subdued intensity and anxious emotional connection between Daisy and Gatsby, then the rest of the movie will be fine no matter who portrays who.

Great Indeed.

4. The Baz Luhrmann issue is a non-issue. I mean, of course he's an issue because everything he does is SO HIM that you can't ignore his style or hand in any of his films. His fast paced Romeo and Juliet, and over the top Moulin Rouge won me over, but even if you don't like his colorful, in your face, aesthetic, you can still love it for Gatsby. Because Luhrmann's excessive style is perfectly at home in a movie based on the roaring twenties where everything was happening in the context of booming excess. In writing sometimes we ask the question, should the form serve the content or the content serve the form? The correct answer for me is the first, and that's what you have in Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. It will be beautiful on screen, with vast contrasting colors that Luhrmann is known for, whereas I remember the Redford version of the movie was too....clean, too...white. 

Watching for the longest day of the year.

5. The criticism is running high, people are ready for this to fail. Even down to the music in the trailer, which will probably never show up in the movie itself, people are upset. Everyone slow down for a second. Remember the point of a trailer. It's a marketing tool. It's meant to convince the majority of the people in mainstream America, most of whom are NOT Gatsby fans, to go see the movie. So love it for what it is, something to entice. And also, LOVE that Jack White cover of U2's Love is Blindness.


As for me, overall, I am thrilled about the movie. The biggest bummer...we have to wait until CHRISTMAS!

What are your thoughts on the upcoming The Great Gatsby?