Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Hey everyone,

So if you all have followed me on Twitter, then you’ll know that earlier today I was updating with some songs off my Greatest Songs Ever.  Period. list.  I decided I wanted to get some of these songs down, so the following are 25 of the songs on that list.  Now before the shredding of these choices begin, know that there were some criteria here.  The judging was done as follows:

• It had to be a song that just makes you want to bounce, dance, sing, slam your hands against your steering wheel to the rhythm, or any of these natural reactions to kickass crazy awesome songs.
• The song must induce a heartrate increase.
• It can not be a song that I love, but helps to put me to sleep sometimes.
• It is not a song which I love, but is of the softer nature.
• It is a song that I would rather yell at the top of my lungs, than sing politely.

Now that you see some (but not all) of the grading criteria, the following are my list (in no particular order) of the songs on the Greatest Songs Ever. Period.  Are there more songs deserving to be on this list?  Probably, and I’ll add them as they come to me, or as people convince me to add them.

Hey everyone,

This is a post specifically designed for my musically inclined friends who play instruments.  I just stumbled across this on youtube, and I think it’s worth posting.  I do not play any instrument well enough to be considered for this, but this is an amazing opportunity I don’t think you all should pass up.  To my friends from home who play instruments, to my buddies here in the Ithaca College School of Music.  Whatever it is you play, you should try this out.  I would love to be able to tell everyone that I know someone who did this.  Anyways watch this video, and you can read more about it http://www.youtube.com/symphony.

~Ned Donovan

Hey everyone,

Last night I discovered a new (well new in the sense that I’d never been there before, it’s been there for a while now) venue in Portland, that I think everyone should know about.  It’s called Blue, and it’s at 650A Congress St, just a little bit up the road from Joe’s Smoke Shop and across the street.  I went in there to support my buddy Oliver Watkinson, who is an upright bass player from the New England Conservatory, and was fully expecting to be in and out in about half an hour.  Chase and I got there a little before 9, when the concert was supposed to start.  We left again at 11.  This place had us hooked.  It’s a small venue, really just a bar, with beer, wine, coffee, and tea, and very minimal appetizers.  This is a place all about the atmosphere.  It’s dimly lit, with a candle at every table, and some string lights behind the bar.  The whole room is this dark color that creates a very quiet feeling, so it is not overly loud, which meant Chase and I were able to talk at a normal volume, and keep a conversation going, while still listening to Neil and Oliver jam out the jazz.