Tag: music

Noah Cyrus’ The End of Everything is Everything

I used to write on Medium but they kept making changes that affected the writers to the point that it was no longer fun. Since I have some “stories” on that site, I am importing them here for posterity, I guess? This review is from 2020, but I still enjoy listening to the album.

A captivating artist who is completely overshadowed and underrated.

I must admit, I did not know Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter, Noah, followed in her family’s footsteps until she released Make Me (Cry) on her NC-17 album in 2017. Catchy album title, eh? I enjoyed the single, so decided to check out her latest album, The End of Everything. I love it and just had to buy it. The only downside is there are only eight songs!

Noah Cyrus is a very talented young woman with a beautiful voice and the same creativity that made her father and siblings well known in the music industry (including the nudity Miley is very partial to). I have several of her father’s albums, and I’m not ashamed to admit it or admit to liking them.

Noah Cyrus

The End of Everything is a melancholy album that showcases Noah’s enchanting, melodious voice with a mix of country, gospel, and pop music you can get lost in. I am always disappointed that the last song comes so soon.

Tracks

  • Ghost
  • I Got So High That I Saw Jesus
  • Liar
  • Lonely
  • Young & Sad
  • July
  • Wonder Years
  • The End of Everything

My Thoughts

Ghost

A beautiful, haunting melody about depression and not feeling seen. Like Noah, I’ve suffered from depression since childhood and I get what she’s singing about. This song is so personal and full of pain, but I can relate to it and love the style and tone.

I Got So High That I Saw Jesus

I am not a joker, smoker, or midnight toker, so the track title was a bit off-putting to me. However, this is one of my favorite songs. It speaks of seeing Jesus (while being high) and being told everything is going to be okay.

It also talks of the world changing and moving away from hardworking humans and into machines and robots; very fitting in a time when people are being replaced by machines and losing their jobs to technology on a daily basis.

Liar

I love this song and feel so much for Noah! I’m sure we have all told lies to loved ones and most have regretted it ever since. Regardless of how good we are and how completely we love, breaking someone’s trust once can knock the entire house of cards down and be damaging to that relationship.

When I hear this song, I think of a pristine sheet of white paper, so perfect and clean, being crumpled up in a ball, then flattened out once more; it’s not broken or ripped and you can still use it, but it is not as it once was and never will be. Breaking a loved one’s trust is like that once-crumpled piece of paper.

Lonely

A heartbreaking song about being seen but not heard. It’s relatable and so sad, but there is hope. This song is a reminder for Noah to speak up and be heard when she feels like she just can’t do it.

Young & Sad

Yet another song I can relate to and feel in my soul. I’ve been told to smile more and be happy since I was little. Most people don’t want to be sad and lonely their whole lives, but sometimes they do want to be sad and lonely for a little while. It’s okay to not be okay!

Just remember this too shall pass, and there’s so much beauty and love out there to be had. I want to hug Noah when I hear this song and tell her it will be okay and I see her.

July

A song about a past relationship. Most relationships leave a mark, whether it’s a good one or bad one. This is a very relatable and personal song for Noah, and it has a beautiful melody with whistling, guitar, and lovely harmony.

Wonder Years

A tranquilizing duet with Ant Clemons, I just love listening to this song. Starting with the melody and tune and adding lyrics, it’s a great masterpiece.

The End of Everything

A very sobering, honest song that makes you think about mortality and that everything and everyone dies. I get sad when I hear this song because I think of my mom and brother and other loved ones I’ve lost. It’s a fact of life that we often don’t think about or really want to think about.

I really recommend this album, which I don’t do often outside of family and friends. Noah is very talented and put out a great album, I think. Give it a listen!

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The (Frugal) Student Life

Before I share my latest mistake I am in the process of making, I wanted to share some college student “hacks.” I need to save money when I can because I am terrible at money management; probably because of ADHD and the fact that I lived with Mom until she died and I did not have to pay rent. I will gladly buy a TV for $400 (but really, $400 for a name-brand 65″ LED smart TV?!?), but I will search to the ends of the Internet to pay as little as possible for toiletries and life essentials. That’s just me. I’ve come to terms with it and am aware of it.

Speaking of, the place I shop for most of my items now has a price adjustment thing, which rocks so hard. For 30 days from purchase, you can request a price adjustment and get the difference back if the item went on sale after you bought it. Once, I bought a little desk fan for $15 and it went on sale for $7 after I bought it. I requested a price adjustment and received $8 back. How awesome is that?! More recently, I got $6 back for two surge protectors because they went on sale, so I paid $7 for each surge protector, compared to paying $20 or $30 on Amazon for the same ones.

I just requested a price adjustment on an order, which made me think of talking about it here, and received $5 because several items dropped in price. You can choose to get the refund as credit or back on your payment method, so no pressure on spending the refund at that place. The only other time I’ve seen that is when I bought my Bose headphones for work and they went on sale for Christmas after that. I just contacted customer support and received $60 back, which is super awesome of Bose.

That was not one of my college hacks, but it is still a money-saving option. I will not disclose the shopping place because they are being smeared at the moment and most of the “facts” are total lies.

Onto the college money-saving tips. Firstly, you will need proof that you are in college. For most places, it is as simple and straightforward as verifying enrollment with your school email address. Verify.Me and another similar place are used by some as well. Other places may require your school schedule or proof of enrollment, both of which are easy enough to obtain.

Spotify Premium and Hulu (with ads)

I’ve used Spotify Premium since starting college. Back in 2018, the bundle was Spotify Premium, Hulu with ads, and Showtime for $4.99/month. Super awesome deal. Now, it is Spotify Premium and Hulu with ads for $5.99/month, which is still a good deal. New users get one month free. Adam and I cannot listen to Spotify at the same time, but we rarely do, so I still find it worth it.

Apple Music

Since we have attempted to listen to music at the same time and Adam’s music is influencing my music recommendations, I re-joined Apple Music. For students, it is $5.99/month. I still use Spotify the most because not all of my music is available through Apple, which I don’t understand. Namely, Olivia Rodrigo. They recently included Apple TV+ in this, but I believe it said for a limited time.

Amazon Prime Student and Amazon Music Unlimited

Now, I am still mad at Amazon, so I do not get Prime or Music Unlimited from them anymore. However, students can get Amazon Music Unlimited for $5.99/month after one month free. For Amazon Prime Student, you can get six months free and then it is $6.49/month or $69/year, which is half off the regular price. That is a great deal. Sadly, when Mom was alive, a year of regular Prime was $79/year and it is over $120 a year now.

I left Prime when they decided to raise the price every other month (it seemed) and started adding ads for Prime Video, which is not cool. Plus, they are gearing up to make Alexa/Echo into a subscription-based service, and around the time that was brought to the table, Alexa started to mysteriously get worse and worse to the point that I am switching to Google Nest as soon as I am able. It is not my fault that everyone is using a home assistant as a home assistant instead of a shopping buddy.

DoorDash

We have DoorDash here and you can get DashPass for $4.99/month. I use the service enough that it is worth getting most months. I find it much cheaper than Instacart, but they do not offer the same amount of stores, although they are expanding beyond restaurants and convenience stores.

Zenni Optical

Zenni just rocks on principle. They have the cheapest quality glasses I have found. For normal prescriptions, you pay for the frames, optional coating, and shipping. Since they have frames for as little as $6.95, I have paid under $20 for several pairs of glasses since discovering this site. They are nice glasses, too. I usually get coating which is $4.95 (basic) or $14.95 (oil and fingerprint resistant) depending on what I want, and it is still loads cheaper than other places. Anyway, they offer a 10% student discount. With my last glasses, I had to get bifocals or progressives, so it was frames ($20), optional coating ($4.95), $52 for progressives, and shipping. With the student discount, my glasses were under $80. It was either $70 or $77.

There are more ways to save if you’re a college student, but those I mentioned are the ones I know and use. A quick Google search for student discounts brings great results. Instacart supposedly offers some kind of student discount but I cannot find it. They seem stingier than other places. Happy shopping!

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