I ended up committing a random act of kindness today. There was this guy on a electric weelchair who was running out of battery who partly asked, partly demanded that I help push him home. It wasn't that I wasn't willing to help, it was just the way I felt after the job was done that made me start thinking about these two songs I love listening to; one is a deleted Disney song, and the other one stems from a video game.

If there's one thing I love about most Disney movies, it's that the classics can take an existing story and turn it into a didactic piece of film that's fun for the family. Aladdin, being my second favorite Disney film, is no exception. As much as I enjoy Genie singing, though, there was this one song that was originally intended for the title character to sing. Proud of Your Boy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdWB9zYLsAA) sung by Clay Aiken pretty much depicts the constant struggle most young adults and older folks face with family pride and proving that they aren't just a screw-up. The original story of Aladdin depicts him as the deliquent son of a poor seemstress who gets tricked by the royal vizir (disguised as his uncle) into obtaining the iconic lamp for his own purposes. This Aladdin doesn't know when to take a lesson or a hint. Disney intended to take the original story and make Aladdin humbler, a young boy who just wants to make his hard-working mother's life easier; in the song, he admits his faults to himself as he wanders throughout the outskirts of Agrabah, while also promising both himself and her that he will become something more in life, as was expected of all young men and still is today at some point. If it isn't the meaning of the song that hits you the most, than the instrumental will leave you breathless-it's that amazing.

Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCH8O7kOSaY) is unlike the usually uninspired instrumental of most video game music pieces. This piece is actually used to depict the death of a character who's only fault was being created by a power-obsessed group of supernatural beings to help them fufill their goals. Add in the fact that she is the best friend of the character you play as, and the instrumental hits you full force (if you're into normally sappy moments). The first time I heard it, I nearly started sobbing. The main reason I like this song is because it's the only piece of music that has ever penetrated the emotionless shell that I usually surround myself in and helps me recover whenever I'm having a rough time, be it from stress or pent-up emotions. It isn't just the obvious moments of sadness that makes it enjoyable; it's the bittersweet happiness you suddenly hear in the song that makes it more humane and tender, and is one of the few moments in the game where true emotion is experienced in a universe that is supposed to be emotionless. I guess it's one of those "love at first sight" things for me that makes me enjoy it.

I don't really know what it about music that can connect all humans to the realm of the living so well, but even so, it's definitely a gift to everyone. I'd actually like to sample some music if you guys don't mind, since I'm mostly into one genere at a time.