So I’ve been listening to this song for a few weeks now. I didn’t mean to hold it hostage from you, but I didn’t realize just how much I liked it until I found myself craving it. I knew it was good, but it took me a bit to realize just how good it was.
That’s not normal behavior for me.
One thing that has allowed me success in the music industry (even if I’m currently out of it), is that I have a pretty good ear for good music or music with potential. Therefore, it’s not common that a song has to brew a bit for me to realize just how much I love it. But that’s not to say it doesn’t happen and this song is proof of that.
Have you heard “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky because you just found out and can fill your ears with pure happiness.
And because it’s everyone’s lucky day, I ran across this cover by Walk off the Earth which is pretty freaking impressive. Enjoy.
...we don’t need to talk about how the lyrics of this song kind of fit into my life, right?
When I was talking about my goals for the year, I mentioned I wanted to work on opening myself up for the chance of being hurt. We’ve all felt what it’s like to lose someone we love, whether that be through their passing or life taking us in two separate directions. While those two forms of loss are very different from each other and the hurt will be different, the heartache is still existing.
I’ve experience both.
I know what it’s like to lose a member of your family. I know what it’s like to lose friends you thought would always stay in touch. I know what it’s like to have your heart completely broken and shattered by someone you love. And I know how hard it is to get back on your feet. And I’m sure you do too.
Every time I hear “These Days” by the Foo Fighters I’m reminded of the heartache we all feel at some point in our lives. And I love the song; I just love it.
I grew up on Country music. This was before it was “popular.” Country is all that my dad listens to so going home means that anytime we are in the car together, we’re listening to country. I listen to a bit of country so it’s never bothered me, but there’s just something about hearing it when I’m in Illinois that just takes me back. And I can’t help but feel a bit country if I’m driving in my dad’s pickup truck while listening to it...
Anyway, while I was home “I’m In a Hurry” by Alabama came on and I made a comment to my parents about how this song had been on country radio for years! I remember listening to it as a kid, so talk about nostalgia. It may not be new music; it may not even be the best music, but country music, especially this song, takes me back.
Do you have any music that takes you back to your childhood?
Because Christmas was only yesterday and to me Christmas isn’t until later this week when I’m home in Illinois with my family, I’m staying on Christmas music this week. In fact it’s all about my favorite Christmas movie, A White Christmas.
It’s a tradition to watch this movie every year and I haven’t seen it yet! Thankfully, my mom and sister haven’t either so there will most definitely be some movie watching while I’m home. (And cookie baking too, of course!)
So it is to be expected that today I’m sharing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” as sung by Bing Crosby; the only version of this song a girl could ever want or need.
I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas (and Holiday season)! If you decide to be one of those people shopping/making returns today, please be nice to the retail employees, especially at the Apple Store. I beg this of you!
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Christmas is SUNDAY! Can you believe it? Ever since moving to LA over 2 years ago, I have a hard time feeling like it’s Christmas when it doesn’t get all cold and snow. The snowflake shaped lights and Christmas decorations all around just don’t have the same affect when the weather is still in the 60s.
But despite that, I still do my best each year to make it feel like Christmas and get in the festive spirit. I have been listening to the non-stop Christmas music station in my car, watching random Christmas movies on Netflix and Hulu, and lighting up my Christmas tree anytime I’m going to be in the living room. I think it’s working, at least kind of.
Last night as I was sitting around my living room (resting and relaxing from surgery) hanging out with Amy, I had the A Charlie Brown Christmas music playing in the background. It’s honestly one of my favorite Christmas albums; plus it allows me to sit back and relax.
I still need to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas so I think I should add that to the agenda for this afternoon.
I mean seriously, how does this not make you happy?
Go watch A Charlie Brown Christmas or listen to the album. You’ll be happy. I can almost guarantee it!
I’ve been talking about how much I love the new Florence + the Machine album, Ceremonials, so it should come at no surprise that I was excited to find a Florence + the Machine version of “Last Christmas.” I actually just happened to stumble upon it but I’m so happy I did. I really do love me some Florence + the Machine.
And while I was at it, I also stumbled upon a version of “Last Christmas” by Jimmy Eat World just for good measure.
Despite the fact that this song is kind of sad if you think about it, I kind of love it. :)
I remember when he walked into the store last holiday season. I was standing in the accessory section and there were two men looking at cases together. I looked around at them and said “can I help you guys find anything?” They looked to me and told me what they were looking for. I pointed them in the right direction and then I saw their faces. I only recognized one of them but I didn’t think it could be. His credit card proved it was.
I remember hearing one of his songs at a school dance in high school and becoming obsessed with it. I then would just sit in my bedroom and listen to his CDs on repeat and just relax. He’s got one of the most soothing voices I’ve ever heard.
While this isn’t new music I’m introducing you to, I’m always on the search for more holiday music to help put me in the spirit. Go listen to Brian McKnight’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas album on Spotify or buy it from iTunes. Go now. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go!
When you fall asleep around 8 every night due to mere exhaustion from being sick and you’re waking up every 6 hours to take more medication, then your body gets used to waking you up at the wee hours of the morning ready to go (more on that to come). And when I woke up this morning, I found myself in the mood to put up a few Christmas decorations + my tree. So I did.
And now that I’ve finished and I have a lit up tree staring at me while I eat my breakfast, I’m on the search for a few new Christmas songs. I ran across “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay. It’s really kind of pretty. If you listen to the lyrics, it’s a bit of a heartache but it’s Coldplay meets Christmas, was new to me and may be new to you too.
Have you heard the new Florence & the Machine album, Ceremonials? Because if you haven’t, I’m pretty sure you need to log-in to your Spotify account and take a listen. I’m pretty sure you’ll end up buying it like I’m planning to shortly.
I heard the single, "Shake it Out", on the radio a few weeks ago and have been looking forward to the new album ever since. And thankfully, the album does not disappoint.
So after you enjoy this video, make sure you continue on to find the album. Seriously, you’ll like it.
Instead of featuring another band or artist that I’m digging this week, I wanted to look to you. I’ve been using the same running playlist for quite some time now and while I add a new song every now and then, I’m in need of a real re-vamp.
Here’s my current playlist:
“The Show Goes On” - Lupe Fiasco
“Love the Way You Lie” - Eminem
“Airplanes” - B.o.B
“Just a Dream” - Nelly
“Shake it” - Blue Judy
“Radioactive” - Kings of Leon
“Stubborn Love” - The Lumineers
“Fearless Love” - Melissa Etheridge
“Our War” - Neon Trees
“Break Me Out” - The Rescues
“My Body” - Young the Giant
“AstroSerf” - 6cheek (The Lumineers circa 2007 or so)
“In Regards to Sam” - We Pilot These Machines
Clearly I listen to a wide array of music while working out, my goal is either for something to pump me up and make me want to push harder or run faster, or for some part of the lyrics to catch me and inspire me to push through the harder moments in my workout.
So with that, what are your favorite songs to listen to while working out or running?
What songs get you pumped?
Leave them in the comments or email me and help me build my new playlist!
If you’re choosing to go out tonight, I hope you all stay safe and have some awesome costumes! Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. In fact, I’ve never really cared about it since the days of being a little kid and dressing up to go trick-or-treating with my friends. But I will dress up and hang out with friends if there’s something going on, so it’s still a fun holiday.
I didn’t/am not doing anything for it this year. I worked all weekend and while I have today off, I’m looking forward to spending the night in reading and relaxing. Yes, I’m lame sometimes. But I started my day with some pumpkin spice pancakes so at least I’m still kind of festive. ;)
If I look back at the years of costumes, I have a hard time pointing out a favorite but as a kid, my mom and grandma used to make our costumes so if you want to talk about who had the best Belle, Little Mermaid or Cinderella costumes, surely it was my sister and I! And in middle school, my friends and I decided to dress up as The Pink Ladies (from Grease) which was pretty awesome. I was on crutches that Halloween so we got me a wheelchair and dressed it up as our car so I wouldn’t have to walk around all night.
Anyway, allowing my ears to open up to the new James Morrison album, The Awakening, means that’s all I’ll be listening to for the next week or so.
I remember when one of my coworkers introduced me to James Morrison back in college and I wondered how I had lived my whole life without hearing this voice. It is seriously soulful and gorgeous - almost scary good! (Bad Halloween pun, huh?) I can’t help but swoon and wish to find a man with this kind of voice to sing me to sleep every night.
I was all ready with today’s post after I found a new album released by one of my favorite artist’s in college but then I remembered Coldplay’s new album Mylo Xyloto came out today and I quickly had a change of plans. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait on the other amazing album.
Mylo Xyloto is too good to not share with you today. It’s been awhile since I put my money into purchasing a new album (thank you to Spotify, even though I have yet to upgrade my account) but this morning I let my iTunes account do the work and my ears have yet to complain. Pure bliss.
The singles from the album so far are “Every Tear Drop Is a Waterfall” and “Paradise” but my ears have also been wrapped around “Hurts Like Heaven.” Seriously people, get this album.
And help me buy tickets to see them play live - who wants to join me? (They don’t seem to have released any dates yet but when they do, I want to go!)
Oh my ears are happy this morning. Music moves me.
Can we take this moment to celebrate new Ryan Adams? I mean seriously people! The new album, Ashes and Fire, just came out last week and while I only placed my ears on it last night while eating dinner, I’m already in love.
Some of my favorite music is quiet, relaxing, yet soulful. There’s a place for all kinds of music, especially depending on our moods but this is a favorite. I can already tell this album is going to be on repeat for awhile.
For now, let your ears sink into one of my favorites (and the first single) from the album called “Lucky Now.”
Some people would call me crazy. I had a job in the music industry that I really did enjoy but I chose to leave. The company was awesome, my bosses and coworker were awesome and our clients were awesome. So why would I leave?
To this day, I’m not sure anyone at the company truly understands how difficult of a decision it was for me to leave. But it was something that I had to do. I was feeling myself burning out quickly between working at Apple and managing bands. I knew that if I kept at the same pace I was going, it wasn’t going to be pretty. So I had to make a decision. A decision that to this day, I have not regretted despite losing The Lumineers only a few months after.
The thought was to have one job that could pay my bills while pursuing my ultimate career goal - managing bands. After losing The Lumineers in March, I’ve had to pull myself out of that heartache and get back on my feet ready to move forward. And several times I’ve fallen over realizing I wasn’t yet ready to make that move, despite thinking I could.
I realize sometimes it’s not a matter of being ready but finding the right inspiration to keep you pushing through the negative thoughts that begin to fill your mind when times are tough. And maybe it’s about finding your “partner in crime” instead of pushing at it alone. Who wants to go about anything tough all by themselves? And I’m not talking about my future husband, that will come in time. I’m talking about finding my business partner! It’s going to happen. You watch and see.
I’m feeling the inspiration beginning to flow through my body again and as I drank my coffee this morning, I let it start taking affect as I begin the process of moving my blog to my own domain. It’s not ready, so don’t leave me here just yet but if you want a sneak peak....
You may remember Feist for “1234” (the above video) but be ready to know her also for her new album Metals, which I’ve been listening to non-stop for the last few days. I even figured out how I could listen to the album while also listening to my YogaDownload podcast the other night (thank you to iTunes and Spotify having their own built in volume controls and working simultaneously). It’s relaxing, fun and addictive!
While I can’t urge you enough to go listen to the whole Metals album, at least begin enjoying the first single from the album “How Come You Never Go There.”
It’s not often that I find myself liking current hits on the top 200 radio stations; it’s just not generally my kind. Obviously there are always some that I do like or eventually grow on me. At least until the stations completely overplay them and the start of the song makes me either want to jab something in my ear or switch the station.
There is one song that I’m sure will eventually get old, but right now I can’t but help sing along to and it’s “Moves by Jagger” by Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera. Both artists had fallen into silence it seemed for a bit (or at least weren’t doing anything that I paid attention to) and then came this song.
I imagine it will soon be added to my workout playlist because it does a good job getting me pumped!
My last semester at college, I had an assignment to interview someone in the music industry. Anyone. As long as I could get in contact with them and they agreed to the interview, of course. I went searching through my brain for people that I’d want to interview and quite honestly, I’d have been excited to interview anyone! But I was super excited when Maroon 5’s manager agreed to do the interview; and even more excited when we actually found time to complete it. It was a phone interview (you know with him being in California and me in Boston). My biggest take-a-way from our chat, was that he was the one who helped “break” Maroon 5 - he took them when no one really knew who they were, to the internationally known band they are today. And he’s been with them through it all (and I believe, still is). I remember hanging up the phone and thinking about how someday, I want to say that I broke a band and years later we’re still standing side to side working together like a family. There was a brief moment I thought I was getting there, I was wrong but years later and that interview still left me with a bit of a soft spot for Maroon 5.
(All of the videos for this song are weird...sorry, but true...)
I know it’s not a Wednesday but after some tweets over delicious chewy pumpkin cookie recipes going around Twitter last night, I decided I had to incorporate my favorite pumpkin recipe for fall!
When I was kid, my mom would make us these cookies every year around Halloween and we would decorate them with frosting and candy to get more sugar to look like Jack-o-lanterns. The cookies were giant, delicious and a favorite!
But as we got older, we didn’t find the need to shape the dough to look like a pumpkin and send ourselves into a complete sugar coma so we started making them the size of normal cookies. And of course, they were still amazing!
So I had to speak up when someone needed a recommendation and therefore, I present:
Great Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Libby's Solid Pack Pumpkin (I'm sure you can use any kind of canned pumpkin.)
1 cup semi-sweet real chocolate morsels
Assorted icing or peanut butter
Assorted candies, raisins, or nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet; spread into pumpkin shape, using thin metal spatula. Add a bit more dough to form stem. Bake 15-20 minutes (for normal sized cookies or 20-25 mins for decorating sized), until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on racks. Decorate, using icing or peanut butter to affix assorted candies, raisins, or nuts. Variation: Substitute 1 cup raisins for morsels.
**I believe the recipe was pulled out of some newspaper magazine when I was kid and therefore I can not (nor can my momma) take responsibility for creating this delicious recipe.**
And per the usual Music Monday fashion, I wanted to talk to you about Bon Iver (again, I think). For anyone who has never heard of this band, look them up! For anyone who has but isn’t familiar with their music, fill your ears with the beautiful sounds. And for anyone who has never seen them live, GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!
I don't care that it's blurry, gives you an idea of the lighting. And I was sitting very high up. ;)
This was potentially one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen! Not only was the music out of control, the lighting and stage set up just amplified what your ears were hearing. This band knows how to build up a song to just the right point that you don’t know what’s going to happen and then BAM they climax and you’re left sitting in awe. Truly outstanding that I wish I could find all the right words to describe it but it’s definitely something you need to witness for yourself. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.
I went with my friends Krystle and Nathalie and the whole drive home we were all just going “oh my gosh!” and “I still can’t believe that!” and “possibly the best live show I’ve been to, at least in a really long time!”
Such an amazing band that I wold LOVE to work on their tour! LOVE to!!
Well I have officially survived the all-store event that felt like it may never happen! I worked lots of hours last week to pull it all together and at the end of the day, it was all worth it! I hope everyone had a good time hanging out, eating and enjoying each others company.
This morning I want to celebrate with a current song favorite from the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album ‘I’m With You’ called “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.” I keep hoping the album will show up on Spotify and unless I’m completely blind, it has yet to make an appearance and I’m getting antsy waiting and may just end up buying it.
Anyway, there’s a lot of good music swirling around that I want to share with you, but for today, enjoy this one. I think it should be added to some running / workout playlists out there...
Clearly my day didn’t go as planned. It ended well getting to meet little puppy Rosco but it was quite the roller coaster in between. Please send your positive vibes my way that all goes well and the dust clears away.
Anyway, I think it’s time we all relax with a little music, wouldn’t you say?
I’m one of those people who likes having some older music on my iPod (or iPhone) because a little nostalgia always makes me smile. Well as I was running this past week, “Maybe It’s Me” by Ingram Hill came up and I couldn’t help but sing along (mouthing the lyrics as I was at the gym and didn’t want to scare/bother people) while pushing forward. It made me happy. I sure do love that song. So it was only fitting that I included it today.
Here’s a live version of “Maybe It’s Me” by Ingram Hill. Enjoy.
(And don’t blame me if you start listening to this song on repeat..)
I am so thankful I have friends with good musical tastes because I always get introduced or re-introduced to the music that’s out there. I’m particularly lucky because my best friend Tracey knows good music and is always sharing good music. Her most recent share was “Ocean” by John Butler Trio. This song makes me swoon and melt. I love good music.
