This will be Our Year (took a long time to come)

I kept thinking I had already posted these, but I looked through my old posts/tags and can't find them. So I guess I just imagined that? LOL. I would be remiss if I didn't share these though, as they are my two favorite songs that are appropriate for a New Year (or really anytime, because they are awesome).

"This Will Be Our Year" - The Zombies - Just a link to hear the song on YT. Enjoy its perfection.





"This Year" - The Mountain Goats - a really random video, I guess they've been like taken hostage to perform? I am distracted the whole way through looking at his fake head wound. But I like that it is quirky and memorable. And he uses the word "cavalcade" which earns him like 1 million gold stars, in my book. Especially coupled with the reference to a next year in Jerusalem (love me some vaguely religious refs, especially to something said at a Seder, you don't get that a lot).
Digression: If you don't listen to TMG, you should. The man is a genius. I saw him live (solo) several years back and he was electric, you can't take your eyes/ears away from him, just so charged/passionate/on-fire/magnetic/FIERCE/words-of-that-nature.  Check out also one of his more recent songs - "Psalms 40:2" (he has at least one more vaguely scriptural/or inspired by a verse type songs, I don't know why; they are pretty killer).







Have a safe and ridiculously Happy New Year! Make it through!!

An American Christmas

"An American Christmas" - The Boston Camerata  (they are an "early music ensemble")

Probably one of my top five favorite Christmas album out there.  I won the CD as a prize from the local classical music station (which sadly got bought out and switched to some other format several years ago, but was a staple of my childhood).... The DJ (who has an amazing voice himself) would do kids requests for Christmas music during a few hours in the mornings during the time leading up to Christmas. And kids would request their carols, and you could dedicate songs to friends/family, etc and they'd be read out... It was really cute and fun, and you'd listen for your songs etc.  Anyways, I loved it and earned the nickname 'dedication queen' LOL because that's how big of a nerd I am. But I also got some free tickets to some performances and a stack of great classical CDs (which I still have) - including this one. It is a whole different animal than what is generally associated with Christmas music today.

Which is great because my parents aren't really holiday music people, but this has good crossover appeal because the vocals are just strikingly fantastic, that you can still love it, even if you're not into Christmas. And especially if you like nice old traditional songs that you can imagine being sung in some stern Puritan meetinghouse or the like. And I do.

The whole thing is really old, folksy, songs we don't really hear ever, nor would necessarily even think of some of these being "Christmas-y". It's very different. I could rave about how lovely the singing is... it's just all stellar. A nice refreshing cleanse for the ears (and maybe the soul) from all the poppy-plastic-overplayed 'holiday' fluff tunes that dominate the airwaves this time of year. Personally if I hear any more 'Christmas' songs that contain the word 'shorty', I am going to burn something down (not because it's not christmasy, just because it's terrible). If you occasionally feel that way, and like classical/renaissance/folk things - than you too may love this album as much as I do. There's something so hauntingly beautiful about the melodies and arrangements.

I listened to it on the plane down yesterday and it drowned out both kids and idiots with admirable ease/grace. Highly recommend. Unfortunately, though, it seems people aren't putting the songs up on YT... didn't find any fanvids set to them, LOL.


You can hear two more on their site, and you can read some educational liner notes as well. They also have an all Renaissance Christmas album as well, and you can hear one song here. Or hit their shop for many other good albums.



(I hope the  sound on these works for you. It worked fine when I drafted this post at my house, but my parents house it's reallllllly faint. I'm hoping that's just because of their terrible computer, not the sound quality of the video. I also couldn't get the share feature to work on the second, again, hoping it all works for you.)

"Bozrah"





"Kingsbridge"- http://www.youtu.be/watch?v=6eIj4IB6HO8&feature=related



What are your favorite not-so-famous Christmas songs? Please share in the comments.


Merry Christmas!!!!

Wham!

Merry Christmas Eve! Posting over the holidays will be sporadic (as usual, maybe moreso).
Please enjoy this classic Christmas gem. 


"Last Christmas" - Wham!

Come on, we all wish our lives looked like this, don't we? The hair, the skiing, the tortured longing looks...

Light up the night, beat back the shadows

My house, the first night

Happy Hanukkah everyone!!

Last year I had a few songs, including Miracle, by Matisyahu and Candlelight by The Maccabeats (which is still the only thing I hear in my head when I hear the original non-Hanukkah version when I'm like, at the gym or something). This year The Maccabeats covered Miracle. So it all comes together. They are also doing a charity thing with this video - trying to raise money during Hanukkah for bone marrow donation - http://makesomemiracles.com/ so go check that out!

Hey guys, Blossom is in this video!!! (You can win a phone call with her or BBT swag from donating to the above). I love her. So she kinda makes the video for me. Also, her menorah is AMAZING. All the ones in the video are great and make me have serious menorah-envy.





And then, The Fountainheads (from Ein-Prat Academy, Israel) have two great Hanukkah songs/videos that I didn't see until this year. And they have a great Passover one I see, it's super cute. I will bust that out later. Love love love to see people make fun modern Jewish holiday songs. Good work, people. Very good.

"Light Up The Night" - I really like this song. They did a fantastic job writing something beautiful and catchy.  Selected favorite lines - "Light up the night, beat back the shadows..." is my fav, but this is also good -

 "For just eight nights / gather together / glimmers of those / who light up your life" 

And the part in Hebrew is transliterated as follows: Al Hanissim, Al Hapurkan (for the miracles and for the salvation) / Yamim Hahem, Bazman Hazeh (In those days, at this time). Those are similar to many refrains in old traditional Hanukkah songs.

And the video is cute, though IDK why there are Matrix-y bits, and a bit of what looks like wizarding Harry Potter-ness. It's amusing. Love the prominent featuring of sufganiyot (traditional Israeli Hanukkah jelly donut, I can't wait to go home so my mom can make me some!) and the use of kids in candle headbands (which I love, even though there are really bad dorky pics of me and my siblings as kids in something similar).




"I Gotta Feeling"  is based on the dreaded BEP song. It is pretty cute and fun. I love the part where the guy spins the dreidel on his head. Tonight's gonna be a bright night!!





And for your jazzy holiday music mix, a bass version of the ancient song "Ma'Oz Tzur" - Alex Bershadsky. And I wasn't really expecting much from the video (since it's just jazzy bass), but it's really stylish and has just flashes of him, city shots, and a candle... LOL a little much maybe for a wordless video, but it's cute and classy and I liked it.





So everyone enjoy their holidays, whatever it is - may it be full of light and hope and all that good stuff.


And don't forget -

"You don't need deck the halls or jingle bell rock Cause you can spin the dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock..."

Music Truth Freedom

RIP Vaclav Havel - "Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred."

In honor of the Velvet Revolution then, a little Velvet Underground, to commemorate - "Sunday Morning"

Miscellaneous dancing & good beer commercials

We interrupt this round of posting holiday music for a wee little dance break -

The opening of the Indian reality show "Just Dance" featuring the apparently insanely popular Hrithik Roshan (just watch the opening dance... the rest is just him talking, not exciting). The YT clips for him are endless. Best YT comment on this? "paid audience are overacting too much" LOL (they also don't hesistate to point out the MJ imitating and the hamminess). If you don't at least chuckle while watching this, I don't even know. I wish our reality shows were this over-the-top... it's so trying to be the most epic thing ever. It's a dance contest! Love it. We all need a little Bollywood in our lives, I think. More big dance numbers!





And then, I try not to comment on too many commercials (I'm not promoting anything), but I really like these new Heineken ones. They just look so fun and swingy and energetic without looking annoying, even though they throw like everything possible in there. It's what you wish your drinking life looked like, rather than the sometimes dingy unattractive reality of your local pub... These are all hip and delightful. Makes me almost want to drink Heineken, and post about how much I enjoy watching them, so I guess they did their job. Both feature good music, a clearly well-measured intentional dose of quirk, vintage movie-type vibes, and cute well-dressed guys with mustaches. Continue this trend, advertisers!


"The Entrance"



And "The Date" is my favorite because they break into absolutely great dancing at the end. It's so adorable.






Any good/amusing dancing caught your eye recently? Share in the comments for us all to enjoy together.

Riu Riu What??

So I was looking through my Christmas music selection cause I'm taking my playlist to a party this weekend (I don't really trust their music selections as I think they're all quite young, LOL, also I think there may be square-dancing or something if that gives you some insight in what I must contend with). Realized there was no Ríu Ríu Chíu, which one must have. I like this song because: it is so gorgeously distinctive and medieval, a song in Spanish is a nice break from other overplayed Christmas songs, and it has a great name (Riu Riu Chiu are supposedly the sounds of the Nightingale? Fascinating).  Did some searching, and... awesome discovery time! 

Someone has awesomely remixed this very ancient song into electronica - no longer solemn, but still quite beautiful in its own way, I think. It might be just the ticket for a holiday workout? Or jazz up your otherwise quiet holiday get-together? Do it.

I believe you can listen to the whole thing here - although at 6 minutes plus, it might be a bit long for those of you with non-electronic-drum-and-bass tastes. (This version is also available, and cheaper, I think, on iTunes and Amazon, but they limit their preview length, so this link works for that.) 

"Riu Riu II" - DJ Breaks : http://www.digital-tunes.net/releases/riu_chiu_ii?fb_share=on

Then for the slightly more traditionalists, you can hear a standard version by Chanticleer. 

Or, maybe The Monkees are more your style? I love it, this version is fantastic. Though their voices are softer than the version above, they all sound lovely together, very sweet and reverent. The song goes only about 1:33 - then the candle is blown out (cute) and the video continues with them wishing a Christmas message and bringing their crew out to thank them and etc. It's all very adorable.

What is your favorite lesser known Christmas song? I have a contribution towards those coming up (if I remember to post).

Or a favorite remix discovery? Share!

(I am working on more Hanukkah music for next week, don't worry!)

Who else is listening to Christmas music already?!

Because I certainly am! It makes the dark grey afternoons at work seem ever-so-slightly more festive.


Mildly embarrassing admission: I love me some Hootie (the man himself, not his band so much). He is so smooth-voiced and calming. The man can sing.

The song itself is nothing special lyrically (pretty bland), and I would probably not think twice about it, but something about the warm and reassuring way his voice sounds ensures that this song worms its way into my brain at this time of year. Also I like the random fiddling bit. His "Winter Wonderland" is a little too heavy-handedly countrified for me so it did not make the cut for my Christmas mix (although I also secretly love that he sings country now, I think his voice is perfect for it), but this blend of smooth, swingy, slightly-country Christmas I really like. Lull me to sleep anytime, sir.

"Candy Cane Christmas" - Darius Rucker







And then just to remind ourselves.... Hootie greatest hits. I knew this person once whose teacher (math I think) in like, Junior High or some such, made a quiz that was like all the answers were tied to trivia about Hootie & The Blowfish? Something like that? Not sure. I probably don't have permission to share that story either, LOL, sorry I can't clarify. I bring it up because they always claimed they did really well on the quiz because they knew already knew all the Hootie facts, that's how much they liked them.

"Only Wanna Be With You" - Admit that you know all the words. This song reminds me of being a teenager.  Also, the video is hilarious... it's super random. Basketball. Golf. It has Keith Olbermann in it. Love the head slide @1:16ish, and the supremely dorky dance @2:02ish. I love that over on YT one commenter calls it "probably the most 90s looking video ever" LOLZ.


Hootie & The Blowfish - Only Wanna Be With  You by AtlanticRecords



"Hold My Hand" another great YT comment "God damnit I love the 90s"


Hootie & The Blowfish - Hold My Hand by AtlanticRecords



"Let Her Cry"

Hootie & The Blowfish - Let Her Cry by AtlanticRecords





I may or may not share some more Christmas and Hannukah favorites. What is your mildly-embarrassing Christmas music secret?

Twitter vid roundup

Consider this also your Follow Friday roundup if you like good music'n'stuff. Heavy dose of the quirky today, with a shot of hysterically terrible at the end.  Enjoy!

Via @killrockstars -

"Rip Up Your Stitch" - Ashia and The Bison Rouge - It's got a lot of look going on with costumes, dolls and paper dolls and circusy folk... Also, keep an eye out for the guy whose hat appears to maybe be a bison head? I love that. Also the almost-angry faced child dancing @3:04. . .




And "Top Ranking" - Blonde Redhead (video starring Miranda July of  "))<>((" fame)





Via @laughingsquid -

"Thick as Thieves " - Kalle Mattson - aka 'a stopmotion history of the world' - very cute. I love the mix of textures / paper / craftiness. My favorite part it the end. So true.






And possibly the best/worst for last, via @pajiba
"pajiba Dustin Rowles 

It will melt off your face, stab you, and take your wallet: RT@JarretMyer: The Worst Music Video Ever Made. bit.ly/tjwhnG

"Hailing from Cleveland, Alternate Reality's video was shot on location at historic Squire's Castle in Willoughby Hills, Ohio between July and November 2011. Interesting factoids: The video features 20 actors, 3.5 lawyers, 4 Slovenians, 4 lead singers, 7 employees from 4 Cleveland area law firms, 3 horses, and one historic castle"

"The King That Never Was" - Alternate Reality 

Shake it out

I have had a really rough Thanksgiving weekend. My beloved cat Alfie went into respiratory distress on Wednesday, and I will spare you the whole dramatic retelling (traffic, a long car ride, a lot of fear, how broke I am going to be for some time), but it was not fun. This was also the first year I have ever eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, so I was already going to be feeling out of sorts a little (I really love Thanksgiving & I miss cooking for my fam), although I was there with friends and it was a pretty fantastic gastronomic delight. (+Wine pairings! So. Good.) But it was still weird. Especially with the cloud of not knowing about Alfie until later that night hanging over my head. But I was thankful for a lot - thankful for my friend/coworker who immediately volunteered to go with me and ended up driving my car so I could sit with Alfie and really went above and beyond in being super supportive all day Wednesday. Thankful that I did have friends to invite me to eat with them and offer some supportive thoughts and ensure I wasn't totally alone. And I am especially thankful for the vets, and that while Alfie might be a little tired and grumpkiny today- he is sitting in the sun on the window ledge pretty much like normal.

So for this Black Friday - I am feeling better, though still a little overwhelmed with having to manage Alfie's meds from now on (the weight of it is unexpected), and the uncertainty of the future - which I know is all around us all the time, but we sometimes can slip past it without confrontation for a long time and try not think about these things too much; but not forever. An unexpected Thanksgiving season chain of events, that's for sure. No crazy shopping for me. I am trying to resist the urge to buy an unnecessary sequin party dress. So far so good.

For videos today I offer three selections - 2 songs that I heard on hold while calling to check on Alfie Wednesday night/Thursday morning at his emergency animal hospital that were weirdly interesting and moving to me at the time (illusory pattern perception, maybe - I know it's just nice quiet/bland music they play on hold) and 1 that has been bouncing around in my head and I thought might be a nice closer.

"Thank You For Being A Friend" - Andrew Gold  - (the hair/beards... are alone worth seeing)





"Let's Get Together" - The Youngbloods



And finally - gotta' keep moving forward / looking ahead so-

"Shake it Out" - Florence + The Machine - I love that this video is so over-the-top drama all the way - the dresses, the masquerade party, a seance, dancing... A lot going on, all very gorgeous. However, this has to fall into my category of videos of people at a party which make me happy I don't go to parties - as most party videos do, they mostly look terrible to me, people 'having a good time' but not really... but this is my own personal bias because I'm not a fan of huge parties. Perhaps this is one of the underlying themes of sadness and bitterness (among many other feelings/memories/things) that could therefore be shaken out/off?

Why don't you like me? Why don't you like yourself?

Had a good Friday night out for a bit, meeting up with coworkers for a pint or two at a local "meadery" LOL. The PacNW is a great place for that kind of place, where people knit in bars, and everyone rocks the beard and ponytail and flannel shirt (or androgynous hipster lady) look and sports at least one homemade/etsy item. And heavy on the ironic handlebar pedo mustaches.

 Haven't posted in quite some time - I am trying and failing (as usual) to NaNoWriMo... so that has been tough. I may or may not improve at regular posting. I try. Sometimes.

But yeah. Kinda in a great mood, so it is time for some cheerful videos. The great thing about MIKA videos (besides his bangin' hair) is how they look exactly how they sound. You hear the song, you're like, wow, I can kinda see this in my head - and yeah, it's pretty much what you expect (and maybe just slightly better than you imagined - very ultra glam pop and yet somehow retaining some class, somehow, even with crotch-lasers... just so earnestly sunny it's almost impossible to dislike). Exuberant, super colorful, over-the-top, very very uptempo poppy delight. Usually I despise videos where people dance around having a party/good time, but these are kind of infectiously joyous. Pretentiously twee, maybe, but in the way that kind of makes you want to hug him. His first main album "Life in Cartoon Motion" is one of the most satisfyingly, thoroughly, consistently, cheerful albums ever made.


"Grace Kelly" -  prob his most famous song



"Rain" - a slightly more "serious" mood, LOL. As one of the YT comments says: "EPIC DANCING" - this is like, so my song - also: fireworks! And running/dancing with/from forest animal people.

"Baby, I hate days like this

When it rain and rain and rain and rains
When it rain and rain and rain and rains
When it rain and rain and rain and rains
When it rain and rain and rain and rains...
...Trying to be ordinary,
Was it me who was the fool? "

"We are Golden" - he dances around, a lot, glittery shoes



"Love Today" -  he dances around, a lot



"Lollipop" - cartoon/fairytale/kids book gone mad type video



And his latest, in French - "Elle Me Dit" - a variety of people /outfits/patterns/ages dance around






Have a cheery Friday night! Stay warm!

Tell the ghosts in your head that it's time for their break

A little "Grace" for your Friday, courtesy of the dreamy Eef Barzelay (Clem Snide):


Clem Snide - 'Grace' @ MTV Urband Beats from binalogue on Vimeo.

Well you know November's come, when it's gone away

Hope you had a happy and safe Halloween. Not sure how the year has already turned to a wintry November (silly tilted planet), but here we are.


"Riding Trains in November" - Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer - pretty sure this is just a personally made non-official video someone set with the song, but it fits nicely with the introspective/drifting/time-passing mood of the song.






"November Has Come" - Gorillaz -  very smooth





My beloved Morrissey contributes the great song and hilariously bad insanely cheezetastic video of "November Spawned a Monster" (on which my beloved Henry Rollins has some choice words, LMAO)...  O. THE. WRITHING.   Video cuts off abruptly, sorry.





And leading up to the iconic video that you know one has to end with in a "November" post, first please enjoy the adorable video by uber-talented and delightful Regina Spektor who references the aforementioned iconic post-ending song twice in:

"On the Radio" (which also deserves a mention for its non-annoying use of kids, which is rare)





And of course, the grand finale, the sweeping epic that is "November Rain" - Guns N' Roses:
Fantastic.







Any November songs that I should have included? Seasonal/mood songs that you're feeling this month? What see through shirt would you wear in your writhing-in-the-desert video? Care to describe your dream early 90s music video wedding and funeral for us? Hit the comments!

How can I keep from singing?

Let's go old-school with a little classic Enya... Yes, yes, I know, Enya has become synonymous with cliched new agey passé Celtic-craze wishywashy type muzak. But Watermark and Shepherd Moons have lulled me for years, and I even have a sadfunny personal story about a song on one of her newer albums... so yeah, we go way back, even though this is not exactly my typical preferred musical style. (Handy tip - if you ever have unruly children to deal with at night, Enya is very soothing and "boring" enough that they will give up and go to sleep. I have used it on cabins chock full of hyper tween girls to good effect.) But I will not apologize for my Enya love, sometimes you just need it. And it reminds me of being in like junior high... the albums are older than that, but that was when I got hold of them. On tape.

My favorite song performed by her is a classic folk song that she covered - see below - this whole post was brought to mind because I was deciding what music to put on my new phone and realized as much as I'd rather keep it to a minimum (like under 9 gigs hahahaha), I may need a good song for hard nights sometimes, so I had to put this on, and prob the above mentioned albums at least... It's just such a lovely song.

"How Can I Keep From Singing?" - Enya (warning - annoying ads) - video is about what you would expect - she swans around an old church & then there are clips about war/peace/freedom...


Watch Enya - How Can I Keep From Singing? in Music  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

One of my music husbands

STUCK IN MY HEAD
I LOVE YOU ROBERT SMITH

Not in Love - Crystal Castles ft. Robert Smith (video is meh, though nicely reminiscent of memories, I guess...)

Go Hard or Go Home

FRIDAY! (My Friday off, to be exact, yay! All I did was watch tv and go to the gym...)

So Stomp The Yard was on this morning. And it is a pretty terrible movie, but it has fun dancing. And Spoiler alert - Chris Brown wins a dance battle AND THEN GETS SHOT. Fantastic. 

Also - dancing in an empty pool, which I think actually makes for a really lovely/striking framing of the scene. 

So get your groove on for Friday night! I have no plans. And still no fridge. But hopefully somebody will go and dance one out for me, please. Go hard or go home!

"Go Hard or Go Home" - E-40

(I'll be home, so you'd better go hard!)

Some days, they last longer than others...

We all have them - songs that remind us of certain people. And save your gross romantic "our song" thoughts for some other time, I mean that they remind us of our Friends. Yes, those with a capital F. Whether it was the shared love of a band or song that brought you together, or the song that played as you washed dishes together at some dreary job, or the concert you both danced your hearts out to, mutual music is a strong connector. I was recently talking to my friend Lois about how some songs make me instantly think of us being teenagers together in the summers, they just flash me right back. I know scientists talk about how odors are strong memory makers, but I wonder how much research they have done on songs? I almost feel 17 again when I hear Metallica's Black album. Science me that, scientists! Some things, some events, some people, stick with us (duh), and it's amazing to me how much feeling can come up, even just hearing a snippet of some songs that are deeply entwined with lasting memories (both good and bad, besides good friend songs, I also have songs that I can't really bear to listen to anymore as well).

So these are a selected few songs that remind me of my friend Lois. We met when we were like 15 at summer camp, and spent summers together, been on ups and downs and through a variety of other relationships and musical phases, we have our own secret code language, and so on... (Also through her I also met Miss Michael, so it was a really good deal.) We spent several summers working on staff (cooking and cleaning, and breaking the rules, LOL) at the same camp we met at, and those were some amazing & tiring & trying & ridiculous years, that I would not dare want to do over, but I would not trade for the world either.

Nothing Else Matters - Metallica  Summer nights! Sing me to sleep almost every night, weird looking men! (it was a mildly strict Christian camp and secular music was forbidden, hahahahahahahahahahahaha)

"So close, no matter how far..."

We also listened to a lot of DMB - and especially this song, which I really like... It always makes me think of those times!

Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews Band (what a random video, LOL)




Lois is also a great singer. Once, she sang the Star Spangled Banner for a 4th of July crowd, and I saw an (tough) old man cry (it is a moving song, but it can also be done poorly; this was well done). She also liked Phantom of the Opera and we'd listen to it, and she would sing. You get 3 selections from that here, because I love these.

All I Ask of You - Michael Ball & Sarah Brightman





Internet, why are there so many Emmy Rossum versions on YT but less Sarah Brightman? You guys are wack sometimes. Think of Me  is one of my favorites. Couldn't find a decent video though.


Music of the Night - Michael Crawford  - how hot/creepyHot is this song? "Tremulous and tender"? COME ON NOW. She's looking a little like an early prototype of L.Gaga in this clip though, LOL. Which makes it that much more hilarious.





And also in the same kind of universe of singing - I will spare you Carrickfergus - Charlotte Church. (Though I do wish I had a handsome boatman. And this inspired a code word of ours that describes a state of being.)


Related to this variety of light opera, there's the realm of the Josh Groban/Michael Bublé-s of the world. I know they actually have different styles, but I kind of think of them in the same vein. Classy man-singing... No matter what I hear by either of them (like MB's most recent, see below), even if we don't have any history of listening to it together - I kind of feel like she owns it/them, LOL. They are your mens, Lois!

I used to think Josh Groban was just ok, cute and a good singer and all but then he started popping up on TV, and he is a riot. That just makes his singing so much better. Here is just one bit from a great appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks; and here he is on Glee (and of course, he was just on The Office this week). And here he is singing an adorbz duet -

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Josh Groban & Ellen




And then there is Michael Bublé. I do feel his one drawback is that he exudes a rather smarmy charm... IMO, he looks like he might be kind of a douchey jerk? I have no proof of that all. Just his muppety face is a little petulant looking? IDK. Just a vibe. But he can sing and dance deliciously in a suit, so I guess that can be overlooked for our purposes.  Also I like both of these videos, they are very cutesy and entertaining and memorable, so I guess overall he comes out a winner.

Feeling Good




And his most recent hit - Haven't Met You Yet (because it has dancing in a grocery store it puts me in mind of the video for "Closer" - Travis, which predates this and was included in one of my very first posts here, and is also delightful)






Then there's Rilo Kiley - we share a love for Rilo Kiley... we even went to see them in concert together, it was epic. And Lois used to actually live in Glendora and so we used to sing the beginning of that one all the time (even though it's not my favorite song by them at all).

I think one of my most favorites (and also one that makes me think most of Lois because it talks about 'visiting the mountains with frequency' and days 'by the lake' which is the essence of our youthful summers... which I can barely remember the years of anymore, they have all run together because we are getting on in years, sadface) is With Arms Outstretched -






And speaking of the Promised Land - His Eye is on the Sparrow - Mahalia Jackson  - One of my favorite songs ever that Lois occasionally sings. Sung here in the most amazing way possible.

"I sing because I'm happy / I sing because I'm free / For His eye is on the sparrow / And I know He watches me"

Keeping things strictly platonic (maybe we will do googly-eyed songs about lovers in the future) - who are your important people in life, and what are the songs that make you think of them? Share in the comments!

Heartbreakers

Let's compare and contrast songs titled "Heartbreaker" - because I was going to share a Metronomy one in the last post since it was about them, but then I thought, well I also happen to LOVE the Mariah Carey one of the same name, possibly my favorite video by her... so then I did some YT'ing to find some others, and I thought it would be an interesting juxtaposition. What do they have in common?  (There is something to be examined about why they title the song Heartbreaker, when there are millions of songs on the subject of heartbreak and heartbreakers, just not all so clearly labeled as such.) I think they all (even the most subdued) tend to not be as sad or depressing as one might expect given the subject. If you watch these videos, they don't come off as mournful lamentations. More of statement of facts learned or applied or something come to terms with (or maybe even embraced - a lot of power is involved in the 'breaking'). All-in-all surprisingly upbeat (and some downright catchy). Which is a grand purpose of music, the pursuit of happiness, the turning of what could be conflicting and harrowing emotions into art - movement and sound and yes, even a little hopeful light.

by Metronomy  original video below. Or if you're into things being even a little more technodance-y, there is a Kris Menace remix (not a real video) which is also fun and that YT info contains a great comment about the original video, decide for yourself if that's true:

"Great British pop tune given a French touch by German producer Kris Menace. Be sure to watch the original video, which will make you want to buy a '84 Honda Accord and get some mormon friends..."  

by Mariah Carey - it's just so funny (and the outfits, so dated - that one girl sportin' the overallssss....). This just makes me think of the late 90s, and being in high school, it's all very dear to my heart... 1999! She makes very entertaining videos, I must confess. I need to devote a post to extolling them. This one has singing and dancing in a theatre, a cartoon bit ft. Jay-Z, the guy from Sliders, and to top it all of, a girlfight!  Such. A. Classic.





by MSTRKRFT (ft. John Legend) which has has a cute video wherein hoodlums (I love the one who clearly thinks he's channeling a young Moz) get up to hijinks in a store. I really like this song.





Do not stop watching the videos on this post without watching (and then sending The Republic of Korea a personal note of thanks for their amazing culture) this one by G-Dragon. I for SURE need to do a K-pop post now...




I am not a Peas fan, but will.i.am is hard to dislike. However, the song is kinda meh, and the video not so stellar either, but there is some passable dancing and lights.




Non-video links: Girls; Dionne Warwick; Led Zeppelin (rockin')




And we can close with this, by the iconic Pat Benatar - this probably should have been the first entry on the list! I hope we all know this song. Love how powerfully she just stands and sings!






So, which one is your favorite? Or which one do you think best works with the title? Did one buck you up in time of trouble? Do you want to dress like G-Dragon? Any suggestions to add to the list ? I know it's not an exhaustive list, so if you have good ones (or bad, or mediocre) please share a link in the comments!

You may have the body, but do you have the soul?

I think I had re-tweeted The Look a long time ago (not sure of the original source, sorry), but not featured it here. Not sure why, though, as Metronomy has really good music videos all around. Also I like the guy's big eyes and gingery beard look...


I love this one, mainly because it has a squishy seagull! And bumper cars. Also, the song is ridiculously catchy and synthalicious.





The Bay - it's white outfits, palm trees, vacation, ladies by the pool, basically this close to delving into the total cliche Taio Cruz (or Lonely Island) video territory, but in a very restrained way which still manages to avoid it (but definitely plays with it, hello crotch!). Very crisp and refreshing. However, can you guess the one part of this video that irritates me? Other than the fact that I probably want to buy some white pumps that I'd never wear? 25 gold stars to the first correct answer.





Possibly the weirdest - Radio Ladio. It's just so creepy. They really went for color here, and it's playful, cutesyish and memorable, but there's something disconcerting about painted people.





And  then possibly my favorite - A Thing for Me. Although I still really like the adorable polished simplicity of The Look, I do love that this one involves the usage of words (actual and not), the karaoke ball, everything. Very cute and fun. Hive Goth a thing for you too!

I, too, would like to meet Dave Grohl

Posting break due to my mom visiting me for a little while, and that throws everything off. Oh and it's officially cold and autumnal here, so that's also a bit depressing. I know, excuses...

To get back, a few videos by Wavves (I hate the extra v, it makes me want to pronounce it differently, maybe like "wahhhhves" or something?). I really like their sound because they have that San Diego surf punk vibe that makes me feel like I am home, and young, and hiding from the summer sun.

"Bug" - I think this is their newest. While this song does not explicitly mention Dave Grohl (unlike their "I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl"), this video still manages to incorporate him. Are we sensing a theme? Also it has a random mermaid (wait for it), and a little gratuitous violence (which I wasn't really expecting).




"King of the Beach" - I find this video irritating. They prance around, smoke, do nothing. Song is fine, but nothing interesting about the video.




Then there's "Post Acid" - which one amusing YT comment dubs "more 90s than the 90s" (seriously, when was the last time you saw an alien featured in something in that way?).

Via @laughingsquid - they tweeted this earlier today. I like Wiretree, but I don't think I've ever in the past looked up one of their videos. Don't know why, just never crossed my mind. I really like this video (description below).

The song really reminds me of Iggy Pop's - The Passenger though. (That link goes to some classic Iggy wearing a horsetail. The Passenger is one of those songs you hear once and it just sticks... I used to covet an Iggy poster at the music store I went to a teen. Also he sang the Space Goofs theme song, and the show was pretty dumb but I love the "la-la-la we like monsters" thing, it's such a great theme - again, heard that how many years ago, and I can still hear it in my head sometimes? Memorable.)  And so that's pretty much what I think of when I hear it. Which is fine, as this is still a good song and a fun, cool video.

"An underwater adventure! Animated music video for Wiretree's song 'The Shore' wiretreemusic.com/
Animated/Directed by Eric Power ericpowerup.net"

So I looked up some of the others too, for your convenience.

"Days Gone By" - has a cute dog, and just a nice lo-fi feel with the camera shooting.





"Information" - is a recording of them playing live, shot very nicely. An excellent song.





And the one song of theirs that seems to sneak onto a lot of my playlists, "Big Coat" - I don't know if this is an official video, or just a vid setting it to vintage speakeasy type footage or what. I just know I really really like the song, especially the soft "wooh-oooh-ooohs" at the end.

Ravel's Bolero

Stole this from my friend J's fb this morning. A delightful way to wake up.

"As the winter turned the meadow brown..."

This is my song of the day. Woke up to some louder-than-usual rain, and was a little saddened because we have such late-arriving summers here that I am not ready for fall. I love wearing sweaters and drinking tea by the fire and baking to warm the house and all that, but I still need a few more days of warmth at least. Had to go outside and trim some branches because if it's truly fall, then soon our crazy winds will pick up and I don't want anything hitting the windows if I can avoid it. I hate yard work, I'm not gonna lie. And since it had rained earlier I got soaked. It was unpleasant. Then I came in to warm up, and this song was playing on my mix, and I was immediately struck by how tonally perfect it is for how I feel today. Very chill, a little mournful, a little plaintive, and a lot of wishing I was on a Greek island basking in the gentle sun.

"And you will go to Mykonos / With a vision of a gentle coast /And a sun to maybe dissipate / Shadows of the mess you made..."

"Myokonos" - Fleet Foxes  - The video fits the song, very moody and ethereal. It is all made of shapes, which is good because this is a lot of song to compete with, too much concrete action or even people might be distracting. I think it also has a nice video-game, sci-fi/fantasy feel, what with the moving shapes and structures. Love the light/shadow/dark trees. I really like it.

Not sure if we'll have time to hit the aquarium, but I'm mini-breakin' it to Vancouver for Fri/Sat with a friend, mainly so I can see the Surrealist art exhibit. But look, technically this video has music too, and more importantly - baby octopuses!!!!

Fun with samplers

RT'd this earlier - @killrockstars Free music to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. $0 and 0¢ on Amazon amzn.to/rrW6rx

Whether or not you get that album, if you look at 'what other people who looked at this bought' or whatever (if you scroll down the page a bit), you can see all sorts of other sampler albums that are free for the downloading. 

Most of you probably are already aware of the joys of sampler albums, but I figured I should mention it. I downloaded a few tonight myself.

All Eyes on You

Got this from The 405 website, where they call it:

 "The alluring, summer song for the summer we never had."

I don't know about that, but I do like the song (I generally like their stuff, but it doesn't always stand out) - especially the 80s vibe of the music coupled with the even older feel (or Cold War/Apocalypse feel?) of the video.


St Lucia - All Eyes on You from HeavyRoc Music on Vimeo.

Brief TV promo interlude

I love the show Community, especially that they are not afraid to sing and dance and be schmoopy and delightful. This writeup in Pajiba has the promo for the new season, a real music video featuring Abed (by Jones Street Station) and 2 musical highlights.

Come out from the world, and into my arms

I am in a huge Blitzen Trapper phase (it's just the right mix of folksy Americana sometimes vaguely heavy indie rock slightly Beatles/classics-tinged drama that I really appreciate, it hits "all the right chords" in me just perfectly). They are a band that initially I did not really want to listen to, just based on their name being borderline insufferable (Vampire Weekend would be another). But great music won me over. And yesterday on twitter I RT'd a link (from @rainnwilson RT'ing @SubPopWorld - who is a big fan, to say the least - see The Blitzen Trappen Massacre below) to their latest music video, which you may or may not have seen. I like the song, but actually I'm not a huge fan of the video - nothing happens, it's just them, and they shoot guns (could be promising) but no one dies (boring). But I RT'd just because I happen to like them and have all their albums, etc. I hope to catch them around sometime (they're from Portland). It takes a lot to get me to shows nowadays (that's the aging misanthrope speaking), but I pretty solidly like their work, so maybe I should do it. Their next album is coming out really soon as well.

The latest video - "Love the Way You Walk Away" -





I do like the video for "Furr" though - simple, with just enough quirk in the paper to back the fantastic song (looks like it was on Skins recently and sent a bunch of people there, LOL):




One of my other favorites is "The Man Who Would Speak True", but it's just a vid of what looks like an in-store performance. Love those lyrics and the story.



"Wild Mountain Nation" has some lovely lyrics as well -

Come out from the world
And into my arms
Like wind on the water with me
Come out from the city
Come out from the town
Build stone by stone a wild mountain home

Video (and song) wise, I also really like "Black River Killer" which is so moody and lonesome and it's great he ends up in OR, because you know, the PacNW and serial killers! That's like peanut butter and chocolate! (Also it makes me think of my "Sociology of Murder" class back in undergrad. Good times.) The video goes literal, but in a very cinematic way, and with some good slightly creepy masks for a nice touch.





And finally, "The Blitzen Trapper Massacre" (just for lolz):

Guns and Horsies should be a country song

I had an interesting weekend, I cooked for my church camp and all went well and my desserts were a big hit, but it was cooking for a rental group of around 200 people and so now I am exhausted. Etc.

Came home and slept today because I had nausea type migraine where I couldn't bring myself to do anything. Overtired, I guess. Catching up on some web stuff just now, I found  a former coworker of mine had posted a remix of this song as being his favorite song, given that it has stayed on his playlist for over 3 years (that mix can be found here, and I think I like it better than the one below). Based on that kind of recommendation, I figured I should look for the original song and YT'ed it, and found this. I like her voice pretty well, but this video kind of leaves me cold - the zombie soldier dancers, her little stuttering dancesteps, the hand motions... I don't know. It feels like it should be more interesting than it ends up.



"Guns and Horses"  - Ellie Goulding




Anyone found anything (good/bad/ugly) from a friend's posts/pages lately? Do share.

When things go wrong, I sing along

No real vids today.

For some reason, these songs kinda remind me of each other. No one beats the Magnetic Fields for the music of  the broken, breaking, heart; nor for pure joyful love longs. But the Fields song has some of the same feel to it, to me, of the importance of the song... the earnestness, magic and mystery... (even though they say you don't need this song)... I don't know. I am not always a coherent speaker. I just like these songs. I think they are both lovely meditations.

"No One Will Ever Love You Honestly" - The Magnetic Fields

"You Don't Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart)" - Fields



And I don't usually plug things, but the new Stephin Merritt (of TMF and various other lovely bands) album "Obscurities" is out! I am listening to it right now in delight. Just an FYI.  For instance,"I Don't Believe You" is one of my TMF favs - Obscurities has this version, rather than the one on "i" (LOLZ anime fan vid set to "i" version).

Got a ghost mouth, with a ghost frown

Roadside attractions

Back from a brief work-trip induced posting hiatus. It was fun but extremely exhausting, got to drive all over the other side of the state and see lots of little towns, etc. Swam in the Columbia, climbed on dinosaurs, drank my weight in Sonic's Cherry Limeade, you know, the usual biz trip.

That has absolutely nothing to do with the following song. I just like it and found I had drafted a post about it a while ago and today seems as good a day as any for it.  Girls was a lovely discovery from Pandora. The video below is just a performance, not an official music video. It's a tad pretentious that he claps on a plastic hat (batting helmet?) at the beginning, and I think my mom had that sweater first.

But for some reason I really like the song (and a lot of their other stuff), and find it worms its way into my head a lot recently. Make of that what you will.


"Ghost Mouth" - Girls

Lots of people don't have volume knobs

Via BoingBoing (@BoingBoing):

"A girl with speakers in her skin, and no volume knob"... turns out to be unexpectedly quite moving, without coming off as after-school special / too cloying. I think it's a simple and sweet video, and excellent all-around.

"...Of Our Discontent" - Seasons 

...wondering about you...

I think they know that, I'm looking at them
I think they think I must be out of touch

This song (Left of Center) randomly came up in conversation today. I happen to like it.
(Note -I think all of these are prefaced by ads, I'm sorry.)


"Left of Center" - Suzanne Vega - A classic, as well as an excellent use of eyeshadow.




I believe she might be most famous for "Luka" - which has a fairly somber video, given the subject (abused child).




More recently she had - "Caramel" - which is retro themed. Not a lot of action, but you get some from the movies and it conveys the appropriate wistfulness. Also, it has a cat, of which I always approve. More videos with cats! Love the clothes in this, as well as her hair.




"No Cheap Thrill" - also retro, also not a lot of action. But it looks pretty (although maybe a smidge low budget).

Stuff from tweets

Found by tweet of Amanda Palmer (@amandapalmer):

Love how minimalist this video is, and yet it's chock full of energy/tension (and good music).

"Trust" - Bitter Ruin





What have you come across in tweets lately that you like?

Best Side Story? Grease 2011?

The song is lovely to begin with, and I like Best Coast in general. And while I had heard this video mentioned in passing (since it was directed by Drew Barrymore) I had not seen it. But then Miss Michael sent me a little email mentioning it, so I looked it up. I like the video - a classic theme, I love the hair, the outfits and the vibe (seriously wish my hair looked that big every day at work). Love that it's cinematic - I think more videos should go full on mini-movie. But I do think it's wildly predictable (can happen when you go with the tale-as-old-as-time thing). And the end 'twist' is mildly implausible (and I think, telegraphed from a mile away, it's not very twisty). But - watching Maeby and Troy and other mildly famous young people dress fun and look hot and brawl (more fighting in vids plz) is a win, overall.

From Michael:

Well, I found it on the hairpin.com which called the plot "reblob if u creyed" ... 

The plot is totally melodramatic and cliched, but the visuals are nice and I like the song itself. 

I think that sums it up.

"Our Deal" - Best Coast

Get More: MTV Supervideo, Music, Best Coast

Also can we agree that 'Day Trotters' is just a ridiculous (but charming) name?

And I would rant about the ridiculousness of the star-crossed lovers who die of stupid stupid stupid missed communications thing, and how people, just up and go don't make it this big thing (exile is not death, Romeo), but then we wouldn't have a huge chunk of movies and soap opera plots and etc... so I will spare you.


Guest curated posts make for a better mix, so keep your eyes peeled for good (or awful) videos and send them in.

Just A Yellow Lemon Tree

Sorry for the lack of recent posts. Real life sometimes gets in the way. I caught a cold on the way back from vacation, and I blame the plane that I was delayed on for hours - essentially just sitting/stewing in a giant expensive tube full of germs. And I returned just in time for crunch-time at work, and that was some drama. So I had no energy to do anything. I barely could manage going to work. But now things should be slowing for a little while, and summer also seems to have finally arrived - yesterday after a long day at work I went and played 'smashminton' at a friend's house all evening on the lawn, and it was summer-night perfection. Here's hoping it sticks around for a while.

To ease back into it, how about only one of the greatest songs ever? Despite the mention of a 'rainy Sunday afternoon' the sparkly notes make the song feel much sunnier and cheerier to me. And yet I do think it fits with my sick/slow/aggravated/isolated mood of late,

"nothing ever happens, and I wonder..."

But again, it feels hopeful to me. At least he sees a lemon tree, right? Lemon trees are awesome! And while admittedly dated, I think the video does a great job of capturing all this with the lights and the room (kinda love this gimmick), and the cityscape...

"Lemon Tree" - Fool's Garden 




Thoughts? Hopeful v. not hopeful? Am I just a ceaseless optimist in disguise?

There's gotta be something better than in-the-middle

   

Yosemite Falls over Merced River

Compromising on music can sometimes be tough. This week I was on vacation and a large part of that was spent with my mother, who does not share quite the same tastes in music. Luckily, I have plenty of classical selections to play (that she does like), and there are large parts of my playlists that she does not mind so much. 

 She doesn't like anything too loud or as she puts it "pounding" (LOL) so I try to keep it to a milder folksy alt rock selection for the most part. 

   

Me at the bottom of Vernal Falls

So we agree on Bob Dylan and  things in that vein; and so from there she will even put up with the slightly younger version. The Wallflowers did pretty well for a little while in the late 90s, and Jakob Dylan has some lovely solo stuff now. Some of The Wallflowers stuff can be a little generic, but it is a suitably mainly-mellow rock (which can be both a point for and against them) but besides the singles they do have some standout songs. And anything I can get her to agree to as being 'OK' I take as a small victory. And The Wallflowers/Jakob Dylan - even though it's not a huge step from Dylan Sr, at least there's a good segue into trying it out, like 'O hey his kid!" I really enjoy making my mother listen to more modern things and hearing her thoughts on the songs/singers from her outsiders perspective (even the negative ones, sometimes they are hilarious). (She actually puts up with quite a bit of my music, so kudos to her.)

Vernal Falls

Confession: I think Jakob Dylan is like the hottest thing ever. And that might be possibly weird because I also worship his father. He just got the all the best things - good looks AND musical talent (the world is so unfair) and that nice growly voice, but a touch more silken than the generation before... RRRAWR. And he's a whole lot closer to my age, LOL, so that helps.

Nevada Falls from horse trail

The look and feel of the One Headlight video is very dated, typical 90s pop rock, and nothing really goes on. But that's ok, because you see a lot of him, and basically this video works just because he is so damn good looking. And I was just the right age (in what, 1997?) for staring into those blue blue eyes...



"One Headlight" - The Wallflowers

"6th Avenue Heartache"  - video made up of still shots. More of him looking moody and gorgeous. Look at those lips (I will shut up now)...

At top of Nevada Falls

"Sleepwalker" - one of my fav Wallflowers songs, and the video is amusing because it totally mocks his hot celeb status. (Thanks for ridiculing my teenage obsessions, Jakob. And for pointing out that you're never gonna be my valentine. Not like I didn't already know that. Sad face.) I like that he doesn't take himself too seriously, has some sense of humor about the ridiculousness of fame. It makes for a fun video. Ahead of the curve with his vampire graffiti, too. The best/my most favorite YT comment on this is:

Sorry Anthony Wiener - Jakob Dylan is the Jewish guy I really want to see lewd pictures of.
ViolettaMarmalade 2 weeks ago 2 

@ James Dean memorial in Cholame, CA

See also 2 other favorites: Empire in My Mind and sweet hidden track Baby Bird

I really liked The Wallflowers, and I'm kinda sad that while they had some success and a few singles (even Grammy wins), they didn't really ever blow up.  I remember I dragged a friend of mine who didn't even like them to their concert once, and even he had to admit they were pretty solid live. And I realllllly like Jakob Dylan's more recent solo album Women and Country, which is lovely and delightsome.


"Smile When You Call Me That" is my favorite off of his aforementioned album. The line that gets me is:

 "Not much is certain, but this much is true - my arms are useless if they don't have you"

What have you gotten your parents (or friend, spouse, or other difficult/picky person) to listen to / agree upon that they otherwise might not have?

Songs I hear on vacation (P1 of ?)

Songs I hear while traveling - reported without too much judgement, and in a haphazard and infrequent manner =)


"Nothin' on You" - B.o.B. - Airplane while taxiing into San Diego Int'l Airport - 11:30pm. I actually kinda like this video, it's got the cutout picture thing going on which is kinda cute, nothing too crazy, but at least not just them standing around, it has motion, etc.




Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung - Coco's bathroom, San Diego, early afternoon.  This one is rather amusing, let's face it.





"Black or White" - Michael Jackson: my friend Ashley's car radio while we were eating frozen yogurt. Classic. Epic. Etc. Perfectly timed for our enjoyment.




I am attempting to schedule something to be posted for mid-week since I'll be away, so check back maybe Wednesday.

And then maybe a more later, recounting if I hear more fun stuff out and about.

Hope you're having a good July!

What are you overhearing???

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans!!!! And happy random day of summer, readers from other countries! Hope you are having a fantastic 4th! I hope it also involves yummy food, good weather, and lots of R&R with loved ones.

Found this on tor.com, of all places (nerd alert), and thought it was perfect and adorable - muppet Stars And Stripes Forever!





And then though it has nothing to do with July 4th except for fireworks - because I love love love fireworks - one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands (thank you, Canada!).

"Fireworks" - The Tragically Hip

Fade into you, Lord of the Universe?

Two disparate songs have been stuck in my head all week, I thought that I could maybe drive them out with an eclectic playlist that I blasted at Thursday night happy hour (small but successful), and various iterations of other playlists, and even my old standby lots-of-Dylan, and yet they remain. Earworms are stubborn that way. I had to spend this morning at a funeral, and despite sitting through that (it was for a rather great lady, much beloved by many), and all the solemnity of that, and yet the songs are still rattling around in my brain. Realllllly worked their way in.
(Side note for future reference: for my funeral I want it to be lots of drinking and dancing and not just a sad people sitting around. Sad people dancing awkwardly would be preferred.)


Firstly:
"Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star - love the B&W of this video, it's just so fitting and moody and you can't really see much of anything, which matches the "fade" notion of the song.





And now for something completely different.

"Adon Olam" - Uzi Chitman - Adon Olam is a traditional Jewish prayer that can be sung/chanted in an endless number of ways, but the late Uzi Chitman composed this strikingly beautiful melody for the first couple stanzas in the 70s for a festival. From that, he became a popular and beloved singer/songwriter/composer and TV personality. He appeared in Israeli kids songs videos (just lost like an hour or so trying to find bits on YT, oohhh the cheezinesss, they were so terrible, but then so are most low budget kids videos, I guess) that my parents got for us when we were young to bolster our Hebrew skillz, which means I've maybe been a little bit in love with him for a long time. I find this arrangement to be just amazing - still very expansive and respectfully worshipful, but so unique, with fast bits and changes between styles. I think it makes it both more folksy and more modern than a staid traditional hymn-type version. All in that lovely 70s folk rock kinda style that I love so dearly, which is probably why it works so well for me. If I think of the words to this (admittedly rarely), I can only think of the words with this particular melody.

The video below is of people watching what I'm guessing is some kind of a memorial video of Uzi (he is the floppy haired one) along with Oded Ben-Hur. (Here's also a link to a higher quality audio version of him singing it set to space/star pics is there if you'd rather just listen/like better audio.)




And I guess that's worked out to be fairly fitting for the day I've turned out to have. Anyone been struggling with any particularly strong earworms lately? What were your songs of this past week?