I was going through my music collection and was somewhat saddened by all of the sad, sad songs I have. There's not a whole lot of really happy music there. It's going to make Day 4 difficult to choose from.
That being said, as I flipped through my collection, I immediately stopped on Erin McKeown's album Grand. This not only contains a song that makes me happy, but it is my happy album. Even the slower songs bring a smile as the stories she tells are so cool. Erin's voice oozes happiness and a little bit of mischief. This album is an upbeat, happy summer day. When I first heard it, I put the CD in my CD walkman - yes, it was that long ago - and headed to work. I found myself with a big smile on my face from the first note, almost bouncing down the downtown Minneapolis streets.
This song in particular gets me singing along, bouncing, and smiling.
Isn't she adorable? Doesn't just looking at her make you happy?
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Lyric Of The Day
"i still believe there's gold
at the end of the world"
-from Tom Waits, "Day After Tomorrow"
at the end of the world"
-from Tom Waits, "Day After Tomorrow"
30 Days of Music. Day 2: Your Least Favorite Song
First, should I be posting one of these every day? I suppose that makes sense. But I haven’t seen any official rules about 30 days in a row.
This is probably the easiest entry of the 30 days. I’ve hated this song for so long. I’m even hesitant to write about it because once you even say the name or think it, there it is, stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Yep, it’s there now. And I even have headphones on and am listening to other music and this song weasels its way in and above them all.
But here it:
I remember a day where I was listening to the radio and this song came on and I listened for a few minutes and then thought: this is terrible and turned the station. I went back to the station after another song finished and this song was still going. It kept going and going. “Bennie! Bennie! Bennie and the Jets!!!” Ugh. It makes me start to twitch. Each “Bennie!” is like someone is poking me in the shoulder and I really just want them to stop but they are sitting there with these stupid novelty glasses on just poking me and poking me.
It’s nothing against Elton John. He has some fine songs. Very fine songs. And some very nice novelty glasses.
Side Note: I'm slowly redesigning this site. I'm treading carefully into the waters of HTML. So bear with me as I get the hang of it.
This is probably the easiest entry of the 30 days. I’ve hated this song for so long. I’m even hesitant to write about it because once you even say the name or think it, there it is, stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Yep, it’s there now. And I even have headphones on and am listening to other music and this song weasels its way in and above them all.
But here it:
I remember a day where I was listening to the radio and this song came on and I listened for a few minutes and then thought: this is terrible and turned the station. I went back to the station after another song finished and this song was still going. It kept going and going. “Bennie! Bennie! Bennie and the Jets!!!” Ugh. It makes me start to twitch. Each “Bennie!” is like someone is poking me in the shoulder and I really just want them to stop but they are sitting there with these stupid novelty glasses on just poking me and poking me.
It’s nothing against Elton John. He has some fine songs. Very fine songs. And some very nice novelty glasses.
Side Note: I'm slowly redesigning this site. I'm treading carefully into the waters of HTML. So bear with me as I get the hang of it.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Cinco de Mayo
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
In honor of the day, here's Liz Phair singing her song "Cinco de Mayo" back in 1994 on 120 Minutes.
MTV used to be so cool.
I'm not gonna lie. It's not a very good performance. I think she was still suffering from her massive stage fright at this time. There's another clip of her performing this song on Youtube from this year that looks much better. But the sound quality isn't that great.
In honor of the day, here's Liz Phair singing her song "Cinco de Mayo" back in 1994 on 120 Minutes.
MTV used to be so cool.
I'm not gonna lie. It's not a very good performance. I think she was still suffering from her massive stage fright at this time. There's another clip of her performing this song on Youtube from this year that looks much better. But the sound quality isn't that great.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Stone Arch Bridge Festival
It's official! I'm playing the Stone Arch Bridge Festival on Sunday, June 19th at 4:15pm on the City Pages stage. I'm super excited for this for many reasons. One being: I've never performed outside before! Here's hoping for a beautiful summer day.
Full line up can be found here.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
30 Days of Music. Day 1: Your Favorite Song
I’ve been seeing this 30 Days of Music thing popping up in a lot of places so I thought, hey! I have a blog! I can do this, too! So here I am. Doing it.
Day 1: Your Favorite Song
Already, I’m stumped. I can’t choose my favorite song. It changes so often. If I were to pick my favorite song of the moment, it would be “Terrible Love” by The National. But, in the past, that could have been a number of different tunes. I used to claim “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen as my ultimate favorite. And I do love that song. But I kind of ruined it by calling it my “funeral song”, so I never listen to it anymore because it just depresses me.
I feel like my Favorite Song should go deeper than current hits by my current favorite band. I started thinking of songs that have true meaning to me. I started to think of songs like “You Are My Sunshine” and “Amazing Grace” or “Love Me Tender”. And, so, going with that train of thought, I ended on this:
This song has been around long long long before I was born. It has been a part of my entire life. I love the movie. I love the song. I remember singing it as a little girl with my mother and my sister. The whole movie just brings such wonderfully precious memories to me and this song is a big part of that.
This song is about hope – and right now I need that kind of inspiration, so it’s also fitting for my current mood.
I also love Judy Garland, and I can’t even tell you why. She’s always been someone who I feel this strange connection to, even though she was long dead before I was born. Her story is so sad, yet she brought so much joy to so many people, including me. It’s a strange life to live.
Day 1: Your Favorite Song
Already, I’m stumped. I can’t choose my favorite song. It changes so often. If I were to pick my favorite song of the moment, it would be “Terrible Love” by The National. But, in the past, that could have been a number of different tunes. I used to claim “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen as my ultimate favorite. And I do love that song. But I kind of ruined it by calling it my “funeral song”, so I never listen to it anymore because it just depresses me.
I feel like my Favorite Song should go deeper than current hits by my current favorite band. I started thinking of songs that have true meaning to me. I started to think of songs like “You Are My Sunshine” and “Amazing Grace” or “Love Me Tender”. And, so, going with that train of thought, I ended on this:
This song has been around long long long before I was born. It has been a part of my entire life. I love the movie. I love the song. I remember singing it as a little girl with my mother and my sister. The whole movie just brings such wonderfully precious memories to me and this song is a big part of that.
This song is about hope – and right now I need that kind of inspiration, so it’s also fitting for my current mood.
I also love Judy Garland, and I can’t even tell you why. She’s always been someone who I feel this strange connection to, even though she was long dead before I was born. Her story is so sad, yet she brought so much joy to so many people, including me. It’s a strange life to live.
Monday, May 2, 2011
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