A little behind...

Sorry about that. I'm working on it though!

Nov. 9 - On Friday, I was thankful for...

Music.

I love music. There isn't a day that goes by without music in some way. I listen to it while I work, sing it in the shower, rock out to the car stereo... I was in choir in high school (two choirs my senior year), and have played piano, oboe and violin. In the car with my mom, I grew up listening to Carole King, James Taylor and Peter, Paul & Mary (whom I saw perform live not once, but twice). My dad taught me to love the Beatles and Queen, two bands that I hold in the highest regard. I love musicals and pop, rock and hiphop, and even some country (though, it took awhile; I used to whine about country all the time). Music lives inside me and I couldn't kick it out even if I wanted to.

On Thursday night, Hubby and I went to Madison to see Pentatonix perform. For those not in the know, Pentatonix is an a cappella group. They won the last season of The Sing-Off, an all a cappella competition on NBC (which, sadly, has since been canceled; Heaven forbid we have a show that displays actual talent...). To say they're amazing is an understatement, and they certainly didn't disappoint the other night. 

For those who watched The Sing-Off, they performed the Britney medley, Born To Be Wild, Let's Get It On, Dog Days Are Over, Love Lockdown, OMG, Stuck Like Glue, Video Killed the Radio Star and Telephone (which was their audition piece). For those with their album, they performed Baddest Girl, Aha!, We Are Young, and Somebody I Used To Know (but they didn't do "Love You Long Time" - booooo!). They did a few other songs as well (check out their Youtube channel if you're interested; if you love a cappella, you should fall in love pretty quickly), and were on stage for a surprising amount of time! We even got to sing with Avi and Kevin for a bit while the core trio took a little break. Sooooo fun!

PTX is just one of many concerts I've been to in my life (check out my Musicality page for a taste), and I am so grateful that talented people like them (and their opener, SJ) are willing to travel all across the country (and even the world) to share their musicality with other music-loving folks like yours truly. I'm thankful that music is so prevalent in my life and that if I want to listen to some, all I have to do is open iTunes or head to Youtube and I have a plethora of music to choose from. I'm thankful for music that relaxes me and music that energizes me. I'm thankful for meaningful songs that touch my heart and I'm thankful for catchy pop tunes that just make me feel good. 

All around, I am thankful for music and everything it does for me. In fact, I think I'll go listen to some now. :)

A Simpler Time

So, things have gotten a bit stressful these past few weeks, with no intention of letting up until next month.  Oof.  Between a mandatory work meeting, an upcoming trip to visit my 80-year old grandpa in Mississippi and tons of work for my classes (including a paper, an exam, and several chapters of reading), I'm ready to go back to being a kid for awhile.  

You know what I'm talking about, right?  The hardest decision of the day would be shoes with laces or velcro.  Dinner would be on the table, already made and tasty to boot.  Homework would take 15 minutes (tops) and going outside was the fun part of the day.  I'm badly wishing I could do a reverse Big.

Since that's not an option (there's not a Zoltar machine in view), the only thing I can do is listen to music that takes me back to a simpler time.  Without further ado, here are 5 songs from my iTunes library that always make me feel like a kid again:

1) 4 Non Blondes - "What's Up?" I can clearly remember this song being played at every single middle school dance that I attended.  Whenever I hear it, I just find myself swaying back and forth and singing as loud as I can, "And I say heeeeeey-yaaaaay-yaaaaay-yaa-haaaay, heeeeeeey-yaaaaaay-yaaaaay.  I say hey, what's going on?"  (As a side note, this song also reminds me of my one night at Karaoke Kid...  someone did this song and the whole bar burst into song at the chorus; it was magical.)

2) Carole King - "You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)" As my dad once told a boyfriend of mine (after a few drinks), "Picture this: 3-year-old Erika.  Flat-chested as a boy.  Belting out 'You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)' in her carseat!"  Embarrassing as that moment was for me, it's all true.  Anytime I hear this song, I almost feel like I'm back in the car with my mom on the way home from one of dad's softball games trying not to fall asleep before we pull into the garage. 

3) The Jackson 5 - "I'll Be There"  When I was younger, there were only two movies in my life: Now & Then and Clueless (and yes, I have the soundtracks for both).  My best friend and I used to sing along to virtually every song in Now & Then, but we always had a thing for this song in particular.  "Just call my naaaaame-buh, and I'll be there."  No, I'm not sure why we added a 'B' sound to the end of name.  That's just how we rolled.

4) The Beatles - "Michelle"  This probably sounds like a strange one, but it makes sense to me.  Remember those Saturday morning classes that some of your parents probably made you take?  Well, when I was 8, my parents wanted me to sign up, so I picked French.  We really didn't learn much except the very basics, but it was fun.  One day I was listening to my dad's Beatles tapes and "Michelle" came on.  I recognized the phrase, "très bien" since this was something our teacher said to us when we got something right (it means "very good").  So I asked my mom (who had taken French in high school) what the rest of the line was.  Once I learned a whole sentence in French, I was on top of the world.  I still feel pretty cool when I sing along today.

5) Big Bird & Waylon Jennings - "Ain't No Road Too Long"  This one is classic.  I grew up on Follow That Bird (this has been brought up in the past, and will no doubt appear in later posts).  My sisters* (including my best friend) all baby sat for me at one point or another, and all were subjected to this movie multiple times.  I hear this song, and I can picture being in the basement at my parents' house, piling pillows and blankets on the floor to bounce on while singing along with Big Bird.  If that's not bliss, I'm not sure what is.

So what songs remind you of being a kid?

Hope everyone has a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!  :-)    

*Technically, I'm an only child.  But if you ask me, I have 3 awesome big sisters (who are all actually sisters) that I grew up with.  We might not be blood-related, but we're definitely family. 

I Can't Help Myself

For the past decade or so, I've admitted to having terrible taste in music (aside from The Beatles...  The Beatles are the best band ever, and if you disagree, you're wrong).  I have a love affair with awful 80s music.  I bounce along to catchy, repetitive pop songs.  I love music that some people wouldn't dare refer to as music even at gunpoint.

Most people, I suppose, would call this my guilty pleasure music.  But since I don't deny it or hide it, and in fact am more than willing to share about it, I just refer to it as "my crappy taste in music."

That being said, this week I've decided to share 5 songs from my iTunes list that I thoroughly love listening to, but really shouldn't.  

1) Ke$ha - "Blah Blah Blah"  Yes, I know she can't sing, her songs are full of references to getting naked and alcohol abuse, and no self-respecting person would put up with her grossness...  But dammit, her music is catchy!  And I love dancing around to it.  Never mind that none of it makes sense, as pointed out here.  Sometimes, all you need out of a song is a good time. And a really hot shower to wash the gross off.

2) 3OH!3 - "Don't Trust Me"  I should probably be utterly offended by the line, "Shoosh, girl, hush your lips, do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips," but instead, I just find it hilarious.  I love this song so much, I had it on the must-play list for my wedding.  Not even kidding.

3) Aqua - "Barbie Girl"  Obviously, we already know I'm a fan of Aqua, but this song should probably be banished back to the 90's and never heard from again.  Nonetheless, I will crank this song and dance around without reservation.  "Oh, I love you, Ken!"

4) Biz Markie - "Just A Friend"  Holy good God, this is probably the worst song ever made, but it is the BEST song to sing along to!  Especially when stuck in a car for several hours at night and semi-delirious from lack of scenery...

5) Mr. Mister - "Broken Wings"  Every now and then, you just need to clench your fists, close your eyes, and shout at the top of your lungs, "Taaaaaake, these broken wiiiiings, and learn to fly again, learn to live so freeeee..."  Seriously.  Try it. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!  GO PACK GO!!!

Sing... Sing a Song...

So this is random, but I figured it was a good time to give a peek into my weird taste in music.

There are 3 bands/artists that dominate my iTunes list:

• The Beatles - There's really no explanation needed here.  Even if you don't like the Beatles (which is clearly wrong, and you must have some kind of defect that keeps you from enjoying the better things in life), you have to admit that they were pretty iconic.  I grew up listening to the Beatles with my parents, and now I have nearly every Beatles song recorded in my possession.
• No Doubt - This is actually by accident, sort of.  Don't get me wrong - I love No Doubt.  I grew up on Gwen and the gang!  Tragic Kingdom was actually one of the first CDs I owned (the very first being The Score by The Fugees).  But the only reason I have as many No Doubt songs on my computer as I do is because we went to see them play at Summerfest in 2009.  After we bought our tickets, we got access to download every single No Doubt song recorded - for free.  How could I pass that up?
• The Glee Cast - Yes, I am a full out Gleek.  Love, love, LOVE everything about Glee!  The show, the music, the actors...  Everything about it makes me happy in my heart (to borrow a phrase from my bestie).  As such, I own a plethora of Glee songs!

 So, that's probably not too weird, I guess.  Taking a look around my "25 Most Played" songs, Glee easily has the majority of the list on lock-down.  However, also on that list are Chris Brown, Queen, Buckcherry, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, 3OH!3, Incubus, Badfinger and Murray Head.  

If that's not eclectic enough for you, you should see the list of bands I've seen live.  It goes all over the board, from Peter, Paul & Mary (whom I actually saw in concert twice) to Pat Benetar, Sugarcult to Sugarland, and 311 to 3OH!3.  Sadly, I'm getting to the point in life where I'm really not up for the screaming and insanity that many concerts bring (we've left a few concerts early), so the number of shows I'm attending has dropped significantly in the past year or two (though, you wouldn't know it by looking at the past few weeks - sheesh!).  

Anywhoozles, there's really no point to this post, but why not?  (Ah!  Ah!  I said it!  That's the title!)  I leave you with the following random songs that you should probably listen to, just for fun.  Or not.  Your call. 

"Hold On Tight" - Electric Light Orchestra

"Hard To Believe" - VOTA

"We Belong" - Pat Benetar

"Time Of The Season" - The Zombies

"Take A Chance On Me" - ABBA