New Music 2/1/2010 Jump Little Children

This week's new music isn't really all that new. The band 'Jump Little Children' has been around awhile. Though I've just recently stumbled onto them, I can't seem to stop listening. I originally bought their album 'Between the Dim and the Dark' because an article I'd read compared them to Guster and Radiohead. I'm ashamed to admit I really only bought it to hold me over until Guster's new album comes out - which at this point I have no idea when that will be. While no one will ever replace Guster in my heart, this album is holding its own in my rotation and I think if you like Guster or Switchfoot or Travis or Radiohead you should really give these guys a listen.



The founding band members all met up while attending a school for the performing arts in the Carolinas - they were studying classical music and decided to forget it and become a rock band instead. Good idea!!!! Check them out!!!!

'The Dim and the Dark'


'Hold You Down'


'Rains In Asia'


'Mexico'


'Requiem'


'Young America'


Jump has two other albums that came out before Dim and the Dark called 'Vertigo' and 'Magazine' which I've only briefly listened to so far.... so I can't fully review them. BUT here are a couple of songs from each album just so you can hear how different they are from Dim and the Dark!!!

'Cathedrals' from the album 'Magazine'


'Angeldust' from the 'Vertigo' album - this album *REALLY* sounds like Radiohead


Sadly, I don't think they're together as a band anymore which is a huge bummer. But if you're in need of some new/old music, Jump Little Children come highly recommended. Happy listening!!!!

Cosmopolitan Cupcakes

Well, if you didn't think I was a complete drunk before........ No, seriously. :) As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it out. I love cupcakes and these take the cake. They're pink, they have alcohol in them and the cosmo is pretty much my all time fave cocktail. Well, one of them anyways. These were a snap to whip up (be warned tho, lots of separate bowls will be used) and they're oh so pretty, aren't they?? The perfect treat for your next girl's night!!!



Cosmo Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup frozen cranberry juice concentrate, thawed
zest of one lime
2-4 drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners. Mix together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine buttermilk, thawed concentrate and zest in another bowl. (You know I effing love cupcakes if I would make this many dirty dishes right?!?) Add in 1 cup each of the dry and wet mixtures alternately, beating on low until well mixed. Fill cups with batter 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan.


For glaze: (that's right, more dirty dishes!!!)

1/4 cup thawed cranberry juice concentrate
1/4 cup vodka (doesn't have to be top shelf as you're not drinking it..... unless you are)

Brush cupcakes with glaze while they're still slightly warm. When they're cooled completely, frost with lime-cointreau buttercream.....


Lime-Cointreau Buttercream

1/2 c butter
4 c powdered sugar
3 Tbsp Cointreau or triple sec.... same freakin thing as far as I'm concerned
juice from 1 large lime
2-4 drops red food coloring (supposed to make it pink not red)

Mix on high speed until fluffy and pipe onto cooled cupcakes! Garnish with a dusting of glittery pink sugar and a fresh lime wedge..... or you could take it a little further and get some of those sugared gummy limes. But I didn't do that. Anyways, hope you get the chance to try these. I think they were pretty fantastic!!!! I highly suggest mixing up a batch of these while listening to my swanky cocktail hour playlist!!!

New Music Monday 1/25/2010

I, like many others, sat with my family on the sofa and watched the 'Hope For Haiti' telethon this past Friday. I was overcome with emotion several times while watching and listening to the stories and songs. I can only hope that others were as compelled by the words and music and chose to donate what they could to help the people of Haiti.

One of my favorite performances of the night (and there were many) was Justin Timberlake's version of 'Hallelujah.' It was so beautiful. Lots of people were asking who the other guy that was singing and playing the guitar was. I did a little searching around and found out that his name is Matt Morris. Come to find out he is a former Mickey Mouse Club Member and has remained good buddies with JT since back in the day. Matt released an independant album called 'Unspoken' in 2002 and has performed at Bonnaroo, so he's definately not a new guy. And he just so happens to have a brand new album out - just released January 13th - called 'When Everything Breaks Open.' As soon as I listened to it, I fell in love. He sounds a bit like Sanders Bohlke which is a good thing - he's got that funky, folky, soulful thang going on. Here are a few songs from 'When Everything Breaks Open.'

'Bloodline'


'Let it Go'


'Money'


'In This House'


'The Un-American' (sounds like Bohemian Rhapsody!!! Love the lyrics!)


'Eternity' (JT sings back up on this one!!!)


There are lots of other songs on the album and each one is equally as good as the last. Now you know who "that guy" was that was singing with Justin Timberlake the other night!! I hope to hear a lot more of this "guy" in the future!!

New Music Monday 1/18/2010

New Music Monday with the flu!! Boo! This is the first time I've been sick like this in quite awhile. At first I was in denial and just thinking I was sore from working out, but it hit me like a ton of bricks last night. There's no mistaking the flu!!! Thank goodness for Motrin.

This week I am focusing on a new, young (she's only 26!) artist out of England named Olivia Broadfield. Her first album 'Eyes Wide Open' came out this past summer and I've been enjoying it ever since. It was also one of my top albums of 2009! It's one of those albums you can put on and enjoy all the way through. The soft rock dance beats combined with Olivia's ethereal voice make for a pleasant sounding album that will pull you out of the darkest of moods. I *guess* I would compare her to Imogen Heap a little bit..... maybe??? I'm also looking forward to using it for some dance classes I'll be teaching soon!!!

'Don't Cry' First Single


'Lost In You'


'Silence'


'Holding Onto You'


'Safe'


Well, that's it for today. I'm off to go and lie down for a little bit!!!

When Boredom Strikes

Renovate something!! Seriously, is it still January?!?! This is the time of the year when I really start to feel like I'm going mad. So I turn to home improvement projects to keep me sane. Or insane, depending on how you look at it.

The project I've been wanting to tackle since we moved in here five years ago (wow!) has been the stairs. I already ripped off the carpet and painted/stained the treads and risers which was a huge improvement. But I've always wanted to cut into the half wall and put up actual wooden railings instead.





I feel like the half wall doesn't really go with the style of the rest of the house. Suprisingly, Kevin agrees with me and wasn't too against the idea of taking a sawzall to the walls!!! Here are a few of the inspiration photos I've found that sort of show what I'd like to do.





I like the square ballisters. We'll probably paint them white and then do the actual railing in black. Not sure yet though as I really like the look of the all white railings in the last picture. Hmmmm..... looking at my pictures also makes me want to paint the inside of the front door a different color. Black??? Hmmmmm..... I smell another project!!!!!! ;) Good thing I've got myself to keep me busy.

New Music Monday 1/11/2010

New Music Monday!! Yay!!! This week I've been listening to the self-titled debut album from 'Broken Bells.' It's a fantastic collaboration between artist-producer Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley) and James Mercer from 'The Shins.' As soon as I heard the first single 'The High Road', I knew I would need to buy it. There's some really cool stuff going on - a crazy sounding carnival organ and this sort of trip hop vibe. The actual album isn't being released until March 9th though, so we'll have to keep our pants on. But for now here's a bit of what there is to look foward to!!!

'The High Road'


'Vaporize'


Come on, March!!!!

Don't Hit The Weepies

So here's a funny story for you. It harkens back to my city dwelling days. Ah, the city. Kevin and I were so young and dumb when we moved there. We lived on the north side in an area called Edgewater Beach near Rogers Park. It was a tad ghetto, but the price was right and it was on the lake. Anyways, we parked the car in this creepy parking garage underneath the high rise apartment building we lived in. There were these HEEEE-UGE concrete pillars that held up the ceiling of the garage and they had them wrapped in this rubbery stuff with these little feelers on them(in case you just happened to cut your turn too short and hit them) which I named "the weepies." I don't know why.

At that time we were just married and driving Kevin's old T-bird from high school. It was quite a large car and its turning capabilities left a lot to be desired. But it was a good car. So one night after work when I was parking it I did an awful thing and cut my turn a little too short. I hit the dreaded weepies. Despite the fact that they were rubber, they still messed up the side of the car up pretty bad. Woops. So instead of being honest and telling Kevin about it, I kept my mouth shut and hoped he wouldn't notice. He noticed right away the next morning. And he was pissed. His exact words were, "Oh, my GOD! Did you?!?!?!?! You hit the weepies!!!!!" Then we both just started laughing. To this day when I'm pulling into the garage he tells me not to "hit the weepies". Turd.

So imagine my sheer delight as I am perusing the music on amazon and I see that there is a BAND called.... you guessed it.... The Weepies!! I mean, I didn't even freaking care if they sucked!!! I was buying one of their albums regardless!!! But guess what?!?!?! They don't suck at all!!! They're kind of amazing!!!

'The Weepies' are technically classifed as an indie-pop folk band. Deb Talen and Steve Tannen were on separate paths when they met at a club back in 2001. They found they had a bond right away and began playing together. Then they got signed, got married and had a baby!! The band got major attention with their second album 'Say I Am You' in 2006 when it became the most downloaded folk album in eight countries. Since then, their songs have been featured on lots of popular shows like Grey's Anatomy, Everwood, One Tree Hill and Scrubs. And their song 'Can't Go Back Now' was played during an ad for Obama's presidential campaign. You've probably also heard a couple of their songs on JCPenney's commercials and you didn't even know it. Now you do!!!! I think Deb's voice reminds me a lot of Aimee Mann and I love her so that's a good thing. The harmonies between the two are prefectly matched and nothing short of breathtaking.

I present to you 'The Weepies.' Who knew??!?!?!

'Take It From Me'


'The World Spins Madly On' - beautiful lyrics and sentiment


'Gotta Have You' sweet love song


'All That I Want' wish I would've known about this Christmas tune!


'Can't Go Back Now' LOVE this one


'Somebody Loved'



So those are The Weepies. They don't rock out. They don't do anything real fancy. But that is why I like them. Well, that and their name! Hopefully I won't be hitting any more weepies with the car, but I'll definately be listening to them in it!!! :0

Top 100 Albums Of the Decade 1999-2009

I cannot believe I'm doing this! 1999-2009. It's insane. At first I tried to make a top fifty list, but there was just so much good stuff I didn't want to leave anything out. Lots of info coming atcha, but what better way to start 2010 than with a look back at all of the amazing music of the past decade. In going through my expansive music stash, I learned a few things I which I will share with you: there was a TON of great stuff that came out over the past ten years, my tastes have really evolved, holy hell I have spent a lot of money on music!!!! But it was money well spent. Where would any of us be without our favorite bands? I know for me, I'd be pretty bored. Looking back over the years was really fun. To me music is like a time machine. Just hearing a certain song can take you back to a specific time and place in your life. Music provokes thought and emotion and can help soothe a broken heart.



Prepare yourselves for a lot of scrolling. I thought the best way to organize (how funny that word would even be in MY vocabulary) this situation would be by year, but then I got pissed and just started typing. If I were to make a New Years resolution it would probably be to "try and be more organized", but seeing as I don't make resolutions that wouldn't really work out. The playlist you'll be hearing has over a hundred songs on it. I took a song or two from each of my favorite 100 albums. If you have enough patience to read through this and listen to them all, I hope you find some new stuff you've never heard and need to have. But also, I would encourage you to go through your own music stash and break out some of those older albums you haven't listened to in awhile. It was fun!

All right, let's put on our walking shoes and get ready to take a trip down music's memory lane!!!! Remember, these are in no particular order as that goes against everything I stand for.

1) Death Cab For Cutie 'Transatlanticism' 2003
2) The Shins 'Wincing the Night Away' 2007
3) Brandi Carlile 'The Story' 2007
4) The Music 'The Music' 2003
5) Spoon 'Kill the Moonlight' 2002
6) Keane 'Hopes and Fears' 2004
7) Switchfoot 'Beautiful Letdown' 2003
8) Radiohead 'In Rainbows' 2007
9) Foo Fighters 'There Is Nothing Left To Lose' 1999
10) Fiona Apple 'When the Pawn' 1999
11) Jimmy Eat World 'Bleed American' 2001
12) Frou Frou 'Details' 2002
13) Beck 'Guero' 2005
14) The Killers 'Hot Fuss' 2004
15) The Cardigans 'Long Gone Before Daylight' 2004
16) Muse 'Sing For Absolution' 2003
17) The Postal Service 'Give Up' 2003
18) Blink 182 'Blink 182' 2003
19) The Feeling 'Twelve Stops and Home' 2006
20) Kasabian 'Kasabian' 2004
21) Stars 'Set Yourself On Fire' 2004
22) Imogen Heap 'Speak For Yourself' 2005
23) Jason Mraz 'Waiting For My Rocket To Come' 2002
24) Garbage 'Bleed Like Me' 2005
25) Pete Yorn 'MusicFortheMorningAfter' 2001
26) Nada Surf 'Let Go' 2003
27) Abandoned Pools 'Humanistic' 2001
28) Remy Zero 'The Golden Hum' 2001
29) South 'From Here On In' 2002
30) Aqualung 'Memory Man' 2007
31) Great Northern 'Trading Twilight For Daylight' 2007
32) Moonbabies 'At the Ballroom' 2007
33) Eisley 'Combinations' 2007
34) Dandy Warhols 'Welcome To the Monkey House' 2003
35) The Perishers 'Let There Be Morning' 2005
36) Metric 'Fantasies' 2009
37) Kings Of Leon 'Only By the Night' 2008
38) Olivia Broadfield 'Eyes Wide Open' 2009
39) Mat Kearney 'City of Black and White' 2009
40) Filter 'Title Of Record' 1999
41) Blonde Redhead '23' 2007
42) Dido 'No Angel' 1999
43) Green Day 'American Idiot' 2004
44) Jamie Cullum 'Twentysomething' 2004
45) Sufjan Stevens 'Illinoise' 2005
46) Jimmy Eat World 'Chase This Light' 2007
47) John Mayer 'Room For Squares' 2001
48) Anberlin 'Never Take Friendship Personal' 2005
49) The Submarines 'Declare A New State' 2006
50) Elliott Smith 'Figure 8' 2000
51) Jamie Cullum 'Catching Tales' 2005
52) Gin Blossoms 'Major Lodge Victory' 2006
53) Augustana 'Stars and Boulevards' 2005
54) Jens Lekman 'Oh You're So Silent Jens' 2005
55) Keane 'Under the Iron Sea' 2006
56) MGMT 'Oracular Spectacular' 2007
57) The Raveonettes 'In & Out of Control' 2009
58) Imogen Heap 'Ellipse' 2009
59) Phoenix 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' 2009
60) Lily Allen 'It's Not Me It's You' 2009
61) The Sounds 'Crossing the Rubicon' 2009
62) Rogue Wave 'Descended Like Vultures' 2007
63) Everclear 'Songs From An American Movie Part 2' 2000
64) Sea Wolf 'Leaves In the River' 2007
65) Travis 'The Invisible Band' 2001
66) Guster 'Ganging Up On the Sun' 2006
67) Coldplay 'Rush Of Blood To the Head' 2002
68) Ben Folds 'Rockin the Suburbs' 2001
69) Queens Of the Stoneage 'Songs For the Deaf' 2002
70) Metric 'Old World Underground Where Are You Now' 2003
71) The Shins 'Oh Inverted World' 2001
72) Sia 'Color the Small One' 2006
73) Rogue Wave 'Asleep At Heaven's Gate' 2007
74) Phoenix 'It's Never Been Like That' 2006
75) Santogold 'Santogold' 2008
76) Greg Laswell 'Through Toledo' 2006
77) Guster 'Lost and Gone Forever' 1999
78) Sea Wolf 'White Water, White Bloom' 2009
79) Coldplay 'X&Y' 2005
80) Metric 'Grow Up and Blow Away' 2007
81) The Rescues 'Crazy Ever After' 2008
82) Priscilla Ahn 'A Good Day' 2008
83) Bloc Party 'A Weekend In the City' 2007
84) Uh Huh Her 'Common Reaction' 2008
85) Phoenix 'Alphabetical' 2004
86) Greg Laswell 'Three Flights From Alto Nido' 2008
87) Carolina Liar 'Coming To Terms' 2007
88) Mat Kearney 'Nothing Left To Lose' 2006
89) Coldplay 'Viva la Vida' 2008
90) Guster 'Keep It Together' 2003
91) Travis 'The Boy With No Name' 2007
92) The Helio Sequence 'Keep Your Eyes Ahead' 2008
93) Incubus 'Morning View' 2001
94) Via Audio 'Say Something' 2007
95) Green Day '21st Century Breakdown' 2009
96) Feist 'Let It Die' 2005
97) The Action Design 'Never Say' 2008
98) Death Cab For Cutie 'Plans' 2005
99) Franz Ferdinand 'Franz Ferdinand' 2004
100) U2 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb' 2004

There you have it! I'm sure I'm forgetting something here, but I think this about covers it. I checked out some of the other "best albums of the decade" lists from Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. Some of their picks were right on and some of the albums I listened to most of all weren't anywhere in sight. But that's okay. We all have our own list and I'll take mine over theirs any day. Happy listening! (ps in all this craziness I forgot Jem's 'Finally Woken' from 2004. Argh!!!!! It's on the playlist, but not on the list list!!)