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!!)

Top Nine Albums Of 2009

Christmas came and went faster than it ever has this year. As fast as it was, it was extremely enjoyable and fun. We traveled to and from both family Christmases in very nasty weather, so I'm grateful for having made it home safely. Despite all of those positives, I am sitting here with post holiday let down. I am sad to see the holidays go! Everyone who knows me knows I am not a big fan of New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. The thought of another year gone by just makes me want to freak out. 2010sounds insane and I think 2009 just went by way too fast. So ya, not my favorite holiday. Even so, I busted out a playlist full of New Year faves - lots of classics mixed in with some newer, retrospective favorites. I mean, you can't have a New Years playlist without Frank. And if 'Long December' doesn't make you want to sit and bawl your damn eyes out, I don't know what will. I can definately remember a few years where I just wanted to get December over with. So I'm thankful this wasn't one of them!

Instead of the typical 'New Music Monday' I thought I'd post a top nine of my favorite albums of this year. It would take me all of 2010 to put them in order of my favorites, so they're just all over the place. Typical for me. Here we go!!!

Metric 'Fantasies' - my favorite Canadians!! Haven't stopped listening to it since I bought it and probably never will!!!


Phoenix 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' - 80's inspired synth rock born in the garage of a Paris suburb - how could you NOT love it?!?!?!


Imogen Heap 'Ellipse' - there will never be anyone as talented or unique as Immi, or as weird. Great album!!!


Olivia Broadfield 'Eyes Wide Open' - I haven't blogged about this gal yet, but don't let that stop you from checking her out for yourself! Good stuff and one of my tops for 2009!!


Mat Kearney 'City Of Black and White' - Kevin and I had the pleasure of seeing Mat live when he opened for Keane - he's one of my favorite artists and this album is amazing!


Lily Allen 'It's Not Me, It's You' - if honesty is the best policy, then Lily's your gal! If you can't handle explicit lyrics, well then maybe you should move on.


The Raveonettes 'In & Out Of Control' - another one that never made it to the old blog! Guess you'll just have to check them out for yourself... 'Last Dance' and 'Heart of Stone' are my absolute faves!! 50s era rock with a dark and twisty flavor.


Green Day '21st Century Breakdown' - didn't think they could top 'American Idiot' and I was extremely wary of the album format with the whole narrative thang, BUT this is still one of my faves of 2009.


The Sounds 'Crossing the Rubicon' - what's old becomes new again, so are we suprised then that 80s synth is making a huge comeback? No and that's ok with me!


So there you have it - my top nine of 2009!! All in all it was a great year for music, and 2010 promises to be even better. Happy New Year to all who follow this strange little blog. See you in 2010!!!!

Where Have YOU Been??

That's what I've been thinking lately. Every time I sit down to type something up on this blog, something interrupts my thought process and I'm just not able to finish. That's the story of my life - one unfinished thing after another. If I told you how many half written compositions were waiting to be posted, you would laugh your ass off. As usual my intentions were good but the follow through was lacking. I had every intention of doing a Christmas version of New Music Mondays, but honestly I've just been listening to all of last year's favorites anyways. I was meaning to post some favorite holiday cookie recipes, but I haven't had the chance to type them out - we've been too busy eating. I was meaning to post a holiday shopping guide of some of my fave affordable gifts, but it seemed a little too materialistic so I deleted it. And here we are! A couple of weeks to go until Christmas and this is the first thing I've posted for the month of December!! So I decided to put it all into one post and hopefully this will break the 'blogger's block' I've been experiencing!

My Top Ten Holiday Albums (Dave Letterman style)

10) Maybe This Christmas (various artists)
9) This Warm December - A Brushfire Holiday Vol 1 (various artists)
8) The Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs (various artists)
7) Narada's Nutcracker
6) James Taylor at Christmas
5) Elf Movie Soundtrack
4) Loreena McKennitt's 'A Midwinter Night's Dream'
3) Jars of Clay 'Christmas Songs'
2) A Charlie Brown Christmas
1) Ray Coniff 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'

If you're in the market for new holiday music you should definately check those out!



Peppermint Bark is one of my fave Christmas-y treats. The kids and I made some the other day and we're still eating it. They love helping me smash the candy canes to bits!! Here's the recipe!!!

2 bags semi sweet chocolate chips
2 bags white chocolate chips
box of candy canes - crushed

Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave safe container (I like Pampered Chef's micro cookers!). Spread carefully on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for 5 minutes or until set up. Melt the white chocolate and then carefully spread that over the dark chocolate. Spread crushed candy canes on top and let cool in the fridge. Lift wax paper off of cookie sheet and break into pieces. Eat and enjoy!!!!

A Lesson In Giving

I'm sure you've noticed my playlist (please excuse the Bon Jovi song, oh GOD and the Kelly Clarkson one) is all ready for Thanksgiving, as is my family. We're headed back home to celebrate with my family for the day and looking forward to it as always. I can remember going to my grandparents as a little kid for dinner and eating the delicious food my grama made at the kid's table in the kitchen with my cousin and brother. Then we'd sneak upstairs and work on our booby trap for when our parents told us it was time to head back home. That usually involved lots of yarn, tinker toys and a barrel of monkeys. Lots of good memories of Thanksgivings for me. :)



This month I've been trying to think of something I'm thankful for every day and it's really helped me realize just how truly blessed I am. There were certain days when things weren't going very well when it was a little more difficult to find something to be thankful for, but when I did I was reminded that it's the little things for which I am most grateful. That's especially clear now when there are so many Americans struggling to find work and meet basic needs.

Yesterday while spending a nice afternoon getting a little holiday shopping done, I learned a lesson in true generousity from my daughter Abby. She had brought her own money and found a pretty Christmas ornament she wanted to buy. As the sales person rang up the ornament she asked Abby if she'd like to make a donation to St. Jude's. Abby asked what that was and when I told her it was a children's hospital, she said 'Okay, sick kids.' Then she reached into her purse and proceeded to pull out the rest of her money and put it on the counter. I was blown away, but not at all suprised. Abby has always been one of the most generous people I've ever known and is always putting the needs of others before her own. It made me so proud of her. I hope that as we head into the heart of this holiday season that I can give as freely and from the heart as she always does.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all - I hope it finds you surrounded by the people you love and that you never run out of things to be thankful for!!

New Music Monday 11/23/2009

Last week on one of my favorite shows, 'So You Think You Can Dance' - a brilliant choreographer named Travis Wall showcased a beautiful dance to a song called 'Your Ex-Lover Is Dead' by a band called Stars. Although the song was cut in several places to the point where I personally feel the meaning was a bit lost, it was still a beautiful piece. And I bet a lot of people heard the song and downloaded some 'Stars' stuff. So this week which will be the last week for non-holiday music blogging, I decided to post about 'Stars.'



I actually first heard 'Stars' on the pandora website, which is where I get a lot of new stuff. 'Elevator Love Letter' was the song and it's from their 2003 album called 'Heart.' Since then, I've become hooked and bought two more of their records. Their sound is the perfect mix of soft vocals and rich instrumentation. You'll hear strings, keybords and horns in their songs - but while there's a lot going on in the way of instruments, it's complicated but never sounds overdone. 'Stars' is a canadian group and are also members of the very talented, well known band 'Broken Social Scene.' Both 'Heart' and 'Set Yourself On Fire' have been nominated for the award of Alternative Album of the year. Here are a few favorites from 'Heart.'

'Elevator Love Letter'


'Look Up'


'Life Effect' LOVE these lyrics


It's no secret that 'Set Yourself On Fire' is my favorite album from these guys. :) It's permenantly in my rotation. I feel like they tackle some really great stuff with the lyrics in a lot of the songs, particularly 'Your Ex-lover Is Dead' which is about a one sided relationship gone wrong. All of the tracks on this particular album will resonate with anyone who has ever been able to get over someone and move on, made the wrong decision, chosen to stay with someone despite the fact that they weren't good for them or just been in a relationship period. 'Stars' is for everyone!

'Your Ex-lover Is Dead'


'Ageless Beauty'


'Reunion'


'Soft Revolution' set to extreme skating??? Ha ha!!!


'First Five Times'


That's it for this week! Stay tuned for fun holiday music posts every Monday through Christmas!!!!

New Music Monday 11/9/2009

Technically it's Tuesday, but I didn't have time to post this with all of the fun birthday happenings around here!!! This week's new music is from an LA band (a chick band!!!) called 'Uh Huh Her.' So I guess if you are already sick of my chick band posts, you should move along and not read this one!!! This indie electro-pop band was originally made up of three members - Camilla Grey, Leisha Hailey (played Alice on a show called The L Word and is on some Yoplait commercials... random) and Alicia Warrington.... but Alicia up and quit. Too bad so sad for her!!! If you're a big PJ Harvey fan (if you don't know who PJ is, you must have slept through the 90s) you'll recognize the name 'Uh Huh Her' as it was the title to one of her albums.



'Common Reaction' was released in 2008 and is the only album they have this far. It's a perfect blend of rock and electronica. This album comes highly recommended *by me* to anyone who likes Metric, Esthero, Feist or Tegan & Sara type lady bands. It's an easy listen - smooth yet edgy......

'Say So' - this is the Thom Russo mix which I *heart*


'Explode'


'Not A Love Song'


'Wait Another Day'


'Covered'


'Common Reaction'


All in all, a great find I think. I don't know if there will be more albums in the future or if this was a one time deal, but it's good. Like staying in your pajamas and reading books all day good. ;) Ha ha.