Soundtrack of my life #6 Your favorite band

 Easy.

Chiodos

I have never really had a favorite band. I have always liked all kinds of music and different types of bands. Chiodos probably isn’t my all time favorite, and eventually I will probably tire of their music like I have done others. But right now, and for the past 2.5 years, Chiodos has rocked my ears almost every day.

My friend Dave introduced them to me in the form of a burned cd. He’s always been the best (besides Brett) to hand me a cd and say “You are gonna love this band.” I thank both of those boys for my love of ska music. Which makes me want to change my mind and replace Chiodos with Reel Big Fish, but I am sticking with my 1st answer.

In 2008 I went through a separation and a divorce. It was a shitty year. Dave calls me one day and tells me Chiodos is playing in Atlanta at the The Tabernacle in November. So, we bought tickets and took a weeknight roadtrip to Atlanta for some major fun. To this day, that day was one of the most fun things I have done with Dave.
This is the “myspace blog” I wrote after the trip…It makes me giggle to relive the stupid inside jokes and that damn puppet that we named konky.

so, i should be asleep. but i need to document the funness i had yesterday.

noon thirty i left work. dave showered the train smut off of him and we loaded up the car with pillows and a red wings blanket. off to ATL. i drove. dave couldn’t sleep. even though he had been up for days!

2 hours, $50 richer (thank you gas station floor), one georgia rest stop later… we are parking at ikea. the biggest damn store on the planet. in 1.5 hours we managed to buy a dozen $0.49 stuffed animals, some noodle jars, ikea aids knives, a krabba and a konky. (see pictures please).

then mapquest screws us on the 3.3 mile drive from ikea to the tabernacle. but lee saved us! (i can’t turn right on piedmont…. BECAUSE I CAN’T!)

yay! tabernacle. boo… bands in white skinny pants. dave and i had discussed that we would be the oldest non emo people there. we were wrong. the emo kids parents were the oldest ones there. but we did have fun guessing ages and making fun  of the no ass girls. and the boys in skinny jeans… then chiodos rocked out faces off. awesome show. so glad we went.

the drive home was absolutely -pee in my pants worthy. Konky kept me awake (along with the coffee, diet coke and waffle syrup i had). konky is a really good friend to have when driving. then konky got sleepy. and so did i. dave drove the rest of the way. even though he had not been asleep in 48 hours! i am a good friend.

2am. crash. with konky voice in my head, chiodos in my heart and caffeine in my veins… awesome road trip!

I don’t really know where I am going with all of this. I guess, just that every day, no matter what mood I am in, Chiodos makes it better. It’s the band I listen too when I need a pick me up, when I am taking a shower, when I want to hear lyrics that move me, when I want to dance and when I want to feel something good in my heart. It takes me back to the live performance and how much fun they were on stage. The band has made some changes and replaced the lead singer. I am not a huge fan of the new album without Craig Owens… but it is growing on me. The other albums Alls Well that Ends Well and Bone Palace Ballet keep me happy. 

There aren’t really any official videos out there, but there are a lot of live small little performances…

so those are the videos you get, and I can’t pick one or two. I can’t even pick a favorite song by them. Every time I decide that “this one” is my fav, the next one starts playing and I love it just as much. Just go buy the albums.

1. Your favorite song
2: A song that makes you cry.
3: A song that makes you dance.
4: Your favorite male singer.
5: Your favorite female singer.
6: Your favorite band.
7: One band/singer you’re ashamed to admit you like.
8: One band/singer whose popularity you will never understand.
9: A song that reminds you of an ex.
10: A song that reminds you of your father.
11: A song that reminds you of your mother.
12: A song that makes you want to have sex.
13: A song you sing in the shower.
14: A song from the year you were born.
15: A song you liked in high school.
16: The first song in your mp3 folder.
17: The last song in your mp3 folder.
18: An instrumental song you like.
19: Your favorite love song.
20: Your favorite breakup song.
21: A song that makes you want to break stuff.
22: Your favorite song from a movie.
23: Your favorite duet.
24: Your favorite cover song.
25: Your favorite song from 2010 (so far)
26: Your favorite music video.
27: One song in your mp3 folder you’re pretty sure no one else has.
28: One song that needs to never be played again.
29: One song that gives you the creeps.
30: A song you’d like played at your funeral.

bah humbug, and bling bling

I am not a fan of Christmas, or Christmas music (but love Christmas movies, go figure…)
This is possible one of my favorite Christmas tunes ever… It helps that I have known the lead singer, Steve Lewis, for a long time. Not to mention that I loved seeing a Downright show back in the day.

Steve was in town around Thanksgiving, and though I missed the Downright reunion at Workplay, I was able to see Steve play at a small hole in the wall that Sunday night.

Anyway… watch this. Good luck getting the song out of your head afterwards. A radio station here in town played this song over and over and over for hours and hours one year. I think they might have ended up with death threats…  it was hysterical. And a great christmas tune!

Bah humbug. and Merry Christmas!

-m

Sound Track of my life #5 your favorite female singer

There is no way I can even begin to list all the girl singers I like. We would be here all day.
Instead I am just gonna go back to my youth and pull a few that got me through the rough spots of being a teenager…

1. Amanda Marshall
I adored her first cd. I can listen to it on repeat for days. When I went to youtube to pick a song to post I had the hardest time. Her voice is so amazing and the lyrics to her songs tug at my heart.  This cd takes me back to a much younger me.

Beautiful Goodbye

2. Melissa Etheridge
love me some Melissa… it’s funny, when I google myself (oh, come on, you have done it…) I always get a lot of Melissa Etheridge hits. Because I am Melissa Gay, and she is a gay Melissa!

3. Meredith Brooks
Her 1st album, Blurring the Edges owns me to this day. We all know BITCH. It’s a great song.. but nothing compared to Watch you Fall, or Birthday. Unfortunately the only video for Watch you Fall on Youtube is a generic “look what I made and posted on youtube” video…
so I will give you What Would Happen instead

4. Alanis Morissette
This is one of my fav alanis songs. I am a girl. I love Jagged Little Pill. I mean, what teen age girl in the late 90′s didn’t?

1. Your favorite song
2: A song that makes you cry.
3: A song that makes you dance.
4: Your favorite male singer.
5: Your favorite female singer.
6: Your favorite band.
7: One band/singer you’re ashamed to admit you like.
8: One band/singer whose popularity you will never understand.
9: A song that reminds you of an ex.
10: A song that reminds you of your father.
11: A song that reminds you of your mother.
12: A song that makes you want to have sex.
13: A song you sing in the shower.
14: A song from the year you were born.
15: A song you liked in high school.
16: The first song in your mp3 folder.
17: The last song in your mp3 folder.
18: An instrumental song you like.
19: Your favorite love song.
20: Your favorite breakup song.
21: A song that makes you want to break stuff.
22: Your favorite song from a movie.
23: Your favorite duet.
24: Your favorite cover song.
25: Your favorite song from 2010 (so far)
26: Your favorite music video.
27: One song in your mp3 folder you’re pretty sure no one else has.
28: One song that needs to never be played again.
29: One song that gives you the creeps.
30: A song you’d like played at your funeral.

Soundtrack of my life #4 Your favorite male singer

I really am having a hard time keeping up with doing this every day… I am afraid this meme is going to become a weekly post instead. Maybe my Sunday Soundtrack… I just can’t spend every damn day on youtube… it is sucking my soul!

My Favorite Male singer? Can this include bands? or does it have to be an individual? Because Bon Jovi and Dave Matthews are on this list. And Hootie, I mean, Daruis Rucker…Then there is always Garth Brooks, and currently I am a little smitten by Gavin Degraw’s music.

Whatever. It’s my list… I am gonna make it what I want! In no particular order.

1. Darius Rucker
I have loved him since the Hootie days. And now that he has done this solo country career, I just love him! This song always makes me smile…because it’s ok if love is simple. Plus it reminds me that being happy doesn’t have to mean lots of money or big expensive things. It’s the simple stuff that we should be thankful for.

2. Garth Brooks
I spent my childhood memorizing every cd. Even the ones that Mcdonald’s sold (remember that?) And I even owned the Chris Gaines album. I saw him twice in concert and some of my favorite memories of my friend Steph have Garth Brooks as the soundtrack.
Youtubing him just made me wish my cds weren’t in storage. I would probably spend the rest of the night singing along to them all!

3. Jon Bon Jovi
I got to see Bon Jovi a few years ago. I was able to scratch “See Bon Jovi in concert before I die” off my list.
I have now added “see Bon Jovi again before I die” to my list! I could listen to Slippery when Wet over and over. Actually, I do. I am kinda glad no one is home right now, because I just rocked out to this

4. Dave Matthews
I just like the music. And DMB is amazing live. I have seen them live twice (3? maybe) and it’s just an amazing show. There’s just not a dmb song that I don’t like. This is one of my favorites.

5. Gavin Degraw
Right now I think I am listening to his album Chariot on a daily basis. I love his voice and the lyrics. Can’t get enough of it. I don’t know that he is an all time fav, but for now he’s definitely in the rotation of my soundtrack. And he’s kinda cute.

1. Your favorite song
2: A song that makes you cry.
3: A song that makes you dance.
4: Your favorite male singer.
5: Your favorite female singer.
6: Your favorite band.
7: One band/singer you’re ashamed to admit you like.
8: One band/singer whose popularity you will never understand.
9: A song that reminds you of an ex.
10: A song that reminds you of your father.
11: A song that reminds you of your mother.
12: A song that makes you want to have sex.
13: A song you sing in the shower.
14: A song from the year you were born.
15: A song you liked in high school.
16: The first song in your mp3 folder.
17: The last song in your mp3 folder.
18: An instrumental song you like.
19: Your favorite love song.
20: Your favorite breakup song.
21: A song that makes you want to break stuff.
22: Your favorite song from a movie.
23: Your favorite duet.
24: Your favorite cover song.
25: Your favorite song from 2010 (so far)
26: Your favorite music video.
27: One song in your mp3 folder you’re pretty sure no one else has.
28: One song that needs to never be played again.
29: One song that gives you the creeps.
30: A song you’d like played at your funeral.

Soundtrack of my life #3 songs that make you dance

eekkk… just thinking about all the songs that make me shake my booty makes me realize I have a ton of things to add to my itunes! There is also no way I could list them here, so I picked the first 2 that came to mind.

Ignition Remix by R. Kelly

Yeah, yeah, he pees on young girls. What ever. I love this freaking song. I would also like to include Bump & Grind. Only because Thanksgiving night at BMB included us playing that on the jukebox and dancing on the patio. While laughing hysterically. But two R. Kelly songs might be too much.

Dirty by Christina Aguilera

I love that she can sing. And be so dang hot.

1. Your favorite song
2: A song that makes you cry.
3: A song that makes you dance.
4: Your favorite male singer.
5: Your favorite female singer.
6: Your favorite band.
7: One band/singer you’re ashamed to admit you like.
8: One band/singer whose popularity you will never understand.
9: A song that reminds you of an ex.
10: A song that reminds you of your father.
11: A song that reminds you of your mother.
12: A song that makes you want to have sex.
13: A song you sing in the shower.
14: A song from the year you were born.
15: A song you liked in high school.
16: The first song in your mp3 folder.
17: The last song in your mp3 folder.
18: An instrumental song you like.
19: Your favorite love song.
20: Your favorite breakup song.
21: A song that makes you want to break stuff.
22: Your favorite song from a movie.
23: Your favorite duet.
24: Your favorite cover song.
25: Your favorite song from 2010 (so far)
26: Your favorite music video.
27: One song in your mp3 folder you’re pretty sure no one else has.
28: One song that needs to never be played again.
29: One song that gives you the creeps.
30: A song you’d like played at your funeral.

Soundtrack of my life #2 Songs that make me cry.

There is a meme going around that interests me. It’s the Emotional soundtrack meme. Basically for 30 days you post songs/videos from the list below. My new blog buddy Lexi has been working on hers for a week or so and my real life friend Ben just started his.

I have copied and pasted the list and started thinking on it. My musical taste varies and is quite wide. I am the kind of girl who once I like a song, I buy the whole “album”. Then I spend months and months and months listening to a handful of albums. Currently I can’t get enough of Chiodos. (this has been going on for 2 years. It’s kinda ridiculous!) I also am stuck in the sound track of my youth. It’s comfortable there. I am a huge fan of singer/song writer/indie-ish music too, but I don’t know if this list will show that.

My problem is, when given a list to complete, I can’t think of anything. I just sit here and rack my brain or text my ex husband and say “hey, what’s my favorite song? or what’s that song that that guy sings, you know the one about that girl?” Scary thing is, he knows exactly what I am talking about. Damn, I hate him…(but thankful for his ability to understand my retarded brain.)

Anyway, here is my attempt at a meme. 30 days is a long time. But I have done a 30 day challenge before and survived!

1: Your favorite song.

see, I am stuck already…dammit.. can I do these out-of-order? I have a lot of the other ones already figured out! I can’t honestly say I have ONE favorite song. I probably can’t even pick 5. ugh…. ok seriously… I am skipping this one. Maybe after 29 days of posting other songs I will figure out my favorite.

#2 A song that makes you cry.

Daniel by Elton John

I love this song. And just about every other song EJ write/sings. I used to have a huge hatred for Elton. As a kid I was forced to see him in concert half a dozen times. I slept through an entire concert when I was 6 only to wake up for Crocodile Rock. I also saw him and Billy Joel in Atlanta many moons ago. Again, I slept through most of it due to a migraine. (I can sleep anywhere). But, the last time I saw him perform I was a grown up and was much more aware of the talent I was witnessing. He’s pretty amazing. And this song always catches my heart off guard and makes me tear up a little.

Hold on by Sarah Mclachlan

This song… gets me. every. time. When she sings the following phrase, my heart just breaks.

“Oh God if you’re out there won’t you hear me
I know that we’ve never talked before

Oh God the man I love is leaving
Won’t you take him when he comes to your door”

1. Your favorite song
2: A song that makes you cry.
3: A song that makes you dance.
4: Your favorite male singer.
5: Your favorite female singer.
6: Your favorite band.
7: One band/singer you’re ashamed to admit you like.
8: One band/singer whose popularity you will never understand.
9: A song that reminds you of an ex.
10: A song that reminds you of your father.
11: A song that reminds you of your mother.
12: A song that makes you want to have sex.
13: A song you sing in the shower.
14: A song from the year you were born.
15: A song you liked in high school.
16: The first song in your mp3 folder.
17: The last song in your mp3 folder.
18: An instrumental song you like.
19: Your favorite love song.
20: Your favorite breakup song.
21: A song that makes you want to break stuff.
22: Your favorite song from a movie.
23: Your favorite duet.
24: Your favorite cover song.
25: Your favorite song from 2010 (so far)
26: Your favorite music video.
27: One song in your mp3 folder you’re pretty sure no one else has.
28: One song that needs to never be played again.
29: One song that gives you the creeps.
30: A song you’d like played at your funeral.

Let’s see how far I can actually get with this!

-m