Category Archives: Music & Podcasts

Currently

Happy Sunday! Wait. Happy Monday! Oh, how I love and hate Monday holidays. I know I should be glad that I will only have a four day work week (and I only had a four day work week last week since I took Friday off), but the weeks where we get Monday off seem so long. Anyway, here’s what’s been happening.

Turning Veganese turned celebrated its six month anniversary which also means that I’ve been on my way to being vegan for six months. I feel great and morally superior to omnivores. Just kidding about that last part. But, I do feel great. I have had to shop for new clothes to go with my slightly new body. A better diet isn’t everything, though, so…

…I’ve decided to start working out again. My reasons for wanting to exercise are mostly superficial. Like I said, I feel great, but I would like to look great. I would also like to be more physically fit. I walked up seven flights of stairs at work a couple weeks ago and sounded like I was having a panic attack afterward. A guy at work does it everyday and said he started out the same way, but now it’s pretty much effortless. That’s good motivation. We have an on-site gym at work, so all I have to do is drag my ass in there. I dusted off the old gym bag (I literally had to dust it off) and packed it for tomorrow.

Another thing I’m going to try doing is bringing my lunch to work. I spend so much money on coffee, breakfast, lunch and snacks at work. It’s icky and it’s putting me in the poor house. Anyone got any recommendations on a good French press? I have one but I’m thinking of buying a nicer one and keeping the old one at work.

As part of my lazy Memorial Day, I thought it would be nice to watch a movie while laying in bed. I guess I could have watched it while working out in front of the TV, but I didn’t, OK? I watched a modern-day classic, the 2011 version of Footloose.

Watching this movie did not change my life and I bet you are rolling your eyes or laughing at the fact that I watched it. Well, I enjoyed it! I thought Kenny Wormald was charming. Shut up.

I also watch good stuff, like Mad Men. Ohmigosh, did you see last night’s episode, “The Other Woman?” Sooo good. So disturbingly good. Quietly shocking and thought-provoking. I just love Jon Hamm. And I love Ginsberg. I think Ben Feldman is cute and I love him in Drop Dead Diva and that Hillary Duff movie he was in and I swear to you that I am an intelligent person with good taste in television and movies.

Music-wise, I’m liking the new record by The Walkmen. I also can’t get Rihanna and Carly Rae Jepsen out of my head. Why am I admitting this on my blog? That’s my cue to end this post and go to bed.

 

Currently…

…Listening To:

It’s been a Personal Jesus/Strangelove/Just Like Heaven type of week. I guess that’s why I streamed Mixed Emotions by Tanlines nonstop on the days that I forgot my iPod at home this week. Thank you for the first listen, NPR! I am painfully behind on The Nerdist Podcast but try to make it a point to listen on my drive home from work. Hey, I have tickets to see The Nerdist guys next month. I need to make sure I’m caught up on all the inside jokes.

…Watching:

I felt the sudden urge to re-watch Everwood a couple weeks ago. I started with season 3 and am nearly done with the 4th and final season. This show was really kind of out there but still entertaining and touching. I didn’t skip any episodes, which I did during a recent Felicity re-watch. However, I do feel the need to say that the character of Amy Abbott, portrayed by Emily Van Camp, is pretty damn annoying: she’s pushy and selfish and presumptuous!

Reading:

I find that people either love Dave Eggers or hate him. I fall into the former camp. I spotted Zeitoun in a bookstore at O’Hare before a flight I took over a year ago. I didn’t start reading the book until three weeks ago. I shamefully don’t make time to read these days unless I’m headed downtown via the CTA. So even though this book is a quick read, I’m still not done with it. That should be remedied on or before my next appointment downtown, which is in a couple of weeks. In addition to this, I’m trying to stay on top of The Week.

…Awaiting The Release Of:

Guys, I can’t EVEN. I rarely watch movies in the theater anymore. I wanted to see a movie so badly this weekend just so I could practice being a movie theater goer. Yes! Really! I’m trying to figure out if I want  to watch with someone else or if I should go alone. There’s a lot of crying potential so I’m thinking I might go alone.

And this has been an update from i-cant-drive.net. Good night/day/whatever and good luck.

Ready? OK!

DO YOU KNOW that it’s National Cheerleading Week? Oh my gosh, it is! Can you dig it? Can you D-I-G-I-T?!?

I was a cheerleader in 4th grade. Our school colors were red and white, and our mascot was the cardinal. Cardinals, you’re looking -clap- GREAT! It’s almost laughable that I was a cheerleader. Sure, I was spunky, had a lot of energy, and I had a lot of school spirit. Ahem. But I wasn’t exactly athletic. I am talking picked-last-in-gym-class levels of athleticism.

Looking back, I am really not sure why I decided to go out for cheerleading. I suppose I must have been impressed by the cheerleaders at our school pep rallies. They wore cute outfits and they always looked like they were having fun. There was something about the routines they did, how they knew when to clap, when to stomp; the motions they made with their bodies that looked complicated, but were really just simple and calculated. I suppose I thought, “I can do that. I can be peppy. I can be loud and cheerful.”

We had to learn two cheers for varsity tryouts. I practiced and I was ready when it was my turn to show off in front of the coach. I knew I did the best I could possibly have done, but I still wasn’t sure if I would make the squad. There were already a few girls who were in the squad the previous year, and only a limited number would be selected. I was elated when I saw that I made the squad and even more elated when my coach remarked that I had great jump height.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to be a super gymnast. Cheerleading for me was learning routines, staying in sync with the other girls, memorizing cheers, and committing to practices and cheering at school sports events. No pyramids, no splits, no tumbling aside from the occasional cartwheel. I loved our coach. She was laid-back, trustworthy, and helped us keep a positive attitude even when our team was losing or the opposing team’s cheerleaders were doing aerial cartwheels. (She wasn’t too happy when we bent over, lifted up our skirts, and shouted, “UP YOURS!” to the other cheerleaders at a football game that one time.)

My cheerleading days are a blur to me now. I still remember some of the cheers and routines. I bust them out from time to time, successfully creeping out anyone who is around me.

Hey! Hey you!
You really think you’re cool
You thought that you were winning
But you ran out of fuel!

You found out
That we’ve got class
It must have been confusing
‘Cause you ran out of gas!

My favorite thing about cheerleading had little to do with cheerleading. I used to ride with the same family when we drove to away games. I’m not even sure how or why I ended up riding with them. My fellow squad member was one or two grades ahead of me, and our only interaction was during cheerleading practice or games. BUT ANYWAY, my favorite thing about cheerleading is the impact it had on my music tastes. Specifically, cheerleading and riding around with that family was my introduction to the oldies. Of course, I had heard all the old songs before. The Supremes. The Beatles. Dave Clark Five. Dusty Springfield. But this experience made it different. The dad would sing along as he drove. My peers liked the music. It was such a happy car to be in. I found myself going home and setting the dial to 104.3. I would listen to it after school and dance around in my bedroom. Even if cheerleading sucked, the way it fueled my appreciation for the oldies would have made the entire experience worth it.

GoooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CARDINALS!!!!

That Time When John Mayer Made Me Cry

Please don’t think less of me for writing about John Mayer. He kind of grosses me out, but I don’t dislike his music. One exception is that Daughters song. And Waiting on the World to Change. And Your Body is a Wonderland, because it makes me think of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s boobs. Anyway, whatever your taste in music may be, you can’t deny that he has talent.

I clearly remember the moment that John Mayer got to me and tugged at my heartstrings. I was waiting in the car for my sister, and The Heart of Life came on. I found myself listening to the lyrics, really listening. Before I could stop myself, I was crying like a mofo. And I wasn’t even having a bad day!

I hate to see you cry
Laying there in that position
There’s things you need to hear
So turn off your tears and listen

Pain throws you heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won’t all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

You know it’s nothing new
Bad news never had good timing
But then the circle of your friends
Will defend the silver lining

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won’t all go the way, it should
But I know the heart of life is good

It’s a simple song with a good message. It lifts me up whether I need a boost or not. It’s a nice surprise whenever it pops up on iPod shuffle, like it did today and thus triggered my desire to blog about it. It’s best consumed in moderation. I don’t want it to go all Why, Georgia, Why on me. And, listen. At least I didn’t tattoo the lyrics on my arm.

Photo is from fuckyeahjohnmayer.tumblr.com

Teaser

It’s no secret that I’m a big teenybopper at heart. Some inflammation of my obsession occurred this summer. I’m gonna blog about it. It’s gonna be embarrassing. I’m going to get giddy. I’m going to blush. It’s gonna be awesome. Teaser photo below.

I took this photo myself so don’t be a jerk—-credit me if you want to post it somewhere else! KTBSPA. (I’m not a loser. I’m just not very cool.)

I Officially Love Kris Allen

Pic from www.krisallenofficial.com

Sorry, Blake Lewis. Sorry, David Cook. I still love you guys, but Kris Allen is my new favorite American Idol contestant. I didn’t watch–no, I refused to watch American Idol the season that Kris was on. It was hard to not know what was happening, though. It was the season of the enigma that is Adam Lambert, that dude with the hat, the girl with the red hair, and Kris’s rendition of Kanye’s “Heartless”.

I probably wouldn’t have heard anything about Kris Allen post-Idol if it weren’t for the fact that I follow @rickey of Rickey.org on Twitter. It was through Rickey’s site that I heard “Live Like We’re Dying,” the first single off Kris Allen’s record. My only issue with the song is that Kris didn’t write it, but it’s a good poppy song with lyrics that make you think, he sounds good in it, and it indicated to me that the rest of the record would be filled with songs that are listenable and meaningful (to him, not necessarily to me, but you know what I mean).

Okay. So the truth is that I liked Kris Allen’s album because it was something I could listen to without really listening to it. It’s benign, has slow and fast stuff, it won’t ruin your day, it won’t rile you up, and you can bop your head and sing along to it if you want to. It’s the epitome of “catchy.” The more I listened to it… the more I listened to it. And then I started to really like it. And then I started to really think about it. Some songs make me smile. Some songs make me sad. Some songs even make my eyes water sometimes, if I’m PMSing or whatever.

Thanks, Kris Allen. You’ve made me feel better on bad days. And for that, you made it on my list of things I love.

Kris Allen Official Site
Follow Kris Allen on Twitter – he’s a fun guy to follow regardless of what you think about his music.

iPod Update

After writing my dramatic iPod Death post, I thought it would be nice to let everyone know that I have a new iPod. Say ‘hello’ to… well, I didn’t name it. Um… say ‘hello’ to Chuck! Too bad I got a pink protective case for Chuck. Now he thinks he’s a girl.

Chuck is a 32GB iPod Touch, purchased used from one of my friends on the Interwebz (thanks, Huff!). In addition to playing music, Chuck does a crapload of other stuff. He’s like my iPhone but used solely for music, and he doesn’t make any calls. My niece already knows the difference between my phone and Chuck. She prefers playing with the Chuck now.

Are you creeped out by the fact that I’m calling my iPod Chuck and referring to it as a him? No? Awesome.

I have to admit that I miss the click wheel on Old Man iPod, but it’s nice to finally be using current iPod technology (which will very quickly become old). I’m mostly happy to finally be able to listen to my music and podcasts again.

Speaking of podcasts, I can’t say enough about The Nerdist. Chris Hardwick, will you marry me? No? Well… then, can we be friends? Please?

P.S. See? Having Internet friends pays off. Had I not bitched and moaned about the death of my iPod, I never would’ve gotten such a nice deal on a replacement.

The Day My iPod Died

Friday, August 13, 2010. I’m at work. I turn on my iPod. It makes strange clicking noises. The Apple logo appears. Then, a sad iPod face appears (see photo above). More clicking. Then, it’s blank. This happens every time I turn on my iPod. “It’s finally gone,” I think to myself. My iPod, that I bought back in 2004 (or late 2003; I can no longer remember) has finally died.

I remember a couple years after I bought my iPod, reading articles about how the other iPods in my iPod’s generation were spontaneously exploding. “Great,” I thought, sarcastically. “It’s only a matter of time before my iPod explodes.”

Two years pass. Then, three. Then, four, five. I see that my iPod is sluggish. If I go more than a day without using it, it takes some time to power up, and the power supply is significantly depleted. I fondly recall the time I accidentally dropped it within weeks of owning it. The dents are still evident. No matter what, my iPod continues to work well.

I remember when the iPod Nano came out. I wanted my iPod to die already so that I could upgrade to a newer model. Then, the iPod touch. Wireless capability! Oh, if only my iPod would die. Then, I was proud that my iPod had reached geriatric status. Only my brother-in-law’s first generation iPod bested my own in longevity.

Friday, August 13, 2010. My iPod has died. I Google “iPod sad face” in the hopes that I will find a solution. Web sites say to purposely drop the iPod or bang it on something. I try this. Nothing works. Soon, only the Apple logo appears. Then, nothing happens.

Goodbye, iPod. You have been a good friend and we have traveled the world together. You have happily played music and podcasts for me. You kept me humble by always playing Hanson when I put on the Shuffle feature. You have been with me in happy days and in sad days. I will miss you, but it is time for me to move on. I don’t take this change lightly. Do I get an iPod classic, which will always serve as a warm reminder of how awesome you were? Or, do I get an iPod Nano or iPod Touch , try something new and more exciting? Or do I really try something new, and get a Zune?

I have yet to move on. For better or for worse, I keep trying to turn you back on, hoping that you will spring back to life and live on for a few more years.

Thanks, iPod. I’ll miss you.

Nerdist Podcast

I’ve been meaning to blog this for awhile, but I have to tell everyone I know that they MUST listen to the Nerdist podcast. Chris Hardwick is the main dude behind nerdist.com (and is @nerdist on Twitter). He hosts the show along with Matt Mira and Jonah Ray.  The conversations and interviews are intelligent, funny, insightful, and really just everything you need from a podcast that features intelligent and funny people. I love every single f’in episode, even if I’m not familiar with the guest or don’t know much about what they’re talking about.

Yes, it’s funny. If I could only say one thing about it to sell it, I would say it’s funny. There’s a lot of smart comedy on this podcast and it’s absolutely free. But it’s more than funny: it’s nerdy in the best way and really informative.  Guests that they have had include Craig Ferguson, Rob Zombie, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and the Muppets.

Go. Listen now. Subscribe in iTunes or whatever. Visit Nerdist for more info. I guess I should mention that they swear a lot, so don’t listen if you’re offended by that or if you’re a little kid.