Music you should have

Well, many of you may remember the long-gone Album of the Month column. I don't consider myself to be one of those people who is always ahead of the curve and knows about the latest and greatest, but I am passionate about the music that I do like and love sharing it with others! Music is such a gift!

Last night at our small group we were talking about ways that we connect with God as individuals with unique personalities - via nature, service, intellect, art, tradition, etc. I was just thinking of how so much music - both "christian" and "non-christian" - has been an avenue for that in my life for many years.

So I do have a newest obsession and can't help but blog about it! Typically my style is anything that is acoustic and soul-searching and Jon Foreman's latest EP's are no exception. We started following his solo music a while back when we saw him play (by surprise) at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. He is best known for being the frontman of Switchfoot, though his solo stuff has a different sound to me. Just to give you a hint of how sweet it was, he played acoustic and was accompanied by a cellist. Yep. Told you he was awesome.


Anyway, he is releasing 4 EP's inspired by each season and 3 of the 4 are currently available on iTunes. And I strongly recommend all 3 (each are 6 songs) as they are all amazing! And I'm also a big fan of the cover art. Well done.

Today I have been especially gripped by one song from the Spring release called "Your Love is Strong". Whew - it's a good one. Here are a couple of favorite lyrics that are simple but have been resonating with me today so strongly:

"Give me the food to live through today."

"Why do I worry? Why do I freak out? God knows what I need. You know what I need."

"Two things you told me. That you are strong and you love me."

I'll spare you long-winded rants about each of these simple statements but what simple and powerful truths in our lives! I know you'll all be shocked by this but I seriously have listened to this song like 20 times today. I'm such a fan of the "repeat" feature! No such thing as too much of a good thing!

So if you have $1 to spend on iTunes, definitely go for Your Love is Strong from Spring.

If you have $4 to spend, my top 4 are:
1) Your Love is Strong - Spring
2) Southbound Train - Fall
3) I am Still Running - Winter
4) Cure for Pain - Fall

If you have $15 to spend, get them all! Totally worth it!

It looks like you can hear all of Spring on Jon's MySpace page so check them out there. Let me know what you think!

Bad Day

In the midst of a bad day, my spirits were miraculously lifted today by dancing enthusiastically throughout my house to "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles on repeat for 3 whole times (it's a long song!). Luckily, if you haven't downloaded it already, you can hear it on her website.


I can't believe how much better I feel, and I checked an online calculator and am thinking that I burned about 100 calories in my 12 min, 54 sec. of expression - my calves are still burning! This comes with my highest recommendation - both the song and the dancing! You should try it!

Colbie Caillat

I've been listening to Colbie Caillat today and she makes me happy.

Harry and the Potters

While I have my hesitations about the whole Harry Potter phenomenon, I still love a good bandwagon and have caught some of the infectious excitement of my HP-lovin friends. I started the books about 2 years ago and am currently about 1/4 of the way through #6 in an attempt to catch up in time for #7. I have come to love the characters, although the stories sometimes seem repetitive to me - but that's another blog.

So, when Adam and I were at the Mission Viejo library on Monday, we were excited to see that the world-renowned band Harry and the Potters are playing there tonight at 7 for free! Unfortunately we can't make it because of a prior commitment, thought we may try to go to the Huntington Beach show on Thursday. Anyone want to come?


Yes they're for real. A band whose songs are completely about HP and the gang. I haven't actually heard any of their songs, though Adam occasionally sings lines to me such as "We've got to save Ginny Weasley from the basilisk". Very entertaining and perfect for those of you who truly love Harry with all your heart (no names mentioned . . . Reba, Adam, Lauren). Intriguing songs from their repertoire, among others, include:

Gryffindor Rocks
The Firebolt
My Teacher is a Werewolf
Stick it to Dolores
SPEW
Luna Lovegood is OK
This Book is So Awesome
Song for the Death Eaters

Check out their website, hear them on their My Space here, and here's their tour schedule. If you're lucky, you can catch them on tour with Draco and the Malfoys, the Hungarian Horntails, or the Whomping Willows.

March Album of the Month: I am who I am.

Let's face it. I am who I am. And that includes:

1) Being a little more than fashionably late.
2) A die-hard Patty Griffin fan.

I know that you are all tired of hearing me yap about her, but seeing that she had a new album that came out in February, I can't resist.

Patty did actually have some stiff competition this month, as March was a month of excellant music. So in honor of the Madness, here's how things shaped up:



Last year, we saw Patty in December's album of the month with Impossible Dream. What an amazing album. But her latest, Children Running Through, is actually significantly better, if that is even possible. It has such a great eclectic feel with a mix of many styles: rock, country, folk,soul. I love the passion and emotion that she sings with, and yes, it has made me cry on more than one occasion.



Here are the album highlights for me:
#5 - Burgundy Shoes - My favorite song of the album (I think). This is the one that makes me cry. A beautiful ballad with amazing piano! I think my bro-in-law Matty should learn this one and come play a personal concert for me everyday. I was initially super excited to hear the Bangor reference (pronounced Ban-Gore, not Bang-er), thinking that I was super great that I, too, have been to Bangor, Wales. I recently realized that she's probably talking about Bangor, Maine, since she's from Maine. But in my head I still prefer to picture her as a little Welsh girl.

#6 - Heavenly Day - I think this one had gotten the most public acclaim so far, and well-deserved.

#7 - No Bad News - This one is on the verge of pushing a political agenda and I love it. My very favorite part is the mariachis during the bridge. I can't help but rewind those 20 seconds over and over. I've developed a great affinity for mariachis since I've lived in CA and have gotten to hear some amazing ones. I don't really miss the days of the Los Compadres mariachis . . .

#9 - Up to the Mountain (MLK song) - In case the title doesn't tell you how powerful this one is, I will! It has the feel of an old spiritual with such hope and conviction.

#10 - Don't Ever Give Up - Have I mentioned that she can sing? I think I sounded pretty good on this one, too, on the way to work this morning.

4 of the above songs are on her MySpace. But she's totally worth the $9.99 on iTunes - go for it!

February Album of the Month: A V-Day Special

Oh, so much to blog about, as usual. The phenomenal Grammys, Valentine's Day, Step Sing season, where to begin? The best that I could come up with was a V-Day/Grammy's inspired album of the month.

There were so many great moments and characters on the Grammys - JT and Robyn Troupe (did everyone see her get kicked off Idol last night? I'd say that performing at the Grammy's is a pretty good pick-me-up from that!), Carrie Underwood who was just amazing and has come into her own more beautifully than I ever imagined, and Imogen Heap with grass coming out of her hair!! Amazing!! Kudos to Imogen!!



It was a toss up between her and Corinne Bailey Rae for this month's album, but I just couldn't pass up Corinne sitting so sweetly on that barstool just OWNING it with John Mayer and John Legend. What a great performance!

Adam gave me Corinne's self-titled album at the beginning of last summer and it didn't leave my car stereo for about 2 months straight.



She's a little bit of India Arie mixed with a little bit of Norah Jones, and it comes out quite nicely. And it's also currently available on Amazon right now for $7.99 - what a steal!

I think that Corinne has a little something for everyone on this Valentine's Day, so here's the song of hers for you to download, depending on your V-Day relationship status:

In a heated relationship - can't live with or without them but ultimately want to be with them: # 1 - Like a Star

Entranced by someone, often causing you to act beyond your control; you possibly display stalking tendencies: #2 Enchantment

Single, not sure where your life is headed, and totally great with all of the above: #3 Put Your Records On

Just coming out of a relationship gone bad: #4 Till It Happens To You

Still in the denial stages that you are falling for someone: #5 Trouble Sleeping

In love: #6 Call Me When you Get This

Suffering a broken heart: #7 Choux Pastry Heart (**Aside: I just found out that this song was co-written by Teitur, another personal favorite artist - small world!!; I also learned 2 new words from this song - choux and gamine - look them up and use them in a sentence today or in Scrabble to beat your husband for the 3rd night in a row ...)

Wishing that a friendship was more: #8 Breathless

Wanting some new music in your life that is excellent: All of the above!

Happy Valentine's Day from me and Corinne!

Up and Coming

So I recently heard the new single from a British singer named James Morrison. His albumis being released in the States in March. He kind of sounds like a Jamie Cullum, Marc Broussard type.

To tide us all over until then, his single "You Give Me Something" is the free single of the week on iTunes - don't miss that.

Here's his MySpace where you can read and hear more! I especially love Wonderful World.

What do you think? Going to be a keeper? Maybe James will show up again in the Album of the Month . . . stay tuned.

January Album of the Month

Yes!!! I'm getting this in just under the wire. We still have 31.5 hours of January left!

For the past 2 weeks I have lost an hour of my Thursdays that I can never have back. And the worst part of it is that I plan to continue in this lifestyle for 4 more weeks. Yes, it's the final episodes of the OC, which, let's be honest, has thankfully been cancelled. I shamelessly admit that Missy hooked me to the teeny-bopper show while we were in college and I have developed a true loyalty to it through the good (Season 1), the bad (Peter Gallagher's eyebrows - don't hurt me Rebs), and the ugly (the last two episodes). I have been simply astounded that it actually continues to get worse and worse, if that's possible. The past two weeks have actually made me dream longingly for the days of Mischa Barton and her awkward hands.



That's definitely stooping to a low point. BUT, I have to say, the OC continues to be a benchmark with its outstanding musical selections. So 2 weeks ago, it was like a breath of fresh air to hear a song from this month's album in the midst of an otherwise pain-inflicting hour. I think it was during the dream sequence where Seth was discovering what his inner animal was . . . yeah. I'm not even kidding about that.

As usual, I have to give credit to Adam for introducing me to this month's artist, Tally Hall, and their album Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum.


I have truly been thinking about this one all month and trying to figure how to describe them. Hmmm . . . quite tricky. This article describes them as mix between Queen, Weezer, and the Beatles. They're just excellant and I'm not sure how else to say it. They have such an eclectic and upbeat sound that everyone is bound to find at least one song that you like . . . that is if you can embrace a small dose of the weird and whimsical. Be sure to visit their website and click on the cassette tape for a short sample of each song.

Here's the monthly breakdown:

Artist: Tally Hall (named after their local mall food court in Michigan)
Album: Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
Album Release: November 2005
Time of Possesion: ummm . . . several months but I've only been listening to it intently for about 2 months
How I feel when listening to Tally Hall: happy, possibly even delighted
Favorite Tracks:#2 - Greener, #6 - Be Born, but overall a very solid album through and through
Friends who would NOT like this album: my brother Daniel (he claims he's more of a Hillary Duff kind of guy - listen to the sample of Two Wuv for clarification)
Friends who would like this album: Any of Adam's brothers, most specifically Mike, and possibly the Richies (if they haven't owned the album for 3 years already despite the fact that its only been released for 1)

Dec Album update: Patty Griffin has a new album coming out on Feb.6 - yes we are all quite thrilled. And even better, she is playing at the Hotel Cafe in LA on Feb.13 (it was already sold out by the time that I discovered it - anyone have connections? I'm DYING to go!!) and also at the Alabama Theater on Feb. 17 - if you care at all about good music and you live within driving distance of Birmingham, you should go, and tell me all about it so I can live vicariously.