Random Music Moment

I'm bored. Work is so sllllooooooow. Even knowing that I'm leaving at noon isn't helping it go by any faster (mostly because I'm not looking forward to driving to Salt Lake in potentially bad weather, so leaving early is no fun). So to temper my boredom, I give you the next 20 songs that come up on shuffle.

1. "All the Way Down" by Glen Hansard, Once
2. "If I Didn't Know Better" by the Civil Wars, Live at Eddie's Attic
3. "Mind Eraser" by the Black Keys, El Camino
4. "Paranoia in B Major" by the Avett Brothers, Emotionalism
5. "When You Got a Good Thing" by Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
6. "Bad Romance" by Lady GaGa, The Fame Monster
7. "Funnyman" by KT Tunstall, Drastic Fantastic
8. "Round and Round" by Imagine Dragons, Continued Silence EP
9. "Garbage Truck" by Sex Bob-omb, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
10. "Houdini" by Foster the People, Torches
11. "I've Got This Friend" by the Civil Wars, Barton Hollow
12. "Closer" by Ne-Yo, Year of the Gentleman
13. "Where Are You Now" by Mumford & Sons, Babel
14. "Dust Bowl Dance" by Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
15. "Kick Drum Heart" by the Avett Brothers, I And Love And You
16. "Fairytale" by Sara Bareilles, Little Voice
17. "Fired" by Ben Folds, Rockin' the Suburbs
18. "Whispers in the Dark" by Mumford & Sons, Babel
19. "One Flight Down" by Norah Jones, Come Away With Me
20. "Lovelier Than You" by B.o.B, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

And . . . there you go. If you read this pointless post, kudos to you.

(On a separate note, I get married in 11 days! It's coming so fast, and I still can't believe that I'm actually going to be married. It's so weird. But I'm so freaking excited.)

Seven Days

I just realized today that the Mumford & Sons concert is in a mere week.



This video leads me to believe that it will be epic.

I can't wait.

I Will Wait

Listen to this song, friends. Don't ask questions. Just listen.



Ah, Mumford & Sons, how I love thee. There are a mere 15 days until I see them live, and 48 days until their new album Babel is released. This girl is a happy girl.

Random Music Moment

I'm bored. So here's a little music moment. These are the next twenty songs that come on my iPod. It's on shuffle, and I am playing my "Car Tunes" playlist, which basically excludes all of my instrumental music and soundtracks and any crappy music I may have.

1. "My Father's Father" by the Civil Wars, Barton Hollow
2. "Last Beautiful Girl" by Matchbox Twenty, Mad Season
3. "God's Been Good to Me" by Keith Urban, Be Here (Holy crap! Country! This is my iPod, right?)
4. "Sad Song" by Christina Perri, Lovestrong.
5. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. "Better Life" by Keith Urban, Be Here
7. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, HIStory: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
8. "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" by the Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
9. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, Little Voice
10. "Call and Answer" by Barenaked Ladies, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits
11. "What Am I to You?" by Norah Jones, Feels Like Home
12. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, Classic Queen
13. "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
14. "The Only Exception" by Paramore, Brand New Eyes
15. "I Came Here to Get Over You" by Brandon Flowers, Flamingo
16. "Humble Me" by Norah Jones, Feels Like Home
17. "Either Way" by Guster, Lost and Gone Forever
18. "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfield, Greatest Hits
19. "Cold as Stone" by Lady Antebellum, Own the Night
20. "You Can't Do That" by the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night

And there you have it. A glimpse into my everyday musical life. 

The Summer of Concerts

This summer has officially become a celebration of ridiculously awesome bands that I am more than willing to drop some cash on to see live. We all know I'm a giant fan of concerts, and this summer has only solidified that fandom. For the reals, people, there's nothing like seeing a good band live.

Concert #1: The Black Keys. May 3.

I didn't know all of the Black Keys' music, but I loved what I did know, so I thought, hey? Why not go to their concert? Cora and I had a blast. This was some serious dance music that got me movin' and groovin', despite my obvious lack of rhythm.

And here is a video (I apologize for poor quality—I had no wi-fi when I uploaded this from my phone):



Concert #2: The Civil Wars. May 24.

One of my favorite. bands. ever. And they did not disappoint live. They were incredible. Who knew that two people and a guitar could be so bloody awesome? But they were. I loved every second of that concert, and was quite sad that it didn't last longer. I sang myself hoarse and had a grand time with Cora, Aaron, and Roxanne.

And another video (one of five that I took, and I would have taken more if my arms hadn't gotten tired):



Concert #3: The Avett Brothers. June 28.

My sister and brother-in-law introduced me to the Avett Brothers, so it was only fitting that Cora and I attended the concert with them. It was outside, and it was a beautiful night in downtown Salt Lake with the sunset reflecting off the glass in the buildings surrounding us. And boy, do the Avett Brothers put on a show! It was so upbeat and fun, and they did a lot to get the crowd involved, which is always fun. They played for nearly two hours, and I loved every second of it.

No video here. I was enjoying myself too much to hold my phone up for an entire song. Kind of regretting that now, but oh well.

And there is more exciting news on the concert front. On Friday, tickets went on sale for a band that I very much enjoy listening to. And I just went ahead bought me some tickets.

Concert #4: Mumford & Sons. August 22.

Here's the thing: Mumford & Sons is a British band. They don't make it to the US very often, so when I saw that they had a tour coming up, I had little hope that they would play in Utah. Sure enough, the closest concert was in California. So I resigned myself to my fate of not seeing them live anytime soon.

And then I got an email from a website I belong to that tracks your favorite bands and lets you know when bands are playing near you. When I saw "Mumford & Sons" in the subject line, I assumed it would be a Nevada or another California show. Imagine my shock when I opened it up and saw Magna, Utah, listed there. That's right, folks—not only is Mumford & Sons playing in Utah, but they are playing IN MY HOMETOWN. In little ol' Magna, out in the middle of nowhere. At the Great Saltair, right on the lake. Could this get any cooler?! I submit that it could not.

So on August 22, I will be jumping up and down like a maniac to Mumford & Sons and relishing summer concert #4. And this time, I will actually take my boyfriend with me, instead of leaving him at home while I go off and do my thing.

Basically, this has already been the best. summer. ever., and the awesome just keeps on giving.

Sad, Sad Day

This post is about a month late, but that doesn't make it any less of a sad post.

About a month ago, Sherwood posted a blog about how they just can't make the band work anymore. The members are all over the country with their own families now, and trying to make more music was just too hard to coordinate. Which is all understandable.

But this means Sherwood is no more.

Anyone who has known me the past few years knows that I am a huge Sherwood fan. I've been to six of their shows. My living room is adorned with signed and framed memorabilia. I have three t-shirts and a hoodie. I have multiple photo albums dedicated to Sherwood shows on Facebook. I have introduced many people to the awesomeness that is Sherwood's music. So it stands to reason that this news saddened me greatly.

I had been eagerly awaiting news of the new album that Sherwood had been working on. I had been hoping to hear that there would be a summer tour to promote the new album. It has been a year and a half since I've been to a Sherwood concert, and I was feeling the loss. But now, neither of those things will happen. Sherwood has broken up, and I will never again have the thrill of a new album from one of my very favorite bands. My last hope is that they will put together one last farewell tour.

Despite my sadness, I want to thank Sherwood for three awesome albums and six incredible shows. Some of the most fun I've had recently has been at Sherwood concerts. I loved singing until my voice was gone and jumping up and down like a maniac. I loved getting to go up on stage and sing backup for a song. I loved getting t-shirts and CDs signed. I loved talking to the guys in the band.

My first Sherwood show in October of 2008 was only the second concert I had ever gone to. Since then, I have been to somewhere in the neighborhood of ten more. They helped me discover the joy of seeing my favorite bands live. I never knew that going to concerts would be my favorite thing to do, but Sherwood helped me realize that.

So thank you, Sherwood. You're awesome, and you will always and forever be one of my favorite bands.

And now, links to all the blog posts I've written about Sherwood, just to chronicle just how deep my love of them went. (You're not obligated to look at all of them. There are kind of a lot.)

The concert where I sang backup.
Concert number five.
The one at Studio 600.
The post where I anticipate the show at Studio 600.
Music videos are super awesome.
The one where I'm in their video.
The first of two concerts in a month.

And for your viewing pleasure, the music video for "You Are."

My Apartment Is Awesome

This is what happens when the roommates are left to their own devices on a weeknight.



Vocals/piano: Lindy
Sweet moves: Cora
Camera work: Brittany

This was more difficult than it seemed.

Day Thirty-Nine: Things you want to say to five different people.

Ooooh, this could be interesting. Here goes nothing.

1. Der Junge: In case you didn't already know, I'm interested in you. (And seriously, if you didn't already know this, you are blind as a friggin' bat.) I don't necessarily need you to be sure you want to date me (though I wouldn't mind it one bit), but would it hurt you to give me a shot? How about you just ask me on one little date (it can be inexpensive, or even free, I don't care) and spend the evening deciding if you could see yourself dating me? I know for a fact that you don't know what you want. So give me a shot and find out for sure if I fit your qualifications. All I'm asking for is a chance. This isn't a marriage proposal. It's one date. 
2. The "Party Apartment": I know you girls think you're all that and a bag of chips because you have lots of parties and always have boys over at your apartment. But really, it's just kind of obnoxious. You're not the "party apartment" of the ward, as you have dubbed yourselves. Many of us in the complex have parties and invite people over—you're not the only ones capable of being social. And most of the people that you invite over started their socialness in this ward by hanging out with my apartment. So stop acting like you're God's gift to the 192nd ward. You're kind of just sweeping up our sloppy seconds. (Sorry . . . that was catty, I know. But these girls drive me up a wall. Holy cow.)
3. John Paul White: I love you. I really do. I know you're married and you have long hair and you have lots of tattoos, but I love you. And it's not just because you look a whole heckuva lot like Johnny Depp. It's because your lyrics speak to me and your voice makes me absolutely melt. I am entranced by your guitar because you make it look like an extension of your arms. You play with no difficulty, and I ache to have that kind of talent. You sing while playing intricate melodies and thumping rhythms, and I'm baffled as to how you keep it all straight. It would be one of the best nights of my life if at your concert in May I could actually meet you and tell you a small part of this in person.
4. President Dieter F. Uchtdort: Thank you so, so much for pretty much every talk you have ever given in conference. There is something about your persona and your voice that I can relate to. Your soothing voice is a comfort to me, and you always manage to say exactly what I need to hear. I especially thank you for your "Forget Me Not" talk at women's conference. Being in the same room with you made your words that much more powerful. When you evoked the authority of your priesthood office and proclaimed that I am not forgotten by my Father in Heaven, chills coursed through my body. I could feel in the depths of my soul the truthfulness of your words. The Spirit spoke to me very clearly and emphasized your point. It is a lesson that I very much needed, and I will forever be grateful to you for providing it.
5. Coach Dave Rose: You, sir, are amazing. You have eclipsed 20 wins for the seventh season in a row, which is each one of the seasons you have coached basketball at BYU. That is absolutely incredible. You managed to achieve your 100th home victory before reaching even 10 home losses. You somehow succeeded in managing the insanity that was Jimmermania. After losing your best offensive player and your best defensive player, you still created a competitive team. I have only recently started paying really close attention to BYU hoops, and I have to say that it has a whole lot to do with you. Jimmer and Jackson may have been the shiny objects that caught my eye, but it didn't take me long to realize who was really behind the success. For the sake of every BYU hoops fan everywhere, please stay. Please stay for a really, really long time. 

Okay, that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. But I covered boys, people I don't like, music, church, and sports, so I call this post a success.

Getting Better All the Time

Day Thirty-Four: Something that never fails to make you feel better.

It took me awhile to think of something that absolutely never fails to make me feel better, and I finally figured it out: my nieces and nephews. I'm not sure why it took me so long to remember that, but it is definitely the truth. Whenever I'm feeling down or stressed or blah, my nieces and nephews can usually pull me out of it. They're just so dang cute! They laugh and run around like maniacs and cry and basically just distract me from whatever it is that's weighing me down. I love those little ones more than pretty much anything else.

Another thing that can usually pull me out of a rut is music. If I can find a song that displays exactly how I am feeling, it does wonders for me, mostly because it's nice to know that somewhere out in the vast world, someone else has felt the same way I'm feeling. They felt it so strongly that they decided to turn it into art. That art was then bravely thrown into the universe and found its way to me. If someone that I have never even seen feels so strongly about an emotion to put it to music, it makes me feel a little better about my intense emotions.

Reading also makes me feel better. Or, if it doesn't actually make me feel better, than it makes me forget about whatever is going on in my life. I can lose myself in a good book and simply forget about all my issues. It's a fabulous escape.

Concerts!

Day Thirty-One: The best things to happen to you this week.

This week has been a little blah. Even going back to last week. I just haven't really done anything, and I managed to get myself sick somehow. Well, for Valentine's, I did go to Cora's aunt's house and eat lots of pizza and watch the Grammys, since I hadn't seen the performances yet. That was pretty fun. And on Sunday, I got some one-on-one time with Der Junge. It wasn't for long, but it was something. He was acting more normal, which was good.

But the thing that I really want to write about, even though it didn't technically happen in the last week, was that I found out that the Civil Wars is coming to Salt Lake in May. And oh my freaking goodness, I am so bloody excited. I can't even express how excited I am. I bought tickets last Tuesday. I haven't been this excited about something in a really long time. I honestly just love this band so, so much, and I cannot wait to see them live. They're amazing and I just know it's going to be an awesome night. Concerts are my favorite, and I haven't been to one in a really long time. It will have been a year by then. That may not seem like a very long time to some, but I go to concerts frequently, especially when Sherwood is touring. I forgot how much I miss seeing bands live until I found out about the Civil Wars show.

And to remind you of why I am so extremely excited, here's another taste of the awesomeness of the Civil Wars.

p.s. They sound exactly the same live as they do on their album. Hence my excitement.

p.p.s. I'm in love with John Paul White.

I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you.

Day Fourteen: Someone you want to switch lives with for one day and why.

I would switch lives with Joy Williams, of the Civil Wars. For many, many reasons. First of all, she has an incredible singing voice that I would love to have, just for a day. She is also a phenomenal songwriter. And she has beautiful dresses. Those three things alone would be reason enough for me to want to switch lives with her.

To make the situation even sweeter, she tours all over the world with the Civil Wars, so she gets to see all sorts of amazing places and meet all sorts of amazing people. She also gets to sing her ridiculously awesome music in front of venues full of fans singing the songs she wrote. That's something that I have always wanted to experience—I want to know how it feels to have thousands upon thousands of people know and love my music.

And the icing on the cake is that Joy Williams sings with one John Paul White, whom I love. I love his voice. I love how he makes playing insane rhythms on the guitar look as easy as breathing. I love how he and Joy lean close when they sing. I love how seamlessly their voices blend. I love how you can't tell who has the harmony and who has the melody. Honest to goodness, I love every little thing about the Civil Wars, and being a part of that duo for a single day would be beyond my wildest dreams. So yeah, I would absolutely switch lives with Joy Williams for a day. It would be amazing.

PS: Thanks goes to Cora for giving me the idea of switching lives with Joy Williams. Cora knows me so well.

The Shuffle Test

Day Twelve: Put your iPod on shuffle and post the first 10 songs that play.

This could get interesting. I have a lot of really random stuff on my iPod. Here goes nothin'. 

1. "Ritual Dance" by Kaki King, August Rush soundtrack (Told you I had random crap on there.)
2. "The Medallion Calls" by Klaus Badelt, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack (I'm gonna start skipping songs if I get a bunch of instrumental.)
3. "Down" (feat. Lil Wayne) by Jay Sean (I always skip this song. I don't even know why I still have it.)
4. "The Dungeon" by Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland soundtrack
5. "Every Day," Les Miserables soundtrack
6. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam, Remember the Titans soundtrack (Holy soundtracks, Batman.)
7. "Long Tall Sally" by the Beatles, Past Masters Volume 1 (Gotta have a Beatles song.)
8. "A Moment With Me" by Harry Connick, Jr., Come By Me
9. "Two Worlds" by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina, Tarzan soundtrack
10. "The Violet Hour" by the Civil Wars, Barton Hollow

I will freely admit that I skipped a couple of songs. But that was because I kept getting songs from the same album. Thank you, shuffle, for not being as random as usual when I really want you to be.

Music is the best.

Day Nine: Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad.

This is a hard one, since I like so much music. I get in different moods for different music regardless of my emotions. If I like music, I like music, and that's about it. But I'll give this a shot, based on my current music mood. Which means there's going to be a whole lot of Cold War Kids, Mumford & Sons, and the Civil Wars, since I've been listening to them nonstop lately.

Happy: "Marry Me" by Train, because that song just gives me warm fuzzies. So does "I've Got This Friend" by the Civil Wars. "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars also qualifies as a happy song. Then you can throw in stuff like "I've Just Seen a Face" by the Beatles and "Magic" by B.o.B. Oh, and I can't forget "Finally Begin" and "Broken Open" by Cold War kids.

Sad: "Poison & Wine" and "Falling" by the Civil Wars. "Roll Away Your Stone" and "The Cave" and "Thistle and Weeds" by Mumford & Sons. Okay, so basically all of Barton Hollow and Sigh No More qualify as good sad albums. Norah Jones is also a good sad artist, especially "Cold Cold Heart" and "I Don't Miss You At All." Also, can't forget songs like "Someone Like You" and "Turning Tables" by Adele.

Bored: Pretty much anything I can bust out at the top of my lungs. So all of 21 by Adele. "Barton Hollow" and "Birds of a Feather" by the Civil Wars. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. "Stoppin' the Love" and "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. "As Long As You're Mine" from Wicked. "Come Home" by OneRepublic. Stuff like that.

Hyped: Pretty much anything by Sherwood, especially "Song In My Head," "Only Song," "Middle of the Night," and "You Are." They're jumping songs, so it's easy to get a lot of energy out with them. "Runaway Baby" by Bruno Mars. "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green. Anything super upbeat.

Mad: "Where Have You Been?" by Reel Big Fish. They say "Go to hell!" in every chorus, so it's a given as an angry song. "You Already Know" by Train. "Over You" by Daughtry. "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. "Skip the Charades" by Cold War Kids. "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons. I may never actually sing the f-word in that song, but sometimes just hearing it is an emotional release. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. Basically anything with an angry undertone that I can sing really loudly.

Giving Thanks Day 15: Music

First of all, I should say that things are looking up today. I think the crisis has been averted, for the most part, and I am simply praying that things can go back to normal fairly soon. I am absolutely exhausted, though. I don't remember the last time I went to bed before 1:00 a.m., and there have been many nights lately when I haven't slept well. And the fact that I ended up working for 10 hours today (until 7:00 p.m.) really didn't help. But things are looking better, and it's looking like I should get to bed before midnight tonight, which will be fantastic.

One thing that made my extra long workday better was Spotify and all my awesome music. I am so thankful for good music. Music is such a calming influence for me, and listening to certain music (and singing at the top of my lungs) can be super cathartic. I feel like music can express my feelings so much more powerfully than any words ever could, and I'm so thankful for the artists that seem to capture exactly what I'm feeling.

To make this thankful post a little more exciting, I'm going to include another list of some of my current favorite songs. I don't know why I love these lists so much, but I do.

1. "I've Got This Friend" by The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow (Okay, we all know I'm obsessed with this band, and since I already shared "Poison & Wine" and "Barton Hollow," I figured I'd choose a different song of theirs. But seriously, just go listen to this entire album. It's freaking amazing.)
2. "Lily's Theme" by Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (I really love both Deathly Hallows soundtracks.)
3. "Couer d'Alene" by The Head and the Heart, The Head and the Heart 
4. "Awake My Soul" by Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
5. "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People, Torches (I know this song is about a kid who wants to shoot up his school, but it's so dang catchy!)
6. "If It Kills Me" by Jason Mraz, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
7. "Broken Open" by Cold War Kids, Mine Is Yours
8. "Lionel and Bertie" by Alexandre Desplat, The King's Speech (This soundtrack is as good as the movie. I love it so.)
9. "You Really Got a Hold on Me" by She & Him, Volume One (Thank you Spotify for helping me discover new artists.)
10. "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, Need You Now
11. "Misery" by Maroon 5, Hands All Over
12. "Arms" by Christina Perri, lovestrong.
13. "Inevitable" by Anberlin, Cities
14. "Someone Like You" by Adele, 21 (I can't believe it took me 14 songs to remember Adele. This is the best sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs music. Ever.)
15. "Rhapsody in Blue" by The 5 Browns, No Boundaries
16. "Hell No" by Sondre Lerche and Regina Spektor, Dan in Real Life
17. "Crossfire" by Brandon Flowers, Flamingo
18. "Marry Me" by Train, Save Me San Francisco (This song is kind of adorable.)
19. "Learn to Live With What You Are" by Ben Folds, Supersunnyspeedgraphic
20. "Noah Visits" by James Newton Howard, The Village

Absolute Brilliance

I have recently become completely addicted to the Civil Wars (thanks, Spotify!). I think they are absolutely amazing. They sing with incredible emotion, which always gets me. I'm pretty much in love with their music right now.





UPDATE: I finally just bought the album Barton Hollow. And I've listened to it a good five times in less than 24 hours. I can't get enough of it. I just can't.

Super Awesome Story of Today

I must start by saying that I have the awesomest cousin/roommate/best friend in the whole wide world. Here's why.

Cora and I were listening to the radio the other day and heard them advertise free tickets for the upcoming Adele concert in Salt Lake (that we didn't even know about until that point). Seeing as how Cora loves Adele, she decided to get online and enter for tickets. In the process of submitting 49 million entries for Adele, Cora also submitted a couple of entries for Bruno Mars, because he is also rather cool.

Guess which tickets she won?

And guess who she's giving her second ticket to? Yeah, I told you she was the awesomest.

Oh, and guess what else is included with the tickets? A meet and greet. So in addition to watching Bruno Mars perform (for free), we get to meet him. Awesome much? I think so.

Monday is going to be a very, very good day.

Music Break 2011

I wrote this post about a year and a half ago that I stumbled upon recently, and I figure that enough time has elapsed for me to do another one. I think it's kind of fun to see what music I'm really enjoying at the moment. So, in no particular order, here are twenty of my current most favorite songs.

1. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, Little Voice (This song is AMAZING. I have to train my voice so I can hit the ridiculously awesome note at the end of the bridge. It gives me chills.)
2. "Black Sheep" by Metric, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (I wrote about this song here, and there's a video. Go listen.)
3. "Neverland - Piano Variation in Blue" by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Finding Neverland (This soundtrack is beautiful. Gorgeous. Lovely. Incredible. My heart simply responds to it, and I don't have an adequate adjective in my vocabulary to describe it.)
4. "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon, Only by the Night
5. "Rocketeer" by Far East Movement ft. Ryan Tedder, Free Wired (Ryan Tedder's voice is simply awesome. I love him.)
6. "Say (All I Need)" by OneRepublic, Dreaming Out Loud (Again, Ryan Tedder. Love love love.)
7. "Come Home" by OneRepublic and Sara Bareilles (Ryan Tedder + Sara Bareilles = Magic. I can play this one on the piano, and I seriously need to find a man who can sing it with me, because the duet is brilliant.)
8. "Coalwood" by Mark Isham, October Sky (This is another song that simply speaks to me. I've loved it since I first watched the movie when I was probably 11 or 12.)
9. "Falling Slowly" by the Swell Season, Once (This whole soundtrack is fantastic, as is the movie.)
10. "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, The Lady Killer (This is a good sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs song.)
11. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars, Doowops & Hooligans (It's a little morbid, but I love it so.)
12. "Airplanes" by B.o.B, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray (I'm not the biggest rap fan, but I seriously love this album. It's great stuff.)
13. "Mad" by Ne-Yo, The Year of the Gentleman
14. "Animal" by Neon Trees, Habits (You gotta love the bands with ties to Provo.)
15. "You Already Know" by Train, Save Me San Fransisco (The whole album is phenomenal, but this was the song that really jumped out at me.)
16. "This Too Shall Pass" by Ok Go, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (Awesome song by an awesome band that's even awesomer live.)
17. "Poker Face" by Lea Michele and Idina Menzel, Glee (This duet is fantastic. I love singing to it.)
18. "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted (This song was written by Ryan Tedder. Need I say more?)
19. "Tribute" by Tenacious D, Tenacious D (While I would never recommend this entire album [way too many f-words], this song is simply hilarious, and I love it.)
20. "Everyday" by Buddy Holly (What would this list be without a classic of some kind?)

Now I must ask everyone to glance over this list and realize that there is not one mention of either Sherwood or the Beatles. Amazing, no? That doesn't lessen my love for either of those bands, but I thought it was something worth noting.

There's really no contest.

Day 13: Your favorite musician and why.

I used to have such a hard time narrowing down my response when someone would ask me who my favorite band is. I no longer have such trouble. My favorite band is the Beatles. That's just all there is to it. Throughout all the *NSYNC, Reel Big Fish, Sherwood, OneRepublic, Train, OK Go, and the Swell Season phases, there has been one constant. Or, rather, four: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

I love the Beatles. I've been listening to them longer than I have listened to any other bands. They are the be-all and end-all of good music. They've influenced most of the other music I listen to (and that you listen to). Their music is 40–50 years old and it's still the standard. There is simply no other band greater than the Beatles.

The music of the Beatles is the soundtrack to my life. It really is. There is a Beatles song for every mood. I can always find a Beatles song that I want to listen to. Seeing Paul McCartney might possibly have been the best day of my life to date (no joke). Absolutely nothing else compares (especially when it comes to other concerts). 

So there you have it: my favorite musicians. There's just no contest.

Pulls Away From You

Day 8: A song to match your mood.

I want to rock out, apparently. I've listened to this song about a zillion times today. (I wanted the actual Scott Pilgrim video, but the person who posted the video disabled embedding. LAME. [If you haven't seen this movie yet, get ahold of it ASAP. Or just come over and watch it at my place.])

A Blogging Challenge

What better way to start the new year than with a challenge? I stole this from awesome Laura's blog, and I'm definitely doing it. I'm a couple of days behind Laura, but that's all right with me. It's a 30-day blog challenge, which means another solid month of daily posts. You ready for this? Because I certainly am.

Day 1: A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was.

My day was utterly average. I was running late this morning, so while I actually did my hair, I skipped the eye makeup (minus the mascara—I will never skip mascara; blond eyelashes are scary). Then I headed to work, where I edited all day. As is usual.

I did go to Marley's in the Riverwoods for lunch with Mindy and Karly. I had never been before, and it was pretty awesome. Sliders are fantastic. (Sliders are mini burgers, if you didn't know.) And I always like leaving the office for lunch—I often need a break from staring at a computer screen for eight hours.

One story of note from work: The company I work for is growing quickly, and is now at nearly one hundred employees, which meant switching from small employer insurance to large employer insurance. To spare you the boring details that I don't even know, that basically meant everyone had to sign up for insurance again. And in the process, SelectHealth managed to lose my information—which was sent electronically. (Don't ask me how you lose an electronic file.) So I can't fill prescriptions (which I found out the hard way last night) or go to the doctor until they figure it out and send me my insurance cards. I guess I'll be rescheduling my dermatologist appointment for next week.

On my way home, I jammed to some awesome songs, like "Tell Me Why" by the Beatles and "Black Sheep" by Metric (from the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World soundtrack [that movie is awesome, by the way]). "Black Sheep" is a new obsession—it's so catchy. Plus, it makes me think of my three-year-old niece Adeline, who knows every word and rocks out every time she hears it. It is the cutest thing ever.

For most of the day, my brain has been preoccupied by one person: Jimmer Fredette. This kid is sick. crazy. nuts. ridiculous. un-effing-believable. I spent over an hour tonight trolling the interwebs for any and all national attention Jimmer is getting after drowning Utah in his 47 points last night. What a game. I now have tickets to Jimmertime x2, at home against SDSU and UNLV. (By the way, you'd think that I would have had opportunity to run into Jimmer—I mean, we've lived in the same town for almost four years now. Alas, no such luck.)

Wow, this is a long and probably boring post. But I'm just following the challenge. And I will end this day by watching the Jazz (hopefully) put away the Knicks (yes, I do like sports—you should know this about me by now) and reading my awesome book. (This is my life—sports and books. I am aware that I am boring.)

And for your viewing enjoyment, here is Jimmer's fan-flippin'-tastic buzzer-beater half-court shot.