My Amazing List of Musical Goodness

Every December, I make a CD that reflects the year (to me) in song. Every single one of these CD’s has been lost or broken, and this totally angers me because let’s face it, I’m kind of awesome at making mix CD’s and now when I’m 90 and in the nursing home and CD’s are obsolete, I will have NO RECORD of my musical tastes from age 0-18. But oh no, this year it is going to be different, because not only am I going to post my playlist for you, but I am going to give you a little verbage about WHY it’s important. And I will probably lose this too, but it’s the thought that counts.

I also just realized that the beginning of ’08 is kind of a blur, so really, this is more like May ’08 – present. Whatever. It still is eleven different kinds of amazing.

#1: “1979” – The Smashing Pumpkins.
I definitely remember listening to this at the beginning of the year. Yeah yeah, it’s that song everyone knows and kind of loves to hate. But this song embodies like half of my childhood, when I actually still listened to the radio. And let’s face it, the Pumpkins are cool. It was perfect to belt out in my car on my way to class in the morning, because it kind of feels like when you first wake up in the morning and you’re awake, but you don’t feel like talking to anyone just yet because you’re still in that hazy, almost asleep state. Also, it sounds really good in my car. End of story.

#2: “Have You Forgotten (Vanilla Sky Remix)” – Red House Painters.
This song is so haunting to me, that is the soundtrack to my day when it is a rainy winter day and you are slogging between buildings in the leaves and mud that has sat all winter and ALL YOU WANT TO DO is to be inside with someone you love very much. But instead, you are stuck braving the cold and the wind and sometimes the drizzle, and you’re miserable, and so this is the song that gets stuck in your head. It is PERFECT trudging music. And it receives extra bonus points for dropping an unexpected and tasteful F-bomb at the beginning (can F-bombs be tasteful? If not, this is as close as they will ever come).

#3: “Somebody to Love” – Queen.
I was at a dance convention in January, and this was one of the songs we danced to. I had NEVER heard the song before, and as soon as I heard it, I was hooked. And I won’t lie, I danced my heart out to this song, along with 75 other girls. And it was one of those moments that I could’ve died happy. Thus, the Queen Greatest Hits vol. 1 CD was in my car player for about two months. And me and Hannah listened to this CD about 345704857 times on the way to Tuscaloosa while we talked about politics and food. And if the opportunity to karaoke this song ever comes up, I AM DOING IT.

#4: “Blister in the Sun” – The Violent Femmes.
I first heard this song during the week before finals during spring semester. Everyone was trying to avoid studying, and so we decided to have an impromptu dance party (which was a little lame – sorry guys). This song came up, and I fell in love with the Violent Femmes. And once I learned what the song was about, it made me love it even more. This is another song I would love to karaoke, especially the part where it goes down to a whisper. It completely embodies that feeling you get at the very beginning of summer, where you feel like you could conquer the world.

#5: “I Turn My Camera On” – Spoon.
This song has no special meaning behind it, but I picked up the CD the day I started classes at Calhoun for the summer. I had just gotten off work at Tenders and had some time to kill, so I quickly text up Cody for advice about which Spoon album to buy. He tells me to buy “Gimme Fiction”, and I have an internal debate for a minute about whether to buy “Gimme Fiction” or the new Shins CD, and then I had a revelation: I could buy BOTH, because it was MY MONEY. So I bought them both, and much jamming to both CD’s was to be had.

#6: “Cemetry Gates” – The Smiths.
This song reminds me of my best friend, summer, and not having much responsibility. And I am pretty confident that this song will always remind me of those three things. Mad props to Cody for playing this song for me so I could totally yank it as one of my favorite songs of the year. Favorite line: “There’s always someone, somewhere, with a big nose who knows, and trips you up and laughs when you fall”. Seriously, that line is golden in the book of Rebekah.

#7: “Willie” – Cat Power.
Obviously, this song is a winner because it has my name in it. Normally, I’m not a huge Cat Power fan – she’s kind of whiny, if you haven’t noticed. But this song is so totally chill that I can forgive her for ALWAYS sounding like she is trying to seduce me, but is too lazy to do it the right way. This song is wonderful for driving aimlessly throughout Huntsville, with no objective. Also, during the summer, the air conditioner on my car was broken. This song just reeks of sticky summer laid-backness.

#8: “Smoke Detector” – Rilo Kiley.
One of my favorite bands ever. According to iTunes, I have listened to this song 197 times since 2007, and that is just on my Mac, not on my iPod. This is certainly not my favorite RK song, but it is certainly a fun one, and one that highlights the reckless abandon of summer. When I went to see RK in Asheville in June, I was very sad that they did not play this song (since they freakin’ played like every other song on “Under the Blacklight”… I mean seriously, wtf). I want to have a little dance party every time I hear it.

#9: “Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)” – Thao and the Get Down Stay Down.
I never would have been introduced to this band had I not gone to see RK in Asheville. Thao +TGDSD were one of the openers, and they were AMAZING. I got to meet Thao after the show, and she was kind of amazing. So amazing that Jill, Javann, and I trekked up to Nashville 5 days later to see them play at some hole in the wall bar for FREE because she thought it was cool we had driven so far to see RK. Also, this song is way cooler live because there is this awesome series of claps that makes the beat sound so much more interesting. This song = Love.

#10: “A-Punk” – Vampire Weekend.
Hannah gets the credit for introducing me to Vampire Weekend. We were on our way to pick up Cody and Tyler and head towards Birmingham so we could A) go to an art museum B) be in a funny youtube video C) get Cody tipsy enough for him to assure us that we didn’t know who he was. Overall, it was a good day, and now when I hear the song, all the memories come flooding back. But I let them, because they are mostly good memories!

#11: “You’re Too Young For Me” – VAST.
If you don’t have VAST’s album, “April”, get it. Get it fast. Because it is some good stuff. I love this song, and this album. I love VAST. I love the music as much as the lyrics. It’s just good. Take my word for it.

#12: “Pork and Beans” – Weezer.
Yes, I am a Weezer fan. Go ahead, mock me. I know it is something to be mocked about. But you know something? I DON’T CARE! I love Weezer, and if you don’t like it, you can shove it (snaps for the person who makes the connection to what I am alluding to. Hint – it’s on this album). I love this song because it reminds me of when me and Cody were in Maryland and we listened to this CD one day while taking a break from Mario Kart, and it was just a fun trip. Also, I know we listened to a lot of Tool whilst in MD, but Tool is not nearly as silly to sing along with (not that I am bashing Tool. I love them too). Also, the music video is like the funniest music video I have seen since the OK GO video with the treadmills. ‘Nuff said.

#13: “B***** Ain’t S***” – Ben Folds.
I heard this song live when I saw Weezer live when I was 15. Ben Folds opened. I was with two of my friend’s MOMS. It was sooooooo beyond awkward. Hannah Jones reminded me of this, and then it was on. Only Ben Folds could make this song work. And for that, I will love him forever. And secretly want this to be my ringtone (but it can’t be, because “Rock Lobster” is my ringtone).

#14: “He Doesn’t Know Why” – Fleet Foxes.
Originally, I got this song as a free download somehow, and didn’t like it very much. Then it started playing at Starbucks at least once a night, and that made me like it even less. When you hear that often when you’re already angsty about the world, it just doesn’t equal anything good. But then one day something inside me snapped and I started loving this song and humming it all the time. It’s so darn catchy.

#15: “Teardrop” – Jose Gonzalez.
Another song stolen from Hannah. This song reminds me of a really fun night when I hung out with just Hannah and Cody and we goofed off and did whatever because Cody didn’t want to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 with the people he was with, so we kidnapped him for roughly two hours so he did not have to sit through that travesty of film (although I admit to seeing the first one). I don’t remember what all was involved, but I know Red Robin and the mall parking lot were spots we visited. It was just a fun night, nothing special. I dare to hypothesize that the unmemorable nights are some of the most enjoyable, however.

#16: “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat) – The Flaming Lips.
Another Hannah steal. BUT I had heard this song before, from some commercial and also my iPod. It’s just such a fun song! One of these days I will be pulled over for reckless driving, because I always do the claps. That is going to be hard to explain to an officer of the law. Maybe he’ll understand that sometimes, the music DOES get you.

#17: “Reckoner” – Radiohead.
I do believe the first time I heard this was in Cody’s car, and after compiling this list I realize that most of my favorite songs of the year come from either Hannah or Cody. So, um, you guys should feel honored or whatever because you have really good taste in music and you’re my friends and blah blah blah. But nonetheless, this was my first experience of the new Radiohead album. I used to completely hate Radiohead for reasons unknown, but all of the sudden, I heard some stuff from “The Bends” and I was a loyal follower. Also, this song has a wicked rhythm.

I hope my list was epic enough for you. This is the soundtrack to my 2008. Well, except there are still like 15 days left in the year, but if anything earthshattering comes along, I’ll let ya know. And if you don’t like my list: well…I can’t help you there. Guess we shouldn’t be friends!

Things I Love

#1: Jenny Lewis



Why? For one, she's adorable. I want to pick her up and squeeze her into my pocket and hope she's okay with that. Another thing is that she has a completely and overwhelmingly amazing voice. She's got vocal cords of steel, in my opinion. Thirdly, she is totally hot and has a great fashion sense (except for the whole coveralls look. But even that I'll allow her to get away with [but only her!].) I listened to some of her solo work today and it is just as good as Rilo Kiley. I even listened to some of the stuff she did with the Watson Twins. All in all, Jenny Lewis is my hero.

If this was still new to me, I wouldn't understand

How can you live on this earth and not be addicted to Lolcats? Honestly, I thought I was a little bit silly too at first. But now I admit it. Those cute little kittehs getting into shenanigans...I can't resist.

So what am I doing now? Not studying for finals, not being grumpy about having to serve all the grumpy holiday shoppers coffee tomorrow, and not looking forward to going shopping in the morning. I mean seriously. It's not an original idea. Only you and 89584920845742 other people have thought of it. Le sigh.

In my car today:

"Impossible Germany" by Wilco. It's such a great song. It's so mellow, I listen to it and instantly don't really care about whatever is going on in my life. It's just that great. Also, it reminds me of like 3 years ago when I saw them in concert. I didn't even know who they were then.

I'm in the mood to party. I don't really know what it is about the winter season, but I feel compelled to put on some swanky clothes and socialize with people I can barely stand. I guess it's better than Seasonal Affective Disorder, eh?

My house has been taken over by munchkins, and for some odd reason smells like soap. I'm not complaining. A little crazy makes it feel like home.

Every Thursday, you'd skip your early classes

Well, I decided to reclaim my little piece of Internet bliss and get a blog again (which just happens to be a word that I can't stand). So what's been new since I had a Xanga? A lot. I don't even think I could begin to tell you all of it. But I do know I have some rants and raves in store that only a forum like an internet web blog can contain. And it will be soon, let me tell you. I just have to get through finals, and then all the venting can spill out. Ew.