Monthly Archives: April 2011

Apr29

Weekend Playlist 4.29.11

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The weekend is almost here!  It looks like tomorrow is supposed to be a gorgeous day.  I’m hoping that I can get out and play some tennis this weekend, but I’m not sure how likely that will happen.

Happy Friday everyone!

Songs on the playlist include:

Ocean Drop – PJ Simas

Save The World Tonight – Swedish House Mafia

Till The World Ends (ft. Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha) – Britney Spears

Do It In The AM – Frankmusik

Warpath – Kristine Elezaj

El Product – Akon Ft. Omega

That Good Life – PJ Simas [Ft. Jordan Corey]

High Definition – Tayyib Ali

DJ – Alphabeat

California Girl Ft Shwayze – Cisco Adler

You And I (Deadmau5 Remix) – Medina

Dear Professor – The Deans List

Twisted (Feat. Lil’ Jon) – Gorilla Zoe

Raindrop (Dave Aude Club Mix) – Carmen Reece

Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Starfucker

Stairway To Hip-Hop Heaven – Led Zeppelin Vs. Gramatik

Girls To Blow – The White Panda

Pocahontas Feat. Wale & Twista – Shawty Lo

Foreign Exchange Student – XV

Alligator Sky – Owl City feat. B.o.B

Words I Never Said (feat. Skylar Grey) – Lupe Fiasco

Wonderman – Tinie Tempah feat. Ellie Goulding

Apr29

Royal Wedding Playlists

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Royal Wedding

Well, today is the big day!

The biggest wedding of the century!

Now, I’m not one of those people who has been following this big shindig every step of the way, but I thought it would be appropriate to do some kind of tribute to the newlyweds.

To me, the most important part of a wedding is the reception.  You want to make sure everyone is having fun, good music is playing, and the environment oozes romance.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to have my wedding outside in the fall with tons of string lights, fire pits, homemade popcorn, dessert table, blah blah blah…  This is my mini collage of how I semi-envision my wedding to be like:

I put together two playlists for today’s big day!  One playlist includes songs that no one should ever play at their wedding under any circumstance.

Since it seems like when I have my wedding it’ll have a rustic/vintage/folksy kind of theme, I put together a playlist of indie love songs that would be appropriate for the wedding and to get you in the lovey-dovey wedding mood.

Would I play this music at my reception?  No.  My friends would hate me.

Did I put any dancey songs on the playlist?  No — it takes away the romantic feel that you want to have on this royal day (… and I’ll be posting the weekend playlist later today).

I cannot believe that William and Kate are going to have the uber-talented Ellie Goulding perform at the reception.  If I could have that, it would be the icing on the cake.

*ba dum cha!*

Enjoy the playlists on this wonderful, wedding day!

Apr28

Cris Cab – Good Girls

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Cris Cab Good Girls

This is the perfect summer song… and  I wish I had this view in front of me while I was listening to it.

I think that we will be hearing a lot from Cris Cab in the next year.  Parts of his voice sounds like Bob Marley.  Other parts sound like Bruno Mars (especially when he hits those higher notes).

Cris claims that his Cuban descent and frequent visits to the Bahamas helped give him inspiration for his musical sound which is a combination of both hip-hop and reggae mixed with a little acoustic.  He did a cover of Kanye’s “All of the Lights” and Wiz’s “Black and Yellow,” so of course he gets some bonus points from me.  ”Good Girls”  is a breezy, catchy tune for this summer — and it’s true!  Good girls don’t grow on trees.

Cris is only 18 years old, from Miami, and wanted to wait until he graduated high school before taking any meetings from record companies although I’m pretty sure he’ll be signed to Pharrell Williams’ label

Take a listen to the cover songs he did below.  If I were still in junior high/high school, I would be swooning over this kid… Not Justin Beaver Cleaver.

Cris Cab – All of the Lights (cover)

Cris Cab – Black and Yellow (cover)

Apr27

Ben Sollee New Album + Tour Dates

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I am SO EXCITED about this!!

Ben Sollee is coming to Mr Small’s Theater in May about a week after he releases his new album (out May 10). Ben was a musician that I thought I would never be able to see live since he usually only performs down south or pretty much anywhere other than Pittsburgh.  Last tour, he went to each venue via bicycle, so obviously, Pittsburgh wasn’t an option.  Check and see if he’s coming to visit anywhere near you.

Bret and I went through our Ben Sollee obsession during the fall after graduation.  We listened to his Learning to Bend album from start to finish over and over again.  The cello is such a cool instrument, and to watch Ben sing + play live would just be amazing .  It’s hard to pick a favorite from the last album because all of them were so great.  He also released an album with Daniel Martin Moore that was fantastic.  

Some of my faves: 

Ben Sollee – “It’s Not Impossible”


Ben Sollee – “A Change Is Gonna Come”


Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore – “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”

This just made my day a million times better than it already was.

I’ve also included two videos that feature songs from his upcoming album, Inclusions.

Ben Sollee – Embrace

Ben Sollee – Hurting



Apr27

Fishboy – Autumn the Owl

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I love owls.

I also love that as soon as I get an updated tetanus shot, I will be able to help heal/save owls at the Wildlife Center (eeeek!)

I love anything that has owls on them.  In fact, this picture is hanging up in my living room (along with 8 other dressed up animals):

By this point, it should come as no surprise that I would love a song about owls.

“Autumn the Owl” is both fun + quirky.  It brings me back to my Jimmy Eat World days where I would belt out singing “The World You Love,” “Polaris,” “A Praise Chorus,” and “Lucky Denver Mint” in the car.  It has just the right amount of sing-a-long lyrics that will be easy for Bret to learn (Mr. I-can’t-learn-any-lyrics) combined with rock — some songs definitely have a Cake + Sondre Lerche quality to them.

I’ve posted the “Autumn the Owl” video below along with two additional Fishboy songs.  You can listen to the entire Classic Creeps album on their bandcamp page.

Fishboy – Adrian Simmons

Fishboy – Cobra Cobra (on Albatross album)

Apr26

Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Album)

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It’s hereeeeee.

This album is going to be so great to have for the summer! My favorites are:

  • “Make Some Noise“ — Perfect!  Very old school.  Around the 2:00 mark there’s cowbell.  ”I got a feva’…. and the only prescription is more cowbell.”

  • “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” — Santigold?  They got Santigold???  This song is tons of fun… BB + reggae = SUMMER!
  • “Funky Donkey” — Forget about “Brass Monkey…”  Listen to “Funky Donkey!”  Steel drums!!
  • “Here’s a Little Something For Ya” — More cowbell!  And that wobbly bass in the back is pretty fun.

You can listen to the whole album below.

Apr26

Air Review – America’s Son

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This is a sweet breezy song for summer.

Air Review is a quartet coming from Dallas, and after listening to their first single “America’s Son,” I’m hooked.  I have been longing for a something that is a dash of Elliot Smith mixed with a bit of Iron and Wine then topped off with some Noah and the Whale…

… and Air Review fulfills that need.

“America’s Son” comes from Air Review’s upcoming EP which is due out this fall.  Tracks will be released from the EP starting now until the full album release so we can get a taste of what to expect on their upcoming album.

Take a listen to Air Review below and go visit their Facebook page to learn more about them.  I’ve also included their other song “Waiting Lessons” which is a pretty song as well and gives me more of a Bon Iver feeling.

Air Review – America’s Son

Air Review – Waiting Lessons

Apr26

The Civil Wars – I’ve Got This Friend

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This song is cute and makes me all happy inside.  The lyrics definitely help, but I think a huge reason as to why I also like the song is due to the fact that when I see the word “friend” in a song, I immediately think of “Best of Friends” from the movie Fox and the Hound.  My sister and I used to own the Disney Sing-a-long tapes and would sing this song quite often:

The Civil Wars is made up of singers Joy Williams and John Paul White.  I have been watching their album creep up the charts on iTunes (under the “Singer/Songwriter” genre, of course) for the past few weeks.  For some reason, I wasn’t too crazy about their stuff initially, but the more I listen to them, the more I enjoy what I am listening to.  During some parts of the Joy’s singing, she sounds like Celine Dion (which I think initially bothered me).  Other times, she sounds like Marketa Irglova.

Regardless, I’m such a sucker for romantic folk ballads.  I have also tried playing matchmaker in my days, and this song kind of sounds like a conversation I would have with Bret when trying to find “the perfect match” for our friends…

The Civil Wars – I’ve Got This Friend

Apr26

Adam and the Amethysts – Prophecy

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Bret and I visited Minnesota over Easter break, and I must say — I was very impressed/happy with the state.  I had never been there before, and over the past month, Bret and I started talking about the possibility of living somewhere else other than Pittsburgh.

GASP!

Obviously, nothing’s set in stone yet, but the visit definitely got us to thinking.  I was a huge fan of all the lakes that you could find in throughout the state.  It’d be great to live near a large body of water (not an ocean) to fish, canoe, swim…  I know Pittsburgh has its Three Rivers, but no one wants to actually participate in any “recreational activities” in them.

Anyways, while I was putting together a playlist for the trip, I ran across this song by Adam and the Amethysts.  They are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal.  They have been around for about 3 years but haven’t been producing any music.  ”Prophecy” is their first single off of their new album Flickering Flashlight.

The guitar tune kind of sounds like steel drums which is PERFECT for the 80 degree weather we’re supposed to have this week.  I would put this song in the same category as Edward Sharpe’s “Home.”  It’s just a simple, quirky folk song that makes you feel good inside.

Listen to some of their other songs on their MySpace page.  You can download “Prophecy” by doing to A&TA’s bandcamp page here.

Adam and the Amethysts – Prophecy

Apr23

Weekend Playlist 4.22.11

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It’s going to be a long weekend for everyone.

Happy a Happy Easter, and enjoy your break! :)

Songs on the playlist include:

Papi – Jennifer Lopez

Til Death (POLEN Remix) – Wynter Gordon

Judas – Lady Gaga

Postal Service – Pmac

Go (feat. Karen O) – Santigold

Light Up The Sky – The Dean’s List

What Do You Say? – Mickey Avalon

We Don’t Eat (Adventure Club Remix) – James Vincent McMorrow

Girls (Who Run The World) – Beyoncé

One Last D.A.N.C.E. – 5 & A Dime

Stairway To Hip-Hop Heaven – Led Zeppelin Vs. Gramatik

Knights Of Cydonia (Remix)- Muse

Malo – Avicii

Do It In The AM – Frankmusik

She Can Get It – Chris Brown

Trippin (prod by Bobby Ray) – B.o.B

Maui Wowie – Kid Cudi

Happy Now – Take That