You Can Talk All You Want

     I've talked numerous times about a few playlists I've put together for this blog, so I thought it was past time I would share one.  This past few months I've been dying for spring to get here, now that it's here I think we should all have a party.  I have definitely missed party songs that I tend to dance to in my car, which means you'll be listening to a rather large variety of tunes.  I'm already working on next month's playlist.  These things don't get thrown together over night.
    Yesterday, I tried my hand at making cinnamon swirl bread.  I was pretty successful if I do say so myself.  Usually there is a huge hole in the middle but not this time!  Let's just see if I can reproduce this again.

Listen here or listen on Spotify.

Title: "Track You Down" by Matthew Mayfield

I Need All the Joy You Bring

     Happy Valentine's Day!  Have you told that special someone that you love them?  Probably.  But telling your family and friends (whom you love) is important too.  Life is short, I try to remember to tell the special people in my life that I love them (whether it's a best friend, my parents, or other family members), but I usually forget.  Valentine's Day is just a little nudge of a reminder (okay, maybe a big nudge).  Being that I'm single this Valentine's Day (like every other V-Day, except one), my friends are my special someone's.  I'm headed down to Oxford today for the weekend.  On my way down I shall be working on the playlist for this month.  It already has a title:  "The Single Girl's Valentine's Day Mix."  It was supposed to be the playlist which the ladies and I celebrated Valentine's Day Weekend because it shouldn't matter that we don't have significant others (but we live in the South and we're getting matronly).  Anyway, it's looking like the weekend might turn out a little differently than I imagined.  It's probably for the best.  

     I think it's extremely interesting how some music is created.  The following video is one of those where I'm watching with curiosity.  Please teach me how to do that.  You'll be seeing this song on the upcoming mix.  

Title: "Holdin' On" by Flume

Paint a Pretty Picture with the Perfect Light

     As I mentioned yesterday, I'm workshopping this weekend!  In my head, a thousand heavenly angels just opened their mouths and sang in that extremely cliched way.  I'm just a little bit excited.  Don't think that I'm going to leave you high and dry all weekend though.  While I probably won't be back until Tuesday at the earliest, I'm leaving you with a weekend treat:  my January playlist. I'm calling it "New Year, New Tunes, New 'Tudes."  It's a collection of songs that somewhat reflect everything I'm trying to embody this year.  Not to mention, that I'm going to listen to these songs when I need a small kick in the rump to get going in the morning--or mid-day.
     I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I do.  I'm thinking about switching to Grooveshark for my next mix because some vital songs are not available to me through Spotify.  If you have any opinions or preferences I would love to hear them.

Listen here or listen on Spotify.

Title: "Free My Mind" by Katie Herzig

When I Look Back on Those Neon Nights

     I guess it's just about that time of year again.  Time to reflect on the past year--learn from the mistakes we've made, remember the fun we've had, laugh once more at those inside jokes, and in general take a moment to be thankful we've been given another year to do things differently, better--to prove to ourselves (and others) that we've grown through one life experience after the other.  It's fitting that soon after Christmas we start a new year, even though this year it seems to have caught me by surprise.

     New Year's resolutions for me never really pan out.  I'd prefer not to make a resolution that I know I can't keep just because society tells me that's what I'm supposed to do.  Every day should really be about making a resolution to do better than the day before.  Then again I still have a little less than a week to make any solid decisions concerning any sort of resolution I will or will not be following.  That's less problematic than the music I want to listen to while I'm ringing in the New Year.  Playlists set the mood for everything.  I am a firm believer that you should have a soundtrack to your life and I want my soundtrack to be amazing and perfectly curated--like always.

     So I guess it's also time for me to get my little bottom into gear and find some rockin' music.  That is unless I want to ring in the New Year being serenaded by my not-so-little puppy Oscar--I'm sure he'd love to howl at the moon for me.

(P.S. that's him howling at me)

Title: "Miss Atomic Bomb" by The Killers

I Never Wanna Go Back Again

     When I was younger, I was some what of a selective snob.  What is a selective snob you ask?  Someone who has a very high opinion of their own opinion about certain subjects.  My particular selective snobbery revolved around two things, the two essential m's of life:  movies and music.  I did not like old movies.  I refused to watch the original three Star Wars because of the horrible technology (keep in mind this was in the '90's, so it wasn't like the technology I was completely believable either, but I had my standards).  For some reason, the newer the movie the better I assumed it would be.  Same with music, especially Christmas music.  I'm not sure when I decided I did not like traditional Christmas songs, but somewhere in grade school I decided that the only songs I'd listen to that talked about Christmas had to be original or at least non-traditional.  I blame the O.C.'s Chrismukkah mix (Mix 3, in case you want to look it up).  I even wrote a MySpace note/blurb/blog or whatever you want to call it about how I'd listen to this non-traditional Christmas music all year long.  I might have been a little obsessed, but in my defense it was a spectacular mix.
     While I have a newfound respect for the classics, in both the movie and music category, my pulse races when I find a wonderful new and original Christmas song.  I want to share it with the world or listen to it over and over again (I usually end up doing both).  You've already heard/seen some of these songs in the videos I post every day, but I thought I'd share the whole playlist now.  I created this playlist for Click's blog, but I wanted to share it with you on here as well.  I've been singing these songs all month long or at least they've been either stuck in my head or playing downstairs in the kitchen.  As my mom pointed out, they're all upbeat and peppy (or at least the tunes are), which is nice when you're trying to get into the Christmas spirit.  (This is the first time I've had a job during the holidays.  It's been weird that I'm still working and it's so close to Christmas.  It makes Christmas seem that much further away.)

Listen here or on Spotify.

Title: "Maybe Next Year (Xmas Song)" by Meiko