Year 4, Day 282

Hey guys. Today I give you Paradise Waiting by Vacationer.

These guys are from Philly, and are basically the brainchild of the singer Kenny Vasoli. He was inspired after going to Bonnaroo in Tennessee and wanted to create an electronic project. Technically it's classified as electro-dream pop which is a term I've never heard... accurate though. The band say the sound is nu-hula. "It’s just a humorous way of saying that we are the in the new wave of tropical music." I'm sure I'm late to the party, but I feel like we should all start referring to this type of music as nu-hula because that's just perfect. I'd recommend checking out their other stuff too if you're in an islandy mellow mood. Not that I should talk really because I'm jamming to them while sitting by a window covered in snow, letting the -16 degree weather seep in. Whatever, it works.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 281

Morning. So today's song is Tough Love by Suzie McNeil.

I don't think I've featured Suzie before so let's do a quick bio on her. She is another Canadian artist, from Ontario because for some reason every famous Canadian is from there. She got her start on Rock Star: INXS which was basically American Idol, but for rock musicians. She didn't win, but came in fourth place and that was enough to jumpstart her career. Throughout her ten year spotlight in the music industry she has worked with lots of artists including Pink and Matt Nathanson; and has had songs featured in lots of TV shows and campaigns. I feel kind of bad because every time this song plays on my ipod my initial reaction is that it's Katy Perry. The voices sound so similar at the beginning. And it's horrible because I think Suzie has been around longer than Katy, but Katy is the bigger star. Do you guys hear it too or am I just insane?

Peace.

Year 4, Day 280

Hi. So today's song is Revolution by Above Envy.

So a question has been plaguing my mind today. We all know what a phobia is, but is the opposite of a phobia another phobia of the opposite thing, or is it a preference for that phobia? For example claustrophobia. Is the opposite of claustrophobia agoraphobia or is it claustrophilia? Because by definition they technically are both the opposite just based on different classifications of opposite. So what is the standard classification. I don't know why this is a thought I had today, it's really random... even for me. Maybe it's because I've barely slept in three days, regardless it's been bugging me so I needed to put it out there.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 279

Morning. Today's song is Turn It All Around by Atticus Mitchell.

I've mentioned having to house sit for my uncle before, but now it's even more horrible than I thought. He got a new security system complete with a camera on the doorbell and specific codes for each person. Oh did I mention that he can also access all of these fancy features with his phone while he's out of the country. It's creepy, makes me staying there irrelevant and yet they're still expecting me to because of their packages. I'm all for security systems but this one seems excessive. So let's start the debate: security system yay or nay and how much security is past the line. My plan is just to live in a secure building with a buzzer to get through the front door let alone to my apartment and then go from there. Thoughts?

Peace.

Year 4, Day 278

Hello. Today's song is One Last Night by Jesse Labelle featuring Nixon.

I have never had a more annoying pain than this one. I think I pulled a muscle in the armpit, but I can't be sure because it's also affecting my boob. The pain doesn't come frequently enough to pinpoint it (not even frequently enough that I should be concerned) but it's annoying as hell regardless. Just curious if anyone else has ever done this or something similar. Well all of you can laugh at my pain, I'm just going to sit as still as I can, listen to music, and hope it goes away soon.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 277

What's up guys. Today's song is Odds Are by the Barenaked Ladies.

I'm watching Charmed again and the episode featured this band. It wasn't this song obviously since it's newer, but the one they did play has been stuck in my head all morning. It's aggravating considering it's the song that no one knows the lyrics to. If you've heard this band before you'll probably know which one I'm referring to. The old songs have the ability to make me happy even if I can't understand them and this song continued that tradition. Although thankfully with this one there is a lyric video. Enjoy!

Peace.

Year 4, Day 276

Hey everyone. So today's song is Love Me by The 1975.

The debate about lowering the age in my grandparent's building has sparked another grievance raised about millennials. It's so annoying, excuse me for being born into a time because of the actions of the generations who bitch about us. It's a touchy subject for me, but recently this guy named Cenk Uygur was able to articulate perfectly what my view on the whole situation is. "Nothing is wrong with millennials, they just don't agree with you." I can't speak for everyone who identifies as millennials (because a lot of them are awful) but for me I can say that I at least don't become volatile when faced with a differing viewpoint. I don't even have to look farther than my family to find one. "My main contention is they left you with a bad market which is why you're getting 20% less, they don't know as much as you guys do and they're mainly jealous. Here is the video, and all I can say is it's about time someone used the J word when talking about this world order.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 275

Hello. So today I give you Starstruck by 3OH!3 featuring Katy Perry.

I'm really sorry you guys I am just not on top of this blog at all lately. Okay so what's new. I've got my grandma's Christmas present all ready for the gift exchange thanks to my sister. All my grandma wanted was books and Sammy goes to the bookstore practically every week so I got her to pick them up while she was there. She went the extra mile and put it in a fancy bag too. Black bag with is not very festive but it has blood red Christmas trees so hooray haha. I would rather wrap things because I'm relatively good at making them look nice, but my sister prescribes to the tissue paper and done routine. I'm curious what you guys do. Do you have a preference in how to present gifts? And I wonder if the way I wrap says something about me as a person... who knows.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 274

Hi. Today's song is Toxic by Britney Spears.

They changed blogger and it's weird!!! I don't like it. I don't like change in general, but when I use so much of the internet all the time and then the format changes it freaks me out. So that's what I'm dealing with today. Also the complete and utter urge to not do the things I need to including writing this blog post so I'm sorry it's so scatterbrained and uninteresting. At least there's a post so you have a song.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 273

Hey. So today's song is Wanna Be On Glee by Todrick Hall.

I assume I've shown you guys Todrick before. Maybe not on his own, but with someone for sure. I love him, I think he's perfect. And an exciting thing is that he's on Broadway now!! Say hello to a member of Kinky Boots. I haven't seen that show, but it's on the list. Anyway this song is an older one from when Glee was still on television. They held a my space competition to find new talent, and rather than  do that, Todrick did this. He may not have been on Glee but he did get his own show on Much for awhile so suck it Mr. Murphy.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 272

Morning guys. So today's song is My Love by Justin Timberlake.

I have news! I can't tell you guys though just on the off chance that a certain someone looks at this and ruins her own surprise. I can't hold it in anymore though because I'm so fucking excited. Basically without giving you any details something is in the works that I've been bugging about for years. I was the first one who found out it was on and now that I'm like in cahoots about this thing me and the accomplice seem like we've lost our minds. I'm really not good at secrets. Hopefully in about a month I will be able to actually tell you what this thing is, but for now can you just send good vibes this way? It needs to go well.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 271

Hi guys. So today's song is Say My Name by Destiny's Child.

This song technically goes into the category of old music that I've been doing the last couple days, but I feel like it will never lose its charm. I also can't help but do the movements every time I hear this song. I'm talking about the stop and go thing they do at the beginning. It's ingrained into me the same way the bye bye bye gestures are. I guess that's the gift of this era of music: little mannerisms with each song.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 270

What's Up. Today's song is I'm Like A Bird by Nelly Furtado.

I've recently been watching Leverage again. Leverage is a show about a team of thieves giving comeuppance to the rich. It's a pretty good show, despite being moderately unrealistic. My favorite character is Parker, mostly because she is super crazy, and throughout the show they let her become a little more normal as she gets a family. If you've never seen it watch the first episode then decide if it's worth checking out or not. Also if you have any ideas for shows that I should watch tell me because I'm clearly running out of things.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 269

Afternoon. So today's song is Whenever, Wherever by Shakira.

Have I told you guys about niche yet? I might have, but I'm going to talk about it again. It's a game that's still in the pretty early stages of development, the creators keep working on it and updating it on steam as they go. I don't actually have the game because I feel like I'd be really bad at it, but I've been watching gameplay thanks to YouTube. A couple people broadcast their game, but I stick with the youtuber JessiMew because she seems to actually understand the strategy required for success. The game itself is incredible and I love the whole concept of it, but a constant annoyance is the pronunciation of the title. I don't know if I've just always pronounced it wrong, but I say niche like neesh not nitch. The spelling makes me think I'm right. but I want your opinions. So let me know, how do you guys pronounce niche?

Peace.

Year 4, Day 268

Hey guys. Today I give you Oops! I Did It Again by Britney Spears.

So my sister gave me my Christmas present early since it arrived. It's this special hair care stuff because I've been having issues with my hair, probably because I have zero stress management skills so my body takes my feeling out on my head. I figured I'd try it out. She warned me in advance that it would probably dry my hair out so not to use it everyday, which she was right about. The shampoo didn't feel like it did anything, but the conditioner felt awesome. How do I even explain it... have you ever gotten that feeling of like after a limb falls asleep when you're trying to wake it up and it's not quite like pin pricks, but almost a buzzing under the skin as the feeling comes back? That's what my head felt like. I mean it probably sounds like a very bad feeling to have, but I see it as the conditioner working its magic. I'll know for sure in a few weeks. But hey a new found hope that I'll get my hair under control again is good enough for me. Plus it smelled like peppermint.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 267

Hi. Today's song is Bye, Bye, Bye by N*Sync.

In other news my mom and grandma did make it back from their vacation. They were gone for two weeks and in that time my sister and I basically traded off hovering over my grandpa like mother hens. There were many hours curled up on the couch watching forensic files. The ladies called everyday, but with not much to say. They aren't so good with details unless you force them, so I still don't really know much about their trip. I still haven't seen my mom yet, but my grandma says that she was ready to come home. Nothing compares to being able to sleep in your own bed. And as a hermit, I can say this is 100% true.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 266

Hey. So today's song is Lush Life by Zara Larsson.

Zara is a Swedish singer who got discovered on their version of Got Talent. That was eight years ago, but she didn't officially get on the music scene until 2013 when she released an EP. This isn't the song she broke out with, although I think I have that one slotted for later use. This one is actually from her second album released last year. It's gotten her even more recognition, expanding her fame to multiple other countries. Fun Fact: She also has a sister in the music world whose in the band Hanna & Andrea. She's currently working on her next album and was actually named on of the top 30 influential teens of the year by Time Magazine. She's a good one to keep your eye on.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 265

Hello everybody. Today's song is I Don't Wanna Be Sad by Simple Plan.

Okay I can no longer stay quiet America. I know both the candidates suck. The choice you had was awful and that's why I'm thankful everyday that in my country we vote for the party rather than the person. But enough with the moving to Canada joke.  Living in Canada is a privilege, not a consolation prize so please stop treating us that way. If you want to move here, you have to apply just like everyone else. That means that you are now in the same boat as the middle eastern refugees are that the majority of you keep calling terrorists. I have no idea how it's going to work, but I would bet we're more inclined to welcome them to our country since they were forced out by war. You're looking to escape an act of democracy that you didn't like the outcome on, so instead of running away from it: change it. Get involved in the political system because from this side of the border it looks like the elections have a lot of unnecessary fanfare that could be adjusted. Just a thought. And before I get a bunch of angry messages please know that I'm not trying to be a dick, but denial is not going to help the current situation. Accept the outcome and move on.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 264

Hiya. So today's song is Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett.

If you don't know at least one of the songs this guy has written, then I feel sorry for you. And also proud because I'll be the first person to introduce you to him. Personally this one that I'm featuring is my favorite. It's so catchy! Plus I mean if you wanted a list of all the popular dances before the dougie, this is pretty good. He started off in choirs before moving on to join a gospel group. After four years touring churches with one group, he joined another who were bringing gospel to the masses. Eventually he switched his style to soul music and went for a solo career, and actually sent a demo out to Atlantic Records. Except the label gave the song to someone else because they're dicks. He stayed on with the label despite the conflict, and later he got the success he wanted with In The Midnight Hour. He had a pretty troubled life (to put it lightly) which I'm sure can be traced back to his abusive mom. If you're curious there is a documentary about this life somewhere out there.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 263

What's Up. Today's song is Runaway by Del Shannon.

I always talk about things and people being my favorite, but more than any other song for the genre this one is my absolute honest favorite one. I always end up singing it to myself. I would sing it to other people, but most don't know what it is and then everyone is just super confused. Del Shannon is not his real name, and is in fact a pseudonym combining the name a wrestler who used to come to the club he headlined, and his favorite car to create it. This song was one of his older hits, that he ended up rewriting and releasing with use of a different instrument called a clavioline. It was basically a three tone keyboard that could mess with sound, and was a precursor to a modern day synthesizer. This song was easily his most known, and he never hit as big in the States after its release. He continued to do music in the UK though, and actually covered a Beatles song which ended up on the charts in the States before the original did. His career after this song was fueled mostly by covers of other songs, including Do You Wanna Dance which I featured earlier this week. He kept on that way for quite a while. Tragically, he suffered from depression, and actually ended up taking his own life in the end. It's always horrible when someone feels bad enough that they must do that, but I'm thankful to have at least been exposed to some of his music in my lifetime. His legacy can live on.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 262

Morning. Today's song is It's A Good Day by Peggy Lee.

Peggy is one of my favorites from this era. Most of you will hear this song and either know it (because it's used for commercials a lot) or recognize her voice (because she sang for Lady and the Tramp). She was abused by her step mother and started working as much as she could to get away from home, eventually ending up in radio. Her career really took off when Benny Goodman (who I mentioned yesterday) asked her to join his big band. She had an amazing career full of singing, songwriting, acting, and marriages. Look her up if you're ever bored.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 261

Hi guys. So today's song is Sing, Sing, Sing composed by Louis Prima.

This song more than any other is the epitome of what big band sound is. Technically composed by Louis Prima, it's most famously performed by Benny Goodman. Prima gave it lyrics, but it's known for how it sounds here: instrumental. Also a B-side song, it has versions which vary in length depending on which recording type they use. The song features Benny Goodman on clarinet; Harry James, Ziggy Elman, and Chris Griffin on trumpets; Red Ballard and Murray McEachern on trombones; Hymie Schertzer and George Koenig on alto saxophones; Art Rollini and Vido Musso on tenor saxophone; Jess Stacy on piano; Allan Reuss on guitar; Harry Goodman on bass; and Gene Krupa on drums.This video also has the benefit of showing off more swing dancing from a movie so it's just all around fantastic.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 260

Morning. Today I give you When I Get Low, I Get High by The Speakeasy Three.

Okay, so not technically oldies, but it fits the sound, and a little exposure is good for this group. As they've written, the are "three lasses from Brighton; Corrine (the sassy Blonde), Elizabeth (the sultry brunette) and Nastazia (the fiery redhead)." They filmed at the Proud Ballroom with accompaniment by a group called The Swing Ninjas. It focused on a bunch of lindy hop dancers, which I think is fantastic. These girls are a fairly unknown group, so if you want to check out more of their stuff and show your support check out their Facebook page here.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 259

Hello! Today's song is Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets.

So these guys are considered to be one of the first predominately white rock and roll bands to make it big. I find this fact noteworthy only when you compare it to what they had been doing before being labeled as rock and roll. They were a country band. Yup, I said country. In fact Bill Haley was revered as one of America's top yodelers. They became part of the rock and roll family when their sound switched out of country and into rockabilly, and featured slap-back heavily. At the time they were known as the Saddlebacks, and it became clear that just wasn't going to work for their new direction. Thus the Comets were born.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 258

Hey guys. Today's song is Do You Wanna Dance by Bobby Freeman.

Bobby had this huge hit when he was only 17. It's one of the only big songs he had and a despite lots of touring he never quite hit the success he got with this song. Originally titled Do You Want To Dance, this song's fame lives on by all the people who choose to cover it. Notable groups who covered it include Del Shannon, the Beach Boys, John Lennon, and the Ramones. Personally nothing can beat the original for me.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 257

Hi. So today's song is Earth Angel by the Penguins.

Anyone who has seen Back to the Future knows this song. The Penguins were made up of Cleveland Duncan, Curtis Williams, Dexter Tisby, and Bruce Tate. The song however was actually in existence before this group formed. Williams had been in another group previously called the Hollywood Flames, and had written this song with another member of that group. Fun Fact: they kind of named themselves after a cigarette campaign penguin. I mean not really, but the correlation between "smoking is cool" and "our music is cool" is insinuated. This song had a similar origin to yesterday's song, by being on the B-side of the tape. A DJ accidentally played the wrong side and the rest is history.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 256

Afternoon. Today's song is In the Still of the Night by Fred Parris and the Satins.

I mentioned Frank Sinatra yesterday which got me thinking about the classic songs that I never listen to anymore. So it's time again (because I feel like it) to do an oldies week and shine a light on some fabulous acts from before my time. So originally this group wasn't so successful. They had to re-evaluate membership and came back sans two guys with one new guy. I think my favorite anecdote is this song was actually a B-side song. As in, not as important necessarily as the one on the A-side. And yet it charted at #3. It got even more success after being featured on a compilation disc. Unfortunately right around that time Fred Parris got drafted, effectively ending the group. After the war a lot of reincarnation of the group happened, some of which being Fred Parris and the Scarlets, and Fred Parris and the Restless Hearts. To me though, the group when this song came out will always be my favorite of the options.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 255

Hey everybody. So today's song is Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco.

Oh Brendon Urie, you will always be my favorite. Even when you get mad that people want one song and one song only from you. You know the one. I get it now. I know why it pisses him off so much, and it's because the rest of his repertoire is so amazing. I mean listen to this song. Listen to it. It's like Frank Sinatra came down from heaven to grace us with a song then took off again. I can say that I listen to this on my ipod about once a day minimum because I love it so much. Which song is your favorite by the band? Let me know!

Peace.

Year 4, Day 254

Hi. So today's song is Cupid by Daniel Powter.

We all know Daniel for his super famous sad song, but I wanted to highlight the fact that he's more than just the Bad Day guy. Like this song is so adorable and makes me feel really happy. It will never have the same visceral reaction as the other song did, but not every song is meant to break our emotions. Sometimes we just need a cute little jam. It's that kind of day for me, so I'm sharing it with you.

Peace.

Year 4, Day 253

Morning. Today's song is Drops Of Jupiter by Train.

I've started playing Sims again. One thing I like about the Sims community is that people will create challenges for other players to do to make the game more interesting. I'm doing on of those right now. It's a Disney Legacy challenge in which you play through all these princesses and complete certain objective starting with Snow White. For her, she needs to have seven children (dwarfs) one of which will grow up to be Cinderella, and all of them need a specific trait. If you know about the seven dwarfs you can kind of guess what kind of traits they'll be given. Let me tell you though, it sounds so much easier than it is. It's taken me more than five hours of gameplay to get her to have that many children. And of course I decided to create the princes for them, so technically the dad of all of them is Prince Ferdinand, but he doesn't live with his wife and kids. It's a very stressful Snow White household. I'll keep you informed when I move to the next chapter.

Peace.