Category Archives: Music

Musical Lists

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I managed to come up with 2 lists, plus some honorable mentions.  One’s music-related and the other is podcast related, so enjoy!

My 5 Favorite Songs From 2011:

  1. Lights by Ellie Goulding.  I love this song.  It’s catchy and indie, pop and electronic all at the same time!
  2. Lily’s Theme from the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 Soundtrack.  It’s haunting, yet hopeful.  And the scene at the very beginning of the movie, with Snape looking over the school, with the dementors around the school?  Lily’s Theme fits it so well.  Come to think of it, a lot of the songs have a lot of the same elements…
  3. Heartbeat by The Fray.  I love The Fray!  And for some reason, I love this song.  It makes me feel happy.
  4. Safe And Sound by Taylor Swift, with The Civil Wars.  This song is HAUNTING.  It’s from the Hunger Games soundtrack, and the song fits it so well.
  5. Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.  I always want to sing along to it, and it’s such a good song!

An honorable mention goes to the rest of the HP and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 soundtrack.  Courtyard Apocalypse, Snape’s Demise, Severus and Lily, Harry Surrenders, and Procession are some of my other favorites from that soundtrack.

My 5 Favorite Podcasts:

  1. Greetings From Nowhere.  This was one of the first podcasts I listened to, and it’s fun listening to Christina and Nicole talk about their lives in Nowhere.  It makes me laugh and I keep finding that I jump right into the conversation.
  2. Tudor Talk: This was another podcast that introduced me to the lovely world of podcasting, and I love that it’s about the Tudors.  Tudor England is one of my favorite periods, so I get to hear about different movies, the t.v. show and books that are related to Tudor England.
  3. The History Chicks is another favorite podcast.  Every episode is about a real or fictional woman from history, and the hosts (Susan and Beckett) do the research and condense everything into an hour-long episode.
  4. Game Night Guys.  This is hosted by 2 guys who like board games.  They play a different game each week, explaining the rules and then making up their own.  One of them left, though, but another board-game loving friend joined the show as a co-host.  It’s still fun to listen to.
  5. The Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast is another favorite.  Every week recaps an episode of Gilmore Girls, and it’s fun to watch the episode right before listening.

Honorable mentions for favorite podcasts go to Cocktails and Creampuffs, Accio-Potter Wizard Radio, Hello Nessa, the Joy The Baker podcast and Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap.

From Christmas Music To Year-End Lists

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Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to turn off the Christmas music, and start paying attention to all those lists that seem to pop up this time of year.  You know, the one’s ranking the most popular songs of the year?  I’m going to miss listening to Christmas music, and while I could listen to it all year, it would be be slightly strange listening to Christmas music in the middle of April or something.  There’s always Christmas in July, I suppose, but it’s still weird.  Christmas music is definitely special because it comes around once a year, and I don’t want to (potentially) take the special-ness away by listening to it year-round.

I used to love listening to those year-end top 50 songs of the year countdown lists- back when I used to listen to the radio a lot.  I don’t listen to it as much now, except for Jeff and Jer, because they’re *awesome*!  But I have a bunch of stations I added to Pandora, and while I have no idea if I’ll actually listen to them over the next week, I’m sure I’ll listen to them eventually.

For me, it’s been an interesting year of things to listen to.  I definitely got into podcasts this year, and there are so many that I love.  I’m not trolling for any more podcasts at this point, but I’m pretty sure I’ll find some more to listen to.  I’m definitely glad that I stumbled across the world of podcasting, and there’s no way that I’m going to stop listening to them.

Come to think of it, I may have to come up with some of my own year-end lists, and not just for music but for other things as well…

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to talk about, and even thought about not doing something music or podcast related, but I was in a rambling sort of mood, so I’ll definitely be back tomorrow with something more substantial than random musings.  And next Monday, I’ll have some sort of best of list for music and podcasts.

Christmas Music!

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I’ve been putting off a post about Christmas music.  I figured I had more than enough time, but with Christmas being in less than a week, this is my last chance to talk about it.  Oh, sure, I could do it on a day that is not Monday.  I could even do it the Monday after Christmas.  But: I don’t have any other music-related things to talk about.  And talking about Christmas music after Christmas is over?  That’s a little weird. 

There’s something fun about Christmas.  You have the traditional favorites, like Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, White Christmas and Jingle Bells.  You have everyone and their mother coming out with Christmas albums (cough*justinbieber*cough).  And you have the novelty songs.  The 12 Days Of Redneck Christmas, anyone? 

That’s right, dear readers, I actually felt the need to buy The 12 Days Of Redneck Christmas.  I don’t have much Christmas music.  Because who doesn’t have All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey? 

I am willing to bet that not a lot of people have Wrock Christmas Songs though.  But really, how could you not like the 12 Days Of Wizard Christmas, Christmastime At Hogwarts, and Have Yourself A Harry Little Christmas?  I definitely like the 12 Wizard Days of Christmas, and I’ve listened to it so many times that I’ve prettty much forgotten the lyrics to the original song.  Honestly, though, what better way to confuse people than to go around singing the lyrics to a song they’ve never heard of because they’re not crazy, obsessed Harry Potter fans? 

There’s something fun about Christmas music, and I think it’s the overall novelty of it.  Music that you pretty much listen to once a year?  I’m in!  Granted, you could listen to it anytime of the year, but there’s just something about listening to Christmas music for one month out of the year.

There’s this whole image in my head of listening to christmas music while drinking some cider and decorating the tree.  Christmas music is magic!

Ella Fitzgerald

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After listening to the most recent episode of The History Chicks, I decided I needed to listen to Ella Fitzgerald.  I’ve heard of her before this, but had only heard A-Tisket, A-Tasket.  Which I have.

So on Friday, I went to the library to see if they had anything.  I was in luck, since they had 1 CD, called Pure Ella.  A quick search of the library catalog proved somewhat useful, in that they have quite a few of her cd’s.

Her life story is pretty interesting, but not only that, I found I love her music.  I instantly felt calm and relaxed when I was listening to Pure Ella, and I’m impressed with how amazing she sounds!  I really can’t wait until those cd’s I requested are ready for pick-up because I can’t wait to hear some of her music.

I don’t know if I can pick a favorite out of the songs I’ve listened to but I really like They Can’t Take That Away From Me,  Love Is Here To Stay, Night and Day, and Misty.  Oh, and My Funny Valentine is a really good song too!  So far, I like her slower stuff as opposed to some of her more upbeat/faster songs, but I still like her all the same.

I can honestly say that I am now an Ella Fitzgerald fan, and I can’t believe I didn’t start listening to some of her other stuff until now!  She has a lot more music than I ever imagined, so it’ll be a while before I can listen to everything she has out there!  I definitely am glad I gave her the chance.

This Year’s Music, Part 2

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Since I mentioned most of the other things I’ll be listening to this year, I’m going to focus more on the music I have set for my 2nd novel. 

I did want to mention Spotify since I forgot to talk about it when I did my last music post.  It’s fairly similar to Pandora, and while I haven’t used it very much, I think I’ll definitely try to use it next month.

I had a lot of trouble coming up with a playlist for it, because most of what I have doesn’t seem to fit.  I ended up putting a lot of random songs on my playlist, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to add to it as I figure out what’s going on. 

So here’s a sample of what I’ll be listening to next month:

1- The Big Lie by Sara Haze

2- Ordinary Day by Vanessa Carlton

5- Snape To Malfoy Manor from the HP And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 Sountrack

10- Summer Overture from the Requiem For A Dream soundtrack

16- Criminal by Fiona Apple

17- Flight Of The Order Of The Phoenix from the Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix soundtrack

21- How We Operate by Gomez

22- Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

33- I Believe In Nargles by The Whomping Willows

34- Caught In The Lie by Michelle Chamuel (From the Little White Lie soundtrack)

I’ll be back tomorrow with a post about food!

NaNo Music, Part One

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I have a playlist for The Mermaid Pact!  I don’t know how much I’ll listen to it, since I have an assortment of things to listen to.  I’ll be listening to my podcasts, of course, and I’m sure I’ll be listening to Pandora too, especially since I added a few new stations yesterday.   

I went with a variety of songs this year- there isn’t any particular reasoning behind most of the songs.  I just went with things that seem to fit the characters and the novel itself.

I started making playlists for my novels back in 2008, and while it’s not the only thing I listen to when writing, I have found it useful to occasionally add in music that the characters might listen to.  Basically, I listen to whatever I feel like listening to: whatever may help me keep writing and is providing some inspiration is what I’ll listen to.

And here, we have a selection of songs from a 61 song playlist:

1- Lily’s Theme from HP And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 soundtrack

3- Lovely by Sara Haze

4- Wave Bye Bye by the Gin Blossoms

6- ’til Death by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

8- If I Die Young by The Band Perry

10- Heart of my Own by Basia Bulat

21- Don’t Know Why by Norah Jones

27- The Big Lie by Sara Haze

37- Miss Invisible by Marie Digby

41- Sing by My Chemical Romance

48- Boys and Girls by Pixie Lot

53- Painting Pictures of Egypt by Sara Groves

59- My Sweet Song by Toby Lightman

60- Shine by Sara Haze

61- Dumbledore’s Army from the HP And The Order Of The Phoenix soundtrack

That’s it for this installment of music, and I’ll be back tomorrow with a post about my second novel for the month.

Draco And The Malfoys

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I’ve been listening to Wrock a lot lately, and I have no clue why.  But I’m just going to go with it.  I have Draco And The Malfoys (a self-titled album) and Party Like You’re Evil.  I like both pretty equally, but how you can not like songs titles like Tom Felton’s Kinda Hot, Disembodied Head, and Why Won’t You Shake My Hand?  Seriously, song titles are one reason why I love wizard rock so much.

I think they have a few more albums and some songs that can be found on a multitude of compilation and charity albums, but I’m not completely sure about that.

As for favorite songs, I like Potions Yesterday and 99 Death Eaters from their self-titled album and Party Like You’re Evil! from the album of the same name.  Other good songs from Party Like You’re Evil are Slytherin Pride and We’re Freakin’ Awesome.  I think the thing I like the most about Draco And The Malfoys is the fact that all of their songs are told from the perspective of Draco And The Malfoys.  Actually, that can apply to wizard rock in general, but since this post is (allegedly) about Draco And The Malfoys, maybe I should try to stay on topic.

I honestly don’t listen to them as much as I’d like, which is pretty representative of my music collection in general.  But they’re still one of my favorite bands to listen to, and their songs are always entertaining and fun to listen to.

Lady Antebellum

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One of my favorite bands right now is Lady Antebellum.  They’re a country band and one of my favorite songs right now is Just A Kiss.  They have 3 albums out right now- Lady Antebellum is their first.  It’s followed up Need You Now, and Own The Night is their most recent.

I have a confession.  Their first album is the only one I have in it’s entirety.  I have a few songs from Need You Now, and just one from Own The Night.  Still, I like the songs they put out as singles.  And because I only have one full album, I’m not going to do an album ranking.  I will, however, tell you about what other songs I like.  I like American Honey, Love This Pain and Our Kind Of Love from Need You Now.  And Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Long Gone, All We’d Ever Need and Home Is Where The Heart Is are my favorites from their self-titled album.

My least favorite song is Need You Now.  I liked it at first…and it got played so much that I got sick of it hearing all the time.  I also dislike I Run To You.  Don’t know why, but the song is just annoying.  They’re a big fan of the long song…and the song of the broken-hearted.  In the songs I’ve heard, especially with the singles they release, they don’t really stray too far from that.  The two who sing- Hillary Scott and Josh Kelley’s brother, make their songs come to life and really believable.  I sometimes find myself singing along to some of their upbeat songs, and their songs are always good to listen to if I need to get into a “love is great” or “love sucks” mood when I’m writing.

I’m a fan, and I can’t wait to see what else they come out with!

In My Headphones

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I feel like talking about music, so that’s what I’m going to talk about.  I have some new music I’ve been listening to, so I’m sharing some of the songs I’ve been playing on repeat. 

  • Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum: I’ve become obsessed with this song over the weekend!  I heard on the radio, and even though I missed part of the song, I still fell in love with the song.  I was hoping the dj would have mentioned who the artist was, since I didn’t know who it was.  It didn’t matter, though, since I guessed (correctly) that it was Lady Antebellum. 
  • Mischief Managed by Oliver Boyd And The Remembralls: I love this song, and I love listening to it over and over.  It’s all about the Marauder’s Map, and I like Oliver Boyd And The Remembralls because it’s not obvious that the songs are about Harry Potter!  It’s a really fun song.
  • Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix Soundtrack: I checked it out from the library, and I like it.  It’s a mix of really dramatic and really fun, but Fireworks and Dumbledore’s Army are my 2 favorite songs. 
  • May It Be: It’s from the Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring soundtrack, which I checked out from the library just so I could listen to this song.  I haven’t listened to the rest of it yet, but I’m definitely going to do that.
  • Wrock: I’ve been listening to it a lot lately…I’ve been in a wizard rock kind of mood.  Gred and Forge, Draco and The Malfoys, and The Whomping Willows have been in heavy rotation.  And of course, Oliver Boyd And The Remembralls.  I definitely need to work in Harry And The Potters, since it’s been a while since I’ve listened to them.  I’ve been listening to Accio-Potter Wizard Radio too, to get my fix.  According to their website, though, they’re not going to be doing any more episodes, which makes me sad.  At least I can listen to the episodes they did do, over and over again.

With all the podcast listening I’ve been doing, it’s a wonder I manage to listen to any music…maybe I need to find some music podcasts to listen to.

I Love The 90’s

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I like all kinds of music, but 90’s music is one of my favorites!  One of the local radio stations here in San Diego had a best of the 90’s weekend, and so I just had to listen to it!  This is my list of essential 90’s music:

  • N*Sync:  I have a soft spot for boy bands, in particular the Backstreet Boys, so no 90’s weekend is complete without boy bands!
  • Alternative and Grunge: it was a really important part of the 90’s, and I heard a lot of bands like Garbage, No Doubt and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  And no 90’s weekend is complete without Nirvana- it always seems like Smells Like Teen Spirit is at the top of any best songs of the 90’s list.
  • Will Smith: when he actually had a music career!  Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It is an essential 90’s song, and it’s another fun song.
  •  Insane In The Brain: I love this song, and it’s so fun!  It’s a fun song is something I’ll probably be saying a lot.  Back to the song really quick, it’s insanely catchy.
  • Nothing Compares To You: It’s not a 90’s weekend until you hear Sinead O’Connor!  Of course, this is the only song of hers I know, so I wouldn’t know anything else of hers, but it’s an essential part of any 90’s playlist.
  • New Kids On The Block and Color Me Badd: I have no idea why they’re not included with the other boy bands, but whatever.  Hangin’ Tough and I Wanna Sex You Up…why I like those songs, I have no clue. 
  • MMMBop: I love this song.  So much, in fact, that I’ll randomly sing the chorus.
  • Macarena: Oh, macarena.  The macarena was annoying, yes, but oh so fun!  They played it, but I missed them playing it.  😦
  • Spice Girls: I’ve mentioned a bunch of boy bands, it’s only right I mention the Spice Girls.  Girl power!  Sadly, I never heard them play the Spice Girls…and I have no idea what they were thinking.

I noticed they tended to repeat certain songs and artists.  I was sad I didn’t hear Aqua, Right Said Fred, and Kris Kross. At least they played TLC.  Waterfalls is a good song.  Actually, there were a bunch of songs I never heard, but since I wasn’t glued to the radio for the whole weekend, it’s possible they played it when I wasn’t listening…if they played them at all. 

It was fun listening to 90’s music almost all weekend, and I found myself singing along quite frequently.  Have a great day!