Sorry for the lack of TiLT yesterday, and not following up with it today. Getting back into the groove is tough when you have to drive several hours to pick up your pups and little man. It's our first day back home as a family and our "to do" list is a mile long. We spent a lot of time on our honeymoon talking about things we want as a family and business owners, so I can't wait to share all of that with you :) Until then, enjoy some tunes that we've been loving lately! We pretty much haven't stopped listening to this album since I stumbled upon it on Pandora.
Found any new bands/artists/songs that you are head over heels for? Share! I wanna listen!
I miss sharing playlists + downloads each and every Monday. It seems like years since I did that (Actually, it probably was!) But here are just a few tunes to set the tone for your Monday... Enjoy!
base photo via, lyrics added by me // original source unknown
I thought it'd be fun to do a Music Monday post on some of my favorite Guilty Pleasures. I've done this once before, maybe a few years ago, but I'm in the mood for some nostalgic tunes! I haven't done a real Music Monday post in forever, but quality over quantity, I say! Enjoy!
Destiny's Child - The Writing's On The Wall
This is when they were good... back when there were 4 of them (with the 2 original members). I can always jam out to "Say my name" "Bugaboo" and "Bills, Bills, Bills." Seriously. This will always be one of my favorites.
N*sync - No Strings Attached
My mom took me to a ton of concerts growing up. I was lucky enough that she valued that special time with me, even if she wasn't crazy about the boy bands and "All That Music and More" festivals. I remember seeing N*sync at the Ryman Auditorium here in Nashville and it was such a fun time. There's something about this album that I love... If I think about it I'm transported back to my Nana's house listening to it non-stop during the summer. (By the way, how terrible is their name?!)
New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones
Much to Mike's disappointment I could listen to this album non-stop for two weeks straight. I don't know what it is about this album, but the pop-punk lover in me is totally won over. My mom took me to see Blink 182 when I was a freshman in high school (ha!) and NFG opened for them (along with Midtown. OMG.) Definitely one of my favorite concerts!
Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
Nothing sums up 16 year old me quite like Taking Back Sunday. I remember riding in the car with Shannon, music on full blast, windows down, and having the time of our lives. If I ever need to feel like I'm a teenager again, this is one of my go-to albums for sure.
Something Corporate - North
I love Andrew McMahon and I love everything he's done post-SoCo, but not even The Glass Passenger from Jack's Mannequin can rival the feeling of being 17 and falling asleep to this album every night. "Hurricane" "Down" and "Space" are just a few of my favorites. Plus I've always had a soft spot for the collage album art. Pretty sure my life would be made if SoCo reunited for a tour or seven!
Mae - Destination : Beautiful and The Everglow
Another teenage favorite. Between Mae, Daphne Loves Derby, and Cute Is What We Aim For, I couldn't get enough of the alternative pop. These two albums comprise some of my all time favorite songs ever, such as "All Deliberate Speed", "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making" and "The Ocean". Mae definitely has an "emo" quality about their music, but it was always so beautiful. I still listen to it in the car on the way to and from work.
Britney Spears - Blackout
Few things need to even be said about this one... Britney is boss and I don't care who knows it. So many people were not into this album but it'll always be my favorite from here. There's just so much energy and excitement. If you see me pull up next to you in my Xterra, window down, belting out to "Radar," just think nothing of it :)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
I remember buying this album in Hollister while in high school, and listening to it non-stop for the longest time. I still love turning on "Maps" and "Date with the night." I never got the same feeling from their follow-up albums, Show Your Bones and It's Blitz! but they're still a favorite.
This week's Music Monday came from a 9:30am text from Mike while he was on his way to work. I had never heard of Aron Wright before but he assured me it'd be enjoyable (and he was right!). I actually don't know anyone about Aron aside from the fact that he's a fellow Nashville resident and his music reminds me a little bit of Bon Iver mixed with Dallas Green (City and Colour). That was a quick assumption, of course, based on the first two songs I listened to. Probably not relevant after the entire playlist below Either way, I think you'll enjoy! The playlist was borrowed from Aron's website/blog/record label which you can check out HERE! xo
I thought for this week's Music Monday I'd share with y'all the first song I ever heard from my current favorite bands! A few of these songs are going to be repeats for you but I think you'll like the overall playlist anyway! Happy Monday friends! xo
PS; Are any of you still hardcore playing Pearl and the Beard on repeat following last week's Music Monday?! I know a few of you said you can't get enough! This makes my heart happy!
I had the pleasure of seeing one of my top 2 favorite bands on Thursday (I'll never deny my love for all things Loquat!) and it was such a treat! I first got into Pearl and the Beard in early 2010 I believe and they were my summer anthem for the entire time I lived in NYC and beyond. I simply can't get enough. I've gotten in the habit of picking up Nashville's free weekly circulation of Nashville Scene and I spotted that they would be playing 3rd and Lindsley in just 3 days. Boy oh boy you cannot fathom my insane excitement and the venue is simply downtown from our place so we were stoked. Mike is the only person I know who loves them like I do so we talked our friends Brian and Christina into tagging along. We walked in on the tail end of a country show (think Trace Adkins-style... leather clad fly girls). Uh yeah. After an incredibly long soundcheck with the local band PATB was up! They absolutely did.not.disappoint! Clapping, kazoos, and a whole variety of tunes later, we snagged the pink vinyl (their newest album, Killing The Darlings) and rushed home to relive it by playing it in it's entirety. BTW, I did indeed say pink vinyl (!!!).
Thursday we leave for Chicago and I know we'll be playing both this album and their prior God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson over and over and over. Hoping that Chicago will also bring a PATB addition but we'll have to see how our plans pan out! Until then, enjoy some ear and eye candy with these videos and the playlist below (it's their newest album!). Your ears will thank me! xo Part of me wants to move back to NYC just to be in the general vicinity of these fine folks!
What do you think? Your kinda music? What was your favorite song? xo
PS; I apologize for the copious amount of typos/grammatical errors! Apparently waiting until 1:30am to write a day's post isn't exactly the best idea! I think I fixed them all.. if not, you get the idea. (Thanks April!)
This week's Music Monday is fellow Nashvillian, Kate York! Kate's "radio station" on Last.FM is one of my absolute favorites so imagine my embarrassing ignorance when she came on stage with Rosi Golan last week at 3rd and Lindsley to sing. I had no idea she lived in Nashville! Such a happy surprise as this town is full of wonderful musicians. If you like my kind of music then you'll love Kate. For some reason listening to her music makes me think of sitting on the porch with some cider on a breezy Autumn day! Maybe because I'm desperately looking forward to that. Enjoy! xo
Sunday was a fun day! Mike and I got up, got dressed, and spent the entire day thrifting! So many beautiful dresses, handbags, etc. Most of it will be going into Honeybean but I couldn't help but find a few things for myself! We rushed home to meet Brian and Christina so we could grab some dinner and head to a show downtown. We opted for yummy Mexican food at Las Palmas (my favorite!) and then we went to 3rd and Lindsley. Jason Reeves was having his album release show and Rosi Golan was opening for him. I love Rosi's voice, music, everything. She played a ton of songs from her new album (which officially comes out on the 30th!). It was so good! She's absolutely adorable so that doesn't hurt! While yesterday was slightly overshadowed with my ridiculously long post about blogging woes, I opted to move the typical Music Monday to today! I don't want anything to distract from this glorious playlist. I'm a little biased because I love it and I put it together but I think you'll like it! I'm a sucker for singer/songwriter tunes, and even more so if it's fronted by a lady with a stellar voice. I can't carry a tune in a bucket so I'll leave that to the professionals.
Here's some Rosi Golan for you! (I think the first song is so perfect for the here and now!)
I don't wanna wait, I don't wanna wait, I don't wanna wait
Thinking everything is alright.
Moment that I wait, or I hesitates a moment that I waste
And I can see it all passing me by, I can see it all passing me
The streets, the bars, the restaurants. The foreign toung, the ambiance they gave.
A day, a week a month it seems I'm always runnin out of steam
And here are a few Jason Reeves songs in case you aren't familiar (his new album just came out last week!)
Next week I'll be sharing another Nashville resident that I think you'll all like!
Have you seen anyone live lately that you absolutely adored? Who are your favorite singer/songwriters?
PS; Thank you all so much for your wonderful response to yesterday's post. I was in tears reading everything. It's sad that it took me breaking down, crying to Mike and expressing how much I hated my blog/what it had become and that I actually allowed that to happen for me to wake up. I needed to "out" myself to serve as a wake up call. Couldn't do it without all of you <3
It's been a long long long time since I shared a Music Monday (and y'all keep asking for them!) and I know I've probably shared this exact playlist before but I go through these phases where I can't stop listening to an artist for days or weeks at a time... it's definitely A + J's turn once more! Thought it'd be nice to share one of my favorite group's music with anyone who may have joined us here in the past year or so. Everything they continue to come up with amazes me. Not to mention they're a totally gorgeous brother + sister duo! Here's some ear and eye candy for the start of your work week! xo
Janelle left a comment on the Wedding Wednesday post with Mike's View last week saying this song reminded her of our little story. I quickly purchased it on iTunes and I love love love it! So for this week's Mixtape Monday I'm sharing a video with the song and lyrics. Maybe you'll love it, too! (The video is not the official video. Instead it is a music video made by a fan!)
This week's mixtape is some soothin' tunes by the one and only Amos Lee. There's also a little bit of Norah Jones and Sarah Dobson because I really love those songs. Perfect for today's gloomy weather and brisk breeze. We've got all the windows open and we're about to get to work! It's a great way to make an otherwise humdrum day productive! Happy Monday!
I'll be the first to admit that the next couple of mixtapes these upcoming few weeks may not be everyone's cup o' tea. I'll also admit that the subject matter is far from something normally shared on this little ol' blog, too. What I mean by that is that below you will find some of the most memorable Top 40 songs to date... all things that I am reluctantly admitting to loving. Some of them are as recent as the past couple of years, and some as old as the very early 80s! These are songs that I also find to be a great workout mix. I'm not sure why, but they hype me up and put me in such a good mood. Yea... even that jerk Kanye. I'm sure there are a ton that I'm forgetting. Would you believe me if I told you I had a running list in my "Little Book of Ideas" of guilty pleasure songs?! I need to find that page!
I think this is a good playlist for wanting to just put some pep in your step. Work in an office and need some jazzy hands while typing? Plug in your headphones and play this little diddy. It always makes me want to get stuff done! So what if it's embarrassing!
Now... time for you to confess! What are some of your all-time favorite guilty pleasure songs?! (Really! I want to know! I probably love them, too!)
Let me preface this by saying that it was 2003. It may or may not have extended until 2005 or so... but... It was a long time ago. Even still, I can feel my heart go pitter-patter just a teensy weensy little bit when I hear these artists and these songs. Yes, this is a playlist of my favorite songs from when I was 15. (I'd like to say "Oh but I'm 22 now and my taste is so much more refined" but the truth is far from that and I'm okay with it. I like what I like!) I remember dance parties in Shannon's basement and long drives to shows blasting Something Corporate and Taking Back Sunday. I remember the loud sing-alongs to The Academy Is... Every one of these songs may not have been 2003 gold medal, but these bands were more than certainly a staple in my adolescence. Seeing as many of you are around the same age as I, maybe you'll get a kick out of them, too!
Now I have an even better idea for my playlist next week! Oh man, I can't wait!
I think one solid way to avoid the humdrum of Monday is to have a great playlist to keep you going throughout the week. Of course I'm totally biased on all of mine seeing as I created them and it directly reflects my taste in music (sorry if it's different than yours!). Even so, if it's not your usual cup of tea I hope you'll give it a chance and maybe you'll find a new favorite song or two? While I may not have an office job or anything of the sort, these tunes help get me through a lot of work at home!
Happy Monday! I hope it's an exciting and productive work week for everyone! xo
I definitely don't mean to toot my own horn here but I'm pretty pleased with this playlist. So pleased, in fact, that I cannot stop playing it. So many of my old favorites... some are 9th grade old, others just a few months. I've featured several on many of my downloadable mixtapes, so you probably have a few in your iTunes. I hope the rest of them are a real treat! I remember listening to Her Space Holiday with my best friend Shannon in high school as we'd drive in my VW Beetle with the windows down. Electric President brings back so many memories of my sophomore year of college and my first summer solo in NYC... wandering around the East Village aimlessly. The feeling from White Daisy Passing by Rocky Votolato is undeniably the same feeling that I get thinking of home... Tennessee. And I'll always love California by Phantom Planet... including covers like this one by Mates of State. This mix makes me want to find all of my favorite people, cram them in my little Xterra and go on a roadtrip! I can't wait until March!
What are some of your all-time favorite songs? Why are they special and what do you relate them to?
I won't lie, I had to solicit the genius of my Tumblr followers for suggestions on what to use for this week's mix. Sadly my holiday selection of music is oh so limited. But they really pulled through! Here are some great tunes [a lot from the Target mixtape!] and I hope you love them as much as I do! I've found so many new favorites! Hooray!
PS; Sorry the player is so ugly! I chose a different one which was super cute and matched my layout but I'm having difficulties with it so I didn't want to change the colors in case I can fix it! Oof! Wish me luck!
What are some of your favorite indie Christmas covers?!
This week's Music Monday is the tune that I've been loving more and more lately. I've always been a pretty big fan of Rogue Wave and I've been hearing this specific song all around the interweb and commercials lately. Something just makes it feel good this time of year!
