I DON'T SHINE IF YOU DON'T SHINE

Y'all know how I am with music.  I love it.  And it makes me feel things that I couldn't otherwise recognize or express for myself.  Last night I went with Lisa and Mike to see The Killers for their Battle Born tour.  As usual, I started the concert decently reserved, but by the end (and this might have something to do with the free spirited behavior of the Donson-like men near me) I was jumping up and down, arms flailing like a madman in the air.  Particular songs and lyrics that I recall LOVING last night:

"...my heart, it don't beat, it don't beat the way it used to and my eyes, they don't see you no more.  And my lips, they don't kiss, they don't kiss the way they used to and my eyes don't recognize you no more!!!"

Geez, Brandon, calm down!

Also, if "somebody told me" that 9 years later that weird song about how "somebody told me that you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year," would still be a song lyric I was singing, I'd thought you were psycho.  I really didn't think I'd be all into this band.  I'm not very good at predicting futures.

Anyway... moving on, of course the usual:

"I GOT SOUL BUT I'M NOT A SOLDIER!"  GEEZ.  There were moments where I just felt I couldn't jump HIGH enough.  I WANTED TO JUMP UP HIGHER and LAND QUICKER, so that I could adequately jump high enough but still stay on the beat.  Nothing is worse for me than being offbeat.

"NOW CINDERELLA DON'T YOU GO TO SLEEP IT'S SUCH A BITTER FORM OF REFUGE, WHY DON'T YOU KNOW THE KINGDOM'S UNDER SEIGE AND EVERYBODY NEEDS YOU?  IS THERE STILL MAGIC IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN OR DID YOU LEAVE IT BACK IN '61 IN THE CADENCE OF A YOUNG MAN'S EYES, OUT WHERE THE DREAMS ALL HIDE."

Aww, there was also a part where he played piano and sang the beginning of "I Can't Stay" which was beautiful...

Gosh, "Read My Mind" I have always liked, but I don't know if I ever really considered it one of my favorite songs.  However, after last night, it might have to be added to one of my favorite songs, cause there's something about screaming:

"I DON'T MIND IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAUSE I DON'T SHINE IF YOU DON'T SHINE."

"I don't shine if you don't shine" is such a beautiful song and it makes me want to scream and hug Brandon.  Especially when he sings "put your back on me"

GOSH.  UGH!  Gq095uaoifujeorg!

Lisa and I both started screaming "JENNY!" before the encore... despite the fact that we knew our screams wouldn't really do much... but they sure did play Jenny!  And Brandon looks so cute when he performs this song.  He was smiling SO MUCH.  He seemed to really enjoy singing it, especially the line, "And then you whisper in my ear, I know what you're doing here!"

There's more, but I have to get off the computer now and be productive.  I will be listening to the Killers though, you betcha.

"Marry My Brother!" Regina Spektor moment

Someone caught it on tape.  It's so adorable:

"I hear in my mind all of this music and it breaks my heart..."

Oh Regina.

No, not of the George variety (though I believe that's Johnny's favorite Regina), but of the Spektor kind.

Today I told someone, "She's saved my life a million times.  I love her."  When I said it, I was merely conveying how important she was to me (in an admittedly dramatic fashion).  It is true, though.  She's played a pivotal role in helping me cope with a lot of things.  I've always known this.  I guess I just never knew to what magnitude.

Prior to going to the concert I looked up a setlist of one of her recent shows.  It had a pretty good mix of songs from the last 2 CDs with a sprinkling of other goodies.  I didn't look into it a whole lot, I just kind of skimmed it.

I decided to listen to the newest CD a little more since I hadn't listened to it a whole lot recently.  I remembered how much I loved the song "How" and it got me a tad bit emotional, and I was preparing myself for the tearful breakdown I was sure to have during the concert.  I made sure to do a good listen-through of the "Far" album as well, because a lot of the other songs were going to come from that and I figured I should brush up on some of those (although it's Regina and listening to her is like riding a bike--yeah, I just made that comparison.  Whatever.)

Regina comes out, grabs the mic, politely waits for the applause to die down (which, mind you, meant she waited for quite some time) and she sang "Ain't No Cover" and it was ASTOUNDING.  A cappella.  Her voice was crystal clear and it was glorious.  Ugh, it makes me sick how good she sounds.

Then she sat down and did "The Calculation" which is one of the happier songs on "Far" and that was, I think, a great way to sit down and start her show.

Then she started banging out the first few chords of "On The Radio" and I felt the immediate need to cry.  And not just cry like, "Oh, this is lovely I think I'll tear up a bit," but cry like, "Oh my god, I'm crying so hard that snot is going to start dripping towards my upper lip and I'll HAVE to wipe it away and then it'll be SUPER obvious that I'm crying and suddenly this just got awkward."

I wanted to fight that feeling and ignore it, because I didn't quite understand it.  Before officially allowing myself to start bawling, I turned to Lisa and I said, "Umm, why is this song making me want to cry?"  And she immediately replied something along the lines of, "Oh my god, I feel THE SAME WAY.  I just suddenly needed to cry."  So there we sat, my sister and I, crying over one of the happier upbeat songs from "Begin to Hope."

She played some other great songs, but even when she got to "How" I didn't really feel like crying all that much.  It was beautiful--but I think it was how the song started that got the mood to run away from me a bit.  Right before the song, an audience member shouted, "MARRYMYBROTHER!"  Regina started the song, but right before singing the word "how" she stopped and giggled and asked, "Did you just tell me to marry your brother?"  And she continued to giggle until she said, "Okay I can't laugh.  This is for serious."

After a few more songs she played "Better" which made me tear up a bit again.  Whyyyyyy?

She ended her set with "The Party" which is such an adorable song.  She also made sure to add a little spiel about going out and exercising your right to vote--also that she loved Obama and that she hopes everyone votes for him, but isn't saying you have to.  As if I didn't already love this woman.

Her Encore, however, had me crying almost the entire time.

1. Us
2. Fidelity (sob sob sob)
3. Hotel Song (calming down but still with tears collecting at the bottom of my chin and dripping onto my shirt)
and of course (and uggggggggh, whyyyyy)
4. Samson

She sang 5 songs from "Begin to Hope" and all 5 made me cry.  It was not lost on me that these were all on the same CD.  It also wasn't lost on me where exactly I was in my life when I was spending all of my time listening to said CD.  It came out Summer of 2006.  This was one of my favorite summers ever, but also one of my hardest years ever.  I kept making side comments to Lisa saying, "This CD.  All of the songs I'm crying to are from the same CD!"  She felt the same way.  When the concert was over and the lights came back on, we both stood up, and Lisa said, "You know why, right?"  And even though I had only kind of thought about it, and hadn't really considered it as my reason, I knew INSTANTLY.  Anne.

My brother David had mentioned Regina Spektor and how much he liked her.  At the time, I was just glad my brother liked anything, and I was thankful to anything that could lift his spirits up at all.  After Anne died, I think I listened to Coldplay's "Fix You" on repeat just waiting to think of something that would help David.  I was in need of something new.  I had seen Regina before, when she opened for Keane, but me being someone who generally enjoys music she already knows, was unsure how I felt about this odd singer with an odd way of... singing.  Odd?  Maybe unique is a better word?

Anyway, "Begin to Hope" is probably the most appropriate name for that album.  It's insanely appropriate.  Regina, after all, gave me back hope.  I sound sooooo cheesy--I realize this.  You have to realize that I was sure my brother's heart was broken, and that in turn broke my little 20 year old heart.  But Regina really did make sense of things for me.  She really did help me.  "Fidelity" for example:

"Suppose I never ever met you
Suppose we never fell in love
Suppose I never ever let you
Kiss me so sweet and so soft"

And later,

"All my friends say that of course it's going to get better..."

And when that still didn't quite heal my broken little "Why, God why????" heart, "On The Radio" made it all better (it kissed me where it was sore--if you will--and made me feel better):

"This is how it works:
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath.

No, this is how it works:
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again."

You hope it don't get harmed, but even if it does you'll just do it all again.

All I can say is that I'm deliriously tired, but I am so in love with the night I had tonight.  Yes, I cried WAY more than a regular human should have, but I am so happy.  It's been 6 years, and these songs still speak VOLUMES to me.

Regina Spektor saved my life a million times.
I love her.

No alarms and no surprises...

Today I woke up at 8 am.  No alarm, that's just how I roll these days--which sucks.  I did get a good amount of sleep, I think.  I had some drinks after work yesterday with some teachers for a Baby Shower at the Blvd... then I met another teacher, Kristi, for dinner at Sushi Zushi--which of course included the Yuzu Basil Saketini.

We both made it home in time to watch some ghost show she's a big fan of.  I passed out after seeing the credits, which was... somewhere in the realm of 9 o'clock.

For the past 3 hours I've sat in my bed and caught up on my Daily Show and Colbert Report.  I've made some random plans for the rest of today and I've managed to procrastinate making the Pre-AP Math Study Guide I said I'd make.  I'll make it--just not first thing on my Saturday morning. :)

My plans for today include:
- Laundry
- Watching old episodes of Bones
- Possibly re-watching some Homeland and/or Girls with Kristi if I can convince her to come over
- Paranormal Activity 4 with LC (!!!!!!!)
- Final Halloween party with the Hopkins... Hopkinses?  Minnie will make her final appearance for 2012.

I just heard Regina's cover of "No Surprises" for the first time today.  I can't tell if I'm a fan or not yet.

Also, I see Regina with Lisa on MONDAY!  ACK!  When she does "How" I believe I will LOSE it.

Kanye West - Hey Mama

Every now and then there comes and artist who just seems unreal.  All of their songs are absolute gigantor hits and ubiquitous.  Kanye West was one of those people.  Jesus Walks, Gold Digger, Touch The Sky, etc.  The list goes on and on.

One of my favorite songs of his was "Hey Mama" from his second album, Late Registration.  As expected, it was tribute to his mom and the appreciation and love he has for everything she's done for him.  My love for this song didn't really begin until I saw him perform this song for his (then late) mom.  He added the lyrics:

Last night I saw you in my dreams

Now, I can't wait to go to sleep

Kanye West performs "Hey Mama" at the 2008 Grammys

The vulnerability of his voice (or is it the fact that he's singing/rapping sans autotune?) is what makes this performance even more special.

Mel's Music of 2011

Top 10 Artists of 2011

Rank/Name/Number of Scrobbles

1 Eisley 371
2 The Bird and The Bee 344
3 Adele 296
4 Alexandre Desplat 261
5 Taylor Swift 250
6 Sara Bareilles 226
7 Pentatonix 183
8 Hall & Oates 118
9 *NSYNC 112
10 Weezer 104

Top 10 Albums of 2010

1 The Bird and The Bee – Interpreting the Masters Vol. 1 - A Tribute to Daryl Hall & John Oates 321
2 Eisley – The Valley 295
3 Adele – 21 276
4 Various – Harry Potter - The Deathly Hallows Part II 259
5 Taylor Swift – Speak Now 177
6 Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart 164
7 Hall & Oates – Greatest Hits - Rock 'n Soul Part 1 106
8 Weezer – Raditude (Deluxe Edition) 102
9 Aziz Ansari – Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening 86
10 Spring Awakening – Spring Awakening: A New Musical 84

Top 10 Songs of 2010

1 Adele – Set Fire To The Rain 104
2 Eisley – Smarter 69
3 Nicki Minaj – Super Bass 59
4 The Bird and The Bee – Private Eyes 57
5 The Bird and The Bee – Rich Girl 46
6 The Bird and The Bee – Maneater 42
6 Adele – Rumor Has It 42
8 The Bird and The Bee – I Can't Go For That 41
8 Eisley – The Valley 41
10 The Bird and The Bee – She's Gone 37

Top 10 New Songs of 2011

1 The Bird and The Bee - Private Eyes 77
2 Adele - Set Fire to the Rain 72
3 The Bird and The Bee - Sarah Smile 62
4 The Bird and The Bee - Rich Girl 61
5 Nicki Minaj - Super Bass 59
6 The Bird and The Bee - She's Gone 55
7 The Bird and The Bee - Heard It On The Radio 54
8 Eisley - Smarter 53
9 Eisley - Watch it Die 51
10 Eisley - The Valley 52

Weekend of Projects!

12/11 - This weekend we had my sister Chi Thu and Javier come into town.  Javier helped Mike (and Thomas did too!) redo their shed in their back yard.  I, on the other hand, had my own project to work on:

I had been wanting to do one of these crayon melty art things ever since I first saw one of my Anthro girlfriends do it over the summer.  I figured, it'd be simple enough!  The one she did was just colors on a blank white canvas.  I decided I wanted to add a little flavor to mine.

I picked some of my favorite lyrics... that somehow symbolically would work well with the crayons.  I chose lyrics from the song, "Rain" by Patty Griffin:  "Strange how it rains now"  I put some foam cut-out letters onto the canvas and then painted black over it.  Once dried, I peeled off the letters to get the white letters you see below!

Then I put the colors in the color order desired.  I chose not to start with the traditional red to indigo scale... I wanted to go from warm colors, to cool, and back to warm.  :)  I think my colors worked well!  Hot glue gunning each crayon onto the canvas was a bit tedious, but you got the hang of it after awhile.  Then after making sure the crayons were nice and glued... I took my blow dryer and blow dried the crap outta these crayons.  I did it in waves... mostly because I got tired... but I think it gave it a really nice pattern.  You can tell where I stopped and started again because there's a significant break in color blobs!  I feel like it well represents the "when it rains it pours" idea... once you think it's over... here's another wave of crap.

Other favorite lyric from this song: 

"I'm not looking for the rest of your life

I just want another chance to live..."

Soon you'll probably see one that Amber and I made together!

Tony & Sarah Bowers Robinson's Wedding Ceremony

As adorable as this picture is, it still doesn't do these two justice!

July 24th - Afternoon - The ceremony went off without a hitch! It was such a great wedding! Probably the best part about it was...

Luis and Jack on solos, with Johnny, Buddy, Mr. & Scott Saunders... SO GOOD! Please note that yes, the wedding party is, in fact, swaying. We were swaying (a bit more obnoxiously) during the wedding rehearsal and it ended up being so adorable... we had to do it for real. :)

Oh, we sang too! (Jack & I sang during their communion)

This is what we bridesmaids did when our photographer said, "Ok... now laugh!"

The whole wedding party in front of the Smith Family Chapel

Oh also, we did a prayer circle (like the one I mentioned in this blog). It was neat to be a part of one this time. Definitely something special. :)

Tony & Sarah's Rehearsal (And Other Day Before the Wedding Festivities)

July 23rd - Early that morning I left the rental house that all of us Bridesmaids had stayed in the night of the Bachelorette party and headed home. I got ready for our rehearsal that morning and headed with Thomas, Johnny & Luis to the church. Luis freaked out (probably squealed) when I informed him that Tony & Sarah were getting married in the same chapel that Jessica Simpson got married in.

I got to practice my song with Jack, which was nice because I had yet to sing it out loud! What was more nerve-wracking for the guys was the fact that they were going to be singing their song all together for the first time. It was Johnny, Buddy, Mr. Matt, Jack, Luis, & Scott Saunders. They sang a mash-up of "I'm Yours" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." So good. SO SO SO SO SOOOOO GOOD. What was also good was the fact that I kept popping in while they were practicing to yell, "CAUSE BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORRRRK!" (Which was Luis's suggestion for songs Sarah should walk down the aisle to.)

The Bridesmaids at the Wedding Rehearsal at The Smith Family Chapel

Just hangin' out

The Bridesmaids (in particular the former LHS girls, Stefanie, Sarah & me) watching the LHS boys sing. It may or may not have brought us to tears...

Afterwards we headed over to The County Line for some DELICIOUS BBQ! :)

I believe I went home and took a nap and later on that night we headed up to a little church where we had a prayer and worship thing for Tony and Sarah. We sang some songs (well, they sang songs... I'm only well-versed in songs found in the Gather hymnal... i.e., "On Eagles Wings" or "I Am The Bread of Life") but the best part came later. We were asked in advance to have a scripture or some words of advice for the soon-to-be married couple.

I'm pretty sure ALL of them did have a scripture. The week leading up to this, I had tried looking stuff up. Every time I found something that I thought might work, it seemed... disingenuous. Back in high school, when I was a YAC member (YAC = Youth Ambassadors for Christ = Diocesan youth council for Galveston-Houston... yeah, I was kind of a big deal), I still was never much for quoting the Bible. This might have something to do with the fact that my first 15 or so years of Bible-ing was in Vietnamese.

Anyway, I finally get up there and I have to hold back tears... and I remind Sarah of the time when I dramatically told her how much she meant to me right before my last show with her. I told her how for me, on this earth, I try to "find God" in everyday things... in her case... she is God personified. Is that sacrilegious? Possibly, but I don't know.

Anyway, I reminded everyone how much music means to me and how I chose some lyrics instead of a scripture... but since that's how I think God speaks to me... it's kind of the same thing :) I chose part of the second verse of the Regina Spektor song "On The Radio." Check it:

This is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

I Know Eventually We'll Be Together One Sweet Day

July 20th - It was to be my last day with Rachel. I started off the day doing a whole lot of nothing at home... and then Thomas, Johnny, and I met Rachel up at Counter Cafe. Then I went with Sarah Bowers to get our nails done, a little shopping and girl talk. It was, after all, only a couple days before her big day (her wedding day, that is).

Rachel was moving out the next day. So Thomas and I spent a good chunk of our afternoon being sweethearts (more Thomas than me) and we helped her clean her apartment. I painted some stuff, Thomas cleaned out her fridge and we just helped out where we could.

I may or may not have put on some ladybug wings to vacuum her cabinets

Afterwards we headed out to Blues on the Green... no I don't know who was playing... I never know who is playing... I am barely conscious of the fact that music is being played...

Eventually Thomas and I found Rachel, Ashley & Najia (and Fay and a few others)

The girls had some Four Loko.... apparently it was really really good

After sitting around in the hot hot heat, we finally left Zilker and headed towards Highball for a raucous night of awesome karaoke. I spent a lot of the night serenading Rachel with love songs... probably one of the best was me and Ashley singing "Does He Love You?" It was pretty badass...

Just singing to my girl Rachel

We even got Bobby Creeding out with Johnny and Thomas

We had a really great last night with Rachel... I've missed her a lot, but she seems to be having a good time in Lubbock (whether you believe that or not...)

My Will Gets Weak and My Thoughts Seem to Scatter

Today, I've had a couple song lyrics come to mind:

"The more I know, the less I understand. All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again." -- Don Henley (or India Arie), "Heart of the Matter"

and

"[T]he decades disappear like sinking ships, but we persevere. God gives us hope, but we still fear what we don't know." -- The Killers, "A Dustland Fairytale"

I hate to be cryptic, but at the moment I don't know what all can/should be said. Suffice it to say that I've come across an event in my life that has suddenly and unexpectedly shaken me to my core. To be honest, I feel silly. I feel naive. I feel like I'm too old (or at least far enough past my formative years) to let something like this so heavily influence and change things I so strongly believe(d) in. Steven claims this just shows I'm human. More later

"You Are The Narcissist, You're Everything You Saw In Me" - Eisley

I am still obsessed with Eisley. Rachel (Thomas's cousin) also loves Eisley and we were able to bond over our love this past weekend at Emily's wedding. We were both super excited about the new Eisley video for "Smarter" which is... awesome.

Sherri's dress in the video was one of my absolute FAAAAVORITES from this past winter's collection.

Spinning Lace Dress from Anthro
Sherri wearing the dress in the "Smarter" video
Seriously, Sherri is pretty much everything I aspire to be.

CIBO MATTO 1999! 2011!

Guess who's having a REUNION TOUR!!!!

Why not ANYWHERE NEAR TEXAS?

David, why aren't you here to roadtrip with me?

Lean Mean Green

Lean Mean Green

I decided to whip out my old ipod shuffle. I've been going to the gym and using my iphone which is mostly fine. Sometimes it's a little awkward when I'm on the machines, but I've figured out ways to keep it out of the way, but I figured I should commit to the gym a little better and use my awesome shuffle that the Wilders gave to me a few Christmases ago (our first Christmas?)

Anyway, okay, gotta make sure I put some butt-busting tunes on!

Bigger Problems Than Just Dog Problems

As far as buying vinyl records go, Thomas and I decided that we'd only be buying records in which we'd like at least 90% of the songs on the record. Who wants to buy a full album if you really only like the one song? Especially if we're entirely too lazy to go flip the record.

Thankfully, since February 2006, I've been tracking my listened-to iTunes songs. This makes it easy for me to know which albums I do, indeed, listen to a lot. This mostly consists of The Killers, Regina Spektor, Taylor Swift, Sara Bareilles, and a sprinkling of others.

One of my favorite bands and top albums are The Format's "Dog Problems." I found it on eBay. It must be fairly rare because in the past couple of months of randomly checking for vinyl LPs I want, this is the first time I've come across it.

It's for 399.99. Oh, perk--free shipping! Hah! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! If you don't believe me, here's the ebay listing. Wow.

The most expensive album that I plan on buying would be The Killer's "Hot Fuss," but even then, it's under $100 (mostly). Anyway, I just wanted to share with you the absurdity of that listing. :)

We've Got So Far To Go

The following are some lyrics to the song "Come So Far (Got So Far To Go)" from the musical Hairspray. I've never been a huge fan of Hairspray, I don't really know why or why not, but I just never was. I've had to watch it quite a few times during classes on movie days/Fun Fridays with the choirs. During the credits, this song comes on. I really like the tune of it (click here for the youtube video), and after the 3rd or 4th time listening to it, I really like the lyrics. I got giddy the other night when Thomas and I were listening to it and I realized it'd be an UBER cute wedding song. Just another to add to the list...

Hey old friend, together
Side by side and year by year
The road was filled with twists and turns
Oh but that's the road that got us here

Let's move past the bad times
But before those memories fade
Let's forgive but not forget
And learn from the mistakes we made

Cause it's so clear
Every year
We get stronger
So don't give up
Don't say when
And just get back on the road again

Cause...

I know we've Come So Far
But we've Got So Far To Go
I know the road seems long
But it won't be long 'till it's time to go

So, most days we'll take it fast
And some nights lets take it slow
I know we've Come So Far
But baby
We've Got So Far To Go

Jennifer, Allison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabelle too

Oh The Beautiful South.

I forgot constantly how much I love you. It's like, I know I love you, and then I take you for granted and skip your songs when they come on. But then... one day, I hear your voice, Paul, at JUST THE RIGHT TIME, and I fall in love all over again.

Today's progression in me finding them is fairly short.

I was researching this dude named Darden Smith. He's a Singer-Songwriter who also runs workshops on writing music and being creative and yada yada blah. He's coming to our school to talk to our students, and I was researching him because I need to find out more about him so I can tell our kids who he is. In his biography, it mentioned that he did a cover of "Everybody's Talking." The song seemed familiar. I knew TBS had done it before, and it's one of those songs that for whatever reason, I seem to skip. I thought it'd be pretty cool if he did a cover of their song. Instead it was original done by Fred Neil, and I guess TBS covered it. Anyway, as per usual with youtube, I did a few more clicks and I heard Dave Hemingway and Paul Heaton singing "Song for Whoever" and literally wanted to cry.

There's just something about that song. About their voices... I love it.

Enjoy.

Mel's Music of 2010

Top 10 Artists of 2010

Rank/Name/Number of Scrobbles

1 The Killers 357
2 Sara Bareilles 356
3 Eisley 328
4 Taylor Swift 299
5 Ke$ha 253
6 Aziz Ansari 231
7 Lady Antebellum 213
8 Glee Cast 203
9 She & Him 199
10 Fall Out Boy 191


Top 10 Albums of 2010

1 Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart 255
2 Aziz Ansari – Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening 231
3 Ke$ha – Animal 214
4 Glee Cast – Glee 152
5 Fall Out Boy – Folie A Deux 144
6 Spring Awakening – Spring Awakening: A New Musical 143
7 Sarah Jarosz – Song Up In Her Head 135
8 New Order – (the best of) New Order 121
8 She & Him – Volume Two 121
8 Lady Antebellum – Need You Now 121


Top 10 Songs of 2010

1 Eisley – Ambulance 56
2 She & Him – In The Sun 45
2 Sara Bareilles – Uncharted 45
4 Eisley – Combinations 41
5 Lady Antebellum – Need You Now 40
6 Eisley – Telescope Eyes 36
7 Fall Out Boy – What A Catch, Donnie 35
7 Brandon Flowers – Crossfire 35
7 Taylor Swift – Speak Now 35
10 Eisley – I Could Be There for You 34


Top 10 New Songs of 2010
This is a new list. Not tracked by Last.FM. Instead, this is just from my iTunes. The criteria: 1. Songs that were downloaded after December 1, 2009. 2. Most played from that list of songs. The numbers may differ from Last.FM, but that's because not all song plays are recorded on Last.FM all the time.

1 Fall Out Boy - What a Catch, Donnie 57
1 Lady Antebellum - Need You Now 57
3 Eisley - Ambulance 55
4 Eisley - I Could Be There For You 41
5 Sarah Jarosz - Shankhill Butchers 40
6 Sara Bareilles- Uncharted 39
7 Eisley - Combinations 38
8 Fall Out Boy - Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On a Bad Bet 37
8 Ke$ha Feat. 3OH!3 - Blah Blah Blah 37
10 Fall Out Boy - Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes 36

COMING SOON: Top 10 of 2010

I just remembered that last year I put up a list of my top 10 tracks/artists/albums from 2009. I love doing that kind of thing on Last.FM so I'll definitely do it again this year. I got curious and wanted to see who I had right now. I'm just hoping I don't start listening to certain songs in order to raise their likelihood of being on my list--and perhaps bumping some more embarrassing things off.

As of right now I only really remember one... so we'll see how that goes. I do have quite a few road trips ahead of me. The list will most likely be coming up January 3rd, as that is the first Monday after the new year (and that's when I did it last year!) :) I don't know why this post was worthy of writing, but I felt it was, so I did it.

Also, a reminder. You will definitely see her on my list, and you must not judge me. KE$HA was a huge part of my life in early 2010. :) What can I say, her love was my drug.

Last.FM Must Not Tell Lies...

Proof: