Hiatus! That's a fun word.

This project isn't working for me. I was thinking: "I want a blog. I have no marriage or young family to speak of, so what would I blog about? Music! I'll make playlists!"

The problem is without posting the actual songs on the site they lose their full effect. I could link to the lyrics but it's not the same.

I think I'll try something else and incorporate music into it sometimes, but this site is getting an indefinite break.

Stay tuned to my good company blog & my profile for updates on what I'll be writing next.

Twitterpation

I'm a terrible blogger. Don't hate. However, I refuse to let this playlist blog add to my already red alert level of anxiety & stress. I'll update it when I want to.

I made this playlist last week... it's mostly really sweet love songs (go figure). Thus I named it "Twitterpation" from the word "twitterpated" in the movie Bambi. Not from the website "twitter."

Hey Ya (Acoustic Cover) - Matt Weddle of Obadiah Parker
I Was Made for You - Rivers Cuomo
Your Call - Secondhand Serenade
Fell in Love Without You (Acoustic) - Motion City Soundtrack
About a Girl - The Academy Is...
Day Late Friend - Anberlin
Ever So Sweet - The Early November
At Least We Made it This Far - Relient K
Oh, it is Love - Hellogoodbye
Always Love - Nada Surf
The Best of Me - Starting Line
Memory - Sugarcult
Every Other Time - LFO
Crazy For This Girl - Evan and Jaron
Deep Inside of You - Third Eye Blind

ONS

Lover I Don't Have to Love - Bright Eyes
Tiny Vessels - Death Cab for Cutie
Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades - Brand New
Checkmarks - The Academy Is...
Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
Because It's Not Love (But It's Still a Feeling) - The Pipettes
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
Chocolate - Snow Patrol
Mistakes We Knew We Were Making - Straylight Run
Close to Me - The Cure
9 Crimes - Damien Rice

The Farsighted See Better Things

One would think that I would be early on this post seeing as how I lost my job Monday. But I'm not. Stupid layoffs. Stupid economy. You know, I had always been "in your face" at the economy. I still shopped. I still ate out. I was stimulating the economy one pair of shoes at a time. And now, the economy has turned on me. Eff that.

Alas, I will not let it keep me down. I will keep plugging along, pursuing my career as a playlist blogger. Lucrative it may not be, but I certainly do enjoy myself.

So, this will be a bit of a continuation of the optimism playlist I had awhile back. It will be eclectic and happy and energetic - kind of like me. Because even without a job, I have so much for which to be thankful. I'm very excited to see what happens next in this adventure I call my life. Enjoy!

The Farsighted See Better Things
1. Farsighted - Five Iron Frenzy (also to be credited with the title of the playlist)
2. Pressing On - Relient K (I feel a little like I'm reliving my junior year of high school right now)
3. Hold On - Wilson Phillips (Oh, the 90's. Why did they have to end?)
4. I Am For You - Waking Ashland (Don't give up!)
5. In The Middle - Jimmy Eat World (everything will be just fine)
6. You Get What You Give - The New Radicals
7. Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield
8. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba (I get knocked down, but I get up again... ok ok, I seriously can't include this with a straight face. I'm laughing, but I'm leaving it on here.)
9. Tomorrow's Another Day - MxPx
10. Brighter Days - Leeland
11. The Shadow Proves the Sunshine - Switchfoot
12. Get Up - Superchick

Come on, Spring!

Blogger is doing something crazy with the blog that my best friend Cate and I keep together. I'm a little concerned. I hope all of our entries of comedic genius and brilliance have been preserved in whatever disaster has befallen blogger.com.

Anyhow, it's about time for another playlist. I want Spring so badly that I have already stopped wearing my winter coat (despite snow and ice) and I've been listening to my upbeat sunshine music. So, I'm willing Spring to come with my mind powers. It's going to work. Spring will get here. Eventually.

Come on, Spring!

1. Salty Eyes - The Matches
2. Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World
3. On The Radio - Regina Spektor
4. Missed the Boat - Modest Mouse
5. Checkmarks - The Academy Is...
6. The Future Freaks me Out - Motion City Soundtrack
7. Crazy 8's - Mae
8. Goodnight, Goodnight - Hot Hot Heat
9. Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
10. When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney
11. Trinco Dog - Bedouin Soundclash
12. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
13. Hey Driver -Lucky Boys Confusion

Run Without Judgment

I worked out on the treadmill at the Y the other day (WOAH, WHAT?) and let me tell you something. When I work out, my music choice is generally not one that I take great pride in. I love to run to some Flo Rida or Kanye. Throw a little Rihanna and Fergie in there while you're at it. Spice Girls? Bring it. It's like every standard I have about music (Except my abhorrence of Nickelback - that doesn't go away no matter my heart rate) gets thrown out the window for that 30 minutes to an hour that I am running. And I like it.

It doesn't have to be that way. There are a number of songs that are excellent for working out and running that don't ruin your music street cred. Now, let me step up in my own defense here. It's ok for me to love shaking my booty or going for a run to some Spice Girls. That doesn't mean I have a bad taste in music. That just means that I like to have fun no matter what I'm doing and that I'm not afraid to suspend my musical prejudice for a time to do so. It's a positive thing, really. I just really, really, really wanna zig a zig ah every now and then. I'm fun. You'd like me.

Back to my theme. Perhaps you feel that you haven't quite transcended the musical spectrum enough yet to assert your independence in your work out. Perhaps you would be more secure in your musical tastes if you had a solid lists of songs to work out to that were beyond reproach to those who for some reason hold musical power over you. I can help here. I happen to know quite a few really great songs that you can also take on a run. Sometimes, when I need a break from feeling G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S during my cardio, I switch to this playlist (*disclaimer - you will want to order these songs on your own to mold to your workout):

Endlessly - Muse
Bandages - Hot Hot Heat
The Restless - The Matches
Hey Driver - Lucky Boys Confusion
Give it Up - Midtown
A Favor House Atlantic - Coheed & Cambria
The Taste of Ink - The Used
Until the Day I Die - Story of the Year
Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn - hellogoodbye
Reinventing Your Exit - Underoath
Beating Hearts Baby - Head Automatica
Feeling This - Blink 182
I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
Last Night - The Strokes
Somebody Told Me - The Killers

Awesome. Now, who wants to go for a run?

My 5 Favorite Ways (other than friends) to Find New Music

1. www.indierockcafe.com
- I first discovered this website back during the Christmas season when I did a google search for alternative/indie groups singing Christmas songs. Boy did this site deliver, with mp3's of over 100 versions of various seasonal songs by excellent artists. It's not just that though - it's all kinds of otherwise obscure yet excellent bands featured in blog entries with the occasional mp3 posted.
2. www.hypeful.com
- I think I found this one when I was google searching cover songs. Does that make sense? I was trying to figure out which covers were considered the best by people who's music tastes I respected. I stumbled upon this site, which has lead to my introduction to countless new bands in just a couple of weeks. I check it daily. On Tuesdays they post the best of new releases, which leads me to number 3...
3. www.spinner.com
- This site has what it calls a "cd listening party." Weekly, on Tuesdays, they post full new release abums of several artists. The albums stay posted for the whole week. You can listen to them in their entirety as many times as you want to. I'm pretty sure there are 4 0r 5 new (to me) artists that I will be pursuing in the near future thanks to this site. (I found this site linked from hypeful)
4. www.pandora.com
- So far my most productive station (in the way of introducing artists that I seek out further) has been the Matt Nathanson themed station I set up.
5. www.relevantmagazine.com
- Great reviews & articles on bands. There are some other thought provoking and awesome articles too.

Anyone else have good sources for quality music? I'm pretty certain that music is my preferred hobby and companion.