- I downloaded the new Guns N’ Roses album, Chinese Democracy, this morning and listened to it on my drive to work. I rarely like new albums on my first listen-through, but the album is surprisingly good. It passed my skip-over test. I didn’t skip over any of the songs. It’s typical rocking Guns N’ Roses. I look forward to the next album in 2022.
- I’ve been working out with the Wii Fit for the past few days and it’s lots of fun. It’s well worth the $90 we paid for it. I plan on writing a more comprehensive review after I’ve used it for a few weeks, but I thought I’d share my initial impressions here.
- I like the fact that it has a wide variety of exercises and fun activities. You can do various yoga, aerobic, strenth training, and balance exercises.
- There’s a strength exercise called “The Plank” where you put your forearms on the balance board, stretch your legs back, and hold yourself up for 30 seconds (which is the beginner’s time). That exercise is HARD!
- The balance activities are fun. As you continue to use the Wii Fit it unlocks more fun games and exercises, so there’s always something new to do. My favorite balance activities so far: Hula Hoop, Slalom Skiing, and Tightrope Walking.
- I’m also surprisingly enjoying the Yoga exercises, which look extremely easy to do. Trust me, they’re not. I’m feeling the burn in my legs today.
- I don’t like the fact that the balance board thinks it’s funny. During my initial weigh-in it told me I was overweight, and now when I step on the balance board to do activities it sometimes says “Oooofff”. Rude!
- I can’t wait to decorate our house with Christmas lights and decorations. This will be the first Christmas that The Babito truly understands that Christmas is a special holiday. Some of our neighbors have already put up their lights and he’s amazed by them. I told him we were going to put lights on our house this weekend and he’s excited about it. Now I just have to resist the urge to go all Clark Griswold on our house. We’re going old-school with the lights this year, with the big-bulbed multi-color lights. I bought eight packs.
Archive for category Music
This week I asked the panel to share recording artists they love that you may not have heard yet. There’s some great music here. When available, I’ve shared a YouTube video of the artist so you can check them out yourselves. For some reason, some of the record companies block embedding of videos from YouTube. How stupid is that? You’d think they’d want their artists promoted.
Please share your favorite unknown artist in the comments.
Here’s this week’s question:
Which bands or singers do not get the level of recognition they deserve?
Jason from iVegasFamily:
I’m a fan of Marc Broussard. A native of Louisiana, his music is an eccletic mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock, and pop. I have a couple of his albums, but his first major label album, Carencro, is a favorite in our house. It’s named after his hometown and the songs heavily reflect his southern roots. He has a new album out now that’s also awesome.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zeU5taGKJY[/youtube]
Ali from Cheaper Than Therapy:
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Band of Horses:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OTv6Cjk6U[/youtube]
Akron/Family:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KR85gYuKwI[/youtube]
Sunna:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGGCeEX2VMg[/youtube]
Pedro the Lion:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8a7MAcKeJ0[/youtube]
you won’t be sorry. i promise.
Sandy from Momisodes:
Hands down, jazz musicians. I’m not talking about Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong; they will always be the widely recognized great standards. I’m talking about amazing, talented jazz artists today who have kept the standards alive while redefining the art of jazz. Nothing evokes more emotion into my writing than the sounds of Michael Bublé , Diana Krall, and Jane Monheit. All of them have an incredible style of their own. Not to mention, they can sing. And I mean…sing.
Michael Bublé:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDQnkYwfNfk[/youtube]
Diana Krall:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNp79hF-xZw[/youtube]
Jane Monheit:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHcBKkSd7z8[/youtube]
And here’s Michael Bublé AND Jane Monheit together!:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DSrJXQV9Og[/youtube]
Maya from Gemini Girl:
My favorite band, Take That, originally started off as a boy band back in 1990. They are a British group, and became a worldwide phenomena. Unfortunately for them, they never managed to break into the US market. They broke up in 1995 (shortly after Robbie Williams left the group), and left millions of people heart broken. Ten years later, they reunited and put out an amazing album (ala Coldplay). Today, they are no longer considered a “boy band”, and are making incredible music. They have won tons of awards in Europe and put on a great concert. I truly wish they would make it big in the US so that I could see them live in concert!
Take That:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtq29e7KQo[/youtube]
Katie from K Squared:
I’m not usually one to discover new music as I don’t listen to radio very much, but I recently started using itunes’ Genuis tool, and I’ve found some great new artists from that!
I really like Matt Nathanson, especially his songs “Come on Get Higher” and “Bent.” His music I believe has been showing up on some TV shows out there, which should really help him out. Check out his website at http://www.mattnathanson.com/.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xTRh6G784[/youtube]
I also like Sister Hazel a lot, but I think many people don’t know their music beyond “All for You,” which was their hit in the 90s. I just love the sound of their voices, and really that’s true for a lot of the music I like is the voice, not always just the beat or the guitar. The band actually formed in Gainesville, FL, about 2 hours from where I now live, and they named themselves after Sister Hazel Williams, a nun who ran a local homeless shelter. You can check out the band on itunes or their website www.sisterhazel.com.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx4366cP1Dg[/youtube]
Daddy Dan:
I have a few to share too.
Mindy Smith (amazing voice and great lyrics):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzu3Ihyq50c[/youtube]
Tristan Prettyman:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2vx7B4tAgA[/youtube]
Duffy:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4jPXp7LxyI[/youtube]
Keane (I know they’re popular, but not to the extent they should be. The song in the link below is amazing.):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQQpWmKoB4g[/youtube]
Brother Yusef: He’s a regular at Downtown Disney. He’s a bluesman extraordinare, and he’s a super nice guy too. He also has a great blues album for kids that the Babito loves and that we like too. It’s kids music that’s bearable for adults.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GOebXVOxsc[/youtube]
Dr. Heather from BabyShrink:
EVAN LURIE, composer extraordinaire, who writes most of the music for the Backyardigans. I’m not kidding, folks! Just listen to the music next time the kids are watching.
(And yes, I DO need to get out more.)
The Songs of My Life
Apr 17
I’m copying Michelle & The City here, but here’s the number one songs on the special milestones of my life:
The Day I Was Born (September 7, 1969)
“Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones
The Day I Turned 5 (September 7, 1974)
“Having My Baby” by Paul Anka
The Day I Turned 10 (September 7, 1979)
“My Sharona” by The Knack
The Day I Turned 16 (September 7, 1985)
“St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” – by John Parr. (I have no idea what this is)
The Day I Graduated High School (June 1987)
“Always” – By Atlantic Starr
The Day I Turned 21 (September 7, 1990)
“Blaze of Glory” – by Bon Jovi
The Day I Met My Wife (July 1999)
“Genie in a Bottle” – by Christina Aguilera
The Day I Turned 30 (September 7, 1999)
“Bailamos” by Enrique Iglesias
My Wedding Day (January 25, 2003)
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem
The Day Babito Was Born (August 29, 2006)
“London Bridge” by Fergie
You can check out the number one song for any day of any year here.
Try it yourself (Yes, I had nothing else to post about today. =)
Not that I necessarily LIKED them, just that I’m surprised they didn’t make it, as they were very big hits. Here they are, in no particular order:
- Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio
- Been Caught Stealing – Jane’s Addiction
- Cryin’ – Aerosmith
- I Touch Myself – The Davinyls
- Whoomp! There It Is – Tag Team
- Kiss From A Rose – Seal
- One Headlight – The Wallflowers
- Nookie – Limp Bizkit
- Closing Time – Semisonic
- Runaway Train – Soul Asylum
