MOG - gympumpkin's Posts

Worrisome Heart

gympumpkin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:05:11 GMT

I had never heard of Melody Gardot until this song showed up on one of my song-of-the-day podcasts I subscribe to the other day. I liked it, but I think I would have preferred playing it on a gray rainy day instead of a sunny summer morning. Oh well, I still liked it a lot. I'm posting it here, aren't I?

If you want to know what to do with me after I die...

gympumpkin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:30:26 GMT

Steve Goodman was a folk singer and songwriter from Chicago. I think he was best known for having written "City of New Orleans." He was a ginormous Cubs fan. And because my boys in blue did me proud by not only having the best record in baseball but also (and more importantly) having swept the White Sox this weekend, I thought I would share this with you.

I love how happy he looks singing this song. I would like to think he is smiling down on Wrigley tonight. Or something.

He also wrong a song called "Go Cubs Go" that is played at Wrigley Field a lot. The fans really get into it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Goodman

Cleansing my brain

gympumpkin — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:33:39 GMT

I was at a bar having dinner and some drinks earlier this evening. The music being played was pretty good. I heard maybe 4 cover songs, and 3 of them were good.

And then they played a coverr of "Ohio". And it. was. bad.

Very bad.

Whoever was doing this cover just sort of sang it, as if they had no idea what the song was about. Clearly this person (sounded like a woman) had no idea that she was supposed to sound angry or sad or something. It sounded like nothing.

So now that I'm home, I had to cleanse my brain of that cover and hear the song done well:

It's too hot in Chicago today

gympumpkin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:53:12 GMT

Sunday under the covers with Travis

gympumpkin — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:42:10 GMT

If this had been the original version of this song I might have actually liked it.

Live from the Archives

gympumpkin — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:08:45 GMT

A local Chicago radio station is having a Live from the Archives weekend. Apparently they are just playing live tracks. Some were recorded at the station while others were recorded at concert venues. You can listen live on their website.

http://www.wxrt.com/

I'm admitting it in front of all of you

gympumpkin — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:55:35 GMT

Earlier tonight a friend of mine asked me something about George Michael, and ever since I haven't been able to get George Michael out of my head. Why? Because I haven't thought about him or listened to his music in a while, and it just sort of stuck with me.

Because I like George Michael. There I admitted it.

For a long time I tried to hide it. I didn't discuss it much. When a lot of people think of George Michael they think of the cheesiness that was Wham!, and while Wham! was cheesy, some of those songs were good. At least I think they were. Also, he seems to be thought of more for, um, some other stuff than he is for his music.

And when I think of his music I think of this song. It's the song that popped into my head when my friend mentioned George Michael earlier tonight. I think it's beautiful. I loved it when it came out all those years ago, but I think I like it more now.

Paddy Casey and KT Tunstall - Vic Theater - May 16, 2008

gympumpkin — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:13:09 GMT

A friend of mine won tickets to this show and invited me, and I gladly accepted.

I wasn't really familiar with Paddy Casey before this show. I knew I had heard a few of his songs, but I really had no recollection of them. I didn't even remember if I liked him. That doesn't really matter. What really matters is that I like him now. He played his guitar and sang so earnestly.

KT Tunstall's performance was a little different from the other times I have seen her. Homier? I don't know how to describe it. The stage looked sort of Western themed, but not tacky. Just different. My favorite part of her set was when she did a cover of "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Kahn and Rufus. I couldn't find a video of it from that night, but here's her singing it in Los Angeles.

Flight of the Conchords - Chicago Theatre - May 14, 2008

gympumpkin — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:31:57 GMT

I didn't really know what to expect when when I went to see Flight of the Conchords live last week. I was hoping it would be funny, but at the same time I had heard the songs so many times, would I be bored?

Arj Barker, who plays Dave on the show, opened with a stand up set which was hilarious. He introduced Flight of the Conchords, who opened with "Robots." While they played many of the songs that have appeared on their show and albums, there were some small differences that made the songs funny. Also, there was something different about seeing the songs performed in person. Even though I had seen videos of the same songs performed in person many times, it's not the same as seeing them onstage yourself. They also did a couple of new songs, as well as songs that, while not new, I don't think were quite as well known.

In between the songs they would banter, and it was pretty much what you would expect. It was their humor, awkward and naive. Many girls in the audience were yelling things at the guys, but they seemed really shocked when a guy in the crowd asked them to take off their pants. I don't think they had heard that one before.

Here is "Albi the Racist Dragon":

Mystify Me

gympumpkin — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:33:08 GMT

For some reason I've had this song in my head the past couple of days. I think it's because I mentioned INXS in that post I made the other day about band lineup changes.

I still love this song. I forgot how much I still love this song until just the other day.

The Doc Martens in the video have me feeling nostalgic. I think I'll wear a pair of my Docs to knitting group tomorrow.

unhappy birthday

gympumpkin — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:21:56 GMT

It has been brought to my attention that the new NKOTB single will be released on my birthday.

Happy birthday, Gympumpkin, I hope you like crap.

When does a lineup change really change a band?

gympumpkin — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:46:02 GMT

I have not really been on Mog much lately, so I apologize if this topic has been discussed ad nauseum and I just missed it. For some reason this topic has been coming up over the past few months when talking to friends, so I thought I would pose it here.

During the course of a band's career, often times band members leave and are replaced by new band members. There could be a time when the current lineup for a band barely resembles the original lineup.

On the other hand, there are some bands that, if a key member is no longer with the band (such as Ian Curtis and Joy Division), the band carries on as a different band (New Order).

So, how drastic does a change have to be before the band really isn't the same band it once was? For example, I have no problem with the current lineup of the Red Hot Chili Peppers being called that, even though it's not the original lineup. However, I'm not really comfortable calling the current lineup of the Smashing Pumpkins "Smashing Pumpkins", and I'm not sure why I have that double standard.

I once heard someone suggest (and I'm sorry I don't remember who... if it was on a blog or if it was a friend or something I saw on television) that Led Zeppelin shouldn't call themselves Led Zeppelin because that band died with John Bonham. I don't know that I agree with that, but I don't know that I disagree either.

I guess what I'm getting at, what is it that identifies who a band is in our minds?

Maybe it was because of the hockey

gympumpkin — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:54:01 GMT

After hearing "Runaway Train" for the eleventieth million time, I was ready to be done with Soul Asylum. But, I have always loved this song. I think the song is great, but I have a feeling the only reason I really listened to it in the first place was from seeing the video on MTV, and it involved hockey. No matter, I love this song.

How would you want your video to look in 20 years?

gympumpkin — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:12:46 GMT

The other day my boyfriend and I were watching Metal Mania on VH1 Classic. Most of the videos shown were at least 15 years old. Some hold up well. Sure, the clothing and hairstyles (ha!) were dated, but basic concert videos and some concept videos still look good otherwise.

And then some don't hold up so well. I love this song, but man, is this video horrible.

Earworm Alert

gympumpkin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:31:06 GMT

I just cannot get this song out of my head. It's been in my head for a week now, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

I'm not complaining, however. Because I love it.

One big piece down

gympumpkin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:02:47 GMT

I finally finished the first draft of my dissertation today. It's just the first draft and there is more to do, but it's a huge weight off my mind.

And this is the song that has kept me going over the past two days. I don't know why. It just worked out that way.

Tell me, do you wash your hair in honey dew

gympumpkin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:30:14 GMT

I am definitely not a morning person. Although once I'm awake I'm awake, until coffee has been consumed I'm rather useless.

Post wake-up, pre-coffee, this morning this song sounded like heaven.

Tuesday morning music discovery

gympumpkin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:10:25 GMT

I used to listen to music exclusively on my commute to and from work, but lately I've been listening to a lot of podcasts. While many of these podcasts aren't music related, a few are. It's always fun to discover new-to-me music on my way to work, including this song from today.

This song totally made my morning, so I thought I would share

gympumpkin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:30:46 GMT

He taps upon the glass when I'm asleep, so now I keep my window closed at night S.O.S. in morse code when the wind blows, he is waiting for his moment to be right

I need to stay awake somehow

gympumpkin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:00:15 GMT

Working the day before Thanksgiving is always killer. Hardly anyone is here and I have no motivation. This is how I entertain myself.

Chikita Violenta

gympumpkin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:38:59 GMT

I heard this song on a podcast today and liked it, so I thought I would share.

War

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikita_Violenta

Those are some tight white pants, Pete

gympumpkin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:26:46 GMT

On those rare moments lately when I'm not listening to UNKLE I seem to be listening to The Who. I blame the documentary I saw last week. Enjoy.

for crash

gympumpkin — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:29:08 GMT

Thanks Chris, for so generously sharing your words, experiences, and love of music with all of us. You made me think and introduced me to so many things. You are missed.

This song will forever remind me of CP, just because he posted about it once. It's weird, of all of the things he posted this is what I remember most.

I actually had to pay for this one

gympumpkin — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:12:46 GMT

As I've said before, I bought tickets to see UNKLE as a gift for Tim. I loved it. I loved the band. I loved the music. I just didn't like when one particular light would flash on and it would blind me. That kind of sucked. Oh well, that's what I get for standing at the very front. AAnyway, I found this video from the show. It's not fantastic, but it's the only visual aid I got.

I won another contest

gympumpkin — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:51:02 GMT

Free tickets to two concerts in two weeks - yay!

Friday I got to see Nico Vega, Johnossi, and Shout Out Louds for free. Free is good.

I liked the Nico Vega set, and the Shout Out Louds were awesome, but I really wanted to see Johnossi. John had his arm in a sling, but played guitar anyway. That had to be painful. But I loved their set, which was a good thing given that if it had sucked I would have been disappointed, even though the tickets were free. And I bought their CD at the merch table before the show started.

I don't do reviews, so I guess that's it.

Video from the Patrick Wolf show

gympumpkin — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 19:11:57 GMT

Oct. 9 at Metro

Magpie

Someone has to win

gympumpkin — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:00:00 GMT

I enter a lot of contests. Most of them are for free tickets to concerts or sporting events. I don't win most of the contests I enter, but because I enter many I win a decent amount of stuff. For example, I was notified yesterday that I won a pair of free tickets to tonight's Patrick Wolf show at Metro! Yay!

This video makes me oh so very happy

gympumpkin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:10:40 GMT

I wanted to post about the R.E.M. song "Texarkana" because it showed up on shuffle the other day and I rediscovered it. So I went onto YouTube to see if I could find the video, since I don't have an mp3 of it here at work. I found this video, and decided it was way better. This totally made my morning. Totally. I mean, I had this dumb, dorky ear-to-ear grin on my face while watching this. There's even a Kate Pierson Muppet!!! I hope at least a few of you enjoy this as much as I did. The rest of you may find it to be very irritating.

How 'bout them Cubs?

gympumpkin — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:03:38 GMT

So the Chicago Cubs start their playoff run tonight. Like any good Cubs fan since birth, I am optimistic to the point of being delusional.

If you didn't notice, this is your signal to roll your eyes and giggle at me.

I'm back

gympumpkin — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:30:01 GMT

I just got back from Indiana. My mom and I drove down on Sunday morning, and I just got back. I got to seem some cousins and family I haven't seen in years. I got to meet my cousin's children. That part was nice. Unfortunately we were all there for my aunt's funeral. We are all looking forward to my cousin's wedding next year so that we can see each other under nicer circumstances.

My mom doesn't like music much, and definitely doesn't like a lot of what I listen to. Since I re-loaded my iPod the other day I realized that I had no music on it that she would like. We talked in the car on the way there and back, but played no music. That's right, folks, 2.5 days with no music except that quiet, soothing music they play at funeral homes and the hymns at the church during the funeral.

What do you think would be the first song you would want to hear if you haven't listened to music in a few days? I was really shocked by what I was craving. I figured I'd want to hear some Beatles, or the Crash, or something else I've been digging a lot lately. Instead, all I wanted to hear was Snow Patrol. I love Snow Patrol, but it was odd, let me tell you.

Quiet

gympumpkin — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:11:47 GMT

Normally I have to be in the mood for mellow music. Guess what? I am today! For some reason I just want to hear something soothing and quiet. What could be better than Elliott Smith?

so many songs, so little room

gympumpkin — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:51:14 GMT

I'm thinking of clearing my iPod and refilling it. My problem is that I have way more songs than my iPod will hold. It's only a 30gig iPod. I keep changing my mind as to what I should put on it. I know that I can always change it, but I don't like doing that too much. Well, I'm lazy.

So, anyway. At first I thought of just putting my favorite stuff right now, stuff I want to know better, etc. But I like having those old favorites that I can rediscover on shuffle when I'm least expecting it.

Here's my question. For those of you with mp3 players with a lesser amount of memory than you would like, how do you choose what goes on it?

Just what I needed to start my day

gympumpkin — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:46:36 GMT

Shuffle has been kind to me lately. Sometimes I put my iTunes on shuffle, usually because I don't know what I'm in the mood for, and it plays everything I don't want to hear. Then sometimes it plays the perfect song for the moment, like this one this morning:

kick out the gloom, kick out the blues

gympumpkin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:34:46 GMT

For some reason I constantly forget this song exists, then I hear it and remember that it's actually my favorite Cure song. How can that happen? I don't know. I think this song became my favorite Cure song the first time I heard it. And yet, I always forget it's there. WTF?

My newest obsession

gympumpkin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:01:41 GMT

I think my friend Sade (EveningRain) introduced me to the Crash last year. I liked them at the time, but didn't listen to them for a while. I stumbled upon one of their songs again while I was playing my iTunes on shuffle, and now I have become obsessed.

Here is their website: http://www.thecrash.com/

And now, the music. The sound isn't the greatest on the youtube videos since, you know, they're live and all.

Pony Ride and Big Ass Love

Sugared

Boring Saturday Night

gympumpkin — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:11:55 GMT

I'm just sitting here at my computer listening to music and watching my music collection mogify while my boyfriend alternates between doing homework and playing video games.

At first all I wanted to listen to was Guns N' Roses, but then I switch to Air. So for this is the song I like best this evening.

How much do I love Chicago?

gympumpkin — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:08:15 GMT

Enough to get a tattoo of the Chicago flag on my arm.

I got it yesterday, and it's still very fresh in this picture. If you want to know what the symbols represent, read here.

Who's a good girlfriend?

gympumpkin — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:13:20 GMT

Tim's (my boyfriend) birthday and our anniversary are 10 days apart in October. UNKLE is in town 5 days after his birthday. Guess who's getting tickets to see UNKLE in a card for one of those two occasions?

Some of my Lollapalooza highlights

gympumpkin — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:02:38 GMT

Polyphonic Spree - Lithium

Daft Punk - One More Time

Muse - Map of the Problematique

The Hold Steady - Killer Parties

Rodrigo y Gabriella

And here are my blog posts:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Disco on ice?

gympumpkin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:25:28 GMT

I've been a very bad Mogger. I've been really busy lately. Well, I haven't been busy with anything important, just little things. Anyway, Lollapalooza was great, and it was nice to meet Blair and Erin! Perhaps I will post more about that later.

Anyway, onto the reason for this post. This popped up in my Google Reader a few minutes ago. Now, I love music, and I love hockey, but this is just too much. I love you, Guy LaFleur, but WTF? This is from 1979.

Maximo Park at the Double Door

gympumpkin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:28:31 GMT

I never posted about this show. It was really good. Maximo Park was great. I'm not a reviewer, so I'm not even going to try. Here is a video I found from the show. Even though the sound is bad I like it because every once in a while I can see the back of my head.

For Lucy

gympumpkin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:25:41 GMT

You know, I used to wear black stretch pants under denim shorts with Docs back in the day. I think it's time to bring that look back.

finally some live music tonight

gympumpkin — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:12:58 GMT

I've been a bad mogger. Sorry.

Anyway, after a bit of a drought I'm going to a show tonight. Maximo Park. Yay!

Happy independence day

gympumpkin — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:07:56 GMT

Happy indpendence day for all of the US Moggers. To everyone else, happy Wednesday! I just felt like posting this song. It's been in my head a lot lately. I was watching "And They Don't Stop" on VH1 Classic the other day. It's a documentary about hip hop. Anyway, this song was played, and I used to love it but completely forgot it existed for a few years. I'm glad I heard it because I love it and I had missed it.

One more drink tonight as your gray stallion rests

gympumpkin — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:40:22 GMT

One of the most magical concert experiences I have had was when I saw Iron & Wine and Calexico perform their album "In the Reins". It was great to hear the whole thing performed live. The highlight was "He Lays In the Reins". When the man came out to sing the bit that's in Spanish the crowd went nuts. That was big because, given the nature of this album, most of the time the crowd was quiet and just soaking everything up.

Bad cover

gympumpkin — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:10:04 GMT

I promised Dale I would post this song after describing it to him. Listen at your own risk.

Yes, technically, yes

gympumpkin — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:14:54 GMT

Hi everyone. I haven't been around much lately, I've been busy with other things, but now I'm back.

I can't get these guys out of my head.

Wow, and I thought I was a nerd

gympumpkin — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 03:47:27 GMT

As some of you may know, I'm a little bit of a nerd. Just a bit. Today I was listening to an episode of the Knit Science podcast, and there were a few songs by a band called Science Groove. Dude, songs about science!!! They have a song about the scientific method in French! You have no idea how happy this discovery made me. Does that make me nerdier than them?

http://www.science-groove.org/

decisions, decisions

gympumpkin — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:28:51 GMT

The Lollapalooza schedule is set. It's on the website. Now I have to decide. Ugh. Now I'm even more excited, though.

the two songs I have in my head today

gympumpkin — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:10:42 GMT

I heard both of these songs while I was on my way to work and had my iPod on shuffle. Now they won't leave my head.

Rolling Stones Top 25 Greatest Slow Dance Songs Ever

gympumpkin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:44:03 GMT

I haven't seen this posted, but admitedly I didn't look back very far. Here is a link to Rolling Stone's list of the 25 Greatest Slow Dance Songs Ever:

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/06/04/rock-list-the-25-greatest-slow-dance-songs-ever/

I don't know about you guys, but with a few exceptions, this list looks like the playlist at my junior high dances.

I'm having a problem getting going this morning

gympumpkin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:15:44 GMT

I am not motivated to finish getting ready for work this morning. Help me, music!

These guys went to my high school. Long before I got there, obviously. I think it was a graduation requirement to know all of the words to this song.

Finally!

gympumpkin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 03:06:57 GMT

A few minutes ago I finished entering all of the data I have collected for my dissertation thus far. The next step is to start analyzing what I have to determine whether more data is needed, or if I can stop collecting data and start writing. I'm not done, but it was one more big step toward figuring out when I will be done. I'm a bit relieved and feel like I am making progress. And now I need the sort of crazy, horrible, easy-to-make-fun-of song to celebrate.

Fresh Air

gympumpkin — Thu, 31 May 2007 19:33:32 GMT

I found this radio station yesterday on iTunes. It is a student radio station from University of Edinburgh. You can listen online. I like it so I thought I would pass it on.

http://www.freshair.org.uk/

Happy long weekend!

gympumpkin — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:24:10 GMT

I'm spending this weekend at my dad and step-mom's house on elder care and pug care duties, so I will be away from Mog. Happy holiday weekend to all of you who actually have a holiday weekend! And to the rest of you, have a good weekend :)

Sometimes you don't know you need to hear a song...

gympumpkin — Fri, 25 May 2007 02:08:53 GMT

...until you are already listening to it. It's as if it chose you, not the other way around.

new to me - Johnossi

gympumpkin — Tue, 22 May 2007 22:23:54 GMT

I don't really know much about Johnossi other than they are a duo from Sweden and I like the following songs, but I thought I would share anyway.

Man Must Dance

Execution Song

Santa Monica Bay

earworm

gympumpkin — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:00:36 GMT

I heard this song in a taxi on my way home from having dinner and drinks with some friends. It will be in my head for the rest of the week.

Sountrack for my morning

gympumpkin — Fri, 11 May 2007 17:07:20 GMT

This morning I decided would be The Band morning.

This Wheel's On Fire

The Weight

In honor of scoring free tickets to tonight's Cubs game...

gympumpkin — Tue, 08 May 2007 18:25:54 GMT

...here are some renditions of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

First, Harry Caray (which is my ring tone)

Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra:

Eddie Vedder (complete with beer in hand):

Drunk bleacher bums:

John Fogerty

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne (my dad and stepmom were at that game and laughed so hard)

I don't know who will be singing tonight.

I love you, shuffle

gympumpkin — Tue, 08 May 2007 13:35:57 GMT

Speaking of shuffle, today my iTunes dropped this one on me. I forgot I had it. It was some horrible version, though. It reminds me of the days when I wore slashed up jeans with spandex pants underneath and Asics Tiger wrestling shoes. Good times.

Today I only want to hear The Hold Steady

gympumpkin — Fri, 04 May 2007 14:42:17 GMT

I know I posted this before, but I like seeing it because every once in a while I can see the back of my head.

I'm back, oh, and some music

gympumpkin — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:27:56 GMT

I miss mog!!! Between a friend visiting from out of town, being without internet access at home for almost a week, collecting data for my disseratation, and illness, I haven't been keeping up here. But now I'm back :)

To make this music related, I bought the new Tori Amos album yesterday and after listening to it once I decided I like it.

not one, but two shows tonight!

gympumpkin — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:02:37 GMT

Hip Hop Thursday - Blue Scholars

gympumpkin — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:01:41 GMT

Lollapalooza lineup leaked

gympumpkin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:57:59 GMT

You can read it here:

http://www.avclub.com/content/newswire/lollapalooza_2007_lineup_one

To say I'm excited is an understatement.

I get the most random songs in my head

gympumpkin — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:51:28 GMT

Why?

Holy slit, Batman!!!

Today it's Marvin Gaye

gympumpkin — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:10:21 GMT

Last week I just had to listen to Nirvana. Today it's Marvin Gaye. Why? I don't know.

The song I really wanted to post was "That's the Way Love Is", but I couldn't find a video for it :(

It's weird to see Marvin Gaye in a real music video, as this is the Marvin I'm more familiar with.

songs to commute to

gympumpkin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:56:09 GMT

I haven't posted one of these for a long time. I didn't put my new iPod (which I used for the first time today and will knit a sweater for on the weekend) on shuffle today. Instead I played some Nirvana because, well, it's one of those days where I have to listen to Nirvana or I will die. So I put on Nevermind, which I haven't listened to in a long, long time. And when I got to this song, well, I just played it over and over and over. So I guess it's still been a long, long time since I have listened to Nevermind straight through.

Local Band

gympumpkin — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:07:46 GMT

I saw this band live for the second time yesterday. I like them. So here you go.

The good oldies are the ones you don't hear on the radio

gympumpkin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:52:52 GMT

Okay, maybe that's not really true. But it kinda is.

Today I decided to listen to the Electric Warrior album by T.Rex. I had only heard maybe 2 T.Rex songs in my life. And I thought they were good. So I thought I would listen to the album.

The other songs on the album are so much better than what I had heard on the oldies stations. Like, a lot better.

So, I ask you, are there any albums that you have listened to because of a few songs you knew you liked, and then found out that the rest of the album is much better?

I should go to concerts every night

gympumpkin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 10:00:41 GMT

I saw a great show last night in a pretty tiny room. Music in tiny rooms makes me happy. Especially when the stage is only as high as my mid-thigh and I'm right in front of it.

Mohair

Razorlight

Johnny Borrell wore that same outfit, only I think the v in his shirt was a little deeper. It was, um, quite white.

Because I have no life, here's a link for you!

gympumpkin — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 21:07:16 GMT

It's Friday night. I'm sitting home. While my boyfriend does homework (looking up videos of fish so he can make an animation) I'm catching up on some podcast listening and drinking some beer. Anyway, I'm listening to the most recent podcast of All Songs Considered from NPR, and Lily Allen is interviewed. It's kind of interesting, so I thought I would share.

http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/

by request

gympumpkin — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:46:05 GMT

I've been playing all the fine hip hop songs you all have been posting loud enough for my boyfriend to hear. He's sitting across the room working on a powerpoint presentation about caustics. Fun. Anyway, he wanted to hear "Me Myself and I" by De La Soul, so I figured I would share it with all of you too.

You know that Africa necklace the one member of the group is wearing? I used to have a necklace like that only it had the Batman logo on it. I bought it from a street vendor in Times Square in 1989 when I was 15. I think I was wearing a bright orange Body Glove tank top at the time. Ah, good times.

hip hop that reminds me of high school

gympumpkin — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:08:07 GMT

I don't know what made me think of this song. I haven't thought of it in years. Now I'm kind of wishing I had kept it back in those high school memories :)

3rd Base - Pop Goes the Weasel

it was good when I listened to it

gympumpkin — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:03:42 GMT

When I was a junior or senior in high school it became clear to me that college radio was way more interesting than commercial radio. The problem was that most of the college radio stations don't have a wide broadcast range, and with the full Chicago-area FM spectrum, I was only able to sometimes get Northwestern University's radio station, and it didn't come in that well. And at the time I didn't like it. Anyway, one day I discovered a high school radio station that broadcasts from a couple of miles away from where I grew up. This high school was actually the closest one to my home, but because of where the boundary lines were drawn I had to go to a different, not-as-good high school. I did manage to work at this school one summer before grad school, though. Anyway, I started listening to this station, and I always thought it was pretty good. When I moved out of the suburbs and into the city I sort of forgot about it. I saw a wikipedia article for it today, and I decided to check out their website. They stream online! I thought I would pass the link on. I don't know if you all will like it or not, but here's another online radio station for all of you. Remember that these are high school kids, so they aren't the most polished of DJs.

http://www.rock881.net/rock/

I need some fun

gympumpkin — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:58:33 GMT

So here's some fun

half time show

gympumpkin — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:16:16 GMT

Prince covering Foo Fighters = awesome

Anyone else notice that Prince is wearing Dolphins colors in Miami? Do you think he did that on purpose?

Snow and Bears

gympumpkin — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 16:23:58 GMT

Since others are posting photos, I figure I would too. These were taken the weekend before last while I was staying at my dad and stepmom's house in the suburbs. It snowed overnight. The first two pics are of the geese my stepmom has in front of the house. She always puts them in appropriate outfits. These were taken the day the Bears won the NFC Championship game. In case you can't tell from the snow, one is a football player (his helmet is covered in snow) and one is a cheerleader.

The next picture is of one of their pugs, Wrigley. Yes, my family loves sports. How appropriate that my stepmom is wearing a Cubs shirt. Wrigley is modelling her new Bears sweater. I tried to take several pictures, but she was nuts because I just came in, and this was the least blurry of them all.

songs that make me happy, video edition

gympumpkin — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:00:57 GMT

Those of you who read my LJ know that I post a song of the day every day (well, almost every day), and that January's theme is "Songs That Make Me Happy". After I posted today's song, I heard this one while I was getting ready for work, and it just set the morning up perfectly. It's now a song that makes me happy, too.

Oh, and another thing that makes today great. I went to McDonald's for breakfast this morning, and when I went to pay with my debit card, I saw that the card reader machine wasn't working. I asked the woman behind the counter if any of the ones at other registers were working, and she said no. I turned around to leave because I didn't have any cash on me, but she stopped me and let me have my food anyway. I got my breakfast for free!

It was cool at first

gympumpkin — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:38:06 GMT

The other day I was listening to the radio when the song "Tuesday Morning" by The Pogues came on. I hadn't heard it for years, and I think I forgot it existed. I used to love that song. I think it was the first Pogues song I ever heard. It wasn't until several years later that I learned who Shane MacGowan is. Yeah, I'm a bit behind.

Anyway, back to the song. I was excited to rediscover this song because it reminded me of good times. Now, however, it's been in my head for days and it's driving me nuts. MAKE IT STOP!!!

It was bad then...

gympumpkin — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:50:21 GMT

...but I still love it. I think this needs to be updated.

I still remember every word of this song, 21 years later. It's amazing I can actually succeed academically with this kind of crap still stored in my brain.

Go Bears!

Does this make me a bad music fan?

gympumpkin — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:23:56 GMT

I understand that she's a legend and all, but I really can't get into Patti Smith. I don't know why. I tried to listen to Horses again today, and it just didn't work for me. I can respect her contribution, but I guess at the same time I don't have to listen to it.

I hope you all had a happy holiday time

gympumpkin — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:08:33 GMT

Hi everyone. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday. I spent mine knitting (finishing a blanket for my dad and stepmom five minutes before leaving the house to see them on Christmas eve), baking (everyone loved my cookies), and being sick. But I did get some music. My mother got me a copy of Muse's Showbiz. I listened to it in the car on the way to Indiana and loved it.

Now I must read the MOS to get caught up.

happy hour, happy hour, happy hour is here

gympumpkin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:39:24 GMT

I haven't thought about this song in years, and yet this week it keeps coming up on my iPod when I have it on shuffle. This song makes me want to get up, jump around, and scream the words really loudly.

wow, this is horrible

gympumpkin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:04:40 GMT

Wow. I didn't know this existed until this morning when I saw it on one of my favorite channels, The Tube. Perhaps it isn't a favorite channel anymore.

My favorite drinking song

gympumpkin — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 01:31:00 GMT

I discovered this song during my first year of grad school. I had a Canadian roommate who was a big fan of Spirit of the West. "Home for a Rest" quickly became my favorite drinking song. This was taped from a New Years Eve celebration in Niagara Falls, Ontario (hence you can see their breath as they are performing outside). I actually went to that one year, but I saw Blue Rodeo. After spending all that time in the cold I would have rather seen Spirit of the West. Oh well, I saw them live, too, eventually.

I just head this song...

gympumpkin — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:38:27 GMT

...so I thought I'd post a video of it.

this day is crawling

gympumpkin — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:47:37 GMT

For your viewing pleasure:

relaxation at last

gympumpkin — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:46:17 GMT

I'm still alive. I've been busy with school and work, and spending my extra time watching my new HD TV and trying to finish knitting the blanket I'm making for my dad and stepmom for Christmas that I'm hopelessly behind on.

Anyway, to make this music related, here's a video of a contestant on the X-Factor in the UK. Ben. I like his hair. Anyway, when I saw this, realized what song he was singing, I thought it would be horrible. But I think it's a cool arrangement. I never would have expected to hear a Queen song quite like this.

Sleet and Seger

gympumpkin — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:54:26 GMT

Last night Tim and I went to the Bob Seger concert. We got the tickets for free from my stepmom, who couldn't go. When the tickets went on sale I considered buying some because it has been a long time since he has toured, and while I wouldn't rank him as one of my all-time favorites, I did hear his music a lot growing up and it might be cool to see him. But I couldn't afford it. I can always afford free, though.

The show was really good. His musicians were great. I recognized maybe 2/3 of his old songs. I haven't heard anything off of his new album, but I liked the ones he did. He sounded good. He is a great performer and owned the stage. He rocks, and he's old enough to be my dad.

We did leave a bit early, though. I'm not sure how early we left. Just before he started singing Katmandu he said it was the last song, so we left in the middle of the song. I wasn't sure if he was going to do an encore or not because there was an intermission, but we didn't want to chance it and left early for several reasons. First, the winter storm was starting up and we wanted to get home before it got too bad. It's a 45 minute drive in good weather, so we were concerned about getting home, and Tim had to work this morning.

Second, there were the people in front of us and behind us. They were really wasted. I mean really wasted. Sloppy drunk. (I want to say right now that I'm not saying everyone at the show was like this, but there were maybe 9 people around us who were.) They were all maybe in their mid-40s. I was talking to my dad about it this morning, and he says he sees this at concerts like this all the time. There are some people who maybe don't get out much anymore, with kids and jobs and whatnot, and here's a guy who they loved since they were teenagers, and they are trying to relive their young days. It's a small number of people, but they freak me out. The group in front of us, not only were they wasted on beer they bought there, but one of them had snuck in a bottle of Jaegermeister and they were drinking that. At one point it looked like several of them could barely stand, and you know one of them was driving. Tim and I decided we wanted to get out of the parking lot before these small number of people got into their cars and killed us. So we left.

It was sleeting when we left, but although the ground was crunchy it was not slippery. We drove slowly and got home okay. It was still sleeting when we got home. And, of course, there was no parking by my apartment. We had to park several blocks away and walk. To make matters worse, the wind was blowing hard off the lake, and I live a half block from the lake. It meant walking right into the wind, which was whipping sleet into our faces. I tried to put my head down, but then it whipped sleet into my scalp.

Lesson learned: wind-whipped sleet really, really hurts skin.

back to normal

gympumpkin — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 14:45:42 GMT

I hope those of you who celebrate had a happy thanksgiving. Mine was full of running around, and now I feel that I need a vacation from my holiday!

I bought the "Love" CD over the weekend, and so far I have listened to it four times. I love it. I love the way some of the songs are mashed up or changed, yet it doesn't seem to take away from the original spirit of the song. It is now by far my favorite CD I got this year.

I also found out yesterday that my stepmom had 2 tickets to see Bob Seger on Thursday, but she can't go, so Tim and I are going. Another free gig!

Morrissey show

gympumpkin — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 16:20:49 GMT

Wow. WOW!!! It was awesome. I forced myself not to cry during the last song as I thought I would all day long if he played it, instead I sang at the top of my lungs. I had no voice when I came home, though it appears to be back today. I bought a t-shirt that I will wear tomorrow because I'm thankful I bought tickets and went to this show. I was wishy washy before the tickets went on sale. Why would I have been like that? Weird.

The setlist:

Panic First of the Gang to Die The Youngest Was the Most Loved You Have Killed Me Disappointed Ganglord William It Was Really Nothing Everyday is Like Sunday Dear God Please Help Me Let Me Kiss You I've Changed My Plea To Guilty In the Future When All's Well Girlfriend in a Coma Life is a Pigsty How Soon is Now Irish Blood English Heart I Just Want to See the Boy Happy National Front Disco

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

I'm so excited I have no idea how I'm going to get any work done

gympumpkin — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:23:22 GMT

I'm finally, FINALLY, going to see Morrissey tonight. For the first time. I wish I had seen him back in the early '90s with my friends, but I didn't, so I'm going now and I'm very excited.

I'd so skip Sonia Kitchell to see The Hold Stead

gympumpkin — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:43:59 GMT

I just found this list of Hold Steady tour dates on spin.com

11/21, Philadelphia, PA (North Star Bar) 11/22, Brooklyn, NY (Warsaw) 11/24, Hoboken, NJ (Maxwell's) 11/25, Washington, DC (Black Cat) 11/26, Carrboro, NC (Cat's Cradle) 11/27, Columbia, SC (New Brookline Tavern) 11/29, Orlando, FL (Social) 11/30, Tampa, FL (Orpheum) 12/1, Tallahassee, FL (Beta Bar) 12/2, New Orleans, LA (The Parish) 12/4, Little Rock, AR (Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack) 12/5, Columbia, MO (Mojo's) 12/6, Lawrence, KS (The Bottleneck) (Hi, Dale!!!) 12/7, Iowa City, IA (The Picador) 12/8, Newport, KY (Southgate House) 12/9, Louisville, KY (Headliner's) 12/11, Cleveland, OH (Grog Shop) 12/13, Buffalo, NY (Showplace) 12/14, Albany, NY (Valentine's) 12/15, Northampton, MA (Pearl)

I notice that none of these are in Chicago. I know they were just here, but this makes me sad. The closest city to here is Iowa City, and I am supposed to be going there one of these weekends, but the show is during the week.

When do I stop shelling out money I don't have to go to gigs? I think I have a problem.

gympumpkin — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:42:12 GMT

So Sonia Kitchell is going to be in town in a couple of weeks. Tickets are $15. I like her. I know my boyfriend likes her. He can't afford to go (and really neither can I, but I can manage to cough up the money and he can't) so I would have to pay for both tickets. It's at my favorite venue in Chicago. But it's also around the holidays when I should be spending my money on gifts, not to mention the fact that my mom's birthday is two weeks for Christmas and I have to do something for that too.

Do I go? Would you go if you were me?

More music to commute to

gympumpkin — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:22:03 GMT

I love shuffle. Today was a brisk day, but it was sunny and there was a good energy in the city, and I haven't heard this song for years and it made me want to skip down the sidewalk :)

Elvis was such a hottie. Well, you know, until he became bloated and loaded with drugs.

I feel like I should post something

gympumpkin — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:47:53 GMT

I feel like I haven't made a post in forever, so here you go.

I watched the movie Millions today. It made me cry because I'm a sap like that. Anyway, this song was in it. It's sort of new age-y, but I liked it cheered me up today when I was feeling down. Any song that can make me feel better must be a good song.

Music To Commute To

gympumpkin — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:04:01 GMT

I heard this song on my walk from the bus (okay, really it was Walgreen's as I stopped there between the bus and the office) and work today. It's an overcast, windy, brisk day, and this song just totally fit with the vibe on Chicago Avenue.

The Last Waltz

gympumpkin — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 04:11:12 GMT

I finally saw The Last Waltz today. What a fantastic film. This was my favorite bit. I have always liked this song, and I always like those songs at shows like this where all the guests come out and they are all singing together in the ultimate jam session sort of thing.

How could I forget that?

gympumpkin — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:39:49 GMT

I have created a widget listing the artists I have seen live, even the embarrassing ones. I have been to a lot of shows, and I can't always remember all of the acts I have seen off the top of my head, especially openers who had no effect on me. A local radio station has a big holiday concert every year. I have gone four times, and I was looking at the lineups so I could remember and list the artists I saw there.

As I was looking at the lineup for the third year, I noticed that Fiona Apple was on the list. I have no recollection of having seen her whatsoever. How could I forget that? I'm wondering if maybe she was in the original lineup and cancelled or something. That did happen one of the years I went, when Moby was in the lineup but got his butt kicked a few days before, so Local H took his place. Moby still shows up on the lineups sometimes. Anyway, back to Fiona. So now I'm having these little memory flashes of having seen her, but I don't know if they are actual memories, or if my mind is creating them to convince myself that I have seen her. I hope I didn't see her, because if I can't remember it, how sad would that be?

There is one other time I saw an artist and didn't realize it. I remembered being at an amusement park in the '70s. I was about 5. There was a concert going on, and my friend and I were dancing in the aisle. When I was in high school my friend's mom told me that it was Rod Stewart. I didn't remember, but hey, I was 5. (I"ve seen him since, and I do remember that.) It's not quite the same thing.

I really hope I didn't see Fiona Apple and forget :(

My iPod is possessed

gympumpkin — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:09:07 GMT

My iPod decided to be evil today. I was shuffling songs on my commute home from work, and a few tracks only played for a few seconds and then stopped. When I got home I hooked it up and tried to play it on my computer, and everything just went haywire. I had to reset the iPod to it's factory settings.

Guess what I'll be doing all night? Yep, trying to refill the stupid thing.

Of course, this might be a blessing in disguise. I have a 40 gig iPod, and it was always full. Every time I wanted to add something I had to find something to take off. I'm being much more selective this time around. I'm only adding full albums if I actually like the whole album, for example. I am hoping there will be some room left to actually add new music later. Ha!

me too

gympumpkin — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 01:25:42 GMT

hahaha hehehe

gympumpkin — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 01:58:28 GMT

Last night I was listening to some Elvis, and my boyfriend and I got into a discussion about his music. I asked him if he ever heard the live recording of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" in which Elvis loses it about mid-way through, starts laughing hysterically, and can't recover. He hadn't, so I went on a search for it. Google is my friend :)

You can hear it here.

You can read more about it here