Happy birthday, Lindsey Buckingham!

In honor of Lindsey Buckingham's 60th birthday, I will post my Top 20* most listened to (so essentially, favorite) Lindsey SOLO songs!

20. It Was You, Under the Skin - Will is here! Leelee's here! Stella's here! Love the shout-out to the fam in this one.

19. I Must Go, Go Insane - I love the chorus for this song.

18. Surrender the Rain, Out of the Cradle - Seeing as OOTC was the first Lindsey solo album I owned, this song had the honor of being my first favorite Lindsey song. I love his vocals on this one.

17. Wait for You, Gift of Screws - Awww, shuffle riff! I love when this song goes into the "no one knows my name!" bit.

16. Don't Look Down, Out of the Cradle - Another early fave. I always think of my brother, who sings the lyric like "I don't who cares!" Heh.

15. Underground, Gift of Screws - Just think this one is gorgeous.

14. Down on Rodeo, Under the Skin - I really like the style on this one, there's something about it that sold me right away, though I still can't put my finger on it. It probably helps that Mick and John are the rhythm section though.

13. Turn It On, Out of the Cradle - I love yelpy Linds?

12. Bel Air Rain, Gift of Screws - The closest to "Play in the Rain" there's ever been and that's all the explanation needed.

11. Bang the Drum, Go Insane - Love the musical similarities to "Eyes of the World".

10. Try for the Sun, Under the Skin - Always a sucker for the type of guitar work featured on this one. Just really pretty.

9. Play in the Rain (Continued), Go Insane - LOVE it. I always end up singing the non-vocal parts, too!

8. That's How We Do It in L.A., Law & Order - Most of my faves on this album are because I think they are oddly hilarious and this is not an exception.

7. Johnny Stew, Law & Order - See above. The "Gift of Screws" of its time.

6. The Right Place to Fade, Gift of Screws - STILL convinced he is saying "Twist of Fate". Loved this one for years and years and that love has not decreased one iota. Love the guitar on it and the speediness of the lyrics. It rocks!

5. I Want You, Go Insane - Love it, plain and simple.

4. Great Day, Gift of Screws - It's kind of badass and intense, plus has that nifty guitar thing going on. I was sold from the first listen.

3. Love From Here, Love From There, Law & Order - This song amuses me SO much. I always want to line dance to it.

2. Love Runs Deeper, Gift of Screws - Possibly my actual favorite Lindsey solo song of all time. It's addictive and that last minute of guitar at the end is one of my favorite things ever. It never fails to get me all worked up with giddiness and glee.

1. Gift of Screws, Gift of Screws - But this is the most-listened to because it is a. hilarious, b. ridiculous and c. amazing for both of those reasons and more. Plus, I am a sucker for in-song instructions.

Yay, happy birthday Lindsey! Hope to add another album to this list someday!

*Count is based on the past year, for that is how long this iPod has been around.

through everything we've learned, we've finally come to terms. we are the outsiders.

Tonight I went to go see Green River Ordinance and NeedToBreathe! GRO was exciting because I've been listening to them for awhile now, like them a lot but still had never seen them. They even opened for David Cook, but I missed the NY show because it was while I was on vacation! So I was happy to see them. They only played five songs but one of them was "On Your Own" and another was "Come On", so I was happy. They sounded great and they are pretty tight. Hopefully they'll get some longer sets in the near future, now that they've been featured on So You Think You Can Dance and all!

NeedToBreathe was exciting because they are awesome. End of story. I'm kind of on a roll lately with finding some new things to listen to and having them click right away. Giving this band a try, mostly because I was seeing their name coming up amongst fans of other bands I like, came at the right time. They just released their third album The Outsiders and the whole album is incredible. I love the flat out rock of their harder songs, the reflectiveness of their ballads and am finding the handful that are more rooted in their faith to be hitting me harder than I expected they would. Bear has that southern rocker boy grit to his voice that I'm getting addicted to (he sounds kind of like a peppier Caleb Followill, which, can't go wrong there.) When he and Bo harmonize, the sound of their voices mixing is absolutely incredible. A few songs also have their bassist Seth on harmony too and that full sound completely compliments Bear's style of singing. It's amazing.

The show tonight was one of the most fun shows I've been to in awhile. It was mostly stuff from The Outsiders with a few songs from The Heat. Opened with the title track, into "Streets of Gold", then into "More Time", which really summed up the vibe of the show and how awesome they are. It's the only song I took the camera out for and I barely got two full minutes because I just wanted stay in the music, but I'm glad this is the one it was out for because awesome Bo moment!


It's so fun watching Bo bounce around! The other opener, Serena Ryder came out to sing "Stones Under Rushing Water" which was pretty. I forget how much I like that song until I hear it. The set really started to build after that with the hard rocker, "Prisoner", then "Hurricane", then freaking "Girl Named Tennessee" which is ridiculously awesome and fun and one of my favorites. "Lay 'Em Down" mellowed it out a bit and sounded so awesome. That soulful sound is so addicting and it was perfect going right into "Washed by the Water". I feel like those songs touch me so much because they remind me of how much more there is to believing than the aspects I've fallen away from. It's a feeling I've missed having and I found myself completely transported during those two songs. Last was "Let Us Love", which is perfect for closing a show with the built in sing-a-long and extended ending and Bo and Bear going head to head with the guitars and stomping around. So fun and amazing. The encore was my favorite song of theirs, "Something Beautiful", done acoustic and completely unplugged. Bear just stood at the edge of the stage, his feet even with my waist and sang with no mic, accompanied by Bo on guitar and harmony, Seth on tambourine and Joe the drummer playing a guitar case. SO simple and beautiful and being so close and hearing it so perfectly was amazing.

I love when a live show makes you love a band even more than you thought you did. I love when live music makes me feel the way I did tonight. It's one of my favorite things to experience and I know part of that is why I'm getting into more bands and going to more shows. I really, really love it. These guys are flat out awesome and I'm so glad to add them to my list of favorites!

make me feel like I'm the one who's movin' you

Saw Kings of Leon tonight! Twas amazing and they are awesome. And I wasn't behind the stage this time, which was a plus.

A few brief and late-night highlights:
- Opened with "Closer" and "Crawl", which makes it go from creepy to kickass immediately.
- Is "Charmer" so early in the set to ensure that Caleb can shriek as banshee like as possible?
- Gaaaah, "Fans"! Favorite. Love love love.
- Current obsession with Aha Shake Heartbreak made "The Bucket" and "Slow Night, So Long" particularly awesome.
- I need to take this moment to be a total geek. I know and love these songs, I listen to this band so much, but tonight I realized even more than I already knew just HOW distinct and incredible each component of their music is. I sometimes find myself patting out Nathan's beats or singing along to Jared's bass line or wiggling my fingers to Matthew's guitar and I just LOVE that. I love that the whole is so huge, yet the sum of the parts completely lives up to it. Just the fact that there are songs where I can sing the bass line better than the words because it's that clear is unreal. Love it.
- Singing along to "Knocked Up", oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh! Then having Caleb tell us he hadn't heard it quite so good in a long time.
- "Be Somebody"! "I Want You"! Pretty much ALL of Only by the Night except "17"!
- Ok, "Trani" is not a song I listen to a lot, probably one of the few I usually skip but holy crap. I think I need to spend more time with it because that was ridiculous. Starts slow into total rock out, with Caleb and Matthew facing off and Nathan somewhat resembling an octopus he was so all over the kit. Plus, the screaming made "Charmer" look tame.
- I love "Sex on Fire", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. That said, tonight reminded me that there are at least ten songs I love more than "Sex on Fire".
- Related, I love "Use Somebody", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. I continue to adore it, over a year later, and I'm convinced I will never tire of it. Hearing it live tonight was amazing.
- Closed with "Black Thumbnail", which gave them all one last chance to rock out and shine. Kick ass!

Before the concert was over, Caleb thanked us again, then said happily. "It seems like some of you have more than just the latest record!" Huge cheers. "It's about fucking time!" There's only so much I can say, being a newer fan myself. I only got into them because of Only by the Night. The other three albums were quick to follow, though, and I can see where their frustration lies with people only knowing the two hit songs and even just the most recent album. Caleb isn't shy about letting on that he wishes people knew more of the music and I'm glad that the older songs are starting to go over so well with the bigger audiences. They're awesome songs!

After the show, we waited for the bus back to the train and laughed at the drunk guys behind us in line and re-wrote "Use Somebody" to our needs and then waited too long at the train because the train schedule does not coincide at all with when the concert gets out/buses drop off. But all told, it was a great experience, I really liked the Izod Center and will go back there for a concert in a heartbeat and of course, it was great to see those Followill boys. Can't wait for what's next from them.

listening trends

In my constant fascination with my listening trends, I've had the ambitious idea to start a series in this blog where I log my 20 most-listened to tracks of my 20 (or so) most listened to bands. It's an ever changing list, of course, but seeing as I've had my current iPod for almost a year, I think it would be fun to grab them all now and share a few thoughts (and possibly samples) of the tracks. I'm going to sit on this idea for a little while longer but expect this blog to actually have some (arguable) substance in the near future.

when we get there, you better be ready to rocksteady

One thing I freely admit about myself when it comes to finding new music to listen to is that I'm lazy. I'm not the type to just try whatever in hopes that I might like it, I don't really like weeding things out. I love the things I love and every now and then, something else gets added to that list, but I'm impatient and usually want to try things that I think I'll at least have a shot in liking. Sometimes, it's a suggestion from a friend who knows my tastes and thinks I would like a particular band. A lot of the music I try, though, is in some way related to what I already listen to. Whether it be solo/side projects of band members, opening acts from concerts I've been to or bands/musicians who run in the same circles and are recommended by mutual fans and the bands themselves. I know it's not the most adventurous way to find new things to try, and I realize there's probably a lot that I could be missing out on because of this mindset, but for the most part it works for me. I'd have a nice looking web if I were ever to sit down and figure out the actual pattern of liking what I do and I think that's pretty cool. Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Everybody Else, Sister Hazel, Green River Ordinance and Trevor Jackson are all recent examples of bands I probably wouldn't have paid as much attention to if they hadn't somehow been related to other stuff I was into and I can barely remember a time when I didn't love any of them.

Not too long ago, I listened to Marc Broussard for the first time. His name had been coming up a lot in a few different circles and I figured he'd be a good one to give a shot. I downloaded a song I'd heard buzzed about quiet a bit, "The Wanderer". I was immediately sold. Like, immediately. I got my hands on his first album, Carencro, and I couldn't stop listening to it. He's the kind of rock that's really rooted in soul and blues and has that kind of feel to it that is completely irresistible. It's catchy and it's sexy and it's raw and it's so damn good. One of my favorite songs quickly became "Home", which sums up a lot of what I love about him. That voice, that style, the way the song builds into total awesomeness. Not all of his songs have the southern feel this one does, but it's one of the reasons why I love it so much. I just love that kind of grit sometimes.

I was pretty surprised and excited when I looked up Marc's tour schedule a few weeks ago and saw that he was doing a short set in NYC tonight as part of The Gap's 40th Anniversary celebration. It was just Marc and a guitar, which was a cool way to hear him, since a lot of his songs have solid percussion and a few even have horns (which, please. I love brass instruments! Instant points). He only played a few songs but I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. He played "Saturday" with a sample of "A Lovely Day", which was cool, and he did "Real Good Thing" from his most recent album. His last two songs were the best, though. I'm a total sucker for songs that musicians write about missing their young children while they're on the road. Stephen Kellogg's "Father's Day" absolutely kills me, I can't listen to Peter Cetera's "Daddy's Girl" without crying and Marc has one song for his older son, "Gavin's Song", about staying strong for his mama while he's gone, a peppy and adorable one about his younger son "Gibby's Song" and one for his youngest child, "Evangeline Rose", about missing his baby girl, who's growing so fast and looking beautiful in her ribbons and bows. It's so gorgeous and so sweet and it was really nice to hear him play. After he finished the song, he told a goofy story about how since they've started calling her Evie, she refuses to be called Evangeline and he tells her "But that's your whole name! That's why I wrote a song called 'Evangeline Rose!'" Gah, I don't know why these kind of songs hit me so hard, but they do! And then he closed it out with "Home", which was really kick ass. Everyone there was clapping along and rocking out and helping with the harmony. It was really cool to get to see him, especially since I can't make his show later this year. I have a feeling I'll be sticking with this one though. He's a good one.

I say of, you say a, I say revolution and you say jah

The first time I heard Matt Nathanson's "Come On, Get Higher", I was standing on a stool at The Cutting Room. I remember my knees getting a little weak as he did his little hip wiggle thing and if the opportunity to make out with someone, anyone, had come up at that moment, I would have full on taken it. That's the kind of song it is.

Last night at Madison Square Garden, the size of the stage alone was probably about as big as the Cutting Room. If not that, at least the size of The Living Room, where I also saw Matt perform the song. This time, MSG was pretty much full to the rafters with people, the majority of whom were singing along. Now, I love intimate concerts. I love being close to the stage or in a small room full of people who really know the music. However, it is beyond fucking cool to be in an ARENA and see someone you've only seen in fairly small venues rock that joint and have SO many people be into it. The best thing about it is that he's still Matt. Sure, the set is shorter and a little more geared to an audience who may not know him as well. But he's still that hilarious guy that starts out PG-13 (ICE CREAM!) and quickly turns R ("I want to be there while you're having sex tonight. Even if you're having sex with yourself. I want to be there.") who also has amazing songs. He started with "To the Beat of Our Noises Hearts", played "Princess" complete with full-on "Jessie's Girl" sing-a-long, "Still", "Wedding Dress", "Car Crash" with a little bit of Prince thrown in and of course, the hit single. The reaction, it was amazing. He had them all. He's like the king of openers, he's everything that I personally love in an opening act, so it's no surprise that he's opened for a gazillion different people (five this year alone). Now, sir, it's time to headline your own damn tour again. He's amazing.

And O.A.R. The first time I ever heard "Crazy Game of Poker", I was 18 and had just moved into college. My roommate and I lived next to two girls on the swim team and they would blast the song daily. We loved it every time they did. We'd always sing along. It wasn't for awhile before I found out who sang it and started to become a fan. I saw them live for the first time in 2006 and had a great time and really started getting into them around then. They're just SO fun, especially live. It's weird, I don't always have a whole lot of patience for long songs and it surprises even me how into their jam songs I am, but I just love them. They go and on and build and are just so kickass! And there's saxophone! They have such great grooves and hooks and sort of manage to be relaxing and energizing at the same time. It was awesome being toward the side of the stage last night and being able to see everyone rocking out. Marc was a bit overwhelmed by the size/excitement of the crowd and I always think it's cool when the band is kind of like "holy shit, we have THIS many fans?" Awesome.

Setlist:
1. About Mr. Brown
2. About An Hour Ago
3. Untitled
4. Conquering Fools
5. Something Coming Over
6. I Feel Home
7. Love And Memories
8. What Is Mine
9. On My Way
10. Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
11. Black Rock
12. City On Down
13. Lay Down
14. War Song
15. Whose Chariot?
Encore:
16. Fool In The Rain
17. This Town
18. That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker
19. With A Little Help From My Friends

I was super excited about "About an Hour Ago", "Conquering Fools" and "City on Down". I'm more a fan of their older stuff, though I'm getting into the new stuff too, and those songs are particularly awesome and faves of mine. Loved "Something Coming Over", "I Feel Home" was really cool because it was just Marc solo and yet he managed to have the attention of the whole audience, "Love and Memories" is a great song and one of their first more mainstream tunes, I've come to accept "Shattered" way more than I had at first (it's just SO different from their old sound), "Lay Down" is awesome and there was a kickass drum contest in the middle that I couldn't tear my eyes away from, "War Song" was intense with a really strong bass sax line and "Whose Chariot?" was a great closer, especially since Jerry the sax player relocated to the back of the arena, which caused pretty much everyone to flip out. And the encore! Robert Randolph came out to join the guys on a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" and is there a song with a deeper groove? Don't think so. "Poker" was epic, as it always should be, I think it clocked in around 12 minutes. That's the song that essentially everyone knows and it was just so awesome to hear everyone just screaming along as confetti guns sprayed playing cards and spade and clubs shaped confetti (not even kidding). And then holy crap. Ok, so the Woodstock reunion is now, essentially, and to celebrate, Marc called out Robert Randolph again, the DJ who mixed on "This Town" and Matt. The first second of organ, I knew what it was because Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends", especially the version from Woodstock is one of my favorite things ever in the world. And this was absolutely KICK. ASS. Marc took the first verse, Matt took the second and actually did the Cocker wail while falling to his knees, I seriously almost lost it. SO awesome.

I love Matt Nathanson and I love O.A.R. Period. I have seen Matt in eight venues now and I will continue to see him any chance I get. O.A.R. is also now on this list. They put on an amazing show, I didn't stop moving the entire time and I love their sound. And both know and appreciate where they came from, how they built up to be where they are now and that is one of my favorite things about them. Awesome guys, awesome music, awesome shows. Holy crap, I love concerts.

music's in my soul, I can feel it every day, every night, it's the one thing on my mind

I am not going to pretend that my first impression of the Jonas Brothers wasn’t less than stellar. I distinctly recall saying something like “Is this them? I am not impressed.” This was a little more than a year ago. Since then, I have obtained all of their albums. I own Camp Rock, starring Joe Jonas and featuring Nick and Kevin. I saw The Jonas Brothers 3D Experience in the theater. Twice. I willingly admit my apprehension to liking them was because I thought that I shouldn’t. Clearly, once I let myself, I realized that I kind of loved them. I masked it as a bit of a joke at first. Then I just embraced it. I love them. A lot.

So last night, we ventured out to Nassau Coliseum to see them in concert! We got there pretty early and hung around outside amidst many homemade Jonas t-shirts, shorts, socks and every other type of attire. I love seeing this kind of dedication, not even joking. Not to the point of participating to that level (though, ok, I did put on the shirt I purchased) but just the effort and how much fun everyone must have planning their outfits and making everything so that everyone knows how much they love the Jonas Brothers. I don’t know if it’s because there’s a little part of me that’s like that without the clothing or if it’s because I never really acted that way when I was that age or if just because I have that kind of appreciation for fan communities, even when they’re crazy, but I love it. I find it fascinating and fabulous! While waiting to get in, the guys of one of the opening acts, Honor Society, wandered by. People were not caring nearly as much as I thought they should, so I enthusiastically said “Hi!” as they passed and got an equally enthusiastic smile and greeting in return from one of them! Awww.

The opening acts were all pretty fun. Honor Society had a few catchy tunes, this weird girl group came out and sang a song that had about three words and then Jordin Sparks! Who kicks ass and takes names! Really loved getting to see her, all sassy and strutting around in heels and a glittering outfit. That girl can sing!

Then the lights went down and the glowsticks started waving and the screaming persisted for a very long time as "We Will Rock You" played and then there they were! Highlights:
- I love when Kevin spins and spins and spins like a top!
- Joe was on our edge of the catwalk, started sprinting up the ramp, over the stairs and leapt onto the piano. Amazing.
- Since Joe doesn't play any instruments, he spends a lot of time dancing with the other band members. Pretty hilariously, too. Sometimes, they act out skits.
- A bit into the set, Nick was left alone at a white grand piano. He started playing “Black Keys” for a bit, then went into “A Little Bit Longer”. After a verse or so, he stops playing and starts talking about how a few years ago, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, ending with something that I found dramatic, amusing, inspirational and amazing all at the same time. He started listing all of his accomplishments since being diagnosed. He then just started screaming, “Did I let it slow me down?” The crowd cheers and he screams “Did I LET it SLOW me DOWN?!” It was so amazing and I may or may not have reenacted various versions of it along the ride home. While Nick’s preacher voice makes me laugh, I truly think it’s wonderful that kids with diabetes have someone like Nick to look up to. It can’t be easy having to adjust your life around a disease like that at such a young age and knowing that Nick went through it and is still dealing with it but is living the crazy and exciting life he leads must really be a great thig for these kids to see. He is the new Stacey McGill, only far cooler. And an actual person.
- Kevin played piano! Such pure genuine joy this brought me!
- They sang the song from Camp Rock while rising into the air on a pedestal that eventually stopped about 30 feet in the air? I was afraid they'd fall off, especially since they had some extra band members up there! "I gotta fiiiind you!"
- They sang "Sweet Caroline" so that the parents could show they are into it too. Unfortunately, there were children that were young enough to be my kids, so I took that as a sign to go to town with this one as well. Even if it's the Red Sox song.
- We were dancing around in our seats and occasionally the 8 year old next to us with her own sidekick would stare like we had two heads. Old people like Jonas too, okay?!
- Live to party, bust your move!
- Kevin and Joe hosed down the entire right side of the audience with a massive fire hose. While Nick nonchalantly sat on stage playing drums.
- During "Love Bug", it started "raining" on our side of the stage. Eventually, I noticed that there were somehow shapes in the rain. Little hearts, the words "love bug", and then the silouettes of the Jonas Brothers! How? I do not know. Magic.
- Jordin came back out at the end of their set and sang her new hit single "Battlefield" with Joe, Kevin and Nick and it was ridiculously awesome. "Better go get your armor! GET YOUR ARMOR! Get your armor!" Also, she lovingly caressed Joe's face.
- I won't lie, I got a little sad at the end when they were bowing to the instrumental from "When You Look Me in the Eyes".

It really was a great set! I was kind of surprised at how mixed it was, I was expecting primarily stuff from the new album with just a few others thrown in, but they got a lot of the faves from the past two albums in there too! There was "Paranoid" and "Poison Ivy" and "Much Better" and "World War III", but there was also "BB Good" and "Tonight" and "S.O.S." and "Burnin' Up" and "Hold On" and "That's Just the Way We Roll". They are so energetic and put on such a great show. I got tired just watching them! And while it might be a little odd to love a group who's primary audience is young girls, they really do have some legit good music and they're super fun and what the hell, I'm a teenybopper at heart. I'm so glad we went!