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I’m pretty sure that I’ve found another relative.
Her reputation amongst bloggers is exemplary; she is obviously well loved in this “community” of ours, and specifically among “Book Bloggers”. This is evidenced by the number of requests she has to guest post/review/be involved. All kidding aside, Florinda is one smart, smart cookie. She may refer to herself as introverted, but I don’t think that at all…because in just reading her blog in the past week or so, I have learned SO much from her. And I’m not the only one – just read the comments her posts generate.
(the first of several posts concerning my experience and responses re: this year’s BlogHer Conference in Chicago, July 2009)
Trial by Jury, part two: The letter of the law (two posts inspired by my stint at jury duty last spring)
Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips
(fiction, March 2009)
Honeymoon in Tehran, by Azadeh Moaveni
(memoir/current events, February 2009)
The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff (fiction, June 2009)
Bad Mother, by Ayelet Waldman (memoir/essays, May 2009)
Ri, thanks for the chance to share a taste of my tastes at Music Savvy Mom!
I like a wide variety of music, and I prefer to listen to it without a lot of repetition, so my playlists are always set to “shuffle.” My current favorite iPod playlist has 1569 songs on it, as of August 3 – and since I’ve added some new songs to my main iTunes library that I haven’t synced to the iPod yet, it will probably hit 1600 pretty soon. I enjoy singing along with them – my very favorite songs tend to be strong on melody and intelligent lyrically, because those are the most fun to sing – but I have to keep my voice down when I get the urge to do that at work.
I used to post an “iPod Random Ten” feature on my blog periodically (inspired by Karen from the blog Verbatim, who still does one almost every Friday), but it’s been a while since I last wandered through my music and posted a list. Here are the next ten songs coming up on my current playlist:
“Slow Turning,” by John Hiatt – A discovery from my early post-college years, from his late-1980′s album Bring the Family, but there’s nothing particularly ’80′s about this song. Melodic, rootsy rock.
“Locked Out,” by Crowded House - From the mid-90′s, one of my favorite songs from a great pop-rock band
“It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” by Todd Rundgren - from the early ’70′s, as featured on the soundtrack of one of my all-time favorite movies, Almost Famous
“Everyday I Write the Book,” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I’m a big fan of EC, especially from the very early stuff through the mid-’80′s, and if you forced me to choose my five absolute favorite songs of his, this one would make the cut. Great melody and arrangement, clever lyrics, and an especially appealing theme for a reader and writer!
“Do You Wanna Touch Me,” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - From the album Bad Reputation, a reminder of teenage fun from my actual teenage years. Sometimes you just want to drive off in the car and sing really loud with the radio.
“Birthday,” by The Beatles - I’m a lifelong Beatlemaniac, but have very mixed feelings about a lot of the songs on the White Album. Not this one, though – it’s always fun to sing along with, and it’s always someone’s birthday!
“Ain’t Goin’ Down Till the Sun Comes Up,” by Garth Brooks - I used to despise all country music regardless, just on principle, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve softened my stance on some of it. This is one I copied from my husband’s iTunes library – it’s fast and upbeat, and if the lyrics didn’t mention honky-tonks and pickup trucks, it could almost pass for rock and roll.
“Mr. Blue Sky,” by ELO – I liked the Electric Light Orchestra back in my teens, and I still do. Their songs have such interesting arrangements, and I can’t resist singing along with them. This song’s a great day-brightener; I’ve thought about putting it on my alarm clock as my wake-up tune, but it might be a little too much for 4:30 in the morning (and I don’t think my husband would appreciate it, even though he’s an ELO fan too).
“Aja,” by Steely Dan - This is a band, and a song from a particular album, that’s like a late-1970′s time capsule for me. Not a late 1970′s I actually experienced, though; I was in junior high school, and the period’s legendary decadence and hedonism was just the stuff of fascinating stories to me.
“Private Conversation,” by Lyle Lovett - This is a particular favorite of mine from a musician who tells some great stories.
I’m not sure this is a truly representative sample of my musical tastes. Then again, since they range from classic to modern rock, to power pop (I’m bummed that no Fountains of Wayne cropped up in the shuffle), to Broadway, to Americana, to old Top 40, and to enough other genres that I won’t bore you by itemizing any more of them, I’m not sure there could be a “truly representative sample.”