Wow

The husband and I finally had a date night two weeks ago.

What did we do? We went to see Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra and it was one of the best live shows I have ever had the fortune of experiencing.

A Thousand Words

Comes with a little music edition

Accidental Photograph

I know that not everyone is into this type of music but my husband's band just released their new ep last week. The Husband had a hand in writing two the songs and is currently hitting the road to help promote it. Take a listen and if you know someone who is into good old fashioned party rock pass it on.

It's not that I'm trying

I just keep tripping over new songs. Last time I blamed it on the husband this time blame falls squarely on Nissan's shoulders. Their new commercial with the super giant bubble blowing out from behind their latest model really hooked me. The artist's name is Jasmine Ash and the song is called Lulls and the melody combined with her ethereal voice was enough for me to go alooking for her.

Now, tell me this song doesn't do something for you?

Find more artists like jasmine ash at Myspace Music

And it reminds me

So the other day I posted two version of a Kate Bush song. When I was in the seventh month with the Bean and the hormones were kicking y butt both versions were more than able to start the water works.

My sister warned me that being pregnant would really make our Dad not being here feel harder. Some how that song really brought missing him in general and being sad that he's not here with us to celebrate his grandchildren home. So of course I feel the need to balance that sadness with a song that reminds me of our Dad's quirky sense of humour.



Do you have a song that reminds you of someone?

learning and listening

The Bean is starting to laugh. Mostly they are soft barely heard chuckles followed by delighted shrieks and always the smiles. Really it's her cheeks that make the smiles. The Bean has been gifted with the most delectable cheeks, cheeks that demand to be eaten up, that invite kisses and that glow when she smiles. I've managed one big loud laugh from her and just like with the Peanut those laughs are as addictive as cheese cake or butterscotch sundaes. I'm at the point where I'll do just about anything to get one.

I'm finding myself wondering if the little mannerisms that I remember from when the Peanut was itty and that I'm seeing the Bean make are something that the two of them share or if these are things that all babies do. The combination snuggle boob dive as she tries to recover the breast I've removed because she's almost asleep. The way she holds her hands just so on her chest and the way she lifts her left eyebrow ever so slightly when I'm talking to her.

And then there's the chest thumping she does when I'm reading while I feed her. The Peanut did this too; swinging her arms out and around so that the book I was holding was jostled before her little fist made connection with my chest. This is a big one for the Bean, especially if she's tired.

So I'm reading lots, and listening to music and I thought I'd share these two versions of one song that never fails to make me feel a little sad.

Kate Bush - This Womans Work by shyhonestjosh



Which version do you prefer?

It Makes Me Happy

Song number three on my list is a song that makes you happy.

So which song to choose? I've heard songs on the radio and immediately felt happier for hearing them, some of these songs are still able to lift my spirits up while others over time become tiresome to listen to. It may be because of over playing or just that the puzzle of the song has been figured out and I've moved on.

Over the years I've been made happy by hundreds of songs, songs by my favourite band, songs heard on a television show, on a commercials, on the radio, songs that my husband has played for me. I could list all of them here but instead I'm going to share one of the Peanuts favourite songs. It makes her happy; and since it's not Barney the Purple dinosaur it makes me happy too.



What song(s) make you happy? If you post about it leave a comment with a link to your post and I'll do my best to visit and comment.

A Song I Hate

I dislike to use the word hate, although I'm sure that I probably do use it (and often) when I'm not paying attention.

The thing about this list I'm working through is that it asks for my choices in music that it asks me to share music that I hate, used to love but now hate, consider a guilty pleasure from a band I don't like and so on. My husband is a musician, he plays all manner of musical genres and both of our music tastes range from on end of the spectrum to another. For the most part I can't say that I hate any one song or band or artist because on a certain level I can look at the music and see what it is that others see in it, them, him or her.

That is with the exception of this song:



I'll be honest here, I despise this song. I have never liked this song and I go out of my way to steer the Peanut (and now the Bean) from crossing paths with the big purple dinosaur so that I won't have to listen to it or be forced to watch the big purple dinosaur over and over and over.

Thankfully there are a few artists out there that make their music pleasing to both adult and toddler/kid audiences. Bobs & Lolo leaps to mind as does They Might Be Giants. There are also some fantastic compilations of kids songs out there done by rock and pop artists that are like a nice thick milk shake on a summer day. Mary Had a Little Amp jumps to mind as does the benefit album Do Fun Stuff put together by the uber talented photographer and blogger Ryan of Pacing in the Panic Room. These albums are ones I can listen to on repeat for a good chunk of time which; if you are a parent you'll know this, is generally what happens to a song or album when someone under the age of 5 or so (and sometimes those of us older than that) becomes obsessed with it.

Your turn: Is your hated song sung by an animated Doodle Bop? or is it an overplayed pop ditty? Write about a song you don't like and leave a comment here with a link to your blog post and I'll do my best to get to your blog and leave a comment.

Music Music Music

Now I don't know if you've noticed or not but I haven't been doing a lot of posting here; what with the Bean taking up a lot of my time and the Peanut taking up a lot of my other time. In fact writing this post has taken me about 3 hours so far.

So I'm following along on this facebook meme where I a song is posted each day that falls within a specific paradigm. (there now I've used a big ol' snazzy word I can feel like the Mommy brain isn't beating all the smarts out of my head). so I thought what a great way to keep up with posting than to transfer the meme to the blog?

Here's the thing about music; it's very subjective; it ties in strongly to our emotions; and while being very communal; (I think it safe to say that most people listen to music and in a lot of cases a lot of people listen to, and enjoy the same music) it's also very personal too (why one person may loves a certain song can be very different from why another person loves (or hates,) the same song).

Our lives are soundtracked with certain songs providing the key to events and moments in time. No matter where you are, a song can start to play and memories of the summer you were 16, the boy or girl you first kissed, the first big fight you had with your significant other, the moment you learned a bit of life changing news, will rise. See what I mean about music being personal?

So let's get started:


Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence by

A song that I love.

I know that I've said it here before but I'll say it again. I love Depeche Mode. Of all their songs there is a long list that would fit here. One of the reasons that I love this song is the lyrics
words like violence.... come crashing in to my little world
words are very unnecessary
words are meaningless and forgettable

Also on the list of reasons I love this song is the video. As well as being a fan of Depeche Mode I'm also a fan of Anton Corbijn's photography and videography and don't get me started on how much I loved Control, the rich blacks deep enough to get lost inside.....

And not least it's singable and danceable. Anytime I hear this song I am most likely singing along and possibly dancing around with my Peanut Butter and Jelly Beans.

So it's your turn, post on your blog about your favourite song include a video if you like. Tell us why that song and add a link in the comments below where we can find your post. I'll do my best to visit and make a comment too.

Updates

First thing: to your right is the visual that should have been added on the last post. I may just go back and add it still.

The Mastitis is getting a good ass kicking and is nearly mostly gone except for a tiny bit of tenderness that we're working on. I spent a couple of days resting as much as possible to get over the worst of it. Now I'm just finishing off my meds and keeping on top of emptying out those milk ducts.

This weekend was very busy for us. The husband's band played his first gig in over a year on Friday night and I was able to slip away from the Bean; leaving her in the care of my nephew for a little while and watch the husband's first set and the other band that played with them. The husband plays mostly covers and their set included songs by Oasis, The Cars, Billy Idol and Lenny Kravitz. At one point the Guitarist's wife Deb got up and belted out Pat Benatar's Heart Breaker too. Leaving the Bean was surprisingly easy considering that the Peanut's first time away from us was around the 4 month mark and that was with us still inside the same building. The other band who was playing is an originals band Ivan Vanagan. They did a short acoustic set that started with this song:

Not Afraid by Ivan Vanagan

It was a great night out for me. One I've been in need of. It was great seeing friends and hanging out with my sister and brother in law.

Saturday we went to help my sister move into her new home which was when the snow was falling and then it kept falling. When I say we helped I mean I emptied a few boxes in between feeding the Bean. I'm not quite all healed up from the C-section so I'm not doing any heavy lifting if I don't need to be. The Husband however was more than making up for my inability to lift and there were dressers, boxes, couches and other heavy items he had a hand in lifting. By the end of the night the roads were pretty bad and we decided to leave the Peanut for an over night sleep over and took the Bean home with us.

In case you're wondering there is still snow on the ground here and we are expecting some more. The Peanut is delighted. I'm hoping to be able to get her out to play today if errands will permit it. If not there's always next time; as I mentioned we're expecting more this week.

In reading news I started and finished Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. I heartily recommend it. On deck is an art history book on Pop Art. I'll see how much interest it holds. Unfortunately right now I'm finding that a good story is more captivating than critical analysis, but I'll give it my best shot. I'm also working through Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh which I'm enjoying but also finding easy to put down. I've seen the movie and always wanted to read the book so when I saw it on the shelf in the library I grabbed it.

Today I'm headed out to the Photo lab to get them to reprint a photograph. Fortunately we have cleared off sidewalks and roads at the moment so the trek with both the Peanut and the Bean will be a nice and easy one. So what's on your plate today? How was your weekend? Share please I'd really like to know.

I'm headed out today

We're getting ready for the parents to visit but first we'll be hitting IKEA for some shelving and window shopping changing tables and workspace stuff.

In the meantime:

I've mentioned a few times how fortunate I feel that the Peanut isn't obsessed with standard children's music; you know the kind that makes adults want to pull their ears off and or take some time in a safe padded room where they can do no harm to themselves or their loved ones.
There are some albums out there that are geared towards both kids and adults; Jack Johnson's sound track to Curious George, The Barenaked ladies; Snacktime, They Might Be Giants, NO!
or the compilation Mary Had a Little Amp all come to mind.

And, debuting tomorrow is a new one to add to the list. I'm pretty excited about this one; I've heard some of the songs and can I just say that they are rock awesome? Also the proceeds of this fabulous album are all going towards Prisms.org for the further research of Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), a developmental disorder that affects an estimated 1 in 25,000 individuals. It's an amazing project that is the brain child of Ryan over at Pacing in the Panic Room; who is the proud and doting dad to his adorable stepson LB who has SMS.

Tomorrow I'll be posting a link to the album, it's called Do Fun Stuff! so make sure to drop in and check it out!

I stood out in the rain

all morning on Saturday, I also crouched, lunged, tilted and a few other positions; all in the name of getting a great shot.

It's not often that I get a chance to photograph people over the age of four let alone a group of people none of whom had any children in attendance. So who was I shooting and what for? Let me tell you, but first some back story to set the stage, if you will.

The husband plays bass in a few groups. Recently he joined a cover band and, as it happens one of the guitarists in this cover band is also one of the guitarists for a local metal band here in Vancouver; Lethal Halo. I'm not a huge fan of Metal music but I can appreciate good music when I hear it; regardless of musical genre. Their music is really good. If you are a metal head, or know someone who is; send them the link to Lethal Halo's website.

So getting back to what I did this weekend; They were looking for someone to do a photo shoot for their website and upcoming albums and that led to me hanging out in downtown Vancouver on a very rainy Saturday morning with some really fantastic people. The shoot went off without a hitch, except for the loud and obnoxious junkie who didn't take too kindly to having us on her turf. I got some really great shots and I can't wait to see which frames they decide to use and whether they are the same shots that I like or not.

I want to get the band their copies before I share with everyone. For now, you can see on of the locations we used above. I hope your weekend was a good one!

Muse: Giant Floating Eyeballs that explode in confetti= Awesome

The husband and I had a date last night. We packed up the Peanut and dropped her off at her Auntie C's and headed out to see what would; by the end of the evening, become one of my all time top five live shows ever.


My husband introduced me to Muse and their relentless grinding melodies a few years ago. I can remember listening to them for the first time and really liking the combination of the heavy bass line, driving percussion and guitar riffs and the falsetto voice of lead singer Mathew Bellamy. Toss in some incredible lyrics and it's pretty excellent combination.


Since Muse tops my Husbands list of favourite bands when we heard they were coming to Vancouver we got tickets for ourselves and some friends as soon as pre-sales came out.


This was my first time seeing them live although I'd been told that they were an excellent band to see live; I didn't quite realize how excellent the show would be. They played a nice range from all their albums to roars of approval from the audience. The stage set was amazing, featuring the band on three elevated platforms that rose and descended throughout the show. Each platform was made up of lights that projected images of the band, the audience and other visuals throughout the show. In addition to this, there were some fantastic lights and lasers that were at times blinding. At one point during the show I thought specifically that the light show was very Pink Floyd (a comparison I learned afterwards is often used for their live shows)

In my opinion I think that the best live shows are the ones where the audience is engaged and the band plays beyond the pristine quality of a music recording. Watching the energy that is Bellamy during the show I was reminded of this. Even though we were in seats that can only be described as nosebleeds we could see and feel how much playing the music was as exciting and engaging for the band as it was for the audience. Listening to Resistance (one of the songs performed last night) on the radio today was almost a let down after seeing and feeling the performance last night. The show climaxed is a the dropping of giant balloon eyeballs filled with confetti that bounced down through out the end of the show.

The show was loud (The rhythm and percussion shook my pant legs and altered the rhythm of my heartbeats) and rocking and yet I somehow didn't end up with ringing ears afterwards which is a glowing recommendation to their sound crew. In short I loved it, so much so that saying that I loved it doesn't quite encompass how good it was.

Which band would you put in your all time top 5 list of best live show?

So with all the cook books yesterday

I completely left out how the weekend went.
Saturday we went to watch the husband's band practice, they'll be playing a fund raising gig at the end of this month and other than watching them play at the guitarist's wedding last August I haven't seen them play together as a group yet. Can I just say that they sound awesome? I can? OK, they sound awesome. The Peanut spent a good portion of the night dancing around with her hot pink ear protectors and new white sneakers, helped out on a few songs by playing the tambourine and generally made everyone in the room laugh.

Sunday was the day that I lost all happy warm feelings towards the neighborhood Shoppers Drug Mart. Last fall, when I was so sick we were in there almost every other day trying to get something to help with the sinus cough thing I had going on, they were fabulous when the Peanut announced that she really had to go potty and let us use their staff washroom, which I was grateful for and because I was so grateful I felt way more loyal to them than say the folks at the Safeway or the Dollar Store. So when the Peanut announced she really really had to go potty while we were picking up some necessities I quickly took her to the nearest employee and asked if we could use their bathroom. I was turned down and told that I'd have to take the Peanut over to the Starbucks.

Her little bladder nearly made it but I was peed on in the Starbucks bathroom and had to jury rig my cardigan as temporary pant legs and skirt on the Peanut. My faith in their customer service is shattered, and I'm pretty sure that if looks could kill I might have been charged with something serious. I can understand not wanting to let everyone into the backroom to use the bathroom but a three year old should be given an exception. Or maybe I'm over reacting?

There are certain things that really get me going

You know how sometimes you are going about your business doing your thing and something happens that just stops you in your tracks and makes you think, or pay closer attention, or gives you that push to get started on a whole new project or crumples your facade.


Music can do this; well the right kind of music can do it. There has to be the right hook, the right tone of voice, the right turn of phrase. It has to be the kind of music that makes me want to sing along to, that makes me want to dance around my kitchen with the Peanut.



The Peanut can do this. The pure joy in her face as she dances around our kitchen can do this. Can make me think and consider and want to make sure that her joy is with her for as long as I can keep it there. Can bring tears to my eyes that stream down my cheeks as I am suddenly reminded of my Dad. The cadence of her giggles when I smother her in tickles and kisses can do this. Can fill me up with an indescribable amount of what I can only call love. Can make me want to keep those giggles coming until both our sides hurt and we are both out of breath.

Don't forget to help me celebrate one whole year on Etsy and enter my giveaway! The deadline to enter is rushing this way, you don't want to miss out.

It soothes a savage beast

One of my all time favourite books is Nick Hornby's Song Book, in it he writes about how music affects his life, how the different songs evoke certain feelings and thoughts. He writes like an old friend telling you what's been going on for them. In one portion of the book he writes about how pop songs work as a puzzle that we have to listen to over and over in order to solve it before we can move on to another song.

With some bands the whole album becomes a puzzle; which is what's happening with Keane's new album right now. I've been playing it on repeat for two days and there seems to be no sign of flagging interest. With a new Depeche Mode album being released soon I would normally be playing old favourites in anticipation, and I'm sure that I will be soon.