The Friday Fix - 10/01/10

What a wacky and wonderful week it was! We got wet and went wild in Atlanta. On a whim, I'm working a wedding tonight. Finally, this week will wrap up with a weekend walk to wind down. I'm wishing for warm weather!

OK, what up with the Ws? I don't know, but yesterday I got stuck in the W section of my music library. It started out with We Are Scientists, then moved to Warsaw. While I was there I thought some Weapon of Choice sounded good, and you can't really leave the W section without some Weezer, can you? To keep the streak alive I had to play some Wolf Parade and White Stripes. I didn't break out the Wilco or Widespread Panic, though. It just didn't seem to fit with everything else. Know what I have to say after all that W music? Whew!

The Friday Fix - 9/24/10

I've been in Atlanta for most of the week and for some reason I haven't been listening to much music. I've spent a lot of time just sitting (on the bus, the airplane, at the airport, on the MARTA and at the hotel), but didn't actually listen to any music until this morning. Actually, that's not entirely true. I went over to the mall yesterday to sit and do a bunch of writing and planning and the muzak almost drove me crazy! Seriously, did the world really need a modern muzak twist on "The Girl From Ipanema"?

This morning I sat down to edit some photos, but I checked Facebook first. My brother had made a comment yesterday about Bob Seger, which instantly got "Night Moves" stuck in my head. I saw what everyone else had to say about Bob, but for some reason this morning I got Journey stuck in my head instead of Bob. I just had to hear me some Journey, but I didn't have the album on my laptop, so I started scrolling through what I had with me. Something had to satisfy this craving!

I'm not sure why, but I stopped on Editors. They would do. Although they sound nothing like Journey, they were exactly what I needed to hear this morning. I first heard them on WOXY (RIP), and then heard them live at Monolith (also RIP). These guys put on an amazing show! What was even better was seeing them hanging out listening to other bands at Monolith. On stage, they're kind of intimidating and intense, but in the crowd they were just young guys hanging out having a good time. Very good memories from that first year at Monolith! And, as it turns out, great music for editing.

The Friday Fix - 9/17/10

My Facebook post for Monday morning read: "Ever have one of those mornings where you just know it's an 80s music kind of day? That would be this morning." That pretty much explains this entire week. I started out with some Dexy's Midnight Runners and Toto and ended with The Cars on Monday. On Wednesday I listened to a lot of current music with an 80s vibe like Phoenix and Ladyhawk. Today I was rocking out to We Are Scientists, who only have one song that sounds like it's from the 80s, but they're just as much fun as Boy George to sing along with. The 80s... gotta love 'em!

The Friday Fix - 9/3/10

I'm not sure how I stumbled across Moloko. It seems like I might have heard a remix of one of their songs and then gone looking for more of their music. Maybe I just came across them when I was in my trip hop phase. I do remember their first regular, un-remixed song that I heard: "Fun For Me". If you've never heard this song, it's pretty hard to describe so just give it a listen.

Tuesday I sat down to edit some photos. I wasn't sure what I wanted to listen to or even what I felt like listening to. To be honest, I couldn't even remember what I had been listening to on Monday. So when Moloko popped into my head out of nowhere, it sounded like a pretty good idea. I put on Do You Like My Tight Sweater and got busy. Once the album was over, I was still in the mood for Moloko, so I headed over to Grooveshark and gave a few other albums a listen.

I was very surprised at how amazing all of their albums are! They all have a distinct feel and are all full of good music. I picked out 4 albums, made a playlist and have been listening to it on repeat all week long.

It's so good to discover new music from an artist that you enjoy. I'm happy that I stumbled across 3 new Moloko albums that I hadn't heard before... almost as happy as I was the first time I heard them!

The Friday Fix - 8/27/10

It's been a rather light week for listening to music. For some reason, there hasn't really been anything that I've been addicted to. Well, that's not entirely true. I've been stuck on one album all week, but that's it.

So what's been taking up all of my time? I've been watching Jasmine Star on the CreativeLIVE broadcast as she prepares to shoot a wedding, live over the internet! The class started on Wednesday and goes through Sunday. Talk about a marathon! It's been amazing to watch and if you haven't had a chance to tune in, you should definitely take some time to watch. You won't regret it.

This has been a good week for live music. I added about 3 new concerts to my calendar, bringing it to a total of 5 shows that I plan on seeing over the next few months. So, who am I planning on seeing? Here's the list: Ra Ra Riot, Bob Schneider, OK Go, Mumford and Sons, and Sufjan Stevens. Dang! That's a good lookin' list of shows!

The album that I've been listening to this week is The Black Ghosts "Mixtape". It's an amazing mix of their songs and other artists' songs that they've remixed into one continuous mix. I can't tell you how many times Belinda and I have listened to this when we needed some energy or a little extra motivation. Definitely check it out if you have the chance.

The Friday Fix - 8/20/10

My wife and I just got back from a much needed vacation, but that doesn't mean we weren't listening to music the whole time! Our car came with Sirius Radio and we very quickly found the stations we liked for driving around Seattle and Victoria. Once I got home, it was time to edit a ton of photos, so that meant more music! So, without further ado, here's what I've been listening to for the past few weeks:

While driving around Seattle, we found BBC Radio 1 to be our favorite station on Sirius and listened to it for most of our trip. Once I got home, I was able to track down the live feed on the BBC website. Now we can listen to great British music anytime!

I've been a fan of Ra Ra Riot for a few years now and am super excited that they are coming through Denver on the tour to support their new album, The Orchard. I couldn't be happier that NPR has it streaming on their website for free until it's release date next week. It's been streaming at my house quite a bit this week.

The Friday Fix - 7/30/10

You know how you get a song stuck in your head? When you wake up in the morning, there it is. When you're doing chores, there it is. Even though you listen to it, hoping that will satisfy whatever is going on inside your head, it's still stuck in there. It's actually called an ear worm. Not sure how they came up with that name, but that's what it's called.

Well, this week I've not just had a song stuck in my head, but an entire album. My mind randomly hops from one song to the next. I'll start humming one song and a few minutes later be humming another. Belinda says I'm weird. I say I've just got a family of ear worms.

This week that album was MGMT's Oracular Spectacular. This is an amazing album. Just about every song is ear worm-worthy. It's one of those albums that you listen to for the first time and feel like you've been listening to it forever. It just feels familiar. It's been playing almost non-stop this week.

Another little kick I've been on is the Basement Jaxx. Ever since I heard "Rendez-Vu" (from their Remedy album) on KCSU back in college I was hooked. Their sound is very distinct, but not in a weird way. It's the kind of music that you put on and people ask you, "Who is this?". It makes you feel cool (both the music and people asking who the music is). It's perfect for an energy boost or for a drive across town.

When I wasn't listening to MGMT or Basement Jaxx, I had Pig Radio going in the background. Ever since our beloved WOXY went away we've been looking for a replacement. While Pig Radio doesn't replace WOXY, it certainly has a nice playlist that doesn't get old over the course of a day.

That does it for this week. I'll be on vacation for the next few weeks, so I won't be listening to much music. Once I return, though, I'm sure I'll have plenty of editing to do, which means lots of music!

The Friday Fix - An Introduction

I spend a lot of time listening to music during the week. Whether I'm in the car driving to a shoot, in the studio during a shoot or at home editing photos, I always have music playing in the background. Music has always played a big part in my life. I've never really been able to put on the radio and just listen to whatever comes along. I pick music to fit my moods, to enhance my productivity or just to listen to whatever is stuck in my head. I'm sure it's the same for lots of people.

In an effort to make this blog a little more personal, I thought it might be fun to share the music that's influenced me over the course of each week, so every Friday I'll put together a list of my week in music. Hopefully at some point you'll find something new that you like. Maybe you'll find that we share the same taste in music. Maybe you'll despise everything that I listen to. It's all good.

So, without further ado, here is what I've been listening to this week:

- Tracey Thorn: An amazing female vocalist. Her music is dance-influenced, but pretty chill. Her solo work is incredible, but she's also the lead vocalist in Everything But The Girl. I could listen to her music all day long.
- Everything But The Girl: A duo consisting of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. You'd probably recognize their song "Missing" if you heard it. Again, dance music with amazing vocals. Very listenable!
- Jonsi: This guy is probably one of the top singer/songwriters of our time. Never heard of him? If you've heard Sigur Ros, he's the lead singer. It's pretty tough to describe his singing, so just do yourself a favor and check him out. Perfect for calm, background music.
- Bassdrive: Every time Belinda goes out of town, I get on a Bassdrive kick. It's just drum and bass, 24/7. Pretty intense stuff to listen to for an entire day, but it sure helps with the productivity!

That's about it for this week. I had Bassdrive on for most of the week, so there's not a lot of variety here. I wonder what next week's music will sound like? Check back next Friday and see for yourself!