Music History 101

It’s always bothered me that I don’t know a whole lot about music history. Sure, I’ve got the last few decades covered, but as far as the 60s and 70s go, I don’t know much beyond obvious acts like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. So in an effort to change that, I enrolled in a free six-week History of Rock class on Coursera.org. Taught by Professor John Covach of the University of Rochester, this course started around 1970s blues-rock and continued all the way up to the Backstreet Boys. (Obviously I was already an expert on the boy band era, but I’ll take any excuse to rock out to bubble gum pop). It was a fascinating (albeit short) program, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to improve their music knowledge.

This picture of Dave Grohl and NSYNC pretty much sums up the 90s week of the course.

One of the best parts of the class was being exposed to new music from a different era. Each week, I’d make playlists of all the songs we’d discussed, and spend my afternoons rocking out to everything from Deep Purple to The Temptations. So now that the class is over, I’ve combined a bunch of the songs into one big playlist of the jams that stuck with me the most. So check out the list, and check out the course description if you’re interested. I myself will be participating in the History of Rock, Part I course starting in two weeks. Knowledge is power!

Class of 2006

A few years ago, my pal Alison co-founded So I Made You a Mixtape, a group for us crazy people who still like to make and exchange mix CDs. Every round, you’re randomly assigned a new partner to make a mix for, based on whatever that round’s theme is. (I highly recommend joining. It’s a blast!)

Anyway, the opportunity to score new music and connect with new people is great on its own, but I also really enjoy combing through my extensive iTunes library to create the perfect playlist.  And this round’s theme was particularly awesome: favorite songs from your senior year of high school. For me, that was late 2005 through 2006, and I have plenty of poignant musical memories: Getting my first iPod (and it was so cool because it actually played videos!). My friend passing me an album by some unknown pop-punk band called Paramore. Singing “SOS” by Rihanna at the top of our lungs on graduation night. Making fun of James Blunt and Daniel Powter for hours on end with my photography class. Blasting The All-American Rejects in my car on a summer day (oh wait, I still do that…).

Needless to say, I had a tough time narrowing down the choices. So for my blog, I made a special extended version. In the end, I tried to come up with a combination of my favorite songs that came out that year and the pop music I remember hearing on the radio.

(Side note: I still shudder slightly when I hear the intro to “Chasing Cars” because one of my best friends made me listen to it EVERY SINGLE TIME it was on the radio. In late 2006, it was basically guaranteed that at least one station would be playing it at any given moment. I am only very recently able to stomach Snow Patrol again).

I’m sure I missed tons of fantastic material, but here it is. Enjoy!

Class of 2006 from xanne on 8tracks Radio.

Track list:

1. "Prelude 12/21" - AFI

2. "The Fallen" - Franz Ferdinand

3. "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Pppers

4. "Unwritten" - Natasha Bedingfield

5. "Graduation Day" - Head Automatica

6. "Leave Like A Ghost (Drive Away)" - The Juliana Theory

7. "For You I Will (Confidence)" - Teddy Geiger

8. "We Intertwined" - The Hush Sound

9. "Move Along" - The All-American Rejects

10. "Casey's Song" - City and Colour

11. "Dog Problems" - The Format

12. "Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol

13. "Soul Meets Body" - Death Cab For Cutie

14. "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley

15. "Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)" - Cobra Starship

16. "Living For The Weekend" - Hard-Fi

17. "Walk Away" - Kelly Clarkson

18. "You Owe Me An IOU" - Hot Hot Heat

19. "Sugar, We're Going Down" - Fall Out Boy

20. "Taxi Driver" - Gym Class Heroes

21. "Get Him Back" - Fiona Apple

22. "The Gift" - Angels and Airwaves

23. "A Certain Romance" - Arctic Monkeys

The sounds of summer

Every spring, I compile a giant playlist of music for the sunny days ahead. The songs put me in a good mood all summer, and when the weather turns cold, I have a souvenir of the good times I had (and okay, songs to weep to when I'm wrapped up in eight blankets and desperately wishing January would be over already).

Here are some of my favorites from this summer's playlist, in a handy 8tracks mix for you to enjoy.

Soundtrack to Summer 2012 from xanne on 8tracks.

Track list:

1. "Anna Sun" - Walk The Moon

2. "Numb Bears" - Of Monsters and Men

3. "Equestrian" - U.S. Royalty

4. "Werewolf" - Fiona Apple

5. "Runaway Train" - Brandon Boyd

6. "Gonzo" - The All-American Rejects

7. "Red Hands and White Knuckles" - The Bravery

8. "Hey Joe" - Jimi Hendrix

9. "Stubborn Love" - The Lumineers

10. "Paralyzed" - Rooney

11. "Bliss" - Blaqk Audio

12. "Oh, Love!" - William Beckett

13. "MoneyGrabber" - Fitz and the Tantrums

14. "Breath Of Life" - Florence and the Machine

15. "Hacienda Motel" - Pickwick

16. "Motorcycle Drive By" - Third Eye Blind

17. "Mind Eraser" - The Black Keys

Goodbye, Chuck.

I meant to write this blog post earlier but I've been in mourning. Chuck, one of my absolute favorite TV shows ended forever on Friday, and I am still grieving.

Me.

This heartwarming, incredible show was criminally underappreciated, but thankfully, it had one of the most passionate fanbases I've ever seen. Fans stuffed themselves with Subway sandwiches, tweeted sponsors, and sent bundles of postcards to the network - anything to keep the show alive. We showed the industry that Nielsen ratings are not the most accurate way of measuring a show's success but more importantly, we kept Chuck alive for several seasons longer. That's something to be proud of.

Josh Schwartz knows what's up.

I have mixed feelings about the finale. I mostly love it, and I think the story was beautifully told, but I was raised on Disney movies, so I naturally demand rainbows and bunnies and happily-ever-after type endings. But despite the open-ended nature of the finale, I know that Sarah and Chuck will live happily ever after, whether her memories return on their own, or if Chuck just has to reenact them all for her. Besides, how perfect was that last scene on the beach, with the montage of Charah moments going by? One of my favorite reviews that I've read so far put it best: "The show gave us ton of awesome spy stuff, but in the end it was about a guy and a girl on a beach."

I heard that a lot of the footage for this scene is just Zac and Yvonne on the beach, laughing and crying together.  Sigh. I swear I'm not crying, it's just been raining on my face.

I love so many things about Chuck, from Team Bartowski to the pop culture references and the goofy humor. But I think what I love most is just how much heart this show has. It taught us that it's okay to be a nerd. It taught us to dream big and follow our hearts. It taught us to fight for what we love and what is right. Truly, this experience has been a journey and an honor. 

As this is mainly a music blog, and Chuck is a show that relies heavily on the soundtrack, here are some of my favorite songs from throughout the seasons to get you through the withdrawal:

1. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" - Cake

2. "Cobrastyle" - Teddybears

3. "The General Specific" - Band of Horses

4. "Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis

5. "Dropped" - Phantom Planet

6. "Skinny Love" - Bon Iver

7. "Buildings & Mountains" - The Republic Tigers

8. "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads

9. "40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

10. "I Am Your Skin" - The Bravery

11. "Howlin' For You" - The Black Keys

12. "Beat The Devil's Tattoo" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

13. "Kiss With A Fist" - Florence and the Machine

14. "Woman" - Wolfmother

15. "Young Blood" - The Naked and Famous

16. "Blow" - Ke$ha (Okay, I don't love Ke$ha but this song was SO perfectly placed that I have to include it).

17. "You Are A Tourist" - Death Cab For Cutie

18. "First Day of My Life" - Bright Eyes

19. "We Are Young" - fun.

20. "Rivers and Roads" - The Head and the Heart

21. Anything ever by Jeffster

(A full list of all the fantastic music from the show)

So turn up the volume, grab some tissues and remember how fabulous this show was. Let this playlist and the following GIF be my way of e-hugging all of you Chucksters out there:

And in the meantime, if you start to feel horribly depressed again, I find admiring this stunning photo of Zachary Levi makes me feel a lot better about everything:

Nerd Herd for life.

Valentine's Day music

Happy Valentine's Day! Obviously I need to make a themed playlist today, since I do one for most holidays. Yeah, these are all love songs, but they're all so rockin', you can enjoy them even if you're single.

But before I get to the list, here's my favorite Valentine's Day video, made by the hilariously bizarre Jarrod Gorbel of the Honorary Title.

He is ridiculous, and I love it.

All right, on to the music:

1. I’m In Love With You – Timbaland featuring Tyson Ritter
2. Cupid’s Chokehold – Gym Class Heroes
3. Love You Madly – Cake
4. Inches and Falling – The Format
5. L.O.V. – Fitz and The Tantrums
6. I Believe in a Thing Called Love – The Darkness (C’mon, I had to)
7. You’ve Got The Love – Florence and the Machine
8. Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
9. Love Is A Fast Song – Copeland
10. Tearjerker – Fenix TX
11. Your Song – Ewan McGregor (from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack)
12. Echo – Incubus
13. Mona Lisa (When The World Comes Down) – The All-American Rejects
14. Inevitable – Anberlin
15. The Book of Love – The Magnetic Fields (or the live cover by The Airborne Toxic Event)
16. Wouldn’t Do – A Fine Frenzy
17. I Will Follow You Into The Dark – Death Cab For Cutie
18. Last Night on Earth – Green Day
19. Baby I Love You – The Ramones
20. The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room) – Flight of the Conchords
21. U + Me = Us – 2gether (no love playlist is complete without this gem)
22. Falling For You – Weezer
23. Friday I’m in Love – The Cure
24. Hard To Concentrate – Red Hot Chili Peppers
25. I Miss You – Incubus
26. I Want To Know Your Plans – Say Anything
27. Lost In You – Sugarcult
28. No One’s Gonna Love You – Band of Horses
29. Love Song - Adele (cover of The Cure)
30. I Want You – Third Eye Blind

Enjoy!

Don't even get me started on how much I hate "Wonderful Christmas Time."

Department store Christmas music generally makes me want to rip my ears off. Don't get me wrong - I love the holidays, and some of the traditional tunes blaring through the mall speaker system are fun at first. But there comes a point, usually about a week after Thanksgiving, where I've already heard "Jingle Bell Rock" 753 times and I just can't take it anymore.

Nsync's Christmas album is the exception to this rule, obviously.

So instead, I've spent the last five years compiling a playlist of Christmas cover songs recorded by bands that I actually like. Here are my absolute favorites, with a few accompanying videos thrown in:

1. Christmas - Death Cab For Cutie
2. Holly Jolly Christmas - The Format
3. Christmas Is All Around - Billy Mack:

(Bad quality but yes, this is that song from Love Actually, my favorite Christmas movie).
4. Christmas Celebration - Weezer
5. Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World
6. Frosty The Snowman - Fiona Apple
7. O Holy Night - Reign of Kindo
8. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Acceptance
9. Another Christmas Song - Stephen Colbert:

This video is weird and irrelevant but the song is fantastic.

10. Don't Let The Bells End - The Darkness

11 & 12. What's This? / Making Christmas - Danny Elfman

13. Get Your Dreidle On - Incubus

14. Things I Want - Sum 41 and Tenacious D

15. Christmas Song - Gunther and the Sunshine Girls:

This guy takes is probably the most unintentionally hilarious man in the world. Watch this video and your life will be complete.

16. Christmas and Me Are Through - Your Vegas

17. Red Ribbon Foxes - A Fine Frenzy

18. Salvation - The Honorary Title

19. Last Christmas - Florence and the Machine

20. Christmas Lights - Coldplay:

I'm not always the biggest Coldplay fan, but this song is perfect for a snowy night. Plus the video is just pretty.

21. The Lights and Buzz - Jack's Mannequin

22. I Won't Be Home For Christmas - Blink 182

23. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - Nsync:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Love, Chrisanne and Snoop

Soundtrack for Autumn

Autumn is always my favorite season, and it is especially beautiful in my beloved New Hampshire. So naturally, I need a soundtrack to accompany all the apple picking, pumpkin carving and jumping into piles of leaves. Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest "Monster Mash" songs (although who am I kidding? That song is awesome).

1. Halloween - AFI
Self-explanatory. The goth/punk/rock quartet's Misfits cover is the perfect way to get in the spooky mood.
2. Blood, Sex and Booze - Green Day
I know, I know - this is from the Green Day album that nobody liked. But I happen to love Warning, and for some reason, it always reminds me of fall. This may be because of the bright orange disc or maybe just because I used to listen to it while running for my high school field hockey team. But no matter the reason, give Warning a listen, because it is under appreciated for sure.
3. All I Ever Wanted (live) - The Airborne Toxic Event
I already reviewed The Airborne Toxic Event's brand new live album here. Long story short: it's beautiful. Do yourself a favor and listen to it now.
4. Cut - Jimmy Eat World
This song is fresh off the band's new album, Invented. I was a little confused about Jim Adkins singing about a boy at first, although in this Absolute Punk interview, he says he wrote from other peoples' perspectives. The one thing I do know is that I adore this song.
5. Bird of the Summer - A Fine Frenzy

I live in the prettiest place ever.

I know "summer" is in the title, but don't worry. The entire album (Bomb in a Birdcage) is actually perfect for fall, but this one has lyrics like "The leaves changed their colors and the schoolyards were filled / My coat with the patches barely keeps out the chill." See also: "Elements" and "Happier" and pretty much every AFF song ever.
6. Roslyn - Bon Iver
Yeah okay, this song was on the latest Twilight soundtrack. Damn those movies for having great music! But the haunting melody and soft vocals will linger long past the end of the song, and you'll be glad you gave it a chance.
7. Dust Bowl Dance - Mumford and Sons
Another album chock full of great fall songs. Set up a bonfire and get folky with these Brits.
8. Read My Mind - Amory Sivertson
My friend Amory makes lovely music. I reviewed her CD a few months ago, and you should check it out because it will have you frolicking about in no time.
9. Summer Skin - Death Cab for Cutie
Another song with "summer" in the title, but it's actually about summer ending. Yeah, it's a little depressing but it's pretty, and that's all that matters.
10. Autumn Shade - The Vines
I totally forgot The Vines existed until I did a search for "autumn" in my iTunes. Good jam though.
11. Just For Once - Midnight Youth
I adore this band and not just because they are from New Zealand (although I will admit, being a Kiwi automatically makes me like you a little more). This is their brand new single and I was planning to promote it before I even heard it. So how convenient that they sing about the "first sign of autumn leaves." Thanks, guys.
12. Under The Milky Way - The Church
I first discovered this song via the Donnie Darko soundtrack. The movie takes place throughout the month of October and climaxes on Halloween night. Seems appropriate. It's also just a slightly spooky classic 80s song.
13. Red Star - Third Eye Blind
Every mix I make has a 3eb song on it. Get over it.

When I'm not busy rockin' out, I'm making awesome pumpkins like this.