Song of the Week: 'The Hat' by Ingrid Michaelson

Have you heard Ingrid Michaelson's music? It's great, isn't it? If you haven't, here's a link where you can go listen! I really like the whole album.

The Hat was playing in the background the other evening and I found myself really enjoying it. So, it's the Song of the Week. But The Way I Am is lovely and adorable. It makes me smile.

Okay, no more music and radio shows. My next post will be about food. I promise!

Song of the Week: Jack Johnson

I know you all know I love Jack Johnson and today's post is not news, but I went to his concert this week and it was GREAT. I've seen him a few times before and Jack never disappoints. Seriously, that guy is just cool.

The concert this week was really fun. Zach Gill from ALO played piano/keyboard for all the songs and it added a really great sound to all the music. Loved it. We left the concert before the encore to beat the crazy traffic out of the parking lot, but when we got to the car we could hear Jack singing solo with his guitar. It was quiet except the music. A great way to end the night!

Anyway, here's a link to the new album, Sleep Through the Static. Although, I think Brushfire Fairytales will always be my fave. (click the links to hear samples and/or buy the MP3s)

PS - I almost took Cate to the concert. There were crazy storms that day, though, so ix-nay on the ate-cay. Which was a good thing. For some reason I forgot concerts are LOUD. Cate would have hated the decibel levels, even if it was "Curious George's Daddy" singing to her. :)

Song of the Week: Breathe (2 AM) by Anna Nalick

This week's song is Breathe (2 AM) by Anna Nalick (click through for a sample). I haven't heard it in a WHILE and it was on the radio the other day. Just a nice mellow song, and I really like Anna Nalick's voice. I haven't listened to any of her other music, but from what I've sampled on iTunes I like her. Perhaps a new album to buy!

I actually have a cool acoustic version of Breathe on a cd from a radio station in Boston. This CD is GOOD. Just so you know. It's called "92.9 WBOS Studio 7: Live from the Archives Vol. 3". I found on at this website if you want to buy it.

Song of the Week: Inaudible Melodies

I'm sure you all have this week's song on your iPods already, but that's just because it's awesome: Inaudible Melodies by Jack Johnson.

I drove to Phil's BBQ last night and turned on Brushfire Fairytales for the ride. The very first chord of the very first song, Inaudible Melodies, immediately transports me back in time...back to our first years in San Diego, back when we were younger and MUCH cooler, back to days at the beach, back to those fun times before you have kids and can be a bit more spontaneous, back to when Nate surfed all the time, just back.

Fun story...Jack Johnson was playing at UCSD years ago and we had tickets. Nate went out for a surf that morning before the show and was late coming home. I, of course, was annoyed we were going to be late...Nate wasn't worried because he knew Jack was going on later...how did he know this? Jack told him. Yup, he totally ran into him out on the water and talked with him between waves. Needless to say, I wasn't so mad when I found out WHY Nate was late. :)

This is definitely the kind of music I need to listen to this week. First off, I have so many happy San Diego memories tied to those tunes. More importantly, it's CALMING, which is what I need right now. "Slow down everyone your moving too fast." That's right, Jane - slow down & enjoy your last moments in this beautiful city.

Song of the Week: Mozart's Violin Concertos No. 3 & No. 5

This week I'm feeling a little classical...so I'll share my most favorite classical music CD. I don't know why I love this album so much, I just do. It's beautiful, I love Mozart and the music sounds, well, happy. Perfect for a spring day. Perhaps I'll have it accompany our Easter dinner tomorrow...

Here it is: Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3 & 5, featuring Itzhak Perlman (violinist), James Levine (conductor) and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Click here or on the title of the album above to listen to and/or purchase the MP3s!

Song of the Week: 'The Last Kiss' Soundtrack

First off, I didn't realize how powerful my word is...after I made Hallelujah the Song of the Week, it became the #1 downloaded song on iTunes. Wow. I'm amazing. Okay, maybe American Idol is the reason it hit #1, but maybe not...

This week's Song of the Week is actually a whole album because I just can't settle on one song! If you haven't listened to 'The Last Kiss' movie soundtrack, you should! I've had it for quite a while and, for some reason, have only shared it with Nate in the last few weeks. He likes it just as much as I do. It's gotten me through many a night slaving away in the kitchen. And, yes, Zach Braff is on the cover of the album, just like last week. The dude has good taste in music, what can I say?

I WILL tell you which songs I especially like on the album.

MOST favorite songs:
Warning Sign by Coldplay (which appeared previously as a Song of the Week and is my most favorite Coldplay song)
Paper Bag by Fiona Apple (which I loved before I got this soundtrack)
Paperweight by Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk (this song is BEAUTIFUL...albeit a bit "romantic," if you catch my drift...)

Second most favorite songs:
Chocolate by Snow Patrol
Hold You In My Arms by Ray LaMontagne
Star Mile by Joshua Radin

Nate's favorite song on the album:
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk by Rufus Wainwright

I honestly like every song on the album, however. You should listen to them all! (Click here and scroll down a bit on the page to preview all the songs.)

Quick note: For some reason you can only buy this soundtrack on CD through Amazon, not as an MP3. SO...if you want to get the whole album in MP3 format in one fell swoop, you'll have to go to iTunes. However, all of the songs listed above (except Paperweight) WILL link to individual MP3s on Amazon.

Quick note #2: I haven't actually seen this movie, so if you decide to watch it because of this post and it stinks, it's not my fault.

Now - GO LISTEN! These songs are great.

Song of the Week: Hallelujah

Confession: we watch American Idol. I even vote. So embarrassing. But I would hazard to guess most of YOU are watching and voting too, so I'm in good company, right?

One of our favorite guys this season is Jason Castro. One of the reasons we like him is because he picks good, interesting songs. This week was no exception - he sang Hallelujah, originally a Leonard Cohen song. Randy & Simon talked about how their favorite version of the song was by Jeff Buckley. They also thought Jason did an amazing job, which he did.

As he was singing the song, I felt like it was in a movie or something that I really like...I did a little investigating and BINGO! It was on my most favorite Scrubs episode ever (one of the first episodes, My Old Lady, which you can download on iTunes...it made me cry both times I saw it). That version of Hallelujah was done by John Cale. The song was perfect in this episode. I think it would be perfect for my next American Idol audition, too. Maybe I'll actually make it through this time! That is a JOKE, people.

The entire Scrubs soundtrack that Hallelujah is on is pretty cool. Yes, it was released 6 years ago, so maybe not the newest music, but I really like a lot of the songs on there. Definitely worth checking out.

Be sure to click on the names of the songs/artists to hear samples! You can also buy the DRM-free MP3s on Amazon, which means you can put the song on as many computers as you want.

Song of the Week: Sara Bareilles

The Song of the Week is Vegas by Sara Bareilles. I recently purchased her album Little Voice and have really enjoyed it, especially when I'm cooking and working. You may have heard Love Song - that's a good song too. In fact, I like the whole album. She has a great voice, plays some pretty cool chords on the piano and just writes some nice songs. It's funny, I had decided Vegas was going to be the Song of the Week, and then Nate told me that he didn't like that song very much. I started to doubt myself, but I've decided to stick to my guns. :) Bottom line - hopefully you'll like it too! And, I just want to say, I totally found her before she was on TV - I swear! Just have to prove I'm cool, which I think means I may not be so cool after all. Shoot.

Song of the Week: Yael Naïm's New Soul

The Song of the Week is back - for real this time! Now that the iMac is up and running in the kitchen again, I'm back to listening to music while I cook. The plan is to share my favorite Song of the Week each Saturday. Seems like a nice weekend activity, no? :)

All of our computers are Macs. I love them. But it is kind of rough when your computers are cooler than you. And the Mac commercials are definitely cooler than I am. Today's Song of the Week is from one of those commercials. Which means you've probably already heard it, but I still think it's great and this is my blog so I can do what I want. Hee hee.

I was slow in discovering Yael Naïm's song New Soul. With DVR on our cable box, I NEVER watch commercials. Nate had fun teasing me because I hadn't heard this song when the rest of America already had it memorized. So, in case you're like me and haven't heard it yet, be sure to check it out. It is a happy little song.

My favorite song on Yael's album album is called Far Far. Love it. The rest of the album is very cool, too - a mix of French, English and Hebrew (Yael is Israeli and hit it big in France) with interesting and different music.

New Soul is this week's official Song of the Week, however. Here's why: last night when Cate and I were making dinner, it was the first time she'd heard the song. She loved it and sang the "la la la las" like there was no tomorrow. It was SO CUTE. Plus, right after Anna was born, Nate dubbed it Anna's song. This song will always do my heart good.

Quick note: I've improved my links in the Song of the Week posts. If you click on the names of the songs/artists it will take to you to the Amazon MP3 download, where you can preview and purchase the songs easily. Amazon MP3s are DRM-free, which means once you buy the song it doesn't track how many computers you have it on. Very cool. Plus a lot of them are less expensive than iTunes. Double cool.

Music Feature: Philadelphia Chickens

I thought I would tell the parents out there about a fun book and CD Cate received as a gift from one of Nate's aunts. It's called Philadelphia Chickens by Sandra Boynton. There's one word that describes it perfectly: SILLY. And your kids will love it! :) Also, if you've ever read "The Belly Button Book" by Sandra Boynton, you finally get to hear how the belly button song goes. I'm sure you've been dying to know.

Sorry to the non-parents out there...promise I'll get back on food for the next post!

Click here for the MP3 album version.

Music Overload!

When I started this blog, a big part of my weekly post was the Song of the Week. Ever since I've been pregnant (i.e. SICK AS A DOG) and not cooking as much, I've been terrible about featuring my favorite music. Now that I'm back in the kitchen (more or less), iTunes is again playing a role in my nightly cooking routine, so the tunes are back!

Since I'm WEEKS & WEEKS behind on my "Song of the Week," I'm going to give you a whiz-bang of a music post today. When I was pregnant with Cate I made a CD for myself with a bunch of "lullabies" that I would one day sing to our little baby (now babies!). I wanted some GOOD music that would be fun to sing and fun for my kids to grow up with. (The "Sweet Baby James" album will forever be burned in my brain after singing those songs countless times with my dad and his guitar when I was young.)

I thought sharing the list might be nice of me since I have such great taste. :) Seriously, these songs RULE. Uh, this is one LONG post...
Click here to see the full post and list of songs!
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1. 'Blackbird' by Sarah McLachlan. A beautiful Beatles cover from the "I Am Sam" soundtrack.




2. 'Humble Me' by Norah Jones. A sad song, but again, beautiful.




3. 'High Tide or Low Tide' by Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. A GREAT Marley cover - more "lullaby-ish" than the original Marley version. AWESOME lyrics.

4. 'Angel From Montgomery' by Susan Tedeschi.A super duper version of this awesome classic song.



5. 'I'll Fly Away' by Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch. Get ready for a few more of these GREAT "O Brother, Where Art Thou" songs!



6. 'In the Lord's Arms' by Ben Harper. LOVE IT.





7. 'Who Will Sing Me Lullabies' by Kate Rusby. Kate is a modern Irish folk singer - you can hear the "irishness" in her voice, but it's not overkill and her music is really enchanting.


8. 'Down to the River to Pray' by Alison Krauss. What would we do without the "O Brother" soundtrack I ask you?!?!



9. 'In the Garden' by Susan Tedeschi. Here's Susan again - seriously, I've told you guys about her before - you've GOTTA listen to her.



10. 'By My Side' by Ben Harper. Perhaps one of my all time favorite Ben songs. He's making a lot of appearances on this list too...hmmm...I've already admitted to my crush. He rules.


11. 'Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby' by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch. O Brother, here they are again.



12. 'Case of You' by Joni Mitchell. Maybe not the happiest song, but this is by far my favorite Joni Mitchell song EVER. Wish I could sing it like her.


13. 'I Am Weary' by the Cox Family. Sorry...more "O Brother"




14. 'Helplessly Hoping' by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. One of their prettiest songs.




And YES...the last two songs are from "O Brother"

15. 'In the Highways' by the Peasall Sisters. My very musical brother-in-law Jake (who first introduced us to this album way back in the day) has visions of his future children singing in 3-part harmony whenever he hears this song. So cute!

16. 'You Are my Sunshine' by Norman Blake. I gotta tell you about another version I found this week, however - by Elizabeth Mitchell. Elizabeth's version is my favorite and would have taken Norman's place had I known about her 3 years ago.

Alright, I think 16 songs should cover me for the missing weeks! Now get on iTunes and get listening!

Sorry all the links to Amazon in this post are to the actual CDs...one day I may set up the links to the Amazon MP3s, but it will take me FOREVER. So, until then, links stay as is.

Roadtrip! Music

As you all know, I AM home...and surprisingly I did a better job updating the blog on the road than I am right now. You think coming home would simplify life, but no...just as busy and crazy as ever. I need a vacation. ;)

So, starting tomorrow I promise to get back into the food groove. Until then, thought I would highlight some music from the trip.

Cate's favorite roadtrip tunes: Jack Johnson's 'Curious George' sountrack.She would have listened to this all 22 hours of driving if I would have let her. I can't count how many times I heard "Baby George songs?" from the backseat. As much as I like Jack, there is a line. :)

Abby my niece's favorite party tune: 'Wind it Up' by Gwen Stefani.Abby's got rhythm and always has. (Rest assured, everyone, that I play the NON-explicit version for the 2-year-olds!)



My favorite: This American Life podcasts. I liked these before, but they were PERFECT for a long roadtrip. It's the #1 podcast on iTunes, so it'll be easy to find on there. If you haven't heard it before, check it out as it is GREAT. I know, not music, but still fun!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to everyone! The Easter Bunny visited Cate...oh what fun! I was talking to my friend Ruth yesterday and she shared her family Easter tradition with me...eating Mediterranean-type food for Easter dinner. What a fun and thoughtful way to celebrate Easter!


The Song of the Week is "Spring" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. It's hard to decide, but I think it is probably my favorite of Vivaldi's seasons. And perfect for today!