#84.

This musician and this song.

#83.

Laughter.

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." --E. E. Cummings

#82.

Music. And Blogs.

I was catching up on all the blogs I follow today and got inspired by a few of them. One of them just kept me laughing. So please check out the blog nothingbutbonfires.com. You won't regret it. 

I was reading one post about her favorite songs from this past year (read about it here). She creatively titled the post "Songs That Drove My Neighbors Crazy". I could say the same since I share her sentiments about hearing a song, deciding that I love it, then playing it on repeat for DAYS. Loudly. Listening to the song usually involves movement of some kind. I say 'movement' because I doubt some people would recognize my jumping around as a form of dance. In any case, this is my list of songs that have chronicled my life in 2011 (either by choice, accident, or force).

1. Mil Pasos by Soha

I blogged about this one awhile ago. Read about it here.

2. "Siciliano" by Antonia Vivaldi

My friend Matt shared this with me. I knew Matt from high school and he was in a band from a genre that I had little tolerance for. (I would say that the jury is out until he sends me a song that changes my mind. I'm open to it.)  To my surprise, I've recently discovered that this cat has an affinity for classical music. Very cool and attractively impressive in my book. He shared this song with me in November and it was pretty much the only song I could fall asleep listening for a week. LOVED it. It's beautiful. Take a listen.

3. "It's Over Now" by Marc Broussard. 

Worst song to listen to during a break-up? Sure. As long as you have multiple boxes of tissues within reach -- it'll be great. Everyone has a song like this stored in their own history of "break-up jams". Especially when it comes to us women. It's like we need this period of self-inflicted torturous crying to move on. Eventually. After we listen to the song just one more time. One more and we'll be ok. We swear.

(I do have a male friend who listened to "Indiana" by Jon McLaughlin for a long period of time. That song is a real depressing tear-jerker. So maybe it's not just something us women do.)

4. "Summer Rain" by Matthew Morrison

Mmmm guilty pleasure. I have not been kissed in the rain so I don't understand the stereotypical girly desire be kissed in the rain. However, this song definitely helps the fascination.

5. Blow by Ke$ha. 

My roommate while I lived in Greece played this song often and it was quite catchy and got stuck in my head very easily. So it's on this list by default.

6. "Mary Magdalene" by Foxes Have Foxholes.

Cute. Sweet. Sentimental. Kind. Lovely.  My friend CJ gets the credit for introducing me to this band and this song.

7. "Wet" by Nicole Sherzinger

Ahhhhhmmmm. She's hot. She's got it. You can't deny it.

8. "Brooklyn" by Wakey Wakey

The piano in this song is what made me fall so effortlessly in love with it. I can imagine the piano playing, then realizing it has company, and politely apologizing. But the company would whisper, "No. Please. It's ok. I insist. Carry on with those keys." 

9. "Captivated" by Stephanie Germanotta

Girl's got pipes! Points to you if you know this artist. 

10. "My Racing Thoughts" -- Jack's Mannequinn

Jack's Mannequinn, Coldplay, Yellowcard....they all came out with new stuff this year and it was difficult picking one song. But this one is on my "Running" playlist so I hear it a lot. Boom. Win.

11. "I Look So Good Without You" by Jessie James. 

Anything by Jessie James, really. She was my summer shower party jam. I had a job as a Resident Asisstant for a summer college-prep program. All the girls on the hall were about 18 and belted her music from deep down inside some raw, emotional place where someone did them wrong. Classic behavior. We've all been there. (It was Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" for me. I totally get it.)

12. "Poema"

I took a class on Musicality in your Argentine Tango this fall and for one whole hour and a half class, this was the only song we danced to. It really is a pretty song but I unchecked it in my tango playlist after that class. I'm ok with a "poema" break for a bit.

#81.

Laundry Day (in the winter).

In the summer, my laundry piles up for a long time. And when it finally gets done, it takes an equally long time sitting around before getting folded. And then some time passes before it gets put away.

But in the winter, my A-game comes out. I do laundry like a boss. I love the feeling of clean, comforting, cozy warm things to wrap around my body. In this moment, life is perfect. And every day I dedicate to doing laundry, this song always gets stuck in my head.