Glee bracket

I’m a Gleek. I admit it. I am simply in love with the show, and Finn for that matter. So when my friend posted a link to a bracket deciding Glee’s all-time best song, I simply had to fill out my own. While I would have ended up with “Don’t Stop Believin’” no matter what, I think a few of the match-ups were unfair. Some were overly tough choices {like "Songbird" & "Blackbird" where I had a ridiculously tough time deciding} and some were no contest at all {like “Don’t Stop Believin’” & "Tik Tok"}.

Overall, I decided that I enjoy their spin on classic rock songs more than their covers of newer songs. When they cover classic rock songs, I think they are able to really make it their own, but there isn’t as much creativity involved in remaking the new songs. I’m pretty sure most classic rock songs would beat out newer ones on my bracket. Also, why weren’t more Rocky Horror Picture Songs Included? I LOVED those.

Summer playlist

My typical summer playlists include things like California pop, surfer bands like the Beach Boys or the Hollies. While Kokomo will no doubt still be played on repeat throughout the summer, my iPod is burning though a few new bands this summer. And California pop is definitely no way to describe these bands. Folksy-rock seems to be my theme for the summer.

My favorite song from a new favorite band:

Other bands that will be on replay all summer long: {Check them all out.}

• Mumford and Sons
• Fleet Foxes
• The Decemberists
• Lykke Li
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Bright Eyes
• My Morning Jacket

Riot Fest

Riot Fest, Chicago’s punk festival, announced the lineup a few days ago and I’m really excited about it. There are a few band I’d like to see {Descendents, Suicide Machines, Down by Law, The Copyrights}, but I especially want to see the headliner Weezer. I’ve been a Weezer fan since they were singing about sweaters and Buddy Holly, but I’ve never seen them in concert. That’s a shame. I think it’d be an amazing show. Plus, I’d really like to see the man who sparked my attraction for men in glasses {Rivers Cuomo}.

Riot Fest bands will perform on stages across Chicago {including the Congress, Bottom Lounge, Double Door, Cobra Lounge, and the AAA Lounge} from October 5 – 9. Tickets went on sale on Friday, so I better get a couple friends together and a couple tickets soon.

Little bit of country

I don’t own cowboy boots or plaid. I don’t consider Alan Jackson to be one of the greatest artists of our time. I’m not from the South. But from time to time, I do enjoy a little country music. It’s a nice change from my typical classic and Indie rock tunes.

Last night, my friends and I went to a {surprise and free!} Tim McGraw concert at the Marcus Amphitheater on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. I had listened to Tim McGraw a lot during a country-streak in my college years, but not so much lately, but I was still excited for the experience. To me, Tim always seemed like a big-kid during interviews and such. His personality definitely came out. He seemed to really enjoy himself onstage, signing autographs and giving high-fives, making the concert more enjoyable for everyone else. He sang a few of my old time favorites at the beginning: “Where the green grass grows,” “BBQ stain” and “Back when.” But most of his show was newer songs, most of which I didn’t know, unfortunately. At one point, we were all worried when he waved by and left stage, but he quickly came back out to sing “Live like you were dying.” The only downfall of the concert, besides the rainfall: he didn’t sing “Don’t take the girl,” a personal favorite of mine. But overall, it was a really fun concert and I’m glad we could make it.

So basically, what I’m saying is I need to pick up a cowboy hat and a few new Tim McGraw albums.

{image via indyconcerts}

simplesinger tunes

My friend's boyfriend just recorded a few of his tunes for official release. I think they're amazing {especially "Always"} and wanted to share them with everyone. Also, his brother and future sister-in-law are using his song "Always" for their first dance at their wedding. How sweet is that? Download the four songs on his site simplesinger and enjoy!

{image via simplesinger}

nkotbsb

don't laugh, but i just bought tickets to the new kids on the block and backstreet boys concert on may 25th. i know it's really cheesy but these are two groups that i grew up listening to and while i understand they are not the most musically talented groups, it will be fun. my friends and i saw new kids on the block a couple years ago and it was a blast.

currently...

reading...

zeitoun by dave eggers. about a syrian-american who waits out hurricane katrina in his new orleans home. after the hurricane, zeitoun paddles around the flooded city, helping neighbors and saving abandoned dogs. later, he is arrested by guards accusing him of being al queda. {that's as far as i've gotten so far, but read the new york times review}

watching...

true grit. it's an amazing movie with a fantastic cast. this little girl, hailee steinfeld, is crazy good.

listening to...

wilco. non-stop. and wishing that i could go see them in concert during their next tour, but unfortunately the closest concert is in new orleans so that won't be possible. frontman jeff tweedy is also going on a solo tour, but the madison, wisc. tickets are sold out. bummer.

thinking about...

my best friends from college and i live in eight different states {wisconsin, illinois, minnesota, missouri, south carolina, tennessee, iowa and washington d.c., which counts as a state for this purpose}

i shared so many great times with them in college, it's sad not being near them anymore. i guess i've been spoiled in that i've never lived too far away from good friend and family. i never had to go more than a month without seeing ones i love, but now i only see some once or twice a year.

{image via weheartit}

Big. Fat. Hit.

The Greendale Community Theatre closed their regional premiere of Broadway's Hairspray with a toe-tapping, hips-wiggling, heart-jumping bang. I went to their final showing on Saturday night and it was absolutely amazing. {But, I may be slightly biased as my cousin Laura starred as Penny Pingleton and she was utterly hilarious.}

The choreography was intricate and executed perfectly, the songs were strong and fabulous and the acting was incredible. It honestly was so great. I was especially impressed by how well they used the stage for the different scenes. I knew it would be used well as soon as the cast walked on stage holding flattened houses on boards above their heads during the opening number 'Good Morning Baltimore.'

A few other numbers that I especially enjoyed, were: 'The Nicest Kids in Town,' 'You're Timeless to Me' and 'You Can't Stop the Beat.' {They had so much emotion and energy for every song, especially the last one! I even was about to dance out of my seat.}

Though all were great, my favorite song, by far, was 'I Can Hear the Bells.' Brittany Radocha as Tracy Turnblad was amazing throughout, but the execution of that song was perfectly hilarious. Link Larken and the cast froze in comical poses to the beat, the company boys drew bells from behind their backs and Penny Pingleton wandered the stage, confused. My stomach hurt I was laughing so hard.

This is the second show I've seen at GCT- the first being the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, another hilarious show- but this was so much better than I could have ever expected. Bravo.

Director Brian Bzdawka and everyone else involved in the production did a great job! I can't wait to see what they'll do next.

{poster via GTC}

Learning from Billy Joel

I’m a huge trivia nerd, but you probably know this already. I love learning about news things, about everything really. While I was driving the other day, Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” {a collection of headlines through the decades} came on the radio.

I realized this song was the perfect study guide to really learn a few things about the last half-century or so that I may not have read about yet. I admit that I know a lot about some subjects already, such as: Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Stalin, JFK, Martin Luther King; to name a few. But there are a lot more to learn about. I’ve obviously heard about Red China and Walter Winchell, but I’d like to learn more. I haven’t actually set a limit on when this needs to be done, it’s more of just a guide. I like it more that way.

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser aand Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy hn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

Who would have thought that you could actually really learn something from a pop tune?

Bonnaroo lineup

Did you see the 2010 Bonnaroo lineup?

Dave Matthews Band

Kings of Leon

Stevie Wonder

Jay-Z

Tenacious D

Weezer

The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon featuring Stardeath and White Dwarfs

The Dead Weather

Damian Marley and Nas

Phoenix

Norah Jones

Michael Franti and Spearhead

John Fogerty

Regina Spektor

Jimmy Cliff

LCD Soundsystem

The Avett Brothers

Thievery Corporation

Rise Against

Tori Amos

The National

Zac Brown Band

Les Claypool

John Prine

The Black Keys

Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers

Jeff Beck

Dropkick Murphys

She & Him

Against Me!

Deadmau5

Daryl Hall & Chromeo

Jamey Johnson

Clutch

Bassnectar

Kid Cudi

The Disco Biscuits

Kris Kristofferson

Medeski Martin & Wood

The xx

GWAR

Dan Deacon Ensemble

Tinariwen

Wale

Baaba Maal

The Melvins

The Gaslight Anthem

Miike Snow

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Dr. Dog

They Might Be Giants

Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile

Isis

Blitzen Trapper

Blues Traveler

Miranda Lambert

Calexico

Gary Chardonnay

OK Go

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Martin Sexton

Lotus

Baroness

Dave Rawlings Machine

Mayer Hawthorne and the County

Japandroids

Jay Electronica

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Ingrid Michaelson

The Dodos

Manchester Orchestra

The Temper Trap

Cross Canadian Ragweed

Big Sam's Funky Nation

Carolina Chocolate Drops

NEEDTOBREATHE

Tokyo Police Club

The Entrance Band

Local Natives

Brandi Carlile

Mumford & Sons

Rebelution

Diane Birch

Monte Montgomery

Julia Nunes

Fanfarlo

The Postelles

Lucero

Here We Go Magic

Hot Rize

Neon Indian

B.O.B

More Artists to Be Announced!

WOW! I would love to see so many of these bands! {Especially She & Him, Dave Matthews Band, Norah Jones and Kings of Leon.} Wish I could make it this year.