Back...With Lots of Music for Spring (Part 2)

I'm back. Again. As promised.

This time with some new music releases I'm really looking forward to over the next few months.

Cold War Kids - Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Coming off their success of 3 previous albums, indie rock band, Cold War Kids, released their fourth studio album just yesterday. Cold War Kids definitely have their own unique sound, one that you tend to either love or hate. But if you have heard any of their past songs then you will certainly be a fan of this new album.

Phoenix - Bankrupt!

This French band had more wide-ranging success after their 2009 release, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (possibly as a result of this).  Ever since, fans have been clambering for more, and on April 22 that wish will come true. 

She & Him - Volume 3

I love M. Ward. I love love Zooey Deschanel. So, I love love love She & Him and was so excited when they announced that they will release their new album, Volume 3 (their third, after Volumes 1 & 2, not counting A Very She & Him Christmas of course) on May 7. Based on the new single that was recently released, we can expect just as much 1960's-sunny-California-ukele goodness as before.



City and Colour - The Hurry and The Harm

I do believe I could listen to Dallas Green's voice crooning songs under the name City and Colour every single day for the rest of my life. So it's probably a good thing that he is releasing his fourth studio album, The Hurry and The Harm, on June 4th. This small taste released yesterday makes me think we will get the same "sad music" style that he has come to be known for, but a little bit more rock'n roll perhaps.




The Postal Service - Give Up: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

This may not exactly count since this is just a re-release, but there will be two new songs as well as new versions of previous songs, and, I mean, this is The Postal Service. Re-releasing the one beloved album they have ever released. It's kind of a big deal. To some people anyway...including me; music nerd that I am. This drops in less than a week, on April 9th.



I have a feeling I am forgetting some others. Any ideas/suggestions?

What Are you Doing New Year's Eve

I love oh so many things about this, the ukele!, the tiara!, the tie!, two of my favorite people!, the song!

So much magick in both this friendship and song.

And it leads to the inevitable question: What are you doing New Year's Eve?

New Fall Shows: New Girl

May I just say how nice it is to be able to actually sit down and watch the fall television show premieres without having to pick a few and watch bits and pieces at a time, during spare minutes on Hulu? Or half-watch half-study/read?


It's the little things...


So great is my enthusiasm that I thought I would share my thoughts on the new shows that have piqued my interest this year.


First up: New Girl on Fox.

At this point, you are probably sick of of me saying how much I adore the adorkable (yes, I stole that word from the show...it is my new favorite word) Zooey Deschanel, but how was I supposed to know that she would, once again, play an incredibly lovable, unique, and quirky character...and now, once a week!? 

"Who's that girl? It's Jess!"

I don't think I've ever seen a character on TV that I like more than Zooey's character Jess, the new girl of New Girl. She comes up with and sings her own theme song for whatever scenario she currently is in. She thinks "sexy farm girl" is the perfect look for her rebound date. And, she makes Lord of the Rings references. Who wouldn't love a girl like that? I can't wait to discover what other fun quirks she has and what pickles she may get herself in. 

"Hey, sailor"

The other aspect that I really liked about the show is that it depicts three guys who, while not perfect, seem like genuinely good guys who are great friends and roommates to Jess. 

But the hands-down, greatest thing is...the Douche-Bag Jar. This is a jar that the guys have to put a dollar in every time one of them says something douche-bag-esque. The best part about it? It existed before Jess even moved in with her three male roommates...which means that the guys came up with and enforced it all on their own! I think every guy should have one of these. Mandatory for every guy in his twenties.


Did you watch too? If not, you can catch up on Hulu and then catch new episodes of New Girl on Fox Tuesday nights at 9:00 (right after Glee!)


Next up for tomorrow: Revenge (bum, bum, bum...)

All photos from Fox website

Say Yes! But, Uh, Only If You Really Want To...

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the 2008 movie "Yes Man" for the first time.

I know that I'm probably the one that is a bit behind on the times, but for those of you may not know (Mom, I'm looking at you), this movie stars Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel and consists of Jim Carrey's character saying "Yes" to every single proposition that comes his way in an attempt to get his life back into gear. As you can imagine, this results in him getting himself into quite a few pickles but he also has some pretty terrific adventures, like learning to fly a plane and meeting one heck of a moped-riding songwriter/running photographer.

The film is actually based on the book, of the same title, by British comedian Danny Wallace. It recounts six months that he spent "saying Yes where once I would have said No" in order to be more positive and put some spice back into his life.

I don't know about you, but I am kind of in love this idea. How many times in our lives do we say "No" to something simply out of fear? Then, after the fact, you regret not agreeing to whatever it was that you turned down. How many adventures have I missed out on because of this?

However, let me counter this by saying that I am also a recent fan of the "No Movement". While I have missed out on things in the past as a result of saying "No", there have also been too many times in my life when I have said "Yes" to people when I really did not want to. Look up the definition of "people-pleaser to a fault", and you will find a picture of me. Bottom-line: don't say "No" to something out of fear, but more importantly, don't say "Yes" out of fear either.

I think there is a lovely balance to the "Yes Movement" and the "No Movement". Zooey Deschanel's (also, let me just confess, here and now, that I have huge crush on her in a I-really-really-wish-you-were-my-best-friend kind of way) character explains it best with the line: "The world's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it."

Think about it, as kids, decision-making consists mainly of "Am I going to have fun doing this?" rather than "Do I have time for this? Do I have enough money? Is this the responsible thing to do? Will someone get mad at me?" Thus, I think it may be time to remember again how "the world's a playground".

Ready for the take-away message?

Do what you want to do. Not anyone else. But try to surprise yourself once in awhile by going out of your comfort-zone. Life is too short to not go out and play on the playground every now and then.

So the mission for the week, yours and mine (should we choose to accept it), is to say "Yes" to something that we may not normally would have. But only if it is what you really want.