iTunes Challenge! April

It's that time of month again! Get out your iTunes and stretch those little fingers scrolling through every song you own.

This month's theme, as following this month's Book Club theme: Well Known Artists, Little Known Songs.


This is your chance to bring your douchiest and be rewarded for it - what songs do you have in the farthest reaches of your catalogues that will impress us with their obscurity? Little known early recordings from a favorite band? Any rare live recordings? Or what about a song by a famous person that you didn't even know sang? Maybe it's just an underappreciated song from a band who is famous for their one huge hit. All of it belongs here! I throw down the musical gauntlet and invite you all to BRING IT! It's a gentleman's agreement. HUZZAH! Read More......

Cool Podcast Alert

Casey told me about the "Stuff You Should Know" podcast and I am forever grateful to her. So in an attempt to pay her back - I see your "Stuff You Should Know" and raise you one "CD Baby 60's Pop Podcast".

Basically this podcast takes one aspect of 60's pop music (this week it was the Mellotron which is this psychedelic keyboard that was used most famously in the likes of The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever") and then shows how artists are using that influence today. It's a great podcast because they play the full songs and they play quite a few of them. So basically - this podcast is a good way to find cool, little-known, 60's-inspired bands. And who isn't looking for more obscure bands to name drop to your friends so that they feel lame for not knowing them, and you look cooler by extension? There was one song that they played that I liked so much ("Sunshine" by P.T. Walkley) that I decided to download it, and what I thought was funny is that I found out Sean Lennon collaborated on that song. Sounds about right. I just love Sean Lennon and anything he does apparently!

But yeah. Another plus is that the podcast is brand new and there has only been the one installment thus far. This way it will be real easy to catch up.

Only minus is that the guy doing it said he would only be updating every 6 weeks - which is good for the quality of the program, but bad for us. Although I'm accumulating so many podcasts at this point that maybe once every 6 weeks won't be that bad. So yeah - go check it out! I think you will all find it enjoyable. Read More......

iTunes Challenge!

A new month, a new theme, a new iTunes playlist. It is inevitable.

I thought this month's playlist ought to reflect the idea of aspiring to live up to one's mentors, while staying true to the unique self. Soooo.... what would be better than cover songs? Nothing.

There you have it. Your challenge, should you chose to accept it, is to find all of your best (or only) cover songs in which an artist rerecords a famous song with a unique take on it. You may be surprised by what you come up with.


Here... I'll give you a jumping off point:
"Yesterday" by Boyz II Men is a cover of The Beatles song by the same name.
or... "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor was originally recorded by Prince.
Now what can you come up with?

P.S. - As a bonus, tack on three songs by any artist that you would cover if you had a band, and explain what you would do differently with each song to make it a unique interpretation.

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iTunes Challenge: Ladies Night

In honor of our reading historical, female fiction, let us now knit a new sonorous stocking, stitch together a tuneful quilt, and paint a pleasing portrait of melodic selections that celebrates the musical contributions of our fellow females.

In layman's terms: this month's iTunes Challenge is to make a playlist that features only female vocalists/musicians and spans all decades and genres. Go nuts, girls!

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iTunes Challenge: Inauguration Edition

On this day of the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States of America, I do hereby propose an iTunes challenge in commemoration of this most monumental of days. I challenge you all to make a playlist that will remind you of the hope and promise that this day represents. My playlist is after the cut. Happy iTunes-ing!




Aquarius - Cast of Hair
Three Hopeful Thoughts - Rilo Kiley
My Generation - The Who
I Have Confidence - The Sound of Music
America, F**ck Yeah - Team America
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
If I Had A Hammer - Peter, Paul, and Mary
Hella Good - No Doubt
King of New York - Newsies
Invincible - Muse
I'm A Believer - The Monkees
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (This song is dedicated to the First Couple. How awesome would this night be? Thank YOU Mr. President. *salute*)
Go Where You Wanna Go - The Mamas and the Papas
Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows - Lesley Gore
Do You Believe in Magic - Lovin' Spoonful
Just Around The Riverbend - Pocahontas
Life is Wonderful - Jason Mraz
You Make my Dreams - Hall and Oates
Let's Live for Today -The Grass Roots
I've Got Rhythm - Glenn Miller
Because we Can - Moulin Rouge
When You Wish Upon a Star - Pinnochio
Ain't No Mountain - Diana Ross
The Times They Are A-Changin - Bob Dylan
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Dear Blog...

I miss you blog. It seems I never have time for you anymore.

What's my excuse? Well... there's school, and work. Just a general lack of time and energy. Etc. etc.

In fact, I think I ought to make an iTunes playlist that reinforces my apology.

We'll call it "Excuses Excuses"

Take the theme, interpret it as you will, and run with it (If you ever manage to get around to it.)

:)

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A-Z: The Tunes Most Dear to Our Hearts

Here is another musical challenge. Make a list of your favorite song for each letter of the alphabet. This is MUCH harder than it sounds. You MUST choose one and only one song for every letter (you can cheat a little however; i.e.: if you have no X songs you can use one that is eXtreme something or other or be creative). If you have any song that actually starts with the letter though, you must use that instead of being creative. Sorry. Also, include one song that starts with a number, i.e.: One Fine Day, or 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. Good luck, especially with the W's, S's, A's, and I's.

Oh! And we might request that there be a CD made of your list, in case we want some of the songs from it so make sure you actually possess the song you pick. Good luck again. Happy tuning!

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March iTunes Challenge!

So after our deliberation in carefully selecting some of the most popular artists of the mid 20th century to now, we have decided on 35 different artists that can be included in your cd. Fifteen of these artists MUST be included, and you can choose from the other 20 artists when filling up your cd. So just to pontificate - you will choose your favorite song from these artists (15 of which have been chosen for you, and you get to choose from the rest of the artists for the rest of your cd) and these will make up your playlist. So happy playlisting!

Fifteen artists who MUST be included:
1. The Beatles
2. Michael Jackson
3. Madonna
4. Beach Boys
5. Rolling Stones
6. Led Zeppelin
7. Dolly Parton
8. Johnny Cash
9. Simon and Garfunkel
10. Queen
11. Frank Sinatra
12. Celine Dion (heh heh)
13. Bob Dylan
14. John Mayer (per Allison's request)
15. Abba

The other Twenty you can choose from:
16. Bob Marley
17. Outkast
18. Dave Matthews
19. U2
20. Spice Girls
21. Coldplay
22. David Bowie
23. Weezer
24. Eric Clapton
25. Mariah Carey
26. The Carpenters
27. Billie Holiday
28. Britney Spears
29. The Allman Brothers
30. The Beegees
31. Pink Floyd
32. CCR
33. The Ramones
34. Red Hot Chili Peppers
35. Nirvana

Have fun choosing your favorites! Read More......

iTunes Challenge!

So I am here with an iTunes challenge. It is February appropriate, and it is inspired by an EXTREMELY interesting article in Time Magazine. The challenge is....

The Science of Romance.



For a little inspiration here's a link to the article online:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704672-1,00.html Read More......

Now Add a Dash of Soul... or Rock and Roll?

So I think that the finer things blog is the perfect spot for a new regular feature for ITUNES!

(Yes, Apple, if you're tuned in then this would be the perfect time to offer some advertising compensation). Anyways, the point is to regularly create themes for new playlists. Anything goes.


THEME #1 - "Carry That Weight"

I recently read O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried" for a fiction class and got to thinking about what objects I carry or own that could be described in a way that would illuminate my individual character.



By what can I be defined? Well, by books most certainly. But what else? Think about it. You are the tea you drink, and the clothes you wear, and the items in your purse, and the junk on your bedside table. So here's the challenge. Make a playlist using songs that refer to objects that, taken together, make a silhouette of yourself. Go on now. Carry that weight.

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