Love & Memories

Why do some songs pull on your heartstrings? Why do some songs resonate in the deepest part of your gut? They ignite flashes of memories in your brain. You remember the first time you fell off your bike. Hit your head (you were wearing a helmet) and scratched up both knees (two giant strawberries). The first time you cried over those sharp pains in your heart (you really loved him, how could you live without him??). Hugs at the visitation (why am I consoling other people? you thought). Blink of the eye lucid images appear. Your mom’s laugh. Your friends at the beach. Your visceral reaction toward tragedy: 9/11, shootings, Katrina, tsunamis, tornadoes, warfare…bursts of color. Red hues. Black smoke. Blue skies.

Maybe you can relate, maybe you can’t.

For us, music has always been profoundly personal, private, shared and deeply loved. It began with a summer of Kurt Cobain fascination (an entire summer of music video watching: Soundgarden, Blind Melon, even Snoop and Dre). Inspired crushes with each verse, notably “She Loves You” by the Beatles per a grade school chorus concert solo. Our heart soared and lept. We might have even wept a little.

We clung to DMB in high school, just like our friends. We wore only clothes from Express. Just like our friends. We secretly adored Ani, unlike most of our friends. We secretly wanted to go to art school, unlike our friends. We wore mostly black for a while, our math teacher (Algebra III, don’t ask) pegging us the “Princess of Darkness.” Rebel phase. We progressed and developed devotional crushes on classic rock. Van Morrison. The Stones. John Hiatt. The Doors. Bonded with Rick Springfield, Joan Jett, Bob Marley, Zeppelin, and Cougar Mellencamp at all our local college bars. Bonded with them more than a few of our college crushes? Definitely. Seeing as this relationship lasted longer than the inevitable 2 am last call.

Now? We breeze through hip-hop, jazz, sultry soul, and mellow indie rockers. Music ignites us, always excites us. And we love, love this song by Oren Lavie. It’s a LOT Badly Drawn Boy. A little Postal Service. A little Nick Drake. A little Hellogoodbye. A little John Mayer-ish with deeper, more poetic lyrics. It’s a resonator and definite stimulator. Lovestring-tugger and heartfelt melodic dreamweaver.

Jason & Colbie Foreva

Are you:

*heartbroken?
*in love?
*wistful? lustful? dreamful? romantic?

you'll love this song.

*f & j

It's Friday, We're in Love.

Solange - I Decided Music Video

*Could be our Summer Song.
*Is our favorite new video.
*Is our favorite song right now.
*Not overly catchy, just subtly and quietly catchy= we won't get sick of it.
*We predict a nice, long summer shelf life.
*And are currently trying to learn Solange's moves in the vid. Retrosexy, vintage vixen!

*f

Sixties-Style Sweet Scotch & Sex

Get used to Duffy. She's gonna be here to stay, y'all. She's so Bridge Bardot. So old school Motown. And get this, "Mercy" is all about sexual liberty, which is such an excellent way to channel our ahem, current stage in life. Soul candy sex music. We dig.

Laugh It Up Tuesday.

love it.

The Guiltiest.

of guilty pleasures. but we LOVE it. secretly. it's ON the summer mix!

thirteen years old forever and always,
*f

In & Out.

OBSESSED with this song right now.

Seriously. We could cry a little each time we hear it? Is that normal? What is normal??? We also cried yesterday because a) we were finishing our most recent book and b) one of the characters fucking died in it! Life and literary surprises are just not fair sometimes!

Q of D from Jennifer Weiner's latest:

"Everyone has sorrow. Everyone has obligations. Everyone keeps going. You lean on the people who love you. You do the best you can, and you keep going."

which definitely reminds us of a certain Disney fellow, but we love it nonetheless.

cry a little if you need to, but not too much,

*f

Panties in a Bunch.

Get your panties bunched up over The Hard Lessons. They were recently written up, in an article entitled "Vampire Who?" Hehe. If you're mad happy sappy boring blank or fucked up this music will still sound like...fun dance goldness. Seeing them live was like seeing sight for the first time we viewed it. It was literally like hearing the taste of the scent of a sight for the very first time we felt it. We were definitely bunched. Detroit Rock City muthafucka!

*f

Bouncing Man

Courtesy of VSL, we stumbled upon this darling love letter of a music video. Watch it, even if it must be on silent due to work side effects. A bouncing man greets the morning. Just watch. We dare you not to smile.

Good day and good luck, merry poppits. We adore youuuus...

*j

We Dig Music

photo love

*

And we lurrve new music. Discovering that new band with that new sound shedding their new souls. Just for us and only for our ears. Them and us, us and them. The song was written for us and we can't stop tapping our toes on the morning train.

So yes. We adore new music, and all that it encompasses.

But ya know what else we love? Songs we know by heart. Songs that take us back to dancing on our daddio's feet around the old green living room at 406 W. 12th St.

So for your listening pleasure, if you ever feel like hearing a good ol' song or two or twelve, a mix for your morning is below. Simply click and listen. Right here in River City...

http://doctormukaka.muxtape.com/

*j

Ditty for a Monday

And here we are now. Sometimes on a craptastic day the only thing that makes us feel better is a Diet Coke. Or a bag of chips. Or a pretty poem.

But usually just the right ditty can do the trick.

We're growing up. We're living. We're learning. We're doing all the stuff that makes up cliches and movie climaxes and purple passages in chick lit novels and reality TV.

Soak it in, soak it in. This is us.

*j

This is Disgusting.

Beastie Boys & The Beatles? Remixed by dj BC?  Buy it, buy it, buy it.

*f

To Know is To Love.

if this woman isn't the most beautiful thing you see today, then you must have seen something else really really really beautiful and fantastic, also who doesn't want to their room to float so ethereally across a pond every once in a while dreaming up new realizations in gloriously happy way? and then dance with your jammin' carnie friends? plus this song reminds us so much of our dear friend lulu and her solid gold heart and spirit. TD4 ya'll, we're OBSESSED with Yael- what a gal! Wethink she speaks in a rainbow gypsy tongue and we like, we like. Ya can't force the folkie out of folks, their cups just runneth over with magical elixir lyrics and melodies! Bellisimo.

*f

Oh Happy DaYY

Okay, we changed our minds. This one is way better, esp. when the kid hits a high note and Whoopie turns around in wide-eyed delight. Yea, baby.

Man, they just don't make movies like they used to. Hooo-wee, this song makes our gosh-darn day.

*

*j

If You Wanna Be Somebodayy

Oh my GOD did we hear this movie when we were wee bits. Lauren before she was Lauren. Whoopie before she was Viewed. Ahh, the cheese, the colors, the sheer momentum of kid movies and hint of showtunes.

Nothing like it, we tell you. And just wait until the 2:03 point in which some hard-core rapping hits the stage about about G-O-D, complete with unbuttoned overalls. Just try not to be inspired.

*j

Valentastic.

You're not that Valentine-enthused?
Your heart is broken?
Your cavity is killing you!
You feel shitty.
You stomach hurts.
The dog ate your shorts again.
You got into a fight with your bf or gf, fiancee, hubcap or wifaraner.
You just really really wanna buy a fucking puppy already but the timing is just not right.
Your mom is doing another weird mid-life thing.
You're secretly bored of all the talking heads. Republican. Democrat. Baloney mish mash diarrhea mouth bash blah blah green al gore likeability polls states primaries the election.
You're listless.
You're frustrated again, and guess what? It's sexual.
You can't figure out that last crossword puzzle clue and it's driving you totally bonk.
You're sick of staying IN and PLAYING BOGGLE all the goddam time.
The cold.
The snow.
The seeping ice in your boots and salt marks on your pants!!!!!!!

THEN
TURN
THIS
SONG
UP.

And get happy with Will.i.am's Jackson 5-ish "Fantastic." It'll make ya feel groovy, no time flat. Don't worry (be happy) winter is almost over. Get laid.

*f

I'M NOT GONNA WRITE YOU A LOVE SONG.

We. Fucking. Love. This. Song.

Thank you Sara, for making an un-love song. You're a fox, by the way. And as syrupy candy coated strawberry waffles lovey dovey truffles and roses we are....this is just more...reasonable. And more...realistic. And uh, it's probable that we can all relate to this ditty somewhere along the line. Like ahem, for instance our record shows 1 boyfriend who said they're were "not enough" photos of him up in our apartment and told us to hang more up? Eww. And also 1 boyfriend who literally told us it "wouldn't hurt" if we went tanning or perhaps even got our hair highlighted. Not even joking. Aww, love and memories mistakes and breakups. They get funnier all the time, with time.

*f

Gotta Move

Remember those old-school cartoons where you could almost see the individual strokes being drawn for each character's clothes, hair, expressions? Remember the excitement of watching a Scooby Doo you hadn't seen, and being absorbed in almost-breathlessness to see what would happen, who would get caught, how they'd catch the dirty rotten thief?

We do. And this vid brings to mind those days of old. The Budos Band brings a swingin' tune that makes you want to get things done, start 'em up and keep on revvin' until you've passed go and collected oodles of goodness along the way. No vocals, just a fab jam up of all things we love about the music that rocks our souls.

So play it when you gotta get moving. Play it when you have a deadline to make. Play it when you need a motivating boosting bit of happy sporadic nomadic energy.

Just play it, pretties.

*j

Stealing Kisses From the Leperous Faces.

Beck's Odelay Deluxe edish drops tonight y'all.

*f

So An Octopus and a Rhino Walk Into a Bar.

art love

And the Octopus says to the Rhino: "What's up Rhino?"

And the Rhino says: "Wtf kind of animal are you? I'm gonna trample your squishy ass."

And the Octopus says: "Why, but i have 8 arms to hug you with!!!! I love you rhino!" 

And the Rhino says: "I fucking love you too, octopus- here's a greeting card to express such thoughts."

Hahhahahahahahahhaha are you laughing so hard? So so so hard? Stuff  is coming outta your nose? Haha good cause we just made that one up. But truth be told we really do fucking love these cards too, as much as rhinos love octopi. 

And ya know what else we love? Sheryl Crow songs before they go bad. Ya know, like at one time didn't you have a 'real' love or 'affinity' for 'All I Wanna Do' or 'Soak Up the Sun' and perhaps you were like us, and were seriously into some of her lesser known tracks. Well if so, hurry hurry hurry and get into this song, before you get over it. It's sunny like yellow butterflies on a grassy breezy picnic day in May.

*f