...moving back to music today I can't help but rave about Foster the People's brand new album Touches. You can get it on Amazon or iTunes for just 7.99. After previously only having access to their EP (with just three songs) it's wonderful to now have more of them on a full-length.

The previously released "Helena Beat" and "Pumped Up Kicks" are on here, as rocking as ever, as well as fresh tracks like the equally amazing "Call It What You Want" and "I Would Do Anything For You."

Foster the People appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night, looking a little bit worn and sedate, but still sounding great! You won't regret giving this awesome album a listen!!

 

If tomorrow were going to be the end of the world (or more specifically, The Rapture) I know I'd regret some of the things I've never done (like falling in love with someone who loved me back) but it's the things I had done that would bother me more.

I used to wonder about Heaven and whether you get to be with the people you loved and haven't seen in a long time. Whether you bump into people like you would at a reunion. People you wronged, people you longed to see again so you could say you were sorry or "boy, I sure have missed you!"

If I thought for a moment that tomorrow truly could be the last day, I'd be a bit freaked right now. So many things never done, never attempted, so many songs never sung, never heard :(

The blissful hi-kick drive and euphoria I feel every time I hear a great new song (like "Undercover," pictured above) and am convinced will be the last time I'll ever feel so good (and yet am proved wrong the next time I hear another terrific song) is just one little reminder why I never want to stop breathing.

I'm having fun with this song. Safari Disco Club really puts a little bounce in your step. Very exotic and upbeat!

Getting ready for a mini-Supernatural marathon tonight so I'll be ready for the season finale. And to make everything perfect, I'll be consuming the Chunky Monkey I've been saving in my freezer.

Chunky Monkey is my favorite icecream of all time. I love the way the banana, chocolate chunks and walnuts all merge within the vanilla to taste beyond yummy.

And if I accidentally eat the whole container...well, I hear the end of the world is coming tomorrow, so maybe I won't have to deal with the after-guilt!:)

"Baker" by Ivy is a very sad, very lovely song about a man who has wasted so much time in his life, he's now "wasting away." Perhaps nothing symbolizes that kind of waste more than pining away for someone who doesn't love you, who has never loved you.

When I was younger I always seemed to be in the grips of some kind of unrequited love or another. And nowhere was that worse than in high school. But of course when you're that young and naive and (as studies have suggested) your prefrontal lobe has yet to be fully developed, what else can you expect?

I hope that "prefrontal lobe" theory is correct, it certainly seems to be. The last time I made myself sick or made a fool of myself over someone else was back in my early 20s.

It's not to say that just because we handle our feelings more maturely as we get older that our hearts don't hurt just as much as they did way back when. We just put on a better show of seeming not to care...I think.

Just finished listening (for at least the third time) to Mix Mag's "free" copy of an exclusive and new Felix Da Housecat cd. Definitely worth the steep $10.50 price for the magazine.

All of the tracks are awesome, but most awesome are: "Don't Stand...(Dance if U Want To)," "Son of Analogue" (amazing!!) and "Sad Synth Song."

Other numbers, such as "Be There Soon..What Would U Do?" and "What Do You Believe In?" are inspired, Felix says, by Depeche Mode (the former track) and John Carpenter (the latter).

If you are near a Barnes and Noble or Borders that sell MixMag, you should check it out. Part dance, part electronic, part trance...the entire thing is a blast!

I think I might have finally found a way to fall asleep, if not perfectly, then at least better than any previous efforts have gotten me. I put two Celestial Seasons Sleepy Time two bags in water and let the tea sit for a good while before I start sipping.

For added measure, I often have a very light snack of half a turkey sandwhich and a small glass of milk.

It's been a full week since I started trying this before bedtime and I've been sleeping my best sleep in years (knock on wood!)

For more info, check these reviews: on Amazon

A great article from Salon about the power of music:  read here

Been away from writing here for awhile...very busy with work and personal situations, but I'm back temporarily to jot down a few impressions of a magazine I recently discovered at my local Giant (of all places!)

The May 2011 issue of Classic Rock, in particular, has been hard to put down. And the sampler that comes with it is loaded with great covers of classic rock tracks by contemporary musicians. Micki Free's cover of "Voodoo Chile" would do Hendrix proud.

Other stand-outs include takes on Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" (by Taking Dawn), Pink Floyd's "Lucifer Sam" (by The Luck of Eden Hall) AC/DC's "Kicke in The Teeth" (by Black Spiders) and Queen's "Bicycle Race" (by Mama's Gun).

But really, the whole thing is just terrific and great for listening to while you're out and about in gorgeous weather with the car windows down:)

This particular issue also discusses the 100 Greatest Songwriters...loaded with lots of tributes from one musician to another (i.e. Carlos Santana explains why B.B. King means so much to him, Donovan pays homage to Leonard Cohen)