This page highlights music that has inspired me while sewing, or is just really awesome and I have to share. Check them out and enjoy!
Photo from Amazon.com
Hanson - Shout It Out
While many people might think of them as bubblegum pop, Hanson's latest album is all about R&B, blues and soul-inspired pop-rock. This album is a fun, upbeat mix that has me singing and dancing during my sewing sessions. Their cover of fictional band Infant Sorrow's Furry Walls isn't on the album, but is my absolute favorite song right now!
While many people might think of them as bubblegum pop, Hanson's latest album is all about R&B, blues and soul-inspired pop-rock. This album is a fun, upbeat mix that has me singing and dancing during my sewing sessions. Their cover of fictional band Infant Sorrow's Furry Walls isn't on the album, but is my absolute favorite song right now!
Photo from Amazon.com
Ellie Goulding - Lights
When I hear a new album I like, I tend to listen to it over and over until I can sing it all my memory. Well, this album is no exception. I've listened to this every chance I get lately! I also listened to it while walking one of the little boys around in the Baby Bjorn to get him to sleep in those first couple of months...it has a very soothing beat. Ellie has an amazing voice, and every song on this disk is magical. Soothing, a perfect balance of melody and beat. Seriously. Obsessed.
Photo from music.disney.com
Frozen Soundtrack
I'm a pretty big Disney fan (my husband and I go to Disney World every year), so it was no surprise that I fell in LOVE with this movie! What's even better is that the soundtrack is amazing! I seriously think Disney is going through a second Renaissance...I mean, all you have to do is look at the cast and you know it's going to be pretty awesome. I was a bit skeptical about Olaf, but Josh Gad stole the show! My new favorite Disney song is *hands down* his solo effort, In Summer. If you don't melt into a puddle after watching this, you are no friend of mine!
In Summer
Frozen Soundtrack
I'm a pretty big Disney fan (my husband and I go to Disney World every year), so it was no surprise that I fell in LOVE with this movie! What's even better is that the soundtrack is amazing! I seriously think Disney is going through a second Renaissance...I mean, all you have to do is look at the cast and you know it's going to be pretty awesome. I was a bit skeptical about Olaf, but Josh Gad stole the show! My new favorite Disney song is *hands down* his solo effort, In Summer. If you don't melt into a puddle after watching this, you are no friend of mine!
Photo from Amazon.com
When I first heard Animal, I knew it was an automatic addition to my All Time Favorites playlist (quite an eclectic mix, I must say). It took me 3 years to finally check out the full album (because I'm getting old and boring, perhaps...or because I finally have Spotify), and let me just say...the whole album could be on my All Time Favorites list. From beginning to end, it's a rich, high energy rock show full of impassioned vocals; my biggest weakness. Oh, and check out their newest, Picture Show, with some excellent 80's flavors my generation should adore.
Photo from Amazon.com
We recently saw Augustana perform along with Counting Crows (who I can't say I am a fan of). When they brought out the piano and those first few notes were played, I started hopping in my seat, shouting, "It's my theme song!" I don't kid that Boston is my theme song.
"I think I'll go to Boston / I think I'll start a new life / I think I'll start it over / Where no one knows my name."
I did just that when I came to Boston for college, having never visited the city in my life. I come from a small town where you can't go to the super market without running into 5 people you know. Over here, there's a lot of anonymity and I love it. There isn't a single song on this album that isn't worth listening to all the way through, and then maybe one more time. Strangely, the album has a fairly upbeat sound, but the lyrics are very sad. I like that because they show you don't have to be Emo or Goth just because you've had hard times. Many of Augustana's songs are relatable, richly composed, well written and heartfelt. This album has definately been well loved in my music library! Go pick it up and take a listen for yourself.
Photo from wyep.org
Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I own this in vinyl (I don't even have a record player), but if I DID, it would be epic. This is hands DOWN my favorite album of all time. I am a huge Beatles fan (and for that, I have to say I was very disappointed with Beatles Rockband, but that is a totally different blog) and an even huger Abbey Road fan. Let It Be might be a close second, but as I don't own this album yet *GASP!* and didn't grow up on it, Abbey Road hits my top list. I would put all the Beatles' albums up here, but rather than list each and tell you why they are so dang awesome, I'll reel myself in and keep it to one...for now.
Phoro from Amazon.com
Photo from Amazon.com
I have a fairly diverse taste in music, but there is usually at least some consistency. I like a) unusual voices (which explains why country bores me), b) I like stuff I can sing to, c) I love mixes of styles, like rock with orchestral pieces, and d) there's nothing wrong with a little (or a lot of) eccentricity. My Chemical Romance, for me, embodies most of that list. I got into them with their second album, The Sweet Revenge (also good), one night trolling around MTV.com looking for new music videos (a great past time that is now all done online thanks to MTV not doing their job). I came across MCR's Helena and recognised it from the radio. Watched that, then saw Ghost of You. If you've never seen it, please do. Great song, great video, if a bit violent. I love a band with a taste for theatrics. And MCR is definitely that. I'd been listening to The Black Parade again for the last couple of days and thought...hm...I haven't checked up on them in a while, where are they? Well, apparently not on Top 40 radio, which is what I listen to on the way to work. I was shocked that their new album had been out a year and I hadn't even heard one song! I will admit I am getting into iHeartRadio and Spotify, so that will be fixed soon. In any case, I found their latest, The Danger Days. Let me just say...different than the last, but in no way less awesome. If you like punk rock, power pop, a little morbidity and angst (I hate to admit they're Emo, because I am definitely not), you should give it a try. Might take a little getting used to if it's not your genre, but MCR is worth the effort. Enjoy!
Photo from Amazon.com
When I first saw the music video for Lazy Eye, I couldn't figure out what I thought about the lead singer's voice, but I soon found out, I didn't care....I just loved the sound. Every song on this album is rich, experimentational, and intriguing. It's the kind of album where I paint a picture in my mind to match the song....I don't know, is that weird? Well, this album does it for me. Check out Well Thought Out Twinkles, Little Lover's So Polite, Waste It On, and Melatonin...or better yet, put on some big, heavy headphones, turn out the lights and let this album paint a picture for you, from start to finish.
Photo from Amazon.com
In case you were ever wondering where I came up with Silver Rose, this album plays a part. One of my favorite bands, who have since gone a little more to the pop side (which I like, but don't LOVE on their sound), is Australian grunge band Silverchair. I got into Silverchair circa 1999, when Daniel John's anorexia and anxiety disorders inspired Ana's Song. Diorama, which came out two years later, is their best album, especially with Across the Night, the first track. Daniel Johns claims to have synesthesia, which means he can see sounds as colors. I love this concept, which ties in with the cover art, and this is another album that paints a picture for me. It isn't for everyone, but if you give it a try, it is well worth the investment. Oh, and if you DO like the music, definately look up the music videos...art in and of themselves.
Photo from Amazon.com
My favorite thing to do when playing Rockband is to sing "That's What You Get" at the top of my lungs! The song is so catchy and interesting! I finally got the album and it is now one of my favorites, especially while sewing or walking home from the train. I love Hayley Williams' voice, and the music just pumps me up!
Photo from Amazon.com
This album has been a staple in my music collection since before I can remember. Back then, I was choreographing dance routines to Bad in my grandmother's backyard with the other kids she babysat, forcing them to let me see my artistic expression of the music in person. I know everyone says this is the best album of all time, but I'm putting this up in my Soundtrack to Sewing because I recently came across a copy of this original vinyl version for $80 in an antique store in Newport, RI! I think my mom still has this album, and if she does *HINT HINT* she should definitely keep it and let it get even more rare! And maybe wrap it in plastic for safe keeping.
Photo from Amazon.com
Normally I wouldn't recommend something without listening to the entire album (which is why I'm only linking to the single) but this song has been stuck in my head all weekend! It has such a smooth, catchy quality, and I love the line "You wear designer shades just to hide your face, and you wear them around like you're cooler than me." I always thoughts designer sunglasses were stupid, until I went through 4 pairs of cheap ones in 2 years. My boyfriend got my current Chanel sunglasses on eBay for a third of the regular price, so whenever I hear that lyric from Mike Posner, I laugh to myself that I gave in and now wear a pair myself.
Photo from Amazon.com
I never would have pictured the Smashing Pumpkins collaborating with Cheap Trick. And I didn't really see Fountains of Wayne working with Hanson. Cheap Trick and Hanson...well, that seemed like a more tangible possibility. But the Pumpkins with Hanson? Did you listen to Ava Adore?! Well if you can't believe it, click on that link up there...go on. Take a listen. It surprised me! I mean, I like all those bands respectively, but I was still amazed at how much fun this album was. The band is made up of James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins, Taylor Hanson, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. One reviewer said the songs were easy and predictable...and I guess none of them are mind blowingly original, but since when does music have to create a new genre to be good? This is classic, upbeat, quality pop-rock and I love sewing to it!
Photo from Amazon.com
One of them is Daniel Johns from Silverchair...the other is Paul Mac, who I have to be honest, I hadn't heard of until this album. And I only knew of this album because of my love of Silverchair. This is by far the trippiest album I own, and that's including the many Beatles and Pink Floyd albums I own. For instance, the video for Horror With Eyeballs is so messed up and awesome at the same time. All of the videos for this album are done in charicature cut-and-paste animation using bits and pieces of actual recorded footage and computer generated landscapes to create something that is unique, creepy and fascinating. This collaboration, that started as I Can't Believe It's Not Rock, is funky, but sadly it drove my lovely angsty-grunge rocker into a pop friendly rocker, and for that, I grieve. But at least this fantastical, trippy confection was a by-product of that change.
