Ashlee Simpson - "L.O.V.E."

For Valentine's week, my pick is L.O.V.E.
Not at all a love song, but just fun.

And I'm coming out of the closet...
I'm an Ashlee Simpson fan.

Carol King - "You've Got A Friend"

This week's pick is off of my life soundtrack.
I think this was the first song ever added.

My mother sang this song to me and my siblings while we were growing up. Whenever I hear it I am filled with deep memories of her and of my childhood.

Now that I am a mama, I sing this to my children, hoping to share a piece of my childhood, my mother, and the safety I felt when I heard this song.

It always has been, and always will be, one of my all-time favorites.

Kevin Rudolf - "Let It Rock"

Wow.
Has it really been almost 2 months since my last pick of the week?
So sorry.
One of these days I'll get my act back together on this blog.
For all three of you that actually visit :)

This week's pick is "Let it Rock" by Kevin Rudolf. No idea who he is, but I love this song. I was going through some unmarked CDs a week or so ago and found one of my kid brother's mixes. This song was track 3. I loved it instantly. It sounds like a high school weekend night. And it makes me miss my brother a little.

Hope you enjoy!
Don't be afraid to get up and dance a little. Or a lot.

Travis Mccoy ft. Bruno Mars - "Billionaire"

Careful with this one. Make sure you are listening to the CLEAN version.

I heard these guys on Jay Leno the other night and loved it. This song just makes me smile.
Once again, I know nothing about this guy or this song, I just love it. Perhaps I should do some research...

Augustana - "Boston"

Did you know I'm from Boston?
Probably - since all of you that actually read this blog know me pretty well.

Well, you can imagine why I like this song.
There's a pride us Bostonian's have. Anything that has to do with Boston we instantly love and feel like it was made just for us. And then we feel ownership of it. Even though I don't know anything about this band or this song (all I know is that it's about leaving CA and moving to Boston, which is nothing that I can relate to at all) I still just love it. Probably because of the title and the Cheers reference in the chorus. It's those little things that remind me of home and therefore I love it.

Hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Miley Cyrus - "When I Look At You"

WOW.
It has been quite a long time.
And boy do I have a treat for you for this week's pick. Miley Cyrus. Yup. Hannah Montana. It has come to this.

Seriously though, this is a great song. I first heard "When I Look At You" when Miley performed on American Idol a few weeks ago and I was quite impressed. I have to admit, Miley Cyrus is an acquired taste. At least she has been for me. Perhaps not for everyone. It's hard to see pass the teeny-bopper, Disney child-star in her, but the girl really does have some talent.

The more I listen to her "more serious" songs, the more I hear Stevie Nicks in her. I don't know, perhaps that's a stretch. Not sure that I'm ready to put Miley Cyrus in the same category as Stevie Nicks, or anywhere close for that matter, but I can hear somewhat of a resemblance.

Perhaps I'm crazy.

Listen for yourself and see what you think.

Hope you enjoy!

Beyonce - "Halo"

Remember this performance on So You Think You Can Dance? Well, I LOVED it. It just made me happy. And I have been in love with the song ever since. It is just pure joy.

I am unsure if I'm a Beyonce fan or not. My first reaction is no (nothing against her, just not my style), but then there are a bunch of her songs that I do really like. So...I'm not sure. All I know is I am a fan of this song.

Enjoy!

Hellogoodbye - "Oh, It Is Love"

Husband sent me a little email the other day with a link to this song. It made him think of me and that completely made my day.

I don't really know anything about this band or this song, just that I like it and it will now always remind me of my husband. If I had some more time right now I would find some more info, but I'm going to go have an at-home-date with my hubby. Honestly, I'd rather do that...

Enjoy!

Hilary Duff - "Coming Clean"

I know I know...
Hilary Duff.

But this song just keeps coming to my mind this week for two reasons:
1) It has been raining a lot, and I love the rain!
2) My girls insist on listening to "girl song" all the time and we just picked up a Hilary Duff CD at a garage sale that we have been listening to non-stop.

So this pick of the week just seems to fit.

Jared Salvatore

Jared Salvatore is my good friend from home. He is incredibly talents - always has been - and I'm so glad to share his music with you! I have added a link to his myspace page to this blog. Check it out when you get a chance.

Jared & I have known each other for years. We really became good friends our freshman year in high school. We had a few classes together and spent a lot of time together during the school musical "Damn Yankees" that year. We remained friends throughout high school and he is one that I have stayed in contact with over the years. He is a great friend with a HUGE heart.

I remember the first time I heard him sing. It was at the Pollard Pops (our middle school talent show) and he sang "The Freshman" by the Verve Pipe with his band. They were the stars of the show and I remember thinking back then "this kid is going to be famous some day." I think it's awesome that he is really pursuing his music and I hope so badly that he gets his big break.

I hope you enjoy listening to his music! I know I do...but then again, I might be a little biased. :)

Jason Mraz - "Mr. Curiosity"

I love hearing a new song on the radio and instantly falling in love with it. That's what happened with this song. One morning while I was running errands this song came on the radio and I was captivated with the first note. I think the instrumental part is beautifully written, the melody and vocals are very soothing, and very characteristic to Jason Mraz the lyrics are clever and smooth. I really love his style and love his quirky, but cool music.

Dave & I saw Jason Mraz perform live about 4 years ago. He opened for Dave Matthews. He was amazing! At that point the only song I knew of his was "Remedy," which I liked ok, but didn't necessarily love. Let's just say I liked it a whole lot more after seeing it performed live. Like I have said, I'm a sucker for an awesome live performance.

Jason Mraz is an amazing live performer and INCREDIBLY talented. He is extremely musical, very versatile, and funny. I thought it was pretty awesome in his concert when he mentioned that Dave Matthews was one of his musical idols and that he got a lot of his inpiration from him. How amazing that there he was opening for one of his biggest influences. Wow!

Read more about the artist
Read the lyrics
Get the sheet music (awesome!)
Watch a live performance

Hope you enjoy!