July 19, 2010

The Crane Wife's Short Summer Spectacular

1. iTunes Genius.

What?! iTunes uses Genius to track my musical preferences to use for marketing purposes?! I don't give a good gosh darn. Ain't no such think as free lunch people, and if the price of a feature that introduces me to music I didn't know I had and reintroduces me to old favorites is that Steve Jobs knows I like fey British pop music, than so be it. (And I know I've written about it before, but Genius continues to rock me.)

2. Kids music.

And by this I mean music that makes my kid dance. Topping the list this summer are Basta's "Gimme Hope Joachim," Morrissey's "Irish Blood, English Heart;" and the always classic (and classy) "Get It On" by Turbonegro. Suck it Raffi.

3. The Harder They Come soundtrack.

A classic for this summer and every summer for ever and ever. Because, you know, nothing says sunshine and relaxation like the lyric "But I'd rather be a free man in my grave/than living as a puppet or a slave."

4. Road Trip Mixes.

Friends of ours are on a cross-country road trip. Before they left, they asked all of their friends to make a mix or two for their journey. What a fantastic way to expose yourself to new music and to force your friends to ask themselves the question, "What would one want to listen to whilst driving through Minnesota in July?" To which I answered, "The Gin Blossoms. Obviously."

5. Kids Music.

And by this I mean PS22 Chorus. AIW first introduced me to their Lisztomania performance. I love everything, from their kooky, impressively coiffed director to the little dances the kids do during songs, and I won't stop believin'. Public school for the win!

6 Comments:

ancientindianwizard said...

russell brand and morrissey together? best thing ever!!

awmercy said...

I had "Gimme Hope Joachim" stuck in my head for a month.

Brasilliant said...

I still have it stuck in my head. I sang it on my way home from work yesterday when I was huffing and puffing over a pretty long stretch of sunny hilly sidewalk.

Nightrain said...

What a great track... someone needs to make a video like that for every aspect of life.

Thecranewife said...

AIW: right?!

Everybody else: Joachim (or rather, the song) continues to give me hope as well. If you are feeling down, you can just sing the song and think of his big eyes and shiny hair.

Mona said...

Per the mixtape requests: what a great idea and way to reconnect with pals, I love it! PS - thanks for always finding a way to mention the Gin Blossoms on QuickCrit, ha!