2008 soundtrack

It's rough . . . but I think I've finalized my playlist. This was clearly the year of The Spill Canvas . . . I hate repeating artists on a "best of" CD, but these three songs were a huge part of my 2008, and each reminds me of a different incredibly important person in my life . . . I couldn't cut any of them. So . . . here goes.

1. "The Fear You Won't Fall" - Joshua Radin. I feel like this was my theme song for 2008. "I know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel this way. I miss you more than I should, than I thought I could, can't keep my mind off of you." It's reminded me of a couple of different people throughout the year, but no matter what, this beautiful song will always remind me of 2008.
   
2. "Say" - John Mayer. I've never quite recovered from my lessening opinion of John Mayer, but this song nearly revived my junior year of college love for him. It kind of hit home in January and February or so.
   
3. "Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis" - Brand New. This has been one of my favorite Brand New songs for years . . . I never felt like I could relate to it until this year though.
   
4. "A Bad Dream" - Keane. At the beginning of the year, after watching The OC New Year's episode from Season 1 on New Year's Eve, I got on a huge kick of watching the DVDs and watched all four seasons over the course of about three weeks or so. Best show ever. But anyway, this song was playing in the Season 4 premiere, where Ryan and Julie are talking about going after Volchuck, and I fell completely in love with it, googled the lyrics, and discovered that I already had it on my itunes and had never listened to it. It very quickly shot up to one of my most played songs on iTunes . . . I absolutely love it.
   
5. "All Over You" - The Spill Canvas. I've loved The Spill Canvas for years, but this is the song that propelled them to one of my favorite bands. During my intercession mediation course, K-Rock was playing the same "you hear it first" song every night at 6pm for a week. This song was it that week and I heard it on my drive home every night - I was hooked from the first listen. "I'm all over you, I'm not over you . . . why can't you just love me back?" Love, love, love this song.
   
6. "No Air" - Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown. I never heard this song until I happened to be over at Carle Place to watch Lost or The Office or something that they'd DVR'd, and then I saw through the American Idol results show with them while I waited for someone to drive me home. (It was the night the Australian guy that Becky loved got voted off! It may have been an Idol Gives Back episode?) Anyway, this song was performed, and I'd never heard it before, but I loved it immediately.
   
7. "Sandcastles in the Sand" - Robin Sparkles. How I Met Your Mother quite possibly was the most consistently awesome TV show in 2008 and it was definitely my favorite jump-on-the-bandwagon discovery. There was nothing not to love about the episode with the same name: Canada jokes; James Vander Beek; Robin and Barney doing it; and, of course, the second video and single from Robin Sparkles, featuring Alan Thicke, Tiffany, the build up to "come back please, I've changed my mind! Let's go all the way!" with the spoken whispers "I'm on the pill now!" I can't hear this song without cracking up. I didn't think "Let's Go To the Mall" could be topped, but hey, if I was a young Canadian girl in the early 90s (ha, I wish!), Robin Sparkles totally would have been my teen idol.
   
8. "Umbrella (Acoustic Version)" - Rihanna. I'm always several months behind in deciding I like Rihanna songs and this one was no exception. This version and the various cover versions I acquired throughout the year were definitely 2008 favorites.
   
9. "Himerus and Eros" - The Spill Canvas. Seriously, is it possible for The Spill Canvas to be a better band? Three songs on the 2008 mix, all from different albums . . . amazing. I can't quite explain why this song reminds me of who it reminds me of . . . I guess it reminds me of one night in particular that -- even though it wasn't really anything like this song -- definitely, at least subconsciously, stuck with me throughout the year and made me rethink some things that I didn't even think possible. One day my friends really will make "Team" t-shirts; this song definitely belongs to the team with the most supporters.
   
10. "Love Song" - Sara Bareilles. I saw Sara Bareilles open up for James Blunt with Mary in February (thank you, Keely) and really liked her; this song definitely pre-dated 2008, but my love of it was purely a February-April epiphany. This song makes me think of driving to Target with Mary, blasting the cd or the radio or wherever we were hearing it, and singing along. And as a lot of my 2008 songs do, this one reminds me of someone in particular - "i learned the hard way that they all say things you want to hear and my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and your twisted words, your help just hurts, you are not what I thought you were." Such good stuff.
    
11. "Stop and Stare" - OneRepublic. I forget where I was the first time I heard this song - I think it was Target. But I remember exactly where I was the second time I heard it - I was in a cab with Becky and Pomarico, stuck in traffic trying to meet up with Briton and Lainie at the next bar on Briton's birthday. I remember going crazy trying to figure out who sang it and nobody knew, but I texted Becky, Briton and Pomarico all to tell them to remind me the next day when I'd sobered up who sang it. They all, amazingly, followed through, and I discovered it was Onerepublic, and then I couldn't avoid the song after that, but it always reminds me of that night.
12. "Violet Hill" - Coldplay. My blog aggregator website had this song listed as the most downloaded/posted quite some time before Viva la Vida came out, and despite never really being a huge Coldplay fan, I loved this song from the opening instrumental. "If you love me, won't you let me know."
13. "The Time of My Life" - David Cook. I didn't watch any American Idol this year, but all season, I'd hear references to David Cook and how he kept singing some of my favorite songs. When I finally caught the second to last episode of the season, when he sang his final three songs and ended with "The World I Know" by Collective Soul, I was sold and I was a fan and he was the first potential idol that I ever voted for. I called and called until I got through, and the next night Becky came over to watch the season finale and I was just as excited as if I'd watched every episode when he won. This song remains one of my favorites of 2008; at that point in my year, even with a summer of bar review on the horizon, it really was the time of my life. And then afterwards, Becky and I went to Levittown and Plainview and got McDonalds ice cream sundaes. So I'll always have fond memories of David Cook.
14. "Paper Planes" - M.I.A. How can anyone's 2008 mix not include this song? Even though it was earlier in the year that I first loved it, every time I hear it now, I think of being at Brother Jimmy's with Shauna, Emily, Christine and Kerrin in November, and me pulling up the lyrics on my Blackberry so that Shauna, Emily and I could sing along with Shauna's ringtone . . . good times.
15. "The Night Will Go As Follows" - The Spill Canvas. Everything about this song reminds me of one night in particular this summer . . . I remember having the song come on my ipod a couple weeks after that night and actually listening to the lyrics for the first time, completely awestruck as to how well it fit. It was definitely one of the best nights of my year and I'll always love this song for reminding me of it. "To be completely honest, you're not like all the rest."
16. "Summertime" - New Kids on the Block. I remember being at Becky's when I heard this song for the first time - I went home that weekend and downloaded it and it made me one hundred times more excited to go see NKOTB in September. I went with Christine and Lauren to see them at Nassau Coliseum and it was hands down one of the best concerts I've ever been to - I only wish I'd had the chance to see them 18 years ago so I could compare the two! So much fun though, and this song always makes me smile.
17. "A Man's Gotta Do" - Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog. I developed a severe love for Nathan Fillion in 2008, and rekindled my old love of NPH . . . it was so hard to pick which song from Dr. Horrible would make the cut on my "soundtrack", but in the end, this one won out.
18. "Love Me, I'm A Liberal" - Kevin Devine. Kevin Devine released this on his MySpace a couple weeks before the election; a "2008" version of some older song. I didn't agree with every line in it, but how could I not love it anyway? Kevin Devine's liberal lyrics are one of the many things I love about him.
19. "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz. Towards the last couple months of 2008, this song was unavoidable, but it was so friggin catchy that I couldn't even fault it for being everywhere. It's still one of my favorites of the year.
20. "Human" - The Killers. I think Day and Age is my favorite Killers album. This song/album will always remind me of Thanksgiving weekend . . . love it so much.
    

I almost feel like I should have ended this CD with "The Fear You Won't Fall" again . . . the year has kind of come full circle . . . but I figured that putting three songs by the Spill Canvas on the disc AND putting the same song twice would be pushing it ;) As always, if you want a copy, let me know.

a very kerri christmas: volume 4

I don't remember the last time I was so *not* in the Christmas spirit . . . that didn't stop me from putting together my latest "Very Kerri Christmas" mix though. Leave me a comment if you want a copy . . . it's not my favorite one yet, but at least I'm not recycling songs from previous years, which I did with Volumes 2 and 3. Well, except for "Splitting Up Christmas", which as I said last year, isn't ever going anywhere. BEST. CHRISTMAS. SONG. EVER.

1. Christmas Is All Around - Billy Mack
2. When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol
3. All Hopped Up On Jingle Bells - Punchline
4. Someday At Christmas - Jack Johnson
5. O Holy Night - Weezer
6. Donna and Blitzen - Badly Drawn Boy
7. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Damian Rice
8. Carol of the Bells - Thrice
9. Little Drummer Boy - Greg Laswell
10. Yule Shoot Your Eye Out - Fall Out Boy
11. Christmas - Rogue Wave
12. River - Robert Downey Jr.
13. Spotlight On Christmas - Rufus Wainwright
14. Let It Snow - A Fine Frenzy
15. Frosty The Snowman - Fiona Apple
16. Holly Jolly Christmas - Old 97's
17. All I Want For Christmas Is Us - Jason Mraz featuring Tristan Prettyman. This is definitely my favorite new edition for Volume 4.
    
18. This Time Of Year - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
19. The New Year - Death Cab for Cutie
20. Splitting Up Christmas - Kevin Devine
    

And finally, I didn't feel like spending the 99 cents to add this song to the playlist, but enjoy the video . . . more NPH :) :) :) And Nathan Fillion. So obviously it's awesome.

"PLEASE DON'T BOMB NOBODY THIS HOLIDAY" - By The Dan Band - watch more funny videos

mix cd monday (er . . . except it's tuesday): music from the second greatest summer of our lives

A text message from Brian last week, combined with a scare from Darren that Coles would be closing in 2009 (thankfully false), combined with reading a bunch of journal entries from Summer 2003 definitely made me long for the best summer of my life. I can't believe it's been five years.

Best people ever . . . songs that will always remind me of them:

WHO ROCKS THE HOUSE?
Music From the Second Greatest Summer of Our Lives

1. "Bring Me To Life" - Evanescence. I remember that every time this song came on the radio, Frank and Brian would reenact their own "music video" for it, pretending to be gargoyles and fountains.
   
2. "Bandages" - Hot Hot Heat.
3. "Boys of Summer" - The Ataris. Jackie and I were pretty much the *only* girls that summer . . . I loved all my boys of summer!
4. "Heaven Is A Place on Earth" - Belinda Carlyle. I was telling Briton yesterday that the Coles closing staff would call WPLJ and request this song and Eddie Money's "Take Me Home Tonight" (see #6 :) ) for their 8:00 80s EVERY NIGHT and that after the entire summer had gone by, they still hadn't played either song for us
5. "You're So Vain" - Carly Simon
6. "Take Me Home Tonight" - Eddie Money
7. "One Dollar Blues" - Megan Jean. Definitely one of the most talented co-workers I've ever had!
8. "You've Got a Friend" - James Taylor.
   
9. "Faithfully" - Journey.
10. "Bottom of a Bottle" - Smile Empty Soul. Brian and I had a whole elaborate story about how we didn't do it for the drugs, we did it for the hugs.
    
11. "I'm Like A Bird" - Nelly Furtado. Brian and I used to sing "I'm like a bird . . . I don't know where my 'ho' is . . ." We thought we were a lot funnier than we actually were. No, actually, we were really funny.
12. "Outside" - Staind.
13. "Center Field" - John Fogarty
14. "Porch Light" - Megan Jean
15. "Closing Time" - Semisonic. Nothing cleared out the locker room faster than blasting this song over the PA system. And all of us singing along.

this is officially the coolest site ever

Because we're officially halfway done with 2008 and because I'm officially keeping track of my 2008 soundtrack as the year goes by this time instead of trying to compile it in December and because I will officially be done with all three days of the bar exams three weeks from today and that thought makes me happy (and also terrifies me), and because I am obsessed with the idea of this site (even though hardly any of the music files on my computer are .mp3 files and I had to spend about 15 minutes downloading mp3s of these songs just for the site and I still couldn't find a couple of them that will definitely make the mix) . . . I present to you my official 2008 soundtrack . . . or the first half of it, at least! (Check back in December for the explanations of why these made the mix . . . I've wasted enough time already!)

Click here to listen to it!

1. The Fear You Won't Fall - Joshua Radin
2. Say - John Mayer (not on Muxtape)
   
3. Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis - Brand New
4. A Bad Dream - Keane
5. All Over You - The Spill Canvas
6. Hey Beautiful - The Solids (How I Met Your Mother theme song)
7. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
8. Himerus and Eros - The Spill Canvas
   
9. Stop & Stare - OneRepublic
   
10. Violet Hill - Coldplay (not on Muxtape)
    
11. The Time of My Life - David Cook (not on Muxtape)
    

Mix CD Monday - Greatest Hits of Freshman Year - 1999-2000

I've been meaning to start doing this for a while, and I was inspired by seeing so many of my close friends from freshman year this weekend. Plus I figured with tons of studying to do, as always, I needed an excuse to put it off a little longer ;)

FRESHMAN YEAR MIX: GREATEST HITS OF 1999-2000

1. "Beautiful" - Aztek Trip. I discovered these guys the summer before freshman year and by the end of the school year, I had all of my circle of friends hooked and these guys were practically our friends. (Well . . . more so Carla's than the rest of us, but they all knew who we were!) I have no clue what happened to this band, but this song was amazing.
2. "Here with Me" - Dido. This song was the theme song to that show Roswell on the WB and Kellee and Carla were obsessed with it - even when the show wasn't on, they were playing it or singing it or SOMETHING. When Kellee and I wrote our "Ballad of 2007", it even made it into Carla's section of the song.
   
3. "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" - Pink Floyd. I don't know who thought that this was a good hockey warmup song - it was either Vinny or Todd. Crappy warmup song or not, the song itself will always remind me of freshman year.
   
4. "All The Small Things" - Blink-182. Aside from Schleppy mocking me in the hockey vans on the way home from practice for liking this song and Blink-182, this song reminds me of walking home to Brittany up University Place from Weinstein with Carla and singing this while doing the dance.
5. "Little Black Backpack" - Stroke 9. Loooooooved this song so severely.
6. "Am I Wrong?" - Love Spit Love. I found this one accidentally on Napster when I was trying to download something else. Whatever it was that I was trying to find, I'm glad I found this because it ended up becoming one of my favorite songs and one of my favorite quotes ever from college (I wish I could remember who said it!) was when I was speaking the lyrics "You're so pale in your face, you let life get in your way" and the other person who I don't remember responded with, "Wow . . . what do you see in my face?"
7. "You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate. I can't hear the phrase "I believe in miracles" without singing this song and I can't think of this song without thinking of Mike and LeMutt.
8. "Baba O'Riley" - The Who. Now THIS was an amazing hockey warmup song. This song made every single college mix CD that I made. If I had to pick a single song to define my college experience, this was it. To this day, the opening instrumental to this song gets me inspired the way it used to every time the hockey team hit the ice to it.
   
9. "Angels" - Robbie Williams. Another great song that came out that year, I wanted to throw Jessica Simpson out a window when she covered it. You don't mess with something as amazing as this song.
10. "Hot Blooded" - Foreigner. Two words: Brian Murphy.
11. "Calculus (U+Me=US)" - 2Gether. I forgot about this song until I just saw it on my CD cover. This is everything a pop song should be.
    
12. "Bent" - Matchbox Twenty. I couldn't wait for this album to come out - for the longest time, I had this song downloaded from Napster with an advertisement with the name of the radio station it was being played on right in the middle of it. The first time I heard the song without it, it sounded so weird to me. I remember driving down to MD with Janeen listening to this CD and wanting to race my car like in the video.
13. "Just A Friend" - Biz Markie. I discovered this song because Barenaked Ladies used to cover it in their end-of-show medleys - 207 used to play it all the time.
14. "One Song Glory" - Rent. I am the only person in New York who didn't see Rent while it was on Broadway. But Kellee used to play this song all the time and I absolutely loved it.
    
15. "Fishheads" - Dr. Demento. I want to say that one of us from 207 actually saw a fishhead on the street at some point . . . I think my real love of this song though came not from the literal fishheads, but because of the crush I had on "Fish". There were defintely a ton of fish jokes going around 207 first semester that year and this song was a natural addition.
16. "Take a Picture" - Filter. I can vividly remember the video this song from the amount of times I saw it on College Television Network. Ahh, CTN . . . best channel ever.
17. "Bye Bye Bye" - N'Sync. The amazing thing about having a suitemate on the dance team was that Carla could do this whole dance - unfortunately, I was too spazzy to pick up much of it from her. Maaaan did we love N'Sync. I'm pretty sure that Carla and I were at the Virgin Megastore at midnight the day this album was released to pick it up. It ain't no lie. Bye bye bye.
    

2007 soundtrack

As promised, my finalized 2007 soundtrack track listing!

1. "Home" - Daughtry. Back in January or February, before The OC went off the air for good, I was over at Kate and Dennis's and they made me watch one of the early American Idol episodes. As contestants were eliminated, they played a song that I later discovered was "Home" by Daughtry. I loved it immediately, finally discovered what the big deal was about Chris Daughtry, and somehow was sucked into the rest of the season of American Idol.
   
2. "Mandy" - Barry Manilow. I was watching Will and Grace one day last semester when I saw the funniest moment I'd ever seen in that show. Will was waiting in line to get Barry Manilow tickets, and Grace and Karen both ended up holding his place for him. While waiting in line, Grace saw her mother, who had canceled plans with her, eating lunch in the restaurant across the street with Jack. All the Fanilows were listening to "Mandy" and Grace just burst into the chorus singing "Oh Mommy" instead . . . I loved every second of it and was hooked on the song from that point on. Needless to say, it is my ringtone for Mary.
3. "The Archers Bows Have Broken" - Brand New. Definitely my favorite from their latest CD, this song became my primary ringtone around February or March. I love this song so much that it's the reason why I'm not getting my new phone just yet - I know I'd have to go re-buy the ringtone immediately!
4. "Your Guardian Angel" - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. My brother introduced me to this song last Christmas and I fell in love with it. Around mid-March/early-April, I started going through a really rough patch and this song was one of the things that got me through it. I still can't hear it without thinking of certain feelings and people, and if I listen to it when I'm in the right (or wrong) mood, it still brings me to tears.
5. "Makes Me Wonder" - Maroon 5. This song pretty much defined 2007. It came on the radio nearly every time I took a shower or was driving anywhere, and yet I am STILL not sick of that song yet.
   
6. "This Ain't A Love Song" - Bon Jovi. This song was one of my favorite songs like ten years ago - I owned the cassette single of it. Then I forgot it existed until one of the American Idol finalists sung it for Bon Jovi night. This song is the only song in the top 50 most played on my ipod that is not Straylight Run, Brand New, or Kevin Devine - that's saying a lot. Especially since I think it's in the top 10.
7. "Beach Games Speech" - Pam Beasley. This episode of "The Office" will always hold a special spot in my heart. I was so proud of Pam, and so much of what she said hit so close to home. Love it.
8. "Grace Kelly" - Mika. I fell in love with this song about two weeks before I first saw this video. After that, I can't hear the song without laughing and picturing Peter Petrelli telling Sylar he's too creepy to be his friend, but I think that makes me love it even more.
9. "The F.U.N. Song" - Spongebob Squarepants. Another Heroes/YouTube association here - I'd never even heard the song before that. But this song is another one that will always remind me of 2007.
10. "Buttoned Down" - Straylight Run. I remember when I first discovered the video for this song on their website, I was just blown away. It was a great precursor to a great album, one of my favorites of 2007.
11. "A Place in Time" - Amanda Abizaid. When The 4400 returned this summer (may it R.I.P :( ), I was reminded of exactly how much I loved this theme song, especially when I watched three seasons worth of dvds --twice-- in the span of about a month. Definitely one of my favorite theme songs ever.
12. "Heartbreak World" - Matt Nathanson. I've loved this song since I first heard it a couple of years ago - it was absolutely my favorite on his new CD.
13. "Selfish Jean" - Travis. One of the best concerts I went to in 2007, this song both opened the show itself AND the encore, featuring a Demitri Martin re-enactment of its awesome video. Great stuff.
14. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants. When we went out for karaoke for my 26th birthday, Pat and Craig sang this song and I remember wondering "what the hell is that?" Two months later, Kristen Chenoweth and Ellen Greene ended up singing a clip of it on Pushing Daisies and I realized that it was that crazy song that Craig and Pat had attempted to sing on my birthday. I downloaded it, realized that the karaoke rendition just did not do it justice, and have loved it ever since.
15. "Peach, Plum, Pear" - Straylight Run. I don't usually put two songs by the same artist on my "best of" cds, but since this is a cover, I excused it. I fell completely in love with this song the minute I first heard it. I think it's one of the most perfect songs ever written, and while the original is way too childlike and eerie for my liking, this just might be my favorite cover ever.
16. "Paralyzer" - Finger Eleven. The first time I heard this song it was on Craig's Sirius radio and I remember him saying that it sounded like Franz Ferdinand. Obviously it wasn't. But I loved the song from first listen and it still puts me in a good mood when I hear it.
17. "How Far We've Come" - Matchbox Twenty. C'mon, it's Matchbox Twenty. Their return had to make the Best of '07 cd. This is another "can't escape this song" song, but it's so catchy that I can't complain. Love it.
18. "Iran So Far" - Andy Samberg and Adam Levine. SNL does it again. I might even like this song better than "Dick in a Box." If for no other reason, the "You say there's no gays in Iran, but you're in New York now, baby!" puts it over the edge. And the creepy children singing along with Adam.
    
19. "Day Man" - Dennis & Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 26 seconds of absolute hilarity.
    
20. "Bubbly" - Colbie Callait. Okay, now I'm sick of this song, but for a while there, I thought it was one of the cutest songs on the radio. It still makes me feel warm and cozy.
21. "The Way I Am" - Ingrid Michaelson. Loved this song in the Old Navy commercials; loved it more when I heard the full length version for the first time. I wish she'd opened for Matt Nathanson on the date I saw him, but such is life.
22. "The Ocean" - The Bravery. I first heard this song on an episode of Grey's Anatomy - I loved it right away. I was torn between whether I should include this song or "Believe" - it was a good year for The Bravery - but this one won in the end.
    

a very kerri christmas volume 3.1

I know that now that I am committing to a lineup for A Very Kerri Christmas Volume 3.1, I'm going to end up finding some great songs to add tomorrow. They'll just have to wait 'til next year, I suppose.

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You - My Chemical Romance
2. Snow Shake - Andrew Vincent
3. A Great Big Sled - The Killers
4. Elf's Lament - Barenaked Ladies
   
5. Donde Esta Santa Clause? - Guster
   
6. Mr. Heatmiser - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
   
7. Winter Wonderland - Phantom Planet
   
8. On Santa's Way Home - Marc Broussard
9. Mom and Daddy Please Don't Steal For Me This Christmas - Suzannah
10. Carol of the Bells - The Calling
11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab for Cutie
12. Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Twisted Sister
    
13. Just Like Christmas - Snow Patrol
    
14. All That I Want - The Weepies
    
15. Oh Holy Night - Brand New
    
16. River - Travis
    
17. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - Thrice. I must have downloaded six or seven different covers of this song, but I liked this version the best.
    
18. Don't Shoot Me Santa - The Killers.
    
19. Dick In A Box - Justin Timberlake & Andy Samberg
    
20. Splitting Up Christmas - Kevin Devine. This song will be on every Christmas cd that I make for the rest of eternity. Best. Christmas. Song. Ever.

I should have my "Best of 2007" playlist finalized by next week . . . I'm finding that right now it has too many short little clips and not enough full length songs, so I'll have to actually think about it some more. Because I don't have finals to study for or anything.