June 20th, 2012
This Weekend, Maybe
May 24th, 2012
Call It Crazy
Unless you’ve been living in a monastery (or perhaps the Bowery Ballroom), you’ve caught wind of a little song called “Call Me Maybe.” You’ve danced around your room to it while getting ready, you’ve sung it to your boyfriend’s rolling eye, and you’ve played it on repeat for days at a time. It’s nothing new – it’s the typical practice for loving a new pop song. You hear the cloyingly sweet beat and OD on it for a limited period of time until the melody makes you want to gouge out your eyeballs. However, is it just us, or is there something “crazy” about this song? In all these years of loving pop music, we’ve had two experiences with songs: 1) ones that are really poppy and you love immediately and then quickly hate (eg, Train’s “Hey Soul Sister,” anything by Fergie, “Party in the USA”) or 2) songs that take a little more time to fall in love with but have more staying power (anything by Coldplay or even “Imma Be” by the Black Eyed Peas). However, “Call Me Maybe” is really throwing us for a loop. It has all of the qualities of a song that you cannot love for longer than 2 weeks (cheesy lyrics, lead singer sounds like she’s 12, mocked in youtube videos, poppy beat), yet we’ve been listening to it for months now, and we still love it! How is this possible?!!? What do you think? Does “Call Me Maybe” make you crazy or is it still on repeat?!
September 21st, 2011
Dang Those Hipsters; alt title, How to Be A Hipster by Reader Carli
Went with Reader Carli et al to the Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr concert last night at The Drunken Unicorn. Carli is our go-to consult for new music and last night she was inspiring us to channel our inner hipster (She also kept trying to pick out cute hipster boys for us but kept losing them in the crowd – prompting the best line of the night, “Dang those hipsters, they all look alike.”). Here’s what we learned.
How to be a Hipster, by Reader Carli:
1. Go to cool underground concerts at places with names like "The Drunken Unicorn." Don't be afraid of lead singers that look like Jimmy Fallon and half attempts at crowd surfing. It's cool.
2. Fake glasses and PBR. Check!
3. Be nice to your preppier friends. They are trying. They can and want to learn. And in the meantime, be patient with them wearing ruffled tops from Banana Republic.
September 15th, 2011
Runs Are a Good Time to Ponder Life; alt title, Running While Rapping Along to Perfect Gentleman Takes Innovation to a New Level
Ten years. Hard to believe it’s finally here. We’re pretty sure Reader Isa and elaney spent many afternoons on the floor of their rooms decorating things with paint pens and speculating about what life would look like at our ten year reunion. And here we are! In all of our beautiful and imperfect glory. So the other day, per the aforementioned brilliant idea that took place while running and rapping (there really should be more of that in the world), we immediately offered (re: demanded) to put a playlist for the big event together. Here’s what we’ve got so far…please help us other high schoolers of the late 90s-01! Help us make the (30ish) Brookstone Cougars that will be at our reunion proud (Sidebar: and if you don’t, we promise not to shake our clipboard at you. We’ve really matured. We swear.).
Ps: the Spanish version of “Come on Over” by xtina was extremely intentional. Just because we weren’t allowed to use the Spanish version for the cheerleading pep rally dance doesn’t mean it’s not the best. Escucha me.
September 2nd, 2011
Cheers to the Freakin Weekend
1. So glad we have youtube.com so that this kind of useless creative expression can exist.
2. emum, please don’t email about this post. We don’t care what you say – it’s not a curse word, and it’s the name of the song.
August 30th, 2011
If You Ever Belonged to thefacebook.com, Here’s a Tip
We’re not really an early adopter by nature, we just work with enough people that are that we can kinda fake it (also, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our company issued white iPhone, white iPad2, and MacBook Pro for making us look like something legit at airport security). So since we’ve discovered something on the early side (unlike iPhones. BTW iPhones are amazing and Seinfeld is hilarious), we have to share (ie, claim it like we did when we signed up for thefacebook.com October ’04)! Are you Spotifying yet? Oh em gee. If you like music, it will change your life. Bummed that you downloaded Rihanna’s “S&M” before the way cooler Britney version came out? Have a random hankering to hear Toto’s “Africa” because you had a fun dance party to it in college? Saw Notting Hill on TBS and want to hear Allison Krause’s “Nothing at All”? Have all these things and more for FREE. FREE. Make playlists and keep them and share with your friends (on thefacebook.com). It’s a random music lovers dream. Mobile app too for $5 a month. Seriously iTunes is so 2011 Q2.
July 8th, 2011
(Remix to) Remix to Ignition
Anyone who has read elaney for long enough knows that our two favorite pop songs are indisputably “Remix to Ignition” and “Perfect Gentlemen” (Yes, we can rap the stripper’s part in “Perfect Gentleman.” Yes, it did happen after OysterFest on stage at Flip Flops. Sorry emum). But Reader Kenny just sent us a Remix to a Remix to Ignition! This is more fun than Anya Marina’s “Whatever You Like.” This is like hearing Friday for the first time all over again!!