Top 5 Underrated Bands

While listening to the radio today I realized that I'm not hip with this new fangled music the young whipersnapers are listening to these day. I never thought I'd be an old lady at age 27, but I have. This got me missing the gold old music of my favorite bands like Green Day, Linkin Park, The Offspring, Foo Fighters, etc. I realize they are still touring and making new albums and I felt a bit relieved that someday I could maybe hear good music on the radio again. I then got to missing my lesser known bands that had really good albums and songs but I haven't heard anything new from in quite some time. I have no idea where these bands are or why they're not playing more. Maybe they are and maybe I'm just missing it. Either way, I feel the need to spread the word about these awesome bands (or at least songs). And so, here are my Top 5 Underrated Bands:

5. Jem

Ok, so not a band, more of a singer, but still completely underrated. Jem is a Welsh singer who came onto the scene in 2002 and albums include "Finally Woken" and "Down to Earth", rumors of a third to come out soon.

Song they're known for: "Maybe I'm Amazed"
A fantastic cover of Paul McCartney's hit which hit it big when featured on the show "The OC"
Song they should be known for: "Just a Ride"
http://youtu.be/lS8nudsRxNs
A really fun bubbly hit that conjures up floating through some kind of Disneyland ride or psychadelic mind trip but brings you safely back.
Other great hits: "They"-haunting melody curtosy of Bach's Prelude in F minor; "24"- beautiful violins mixed with electric guitar and a ticking clock, you can't help but getting anxious and feeling the need to run somewhere before it's too late.

4. Jet

Australian rock band of the early to mid 2000's. I'd consider them sounding like modern day Beatles. Had a few albums including the very successful "Get Born" and less successful "Shine On."A quick peek at Wikipedia tells me they've officially broken up in 2012.
Song they're known for: "Are you Gonna Be My Girl"
Has played on numerious commercials as well as plenty of radio airtime. You have heard this song I'm sure.
Song they should be known for: "Look What You've Done"
http://youtu.be/XD1cxSE25ck
When I first heard this song I was obsessed. Slow, melodic, but intense. Very similar sounding to something the Beatles would have written, but still a fantastic song on it's on.
Other great hits: "Cold Hard Bitch"- great rock song, sounds like one that would be fun to play in a bar; "Move on"-much slower, reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here"; "Kings Horses"- short and sweet, has the feeling that this song is a lot older than it actually is.

3. Harvey Danger

A Seattle indie rock band formed in the early 90's. Albums include "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?", "King James Version", and "Little by Little" before disbanding in 2009.
Song they're known for: "Flagpole Sitta"
Featured in many a movie and still gets quite a bit of air time despite being released almost 15 years ago.
Song they should be known for: "Flagpole Sitta"
http://youtu.be/nBgmC_USeoM
Yes, they are at least known for what I believe is their best song, but it really is their best song ever. It's the most played song on my ipod and I truly never tire of it.
Other great hits: "Woolly Muffler"- great build up and fun fast guitar work; "Jack the Lion"-my second favorite of the band, great beat and fun chorus.

2. Fountains of Wayne

Formed in New York City in the late 1990's. Still together and albums include "Fountains of Wayne", "Utopia Parkway" and "Traffic and Weather."
Song they're known for: "Stacy's Mom"
She does indeed have it going on. I actually briefly considered the name Stacy for a daughter just so I could have another theme song.
Song they should be known for: "Sink to the Bottom"
http://youtu.be/FgLZMvnWxRU
It's got a very Weezerish feel to it, but being a Weezer fan, I don't mind.
Other great hits: "Hey Julie"- Sure I'm completely biased here since it is an awesome song about how wonderful this chick Julie is, but it really is a sweet song; "...Baby one more time."- a cover of Britney Spear's first hit, they totally make it their own though.

1. Jimmy Eat World

Formed in the early 90's in Arizona, this band is arguably the most successful of my list, but I still find highly underrated. I was lucky enough to see them not once but twice in concert, both times opening acts and both times rivaling the headliner for who had a better set. With 7 albums out already, there's rumors of an 8th coming out soon.
Song they're known for: "The Middle"
A fine but way over played song from 2002, at least got these guys on the radar.
Song they should be known for: "Pain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uaP6KgwbOvo
Such a great fast paced song that I dare you not to get pumped up when listening to.
Other great hits: "Sweetness"- unbelievably catchy; "Work"-has a sound to it that I can only discribe as Jimmy Eat Worldesq; "Chase This Light"- romantic and heartfelt



Updating for the sake of updating

Wooot! I've discovered how to do page breaks. I'm all ready to be a professional blogger now or something. Except I'd make a bad one since I'm terrible about updating my blog. In fact right now I'm only starting a post because it's 8 pm on a Friday night and I'm really wanting to go to bed and that's just a new level of sad that I'm not ready to sink to. I haven't had dinner either and I'm really not hungry to eat anything. Ohh, maybe gnocchi. I can eat gnocchi and God can't get mad at me cause there's not meat in it. He can be mad at me for not going to church today, but eh. Anyways, this blog is going nowhere so I'll throw in a quick FFF and call it a day.

1. My dream profession would be a Broadway star. I guess I wouldn't need the lead role, but at least one of the last ones to come out for bows before the lead. However...

2. ...I would never live in New York City. So much for that career path ;-)

3. All my favorite literary characters are male. I discovered this when trying to find a good girl name and looking at books for that. I realize I hate almost every woman in books I like. The only exception being Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter, and I ain't naming my daughter Luna.

4. Favorite Disney movie: Sleeping Beauty. I don't find it the best Disney movie, but it's always going to be my favorite.

5. I used to claim to be allergic to things I didn't like. Only I didn't understand how allergies worked so I would say I was allergic to spiders and pretend to sneeze when I saw one. Most people saw through this.

Fun Fact Friday

1. I am only posting this today because it's Friday, I wanted to blog and couldn't blog about what I really want to yet. Should tide me over for a few days.

2. I am a terrible home keeper. I'm very messy, I don't like cleaning, not a fantastic cook. This is gonna suck for Kenny.

3. February's my least favorite month. I don't like Valentine's Day, it's cold, it's just a boring month. Luckily, it's also the shortest.

4. I am not a baseball or hockey fan. This was pointed out to me by a coworker when after the Phillies were out of the playoffs last year I considered baseball season over. "Oh, so you're a Phillies fan, not a baseball fan then." It was such a cool epiphany. I couldn't tell you who won the Stanley Cup last year either as when the Sharks are out of it, I place my attention on baseball. Football I will follow through til the end though, and thus I feel confident saying I'm a football fan.

5. As much as I love Philadelphia, I would never want to move back there. I hate living in the city, and California weather kinda kicks ass. Looks like you're stuck with me out here.

Tabula Rosa

Happy 2012 everyone. Mine's off to an ok start. I didn't have a rocking new years eve but I'm kinda ok with that. Frankly I would have been happy just watching the east coast ball drop and being asleep by 10. We had a few people over though so I had to attempt to be social. We played Apples to Apples for way too long and then watched a decent movie called "Tucker and Dale vs Evil" which is essentially a movie like "The Hills Have Eyes" as told by the hillbillies. Very gory but very funny. Still very different from New Years in years past. I didn't even drink this time, which I think is the first new years since I was 16 which that was the case? Yay maturity I suppose.

2011 was a really fantastic year for me though. I got married, moved into our first house, had some kick ass trips (mostly Disney ones). I was a bit sad to see it go. This is a new year though and I have a new start to making myself even better. So here are my ever so clique New Years Resolutions:

1. Facebook less. I've been gradually phasing off facebook. I only update my status maybe once a week, but I still check it several times a day. I've promised Ken no long to be on facebook when he's around which I think will help. The fact of the matter is if I need to connect to people I should give them a call and meet up for lunch. Just seeing pictures of the food they're having for dinner or their complaints about the check out lady at Target doesn't count as keeping in touch. I'm not going to delete it all together though cause a. It's a nice easy way to see adorable pictures of my cousin's baby, and all my east coast family, and b. I'm fairly sure a good amount of people wouldn't know how to get in touch with me without it.

2. Blog more. It's very therapeutic to write out what I'm feeling and what's going on and think that only Pat's reading it. I might have other secret readers, but I don't know that. I do still feel the need to connect but it doesn't feel as, what's the word, attention grabby? if I post here vs facebook. If you're reading my blog you came to learn more about me. I'll try not to disappoint.

3. Stop wasting time on people not deserving of it so I can focus my attention on those that do. Like I've said in recent blogs, I've lost a bunch of friends lately. These weren't all big blow up drag outs where we throw out our friendship bracelets. They were more of a slow drifting and I'm hearby making the decision which I want to drift back and which ones I'll send off to sea. I'm not the same girl I was in high school, I'm tired of being treated like it. In fact, I'm not a girl. I'm a woman, a grown woman who has a house and will be starting a family soon. Why should I let "friends" tease me, make me feel like I'm not good enough? I am good enough damn it. I just don't fit what you want. And you know what? If I'm not what you want than this is probably good for both of us that we won't have to spend time together. I'll probably bitch more on this later as old habits die hard, but I already feel more calm knowing I get to choose the people I spend my free time with.

4. Typical eat healthier, exercise more, blah blah blah. No need to comment on this more.

5. Eat at home more. We have a beautiful kitchen. It's silly to not use it. While Morgan Hill has many fantastic restaurants (ohh, good topic for a later blog), the best meal is the one you make yourself. Plus yay for saving money! Eating out shall be reserved for special occasions or going out with friends. For me and Ken, it's cookbook time!

That's about it. There's plenty more I'd like to do but these will be my focus. Good luck on all yours!

Festivus

As my friend Pat wisely pointed out, today is Festivus. This is my first Festivus. I'm woefully unprepared for it as I've been preparing for Christmas. I cross stitched a sign for my parents in law as they're currently living in a converted chicken coop which they've named the Coop De Ville along with their 4 cats and 2 dogs. Things did not turn out as symmetrical as I had hopped but I am truly buying in on the it's the thought that counts defense.

And on the note of it's the thought that counts, for Grandma Jeannette I attempted to do a picture of El Toro. It actually turned out a lot better than I was expecting it to, but that's mostly because I haven't taken a painting class since Elementary school. Mostly. It's at least pretty obvious as to what it's supposed to be a picture of which is always the biggest challenge.

For my brother I'm actually pretty impressed with the final product. He's lately taken to pretending his a sharks fan since that's what all his friends are. To his credit he's watched every game this season and texted me the scores, not taking into account that I don't want him to (see my grievances below). He's finally admitted that he can't be a Ducks fan as well. But yeah, I still don't fully buy it. That said, it was a good excuse to paint the truly awesome logo that is the Sharks.

Anyways, onto the subject of the post. It's Festivus, and while I don't have a festivus pole I can at least take part in the other two parts of the holiday by having a feat of strength and air my grievances. I will wrestle Kenny to the ground later tonight, probably while he's not paying attention so I can win. Here are my grievances of the year:

1. My friends or lack there of. This year sucked balls for me and my friends. I'm facing the new years with fewer than I started. This doesn't bother me so much. People grow apart. I guess what bothers me is the friends I thought I could rely on turned out to hurt me the most. I feel stupid for putting my trust in the wrong people.

2. My promotion being ever out of reach. We have three library workers retiring this year. My supervisor advised me to apply for one of their old jobs. If I get it I have more hours, a raise, and more responsibility. I could quit my second job. I applied for the job a few months ago and haven't heard anything about it since.

3. My parents on again off again divorce. Dad doesn't want it, Mom does when she feels like she's not getting enough attention. I don't know what to believe anymore. I'm sick of it.

4. I didn't get pregnant as easily as my or Ken's folks. I thought it would be once you decide to have kids, boom, you're pregnant. I'm not. Nor have I been the last 4 months I've tried. Which would be ok except since we just had to tell our folks I know they're expecting it and now I feel like I'm disappointing more than just me and Ken.

5. I don't have my guest room towel or laundry because a certain sister in law took it with her when she finally moved out and has yet to bring it back. And on that note...

6. There's still a goddamn dresser in our guest room that isn't ours.

7. We don't have cable right now because Ken has yet to set it up since installing the mantle. No biggie for him since he never watches it. Meanwhile I've been paying 100 a month these last two months for tv I can't watch. I miss my football.

8. Eagles suck this year! Like they're terrible. It hurts.

9. My brother is annoying as all hell. He sends me stupid text messages about Jonah Hill losing weight. Or he just took a biology test. I don't care. It's sad he doesn't have more friends than his sister but oh my god I'm going crazy trying to be a good sister and spend time with him. He's annoying, decides he likes certain things and then won't shut up about them. I'm going to crack soon.

10. Morgan died this year. This will be my first christmas without her out here since that first christmas where I got the doggie bone indicating that we could get her. It sucks.

I think that's good. Anymore and I might punch a wall or something. Hope you and yours have a happy Festivus and a Merry Christmas.

Happy New Years

So 2011 is upon us. Should be a good one for me. Before the first quarter of it is up I'll be married, going to Disneyworld, and moved in to my new house. Oh yeah, by the way, I have a new house. A house! Like a real live house with doors and walls and mortgage payments and yay! The house is going through some cosmetic changes right now, once it starts looking more put together I'll post pictures. Here's one to tide you over in the meanwhile:

The front probably won't change too much other than the possibility of getting a mailbox that says "The Mendez's" or something like that. So with that awesomeness in mind, here are my New Years Resolutions:

1. Make this house my own. I've been going through paint and carpet samples like crazy. I have the first ideas picked out. This weekend I should get to paint and once it's up on the walls I'll probably have a better idea. But I get to paint and that's awesome. I can put all the holes in the wall I want without worrying about lost deposits. Ken's got some great ideas too that I'm looking forward to seeing in the flesh. February will be much less stressful than January.

2. Read a book per month. I've checked out dozens of books this year, I think I've only finished two, and even that might be generous. I want to be more well read. I work at a library for crying out loud. The first book I'm reading: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I've seen it many times, but never actually read the story. I think I can knock it out by February. I'll welcome suggestions as to my next month's book.

3. Do one project per month. I finished my shark scarf last year. Took me almost two years to do it. That's stupid. I made a new one for a friend within a week. I think if I put the pressure on I can get some great stuff made. My first project is a Christmas ordainment (notice my procrastination). Should be a nice easy start to boost my confidence.

That's all I got. Last year I only had 1 which was to plan my wedding, which I mostly did. I still have some more details to smooth out on that one, but yeah. Small lists are more doable. Lets see if I keep it up. Wish me luck!

10 reasons to smile today

I feel like I've been complaining a lot lately (and I expect to put a complainy post on here before the week is up) so I'm going to counteract negative energy with a list of 10 things I'm happy for today.

1. Kenny got me a new computer cord since my old one was falling apart and now it stays plugged in at all times.

2. Kenny made me my favorite gnocchi last night when he knew I was having a rough day.

3. I don't have work any day but Sunday this week which is helpful since it's that one week where working is not ideal (and on a related note, totally not pregnant, yay!).

4. Not one, but two ex's have asked me out of the blue if I was engaged this week which means that not one, but two of them see this not only as a real possibility but also something that they're curious enough to know to contact me after weeks or months of no contact at all. Ego has been stroked.

5. I have my dress and shoes all ready for my friends wedding on Saturday where the weather is supposed to be sunny and warm :-)

6. I'm turning 25 in less than two weeks and I'm actually feeling surprised that I'm not 25 already rather than freaking out over getting old like I have been the past 3 years.

7. Hold the nuts drumsticks are like the best thing ever and I still have some in the freezer.

8. Managed not to make a drunken fool out of myself at the bachlorette party last weekend.

9. Found 2 potential apartment complexes that would be nice to move into in February.

10. I'm going to Disneyland in a week and a half!

Fun Fact Friday

1. I think the prettiest color for shoes in the world is silver. I don't know why I love them so much nor do I own many pairs, but they're so pretty.

2. As I've gotten older I've wanted things less and less. I feel like I own too much stuff right now and am working to widdle that down. Haven't made much progress in that yet...

3. I am more comfortable in heels than flats.

4. Gin makes me sick, tequila makes me mean, vodka makes me friendly.

5. I enjoy collecting fairy tale books, especially hard cover ones.

Fun Fact Friday

1. I hate tomatoes but love ketchup and marinara.


2. I'd rather be too hot than too cold.

3. I do lent every year dispite not considering myself a real catholic.

4. I hate texting family members, but perfer texting to talking on the phone to friends.

5. I'm a huge planner and would totally be ok having my whole life planned out completely from today onward.

Fun Fact Friday

1. I'm terrified of being in bathrooms with the lights off thanks to a sad belief in Bloody Mary that I don't want to take the risk of being true.

2. I believe that the worst red wine is better than the best white wine.

3. My favorite thing in the world to fall asleep to is Family Guy commentary. I fully believe I know all of those people now.

4. If I could be any animal, it'd be an owl.

5. I make a wish everytime the clock says 10:19, either am or pm.

Fun Fact Friday

1. Despite my crippling fear of clowns, my favorite episode of "The Simpsons" is the episode where Homer goes to clown college. My favorite episode of South Park also has some clowns in it.


2. My dreams all feel very real to me, so much in fact that the next day I have to continuously remind myself that they were just dreams. This becomes especially problematic when I have romantic dreams about a friend.

3. I love undercooked food so much that sometimes I make brownie mix or cookie dough with no intension of putting either in the oven.

4. I like doing jigsaw puzzles completely alone so when it's completed I get full credit for it. It's both selfish and a wee bit sad, but I don't seem to care or realize this until after it's completed.

5. I have started at least 8 knitting or crocheting projects that I have not yet completed. That said, I am still in complete denial that I will one day finish them.

Fun Fact Friday

So everyone on facebook is doing this 25 random things about me thing, and I say everyone including myself. I'm not gonna lie, I love talking about myself. Why else would I have a blog? The problem is, after posting my 25 things, which itself was a hard thing to think of for some reason, I kept thinking of new things about myself I wanted to share. Instead of being completely pathetic and posting yet another 25 things about myself on facebook and having my friends call me out on the narcissistic person I am, I figured I'd post a few each week on my blog which is one big narcissistic thing anyways. And you can't judge me for talking about myself too much on my blog since you're actually reading it, suckas! So stealing a fantastic idea from my friend Pat's blog, I'll make this a weekly segment called Fun Fact Friday.

1. I love wearing socks at all time except for when I'm wearing shoes. This is in large part due to the shoes I wear don't go with socks for the most part, but I also just feel like you only need on thing on your feet at a time.

2. I am a creature of habit. I order the same thing everytime at Subway, Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Quizno's, etc. Each time I try to branch out and try something new I am disappointed and ultimately end up wishing I had stuck to my original. Because of this, I always try to stick to my initial instincts when going somewhere new.

3. I can recite the movie Clueless start to finish. This was not a planned thing, it just comes from watching the movie so many times in my youth.

4. My action movie collection outnumbers my chickflick movie collection 2 to 1. I am very proud of this fact.

5. I feel an instant kinship with anyone who pronounces Target "Tar-jay". I'm not sure why, but I immediately want to be their new best friend.

The Deal Breakers

So I have this idea of my dream guy in my head and I know some of the traits that he'll have, tall, funny, a sports fan, has a mancrush on Joel McHale...but none of those are exclusive. Like if he meets enough of the requirements but really doesn't get the brilliance of "The Soup", I can still be pretty happy. I do have a list of qualities in a guy that I simply will not tolerate, that if they have any of these traits I'll have to pull the "I'd like us to be friends" line. They are the following:

1. He has a vagina. Let's just get this out of the way now. I can't do it, sorry. Chicks are awesome and all, but I'm straight.

2. He's a Cowboy's Fan. I know this seems silly, a team affiliation is not usually considered in selecting the ideal mate, but it's important to me. I'm a hard core Eagles fan, I'm always going to be rooting for them, and I really hate the idea of watching a game and having him root against my team each time and me root against his each time. I'm ok if he likes another team that I don't care for, I'll support that as long as they're not against my team. This rule probably applies to Redskin and Giants supporters too.

3. He's anti-social. I don't need someone to come out with me everytime I go out, in fact, that would be pretty annoying. But I do need someone that I can take to couples parties and will get along with my friend or at least make polite conversation. It'd also be really nice if he had his own circle of friends so I didn't feel bad each time I wanted to have a girls night out or whatever.

4. He's anti-children. I'm planning on being a teacher, so I'll be working with youngin's a lot. Most of my friends are planning on having kids. I'm mostly planning on having kids. It would really suck if everytime we were out around youngsters he was annoyed, or mean, or rude. I'm not saying he has to be super nanny, but he at least has to be ok if he's left alone with them for 10 minutes.

5. He has kids of his own. I'll admit this sounds weird after the last one. But hear my logic. I really hope to be a mother someday. I'd be ok not being a mother if that's what my husband wanted, but if he was already a father I would feel left out. I know me, and I know I would want my own kid. And I know I would most likely prefer my own child to my husband's and what a horrible thing to do a child that would be. I'm not saying all adopted or step children aren't loved by their step parent, I just don't see myself as being able to do that. I'd also feel like his child should come before me and as much as I hate to admit it, I like coming first with someone I'm in love with. If we were to have a child of our own it would be ok for both of us to put him or her first since it would be a creation of our love. I'm also sure I'd have problems with the child's real mother. It just seems to be the safer choice not to get involved.

6. He's anti-homosexual. I should maybe just say he's intolerant of anything that someone can not control but at this time, antigay is the bigotry de jour. It's not just because I have friends who are gay that I would want him being ok with, it's that seeing a problem with it is not something I can understand. I've tried to see it from someone else's point of view and I can't, I just can't. And the more that I try to understand why someone would have a problem with it the angrier I get at them for being so stupid. Call me close minded if you want, but I know myself and this is not something I can overlook.

7. He's an alcoholic. I come from a long line of alcoholics. I've seen how it's changed my mom who was fine before my dad. I've see how it affects your kids, your kids friends, your grocery bills, your gut, your health. It's not pretty. I'm in serious danger of becoming one myself and if I end up with someone who drinks too much, I will drink too much too. I'm not saying they can't drink at all. But restraint must be shown.

8. He's into drugs. Alcohol now and then is ok, in moderation (see above). Even the occasional pot is fine (not so much where it's a habit, but at a party every once and while). I can't go beyond that. It's probably judgemental on my part, I've never done anything past the other two, but I really don't want to know that world. I don't want to be tempted into it, and at the end of the day, I don't have to :-)

9. He believes in an open relationship. If that works for him, great. Doesn't work for me. I like commitment, I like titles, and I like not having to worry about getting STD's.

10. He is overly jealous/controlling. I have made some mistakes in the past. I strayed, but once I did, I realized the relationship wasn't working and I ended it. I could never be the type to have an affair. I still consider myself a faithful person, so I deserve to be trusted. I also have guy friends that outnumber my girl friends 3 to 1. I need to know that when I go out with them he's not going to be sulking at home, or worse, following me out there. Jealousy is very unsexy.