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



July update

Well I haven't blogged as much as I was planning on, this time I actually have an excuse though. Our house got broken into and my laptop was taken. Now I'm at the mercy of times Kenny's not on the computer in order to get in all my facebook/pintrest/etsy/blogging/superficial etc. time in. I considered writing a big long blog about how much getting robbed sucks (and it does, seriously, it happening to me for the 3rd time wasn't any easier), but it's just too depressing and I spent the last week getting over that shit. Bottom line is I'm safe, Kenny's safe, and our three kitties are safe. The didn't take anything from Pooh Bear's room and we have home owner's insurance. All the jewelry they took from my jewelry box were not nearly as prized as my necklace from Kenny (which I wear everyday because it is my favorite necklace ever) and my wedding rings (which I wear everyday because they are my favorite rings ever). I am also thankful that I just backed up my wedding pictures on our external, my fingers haven't swollen to the point where I couldn't wear my rings, and they didn't find our gun. Woot! No more tears over something that's happened and can't be changed. Just hope Karma does her thing.

In other news, 5 more weeks til Pooh Bear's here which means 5 more weeks of work til December, woot! Let's see if I crack and head back to work early due to cabin fever. I'm hoping having a baby will make the house seem new and everyday different. I don't know if I could last as a stay at home mom, but it will be fun to give it a test drive. I finished Pooh Bear's blanket which looks pretty darned adorable if I do say so myself (I do), it's gotten me back into the crafting spirit. I've already started knitting yet another scarf that I think will be fun to do for a few weeks until I get distracted by something shiny. If I were smarter than I would start up a cross stitch since that will be a lot harder to do with a youngster about. We'll see what I feel up to later. Maybe that's something I can do the week I'm off work before my baby shows up 10 days late cause that's what I'm betting is going to happen.

On the friend front I'm pretty much failing at life. I don't have the energy to make plans with people anymore so really I just wait til they seek me out. The problem is they seem to seek me out every other Saturday and every other Saturday I work. I've missed a baby shower, bridal shower and a wine limo tour birthday party because of it (that last one hasn't happened yet, but it's planned for my working Saturday). I don't know how much fun I'd really be at these things anyways since I can't drink, I'm constantly tired, and pregnant women tend to be attention getters. I understand those women who are constantly pregnant now since everywhere I go I get the "oh you look so adorable! When are you due? Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" Even me, the queen of look at me, am beginning to bore of it. But yeah, very impressed that people are still willing to go out in public with me. I actually don't have too many friends I would think of calling up to hang out with regardless. My red robin girls are fantastic and I love them, but nights out with them are always in bars, hookah and otherwise. They feel guilty drinking in front of me, which is silly cause I honestly don't crave alcohol at all. Hookah, yeah, I have to bow out of. But I can still go to a bar and get a cranberry juice. If only they let me. They don't invite me out anymore but I know once the baby gets here they'll be over all the time so I can take comfort in that. My high school friends I've been pulling back from for some time, due to some drama I just don't have the energy to get into right now. My old drama club friends pretty much just get together for weddings etc. The next wedding that's coming up is right after Pooh Bear's here so I'm having to miss it, which sucks cause I know it will be an epically fun and beautiful wedding. Welcome to parenthood I guess. The bright side is I do have a friend with kids, and I actually get to see her tomorrow. My sister in law is pregnant so she'll be in the same boat as me and we're family so she has to spend time with me. And my other close friend that doesn't live in LA or Fresno (who both call me from time to time and hang out with me whenever they're in town) I work with and she's actually been really awesome at planning nights out with our husbands. I think I'll be ok, just not as busy as Julie 3 or 4 years ago.

What it comes down to though is that I am happy in life, my life, however quaint it may be. Things are quiet right now but it is going to get pretty exciting pretty fast here. I'll try to keep up with the blogging for my two readers, but be understanding if I flake out.

What could have been...

I have a habit of rewatching old tv shows I've already seen a million times from start to finish. I do this most often with simpsons as they're the perfect show to put on before I go to sleep since I've seen them so many times I don't have to watch the screen, I see it all in my head anyways and I get to drift off to dreamland all the easier. While I'm awake and doing something I need to pay a little more attention to, such as crocheting, I like having something on in the background that I can passively be amused by. After going through Veronica Mars, Community, Firefly (which took no time), I stumbled upon Scrubs again. About 5, maybe 6 years ago I loved Scrubs. Couldn't get enough of it. Since then everytime I watch an episode here or there I've had this weird feeling that I couldn't shake. Like I shouldn't be watching it. I finally realized what it was.

When I first discovered Scrubs it was also a favorite show of a coworker of mine. He cracked me up, we got along really well and it became a bonding thing for us. When he'd have parties at his house we'd play the Scrubs drinking game. Both of us were single and I was told by another coworker that he had a crush on me. I wasn't exactly sure my feelings, but I couldn't say I wouldn't have given it a try. Nothing ever happened between us though. Maybe it's because he wasn't actually interested in me, but I am sure if he made a move, something would have happened.

Watching Scrubs takes me back to that feeling of uncertainty. That feeling like, all the right parts are there, why aren't we dating? There are a few other guys here or there that I sometimes wonder "what if" with.  What if I had asked him out, or gone in for a kiss? Would we now be together? Would it have ruined our friendship completely? Would it have saved me the embarrassment of those other douches I dated? Or maybe they'd just look at me like I was crazy for reading into something that wasn't there. Obviously, I love my husband and I am so glad that things worked out the way they did, but I do wonder if he still thinks of me when he watches Scrubs. I guess I just hope that I affected someone the way they affected me.

The last 100 days

Pooh Bear is due in 100 days. He or she could be a bit late, or he or she could show up early. Either way, there's a very real possibility that I could be holding my child 3 months from now. That's, like, so soon. Really really really soon. I wouldn't say I'm freaking out exactly, it's just all becoming way more real. Pooh Bear is a mover and shaker, gets the hiccups daily, doesn't like Indian or Mexican food, kicks when I play Tchaikovsky or when Kenny talks to my belly. He or she already has a personality already. I'm so excited to meet my little one but at the same time I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I'm just not sure what to do. We haven't finished up the nursery yet, but there's nothing I can do with that since it involves heavy lifting which I'm not allowed to do. We haven't picked out a girl's name which I take full responsibility for since I hate every single girl name. I've been taking the birthing classes which have been great, I've been exercising, eating right and finally put on some weight after 5 months of trying. I just still feel like I'm playing a waiting game and there's gotta be more that I can do. I'm just not sure what that more is.

Rather than focus on the negative though I'm going to focus on what I got going for us right now. We already have the crib bought, the changing table was bought for us already as well. The nursery is just a weekend away from being completed. We have a fantastic boy name picked out. Pooh Bear's looking healthy at all appointments and besides two little worry points, I've had a very healthy pregnancy. I really feel empowered with the whole giving birth thing. And most importantly this baby is already so loved by us and the family. These last 100 days will fly by and in the mean while I'll enjoy the last days Kenny and I will have as a twosome. He's even been spending more time with me than with Diabalo 3, and if that ain't love, I don't know what is.

A good teen read

So despite the fact that I am in my late 20's, I have an obsession with teen books. I don't know what it is about them I like so much except that I think they are just much more optimistic than adult novels. These are young adults that have their whole life ahead of them and want to make a difference. It's nice and not at all what most real teenagers I know act like.

Anyways, I restarted my teen read with the Hunger Game trilogy. Then I read Across the Universe which was sadly disappointing to the point where I didn't want to talk about it and why there is no review on this blog for it. The latest book I read was great though and I recommend it to all teens out there. It's called Divergent and it's also apparently the first of a trilogy and I can't wait for the next book to come out.

The Story: Much like Across the Universe and The Hunger Games it takes place in the not too happy future (dystopian novels seem to be all the rage these days). We meet Beatrice who is a member of a faction of future Chicago that believes in being selfless. When people turn 16 they are able to choose to stay in their faction or move to one of the other 4, each that has a different trait. Prior to making this decision they are tested with a simulation to give them an idea of which they'd fit best in. Beatrice is divergent which means that she could easily fit in multiple factions. This is considered dangerous and she is told to keep it quiet. When it's time to make a decision she picks the brave faction which is full of tattooed and pierced fierce young people who fight and jump off trains. She then has to go through initiation where only the top 10 recruits get to stay. She meets some friends, gets a love interest, and uncovers controversy.

What I liked: My favorite part of this book was the romantic story line. I know, it's stupid that that's my favorite part of almost all books I read, but this one grew so naturally and didn't feel forced that I can't help it. It wasn't a "I saw you and you were hot so now I love you forever." It was slow building and only through countless encounters and experiences and understandings that they get together. They also cover the topic of sex in such a great way. Being from the selfless district, Beatrice is actually a bit of a prude. She is in an faction now that treats itself like the wild high school parties I was never invited to only without fear of someone calling the cops. Just because she can now go wild and have sex doesn't mean she's going to. Her beau is not only understanding but supportive of that too. If only more 16 year olds were like that! MTV would probably be out of business though... The book also had a lot of great themes of going against what you were brought up with but still not losing who you are completely. I could certainly relate to not wanting to disappoint my parents but at the same time knowing myself better.

What I didn't like: The factions idea confused the heck out of me for the first half of the book. They eventually explain it better but I felt like a cheat sheet of which faction believed in what ideas would have been helpful as I read the book. The overall story kind of bored me, but I have hopes that they will go into all the things they hinted at in the next two books and this was a more meet the players story. They also killed off a good chunk of the characters in this book. This doesn't have to be a bad thing, it just kinda threw me and makes their deaths less meaningful since they occurred for the most part within 20 pages of each other.

Overall, I highly recommend this to teenagers especially. It's a good story and can also apply to their lives today. Also, no vampires. Branch out, young folks!

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.

The dance days are over...

Saturday being St. Patrick's Day I made corned beef and cabbage for myself, my husband and a couple of friends whom I thought were joining us for dinner. Let me start off by letting you in on an Irish secret. Corned beef and cabbage is like the easiest thing in the world to make and looks extremely impressive and then you get to tell people you've been cooking it all day. The secret of this: The Crock Pot. In the morning I threw in some carrots, tiny potatoes, chopped up onion and then placed in the beef and filled the pot almost completely with water and some seasoning. Put the lid on top, set the heat for low and then waited for dinner. So friggin' easy, so amazingly delicious.

As I had mentioned earlier I had thought we were having some friends over for dinner. I get a text message from them at 10 asking what we're up to tonight and I tell her "Making corned beef and cabbage, and we were hoping you guys were joining us." We had discussed doing just this the week before but hadn't ironed out details yet, didn't seem like we needed to. She told me that she had been invited out by other people who she told she was free to. I told her that if she wants to go that's fine, but we wouldn't be invited so to let me know if she was planning on showing up to our house for dinner. This was probably a mistake of me because I wasn't fine if she didn't show up. I was actually pretty hurt. This was made all the more difficult that they were hanging out with my ex and his wife. Not that I have a problem with them anymore. Quite the opposite. The last time I saw them she was extremely nice and personable to me and I am nothing if not forgiving of people. But I do know that even though we may be on good making small talk, trading house buying and pregnancy advice, and not insulting each other anymore terms, we're not people that they'd invite out for a night on the town. My friend decided to go on the one outing there was no way we could join. After we had talked months about how much fun we had together on St. Patrick's Day and how we had to do something together this year and because I what, didn't set a time for her coming over she was bailing on me?

She asked if she was mad and of course I said no, because I'm a doormat and let people walk over me all the time. She then spent the rest of the day sending me text justifying her actions: we had just seen each other last week, she hadn't seen them in some time, she just wanted to live up some of the glory of past St. Patrick's days, etc. I knew she couldn't do that with a pregnant friend in tow. Kenny's not a drinker, I am. I can't move on the dance floor like I once could, and more importantly: I don't want to. I was excited for my crock pot dinner and potential game night. I liked thinking I wouldn't have to pay money to spend time with people at a bar where we couldn't hear each other and was full of drunk college kids and high school kids with fake id's. I was looking forward to being a grown up.

Then I started to cry. I realized something about me, about my life now. I am a grown up. The St. Patrick's Days of getting ex boyfriends to drink water after overdoing the liquor and tequila shots were over. The driving drunk friends home only to have them get lost on the way because they're too drunk to tell you where they live. The receiving of hilarious text pictures of aformetioned exboyfriends who fell into ditch puking on the way home that night. I think that's what I'll miss most of all. That was my life 5 years ago. My life now is picking out colors for the nursery. Inviting over the inlaws so all that food doesn't go to waste and then having an amazingly fun evening anyway. Having everyone rave over my ever so easy to make dinner recipe. Playing a game with my sister and brother in law at 9 pm and wondering if it's too late to start another. Cleaning up the dishes in my new remodeled kitchen and putting them in my favorite Christmas present from my parents: a new dishwasher. Having a husband who holds me in his arms as I cry out my death of youthful times and reminds me of happy times we have coming up. Yes, the dance parties of St. Patricks Day are over, but next year I'll have a new mostly Irish lad or lassie to celebrate with and we'll have all new traditions. I can't wait.

Leaving Red's

I put in my two weeks notice at Red Robin. It was pretty sad actually cause I do work with some pretty cool people there. And they were uber understanding about it all which I think made it worse. My assistant manager John said that he had to take a lot of those the past few weeks and mine was one of the hardest. It is important for me to leave while I'm still doing good and I feel that slipping lately. I haven't been motivated to work as hard there lately, and while I love the people I don't look forward to going into work like I once did. The timing just seems to make sense. While I'm done with my first trimester and I'm no longer feeling nauseous I'm not feeling extra limber either. I have a bit of a bump and my pants no longer button. Kinda a problem when you're having to wear jeans and a tucked in shirt to work. It's only going to get worse from here too. Ken's up for a new job in Morgan Hill and they're sending him an offer letter this week. With this offer will probably be a salary bump. And at very least, his commute will be shorter hence, more gas money saved.

And what will I do with my extra time, you may ask? I have a reading addiction lately, and I'm trying to be more domestic like beyond just doing laundry and dishes. Over my anniversary weekend, which I'll post more on later, I got some yarn for a baby blanket I hope to make. The only problem is I suck at crocheting. I can do straight lines and rectangles. Pretty boring baby blanket. So I got a bunch of crochet books from the library and now I need to actually figure them out. And now I'll actually have time to do that. I have 5 and a half months to get this house baby ready and I'm feeling so little motivation lately to do it. If I can even just put in an hour a day it will become much easier. Also, every Sunday will now be a day off. Woot!

When did good news become a bad thing?

For this post to make sense, you'll have to read this first ( this and this would probably be helpful too). Go ahead, read away. I'll wait here.

Ok welcome back, now that you're up to speed you're hopefully not mad that I didn't call you personally to tell you the going ons in my uterus since apparently that's how some people feel. Really, I just don't know how to tell people without it sounding like I'm bragging or I see myself as all important. And I'm not all important. I am to my family which was why I told them. But for my friends, I don't know. It's hard to slip it into conversation unless they ask. When someone tells me they're expecting I tell them congrats and ask how it's going, when they're due, if they want a boy or a girl, stuff like that. I don't give them a hard time with the "why didn't you tell me sooner?"

After I told my folks I called up both grandmothers and told them. I figured this was fine as both live on the other side of the country and would want to hear about their first and second (in Mimi's case) great grandchild. I didn't call up my aunts and uncles and cousins a) because I'm Irish and have a million of them, b) because I was still in the first trimester, am still paranoid about miscarrying, and c) didn't think they would mind if I waited a few weeks to make sure everything was ok. Why tell my grandmothers? Simply put because my mom was dying to talk about it and wanted to spread the news. My grandmother had said she wouldn't tell anyone since it was my news to spread and I figured that was good enough and I could call them a few at a time after my next check up that everything went ok with. Mom had told my aunt within a day and word spread from there. Whatever, at least everyone knows and I don't have to sound like a braggy attention whore.

Then Uncle Bob emails me a week later. "Hey Jules, we're super excited but it would be nice if you called your aunts too cause we don't want to just hear about this through your grandma and mom." Great, so now this happy little thing growing inside of me is having to share room with all the catholic guilt I'm getting. I had to explain back that it's still early in the pregnancy, I'm not ready to get excited about it (it's a month later and I'm still waiting for things to go wrong) and wanted to wait til at least three months before I let myself get excited which is hard to do if I'm going around telling people who are getting excited. Every call I make now is a call I have to make again if something goes wrong. I didn't want to make too many calls. So after a good check up last Valentine's Day I called my mom's 3 sisters and feel like I did my duty there.

We're past the first trimester now and it's not like we're keeping it a secret. We're just not seeking out people to tell them. Most people who see me regularly know though. It was hard keeping from my coworkers as I would occasionally be puking in the back due to smelling fish and chips or onion rings. Not to mention my ever growing baby bump. And most of my friends knew we were trying and asked how it was going. I would crack up over the people who said "Wow, I didn't see the post on facebook about it."

Ahh, facebook. There's a reason I'm weening off it. I get a text from a friend yesterday warning me about a comment someone made on my status about getting heartburn saying "pregnancy causes heart burn" saying I might want to delete it if we still aren't telling people about it. The person who commented on it is not someone we told we're pregnant to so it honestly just seems like speculation. And as Kenny and I have been married a year, pregnancy speculation is pretty rapid. I tell the friend that it's fine and seems like she's just fishing. The friend asks who we're telling, I answer anyone who asks. She tells me how she's making a special effort to tell all close friends about her pregnancy so they're not hurt if they hear it through the grapevine. She then threw in she didn't think she and her husband could be the kind of people who were only friends with other parents. I don't know where she was going with that because I fail to see how the two concepts are related. I can't imagine anyone thinking just because we haven't called them up specifically to tell them about something that is only going to affect Ken and I and our immediate family and not even for another 6 months would warrant a end of friendship. Am I wrong in that? Cause if so I'm quite delusional as to how the adult world works.

Reading fever

So I not only read the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy, I read the third one too. I now consider myself a fan of the series and I'm certainly planning on seeing the movie in a month. I have already let my hopes get high on it being good which can only mean I'm in for disappointment. Oh well.

I considered doing a review of them both but I think it would have been better if I wrote the review for second book before I read the third, and after I read the second book I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third so that didn't happen. Also it would have contained spoilers for the other books and they're good books and you should read them. If only so I can gush about how in love I am with Peeta.

This whole thing has sparked my love of reading again. I put 7 books on hold at the library. 5 of them came in at once. And I have 0 days off this week. I'm gonna try starting one or two and probably send the rest back. Or hopefully the one or two I start I won't like so I can get rid of those and move onto others. Or  maybe I'll read them and love them and power through all 5 in a week. Most likely not, but it would still be a better use of my time than old simpson reruns.