Music

Dear Friend,

You can tell a lot about a person by examining their iPod playlist. Some have only top 40, others have obscure indie bands. Some have all Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney, while others have only broadway. We don't really fall into one group or another. If you shuffle our iPods, you'll be listening to Barry Manilow, then Hall and Oates, then Tyrone Wells, then Noah Gunderson, then Queen, then Kreayshawn, then Katy Perry, and then Fleetwood Mac. We have basically everything. We are always trying to find ways to outline our life, and one way is through music. Examples:

Summer 2012:
This summer we became obsessed with country music. We made playlists that were on repeat the entire season. Highlights were The Wind, My Wish, and God Gave Me You. This summer was all about making the best of our last official summer at home, and this included windows rolled down, hair loose, late nights, and lots and lots of country.

Winter 2012:
This winter is full of chill alternative. Some songs you might know, like I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz, but others you may not be familiar with, such as The Streets by Avalanche City, Honest Songs by Noah Gunderson, and Lost in My Mind by the Head and the Heart. This Fall/Winter is outlined by panic attacks regarding college, midnight debriefing phone calls, late nights studying with the comfort of a fuzzy blanket, and of course through it all, our winter playlist.

People listen to music in lots of different ways. Some listen just for the sound, but others dig into the emotional side. A drummer might key in to the beat, while a fresh divorcee may find resentment in even the most innocent of songs. Enchanted by Taylor Swift might just be a nice song to some, but it can bring others (mainly the two of us) to tears because of when we first discovered it, and everything that song has seen us through. Songs can be like comforting hug when the world seems to have turned its back, but they can also be harsh reminders of something or someone you wish to forget.

Music is one of the most epic things in the world, at least according to us. The first notes of No One Mourns The Wicked send chills down any Broadway fanatic's spine, simply because of its intensity. I Dreamed a Dream is one of the most amazing songs ever preformed on the Broadway stage. To some, they are just nice songs, maybe not your cup of tea. But Kylie and one of her friends had the pandora Broadway playlist on while doing english essays/college apps, and these two songs basically reduced the two to messes. Broadway has a way of reaching out to people and capturing them that is so hard to describe. Call us theatre nerds, but we proudly own up to that title. If Broadway isn't your thing, you can't deny that Bohemian Rhapsody or You Give Love a Bad Name, although they aren't Rihanna's latest single, are still pretty much two of the best things to ever come out of a recording studio. Good music doesn't care about time. Songs like THIS and THIS will never loose their touch.

People have asked us how we find the music that we have, because we have some pretty decent music. Two of the main ways we find the music that we have are through friends, and through pandora. Shout out to those who have made us mix CDs, they all rock. We have a joint pandora account, and we figured out how to add a ton of songs to one playlist. That way, we get to hear songs that don't just relate to one band or song. Once we buy the songs that we really love, we look at related songs on iTunes. We largely base our song purchase off of the album cover, to be honest. We're more likely to buy a song f it has a cute, funky cover than a boring one. This is how we have recently discovered Lady Danville and The Oh Hello's. Hover over the links on these (and all of the others in this post) to listen to the music we're talking about. Don't say you're too busy, or have other tings to do, because who knows, we could have just introduced you to your new favorite band crush.

We're going to start a song of the week, so that you can discover new music and bands, or relive old ones with us. Song of the week: Sunset by Avalanche City

"I think music is itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by." -Billy Joel

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine