Leap Year

How many months have 31 days?


... 7, very good!


And how many months only have 30 days?


... 4, excellent!


And how many months have 28 days?



... did you just answer 1, as in February? Wrong! Every month has 28 days, silly!


That joke always used to trick me, so if it didn't trick you, kudos, you are quite clever, aren't you!

Although, as this is a Leap Year, February actually has 29 days. To freshen up your cocktail-party-of-life-random-knowledge, the reason we have Leap Years in the first place is because of the seasons. Since every season "Turn! Turn! Turn[s]!" at its own pace, not based on a certain amount of days, we add a day every four years to keep our year in sync with the appropriate seasons. Why every four years? Because a year, how long it takes for the Earth to rotate the Sun, is technically 365 days and 6 hours. Over four years those additional 6 hours will accumulate another day.

Back in the day when the actual seasons mattered for farming and living purposes, a Leap Year might have been a big deal. Nowadays, we barely blink about it. Just as The Byrds sing, moments and different times in our life are what we consider important "seasons" now. Maybe the updated version of that song, and arguably one of the most popular songs about seasons, "Seasons of Love," from the musical RENT, completely evokes that sentiment. While "daylights, sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee" still hold true, "525,600 minutes" would be wrong this year. Let's go ahead and make that an even 527,040 minutes and we'll pretend like those were the lyrics the whole time!

Even though I completely understand the point of a Leap Year, it still feels like February 29th is just hiding all of the time singing the chorus of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls: "I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand... I just want you to know who I am"  And then every four years we convince it to come out and we coax it gently with the song "True Colors." We see you February 29th, and we love you for giving us an extra day this year!

So what are we going to do with this day? Most of us will just be at work, a typical Wednesday. For some though, they will finally get to celebrate their birthday after waiting four long years! I've always wondered what it's like for February 29th to be someone's birthday, how special and unique that would be. When I was little I thought that this magically meant that you didn't age for four years, then I realized that was not the case. But would you celebrate on the 28th, so your birthday is still in February even though it's a day early, or would March 1st be considered your birthday for the most part since it would be the right day, just not the right date? This illusive February 29th has always perplexed me.

Something else about Leap Years that makes me furrow my brow is their intervals: "4," because there are so many "fours" in the world. There are four suits in a deck of cards, four years of a Presidency, and four leaves on a lucky clover. Of course there are the four seasons: Franki Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nicki Massi, and Bob Gaudio; "oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer" (that's how I feel about the summer!) Just kidding ;) Then there are the winter and summer Olympics, which occur every four years per season. And the elements: Earth, Wind and Fire; "Sing a Sooooooonnnnggggg." Okay, okay: earth, air, water, and fire; I promise I'm done with that now. Maybe there really is something special about that number four you, four me, four everybody!

Even though February 29th disappears on us all for a few years, "winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you've got to do is call," and I'll be right here, singing, humming, lip-syncing, you name it. Have a great Leap Day!

The Oscars

"I'd like to thank the Academy"... cry, sniff, wipe tear, sigh, breathe, smile, ogle the Oscar, remain speechless, waste time, ramble, state how unprepared and shocked you are, finally remember the notes tucked away in your hand, yell at the music to stop, speed through acknowledgements, then finally be escorted away so we can wash rinse and repeat for the next award to be announced.

Yep, that's pretty much the formula for every acceptance speech at the Academy Awards, but I love it! I love the glamor of the whole night, the hints of that old Hollywood movie magic that today's stars attempt to portray for a brief evening. No, today's movies are nothing like those of the past, and many opt to wait for the cheaper Netflix rental to arrive months after the movie's original release, but you can't deny the excitement and release from the world you experience when the lights dim in the movie theater and you throw a piece of popcorn in your mouth as you anticipate being entertained for a few hours.

And if the hype of Billy Cristal returning as Host for the Oscars isn't enough to get you excited for Sunday night's show, "Let's Goto the Movies," together and talk about all of the music in this year's films:

Music (Original Song)

"Man or Muppet" from THE MUPPETS - Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

“Real in Rio” from RIO - Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett

* This is a very talked about category this year as only two songs were nominated at the Academy Awards, when there were five nominated at the Golden Globes, and they are completely different from these two. Apparently there are certain rules and regulations for the Academy Awards that disqualified the songs distinguished at the Golden Globes from being in contention at the Oscars. Sorry, Madonna and Elton John, guess we won't get to see that little feud come to a boiling point after all.

Nevertheless, let's talk about "Man or Muppet" and "Real in Rio." "Man or Muppet" is the big character-development ballad from The Muppets. It fits in with the movie's plot and themes of finding yourself, whomever your self may be, but the appearance of Jason Segel's alter-muppet-ego and Jim Parsons as the human reflection of Jason Segel's muppet brother Walter really add that extra umph to the scene.

"Real in Rio" starts the movie Rio, and really introduces the audience to the life and atmosphere of Carnival in Brazil. The song, at the part where baby Blu falls from his tree, is abruptly cut off as the plot begins to take shape, and the vibrant nature of the song is quickly juxtaposed with the harsh reality and issue of wild bird-napping for profit that the movie tackles. I was a little shaken by the sudden shift, so I can only imagine how the kids felt seeing this cartoon. Fortunately, there is a happy ending, and the song bookends the movie and completes itself to finish off the story. In the second half of it we get the awesome vocal stylings of Jesse Eisenberg, who voices the main character, Blu, which we honestly could have gone without. Come on, 20th Century Fox, Disney always had singing voice dubs for the speaking actors.

Between these two, I think "Man or Muppet" is going to win, but I think "Real in Rio" should win, in comparing the way each song fits with its movie.

Music (Original Score)

The Adventures of Tintin  - John Williams

The Artist  - Ludovic Bource

Hugo - Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy  - Alberto Iglesias

War Horse - John Williams

* Since this category deals with the music of an entire movie, there are obviously no links to it singularly. However, if you have not seen the movies, when you watch the Oscars you will get a taste of the score as they read each nominee. This is a no-brainer. Whether you've seen any of these films or not, it is easy to pick that The Artist is going to win. Not only was the score of the movie worthy of the win, but the score of the movie was the movie. As a silent film, the audience is forced to rely on the music to convey the emotions of the scenes and the characters, and the score of The Artist kept the audience understanding the film as it went on. Just from the score we were able to empathize with the characters' joy, sorrow, hope, despair, playfulness, sarcasm, love, longing, worry, excitement, and a whole roller coaster of other feelings as well. Ludovic Bource derserves credit for his work on this score, and he will get it.

That about wraps up the music of the Oscars, so just for fun here are my picks for the rest of the big categories on Sunday night. (Bold is who I think will win, italics is who I'm rooting for) What are your predictions?

Best Picture 
The Artist - Thomas Langmann, Producer 
The Descendants - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers 
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Scott Rudin, Producer 
The Help - Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers 
Hugo - Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers 
Midnight in Paris - Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers 
Moneyball - Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers 
The Tree of Life - Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers 
War Horse - Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers


Actor In a Leading Role  
Demián Bichir - A Better Life 
George Clooney - The Descendants 
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 
Brad Pitt - Moneyball


Actress In a Leading Role 
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs 
Viola Davis - The Help 
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady 
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn


Actor In a Supporting Role  
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn 
Jonah Hill - Moneyball 
Nick Nolte - Warrior 
Christopher Plummer - Beginners 
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close


Actress In a Supporting Role  
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist 
Jessica Chastain - The Help 
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids 
Janet McTeer Albert Nobbs 
Octavia Spencer - The Help


Animated Feature Film  
A Cat in Paris - Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli 
Chico & Rita - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal 
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson 
Puss in Boots - Chris Miller 
Rango - Gore Verbinski 


Cinematography
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman 
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth 
Hugo - Robert Richardson 
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki 
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski


Art Direction  
The Artist - Laurence Bennett (Production Design); Robert Gould (Set Decoration) 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Stuart Craig (Production Design); Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration) 
Hugo - Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) 
Midnight in Paris - Anne Seibel (Production Design); Hélène Dubreuil (Set Decoration) 
War Horse - Rick Carter (Production Design); Lee Sandales (Set Decoration)


Costume Design
Anonymous - Lisy Christl 
The Artist - Mark Bridges 
Hugo - Sandy Powell 
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor 
W.E. - Arianne Phillips


Directing 
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius 
The Descendants - Alexander Payne 
Hugo - Martin Scorsese 
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen 
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick


Film Editing  
The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius 
The Descendants - Kevin Tent 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall 
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker 
Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen


Foreign Language Film  
Belgium, "Bullhead"- Michael R. Roskam, director 
Canada, "Monsieur Lazhar" - Philippe Falardeau, director 
Iran, "A Separation"- Asghar Farhadi, director 
Israel, "Footnote" - Joseph Cedar, director 
Poland, "In Darkness" - Agnieszka Holland, director


Makeup  
Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin 
The Iron Lady - Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland


Sound Editing  
Drive- Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce 
Hugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty 
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl 
War Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom


Sound Mixing  
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson 
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley 
Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick 
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin 
War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson


Visual Effects  
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson 
Hugo - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg 
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett 
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier.


Writing (Adapted Screenplay)  
The Descendants - Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash 
Hugo - Screenplay by John Logan 
The Ides of March - Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon 
Moneyball - Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin.  Story by Stan Chervin 
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan


Writing (Original Screenplay)  
The Artist - Written by Michel Hazanavicius 
Bridesmaids - Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - Written by J.C. Chandor 
Midnight in Paris - Written by Woody Allen 
A Separation - Written by Asghar Farhadi

Lost and Found

People lose things throughout their entire lives.
Toddlers lose toys, children lose teeth. Pre-teens lose their manners and teenagers lose love. College students lose money, professionals lose sleep. Parents lose their patience and the elderly try not to lose their minds. Everyone loses their way here and there, and everyone will lose at least one sock in their life to the dryer.

Recently, I lost my keychain, and I was abruptly reminded of the turmoil that comes from losing something crucial in your life.
In that initial moment of realization that something is missing, it's very interesting how your mind plays tricks on you. I know I put my keys in my jacket pocket. So why aren't they there? Well, maybe you're only 97% sure. Maybe your missing item is in that special 3% that says no no, you only think you put that item there when in fact it's over here. So, you appease the 3% and try to calm yourself down and look in a different location. I looked in a multitude of different locations, but to no avail. When that place yields no results you move from frantic to crazy, trying to reclaim the piece of your life in disruption.

There are lyrics to Fastball's "Outta My Head" that go: "Was I outta my head, was I outta my mind, how could I have ever been so blind? I was looking for an indication, it was hard to find," and really, that's exactly how you feel when you are missing something. Well, once you've ripped apart your entire apartment/house/bag/car/whatever, or a combination of the aforementioned, and you resign to the fact that it's just gone, the crazy eventually passes and you begin to accept the truth. So there I was, having searched everywhere and tried everything but cut my jacket into pieces, feeling naked without my keys, wishing I had the chance to say goodbye; I missed them.

Fortunately, I have been taught that you have to find the window beyond the door, so I thought to myself, "always look on the bright side of life," and I couldn't help but to smile. I did have spare keys in my apartment so all I had to do was get in in the first place. At least I don't have a car, so it's not like I lost car keys. There was nothing on my keychain that said they belonged to me so no one in the city could come "find" me if they were that psycho. I mean really, in the scheme of things, ok, all I lost were my keys, on a pretty awesome bottle-opener-flip-flop-shaped keychain. Sad, but not the end of the world, I can get through this.

And then you really begin to believe that, as the aptly named song "Gotta Get Thru This" pumps you up in the background. You move on. You even almost forget that you ever had that item in the first place. It's replaced or better, upgraded; oh, you want to upgrade me? Thanks, Beyonce! Let's keep this momentum going, life is good now. And for most people who lose something, here's where the story ends.

But of course, my emotional saga was not over yet. You know when you're little and you can't find an article of clothing or a toy and you yell to your mom that it's missing? And then she yells back, "if I have to come up there and look for it..." and then it magically reappears? Let's keep that in mind as we continue, shall we? A few weeks later my mom was visiting me and when I took my jacket off to hand it to her, she grabbed it in such a way that she felt something funny. Yes, folks, that's right, my keys were in my jacket all along! BUT, to my credit, they were in my breast pocket where I never would have felt them or thought to check because I never put anything in that pocket. I was completely overwhelmed. I was happy, I was surprised, and I felt silly. I could only think of the lyrics "I'm a loser baby," because I was the loser of the item in the first place and I also totally failed at the whole situation. I was obviously not paying attention to the pocket I put my keys in when they went "missing." 

 

But that's just one interpretation of what happened. The more realistic scenario that I think really happened (because I swear I put those keys in the right pocket) was the ghosts. They borrowed my keys for a little and just returned them to the wrong spot. Hey, "I ain't afraid of no ghosts."

So, moral of the story is: don't own jackets with multiple pockets, your mother will ALWAYS begrudgingly be right (even when she's not trying!), and when in doubt blame the ghosts. I hope you find whatever you may be looking for!

Outta My Head

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Gotta Get Thru This

Upgrade U

Loser

Ghostbusters

Valentine's Day

Mahalin, Laska, Liefde, Lieben, Ahava, Amour, Amore, Amor, Love. Ahh, yes, the season of hearts and chocolates and roses is upon us: Valentine's Day for those of you with significant others to share in the romance, or Singles Awareness Day (SAD) for those of you who will drown your loveless sorrows in the candy you bought for yourself trying not to think about how all your friends are out on dates while you sit at home alone. Hey, don't worry, I'm right there with you, Singles! Singles, I know you often get left out of this holiday so I will be getting to you and your SAD in just a little bit. First, let me focus on you mushy-gushy folks.

Aside from there being a bazillion and one songs about love out there in the universe, Valentine's Day has always had a musical element to it for me. When I was in high school, the Thespians would have a yearly fundraiser around Valentine's Day. They would sell different options for deliveries to your special someone during the school day, not only making the one receiving the gift feel special, but giving the rest of the class the gift of interruption. The minimum option for the day was a single rose delivered with a note. Next was a song (your choice from a list predisposed by the Thespians) for them to serenade your sweetie pie with that rose. And lastly, there was the "Doc Special." One of the coolest, funniest, most coveted teachers in our school was endearingly called "Doc" by everyone because he had his Doctorate. He would participate with the Thespians on this day and make a limited number of special appearances (based on his class schedule) where he would come serenade the gift receiver with "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. I was lucky enough to experience two Doc Specials in my high school tenure and I can confirm that they were awesome. So for me, "Kiss From a Rose" IS Valentine's Day.

I know that every couple has their own special song(s) that they associate with their relationship, but if you're looking for a more extended soundtrack to keep you in the puppy love mood throughout the day here are my top 5 songs about love: "L.O.V.E," "Can you Feel the Love Tonight," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Everything," "Love on Top" and one more for fun: "You're the one that I want." Ok one more, this medley is pretty epic: "Moulin Rouge Medley".

Ok, on to my SAD celebrators. Let's start you off with "You can't hurry love" by The Supremes, Michael Buble's "Haven't met you yet," and Kelly Clarkson's new song "Stronger." I think these are great songs to keep you in high spirits today! BUT, if you really feel like diving into dessert with your boyfriends Ben and Jerry and crying while you watch Love, Actually, here are some songs about being alone that I have neatly compiled for you to mull over:

Whether you are celebrating the love of your life or the way you love your independent life today, I hope you have a great night, and I leave you with this little gem: "Calculus"

The Grammy's

The biggest night in music is upon us. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Grammy's are on Sunday night! LL Cool J will be hosting the event and get excited because...
Adele, Jason Aldean, Kelly Clarkson, Glen Campbell with the Band Perry and Blake Shelton, Coldplay, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Tony Bennett, Carrie Underwood and more will be performing, along with a special tribute to Etta James by 14-time GRAMMY winner Alicia Keys and nine-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt.
The only "song" that can do the excitement of the Grammy's justice is DJ Earworm's 2011 Mash-up of the top songs of the year.

I want to take the rest of this post to talk about the nominations for some of the biggest awards, my predictions, and my wishes for the show! As you can see from above, all the songs will be linked as I go along so you can easily listen to whichever you would like without having to scroll up and down the whole time.

Record Of The Year

 

Rolling In The Deep - Adele
Holocene - Bon Iver
Grenade - Bruno Mars
The Cave - Mumford & Sons
Firework - Katy Perry 

 

*Let me say that my main expectation for the Grammy's this year is for Adele to sweep. She has made such an impact with her music this year and I don't think she is going to lose many categories she is up for, including this one. I love Adele and this record, however, I would love for Firework to win over Rolling in the Deep. I think Firework will be overlooked because it was released so long ago but it had an incredible influence on self-esteem especially with all of the bullying news we heard about this year; its positive message and catchy rhythm makes it worthy of the win, but I think the soul, emotion, and passion of Rolling in the Deep will come out on top.

Album Of The Year

 

21 - Adele
Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
Loud - Rihanna

 

* What an interesting variety of music to be nominated in the same category! Sure, they're all pop-ish music, but really they all have a different distinct style that makes it tricky to compare. Nevertheless, I predict that Adele will win this category as well but there is stiff competition here. First of all, Lady Gaga. Really, do I need to say more than that? Second, Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is the underdog of this category as he is really the newcomer to the Grammy's. He has a fighting chance but I just don't think he'll win. Rihanna's and the Foo Fighters' albums are good contenders but I think things are just leaning towards Adele this year.

Song Of The Year

 

All Of The Lights - Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)
The Cave - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
Grenade - Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Bruno Mars)
Holocene  - Justin Vernon, songwriter (Bon Iver)
Rolling In The Deep - Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)

 

* You might be confused, didn't we just go over Record of the Year? What's with this "song" business now and who are all these other people listed that I've never heard of? Calm down, let me explain. The "Record of the Year" has to do with the musicality of the song nominated. The singer and the vocals, the mixing of the song, its production, etc. The "Song of the Year" recognizes the songwriters, the lyrics of the song that make it so special. Aha, you're all saying. Yes, so let's be frank, Adele is taking this one again. How can anything compare with "the scars of your love remind me of us, they keep me thinking that we almost had it all"? Granted, I think "All of the Lights" has a really good shot here, I'm going with the Adele spread.

Best New Artist

 

The Band Perry
Bon Iver
J. Cole
Nicki Minaj
Skrillex

 

* If you know me at all you will know that I am crossing my fingers, and toes, for Nicki Minaj to win. However, this category typically goes to someone more obscure. Remember Esperanza Spalding beating out Justin Beiber last year? Case and point. So, I think Bon Iver might win, or Skrillex, since I've never heard of him? them? her? Yeah, exactly. Just Kidding, I know that Skrillex is a great DJ, but I don't think the Grammy's will go for a DJ in this category quite yet. My vote is for Bon Iver. 

Best Pop Solo Performance

 

Someone Like You - Adele
Yoü And I - Lady Gaga
Grenade - Bruno Mars
Firework - Katy Perry
F***in’ Perfect - Pink 

* I can't decide! My love for all of these songs is clouding my Grammy judgement. Let's not lie, it's probably going to Adele, but then there's Bruno Mars and Katy Perry right on her tail with those songs. All so good, I'll be happy for whoever wins this one :)

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

 

Body And Soul - Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
Dearest - The Black Keys
Paradise - Coldplay
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People
Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera 

* While "Pumped up Kicks" put Foster the People on the map, and Coldplay made a splash with "Paradise" this year, I think this category really comes down to either "Body and Soul" or "Moves like Jagger". I'm totally rooting for "Moves like Jagger" but the Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse duet might win because, well, it's Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse.

Best Pop Vocal Album

 

21 - Adele
The Lady Killer - Cee Lo Green
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
Loud - Rihanna

 

* How can Best Pop Vocal NOT go to Lady Gaga. Well, it just might since it's up against Adele this year...

Best Dance Recording

 

Raise Your Weapon - Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech
Barbra Streisand - Duck Sauce
Sunshine - David Guetta & Avicii
Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn
Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites - Skrillex
Save The World - Swedish House Mafia

 

* This is not a very popular category but I have to include it because it dance music is slowly getting more buzz and it's so much fun. I mean, have you heard "Barbra Streisand"? Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo. But I'm rooting for Robyn's Call your Girlfriend because it is so awesome, and SNL did an amazing spoof of it in their behind-the-scenes videos. I'm not sure who will win though because Deadmau5 and David Guetta are awesome, but Skrillex is getting noted in the Best New Artist category so he might win here instead. We'll just have to wait and see!

Best Rap Performance

 

Look At Me Now - Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
Otis - Jay-Z & Kanye West
The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
Moment 4 Life - Nicki Minaj & Drake
Black And Yellow - Wiz Khalifa 

* You knew I was going to include the rap categories. Even though I want Nicki Minaj and Drake to win, "The Show Goes On" is a great song, and "Look at me Now" got a lot of attention, I'm putting my money on  Jay-Z and Kanye to take this one.

Best Rap Album

 

Watch The Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Tha Carter IV - Lil Wayne
Lasers - Lupe Fiasco
Pink Friday - Nicki Minaj
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West

 

*I want Nicki to win this one and I think she will. The only competition to watch out for is Watch the Throne. When Jay-Z and Kanye collaborate people listen. But I listen to my girl, Go Nicki!

Best Country Solo Performance

Dirt Road Anthem - Jason Aldean
I'm Gonna Love You Through It - Martina McBride
Honey Bee - Blake Shelton
Mean - Taylor Swift
Mama's Song - Carrie Underwood 

* I'm not the biggest country fan but I know many people are so I'll spend a little time on country too. Based on the results from the Country Music Awards, it looks like it's Jason Aldean's year, but Taylor Swift has had a pretty serious winning streak so we'll see who comes out on top of this showdown. I'm thinking it just might be Jason this year.

Best Country Album

 

My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean
Chief - Eric Church
Own The Night - Lady Antebellum
Red River Blue - Blake Shelton
Here For A Good Time - George Strait
Speak Now - Taylor Swift

 

* I'm pretty sure this one's going to Taylor Swift. But by just a hair past Jason Aldean. Lady Antebellum will put up a good fight but they've already had a year, and even though Blake Shelton really came into the spotlight after his marriage to Miranda Lambert and his judging spot on The Voice, I don't think he can pull out a win on this one.

Of course there are many more categories for all genres of music but these, among a few others, are the ones that are broadcast on the show itself, and the ones that resonate the most with everyone. So there you have it, I'll leave you with my favorite LL Cool J song in honor of this year's host and the after-parties that are sure to ensue: Headsprung.  Enjoy the Grammy's everyone!

Superbowl

Are you ready for some football?!

There are so many exciting things about the Superbowl. You've got the game, you've got the commercials, you've got the party, you've got the food, you've got the booze, AND you've got the halftime show. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about all of that. Let me break this down for you, I'll start with the party.

PARTY:

Whoever is hosting the party knows that their guests will be arriving at least a couple of hours early; you want to be able to schmooze before game time. The Superbowl Party is an event that, similar to any other American holiday/tradition, has very important staples. Namely: chatting over beer, chips and dip, and wings, among other ad-ins per party of course. The Zac Brown Band has it right when they sing "a little bit of chicken fried, cold beer on a [Sunday] night". Ok, ok, the real lyric is Friday but hey, those two sound good on any day of the week!
So the guests are filling up their stomachs, everyone's talking and happy, and now we move from Country music, one American genre, to another, the National Anthem. This year the National Anthem will be sung by none other than THE American Idol herself, Kelly Clarkson!

GAME:

The coin flips and fans across the country wait on baited breath for their team to win the toss. The game has begun and you are ready to go! This year, the matchup is a rematch: the New York Giants versus the New England Patriots. In honor of these teams, we'll go ahead and add "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra and "Rock and Roll Band" by the band Boston. But I'm going to add in "I Love New York/New York," an original song by the Glee cast because I love Glee, but more importantly today I'm rooting for the Giants!!

HALFTIME:

The halftime show is the moment during the game where opposing fans can come together for a minute and just enjoy the music. And who better to do that this year than the Queen of Pop, Madonna?! This week Madonna released her new single "Give Me All Your Lovin'" to get everyone ready for the Superbowl. The song features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. who will be at the Superbowl with Madonna, and the music video has a football/cheerleader theme to really add that extra Superbowl umph.
Rumor has it that LMFAO will be making an appearance during Madonna's performance as well. No word on what they will be performing but for now we're just excited to "Party Rock" with them again.


No matter who you're rooting for tonight have a great time at the party! And to get you pumped up I leave you with the
NBC Sunday Night football Song.


Chicken Fried
New York, New York
Rock and Roll Band
I Love New York/New York
Give Me All Your Lovin'
Party Rock

Groundhog's Day

When I was little, living in New Jersey, I remember the excitement of the possibility of snow in the winter. In the second grade my teacher even taught us the snow dance to summon the snow the next morning. While iPods, Pandora, and Spotify monopolize music listening today, back then it was all about the radio. I loved the radio, not only for the music and the joy I would get from the chance of hearing my favorite song played when I was listening, but also for the morning shows. Sure, there are still morning shows on the radio today, but most of them are syndicated around the country, they're not as personal as they once were. Back then I listened religiously to 97.5 PST, now 94.5, which played none other than "the best of the 70's, 80's, and today" and "the best of the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today" as we moved into the Millennium. But I digress.

So what was great about the morning show was that they would talk about music and pop culture, they would talk about things going on locally, AND they would be the first to tell you if your school was closed for a snow day! Of course the school district would call all the parents and let them know, but it was the anticipation of lying in your bed, the covers wrapped up to your nose with just enough room to breath but not enough to be cold, the hum of "Winter Wonderland" beginning to creep from your lips with hope, just waiting for those few small words that could make it the best day ever.

And then you realize snow is fun for that one day but not so much after that. The white turns to black, the powder turns to slush, the leftover wetness turns to black ice, and the wind feels like it's pushing you back rather than propelling you towards fun. All of a sudden you can't wait for it to be Spring, and the attention you gave to hoping and wishing and waiting for snow on any given day, turns to a very specific February 2nd. Groundhog's Day.

I don't know how many Punxutawny Phil's there have been over the years, or why the groundhog is the chosen animal for this momentous task, but I know that that's the name of the little guy we rely on to provide us with the news that we will either have to suffer through 6 more weeks of winter or we get to welcome spring a little early. If he sees his shadow then things are looking dark and dreary with 6 more weeks of winter, boo! You start to feel gloomy, like Eeyore, and think to yourself "nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows my sorrow." But if he does not see his shadow then the sun is shining without a cloud in the sky and you are ready to burst into "I see skies of blue, ..."

Now, I have to point out that there are some regions of the country, like Florida or California where I lived for 9 years collectively, that really don't give a second thought to Groundhog's Day. It's sunny all year round, with the occasional rainy day, so what's another "6 weeks of winter," who cares? I almost forgot what the change of seasons felt like after all that time until I moved back up to DC. While we didn't have such a terrible winter, I will still be on "Team Spring" come tomorrow morning when I watch the news. Don't get me wrong, the snow is pretty while it lasts, last winter I even had my best friend do that old snow dance I learned along with me and guess what, it worked! But I'm over the cold this year, I'm ready to see flowers and ready to wake up to "Here Comes the Sun." Interestingly, here in DC, as well as the majority of the northeast, even Chicago!, we have been experiencing an unusual rise in temperature over the past few days, almost as if something is trying to tell us that Spring is truly on it's way. That's right, "it's gettin' hot in herre, so take off all your"... jackets? Ok, not quite so warm as to pull out those bathing suits just yet but hey, I'll take a jacket-less walk around town! I'm trying not to get my hopes up but I'm crossing my fingers that these 60-70 degree day anomalies we've been relishing in January are not so fleeting.

For those of you down south, keep enjoying your year-round 85 and sunny days, and keep your fingers crossed for the rest of us poor cold souls up here. I'm just teasing; but seriously, as long as I don't wake up on February 3rd to find out it's February 2nd again, I think that no matter what the outcome of Punxutawney Phil's morning is, I'll be good ;) Happy Groundhog's Day!


Winter Wonderland
Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (a rendition from one of my favorite shows)
What a Wonderful World
Here Comes the Sun
Hot in Herre