Kat with a K

Song of the Day: Taylor Swift does "White Blank Page"

I'm a huge fan of both Taylor Swift and Mumford & Sons, but even I was a little skeptical of Taylor Swift COVERING Mumford & Sons. But it's actually pretty good!

Songs of the Day: Sixteen

My friend Megan turns sixteen today, so I thought I'd do a song of the day for her: one of those sixteenth birthday songs, like "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" or "Sixteen Candles." And then I listened to them and realized that they're all romantic AND also kind of creepy and paternalistic, which I didn't notice so much when I was a kid. But I kind of love them anyway. So here they are, and let us marvel at their sweet grossness together.

Please note how Ringo subtly changes the lyrics to make it even creepier:

Song of the Day: "Don't Turn Out the Lights"

I'm taking a break from my book-of-the-month themed songs for the first single from the new supergroup NKOTBSB. Yes, that's New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys. HEE. (Also, I wonder how Donnie Wahlberg feels about this musical resurgence happening right when he finally has a successful TV show?)

Amanda Seyfried Covers "Little Red Riding Hood"

I've given up on seeing her Red Riding Hood movie in the theater - it's supposed to be SO BAD that I'll just wait for Netflix - but, wow. I had no idea she sang. Or played. This is not half bad. (Apparently she sang in Mamma Mia, but I still have not managed to see that.)

Song of the Day: "Awake My Soul"

Song to Counteract Glee: "Animal"

When Glee does a good job with a song I like, I sometimes end up buying their version. When they do a bad song, I end up spending the next day listening to the original over and over to get the Glee version out of my head. In case you're in a similar boat with "Animal" today, here you go:

Song of the Day: "Cherish"

Song of the Day: "Hey Now"

Yeah, I'm on a Burn Notice kick.

Listed: 5 SiriusXM Stations I Like More Than I Expected

(Listed is a new [daily-ish? we'll see] feature, because a) I love lists and b) sometimes I just want to tell you I like something or don't like something or whatever without writing out a big long explanation.)

1. Caliente

2. Chill

3. Lithium

4. Faction

5. 20 on 20

Unicorns! Rainbow laser beams! JAMES VAN DER BEEK!

Ke$ha's new video is really freaking epic:

Song of the Day: "Happiness Is Overrated"

I'm sure those of you who have names that are in songs can relate to this. I grew up with people singing that "K-K-K-Katy" song at me all the time, and now I hate that song with a FIERY BURNING PASSION. So, as though I did not love Vampire Diaries music supervisor Chris Mollere enough already, I was thrilled to find that he found a MUCH BETTER song with my name in it to use on the show last night. Behold:

Song of the Day: "Family Tree"

I know this was one of the songs in my TVD post last night, but I'm kind of obsessed, so I'm embedding it in hopes that more of you will listen. Heh.

More New Music from Peter, Bjorn, and John: "Second Chance"

Is this "ooh ooh" stuff at the beginning going to be the new whistling? Is this going to be in every ad and TV show all spring and summer? SAVE US. (I do like the song in general, though.)

Song of the Day: "Please Mr. Postman"

Gladys Horton, lead singer of the Marvelettes, has died in California.

Song of the Day: "Rise"

Castle fans might want to pay particular attention - this is the song that was playing in the last few minutes of this week's amazing episode. I love it in general, but the lyrics are also perfect for those scenes. So. New musical obsession! (Although it's Glen Hansard, so it's not really that new to me, I guess.)

Not that I expect pop songs to be particularly original . . .

But doesn't "Maybe" by the Sick Puppies . . .

. . . sound kind of astonishingly like "Whatever It Takes" by Lifehouse?

New Music from The Mountain Goats: "Damn These Vampires"

I mean, how can you not get pulled in by a title like that? But the song is actually good, I promise. You can listen to it (and download) at Stereogum. The Mountain Goats are a band I've always meant to start listening to properly - I don't know tons of their music, but I've always liked what I've heard, and it seems like they have a lot of song series, internal mythology, etc. and the listening experience would (probably) be improved by understanding it. (And one of their albums was used in the homework for my cataloging class in library school, so I know random stuff about them!) The album is out in March.

Can we talk about Michael Buble?

Does anyone else find Michael Buble's new single "Hollywood" to be kind of . . . baffling? I'm mean, it's just so judgy for something coming from A BIG FAMOUS POP STAR. I mean, sure, he's not exactly a teen idol, but he's not a toiling unknown who eschews commercial success, either. It sounds so bitter and un-self-aware that I started wondering if it was aimed at some particular ex-girlfriend or something, because seriously, so much contempt. But then I watched the video:

And it really does seem to be talking about . . . alternate versions of himself? So I guess I'm just back to being confused. What I am not confused about: Please grow a beard like your Western alter ego, Michael Buble. That's a good look for you.

New from Peter, Bjorn & John: "Breaker Breaker"

Remember that time a few years ago when that one Peter, Bjorn & John song got stuck in all of our heads for like six months straight? Ah, memories. Anyway, they have something new with which to torment us. Although this one has no whistling, so maybe there's hope. (Their new album comes out in March.)

Out Today: The King Is Dead by The Decemberists

I've liked things The Decemberists have done in the past, but I listened to this whole album (via NPR) and loved it. It has both a folky and a classic rock feel at times, and it keeps up their trademark obscure references while feeling more accessible to the casual listener. And there's a sea shanty. Of course. And Gillian Welch! Really, give it a try. (I just noticed the CD is only $6.99 at Amazon at the moment!)

A few thoughts on the "Back to December" video

1. Disclaimer: I know nothing about music videos and watch them rarely. Mostly if Alyssa tells me to. So take everything I say with a grain of salt.

2. I'll just come out and say it: I've given up apologizing for it or calling it a guilty pleasure or anything - I just love Taylor Swift. I am now an unabashed fan. Sorry.

3. I basically agree with everything Carina says here, and yet I also sort of love it.

4. Sure, it's kind of overwrought, but visually, I really like the house filling with snow and the various other winter images. My actual thought was "This is closer to Wallander than she's ever been!" I suppose that's probably an unusual reaction among her fan base, but STILL.

5. I can't decide whether the various articles claiming to not know which of her famous exes this is about are for real, but seriously, folks, do your research. This is Taylor Lautner. Obvs.

6. Okay, so I DO like this, but it's also kind of a letdown because I had such clear images in my head of what was going on during the song. It's much more "hotel after running into him at an awards show" than it is "empty house and high school football field."

7. Guy has some seriously great handknits, huh? I may have to watch this a few more times just to figure out the stitch pattern of his scarf. (Seed? Moss? Double moss?)

8. Oh, to the question of why she's releasing this so late, after the album came out in October - given the title and the winter imagery, I'm wondering if she wanted to wait until, you know, after December. OR if she was waiting for the Jake breakup story to blow up and wanted to have something to take the attention away from that.

9. I LOVE the way the guy audibly sighs at the end. HEE.

Oh, one more - 10. The pantslessness worked here, thematically, but Taylor, honey, DO NOT MAKE A HABIT OF THIS. Taylor Momsen you are not. Thank God.

Song of the Day: "Save Your Heart for Me"

This is entirely random, but I found this as an unpublished post from October, so I figured I might as well throw it out there. I have absolutely no recollection of why I picked it at the time, but I love Gary Lewis and the Playboys, even though my dad insists they only got anywhere because of Gary's father's connections.

My Five Favorite Albums of 2010

I realized while putting this together that I really didn't pay as much attention to music this year as I'd like - most notable is the fact that I'm not really aware of any new classical releases, and that's actually my favorite genre - and I'll try to remedy that next year. But here are my five favorite new albums. Please note that I am just saying favorite, not best. For example, I am in no way saying that Taylor Swift's album is musically better than any number of other things. What I'm saying is that I got it the day it came out and haven't managed to stop listening to it since. So, for better or worse, this is what grabbed me this year:

In list form:
1. Speak Now, Taylor Swift
2. Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons
3. Kaleidoscope Heart, Sara Bareilles
4. Teen Dream, Beach House
5. Habits, Neon Trees

And here, if this works correctly, you can listen to bits of all the songs. (It's just in a list, one album after the other, in the order listed above.)

In defense of Taylor Swift...

I've been listening to Swift's new album kind of constantly since it came out, so I wrote about her a little over at Alyssa's.

The Royal Engagement, plus some neat songs I heard recently

Happy Tuesday! I am listening to the Glee Christmas album (which is amazing and wonderful, by the way) and drinking cocoa and generally feeling festive. And I just noticed that the milk I bought tonight doesn't expire until January 4, so wow, the end of the year is really creeping up on us, isn't it?

Announcement! I am working on a NaNoWriMo advice blog post! So if you have questions or topics you want me to address, please put them in the comments. I realize I probably should have done this at the beginning of the month, but better late than never, right?

Speaking of comments: Gmail has started sending some comment notifications to the spam folder. I'm trying to catch them all, but some may be slipping through the cracks. If your comment never shows up and I don't answer it, feel free to leave another or email me.

The Royal Engagement

As I tweeted this morning, all of my childhood hopes and dreams were finally officially dashed: Prince William is engaged. I know some people are already sick of hearing about this, but I am so excited about the prospect of a royal wedding. And yes, I understand that it's not actually vitally important news and doesn't need to be on CNN constantly, as I hear it was today. (I was at work.) I'm just saying I want to buy magazines full of pretty pictures and find a way to order some tacky souvenirs, and then probably stay up all night watching coverage of the event itself. Because, really, I care about the royal family far more than I care about pretty much any American celebrities. I grew up playing with paper dolls of them. I am emotionally invested.

And hey, this will certainly lead to all sort of fun things to read. Already today we have this explanation of why Kate is an awesome name and this list of historical events that took less time than William and Kate's courtship. And Matt Yglesias is taking the opportunity to make a pretty decent case for monarchy here, as a follow-up to this. I'm pretty convinced.

And now for a musical interlude . . .

Hey, Listen to These!

One of the reasons why I sort of love long drives is because they provide the opportunity to listen to a bunch of music, and concentrate on it more than I usually do when I have music on in the background while working or writing or cleaning the house. And XM Radio has been a revelation in this department. It used to be that, say, as soon as I crossed the border into Maine, my radio options became 80% country. Now I can continue listening to my ridiculous number of stations wherever I am.

Usually when I'm just driving around town, if I'm not in the mood for a particular genre of music, I cycle through a certain subset of the XM options. (My standard rotation: the decade pop stations [40s-90s], the current pop stations, Lithium [90s alternative], Alt Nation [current alternative], and On Broadway.) But when I'm on a long drive, I go through pretty much all the stations to see what grabs my fancy. And that means that I often end up hearing some random new stuff, or at least new to me; it's completely possible that you all have known these songs for years. But I just heard them over the weekend, so I am going to inflict them upon you now.

First, a Counting Crows cover of the Eagles's "Amie:"

Really, don't these lyrics actually sound like Adam Duritz should have written them? I never really thought about it until I came across this, but wow.

And how about a Tori Amos cover of Springsteen's "I'm on Fire"?

It's just so . . . unexpected, but it works.

Now, I like Snow Patrol, but there's just something about "Chasing Cars" that makes me . . . well, usually makes me change the station before it finishes, frankly. But this remix was great:

Song of the Day: "Sparks Fly"

I'm working on a review of the whole album, but I woke up with this one in my head, so...

Song of the Day: "Roll Over Beethoven"

Chuck Berry week continues...

Song of the Day: "You Never Can Tell'

Gwyneth Goes Country?

I know this is for her new movie, which actually looks fairly decent - Leighton Meester! - but it's still vaguely baffling. I mean, there is clearly some sort of GOOP joke to be made here, right? It's a . . . somewhat inconsistent career vision, it seems. The song itself isn't particular memorable, but it isn't wildly awful, either, so there's that.