Living In Rhythm

I am a crier. I cry. A lot. At a lot of things. It's therapeutic and wonderful and I love it.

I cry at movies and television. I cry when I'm listening to music, and I cry when I'm reading. It feels good to cry sometimes.

But still, every once in a while, something comes along that makes me cry and catches me off guard.

This weekend, that thing was a McDonald's commercial.

It's no secret to my friends and family that I find something so pure and beautiful about the relationship between a father and a daughter. Perhaps it's because I'm a bit of a daddy's girl myself.

Either way, this commercial had tears falling down my cheeks. 30 seconds, and I was crying.

The fact that hockey is the backbone is just a bonus.

There is little better in the media industry than a clever and well-thought-out ad. I really hope this one wins some awards.

So, yesterday was a Tuesday, which means new music day. Usually, I like to wait until the end of the week so I can read tons of reviews before purchasing albums, but I'm at the point with a few artists, where I just know that I will buy (and like) the albums no matter what kind of reviews they get.

Here's what I bought. I went with the intention of buying three albums. Got a little carried away.

Rascal Flatts - Unstoppable
Missy Higgins - On a Clear Night
Gavin Degraw - Free
Keith Urban - Defying Gravity
Adele - 19
Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks

OK, so I'm sure it would surprise a lot of people that I didn't own this Adele record before now. Not gonna lie, I kind of hate myself for not buying it sooner. It's amazing. No doubt. Her voice is incredible, and I absolutely love her lyrics. She's fantastic, and this album is on repeat right now.

Keith Urban can do very little wrong. He's got a formula for his songs, and it works. Great voice, great guy. Adore him.

Rascal Flatts. This is one of those groups that you listen to and ask yourself, usually out loud, 'Why do I love these guys so much!?' I don't know the answer, and it really doesn't matter. Their songs are amazing, and they've got the half-fast country tune niche on lock. No one does a 'These Days' or a 'Holdin' On' like these guys do.

Missy Higgins. Another album that I wish I had sooner, but this one has been on order at my HMV forever, and it finally came in. Missy writes from a place I don't know how to get to, and it would bug me that I can't, but I know that even if I could go there, she'd still kick my ass, musically speaking.

Jordin Sparks. I wrote a blog like, a year ago, about wanting to buy this album, but not sure if I should. It was $10, so I added it to the stack. And I love it. Feel good music. Uplifting. She's freaking 17 and she can sing. The songs might be pure pop, but she does pure pop well. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Gavin. Gavin, to me, can do no wrong. Free feels good. I don't know if that makes sense, but it just feels...light. Great songs, great lyrics, stripped down production. I love everything about this album. "Good luck out there getting where you think you're headed for." Just one of the many lyrics in these nine songs that make me shake my head at his brilliance.

Every once in a while, while I'm at work, I need a break. It's not abnormal. It's not strange. I don't feel guilty for checking out blogs I like or ichatting my friend pictures of actors I enjoy. It just breaks up the day, and makes me happy.

Happiness is something you need to grab onto in any way you can.

Mine, this morning, came in the form of Austin Nichols. I'm not going to lie, this isn't the first time.

There is one blog I follow pretty religiously, and it's listed on my page, here. He happens to write every now and again, and his latest words just about knocked me out of my chair.

"But something about that song JACKSON,
when John and June sang it, there is something in
there that knocks me out. It's like a bolt of lightning
struck my skull and penetrated straight to my heart.

Did a song ever do that to you?

What is it?

Name it.

It makes me want to cry and scream and laugh
and love a woman real real hard. All at once.

It makes me want to scream from the rooftops.
I hope everybody's been doin' some of that lately.

Get to it.

But more and more, people ask me questions and
I have learned to not answer them. Cause I can't
really speak the answer. But I feel it. And I do know it.

When something inspires you, it just does.
You don't have to describe it. In fact, I say, DON'T!!!!!"

I feel like he's saying exactly what I've been trying to say for so long, and in the process, he's still somehow saying, "It's OK! Stop trying to say it! No one else needs to know."

And yes, there are a ton of songs that do that to me. Many, many. But now I don't want to name them. I want them to myself. I don't want to have to justify that feeling now. I feel like I don't have to.

When people find out I am an avid American Idol watcher, they're either totally surprised, or not surprised at all. They either think that I have 'better' taste than to watch (which I think is ridiculous. Good music is good music), or they know that whatever shows focus on singing, I'll be watching.

And every year, there's someone that I fall in love with on the show, musically speaking. Whether or not that person goes far - or even makes it to the top 10 - doesn't matter. I always say "If ___ gets kicked off, I'm not watching any more!" But it's always a lie.

This year, I am ALL about Matt Giraud. I've been quiet about it so far, since no one's really asked me about him. I've loved him since his first audition. Then he sang in Hollywood week and blew me, and everyone else, away.

Who's Loving You, Human Nature, So Small, Let's Get It On...All amazing. He hasn't slipped up since the close call with the Coldplay song, which I still didn't really think was that bad.

I swear, the runs he did at the beginning of Who's Loving You, and at the end of Let's Get It On...He should get a record deal based on those runs alone.

He has more natural talent than anyone else on the show this year, hands down. Piano, vocals, performance. He's incredible.

So now, I want him to lose. Come in third or second so he can make a GREAT album instead of the usual watered down American Idol winner debut album with whatever cheesy single they have written by some teenager in Kansas or whatever.

I have a theory that coming in second on American Idol is the best way to kick start you career. But maybe that's a topic for another day.

I shop pretty exclusively for music at the HMV in the mall near my house. It's just a short drive, it's right near the entrance where there's always parking, and it's well laid out. There's nothing worse than a poorly laid out music store.

Anyway, there was this one guy who worked there who knew me. I'm in there once a week, and so he came to know my style. We never learned each other's names, for that wasn't important. He knew what/who I liked, and he'd suggest titles to grow my collection. We talked for 10 minutes the week after we each bought Lady Antebellum's debut album, about how incredible it was.

He was fantastic.

I haven't seen him in about a month, and I miss him.

I bought new music this weekend. Robin Thick's Something Else, Jamie Foxx's Intuition, Sugarland's Enjoy the Ride, and a Miles Davis compilation.

My HMV guy would have understood. He would have chuckled a little at my eclectic taste, but he would have ultimately appreciated the diversity. We would have chatted about Sugarland's new album and why I haven't bought it yet. He would have, no doubt, told me of a rare Miles Davis recording that I should search for. Or something like that.

Anyway, the point is that the guy who was working there just scanned the CDs, then my credit card, and I was on my way.

I miss talking about music so candidly with someone who could only be described as a stranger. It seemed to remind me how music is a universal language. It's such a cliché, but it's true.

I don't need to know anything more about someone, if we can carry on a conversation about the overproduction on track 7 of a certain album. Agree or disagree, it means more to me to talk music with a stranger, than to talk about what I did on the weekend, with a close friend.

I'm not sure I should let myself openly cry in my office, but this song and video has totally done it.

Full on bawling. Needed a tissue to dab my cheeks, and had to hide my face from the door.

And I've got it on repeat, because it's sooooo good.

This is the kind of song I mean. I love when music makes me cry. Just love it.

Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye

So, you've probably been able to tell from former posts that I adore sad songs.

Sad, rip your heart out a little, make you cry songs. Amazing.

I think I love them so much because they just make you feel things a little deeper. Is there anything better than a breakup song? I mean, one of those really great breakup songs that make you go "fuck yeah!" when you listen to it. Like, "That's how I feel!"

Think Cry Me a River (JT), Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (JM), Leave (Josh Hoge), Cold as You (Taylor Swift), Somebody Knows You Now (Brad Paisley), Let Him Fly (Patty Griffin), Accidental Babies (Damien Rice)...I could go on and on.

Tyler Hilton has a great one. It's unreleased (as of yet), and called Don't Forget All Your Clothes.

Amazing way of talking about the end of a relationship.

Because you always, without fail, even after the ceremonial 'picking up of the things', find something the other person has left behind. A tee shirt, or a CD, or a Post It with their handwriting on it.

And really, no one needs those reminders. I don't want to find an Eels CD in my collection that he's left there. I don't want to see the beer he loved, but I don't drink, sitting in my fridge, or that weird hair wax in my bathroom.

Don't Forget All Your Clothes is great. "If you really want to go, leave nothing behind."

I just love the whole concept. Pretending not to be upset by the breakup, but still being hurt enough to not want any of that person's things in your space. Pretty intense.

I have pretty varied tastes, and I'll listen to pretty much anything. So I ask, what are some other amazing breakup songs I should check out?