I USED TO LISTEN TO INDIE-ROCK

But now I kind of get my kicks out of listening to whatever new sound Clementine has discovered. Sometimes it's just babbling during nap time. Often it's a guttural/gurgling sound that I swear sounds like a baby Chewbaca. Other times it's whatever music her jumpy seat makes or the lullabies on her iPod (yes, she has one along with a 40" flat screen, an xbox and the Kinect...her dad finds it necessary to pimp out her nursery with techy gadgets).

While I absolutely love my new playlist, I also know that it's a slippery slope I'm on. I mean, music and concerts and concert t-shirts have always been such a source of joy and bonding with Nate and I. We love music together. And I don't want to lose that because we are a trio now. A few months after we started dating we decided to go to Coachella and it's been concerts and head bobbing and ticket stubs ever since. Once I find babysitters that I'm sure won't ruin her I'm looking forward to getting back to a few shows this year, just us.

In a few months we're flying to LA to hang out with Nate's sister Emma. She's really fun and pretty and always makes me laugh. She invited Nate to go to Coldplay at the Hollywood Bowl with her and I invited myself and Clementine to come too. It will be Clemmy's first concert outside of my belly (she heard many shows floating around in amniotic fluid like The Kills, The Black Keys, U2, Pete Yorn, Old 97's...). I purchased cute little noise-canceling ear muffs for her so no need to worry about her damaged hearing.

I'm looking forward to sharing good music with Clementine. She's exposed to tuneless songs with nonsensical lyrics every day as I sing all about folding laundry, changing poopy diapers and, most importantly, taking baths and going night night.She knows what off-key means, of this I'm sure.

But in the meantime, until Nate and I put on our coolest old shabby concert tees and get our hands stamped at the next club, I'm gonna sit back and listen happily to the joyful sounds of Clementine while she performs her latest trick...grabbing her toes. No regrets. She absolutely gets my head bobbing.

She smiles like this when I sing poorly.

QUICK UPDATE

It's getting late {10:30 which translates into Tonia's bedtime} so I'll be brief out of necessity.

Nate and I were supposed to be in London right now. We were supposed to see Blur play in Hyde Park. We were supposed to take an entire week of vacation. But we didn't. It's sad but true. We canceled our London trip and alternately filled up three days in Denver. We stayed at the Courtyard on 16th Street, worked out in their great gym, shopped at Park Meadows Mall, and saw an epic Wilco concert at Red Rocks.

It's time to go back to work. And travel. I'll be in four different states this week {Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona, and Washington}. In the midst of it all, my plans are to become a blogger again; I'm sure anyone who did read this blog has given up on the drab, old content. But I'm going to blog again and often.

In the meantime, here is a photo I took at the concert {with my new Nikon Coolpix S630 camera. Yay!}. This photo is my new screensaver and a photo I will see every day. It will remind me what it felt like to be at Red Rocks, sitting next to Nate, smelling the fresh air, seeing the Colorado sky and listening to "I am trying to break your heart."

FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Nate and I have been hypnotized by a very long and thorough documentary of rock called, "HEAVY, The History of Metal". Now I know more than I've ever wanted to know about bands like Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, and Motley Crue. One quote we heard made the hours of mindless rock trivia worth while.
Jani Lane, Warrant front man, wrote Cherry Pie one night. It was supposed to be just one track on the new album originally titled, "Uncle Tom's Cabin". But once Cherry Pie was embraced by the record label, the album was retitled Cherry Pie. Lane continues, "...the album was cherry pie, the record was called *cherry pie, I was suddenly doing *cherry pie eating contests, I was known as the *cherry pie guy, my whole life was cherry pie. I wanted to shoot myself in the *head for writing that song." *explitives removed to respect the PG13 rating of this blog.

Haven't we all been there with Jani Lane? We work our whole lives to be the best we can be and one little mistake, one dumb move, and we're forever known as "the cherry pie guy".

IT JUST FELT RIGHT AGAIN

July 3, 2009, Hyde Park London, Blur. Get ready UK, Nate and I are coming to get our Rock Star on; good and proper.

BEST SOUNDTRACK FOR RUNNING

I started running at 6am in the basement. It's lonely down there, staring at the cement floors and storage boxes. What would really help is a good workout mix. I need a good variety of songs, lots of upbeat tempos. Suggestions please.

SXSW HERE I COME

Not that I've been an incredibly structured blogger these days; I have been so incredibly busy. I will try to post some photos and a review of South by Southwest this weekend when I return. In the meantime, I'll be going here for the next few days.

ISN'T NEW YEAR'S EVE ALL ABOUT MUSIC?

Nate and I will probably celebrate New Year's Eve together and low-key. We'll go eat at one of our favorite eating establishments in Salt Lake City {nothing too fancy please} and then retire home where we'll listen to a lot of music and celebration on some TV station. I used to feel a lot of pressure to do something big and special but the older I get the more I appreciate rolling under the radar.
Since New Year's Eve is all about the music, I thought I'd share a few gems I found on YouTube from Duffy. Enjoy.

Borderline:


The First Cut is the Deepest:


Wonderwall:

FRANZ FERDINAND

Nate and I went to Vegas last weekend to see Franz Ferdinand perform at the Hard Rock Casino. This band is one of the best I've seen on stage; a lot of energy and they truly look and act like rock stars. I dare you NOT to jump up and down when they sing Take Me Out!
Here are a few pics from the weekend of glutenous rock and rolla!

COLDPLAY ON A SATURDAY NIGHT

Nate and I went with a bunch of friends to see Coldplay in SLC on Saturday. Great show. They came out on a side stage that might have been just 10 feet from us. I could smell Chris' b.o. The show was high energy and at one point the band serpentined up through the crowd and played a few songs up on a perch surrounded by lucky fans. Here are some photos.

BENEFIT CONCERT RECAP

The Bridge School benefit concert was really great. It was so much fun to watch the kids {sitting in risers behind the performers} get excited and clap and wield those drumsticks to the beat of Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, Norah Jones, Smashing Pumpkins, Jack Johnson, and Neil Young. Here are some pics from the day.

GETTING MY HARVEST MOON ON!

I'm flying out to San Francisco on Sunday morning to attend the Bridge School's benefit concert {founded by Mr. Neil Young, aka Harvest Moon}. All proceeds go to benefit the Bridge School who has a compelling list of beliefs on their website:

• Everyone should have the opportunity to achieve his or her maximal potential.
• Everyone should have the opportunity to share knowledge, express feelings and be heard.
• Everyone should actively participate in his or her own learning.
• All children should have access to a quality education that encompasses a broad base of knowledge and experiences.
• Children, families, and educators must work in partnership to effectively support learning.
• Everyone should have access to a holistic communication system and technology is a tool that can enhance the communication and learning process.

I happen to have a brother with severe mental and physical challenges and I WHOLE HEARTEDLY support any organization dedicated to creating a better experience for kids with disabilities. Along with all the kids from The Bridge School, I'll be rocking out to Neil and Pegi Young, Smashing Pumpkins, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, Cat Power, and Josh Groban. I guess I'm willing to muscle through Josh Groban if I absolutely have to {anyone who knows me knows it will be HARD}.

NEW YORK I LOVE YOU

LCD Soundsystem.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: THE KILLS

Last weekend Nate and I combined business with pleasure and flew to Austin {this is the pleasure part} to see The Kills play at Stubbs BBQ as part of Austin City Limits. The Kills were an opening act for The Butthole Surfers but we didn't stay to get our punk on. We had friends waiting back at the hotel to hang out with.
There I was, squeezed between sweet smelling Nate and one of the sourest smelling men I've come across, focusing ever so intently on VV and Hotel and NOT the smells oh so familiar to the front row of any show.
After watching the show and returning to the hotel, we hung out with Jet and Jana until almost 3am. The next day I flew home and Nate stayed to do some work in Texas {the business part}. Here is one of the songs I recorded with our Canon PowerShot. Go VV!!

TIRED OF YOUR OWN PLAYLISTS?

My husband is always in the know with cool technology and applications. He discovered Pandora Radio and has been touting it ever since. Imagine this: you are in a Radionhead mood, but you don't necessarily want to listen to just Radiohead nor do you want to take the time to create a playlist.

It's time for Pandora Radio. Just type in the name of your favorite band and it does the rest. A beautiful and ecclectic "if you like this then you'll also like this" collage. Might I suggest trying "Love and Rockets." It's brings up some unexpected but perfectly brilliant like-songs.

For an extra bit of zing you can download this app onto your iPod touch and play Pandora Radio via wifi from there. With all the music taken care of, all you have to worry about is, say, pulling on your yellow rubber cleaning gloves and getting that last bit of deep cleaning done before winter sets in.


















*photo via getty images

LAST DAY OF MAGIC: HELLO AUSTIN CITY LIMITS!

Nate and I have scheduled a quick weekend trip to Austin {part of Austin City Limits} on Sept. 27 to see The Kills. If you think this video seems a little violent, you should have driven by our house Saturday afternoon when a water fight/violent outburst broke out on our front porch {read: never start a water fight on the front porch after you've spent two hours cleaning the windows}.

LOLLA LAND

What does 75,000 people all mashed into Chicago's Grant Park look like? This.























Nate and I hung out with Tim and Brandi and had a great time listening to the likes of The Kills {VV is Nate's current obsession and crush (sorry Amy Adams)}, Duffy, Cat Power, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Wilco, Love and Rockets, Iron and Wine, Okkerville River, The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Rage Against the Machine and NIN. Those last two will definitely secure me in anger management classes through the end of the year.
Highlights of the trip? Hanging out with Tim and Brandi, twighlight with Radiohead and Wilco and the Chicago skyline, nightly stops at Walgreens on Michigan Ave for drinks and snacks after the show, the architecture river/lake tour {Wendella tours}, how perfectly we slept in the hotel room {Marriott on Ontario, just off the Magnificent Mile}, Pandera Bread for breakfast every morning before the show, Nate reenacting Ferris Buhler at the top of Sears Tower, the tornado that tore through Illinois as our plane was preparing for take-off, our emergency "de-plane" and warnings to stay away from the windows in the airport. I guess 80 mph wind can be hazardous.
Here are some photos of the weekend.

FOUR LITTLE WORDS

Wilco. Red Butte Gardens.

WANT TO HEAR NEW INDIE MUSIC BEFORE IT'S POPULAR?

Visit 3hive.com and listen to full-length songs from bands you've likely never heard of. And if you discover your new favorite band then I'm taking all the credit!

DUFFY IS THE NEW WINEHOUSE

Duffy was pegged to be one of the great talents to flow out of the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin. I downloaded her album and it's actually really great. She has that retro sound, similar to Amy Winehouse, but without all the scary beehive hair and wicked eyebrows. I recommend giving this Welsh beauty a listen.

FAVORITE LOVE SONGS

Michelle had a post about her favorite love song. Which got me to thinking about my own favorite love songs. There are so so many. But here are a few I could listen to over and over.

Two of Us, The Beatles {performed at our wedding by Ryan and Holly}


Give a Little Bit, Super Tramp {also performed by Ryan and Holly as a surprise from Nate}


Annie's Song, John Denver {always will be one of my favorites}


She Believes in Me, The Great Kenny Rogers {so many times I listened to this on LP...best moment ever: when he says, "God our love is true"}


Last Goodbye, Jeff Buckley

Two, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals {this might be the new Nate and Tonia song}


I Love You, Climax Blues Band {one of my true favorites}

Thank you, Led Zeppelin {loved it since college}


Be Careful, Patti Griffin {my deepest apologies for the video. it was the best recording}


The Day Brings, Brad {just nice and easy}