• Amazing People,  Friends,  Music

    On Being In Tune With Teens & Their Music…

    I was in Columbus with Momo this week. Spending time with my friends is, of course, one of my very favorite things in the world. Spending time with my friends’ kids? Also a huge favorite. I love swooping in and spoiling everybody for a few days, like a very young, super cool, and extremely attractive grandma. Actually, let’s say “Aunt”, since that’s how Momo’s daughter thinks of me (She said so, and I wanted to jump across the table and hug her brains out!) or even “second momma”, which is the high honor bestowed on me by Liz‘s kids. One of the coolest things is that I became acquainted with…

  • Music

    Kid-Friendly Valentine’s Day Playlist? Easy Peasy!

    This morning while my friend Michelle and I were trying to keep our minds off the “pain” during our Dailey Method class, she asked me for some help. “I need a Valentine’s playlist for the school party this week. Can you give me some songs that are about love but kid-friendly? Something for Musical Chairs.” Oh my gosh, but I love when people ask me for music suggestions around a theme. Making playlists is one of my favorite things to do. Kid-friendly love songs? Easy peasy. Step one: eliminate Usher’s “Love In This Club” and Madonna’s “Justify My Love” because JUST NO. Sensitive ears! Also, if you’re trying to get…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Music

    Record Regret

    After lunch on Sunday we walked to the next street corner where we found a record store. As in vinyl. As in albumins. As in “Big CDs”, which was the term I used when trying to explain to my two boys what record albums were, way back in the late 90’s and before they became interested in vinyl themselves. These days, all three of us are suckers for a cool record store. (Jim’s lukewarm about it but will absolutely spend some time happily browsing if you ask him to.) We’ve all spent time with my sister on Record Store Day, tracking down colored vinyl or special releases or other treasures.…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Music,  Pretty Pictures

    Pitbull In Pictures

    On Wednesday I had the extreme pleasure of, along with my friend Samantha, being an audience member at the taping of the season premiere episode of Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show. Steve is great and all (and in fact I found lots of his small talk between takes to be very inspiring), but the “extreme pleasure” part can be credited to the presence of his guest, Pitbull. Pitbull is currently one of my very favorite entertainers. His music makes me very, very happy. His music also makes me dance, even if I’m sitting down. Sofa dancing? Totally. Car dancing? Yes, please. When I’m standing up? Look out. For real. You…

  • Friends,  Music

    What I Learned Last Friday Night

    Last Friday night Jim and I, along with Dawn and Scott (our oldest friends, who reside in central Illinois), road-tripped to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park to see Mötley Crüe perform on the Chicago stop of their final tour (or so they say). This post is not about the concert. This post is about what I learned that night. 1. I learned that it is really kind of stupid to drive from our home in the western suburbs down to Tinley Park on a Friday night. Traffic was ridiculous. That includes the traffic on the highway, the concert traffic we were in the first time when we…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Music

    Kiss, Cher, and Rock and Roll

    Buckle up for this one. It’s going to be a crazy, zig-zaggy ride. When I heard the news a couple of weeks ago that Kiss was finally going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I was thrilled, but surprised that they weren’t already in there. Sidenote: You might be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of Kiss. Surprise! I like their music a lot, I think Gene Simmons is one of the smartest business-minds out there, and shhhh! Guilty pleasure alert: I loved watching the adventures of the Tweed-Simmons family on A&E’s “Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels” (“Scripted Reality” or not, that was good…

  • I've Got Mad Skillz,  Music

    Let The Music Play

    About four years ago I had to write up a “musical resume” for The Music Mamas site: Sadly, Melisa was musically stunted as a small child by the presence of too much television. Listening to music was not something she did for fun but rather out of necessity, riding in the back of her parents’ VW Bug in the early- to mid-1970′s singing along to songs like “Delta Dawn”, “(You’re) Having My Baby” and “Afternoon Delight” (not necessarily in that order). She was given a Sony Walkman in December 1981, along with the Olivia Newton John “Physical” cassette, and no other tapes to speak of. It is for this very…

  • Music

    Come With Me And Escape

    Do you ever hear a song that was released years and years ago on the radio, and even though you’ve been singing along with it all that time you—at some point—started truly paying attention to the lyrics and, among other things, marvel at how times have changed? No? Just me? Okay. Anyway. Since I happen to have spent time on some pretty fabulous beaches last weekend and my brain continues to be obsessed with paradise as I get readjusted to real life (and Chicago winter weather UGH), I thought it would be a great time to give you an idea of what goes through my head every single time I…

  • Music,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz

    Stoopid Aweesome Indeed.

    It’s rare that a day goes by on which there isn’t music playing in this house, thanks to J and his regular practice of his DJ skills. He’s hoping to get actual gigs someday, and in order for that to happen he has to work on increasing the length of his mixes. That’s why it’s not unusual for my house to be vibrating with heavy beats on any given evening, often while we’re preparing dinner. Unlike the parents who complain about their kids’ music being too loud or annoying–I often think of those who relegate a drum set to the garage or deep in the basement–I adore what J creates.…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Music

    Made For TV On The Radio

    When I was in high school, I spent countless hours talking about music (and music videos on MTV, because the channel still played them at that time) with friends. We were obsessed with music. I’ve written a lot of posts about my favorites (Berlin, Duran Duran, and of course, Adam Ant), but a song popped into my head the other day that made me laugh, because the memory of it is something I can’t believe I hadn’t yet used for blog fodder. I’m pretty sure it was because of my friend Cyndi having had a brother in college back in 1984, but my little group of friends suddenly started listening…