Minus the cup of Joe

Are Luke and I the only people who dig listening to music on their TV?

Last fall when we moved into our new house, we finally bit the bullet and signed up for satellite service after three years without any cable whatsoever. Which was all very well and good for us, but we still weren't into formally introducing Kara to television. It wasn't that hard at the apartment when we only had a few choice channels at our disposal, but suddenly there was TLC and Lifetime Television for Women and TBS and TNT and SOAPNet oh my God, SOAPNet, I missed you most of all. It's hard to completely abstain from watching those types of shows during daylight hours, and I'm definitely guilty of watching All My Children while she's running around playing with her toys, but overall we're careful to limit her overall exposure. However, when nothing's on it can feel oddly creepy throughout the house, and we're often too lazy to go upstairs and sort through CDs to bring downstairs, and there's no good place to stash the CDs downstairs, and there's only so much Baby Einstein and Fischer-Price you can take before you want to cut out your own eardrums.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before we discovered the beauty that is satellite radio via dish service, giving us the music variety we need without having to shuffle through our DVD player all day long. There are a few stations we listen to more than others--where was Love Songs when I needed it the most?--but by far the winner in our house is the Coffee House, where singer/songwriter tunes reign supreme. It's a slightly biased station, as in any given hour you can bet you'll hear at least one song from Tracy Chapman, Ryan Adams, Ray LaMontagne, or the the Indigo Girls, but it's great background music to have on while going through the motions of your day-to-day.

Listening to the Coffee House has expanded our iTunes playlist considerably, so I thought it might be fun to share some of the newer stuff I'm listening to these days.

"Sweet Pea" - Amos Lee
I first heard this in a recent commercial for a cell phone provider--the one where the dad takes his daughter's stuffed animal on a business trip and photographs it in different places. That little girl looks a lot like I imagine Kara will in a few years, so the song stuck with me; when I heard it on the Coffee House, I recognized it immediately and knew I had to have it.

"Love is All Around" - Toby Lightman
This was played constantly during the first couple of months I was home with Nathan, so whenever I hear it, I think about my adorable little family. I like to sing it to Kara (the parts I can recite from memory, anyway), and when I get to the "love, love, love, love" part, she always smiles.

"Amie" - Counting Crows
When Luke and I lived in Rensselaer, we once attended a coffee house set by a local band who played this song, so now whenever I hear it, I think of that time in our lives when we were dating and holding down two apartments even though we shared a bed at least five days a week. This version isn't that different from the original, but I like the Counting Crows, and I don't know, it felt more age-appropriate to download this one.

"Brand New Day" - Joshua Radin
I first became a fan of this one on an episode of House where Foreman and 13 are in bed together and Wilson finally washes out his dead fiancee's coffee cup. Apparently the Coffee House liked it, too, because now it's in constant rotation. While filming a home video of Kara last week, this song happened to be playing in the background, making me love it even more. I'll try to post the video sometime soon.

"Beautiful Wreck (Live)" - Shawn Mullins
I've always liked Shawn Mullins, starting when he released his "Lullaby" single in the late nineties, so this was an easy sell.

"Hello" - Schuyler Fisk
This song strikes me as one teenaged Frema would have taken to, setting it to repeat on her CD player for hours while reminiscing about former loves and missed opportunities. As an adult, I listen to it and reminisce about teenaged Frema's (many) (many many many) mistakes. Hello, hindsight, my old friend.

"Wonder" - Natalie Merchant
When I was in high school, I thought Natalie Merchant was boring. Now as a 29-year-old wife and mother, I think she's brilliant. This song has Girl Power written all over it.

"Least Complicated" - Indigo Girls
Seriously, ALL THE TIME. Only switch out " Least Complicated" with "What Are You Like?" which I'm not so much a fan of. This one's cool, though.

"Come On, Get Higher" - Matt Nathanson
I knew about this one before the Coffee House, but I couldn't bring myself to sing along because of the "swing of your hips" line. It gives me the tinglies. I'm over it now that I hear it multiple times all the livelong day.

And two non-Coffee House staples:

"Saturday in the Park" - Chicago
The opening chords to this song always transport me into a state of J.D.-like reflection. I heard it in a movie or TV show around the time I was pregnant with Kara and included it on a CD of baby-rocking tunes for myself, so now I assoicate it with those early months with her.

"The Book of Love" - The Magnetic Fields
Peter Gabriel's version of this song was featured in the Scrubs season finale last week, during the J.D.'s futuristic home-video montage, and I bawled like a baby, partly because Scrubs has been a pastime of Luke's and mine since almost the beginning of our relationship, and I was so sad about Zach Braff leaving the show, and also because the lyrics are simple but also really beautiful.

What are you jamming to these days? Really, I want to know.

Also, all this music talk totally has me jonesing for another CD swap. I can't believe it's been almost three years since the last one! As far as themes go, I was thinking something along the lines of either a summertime mix or a life soundtrack sort of thing. Anyone game?

Comments

[AJU5's Mom]

We listen to music - but a different way - through our TV. Our TV talks to our computer where we have all of our CDs ripped. So, we can make playlists there and then play them on the TV. It is nice! I still listen to the radio some downstairs (on an old radio), but when I am tired of that I go to the music via the TV.

[rkmama]

We don't have cable so we're all about our ipod.
We are listening to:
*Adele, 19. So good I get all choked up on 3 or 4 songs and Rowan LOVES it.
*Imogen Heap (formerly of Frau Frau), Everthing. Am a sucker for her.
*Regina Spektor, Begin to Hope. Love this whole CD.
*Once soundtrack.
*Oren Lavie, The Opposite Side of the Sea. He has that really cool video, you know- this one,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HXUhShhmY

[Parsing Nonsense]

I've been feeling the funky energetic tunes lately. Some of my recent favs (courtesy of Pandora) are:
Hang Me Out to Dry - Cold War Kids
40 Feet - Franz Ferdinand
El Scorcho - Weezer

[Lindsey]

I'll have to check out the music you've listed that I'm unfamiliar with. It all sounds very good. I have to tell you though, that my favorite band of all time is Counting Crows. Apparently, I love them so much that I haven't even gone out to get their newest CD. Do people still buy CDs?? I do, damn it! :-)

[Jenny]

I'm definitely game.

I love the Sugarland version of "Come on Get Higher" more than Matt Nathanson (but maybe you'll still be biased because of his last name :).

Right now I also love "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickleback.

[Molly]

Am definitely up for another swap. We watched American Idol (which ends this week) so I've totally into music lately.

[Jen L.]

Yes! Let's do a CD swap! Life Mix sounds fun, maybe with stories for each song.

I love Shawn Mullins, too. We listen to some music on our TV, but Marcus usually hogs the remote and puts it on the 80s alternative channel. (not that I mind) Dean and I were jamming to the 90s station the other day. He was not impressed that I knew all the words to "All For Love" by Color Me Badd.

[Don]

We switched to DirecTV about a month ago, and I turn on the Coffee House station every morning. Most of that stuff, Matt Nathanson, Jack Johnson, Mat Kearney, Jason Mraz, etc., that's what I'm listening to most of the time.

[Dawn]

Both are awesome ideas that I could totally get behind, although I'll voice a slight preference for the summertime mix option.

[Trilby]

Hubby and I listen to A LOT of different music depending on who we're with, or if our children are in hearing range or not. I'm down for a swap though. Life mix sounds good, although Summer time mix may be better! :)

[Candy]

I have to second the Sugarland recommendation for "Come on Get Higher". Even if you aren't a big fan of country. Their harmony is fantastic.

[Liz]

I love Amos Lee, and the Indigo Girls. IG have a new album out!