Thursday At the Movies: SUICIDE SQUAD

I love the Super Hero movies. Spiderman. Iron Man. The Avengers - and the individual character movies as well. Batman (I loved Christian Bale as Batman. And I have to admit Ben Affleck killed it too!) All of them.

So the idea of a movie about all the "Bad Guys" was more than intriguing.

Bring in the August release - SUICIDE SQUAD.


Heli Dad and I went to see this movie for our anniversary last month and we loved it. There were a couple bits that elicited a questioning "Huh?" from one or the other of us, or both... cough Will Smith - great guy, we're both just getting tired of seeing him on the big screen in action movies cough. I haven't decided whether I prefer Jared Leto as Joker, over Heath Ledger's version of the villian in 2008's The Dark Knight, but I still enjoyed his take on the character. The music and soundtrack were killer - Tuesdays Tune, HEATHENS was one of the singles from the soundtrack album in fact. And can I say... Harley Quinn - you crazy, psycho loving killer chic, I love you.

But you know, overall it was a pretty kick ass movie. One we will definitely be getting on blu-ray and dvd when it comes out in that format.

So have you seen it? Did you like it, hate it? Are you ambivalent?

Tuesday's Tunes: HEATHENS

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One of the highlights of this summer was the constant discovery of new music. Some by artists that I’ve known, liked, loathed or ignored in the past, and some that I have never even heard of.  However the last couple weeks of summer inevitably brought out the worst in the Corner Table Kids, so after discovering this song over the summer I decided to make it my theme song of the past week.

Enjoy! 

Heathens - Twenty One Pilots

ps… Did you see Suicide Squad? But more on that later....

TUESDAY'S TUNES: Hedley Concert Day - Part 1

So tonight Princess and I are off to see the performances of the local stop on the Hedley Hello World Tour. We attended their show (Wild Life tour) the last time they were here in our home town and it was a great show that we loved every minute... including the 2-3 encores they performed.

To say that we're excited is an understatement. 

(We've honestly been counting down for this show since we attended the Marianas Trench concert at the end of March!)

Hedley is one band that nearly everyone in our family enjoys and the simple truth is that we love them.

So for now enjoy this video of Lose Control from the Hello album, and I'll try to pop back on tonight after the show to share our thoughts about the performances and (possibly) to share a video!

Lose Control - Hedley

Tuesdays Tunes: START A RIOT

You've probably heard this song a dozen times. Possibly even more than that. 

Maybe the melody stuck in your head.

Maybe a phrase or two caught your attention.

Honestly, I heard this song day after day (while driving the Corner Table Kids to school) and never realized that I was singing along until Angel Face asked me what the song was called. And then I was stumped because even though I'd been happily singing along, seemingly knowing all the lyrics as well, I had no idea what the song was, nor who the artist was.

So suddenly I had a mission. 

After tracking down BANNERS and this wonderfully amazing song, I knew that it was one that I needed to share. Something about it just grabs hold of me and makes me... Feel. It makes me feel. 

And you know, some days I really need that.

START A RIOT - BANNERS 

Tuesday's Tunes: Nostalgia & Good Times

There are some songs that come on the radio or pop up in my playlists that simply take me back in time. Some take me back to old friends or important experiences. Some remind me of my sisters, cousins or long-lost relatives.

And some take me back to happy times of driving around the country-side with my dad in his old truck listening to the radio. This truck was as old as he was (well it is – he still has it) and only had a radio and an 8-track player, so we couldn’t pick or choose the songs we’d hear while together in that truck. Yet, it seemed like every time we went somewhere today's Tuesday's Tune came on.

Now every time I hear this tune I think of my dad and those blissful afternoons when we would simply drive.

THOSE EYES – The Guess Who

Rule The World with This Week's Tuesdays Tunes

So last Tuesday Princess and I were at that concert right? Marianas Trench, Walk Off the Earth and Kieran Mercer. And it was an amazing show from start to finish.

But I’ve got a secret that I just can’t hold in anymore…

As much as I loved the Marianas Trench performance (and I did, it was wonderful) I may have enjoyed the set done by Walk Off the Earth even more. #SorryNotSorry

From the first sounds of a strumming guitar in their opening number of Gang of Rhythm, to the brilliant compilation of covers they mashed together, their interaction with the crowd and the great mix of their old and newer music – honestly it was just an incredible performance. The type of performance that a person could never forget whether they’re fans or not. Fortunately I’ve long been a fan of WOTE.

So today’s Tuesdays Tunes comes from their newest album Sing It All Away, not the title track though that’s a freaking awesome song too. But no matter, I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t be able to stop yourself from getting caught up in the rhythm of the song.

Enjoy!

RULE THE WORLD – Walk Off the Earth

Late Night Tuesdays Tunes

It’s a late night edition of Tuesdays Tunes this week. If you follow the Facebook page (or any of my social media accounts) you’ll know what I’ve been up to today and why I’m posting late at night, while Tuesday is quickly coming to an end. Actually, I mentioned what I’d be doing in last week’s Tuesdays Tunes post too. Remember?

Well, this is a fun post for me, and caps off what has been a pretty damn fun night for both Princess Z and I. It’s not very often that we are able to get to a concert – between school, work and all the other things that eat up our time, seeing live music is simply hard to make happen.

But it’s Easter holidays for the kids (aka Spring Break) and we made it happen!

Tonight’s late Tuesdays Tunes is a LIVE MUSIC edition.

So…

Kieran Mercer 

 

Remember his name.

He’s a new artist that has catchy tunes and, honestly, he seems like a really sweet guy. He played a few songs to get the crowd warmed up. He chatted with the crowd like a seasoned performer and did a really great job.

You can check out his album – Help Me Help You on iTunes here.

Walk Off The Earth

They opened with Gang of Rhythm and between the new songs off their newest album Sing It All Away, older favorites from the R.E.V.O. album and the incredible covers they did, they simply did an amazing show. Sometimes you watch artists live and they’re just not as good live as they are on their LP’s. Not so for Walk Off The Earth.

If you ever have the opportunity to see them live – take it. You will not be disappointed!

Marianas Trench

Heli Dad and I went to one of their shows about 3 years ago and we loved it. (Me more so than Heli Dad but he did enjoy it.) This time Princess Z was with me and lets say that she enjoyed the show far more than Heli Dad would have!

The show was an incredible mix of titles from the current album Astoria as well as songs from the older albums. Songs included: Yesterday, Burning Up, One Love, All to Myself, Stutter, Desperate Measures, Pop Music 101, Dearly Departed, Cross My Heart, Wildfire and End of an Era.

It was seriously like every one of my favorite MT songs was on the set list.

I managed to catch a bit of Josh singing One Love, which I seriously love by the way (it’s one of my current song favorites on my writing playlist) and I hope you enjoy it.

 

So yeah, a Live Music Tuesdays Tunes and something of a three-fer too!

Happy listening. Rock out!

Tuesday's Tunes: An Old Favorite

I have such wide variety of music that when I'm not writing (because I always listen to specific music lists when I'm writing) I can listen to my music library and not repeat a song all day. But like any music lover I have favorites - favorite bands, favorite albums, favorite songs. And like many music lovers I may choose to listen to songs to make me happy, to remind me of another time or a specific person. I may pick an album because a particular sound or style of the music appeals to me that day. Or I may choose to listen to a song or series of songs because of the story I imagine they tell me.

Today's Tuesday's Tunes is one of the "story telling" songs that I particularly appreciate. In fact there are a series of songs from the artists album that this song appears on that (Marianas Trench - Ever After) tell a pretty fascinating story and I enjoy listening to them (and watching the videos) every once in a while. Lately I've been listening to the newest album from Marianas Trench - Astoria and it has a number of songs that I really enjoy too. (I'll talk more about that album next week as I'll actually be attending a live concert with Marianas Trench and Walk Off the Earth next Tuesday.)

But for now, here is the song currently playing on my iPhone... Enjoy :-)

Marianas Trench - STUTTER

And hey... now that I'm thinking about why I listen to particular songs, tell me some of the reasons that you might listen to a song?

Tuesdays Tunes: "Thief" Our Lady Peace

This song is one of my classic favorites. More than 15 years ago these guys were in town and my mom (who owns and operates a clinic for massage therapy) gave Raine Maida a massage, my sister gave him a ride to his sound check in her car, and the love affair of a life time - with their music - was born. To this day my sister and I will both pull out their albums (we've got them on CD and digital now) to listen to when we need a pick me up or when we need to listen to songs that really touch on how we're feeling.

THIEF is one of the songs that I've actually got on my playlist for one of my current writing projects, as it helps me connect with a couple of the characters mindset(s) after they loose someone close to them to cancer. Granted that hasn't been a big stretch for me over the last month anyways but still the song is there.

Our Lady Peace made a lot of songs that continue to resonate with me still. Honestly there's a OLP song on almost all of my writing playlists because they've got something that works for me for just about every emotion, and every situation real or that I can imagine. 

Have a listen and I hope you enjoy!

Thief - Our Lady Peace

When I'm Feeling Down, Sometimes I Listen to This - TUESDAYS TUNES

It's time for another Tuesday Tune...

Yesterday was books, books, books. Today, it's all about music. And because I'm just not feeling all that peppy, I'm pulling out some classic Sarah McLachlan. 

Enjoy - "I WILL REMEMBER YOU"

Tuesdays Tunes and Some Rambling

I saw a meme on Facebook this morning that got me thinking about music. About how our kids are introduced to it and find their own styles and favorites. About what they listen to when they pick the tunes. About what music makes them happy, sad, hyper, or helps them relax. It just got me thinking.... 

Gamer Boy hangs out in his room listening to soundtrack songs from the Middle-Earth movies - The Hobbit's and the LOTR. He rocks out to Fall Out Boy and songs from Aladdin, enjoys Mumford and Sons, Johnny Cash, Macklemore, Imagine Dragons and The Beatles. 

Angel Face's "cheer-me-up-jam" for the last couple years has been Fall Out Boy's 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark'. She and Princess Z belt out Top 40's, Selena Gomez, Hedley, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sara Bareilles, Marianas Trench and even Pink with their karaoke machine. 

When they're feeling frisky (aka: hyper) living room dance parties may be to music from Disney movies, Selena Gomez, or (if they are really trying to get Heli Dad and I grooving too) dance music from around 1999 like Aqua, Blur, and others of that ilk (think along the lines of music from the first few releases of the 'Big Shiny Tunes' and 'Much Dance' compilation mixes). They know the words to some of the songs, not all but some and try to sing along with us. 

Lenka - 'Everything at Once'

First heard on commercials and at the beginning of Disney DVD's, this song was one that quickly captured all 3 of my children's interest. Eventually we tracked down a full version of the song and now we all delight in singing along - trying to remember every word and rhyme.

Their music styles and preferences are as vast and eclectic as mine and Heli Dad's - because they are still pulling many of their favorites from our collections. But, and this is a big but, they are already finding their own too. They hear a song in a movie and ask to download it from iTunes. They'll hear remixes of songs on video games and search out the original. Their friends play music and they find something new they like. Their discovery of their musical tastes will continue to change and evolve and mature (or not) for the rest of their lives.  I'm sure that our parents wished for our favorite songs to be less annoying (granted I can't think of anything off the top of my head) just as we do sometimes with our own kids. But after really thinking about it this morning I find myself fascinated and looking forward to all the discovery stages of their musical tastes to come - no matter how head scratching, jaw dropping, irritating or wonderful they are!

Here's the meme that got this ball of yarn gathering in my head... 

As a side note, my kids do know every single word to both 

'Immortals' by Fall Out Boy from BIG HERO 6 and 'Let It Go' from FROZEN.

TUESDAYS TUNES - Spirits

Yesterday on Inside My Mind I wrote a blog about writers and where/how they find their inspiration. It was also a little bit about the importance of being able to find inspiration in the little, everyday things that many of us take for granted. And I added a song that, honestly, has been in my head and serving as one of those little points of inspiration for me for a while.

 

And since it seemed like a good choice for this weeks Tuesdays Tunes, I'm sharing it again here.

 

Enjoy... The Strumbellas - SPIRITS

TUESDAYS TUNES - Cause Really, Who Isn't STRESSED OUT!

I heard this one in the car while I was taking the kids to school a few days ago and you know... It just stuck in my head so I hit up iTunes and downloaded it. Now it's the song that all 5 of us in my house throw on when things just make us want to pull our hair out.

 

So enjoy :-)

 

Twenty One Pilots - STRESSED OUT

 

TUESDAY'S TUNES "Carry On My Wayward Son"

 

If you've visited my blog in the past you'll know that on Tuesdays I run a feature called Tuesday's Tunes. I try to have it up every week though I do occasionally miss for various reasons. The music I choose to highlight comes to me through variety of sources, for various reasons and with a wide array of inspiration. In the past I've talked about a love of sci-fi and fantasy based TV shows and movies that I share with my husband - "Heli Dad."

 

We've got shelves full of vampire and werewolf films, copies of movies about witches, sorcerers and all kinds of things that go bump in the night. We also have all the seasons of Stargate (SG1 & Atlantis), Sanctuary, Merlin, and (most important to this specific post) Supernatural. Date night's for us will just as often find us sitting at home watching a marathon of one of our much-loved-favorites, as it will find us venturing out on the town.

 

This previous weekend was no exception as we purchased the DVDs for Season 10 of Supernatural last week and were more than ready to be consumed in the chaotic and frequently scary lives of Sam and Dean Winchester. From Thursday night through Sunday afternoon we hibernated (sometimes with the kids but mostly without them as they went off to do their own things with other family or friends) and allowed ourselves to sink in to the Supernatural universe. And while there were a few things about season 10 that we scratched our collective heads over, on the whole we loved it just as much as the previous 9 years.

 

One thing we've always loved about the series is the music. From classic rock to hair bands, alternative, pop and even the occasional country tune, Supernatural has always offered music that we both can enjoy. A feature we've enjoyed since watching the very first episode of the series was the classic Kansas tune - "Carry On My Wayward Son" that for years was featured in use at a climatic point of each season of the show. During season 10, the 200th episode was aired and the version of the song that I feature today is a compilation that includes the song as it was featured during that episode of the show, while the video is a compilation of scenes from the entire series to the 200th episode.

 

I hope you enjoy, and you, "Carry On..."

 

Looks exciting yeah? Get your copy of Supernatural Season 10 here. Or start collecting the series here.

It's a TUESDAY'S TUNE for my Gamer Boy's Birthday

It's Gamer Boy's birthday today and so I let him pick this week's Tuesday's Tunes!
 
He picked this song because it's one of his current favorites - ever since he saw the movie Big Hero 6 and heard it there he's had this as a constant on his iPod, or rather my old iPod. ;-) 

He and his sisters - Princess and Angel Face enjoying singing and dancing to this song whenever and wherever they can... and I do mean wherever - the kitchen, walking down the street, the middle of the aisle at the grocery store. Seriously anywhere.
 
So here's one for Gamer Boy - I hope you'll enjoy it even a fraction as much as I know he will!

An Old Favorite for TUESDAY'S TUNES - For the Nights I Can't Remember

When I'm writing I almost having music playing in the background. I create playlists that help to keep me in the mood for certain scenes or for an overall feel of the story. Songs will tend to overlap - I like what I like and those songs influence certain emotions and moods in me, which in turn helps me get those feelings into the characters or mood of whatever story I happen to be writing at the time.

For some reason no matter what story I'm writing, what genre it is primarily, and no matter how vastly different the characters may be from one another, there is this one song that seems to end up on nearly every playlist.

It's not a sad song, really.

It's not a dramatically happy one either, I don't think.

I guess for me it's one of the songs that signals hope. Hope for the characters to figure their shit out. Hope that at the end, we find the HEA. Hope that when things are dark, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Maybe that's just me and my take on it.

Take a minute to listen... Tell me what you think?

Hedley - For the Nights I Can't Remember

TUESDAY'S TUNES - Hear FIRST from Cold War Kids

It's a little late today I know, but this song has been in my head since I took the kids to school this morning and heard it on the radio. I've heard this song dozens of times and I've always liked it. It's always just given me that little boost I need sometimes to keep a smile on my face and to keep going.

 

And when you're not having that great of a day anyways, a song that makes you tap your toe and smile is always welcome.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

Is it really weird that a song that is basically about having a completely crap day, makes me feel a bit better about my own day?

TUESDAYS TUNES - When A Tune Is Stuck In Your Head

There are all sorts of songs that for whatever reason, because it's catchy or reminds you of something else, or something, gets stuck in your head and no matter what you do, you just can't get it out of your mind.  Sometimes those songs just pop into your head and you have no idea where it came from or why it's there - but you certainly hadn't heard it at any time recently.

Yeah, so that happened to me this morning.

I'd planned to feature a new song by a beloved band today for the Tuesday Tune, and then I woke up with an old ditty pinging in my ear and I can't get the damn thing out.  I'm making breakfast and packing lunches for my kids and I'm humming and singing.  I'm driving through light rain and gloomy streets to take them to school and, even though the radio is playing something else entirely, I'm still singing this song under my breath.

And I don't know why. It is a song I've always liked. I can remember being just a little girl and dancing with my grandpa in his kitchen to this song, while grandma sang along with the tape that was playing it.  I can remember swaying back and forth with my dad's arm over my shoulder, and singing this song with him at someone's wedding years ago.

But I have no earthly idea why this song was on my mind this morning.  I literally woke up with the sound of it chiming in my ear, even as I opened my eyes. And if I'm completely honest, it did wake me with a smile.

So maybe I just need to share it - the memories, the melody - with the world in order to let it go. I guess anything is worth trying at this point.

Whatever happens, I hope you enjoy, and maybe you'll get a smile this morning too.

TUESDAYS TUNES Catchy Ex's and Oh's!!

This is just one of the latest songs that catches at my mind and has me bopping my head and singing along, and singing long after, every time I hear it.  Hope you like it as much as I do!!

 

Elle King - Ex's and Oh's 

 

A Special TUESDAYS TUNES with an Author's Writing Soundtrack

This week I've got a very special list of songs from Author Caroline Batten for TUESDAYS TUNES... This soundtrack list comes from Caroline's new novel NEARLY ALMOST SOMEBODY and includes some of personal favorites!! Enjoy!!

1.       Take Me to Church – Hozier >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-tW0CkvdDI

2.       Chandelier – Sia >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM

3.       Whispers In the Dark – Mumford & Sons >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNaM-N1NdGo

4.       Dog Days Are Over – Florence & the Machine >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU

5.       Lover’s Eyes - Mumford & Sons >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWNq89joPrI  

6.       You And I – Lady Gaga >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YMU0WeBwU

7.       Say Something – A Great Big World / Christina Aguilera >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds

8.       Read All About It – Emeli Sandé >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q03E7oTc5qo

9.       I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGKfrgqWcv0

10.    Budapest – George Ezra >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHrLPs3_1Fs

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