Best of 2011

I have a tradition of making an end of the year playlist. After a lot of research and searching through my music collection, I make a list of my favorite songs that were released over the year. Obviously this is a list of my personal favorites, and I tried to keep it to a minimum (because I'm sure I could have added more). So, here's my list of top 50 favorite songs from 2011...enjoy! (And feel free to comment at the bottom of this post with your favorites from 2011!)

Adele - Lovesong
Adele - Someone Like You
Andy Grammer - Keep Your Head Up
Bad Meets Evil - Lighters
Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had
Beyonce - Love On Top
The Black Keys - Howlin' For You
Blake Shelton - Honey Bee
Blake Shelton - God Gave Me You
Britney Spears - Criminal
Bruno Mars - Runaway Baby
Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
Bruno Mars - It Will Rain
Chris Brown - Look At Me Now
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
Demi Lovato - Skyscraper
Foo Fighters - Dear Rosemary
Foo Fighters - Arlandria
Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
Gavin DeGraw - Not Over You
Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts (ft. Adam Levine)
Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight Tonight
Jeremih, 50 Cent - Down On Me
Jessie J, B.o.B. - Price Tag
Kate Voegele - Sandcastles
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All
Kenny Chesney - You And Tequila (ft. Grace Potter)
Lady Antebellum - Just A Kiss
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Lady Gaga - You And I
Lelia Broussard - Satellite
Lelia Broussard - Turn Me On
Lil Wayne - How To Love
LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger (ft. Christina Aguilera)
Miranda Lambert - Baggage Claim
Miranda Lambert - Mama's Broken Heart
Miranda Lambert - Heart Like Mine
NKOTBSB - Don't Turn Out The Lights
P!nk - F**kin' Perfect
Parachute - Something To Believe In
Pistol Annies - Hell On Heels
Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
Rihanna - Cheers (Drink To That)
Rihanna - California King Bed
Skylar Grey - Invisible
T-Pain featuring Lily Allen - 5 O'Clock
TFDI - When I Stop Running

Hanson

On Thursday, October 20, 2011 I did something I never thought I'd ever do in my lifetime...I went to a Hanson show at the TLA on South Street in Philly. Many people who know me now are surprised I was never into Hanson back in the day of boy bands because they know how much I loved (and still love) 'NSync, Backstreet Boys, and New Kids on the Block (plus a few others). For some reason, I was never really a fan of Hanson's - maybe it was the long hair lol. So, when my best friend and concert going buddy, Joanna, asked me to go with her (she, unlike myself, was a HUGE fan of Hanson's and still is) I said I would because the Melissa of today doesn't discriminate against any kind of music. Well, during the show, I jotted down some thoughts on my phone and I think this will pretty much sum up my thoughts of the night. Here's what I wrote, "Say what you want about these boy bands who were all about pop music, but if you go to one of their shows, you get to experience the impact they have on thousands of fans all over the world. Sometimes I'm amazed to just sit back and listen to the crowd singing along to every single lyric. Maybe these guys were looked at as "bubble gum pop" back in the 90s, but when it comes down to it...they play their own instruments and they play real music. I'll be the first to admit I was never a fan when they first came out, but that's because I didn't know real music back then. I loved the boy bands who were full of choreography. But I will admit, after seeing Hanson live tonight, I was impressed." So, there you go, I became a fan after seeing them live. The only set back I had was I only recognized a few songs out of about 25 that they played. We found out that the band actually did some type of voting online for fans of each city to choose which full CD they were going to play at that city's show. Philly ended up choosing their first CD, "Middle of Nowhere," but they also played some songs on their more current CDs as well. I kept track of the set list like usual, and I shot a few videos with my iPhone that I included below, so be sure to check them out. I also included some other videos I found on YouTube that were shot at this same show.

Hanson's Set List - TLA, Philadelphia, PA - Thursday, October 20, 2011
Musical Ride
Waiting For This
Can't Stop
And I Waited
Thinking 'Bout Somethin'
Thinking of You
Where's the Love
Look At You
Speechless
Watch Over Me
Lucy
Weird
I Will Come to You
Love Song
Madeline
With You In Your Dreams
Yearbook
This Time Around
Day Has Come
Penny & Me
Give a Little
MMMBop
If Only/Let's Get It On (Marvin Gaye cover)
-Encore-
Lost Without Each Other
Man From Milwaukee

Hanson performing "Where's the Love" (my video)
Hanson performing "Give a Little" (my video)
Hanson performing "MMMBop" (my video)
Hanson performing "Man From Milwaukee" (my video)
Hanson performing "Man From Milwaukee" (not my video - found on YouTube)
Hanson performing "Madeline" (not my video)

Sara Bareilles

The first time I saw Sara Bareilles perform live was in the summer of 2007 when she opened for Maroon 5 and Counting Crows. That was the same year her first major album was released, "Little Voice" which featured her single, "Love Song." While Sara is best known for that single, she has so many more fantastic songs on that album and her most recent album, "Kaleidoscope Heart." For me personally, I can go through both of her albums without skipping any songs. The music is amazing as well as the lyrics. Her songs are very relatable, which is something I really enjoy in any musicians I follow. Anyway, last Monday, October 17, 2011, I saw Sara Bareilles at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Her two opening acts were Elizabeth and the Catapult (their music was very similar to Sara's) and Ben Lee. I enjoyed Elizabeth and the Catapult more than Ben Lee - Ben's songs that he performed kind of bored me a bit. Sara performed a lot of her songs from her first album as well as her recent album. In between songs, she chatted with the crowd and joked around. She's got this funny, quirky side to her, so I enjoyed the banter. She also has a bit of a potty mouth, so be careful if you're taking a kid to her show (I thought it was funny, but some parents might not lol). One of the performances that really stuck out for me was the first song after the encore. Sara came out on stage by herself and started singing the song off her first album, "Gravity." It was nothing but her voice and it was amazing. It's a very sad, haunting song, so it was very fitting the way she performed it. Overall, she did not disappoint at all, and I would gladly go see her again when she comes back to Philly. I wasn't able to take any video or pictures at this show because I wasn't close enough to get a good video, but I found some videos that someone else put up on YouTube from the exact same show I went to, so I included those instead. I also included the set list below.

Sara Bareilles' Set List - Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA - Monday, October 17, 2011
Uncharted
Vegas
Gonna Get Over You
Machine Gun
Many the Miles
Breathe Again
Basket Case
Bluebird
Little Lion Man (cover by Mumford and Sons)
Love Song
Come Round Soon
Bottle It Up
King of Anything
-Encore-
Gravity (a cappella)
New Song (not sure of the title...something like beautiful girl)
Let the Rain

Sara performing "King of Anything"
Sara performing "Gravity"
Sara performing "Let the Rain"
Sara performing her new song, "Beautiful Girl"
Sara's cover of Mumford and Son's "Little Lion Man"

TFDI @ World Cafe Live

On October 11, 2011 I went to see the TFDI Tour at World Cafe Live (Upstairs) in Philadelphia, PA. TFDI usually consists of Matt Duke, Jay Nash, and Tony Lucca, but unfortunately one third of TFDI could not make the World Cafe Live show last minute due to personal obligations. I must admit, I was bummed to hear this news on Tony's Facebook page because I love seeing the three of these guys together and when you put their voices together the harmonizing is incredible. Although, I was confident that Jay and Matt would still put on a good show, and I was happy to find out that I was right. Luckily the other two thirds of TFDI are still entertaining - not only are they talented musicians, but they can be quite comical, as well. Jay started the show, singing some of his own tunes and eventually Matt joined him on stage to sing some Jay Nash songs with Jay. Then Jay left the stage and Matt sang some of his songs and eventually Jay joined Matt to sing some Matt Duke songs. Then the boys started the "TFDI" portion of the evening and sang some of their songs from the two TFDI albums they released (if you want more information about what TFDI is, check out one of my previous blog posts). They weren't able to do some of the songs because Tony is the main singer in those songs, although I got video of them performing "Heaven With a Broken Heart" and Matt did an amazing impression of Tony when Tony's part of the song came up. Overall, it was an excellent evening spent with Mr. Duke and Mr. Nash. They actually played over two hours worth of music. As always, I look forward to the next time TFDI rolls through Philadelphia and hopefully all three guys will be able to be there. :-) I took video with my iPhone of some of the songs from the night, so definitely check those out. Plus, I included the full set list below.

TFDI's Set List - World Cafe Live (Upstairs), Philadelphia, PA - Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Jay Nash - Till I Get Through
Jay Nash - The Siren
Jay Nash - "Stand Tall" (not sure the exact title of this one)
Jay Nash - Wayfarer
Jay Nash w/Matt Duke - Golden State Goodnight (Jay Nash song)
Jay Nash w/Matt Duke - Hard Lesson (Jay Nash song)
Jay Nash w/Matt Duke - Baby Tornado (Jay Nash song)
Jay Nash - Unshakeable
Matt Duke - Needle and Thread
Matt Duke - Kangaroo Court
Matt Duke - M.L.T.
Matt Duke - I've Got Atrophy On the Brain
Matt Duke - Kingdom Underground
Matt Duke w/Jay Nash - Sex and Reruns (Matt Duke song)
Matt Duke w/Jay Nash - Love You Anymore (Matt Duke song)
-TFDI songs- (performed by Matt Duke and Jay Nash)
Stranger in a Strange Place
Sweet Talking Liar
Heaven With A Broken Heart
Slow It Down
Lover I Don't Have to Love
The Weight (The Band cover)
-Encore-
American Girl (Tom Petty cover)
Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel cover)

Jay Nash performing "Unshakeable"
Matt Duke performing "I've Got Atrophy On the Brain"
Jay Nash & Matt Duke performing the TFDI song "Heaven With A Broken Heart"
Jay Nash & Matt Duke performing the TFDI song "The Weight" (The Band cover)
Jay Nash & Matt Duke performing "Sledgehammer" (Peter Gabriel cover)

Kate Voegele & Parachute

On October 10, 2011, I saw Kate Voegele and Parachute at the World Cafe Live (Downstairs) in Philly. I've seen Kate a few times now, so I knew what to expect from her performance and as usual, I wasn't let down. (If you want to know more about Kate Voegele, check out some of my previous posts about her.) Unfortunately, there were some serious problems with the sound during her set. Granted, it was the first night of the tour, but she had to keep communicating to the sound technician during her set about fixing certain aspects of the sound. I give her a lot of credit, because most artists could have gotten really pissed off, but she kept her cool and joked around about it. With the exception of the sound issues, I thought she did an amazing job. One of the highlights was her version of the Bruno Mars song, "The Lazy Song" (I actually got video of the whole thing, so definitely check that out, below). Another great thing about Kate's set is that it was probably the most amount of songs I've seen her perform. Usually she's an opening act for bigger artists, but she was a co-headliner this tour, so she was able to perform more of her music.

Kate Voegele's Set List - World Cafe Live (Downstairs), Philadelphia, PA - Monday, October 10, 2011
Impatient Girl
I Won't Disagree
Angel/Chicago medley
Sandcastles
It's Only Life
Only Fooling Myself
The Lazy Song (Bruno Mars cover)
Heart In Chains
Blue Sky Beautiful (a new song of hers - first time she ever performed it live)
Enough For Always
Forever and Almost Always
99 Times
Till The World Ends (Britney Spears cover)

Kate Voegele performing "The Lazy Song" (Bruno Mars cover)
Kate Voegele performing "Heart In Chains"
Kate Voegele performing "Forever and Almost Always"

Parachute performed after Kate Voegele. I had never seen Parachute live and had really just started listening to their music because I knew they were playing with Kate and I wanted to know some of their tunes. When I started listening to Parachute, I was pleasantly surprised and was really looking forward to seeing them live. Well, they didn't disappoint at all. They're a really talented band and a lot of fun to see live. I'm always a fan of any band that uses a lot of different instruments, which is what Parachute does on stage. They had a lot of energy, too, which is always a plus. I would definitely go see another Parachute show if they come to town again. I took some video of a couple of their songs as well and included those links below.

Parachute's Set List - World Cafe Live (Downstairs), Philadelphia, PA - Monday, October 10, 2011
American Secrets
Ghost
She (For Liz)
White Dress
Halfway
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting (Elton John cover)
Kiss Me Slowly
She Is Love
Back Again
Something to Believe In
What I Know
- Encore -
Forever and Always
Under Control

Parachute performing "White Dress"
Parachute performing "Halfway"
Parachute performing "She Is Love"

Boyz II Men 20th Anniversary Show

On September 17, 2011, I went to see "An Evening with Boyz II Men" at the Temple Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia, PA. Like most people, I was always a huge fan of Boyz II Men since the 90s, but I never had the opportunity to see them live before...until now. The Temple Performing Arts Center is an old church, so it was a very intimate setting and our seats were fairly close to the stage. The "Boyz" basically sang most of their popular songs (with a cover or two) with an orchestra backing them up. It was truly a night of real music, and I'm pretty sure everyone in the audience had permanent goosebumps the entire show. Between the beautiful music coming from the orchestra to the incredible voices of Boyz II Men, it was definitely a show to remember. The only downer was that the bass singer, Michael McCary, left the group in 2003 due to health problems, so he wasn't at the show. It was a bummer not having those fantastic monologues in the middle of the songs like back in the day. I took some pictures at the show (not the best, but decent) and a couple of videos, so be sure to check them out. Like always, I included the set list from the show below, too.

Boyz II Men's Set List - Temple Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA - Saturday, September 17, 2011
Oh Well
On Bended Knee
Four Seasons of Loneliness
Girl in the Life Magazine
Water Runs Dry
I Will Get There
(Intermission)
Open Arms (cover by Journey)
Easy (cover by The Commodores)
I'll Make Love To You
Song For Mama
So Amazing
End of the Road (Encore)

Boyz II Men performing "End of the Road"
Boyz II Men performing The Commodores' "Easy"
Boyz II Men performing "Water Runs Dry" (only about a minute)

Back To School Playlist

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was posting my "Summer Time Playlist" and now it's already time to go back to school. It's hard to believe the summer is already coming to an end. So, here's a playlist to help you get back into the swing of things. Whether you're a teacher going back to work or a student who is dreading going back to school, I'm sure there will be something for everyone on here. I included a video for all of the songs, too. Feel free to comment on any songs that should be added to the list.

Beach Boys - Be True To Your School
Chuck Berry - School Day
The Ramones - Rock N Roll High School
Van Halen - Hot For Teacher
Jackson 5 - ABC
The Coasters - Charlie Brown
Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
Asher Roth - I Love College
Brownsville Station - Smokin' in the Boys Room
Social Distortion - Story of My Life
Weezer - Troublemaker
Nada Surf - Popular
Jethro Tull - Teacher
Kanye West - School Spirit
The Runaways - School Days
James Brown - Don't Be a Dropout
The Four Tops - Back to School Again
John Sebastian - Welcome Back
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2
John Mayer - No Such Thing
New Edition - School
38 Special - Teacher, Teacher
Elton John - Teacher I Need You