Favorite Bands: A List

I'm a big fan the movie (and book!) High Fidelity even though I think Rob, Barry, and Dick are total musical snobs who would make fun of my taste in music without a doubt. I love that they do a bunch of wacky top five lists throughout like, "Top 5 musical crimes perpetrated by Stevie Wonder in the 80s and 90s, go." Here is the scene where Rob (as played by John Cusack) gives his top 5 side one, track one songs for fun evidence of their musical snobbery.

I'm not nearly as creative or as good at breaking things down as they are (or as snobby, yikes!), but in honor of favorite bands weeks at TFC, I thought I'd do a list my own way.

A top three is too easy because it's remained the same since freshman year of high school. There are some newer bands in the top five, but it does not fully represent my whole life if we are talking ALL-TIME favorites. Top ten might have worked, but I like the number 13 better, so I'm going to give you my top 13 favorite bands, followed my favorite album by them (though this would not necessarily be my top 13 albums in order because, for example, my number two favorite band made my all-time favorite album and my favorite album by my number one band would rank number two on my list, and I'm sure in some circles this would cause great controversy) and then I will provide a YouTube video of my favorite song by that band. (Again not in order. Oh my god, I'm not even sure I could pick an all-time favorite song.) Okay, here goes...


13. Against Me!; favorite album: Searching for a Former Clarity; favorite song: "TSR"


12. Sleater-Kinney; favorite album: Call The Doctor; favorite song: "Dig Me Out"


11. Alice In Chains; favorite album: Dirt; favorite song: "We Die Young"


10. Screaming Trees/Mark Lanegan solo work (I know it is kind of cheating, but I can't really separate them out); favorite Screaming Tree's album: Sweet Oblivion; favorite Mark Lanegan album: Bubblegum; favorite Screaming Tree's song: "Dying Days"


favorite Mark Lanegan song: "Down in the Dark" (which features Kurt Cobain on guitar)


9. The Gits; favorite album: Frenching The Bully; favorite song: "Another Shot of Whiskey"


8. Rancid; favorite album: ...And Out Come the Wolves; favorite song: "Radio"


7. The Cure; favorite album: Seventeen Seconds; favorite song: "Disintegration"


6. The Distillers; favorite album: Coral Fang, favorite song: "I Am A Revenant"


5. Civet; favorite album, Hell Hath No Fury, favorite song: "Son of a Bitch"


4. The Gaslight Anthem; favorite album The '59 Sound; favorite song, "Boomboxes and Dictionaries"


3. Social Distortion; favorite album: Social Distortion; favorite song: "Don't Take Me For Granted" (after all, it inspired my book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE)


2. Hole; favorite album (of all time, thank you very much): Live Through This, favorite song: "Plump"


1. Nirvana; favorite album: In Utero; favorite song: "On a Plain"


What about you? Give me a top five, top ten, top whatever of your favorite bands, songs, or albums?

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Driving Tuneage

I have three young sons and coach boys' basketball, so lately I've been getting bombarded with LMFAO while driving them around. Which is, in my humble opinion, some pretty fun, get-me-up-and-wigglin' stuff, but it's better when experienced in smaller doses. I think this might be one reason that when I have the luxury of selecting the drive-time music, I've been gravitating over to the Coffee House satellite radio station, which features singer-songwriter acoustic rock music. Adele, Norah Jones, and Dave Matthews are examples of artists.


Although I love that music, if I need a quick pick-me-up (especially while driving long distances, which I'm getting ready to do for spring break), I like to listen to the BPM (Beats Per Minute) satellite radio station, which features dance/club music and remixes and artists such as: Kaskade, Deadmau5, and David Guetta.

What kind of music or radio stations do you like to listen to while in the car?

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Music...Sort Of

So.

Singing-competition shows.

Let's take an informal poll here. Your favorite is:

- AMERICAN IDOL

- THE VOICE

- THE X FACTOR

- SOME OTHER SHOW I DIDN'T NAME

In terms of your favorite, why is it your favorite?

Oh, and here's a good question: If there's a show you started watching or used to watch regularly but then stopped, why did you stop?

And one last question: If there's something that makes you particularly crazy about one of the shows you still watch, what is that crazy-making something?

OK...that's it for now! Sorry about the brevity but I am going to see THE HUNGER GAMES today! Do you think there will be singing in it? If you saw it, were you satisfied?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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What I'm Reading: Lots!

I have a book on my nightstand, one in my daily bag, one in my "every once in a while" bag, and one in the living room by the couch. Is that crazy? Yes, it takes me longer to finish each one, but it's the way I roll these days--from one location to the next, from one story to another.

These are the four books that are currently haunting my favorite spots (three new ones and a classic!):

Does anyone else have this kind of crazy reading juggle? Which titles are currently in your piles?

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Falling In Love With Francesca Lia Block Again

I have a huge TBR pile. It's not even a pile, but a small bookshelf. And the books are really jammed in there. Totally overflowing. But I spent the last month ignoring it in favor of a couple of battered and dog-earred, extremely well-read and well-loved books from one of my three giant and terribly overstuffed bookcases that house the already-read books.

I do this occasionally. One winter when I was sick, I busted out the first series I loved: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books. I was surprised how many parts I still had memorized, though I shouldn't have been because I must have read those books a hundred times as a kid. There was more time for reading back then. Entire summers with hours upon hours for books. It was okay to read the same thing over and over. I don't really do that as an adult because I have such a big TBR pile and so little time. I mean, I did it with the Harry Potter books when the last movie came out (and I used to do it when each book came because at the time I worked in an office where I was allowed to sit and read between answering the phone or making copies), but other than that (and being sick and craving the Little House books like a bowl of my mom's homemade soup) rereading is not a luxury I often allow myself. I wasn't planning on this particular month-long binge. It happened because of a new book.

At the end of January, I got this package and nearly wept with joy when I opened it to find this:

That would be the prequel to Francesca Lia Block A.K.A. My Fairy Godmother's Weetzie Bat series A.K.A. The Only YA Books That Spoke To Me When I Was A Teenager. The early 90s while an amazing time for gritty, raw, and real rock 'n' roll music were not a good time period for gritty, raw, and real YA literature like we have now. I was desperate (DESPERATE!) for books that spoke of the things that my friends and I were going through (drug addiction, eating disorders, bullying, not fitting in, unhealthy relationships, self-injury, surviving rape), but not finding them. Francesca Lia Block's books were the rare exception. On the surface, her stories may seem more glittery and gritty because of her incredibly vivid depiction of her characters and especially her setting, Los Angeles, but she paints gorgeous pictures of very ugly, very real things and those unique characters of hers survive them. I could go on (and on and on and on), but what it boils down to is this: Francesca Lia Block's books were like the music of Nirvana and Hole for me. They saved me in my darkest hours. Gave voice to the things I was thinking and struggling with. And most importantly helped me find my voice. I wouldn't be a writer without Francesca Lia Block. Period.

I've kept up with her books, but as a teenager I read the Weetzie Bat books (collected as Dangerous Angels) and Francesca Lia Blocks early novels like every couple of months. I haven't done that in awhile, but once I devoured Pink Smog in a night in a half, I knew I had to (and if you want a fuller review, you'll find one that I wrote for Rookie Magazine here.) Reading Pink Smog was like seeing a bio-pic on some celebrity I've been obsessed with because I love Weetzie Bat as much as Weetzie loves Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. She's totally one of my heroines (as is her daughter Witch Baby), even though... you know... she's not real. But once I saw what shaped Weetzie into the girl with the bleached-blonde flat-top and amazing homemade wardrobe, I just had to spend quality time with her again.

So I re-read Dangerous Angels and then Necklace of Kisses (which is Weetzie at 40 having a midlife crisis), but I couldn't stop there. Even though I was done with the Weetzie series, there was a book that meant even more to me. In fact, if I were to name my all-time favorite book, this one would probably tied with Grapes of Wrath:

The Hanged Man. It's gorgeous and lush and ripe with symbolism as all of Francesca Lia Block's books are. It's beautiful structured. Chapters laid out like a tarot reading, each card perfectly chosen and representative of what happens in that part of the story. Laurel is so damaged, so fucked-up, so much like teenage me except she has different reasons. She's coming to terms with her father's death... and the things her father did while he was living.

As I did my rereading, I quickly realized that it wasn't just for pleasure. I'm taking my first stab at writing a book that has elements of magical realism. In the past, I've drawn on Francesca Lia Block to give me permission to write YA novels that deal with very real, difficult issues and push boundaries. Now I'm studying how she builds her worlds, how she uses symbolism, and especially how she draws these lush, full characters, settings, and stories in such a compact space. The Hanged Man is only 160 pages. I read it in two hours. My books are two hundred more pages than that and I often struggle to get them to that length. So I'm seriously examining how she does what she does.

Sigh. She still definitely remains my rock star and my heroine.

What about you? What books have you reread a lot? What do you take away from them?

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Books, Books, Books!

This week we're all about books, at TFC! Well, when isn't that the case?

The last YA that I loved: DEAD TO YOU, by Lisa McMann: Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together.

The YA that I'm reading and loving now: EVERY YOU, EVERY ME, by David Levithan http://davidlevithan.com/: In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts
to discover a series of unnerving photographs—some of which feature him. Someone
is stalking him . . . messing with him . . . threatening him. Worse, ever
since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he's been unable to sleep, spending
night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as
it sounds, Evan's starting to believe it's Ariel that's behind all of this,
punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his
paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself.
Creatively told with black-and-white photos interspersed between the text so the
reader can see the photos that are so unnerving to Evan, Every You, Every
Me is a one-of-a-kind departure from a one-of-a-kind author.

The next YA I'll read and I know I'll love: EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, by A.S. King http://as-king.com/: Lucky didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home
from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He
didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine.
And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying,
which has finally gone too far. But Lucky has a secret - one that helps
him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky
escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos - the prison his grandfather couldn't
escape - where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's
dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life might just be worth living.
But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way
inside? Michael L. Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's smart, funny, and
boldly original writing shines in this powerful novel about learning to cope
with the shrapnel life throws at you and taking a stand against
it.

THE YA BOOK I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO: INSURGENT, Veronica Roth's followup to my favorite YA novel of 2011, DIVERGENT.

So how about you? What have you loved, are loving, are sure you'll love, are most looking forward to?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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All I Want........

So this week it's all about what I'm craving. Being the shallow sort of person I am I decided to go for the obvious....... and why not!!!!!

Is there anything you'd like to add to my list????

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Music Talk: Charlotte Sometimes

For a few years now, I've been loving Charlotte Sometimes. Watch this video teaser for her song "The Wait" to see why:



Now, she's on The Voice!

Listen to another of her songs, "Stay in My Heart," if you need more convincing. Get her latest EP here.

And, PS, if you're into book soundtracks... check out my playlist for my May release, Unbreak My Heart, and enter to win an iPod Shuffle with a few authors' playlists loaded on it, from Figment and I Heart Daily!

Have a musical Tuesday. x

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Happy Groundhog Day or Stephanie Rants About Snow

Okay so I don't really celebrate Groundhog Day, though I do love that Bill Murray movie! I honestly can never keep straight which thing (seeing the shadow or not seeing the shadow) means what (winter is over or we have six more weeks). If he sees his shadow, it means more winter according to Wikipedia, but that doesn't make sense to me. Isn't sun a good thing? I think I'm also cynical because in Chicago, we're definitely getting way more than six more weeks of cold weather either way. We sometimes get snowstorms in May and in fact last Groundhog Day was one of our biggest blizzards ever! Here's what it looked like along the famous Lake Shore Drive:

Ugh! Just looking at it makes me want to burrow under some blankets and never EVER come out. We got over two feet of snow, which is the most snow I've ever dealt with in my lifetime, and you guys, I HATE SNOW. Totally and completely hate it. After spending most of the past twenty-six years in either Chicago or Madison, Wisconsin, if I never saw snow again or experience temperatures lower than 40, I would be THRILLED. Seriously, especially after last year's blizzard, I see no redeeming qualities in snow WHATSOEVER. It looks pretty coming down, you say? Well it doesn't feel pretty and it's a nightmare to drive in. It's so white and fluffy, you say? Yeah, for like five minutes and then it's all black and dirty and in the Midwest unlike sunny places like Denver, it sticks around in this big, disgusting piles for EVER.

Okay there is one good thing about snow. Just one:

Adorable little (or big) animal tracks. I will give you that one. But other than that, screw snow!

Okay, I almost afraid to say this because I could totally jinx us, but Chicago has been lucky this year. We've had a mild winter. Only one snowstorm. Annoying but not huge. And it's gone now because it was like 60 on Tuesday. Yes, 60 in January! It may have been the happiest day of my life.

I'm hoping the groundhog doesn't see his shadow today and that it stays that mild and soon I'm seeing this in my front yard:

Those are my super goth tulips. I would actually see crocuses first, but I don't seem to have any pictures of those.

What about you? Are you eager for spring or do you actually like snow and winter?

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Are You Ready for Some Football?

Super Bowl Sunday's coming up this weekend. Do my Kiwi/Aussie sisters at TFC watch the Super Bowl?

About three years go, I realized something was missing in my life and I started watching sports again. I'm a NY fan: Mets for baseball, Knicks for basketball, and for football, I'm a Jets fan all the way. The Jets have given me a lot of pleasure - and no small amount of frustration! - these past few years. And of course, since they're out of it, I'm torn about who to root for this weekend, the NY Giants or the New England Patriots? Here's the thing: I'm also torn between two neighbors. One neighbor, Mr. Nice Guy, loves the Patriots. Mr. Nice Guy deserves to win, right? But the other neighbor, Mr. Anger-Management Issues, loves the Giants. Do I really want to be around if he loses? It is a dilemma.

How about you? Who are you rooting for in this year's Super Bowl?

While you're thinking about that, here are the titles of some fabulous football-themed YA novels I've read and loved:

CRACKBACK, by John Coy

GYM CANDY, by Carl Deuker

KNIGHTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY, Tim Tharp

THE DAIRY QUEEN TRILOGY, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

So, have you made up your mind yet? I'm still not sure. I like Tom Brady, the Patriots' QB, a lot better since I saw him guest star on Entourage. But I always feel sorry for the Giants' QB, Eli Manning, even though the Giants are the Jets same-city/same-stadium rivals, because Eli always looks to me like he's scared someone will try to steal his lunch money.

Hopefully, by Sunday at kickoff time, I'll make a decision.

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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Martin Luther King Day

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

This may age me, but I remember when President Reagan signed legislation creating this holiday back in 1983 - 15 years after it was first proposed. It took 3 more years for the federal holiday to go into effect. Even then, the governor of Arizona decided to rescind the holiday in his state - resulting in boycotts and even the loss of hosting the 1993 Superbowl. (Arizonans later voted to have the holiday reinstated, and all was forgiven by the NFL. They hosted the Superbowl in 1996.) Still, not all states recognized the holiday by name, nor as a paid state holiday. It wasn't until Y2K that all states were on board.

After such a struggle, it seems fitting to commemorate the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with something more than a day off school and a sale at the local mattress store. Since I'm in challenge mode this month, I'd like to throw out a challenge to all TFC readers: find a meaningful way to celebrate this day. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

Read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Join the Day of Service. You can find organized projects in your area here, or check out the twitter feed here. If you don't see anything nearby, you could always find a way on your own to serve your community. (Hint: lots of food banks and shelters say they have more help than they need in December when people are in the giving mood, but that volunteers drop sharply once the holidays are over.)

What are you going to do with today? Any other holiday/service suggestions?

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Good News Friday: A New Website and a New "Zone"

I love good news Friday! And today, I'm thrilled to announced that after several LONG months, my sparkly new website is LIVE!

www.JessicaBrody.com

I've been wanting to redesign my website for years and I finally took the plunge. And up until now, I've always designed and (semi-adequately) built my own. Because I figured it was a good way to save money and I was, after all, semi-adequate at web design.


But then recently I read this book called THE BIG LEAP: CONQUER YOUR HIDDEN FEAR AND TAKE LIFE TO THE NEXT LEVEL by Gay Hendricks. And he has this great philosophy about "Living in your Zone of Genius." Essentially, we all have FOUR zones:

The Zone of Incompetence - stuff we can't do at all, even if we tried...e.g. for me this would be singing opera, speaking Swahili, blogging regularly, and cooking.

The Zone of Competence - stuff you can do fairly well, but there are others who can do it WAY better than you. This is where my web design would come in. As well as my inexplicable desire to always want to try to fix my computer myself, before inevitably calling someone six hours later when I'm tired, sweaty and about to chuck it out the nearest window.

The Zone of Excellence - stuff you do extremely well and probably have been doing well for years but it's not exactly what you've always dreamed of doing. For me, this is the stuff I did at my old job, financial models, building pretty spreadsheets, crunching numbers, etc.

And finally, there's your...

Zone of Genius - And no, I'm not talking about some mythical place where all the Geniuses from the Apple store hang out after working, making fun of all the technically incompetent people in the world. Your Zone of Genius includes all the stuff that doesn't feel like work. That you could do all day, every day and never get tired or bored. The place where you really are at zen with yourself and the world. For me this is brainstorming new book ideas and seeing them come to life on the page!

And the book says that we should make a conscious effort to always live in our Zone of Genius and find ways to escape our Zone of Competence and even our Zone of Excellence as much as possible.

So...long story short (too late, I know!): It was for THIS is the reason I decided to finally hire a web design company to build my new website. (The awesomeness of Hanee Designs) Since building websites is clearly in my Zone of Competence (and sometimes even in my Zone of Incompetence) so that I could spend more time living in my Zone of Genius. Meaning, spending more time brainstorming and writing books!

And this website is the result. So I'm especially proud of it for several reasons. And I do hope you enjoy it!

www.JessicaBrody.com

Oh, and I should also note that the new website, which went live yesterday, features the FIRST EVER RELEASED synopsis of the first book in my forthcoming teen sci-fi trilogy. It's called UNREMEMBERED and you can read all about it here!

Happy Friday everyone! And here's to living in your Zone of Genius all day, every day!

- Jessica

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