Hello and HAPPY TUESDAY!! I have decided to kick it old school today with my tunes and have only selected songs on my very outdated iPod. They really aren’t that old but because I haven’t added any new songs to it in a few years, they all just seem a bit old. But I love them regardless. I hope you all enjoy!
When We Were Young by The Summer Set
I Don’t Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw
Wrong Side of Love by Augustana
Jennifer Echols Week is OFFICIALLY here! I am so excited to kick-off this week-long event of all things Jennifer Echols. For those of you who may not know, I am a HUGE fan-girl of Jennifer and the freaking amazing books that she writes. In celebration of her upcoming release of Dirty Little Secret, I have decided to host an event in which other bloggers and fans of Jennifer Echols are invited to help share in the J. E. awesomeness. If you missed sign-ups, then never fear, you can still join in! Here’s how the week will run: Every day, today through the 16th, I will have a post on the blog related to Jennifer Echols and her books. These posts will all be topped off with the button you see above. For each day, there will be a little blue linky guy that you will click so you can add your #JenniferEcholsWeek post. For just a little idea of how the week will be running over here on my blog, check out my tentative schedule below. Also, be sure to stop by on the last day of the event for an awesome giveaway!
Tuesday July 9th: Kick-off Post + Tune In Tuesday Jennifer Echols Edition
On this day I will have my kick-off post that is also doubling as a Tune In Tuesday post. I will be featuring some music inspired by the lovely Jennifer Echols.
Wednesday July 10th: Cover Talk
Jennifer has a wide range of books and with this, a wide range of covers. Feel free to join me as I discuss which ones I freaking love and which ones, I well, don’t.
Thursday July 11th: Review of Such A Rush
I am excited to see what this book is all about!
Thursday July 11th: TWITTER PARTY!
Join me and whoever heck else wants to join in as we take over Twitter with fan-girlish talk of Jennifer Echols. The party will start at 8 p.m. ET. You can join in on the party by using the #JenniferEcholsWeek hashtag! *Thanks Estelle for this AWESOME idea!*
Friday July 12th: Jennifer’s types of books: Romantic Comedies, Romantic Dramas, Adult, New Adult
I am going to be talking about my favorites from each category, what she brings to each one, etc.
Saturday July 13th: Review of Star Crossed
J. Echols does an adult book. Heck to the yes!
Sunday July 14th: Jennifer’s Boys
One of my favorite things in a Jennifer Echols book: a swoon-worthy boy!
Monday July 15th: Review of Levitating Las Vegas OR Something else that I haven’t decided yet…
Tuesday July 16th: Recap of week + Review of Dirty Little Secret + Giveaway
Jennifer Echols Week comes to an end *cries*
Tune In Tuesday is a weekly feature in which bloggers get to showcase another one of their loves, music! This feature was originally created by Ginger over at GReads! but you can now find it here at Kate’s Tales of Books and Bands. If you would like to participate in this weekly feature, make a blog post showcasing a song (or a few!) and link up at the bottom of this post by clicking the cute blue guy! While you’re here make sure to check out all the other awesome blogs that have decided to participate!
As you can see, today’s Tune In Tuesday a little bit special. Since it is the kick-off for Jennifer Echols Week, I have decided I would feature songs inspired by the books written by the incredible Jennifer Echols. I have not read all of her books AND it would take me next to forever to make up book playlists for the ones that I have read so I decided I would pick songs based off of the titles. I tried to pick songs that I 1) liked and 2) fit the title as best as possible. Hope you all enjoy!
Too Far Gone by Tyler Burkum
Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
Endless Summer by The Jezabels
Love Story by The Summer Set
Rush by Aly & AJ
Ex Games by Claudia Hoyser (Timeflies Cover)
You’re The One That I Want by Angus & Julia Stone
Crush by Gavin DeGraw
Star Crossed by The Nadas
Playing The Blame Game by You Me At Six
Waking Up In Vegas by Katy Perry
Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects
Tune In Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Ginger @ GReads so you should head on over and link up! It is a great way to bounce from blog to blog and discover what others are listening to! I love music but there is so much out there that I haven’t heard of before. That being said, feel free to leave a link to your Tune-In Tuesday post!
For the whole month of May, Tune In Tuesday is Random Playlist Edition! All you need to do is open up your music library whether it be Amazon Player, Zune, iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, etc. Once you have it open, hit random and let it do the picking! I have had so much fun with this edition of Tune In Tuesday! For the last one I am going all out with FIVE picks from both iTunes and Spotify!!! I hope you guys enjoy!
iTunes:
Passenger Seat by The Summer Set
This is my very favorite song from The Summer Set, it’s even been my ringtone for nearly 2 years now.
Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne
When I hear this song I think back to middle school. It was so freaking popular!
End Tapes by The Joy Formidable
I love The Joy Formidable! The Breaking Dawn soundtrack wouldn’t be the same without them!
I Don’t Want To Wait by Paula Cole
Can anyone say Dawson’s Creek? I miss the days when reruns of this show would play twice a day every week!
Get To You by Paradise Fears
I love these guys, I love their music <3
Spotify:
All My Days by Alexi Murdoch
If you haven’t watched Real Steel yet, do yourself a favor and do so RIGHT NOW! This song plays at the very beginning and I was instantly a fan.
Further From You by William Fitzsimmons
His voice, it melts my heart.
Favorite Fix by Artist vs Poet
Another band I can’t help but love!
Crazier by Taylor Swift
You guys all know I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift, well now you also know I am a bit of a fan of Hannah Montana. Do not judge, it was a super cute movie!
Promise The Stars by We The Kings
No better way to end Tune In Tuesday Random Playlist Edition than with We The Kings!
During the month of February, I was able to attend two AMAZING concerts! I cannot even begin to tell you guys how much fun I had at each of them but I can sure as heck try!
To make this post a little more fun, I made videos of each concert. Here’s how they went:
Everything’s Fine/Symphony Soldier Tour
They day started off awesome. Kati and I slept in a bit, got dressed, then we went to Bob Evans. For those few of you who don’t know, this is our all-time favorite restaurant/hang out place. After eating what I like to call THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (toast, soup, cappuccinos, cheese bites…yummmm) we went to go get our hair done. I got the breakfast, hair appointment, and concert for Kati’s Christmas present. Our regular hair stylist did our hair in a cute but not too done up style for the night. After the hair appointment, Kati and I did a bit of running around and then we were off. We sang the whole way there so by the time we got to the venue we were extra pumped. Waiting outside was not the highlight of our night, that’s for sure! There was an annoying girl in front of us who must have smoked like 4 cigars and another one who commented on how dumb it was to wear leggings as pants…just guess who was wearing leggings as pants (both Kati and I!) We waited for forever but were finally able to enter the venue! Right at the coat check was Rival Summers! You may remember him from THIS Tune In Tuesday post! He took a picture with us which was pretty awesome of him considering it was his birthday…I think! We then got a spot on the floor as close as possible and waited some more. Then biggest shocker of the night, Paradise Fears comes out on to the stage! I didn’t know any of their songs by heart but I had met these guys before at Warped Tour and had NO idea they were supposed to be on this tour. They just lit the stage up. I was so incredibly blown away by how energetic they were. I remembered why I fell in love with them in the first place. Days Difference took the stage next. I had trouble hearing them but they still made it loads of fun (even if I did get whacked in the side of the head with a giant rubber duck during one of their songs!) He Is We came on next and my heart just melted. The crowd was SO excited to see them and by the look on their faces, they were shocked to see such a reaction. They truly are amazing. Then The Cab came on. I think I was peeing my pants at this point. THEY WERE SO FREAKING GOOD! I danced and sang to every song but the moment that truly MADE this night was when Alex, the lead singer, saved a life…kind of. They were just getting ready to do an acoustic set. He starts to sing then cuts the song short. He then proceeded to hop off the stage and yank a girl out of the crowd. Turns out she had passed out and he was just trying to help her out. Be still my heart <3 Then The Summer Set came on and let’s be honest, they NEVER disappoint. I have seen them a good 4 or 5 times in concert now and I always enjoy myself. After The Summer Set, we went to go get merchandise! We got a couple of pictures with the guys from Days Difference, snagged a few awesome t-shirts and CD’s then headed outside to meet The Cab! First we got in line for the main singer, Alex. He was so kind, and yes he did give me a big hug (insert fan-girlish scream right here!). Then we headed to the back of the other line to meet the rest of the other band. Out of nowhere comes John from The Summer Set. He talked to us about how Michigan is so NOT a state for people used to the Arizona weather. After a while we got some pictures with him and went on to meet the rest of The Cab. They were hilarious! They kept photo-bombing all these pictures and doing completely absurd stuff during pictures. During ours, the guys joked with Kati and one tickled me so I was busy cracking up the whole time! After this, Kati and I went back towards the end of the line so I could contemplate buying a poster for the guys to sign. While making this very crucial decision, Brian from The Summer Set comes out to take some pictures. Heck-to-the-yes!!!! I guess it is safe to say this was one awesome night!
End Of The World Tour
This day started off just like any other. My sister (Kari), Kati, and I all got ready and were headed off to the concert. This one was about a 2 hour drive. Once we got to the venue we had to wait outside for a good hour and a half. During this time, my hair which started out looking good turned in to a nasty mess. I think I was called a “drowned rat” a few times. We also asked anyone and everyone in sight if they knew where you were supposed to go for the Meet & Greet passes. Absolutely no one knew! Finally, We The Kings’ manager-type-guy comes out and gathers all the Meet & Greet people. We headed in, get a poster, t-shirt, and bracelet then waited for the guys to show up. Once they got there, we were able to take pics and make fools of ourselves. Kati, Kari, and I all said embarrassing things, talked way too loud and all at the same time, basically we were just making the situation very odd for anyone in attendance. We didn’t get to talk to the guys all that much but I hugged Travis (my future husband) and told him how much I love him and he told me how much he loved me, (true story) so you can imagine how happy I was. Sadly, they had to go get ready for the show after a while but they did let us into the concert area early. HECK YES! This means we got to stand right up next to the stage. Soon all the other people started flooding in and an opening band came on stage. They were a pretty small MI band called The Outer Vibe and let me just say HOLY AMAZEBALLS! This band totally killed it. They all come out in their punk outfits and started singing a song. In the middle of the song, this girl has a trumpet solo. A TRUMPET SOLO…. AT A ROCK CONCERT! It is safe to say they are a new favorite. Then Anarbor came out. I knew so little by them but they made the show so much fun. Finally The Downtown Fiction came on stage. This wasn’t my first time seeing these guys but it was my first time seeing them that close! They were brilliant but that was expected. It was at this point in the concert when the crowd really started getting rowdy. Kati, Kari, and I were smashed up against the metal bars which by the way, is not very comfortable. We had crowd surfers smacking us in the heads, rude guys trying to push their way in front of us, and let’s not forget the evil-looking but totally nice security guards standing in front of us. Even though it killed and I still have bruises on me, the front row experience was unforgettable. Finally, the moment I was waiting for…WE THE KINGS!!! This show was really a sad one. First, their drummer had a broken wrist. He manged to still rock out but he could only use one hand. Then their bassist, Charles Trippy (you may or may not know him from his awesome YouTube channel CTFxC) had a seizure a few weeks ago and doctors found a brain tumor. I know, Holy disaster Batman! Regardless of their set backs, We The Kings still came out and rocked an acoustic performance. And yes Tee, Travis was barefoot! Once We The Kings finished their set, Mayday Parade came out! This is a band I listen to quite frequently but have failed to really memorize any of their songs so I spent a majority of their performance 1) avoiding crazed fans 2) trying not to die because of said crazed fans and 3) smiling at the stage like a goonie! These guys all come out in their semi-matching outfits and they put on one (excuse my language) bad-ass performance. The energy from not only them but from the fans was totally insane. I was sad for it to be over! After the concert I of course went to get some merchandise, a singed CD from The Outer Vibe (the lead singer totally recognized me! He was like “Weren’t you that girl in the front row singing along.” Why yes indeed, that sure was me!), a CD from Anarbor, and a t-shirt from Mayday Parade. Seriously, it is going to be so hard to top this concert now. I had such a phenomenal time!
IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It is a way for book bloggers to post what they have received for review, borrowed from a friend, bought at the bookstore, or picked up at the library!
The last IMM I posted was all the way back in November! Yeah, it is safe to say the holidays definitely got in the way but I am hoping to keep up with the weekly IMMs from now on. Since I missed almost two full months, this IMM is going to be a lot of craziness! Let’s take a look at what I got!!!
Unbreakable Love by Angela Carling
Loving Emily by Anne Pfeffer
Dark Days by C.A. Kunz
Trade Secrets by Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout (e-book)
The Knife and the Butterfly by Ashley Hope Perez (e-book)
Settling by Shelley Workinger (e-book)
Books
Don’t Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough
Winter’s Kiss: The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols and The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Catherine Hapka
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June by Robin Benway
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Switched by Amanda Hocking
A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford
Hush Money by Susan Bischoff (e-book)
Impulse Control by Susan Bischoff (e-book)
Indigo Blues by Danielle Joseph (e-book)
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (e-book)
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner (e-book)
My Thoughts: I got some great deals over some awesome books the past couple months however I am now on a book buying ban! There are just too many things I am saving up for plus I now have enough books to last me a lifetime!
Music
Dashboard Confessional
Anberlin
Thriving Ivory
Ryan Adams
Fitz and the Tantrums
Foster The People
The Summer Set
My Thoughts: Can you tell that I ran into some deals at the CD store? All of their used CDs were super cheap plus if you bought 3, you got the 4th one free!
From Alexa @ AlexaLovesBooks
Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
Chocolates & a card!
My Thoughts: Alexa is one freaking awesome book blogger (and not just because she sent me a super sweet gift!) She never fails to make my days brighter and the day I got this lovely package in the mail was no different. My brother managed to eat both chocolate bars she sent me but I am sure they were delicious! The card was so dang sweet and I cannot wait to read these books!
From Laci @ LovePassionBooks
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
A Taylor Swift card!
My Thoughts: Laci completely surprised me for my birthday! She saw it was my birthday on Twitter and offered to send me two books. I was stunned and so thankful when I got these two in the mail. Plus, she just knows me so well, she got a TAYLOR SWIFT birthday card!!! This made me smile big time :)
From Cyndi @ Dog-Eared and Bookmarked
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Twilight Saga journal set
A Winter Song CD
Water For Elephants Soundtrack
A Christmas Song CD
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Soundtrack
A hand-made scarf & a card!!!
My Thoughts: Cyndi is so full of amazing, I wish I could just hug her! She had been teasing me on Twitter for FOREVER about the gift she was sending me and when it finally got here I cried. Seriously. She was so extremely generous and thoughtful with her gift, it totally made my day!
From Jamie Manning @ Writers Write, Right?
A singed Eternal Starling bookmark from Angela Corbett
My Thoughts: I am not entirely sure how I got this or even why, but hey it is a gorgeous, signed bookmark; I am NOT complaining!
From my Dad and Stepmom:
Books
A New Bookshelf
Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman
Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski
New stationary so I can write letters to all of my blogging friends!
Music
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Tenth Avenue North
The Fray
The Cab
My Thoughts: I love my dad and stepmom so much! They spoiled me on my birthday and Christmas and I couldn’t be happier :)
From my Mom:
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
My Thoughts: It may have taken a while to convince my mom that it was actually okay to buy me books for Christmas but once she finally understood, she made an excellent decision! I can’t wait to continue on with this series.
From my Grandma:
Books
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble
My Thoughts: My grandma also did good with the book choice this year! I haven’t read the first of The Infernal Devices but when I do, I now have the second to immediately follow-up with!
Music
Plain White T’s
The All-American Rejects
My Thoughts: Last time I asked for an All-American Rejects CD from my grandma, she got me an Alter Bridge CD. They are COMPLETELY different! I was so happy she could find the right ones this time around!
From my Aunts & Uncles:
Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens
Bookmark pens
The Nook!
My Thoughts: I am thrilled I got an awesome book and bookmarks but I am even more thrilled that I now have my very own Nook! I was very adamant that I would hate an e-reader, but I now love having one! Go figure!
So that’s a ton of great books that I got the past couple of months! Since it is going to take a lot of time to read those, I am officially putting myself under a book buying ban. It should be interesting to say the least. Don’t forget to leave a link to your IMM post in the comment section and I will be sure to check it out!
Last Tuesday, Kati, Kari (my sister), Sadie (my friend), Stacey (my friend), and I all went down to Pontiac, MI to see one of the greatest concerts of ALL TIME! Bands such as Action Item, Hot Chelle Rae, The Downtown Fiction, and The Summer Set opened up for my favoritest (it’s a word. Look it up.) band in the whole world, We The Kings. In my Tune-In Tuesday post last week, I posted videos of all the bands that I would be seeing. It was such an epic line-up. All of their music is fun and you can totally sing along to all of their songs but each band brings a little something different to the table. This post is to just reiterate just how awesome all of these bands are!
My day started off ROUGH! I had planned my outfit all out and I was all set to crimp my hair. Two hours before we were set to leave I started getting ready. About a half hour before we left for the concert I finished crimping my hair and soon realized I look liked an electrocuted poodle. I had very little time to try to fix my hair before my future husband would see me. Fixing my hair turned out to be useless because not only was it super hot out while waiting in line but it even started to rain. That is why you will have to ignore my VERY BIG hair in these pictures!
Action Item started out the show as a wonderful surprise. When I looked them up on Youtube, I found their music enjoyable but they were a little “annoying disney-channel-boy-bandish ,” but they came out and rocked their set!
I was pumped for Hot Chelle Rae because I only knew a few songs by them and I was DYING to hear more. What I didn’t expect was to fall in love. Okay, not love, but definitely like, with someone. If you couldn’t guess by my pictures, it is the guy in the yellow shirt. sigh.
The Downtown Fiction was pretty freaking awesome. They started out with my favorite song, Thanks For Nothing and ended with my second favorite song, I Just Wanna Run. I spent a majority of their set getting my spleen squished between a giant metal pole and a guy that resembled a giant metal pole but I still rocked out (well, attempted to rock out!).
The Summer Set brought a huge smile to my face. I could listen to their music day and night and NOT get sick of it. The crowd went wild when during one of their songs, Brian pulled out a harmonica. I haven’t seen many harmonicas successfully used at a rock-ish concert before but it totally worked for them!
Finally, my future husband, Travis and the rest of his awesome band, graced the stage with their presence. Since this is my fifth time (… or sixth. Kati and I couldn’t remember for sure) seeing We The Kings, I am certified to say that this was their best performance yet. I have never seen a group of guys put on a show that was so insanely fun. I danced, sang, and went wild for their whole entire set which included all of my favorite songs from the three of their albums. They played a brilliant mix of their older and newer stuff. Gosh, there really are no words for how amazing it felt to see them in concert again!
Basically this was the greatest concert I have ever been to. It was such an awesome-tastic day!
Tune in Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Ginger @ GReads so you should head on over and link up! It is a great way to bounce from blog to blog and discover what others are listening to! I love music but there is so much out there that I haven’t heard of before. That being said, feel free to leave a link to your Tune-In Tuesday post!
Tonight I get to go see the MOST EPIC CONCERT of epic concert history! My favorite band is gracing the state of Michigan with their presence again and I could not be more excited. Seeing We The Kings in concert never gets old for me; in fact, this will be my 5th time seeing them live. They know how to put on the best performances. This concert is made even more awesome because four other super-freaking-fantastic bands will also be playing. I have talked about The Summer Set here on the blog before so you guys are already well aware of how much I love them. The Downtown Fiction will be playing tonight as well. I saw this band once before in concert and really like their music but I don’t get a chance to listen to it that often. I can sense a CD being purchased sometime in the near future. Hot Chelle Rae is a newer band to me made all the more noticable with their song “Tonight, Tonight.” I sing this song at full-blast every single time it comes on the radio. I am excited to see what other songs they have! As for Action Item, I have never heard of them before but after to listening to some of their music on Youtube, I am a fan. What I am basically trying to say to you guys is that tonight will be near perfection. I can’t believe I was able to type up a somewhat normal blog post because I am literally shaking with excitement. Is it 6:00 p.m. yet? Listen to the music, enjoy, and feel free to be extremely jealous of my concert-going experience tonight ;)
We The Kings: Every Single Dollar
Isn’t my future husband just so super-duper adorable in this video? A financial love song! It is like he was writing this for me :)
The Summer Set: When We Were Young
Oh goodness. I fall more madly in love with The Summer Set with each passing day.
The Downtown Fiction: Thanks For Nothing
I think the lyrics to this song are hilarious!
Hot Chelle Rae: Bleed
I definitely enjoy their slower songs as much as their pop, up-beat ones!
Action Item: When Everything Falls Back Down
This is a great song. I really am enjoying this new band!
Tune in Tuesday is a rockin meme hosted by the lovely Ginger @ GReads so you should head on over and link up! It is a great way to bounce from blog to blog and discover what others are listening to! I love music but there is so much out there that I haven’t heard of before. That being said, feel free to leave a link to your Tune-In Tuesday post!
Okay to be quite honest, I’m ashamed that I have not featured this band on here before! Aside from We The Kings, The Summer Set is my FAVORITE BAND EVER! I am love with every single song that they have recorded, seriously. The lead singer, Brian, will one day be my husband (even if he doesn’t know it yet) and their drummer is like my idol (a girl drummer in an all male rock band! How cool is that!?!) They are the ones playing non-stop on my car radio all summer long. I will be going to see The Summer Set for my fourth time this August and I am so freaking excited. They will be playing with We The Kings, The Downtown Fiction, and Hot Chelle Rae (best concert ever? I think so!) so it will be a night of musical greatness.
Honestly I can gush about this band all day long but instead of doing that I will give you 3 videos to watch & some total fan-girl pictures. The first video is my FAVORITE song by them. It is such a cute love song. The second one is another great song by them but this one actually has a music video so I thought it would be fun to show. The third and final one is a fan-made video of their new single from their second album that comes out next month. I am so psyched to buy it. Okay guys, listen, enjoy, and fall in love (oh, and don’t forget to leave a comment telling me what you think!)
*Crazy Fan-Me, Little Sis-Kari, Awesome Drummer-Jess, Good Friend-Shayne*
*Total Fan Girl-Me, My Future Husband-Brian, Little Sis-Kari*
*He may look a little doped up on drugs & I look a little bit like a crazed poodle but still I think we compliment each other well!*
