Shuffle: The Awesomeness of Randomness

**This is a little revamp of a post I wrote about three years ago. It has been edited, added to, and reposted for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

Fall marathon training is about to begin for myself and many of friends this week and in the upcoming weeks we will be running many miles. Some of us have running groups or running buddies that join us on these runs and some of us run solo. Personally, every single run from the 3-milers to the 20-milers are me, myself, and I. Well, okay, I do have one companion that joins me along the way; one that I never run without: my trusty iPod. I need music during my runs. It's a must for me. I don't like to hear the sound of my feet hitting the pavement or my occasional wheezing. Sometimes, I even need a break from the thoughts going through my own head. The music on my iPod takes me away from all that. I clip that bad boy to my bra, pop my headphones in, and I am out the door, ready to rumble.

Super Spin Songs!!

About two years ago I got my certification to become a spin instructor. I was enjoying taking spin classes so much, I wanted to be able to teach them. I am high energy and enthusiastic so combine this with my love for spinning, I thought it would be great. I couldn't audition for SoulCycle or Flywheel because I didn't have enough experience or the time to make it my full time job which those two studios pretty much require. So the next best thing was to audition at local gyms in hopes of getting a class there. I ended up getting a gig at Boom! Fitness, a local gym in my neighborhood as well as in Murray Hill and got on their sub list. When I finally taught my first class, it was amazing! I loved every second of it. Was I really getting paid to do something I love? To encourage and motivate others to get in shape and get a great workout? To actually earn money while exercising? It was crazy how great it was.

Miley: Moving On...

Full admission: I DVR’ed the Miley Cyrus documentary “Miley: The Movement” on MTV Wednesday. Don’t judge. I was curious. And I was finally able to watch it yesterday morning and man, it was interesting to say the least. Miley’s just being Miley I guess you could say.

Now, I am not a fan of Miley per se, but I’m not gonna lie, I like some of her music. Seriously, I love “We Can’t Stop” and I was always a huge fan of “Party in the USA” and the older “See You Again.” And I can dig “Wrecking Ball” and “23.” Since I am too old to have ever watched “Hannah Montana,” I really don’t have a clue what that show was about or even Miley pre-“movement,” as she calls it. (Except that she snagged the gorge Liam Hemsworth for a long time.) Much of the knowledge I have of Miley Cyrus I get from my US Weekly and the other tabloids and blogs I read.

These will NEVER get old

Yesterday I ran 20 miles. Solo. Well, just me and my iPod. We get along so well because I trained her so well. She has new jams and old jams. Some hip hop, some pop, some R&B, and some electronica. There is quite an electic selection of songs on there but since I have freaking fantastic taste in music, all the songs are great. Obvs. There are some songs though, that I get much more excited to hear than others and really get me going. No matter how old these songs are, I will never get sick of them. They were songs I played over and over when they first came out and now when they randomly show up on my shuffle, I am thrilled and get totally pumped.

Do you have songs like that? You must, right? In no particular order, these are the songs that never, ever get old for me. I know all the words to them and all have great beats. Just take a listen and see if they get you as hyped and excited as they do for me.

I AM Strong

Hudson River Path. Love it.

Hey did you guys see the girl today on the Hudson River path crying and trying to catch her breath while running? She was in a neon yellow top. And kind of smiling even though tears were running down her face. Oh you didn't? Well, spoiler alert, it was me.

This morning was my longest training run thus far of my current marathon training. I had to do 15 miles and was up bright and early to do so. I decided to cross Central Park and head to the west side path to run up to the George Washington Bridge and then back down to where I needed to be in order to hit 15. I started off kind of slow and dragging, but after about mile five I started to feel comfortable. I had downloaded some new music last night as well to add to my iPod for this run. New music always gets me going. One of the new songs I downloaded was Katy Perry's Roar. Have you heard this jam? It's pretty great and is going to become a staple on long runs. It's inspiring and I love that. Some lyrics include "I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire...Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me ROAR" and "Now I’m floating like a butterfly... Stinging like a bee...I earned my stripes... I went from zero, to my own hero." Great, right?  It's def a song I want to save for the end of long runs when I really need a push. That's what I did with it today. I saved the song for the last mile of today's run and as it played and as I listened to the lyrics, I started to cry. While running. Tears running down my face. I was almost done with my run and I lost it. I started wiping away the tears and wheezing to catch my breath from the crying. WTF is wrong with me? Let me count the ways... Just kidding. But seriously, it's okay for me to cry during the last mile of the marathon out of sheer happiness and joy, but at mile 15 of a long training run? It's too early for this shit.

Over-YOLO-ing?

I'm sure you have seen and heard the phrase YOLO ad nauseum in recent months. According to Drake, you can thank him for it because he "invented" it. His song "The Motto" is basically an ode to it. (See video below) He kind of started this whole YOLO thing with the song and it's caught on. Even though sometimes people mock this phrase, I respect it and need to start following it a bit more. I mean, really, you do only live once.

Sometimes you have to take life by the balls and stop waiting around. I am sick of waiting for people to do stuff with. (Especially vacations.) If I want to spend the money and/or my time and do something that interests me, then I need to step up and just do it. By myself. And for myself. If I can't do things for myself, who can I do them for? And I actually really do enjoy doing things alone so I don't see what the big deal is anyway.

I want this to sound the least pathetic as possible, but what am I holding on to all of my savings for right now? I don't have a boyfriend or even any prospects to spend money on. I'm not planning a wedding. I have no intention of buying a condo in NYC anytime soon. And I don't have a child. Therefore, what am I being so thrifty for at my still youngish age? I am a very responsible woman who deserves to live it up once in a while. And before any of the above things happen, I need to enjoy the little youth I have left in my life and have some fun. YOLO, right? What am I waiting for exactly?

Teach me, teach me how to...(dance)

In case you have lived in a cave the last month or so, you probably have heard of Korean superstar PSY. What? You haven't heard of him? Yikes. What planet do you live on? Anyway, PSY has become the creator the newest dance craze (and hit song) to take America by storm, Gangnam Style. Seriously folks. C'mon now. The man and his song and dance are everywhere. His video actually just earned the most hits on YouTube EVER! That's huge. For realz.

Since I love to dance and show off all my sweet dance moves at any opportunity I can get, I am always excited when a new craze occurs, so of course Gangnam Style was no different. Hearing it (over and over) made me take a little trip down memory lane of all the other dance crazes and songs that have come and gone. (Few have actually really had great staying power.) Starting with the newest one and current hit, here is a list of other dance crazes I have loved and learned over the years. 

1. Gangnam Style. I wish I understood Korean so I knew what he was actually saying, but since I don't, I guess I just can continue to appreciate the beat. I do wonder how long this will last and if PSY will be a one hit wonder. My bet: Yes.

Songs of MY Summer

With about three weeks left of my summer, I am trying to take in as much as I can. So far this summer I have been going out a lot and running a lot. This means I have been hearing a lot of music. And when I hear good music, my head starts boppin', my shoulders start shruggin', and my booty starts shakin'. Sometimes I just can't fight it.

Most of the songs I have been listening too aren't exactly new, but more-so new to me. And so I have been listening to many of the same songs over and over again. It's a little bit of a problem, but I'll survive.  (I need to make up for lost time after all.) All the songs pretty much are of different genres so the list below might look a little strange if it was a playlist. But you know what, its my playlist and I can play whatever I please! The one thing that all these songs do have in common is that they are ridiculously catchy and awesome. Does a song really need anything more than that? I think not. So with all that being said, here are MY top 5 songs of the summer of 2012. Rock on.

1. Danza Kuduro- Don Omar Ft. Lucenzo. This is a song I have heard a few times before, usually from my students. I always liked it but didn't think anything of it because it was in Spanish and I couldn't really sing along. However, the beat is so awesome I finally asked them the name of the song and artist so I could download it and dance to it in the comfort of my own home. I don't know how people can stand still hearing this beat.

Word to Your Mother

While home visiting my parents recently I was able to get behind the wheel of a car again to drive. Always a treat since I NEVER drive in NYC. Since I only drive when I am home, I love to run errands and stuff and of course blast the radio and sing out loud to myself. My mom has XM radio in her car so instead of listening to my usual, I was able to listen to the 90's station. I didn't realize how incredible it really was.  There were so many songs that came on that I still remembered all the words to. More than I'd like to admit actually. Songs that bring me back to middle school and high school but def classics and ones that were played over and over again, some that I even had cassette single to.Yeah, that's right, cassette singles. Some of the my fave hits of the 90's that I particularly remember listening to over and over again are below...

1. Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice. This song gave us white kids street cred. Still does. And its also a great karaoke song to perform to because really, who didn't know almost all the words to this? Word to your mother.

Whippin' Out All the Moves

Do you ever hear those songs that make you just want break out into the running man (or even the roger rabbit)? No, me either. Ha. Please. Who am I kidding!! There are so many songs that make me just want to break out my best 90's dance moves and shake it all night long. The sprinkler? Done. The lawnmower? Piece of cake. The Shopping cart. I dominate that shit. I can go all night long with these sweet moves without getting tired. That's because some of the dance songs of the 90's are classic hits that will never die to me. They are the tunes that I use to get break it down to at school dances and bar and bat mitzvahs. I even have these songs on a special "Dance Cardio" playlist on my iPod. No joke. These songs can instantly transform me from tired to energetic because of their beat and rhythm.  When I hear them, I will just whip out all my best moves and let loose. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

1. Real McCoy, "Another Night."This is a fantastic dance song for the electric slide. What a beat!

Represent. What-What!

If you had two words to describe me, they would obviously be "So Hood." Obvs. Since I live in NYC and teach in Harlem, I have legitimate street cred. All day, everyday. Kidding. As a white, Jewish girl from the suburbs, I am certainly not a gangsta in any sense of the word; however, I do love my Hip-hop/Rap music. Long before my move to the big bad city, I was just your normal run-of-the-mill chica who listened to Hip-Hop and Rap. That and pop music were what filled my mix tapes and CD's. (I know, totally random combo!) I enjoyed the likes of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys with Tupac and Biggie. Of course many of us suburban kids thought we were much tougher and cooler because we listened to this music. But I knew I was tough and cool even without it; this just upped the ante. With that being said, the songs below certainly bring out my "hood side" and I am proud to say I know about 98% of the lyrics to all of these. Represent.

1. Biggie Smalls, "Notorious Thugs." I was introduced to this song on the bus to one of our basketball games in high school by one of my friends who was also into hip-hop. I was mesmerized by its beat and its lyrics. I instantly fell in love with it and learned all the words. Whenever I hear it today it still pumps me up.

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season of holiday music. And I am a fan of it. I mean, who isn't? Right? While some people cringe when they hear Christmas music on the radio, especially before Thanksgiving, I get kind of excited. There are a few holiday songs that I can listen to over and over again, and even have on my iPod. When I have it on shuffle, and they come on at a random time during the year, I still listen to them. Most of these songs aren't exactly classics but they get me excited for the the holidays and give me thoughts of sitting around in my sweats on my parent's couch and just relaxing. Aaaahh. In no particular order, below are five of my favorite songs of the holidays.

1. Mariah Carey,"All I want for Christmas" I could listen to this song all year long. Mariah has a killer voice and this song reminds me of when she was a star and not so cray-cray.

2. Britney Spears ,"My Only Wish"  Not only is she my girl-crush, but girl can rock a Christmas song like no one else. I heart you Brit Brit.

3. N'Sync "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" These boys know how to churn out hits, and this is no exception. They even say Happy Holidays so they are technically talking about all holidays this time of year, not just Christmas. Am I right or what? Ha, who are we kidding. But whatever it is, thanks for being semi-inclusive gentlemen.

4. Adam Sandler, "The Hannukah Song." Finally a song for the Jews. About Jews. By a Jew. Even though I am not a huge Sandler fan, I do enjoy this ditty.

5. SNL "Carol of Intimacy"This song comes from an SNL skit many, many years ago and is a spoof of a real Christmas song that I really enjoy. It just makes me laugh out loud too because whenever I hear the real version I think of Dana Carvery and never sing the real words.

 

Once again, these are obviously not "Classic" holiday songs, but these are the ones that put me in the best mood around holiday time.  Everyone has their favorites and these are mine. They instantly can bring a smile to my face and extra skip in my step in a very hectic and stressful time of year. 

Singing Myself Home

I just finished reading Jodi Picoult's new book Sing You Home. One of the main characters in the book is a music therapist and at the beginning of the book, she goes on to explain how certain songs can evoke memories in people. How upon hearing a certain song, it can bring you back to that place emotionally. How you were feeling and experiencing at that time. In my opinion, this concept is so very true, and it started to make me think of songs that I hear and bring me back to certain (usually special) times in my life. I can think of numerous songs that I only need to hear the first five seconds of and they will transform back to a place in time. Sometimes that song might bring m back to a sad time, but usually the song takes me back to a very happy and fun time in my life. Below are 5 songs that I hear and right away and automatically get me transform me back to a "happy place."

1. Thong Song (Sisco) and Big Pimpin' (Jay-Z)  Remember back in the day, when big events would come up and you'd make a mix tape or a mix CD to remember that event. I use to make them all the time for flights when going on vacation and for road trips in college. One of the best mix CD's I ever made was for my senior year of high school spring break trip with my girlfriends. We went on a Carribbean cruise that spring break and it was such a fun time. We played that mix over and over again. I listened to it on the airplane and we played it on the deck of the ship and on the beach over and over again. Today, when I hear either of those songs, usually on shuffle on my iPod, I instantly get a smile on my face and can't help but shake my head to the beats of the music and the good times I had with my girlfriends on that trip. 

2. Forever Young (Rod Stewart) I will usually hear this song listening to classic rock on some random station in someone's car and it brings me back to seventh grade. This is the song that my Bat Mitzvah montage starts off with. As the song plays, there are pictures of me on the screen of me in different points of my life and you can see me growing up. The second I hear that song, I can picture that montage in my head. Damn, I was so adorable when I was little.

3. Ignition (R. Kelly) and In Da Club (50 Cent).  My junior year of college, my mom and I went to Florida for about 5 days together to visit my grandparents. We also made small road trips daily to Ft. Lauderdale, South Beach, etc... and would bump tunes in the car and sing along. We listened to a lot of hip hop and pop radio stations and these two songs were pretty mainstream and played on both stations so we heard them a lot. And we'd sing along and out loud each time. My mom also knew all the words to both songs so we'd really rock out the duets each time. This was one of the best trips I have ever been on. It was the first vacation my mom and I ever took just the two of us and really solidified our relationship. She is truly my best friend and its funny to think how much R. Kelly and 50 Cent could brought us so much closer.Whenever I hear these songs, I think of all our adventures that trip and all the memories we made together.

4. Crank That (Soulja Boy). Believe it or not, this song reminds me of Israel? You see, a little after this song became popular I went on my Birthright trip to Israel. I was one of 2 people on that trip from NYC so that automatically upped my street cred in the group, natch. Not only did I know the words to the song, I knew the dance too. Pretty fly for a white Jewish girl, right? The trip was 10 days long and there wasn't a day on that trip that we didn't hear that song and I didn't perform the dance for our entire travel group. By the end of the trip, most of our 40 person group knew all the dance moves and we would often just break into dance on the middle of our bus. Israel didn't know what was hitting 'em.

5. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor). Every year in middle school there was a talent show. In seventh grade, three friends and myself decided to enter the show and lip sync and dance to this song. We choreographed the entire dance and had color coordinated costumes. Basically, we were the shit. I mean, we practiced our butts off for this show and when it was our time to perform, we nailed it. All the practice, time, and energy we put into our act paid off. We were a hit. Also, for the rest of the year, when this song came on at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs (which we may or may not have requested to the DJ), everyone circled around us as we danced our little hearts out with our awesome choreography. These days, I usually only hear this song at weddings or Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, but you better believe I will whip out some of my old dance moves and show everyone that I've still got it.

Some of the songs I listed above might mean nothing to you at all. They might also bring back a completely different type of memory for you. However, for me, I know that even writing this post helped me reminisce of great times in my life and how much music can really affect someone and change their mood. With so much more to come in my life, I know I will be able to connect to so many more songs, both old and new, and make new memories with them.

I want in on that Island

As previously mentioned, I DVR Saturday Night Live every Saturday night. One of my favorite players on SNL is Andy Samberg. I don't know what it is about him, but he cracks me up.  He just seems like a nice, normal Jewish guy which is why its so strange that I have a crush on him. Physically, he is almost exactly the opposite of what I am attracted to (big nose, Jew fro, not so great teeth, short, pale, etc...) but his sense of humor is just so sexy to me. Proof positive, I am not that shallow and personality does increase attractiveness. (Plus I know my mom would approve of him!)
 
Andy is part of a group called The Lonely Island and they frequently perform digital shorts for SNL. They are songs with music videos, usually with awesome cameos, that if they weren't so ridiculous would probably be hit songs played on the radio all the time. Andy, along with Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, who also make up The Lonely Island, have released two CD's as well. Some of the digital shorts have become quite famous because of their ridiculousness and awesomeness. Below are my five favorite Lonely Island digital shorts. 

1. Dick in a Box. Whenever JT comes on SNL, you know he is going to team up with Andy to make an amazing video. This one inspired awesome Halloween costumes and a great to-do list for any well-to-do gentleman. 
1. Cut a hole in a box
2. Put your junk in a box
3. Make her open the box.

2. Mother Lover.  For anyone who thought Dick in a Box could not be outdone, this one was pretty darn close. Incredible cameos (and wardrobe choices) in this video that was perfect for Mother's day.

3. I Just Had Sex. I even saw this song performed in concert when Akon opened for Usher this year in NJ. Sometimes after a successful night out I want to sing this from the rooftops. Aaaah. Kidding. 

4. I'm On a Boat. A little T-Pain and some autotune. What could be bad? In this case...nothing. Just don't forget your flippy floppies.

5. Jizz in My Pants. Hahahaha. Jizz. Hilarious. Once again, great cameos. And you can't beat the facial expressions of these guys. This song/video is so good it makes me want to jizz in my pants. 

6. Lazy Sunday. This was probably the first big bit hit from the group. Along with Chris Parnell, Andy describes his adventures on a Sunday to see The Chronicles of Narnia. Sounds dumb, right? It's completely brilliant. For some reason, YouTube doesn't have the video for this, just the song on a blank screen. Go HERE to see the video in its entirety. Trust me, its worth it.

Honorable Mentions: Threw it on the Ground, The Creep, Shy Ronnie, and Like a Boss.

If you couldn't get enough of the songs/videos above, def check out the honorable mentions on YouTube as they are pretty hilarious as well. Heck, after listening to these again, I think it might be time to add some to my iPod.

"Gimme More" Britney

Every girl has a "girl-crush." That is one girl, usually famous, that you are strangely enamored with. You think she is pretty and/or has great style and/or a great talent...basically you want to be her or be best friends with her. Or if you were a lesbian, you'd want to get it on with her. My girl crush is Britney Spears. Yes, the same Britney Spears that went a little cray cray and shaved her head a few years back. I have loved her since she made her start like ten years ago and have been a fan of hers through all her trials and tribulations. Poor Britney has been through a lot and I have stuck by her side. I am no fair-weather fan.

Although Britney has had numerous looks over the years as she has gotten older, when I think of her, she will forever be etched in my mind as the Britney in the "I'm a Slave For You" video. Everything worked in that video...the song, the choreography, her smoking body, and hair/make-up. That was her in her prime. She was H-O-T.  And let's not forget her famous 2001 MTV VMA performance with the python. I wanted to be her.  The Britney of today has definitely lost a step or two (or ten!) but I still love her no less. Below are my Top 5 songs/music videos of, as my mom would call her, my "non-sexual lover". Britney, I salute you.

1. Hit Me Baby One More Time The song that started it all. Looking at Britney then and seeing her now is like night and day. That's what plastic surgery can do to a young girl. My guess: Boobs and nose.

2. I'm a Slave For U Seriously, she is en fuego in this video. Her choreography is incredible and the whole scenery for this with the heat, sweat, and water is fab. I wish I had her body. She was really at the top of her game here.

3. Toxic I actually watched the Making the Video of this on MTV and saw all the different aspects that went into it. Little jealous she got to ride that motorcycle with Tyson Beckford. Swoon. But I especially like the parts where she is covered in rhinestones. So sexy.

4. Oops!...I Did It Again I still remember the choreography for the chorus of this song. Was not a fan of the red jumpsuit in this one (its too short!), but if anyone can work it, Britney can.

5. You Drive Me Crazy No, no, Britney, you drive me crazy. One of my favorite Britney songs. And good cameos in this one because of the movie Drive Me Crazy. Great teen flick and even better song to go with it.

Could you honestly watch these videos and not sing along? And not just admire her? She may not have the best voice, but girl can work it on the dance floor. Yes its true, the Britney of today can't hold a candle to the Britney of years ago, but she is still a great performer and still holds a top spot in my heart.  But seriously, don't "Hold it Against Me" for loving her, because I will "Till the World Ends."

Housewives putting it On Display

I don't mean to brag, but if you name name any Real Housewives season, I can pretty much tell you the entire cast (and also give you my opinion on them whether you ask for it or not).  I love that show. Whether its New York, New Jersey, Miami, DC, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, or the ladies who started it all, Orange County, I have tuned in. Each season has its own drama and its own attitude. Well done Andy Cohen. Well done.

If you don't watch the Housewives, let me break it down for you. It's a bunch of women all trying to outdo each other (with money they apparently don't even have), talk shit about each other, and get into catfights. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Sounds pretty incredible, right? Well, it is...until these women start to forget who they are and what they're job is. And let me tell you this...its not to sing. It's to shop, drink, eat brunch, drink, attend fabulous parties, drink. You get it. Nowhere in their contract does it say they should be singing.

Jo De La Rosa (from the OC), one of the the most annoying characters in that series history (and not even an actual housewife!), was the first of the ladies to pave the way of wanting to use her "fame" to begin a singing career. Her man Slade, took her under his wing and got her into a studio to begin recording her first single. Needless to say, her singing voice was just as awful as her regular voice and her song bombed. It was terrible. However, she was the pioneer of Housewives wanting to become pop stars.

Of the Housewives that have recorded songs (and even videos), I have actually found many of the tunes quite catchy. Catchy does not equal good, but these songs do get stuck in your head.  These pretty talentless women are lucky enough to pair up with decent producers with quality equipment and churn out a hit. So bravo (pun intended) to them for that. Seriously.

Below are four the best "Housewives" songs in my opinion. Sorry Danielle Staub and Lawrence (Sheree's friend from RHOA), but you didn't make the cut.

Kim Zolciak (Atlanta): Don't be Tardy to the Party. Not gonna lie, I have this on my iPod. With the miracle of auto-tune, this song became kind of popular. Kim obviously has no talent, but knew how to take what she does have (still trying to figure that out) and work with it.

LuAnn de Lesseps (NYC): Money Can't Buy You Class Ah, Countess LuAnn. With snarky, condescending remarks, she tried to teach us all how to have class in her book. Then she put it into a song. Eh. It's ok, but once again, I did find myself singing it when cleaning my apartment. And just so you all remember, here are LuAnn's words to the wise: "Money can't buy you class...elegance is learned."

LuAnn de Lesseps (NYC): Chic C'est La Vie  The Countess impressed herself so much with her first single, she went ahead and made a second. She even filmed a music video for this one with some of the other NYC Housewives. Oy.

Melissa Gorga (NJ): On Display I think this might actually be my favorite of the Housewives song. I don't know what it is about it, but its pretty damn catchy. And Melissa's voice isn't totally terrible.

I am sure there will be more Housewives who think they can sing and will come out with more songs in the future. And more power to them I guess. Strike while the iron's hot. Or...even better, maybe a few of them will come together and form an all girls group. You hear that Andy? One can only hope!

From Nobody to Somebody

Early this week there was a video I saw on one of the many blogs I read of a young British girl singing Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and she was incredible. I mean, seriously, I was blown away.  By the end of the day, this girl was a YouTube sensation. It's amazing how a video going viral can turn a nobody into a somebody so fast. Sometimes it is real talent, but sometimes its just pure stupidity that becomes entertainment. Regardless, most of these people end up making bank and/or gaining some sort of celebrity status from these videos.

The videos below are some of my all time favorite YouTube videos. If you haven't seen or heard of any of them, congrats, you apparently live in a bubble. I pity you.

1. Antoine Dodson: Bed Intruder. I first learned of Antoine from a gossip blog I read about celebs and ridiculous news.  They showed his interview from a local news station about a break-in and attempted rape in his apartment.  Although a serious matter, his interview was hilarious. It wasn't supposed to be humorous, but his tone and delivery just could not be ignored. I couldn't get enough of him from the get go and my brother and I watched the interview over and over again. We continued to quote him the rest of the night. What we didn't realize was that Antoine was going to become famous off his interview. We thought we stumbled upon some random news story. This was so not the case. Just the next day, his interview had over a million hits on YouTube and some guys from Brooklyn auto-tuned and remixed it turning it into a hit song. It soon became my ring tone for when my brother called.

2.  Rebecca Black: Friday. Also with the help auto-tune, Rebecca Black came on the scene very fast. Additionally, she was not recognized for her talent, but for the pure ridiculousness of her song AND her video. What is so funny about her video is that it was NOT meant to be a joke. At all. It was just that bad. But so bad, it was so good. And yes, not embarrassed to say this is also on my iPod. And I have been known to sing this to my students on Fridays.

3. Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger. If YouTube was available at my school, I would most definitely show this video to my students in my Ecology unit as an example for food chains. It is both educational and hilarious. If you haven't seen this one before, its pretty damn funny and the creator has many videos as well. 

4. Chinese Boys: I Want it That Way. This video came out like six years ago and I could not get enough of it. I loved this song, but it was really all the facial expressions and choreography of these guys as well as the random friend in the background just sitting there that really made me a fan. It made the rounds really fast but unfortch for them, this was still a time where the people in these videos didn't really become famous right away. Sorry guys. You won me over though!

5. Sophia Grace: Super Bass. The most current YouTube sensation. This little girl is not only adorable, but she impressed the hell out of me by knowing all the lyrics to this song in her adorable little British accent. Most recently she went on Ellen to perform and was surprised by Nicki Minaj herself. Very classy move Nicki. No wonder you are so popular and well-liked.

There are obviously hundreds, if not thousands of videos on YouTube that draw millions of viewers each day. There are some that are just plain dumb, some that are super funny, and there others that are full of actual talent.  If it makes its way in the right hands or the right person views it, a star can be born. Hmmmm....maybe I should post a video...

Bye, Bye, Bye Boy Bands

"You are my fire. My one desire." Oh BSB, you stole my heart many years ago. You were one of my favorite boy bands in a time where there were so many to choose from. Boy bands were an interesting fad. Some people loved them. Some hated them. And some just loved to hate them. They were so late nineties, early 2000's and I loved every second of it.

These boys were adorable. They could sing. And they could dance. Such a triple threat. And they made girls my age swoon. I never understood those girls that broke out into tears when they went to a concert and saw their favorite band. I was a fan, but not a psycho. I did go to two Backstreet Boys concerts and one N'Sync concert and remember singing my little heart out to all their songs. I have a ton of their songs on my iPod today and even know some of the choreography still! So lame. And by lame, I mean awesome.

The most popular boy bands of my time will never lose a place in my heart. Below, in all their glory are my favorite music videos from each of the popular boy bands of our time.

New Kids on the Block One of the first to really hit the scene. They became popular when I was in elementary school. I was a Joey girl. Some of my friends liked Jordan the best, but I stuck with Joey. He was just so damn adorable.

98 Degrees Oh, the Lachey brothers (Nick was always my fave) and then Jeff Timmons (who is now in a Chippendale's show) and the other one.

 Backstreet Boys OMG, swoon. This song and video still make me sing my heart out.

 
N'Sync Justin is still at it and hotter than ever. He was my favorite back then and I am still a fan today.

LFO When people still thought Abercrombie was popular. Ugh. RIP Rich Cronin.

O-Town One of MTV's first Making The Band groups. Reality TV, nice looking dudes, and music. I was sold. They didn't make it big enough to get a real music video though.

And one of my favorites was MTV's spoof movie about the boy band movie 2gether. Their songs were catchy and I actually couldn't stop singing one. "You....Plus sign. Me...Equal sign. Us."

So what was your favorite boy band? Could you sing along to these songs? Did it all come back to you? In a time where Bieber Fever has taken over, its good to look back and see a whole group of heart throbs perform as one. And if these videos weren't enough for you, check out this incredible link for the 52 reasons why boy bands were better in the 90's. Looking at these, I am confused as to why I was so enamored with these guys. But it was a different time back then. A different time indeed.

Shake What Your Mama Gave You

I love to shake my booty as much as the next girl. And as a white girl with a big booty, I feel I have the right to do so. And sometimes I will even do the Jersey Turnpike if I am feeling a little wild. I put Deena from Jersey Shore to shame. When I go out and hear a booty shaking song, I make sure and shake what my mama gave me.

At the beginning of the summer, I saw a new music video online called "Walmart" by the ever classy Mr. Ghetto. In a word, this video is incredible.  It pretty much takes place in Walmart and has some amazingly entertaining lyrics about his girls in the store (so listen carefully). Now we all know that you can get pretty much whatever you need and want in a Walmart. Unfortch, there is no Walmart in NYC, which makes me sad. In college we use to go one town over to the Super Walmart and I could literally spend HOURS there. Whether I needed a tire, a TV, a can of beans, or a new bathing suit, the Walmart was a one-stop-shop. But never did I once shake my booty in a Walmart. Apparently, I don't know what I am missing. In the "Walmart" video, the girls are performing a dance called the "New Orleans Bounce" and they do it all over the store. It is absolutely ridiculous and yet hilarious at the very same time. Because I find this video so entertaining, I decided to make a list of my top 5 booty shaking songs. So without further ado...

1. Mr. Ghetto "Walmart"

2. Juvenile "Back that Ass up"

3. Sisqo "Thong Song"

4. Ying Yang Twins "Shake it Like a Salt Shaker"

5. (Obviously) Sir Mix-a-Lot "Baby Got Back"

Honorable mentions: Bubba Sparx - "Miss New Bootie", Huey - "Pop, Lock, and Drop it", Diddy feat Nelly - "Shake Ya Tailfeather", Wrexx-N-Effect- "RumpShaker", Mystical - "Shake Ya Ass"

I am sure many people have their favorite booty shaking songs. Some old and some new. But these are my faves whether you like it or not. When I hear them, regardless if I am alone in my apartment or in a crowded bar, I like to get it moving. Ain't no shame in my game.