27 January 2011

You: For Better. Or Worse.

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By The99Percent.com

Okay kids, end of January is upon us. How are those 2011 resolutions holding up? One friend calls them "Jan-Febsolutions" for their actual life span, despite best intentions. He's probably right.

If you need a little spark to rekindle your new year verve, take a look 100 Tips to Improve Your Life from 99%. These aren't resolutions: not things you need to give up, but things that can enhance your life. Note, those are def two different beasts: give up vs enhance. The suggestions and links gathered by Behance, (the creators of the "Making Ideas Happen" book) are impressive and some, even realistic. One word of caution, if you aren't a Tim Ferriss fan, this list might offend you as his thumbprint is all over this list (although he has made a kettlebell believer out of me.)

I feel we are all our own worst enemies. So give yourself a break if you haven't made a dent in your resolutions (there's still 11 more months!) Take a deep breath and merely make minor adjustments along the way versus wholesale changes. Baby steps, my Friends.

This playlist is a cornucopia of tunes skewed towards our pros, our cons, and everything in between. As the saying goes, "If you don't love you, who will?". ;)

Peace ~Joy

99 Problems (Jay-Z Cover)
Hugo
Starting this playlist about 100 ideas from the 99% with Hugo's 99 Problems was a slam dunk. I love Jay-Z's orig tune. And I love this cover, which Jay-Z did too - he signed Hugo to his Roc Nation label.

Within Your Reach
The Replacements
Can we talk about the guitars in this song? Just crazy good. Just crazy Paul Westerberg.

No New Tale To Tell
Love 'n Rockets
Still a rockin' great tune.

How You Like Me Now
Heavy
This club fave hit the motherload when Kia used it in their 2010 Super Bowl Spot: Joyride Dream.

Body of Years
Mother Mother

Don't Do It
Sharon Van Etten
Snap. She was in Columbus last week playing The Wex and I missed her... Haunting voice. And tune.

Transparency is the New Mystery
Marnie Stern
I haven't been too heavy handed w/the order of this playlist (for once) so I'm delighted these two tunes back up to one another as they are so very different. Or... are they?

Lose Big
Eef Barzelay
My love for Clem Snide is never-ending (see: Speechless or Apology Not Accepted. As such, so this tune by Eef.

My Will is Good
Port O'Brien
Observation: this band def sounds like they'd be a featured artist on Conan, don't they? Dueling O'Brien's. :)

Good Friends, Bad Habits
Owen
There are published studies by Harvard Medical School which support this theory. See Point #10 in this article. lol

Drink Drank Drunk
A Sunny Day in Glasgow
If the Harvard study above is correct, um, you might not want to share this tune w/your friends.

Cry 4 Help
Har Mar Superstar
Man, talking about "owning it"... Sean Tillmann, Har Mar Superstar creator, just puts it all out there for those to love or loathe. Me, I applaud his audacity and creativity. I liken his live show to the experience I had watching Gogol Bordello at Lolla last year: a raucous, riotous act with undeniable talent.

Dear God
XTC
If you don't know this about me yet, take note: I've unbridled enthusiasm about most things. And life, yes, it can suck. If that's the chosen lens from which you view. I say make your 2011 suck less. :) And if you're in true despair, then this last song is for you. Be well. Be happy. Be you. 

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Old soul who falls down
Can't stop tripping on these old roads I go down
Get back up and get my...

Foot in the door and my face on the page
Make my mark in the world with a bat and a blade
Just a body of work that you can't ever change
Like a body of years that you take to your grave

~Body of Years by Mother Mother 
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