A Mug Addition for a Mug Addiction - The Last Five Years

Last night, after loving the show and calling it my favorite for years, I finally saw The Last Five Years. And it was amazing. I won't bore you with all my critiques and the things I loved about it (which far outweighed the critiques), especially since most of you would just be lost and that's ok. Suffice it to say, I was great. Really great. Oh and if you ever get a chance to see Betsey Wolfe in anything, do it! She was phenomenal.

I leave you with a behind-the-scenes look of Jason Robert Brown (the composer of the show, which is based on his life, and also I just want to point out that he retweeted me on Twitter last night!) giving a little direction and working with the actors through my favorite song in the show. It's the one song that they sing together and it's when he proposes and they get married. It's gorgeous.

E is for Empire State of Mind

Yes I'm talking about the Jay Z/Alicia Keys song, not the building (though I promise to talk about it later this month).

This song came out just a couple months before I made the big move from Georgia to NYC. I was following my dream of wanting to live in New York, a dream I'd had since my first visit when I was in 10th grade. And - bonus! - I was also embarking on the great adventure of moving in with the man I loved and chasing his dream of being an actor. Empire State of Mind became my personal mantra. I knew next to nothing about all of the many things Jay Z raps about in the verses, but I was excited to understand and to get to know the city.

You know what? I was not-so-surprised to find that this state of mind does exist. I can be in the worst of moods when I leave work, but when I step onto the sidewalk and look up to see the Empire State Building as I start my walk to the subway I'm reminded of how thrilled I am to be living here. Nothing beats that flutter of excitement in my chest when I'm able to get from one end of the city to the other without consulting my map...or being able to answer directional questions from tourists without a second thought...or being able to be the one who suggests a great place to eat or shop.

To wrap this up and bring it back around to the song, I'll tell you about an amazing moment. Not long after we moved here, JP and I went out with some friends to one of my favorite bars, M1-5. It was a busy night and it got crowded fast. The music was blaring so everyone had to speak up to be heard and while there was a small dance floor, most people paid little mind to the music. At some point Empire State of Mind came on and I was all excited as I started bobbing my head along with the music. I was gearing up to belt it out right along with Alicia and as I opened my mouth to sing, I was shocked by the sudden noise of seemingly every person in the bar belting it out right along with me. It was an amazing moment to see everyone's drink raised and hear everyone singing about their love for their city. NYC and its people are simply amazing.

Stuck in my head.

Do you get songs stuck in your head? I find it fascinating that this happens. I don't know if it's the same for you, but I tend to hear really random songs that I haven't listened to in forever. Some days I'll have just one or two songs that hang out in my head. Other days...it's like someone made a playlist for a 10 hour road trip and pieces of every single song are played in my head. I don't get it.

So here's what I did. I decided to start making note of which songs showed up throughout the day. I did it a few of days of this week. A couple of days I only wrote down 2-4 songs. No big deal. But other days I had a whole list. So I picked the longest list to share with you. Oh and the list ALWAYS starts in the shower. I've never taken a shower without humming a song. I give you the songs in my head on October 4.


1. At This Moment - Michael Buble
Michael usually shows up on every list. I probably listen to him more often than any other band or singer (with Harry Connick, Jr, being a close second.

2. Fancy - Reba McEntire
Truthfully, I have NO idea where this came from. I couldn't tell you the last time I actually heard this song.

3. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Reba McEntire
For some reason, this song and Fancy always seem to go hand in hand in my brain. I can't think of one without thinking about the other.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Song
Um, yeah. Not a clue.

5. I'm Coming Home - Michael Buble
See? More Michael.

6. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
I'm guessing this was hovering around because I'd been watching The Office in the last week or so and there's an episode where Andy is in Sweeney Todd. But I'd watched it days before this day.

7. Beautiful - Christina Aguilera
???? I don't own ANY of her music and again, can't remember the last time I heard this song.

8. My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
Ok here's one I can explain. I still reminisce about my awesome honeymoon most days. It was a cruise to Alaska. There were some bad weather days, and also icebergs/chunks of ice in the water (because it's Alaska), so we talked about Titanic a lot. So NOW whenever I think about my honeymoon, this song inevitably gets stuck in my head. It showed up on lists from other days.

9. Never Fully Dressed without a Smile - from the musical Annie
Don't know.

10. A song from the movie The Holiday. I don't know which song it was, but it was definitely one that was part of the score, not a song with words.


So there you have it. These all came while I was at work, because of lot of my work days are filled with me doing tests where I don't have to think a lot and so my mind is free to wander. The days with shorter lists were the days where I worked in the clinic, which meant I was actually talking to people the whole time (my brain was too focused on talking and writing, etc.). Once I leave work, I read my kindle on the way home, then usually watch tv and talk to JP before going to bed.

Oh and I'd also like to point out that sometimes I have two songs try to mesh together when they definitely shouldn't. For example, on this day, these lyrics were stuck in my head at some point: "Here's your one chance, Fancy, don't let me down...when the evil Shredder attacks, them turtle boys don't cut him no slack!"

So what songs get stuck in YOUR head?