Just like really awesome candy

I’m, like, 10 days late responding to this tag from Will Dixon (your definitive source for all things Canuck TV-related). I wasn't ignoring you, Will, I just didn't see it.

I mean, how could I resist a what are you listening to tag? Answer: I couldn't. So, here are:

Seven speaker-shaking songs for the summer.

Liam Finn Better to Be

I’m not ashamed to say I’m half in love with Liam Finn, even though I, ahem, remember when he was born, having been a fan of his dad’s (Neil Finn of Crowded House). He’s got daddy’s gift for writing perfect pop songs, but he adds his own punk-rock spirit to the proceedings. Liam's many live shows are The Best I’ve seen this year. And his drumming is outrageously good.

Electrocute Just Like I Am

A perfectly formed pop song with a gorgeous bassline. Ideal for those of us who like our pop with extra sugar. I couldn't find this song online, but you can listen to a bunch of their other stuff.

Just Like I Am from electrocute on Vimeo

Benji Hughes Tight Tee Shirt

Ahhh. This is the song of the summer. Love the lyrics. Love the bassline. Love the Stevie Nicks /Bootylicious-esque guitar. Love the phrase “just like really awesome candy”. Love it!

Listen to it! http://www.myspace.com/benjihughes

Chris T-T We Are the King of England

Chris T-T is a hyphenate: sweetheart-genius. In the interests of full disclosure, he’s one of my best friends. But he’s also one of the most talented songwriters playing music today. This video is so beautiful, except for my embarrassing cameo at the end…

Chris T-T - (We Are) The King Of England from Sargent Records on Vimeo.

Ludacris Girls Gone Wild

The chorus is as dumb and misogynist as they come, but, shit, Luda’s flow in the verses gets me every time. And the production on this track kicks serious ass. The Neptunes at their finest. Plus, it's fun to pump out of my speakers while cruising down Sunset with the windows rolled down. No one expects to see ME driving when they look over…

There’s no real video (This wasn’t a single? What were they thinking?), but here’s one of those weird non-video YouTube things.

The Blow Pile of Gold

The antidote to Ludacris – this song is all girls on top. The Blow’s live show was one of the best I’ve seen this year.

Listen: http://www.krecs.com/html/press/medialisten.php?interest=139

Junkie XL Not Enough

Great pop songwriting + techno/electro production = a very happy me. Oh, and this track features vocals and songwriting from Willoughby and Electrocute. Full circle enough for ya?

Junkie XL – Not Enough

If you've read this far and you have a blog, consider yourself tagged. If you don't have a blog, feel free to comment. I wanna know what's making your ears smile this summer!

Night time is the right time

I don't write after dark. Period. And I always write at home. It's just how I do.

Except this week, thanks to a chat I had one of the brilliant members of my brilliant writers group (and in case that sentence makes it sound like I was chatting to one of the brilliant members, instead of one of the cretinous members, let me state here that they are all brilliant, and I am blessed to be amongst them), I decided to kick myself into high gear, act like a real writer, and go sit in a coffee shop with my laptop. At night.

Hooray and thank you, brilliant writers' group member. 

As soon as I stepped into Swork on Monday evening it all came flooding back to me. I love coffee shops. I love writing in them. I love surrounding myself with people all quietly working on meaningful projects. Scripts, essays, physics homework, masterplans to rule the world – they were all being quietly hatched as I stared into space, thinking up clever ways for my characters to say clever things.

I love the writing I did that night. So on Wednesday I hit GroundWork on Sunset and last night it was Zeli Coffee Bar in Pasadena. (Notice how I carefully avoided any multifarious international conglomerates in favor of organic, fair-trade, independent kind of places?).

Right. So the moral of this tale for those of us who write (and if you don't, why are you reading my blog, Crazy Person?):

Change your routine. Get out of your rut. Do something you wouldn't normally do. It's good for your writing and it's good for your soul.

Profound.

Artery Cloggery

Who needs sweet edible treats when you have Liam Finn? Seriously.

 You really need to hear his music. Like, right now. Which you can, thanks to MySpace. This is his page. Go. Listen. Go. Now. You'll thank me.