my top five favorite: albums

Even before itunes and ipods and spotify I used to prefer building my own playlists (with mixtapes!) to playing an album start-to-finish, but there are always some albums that I think are so perfect that I happily play them uninterrupted, the way they were intended to be heard.

First up is Power, Corruption, and Lies by New Order. One of my all time favorite albums, although I tend to play one side more than the other and I tend to go over and put the needle back on "Your Silent Face" over and over again.



This post could have easily been five Killers albums but I wanted to limit myself to one and give some room to other bands/artists. And narrowing it down to one was VERY DIFFICULT.  But ultimately Day and Age has my heart. Honestly whatever album "Dustland Fairytale" was on was going to get my vote, but when you add in "Spaceman" and "Human" it's basically a shoe-in. (Runner up would probably be either Sam's Town or Battle Born.)



This is the soundtrack for the movie Borsalino. It's just a super fun jazzy '20s-'30s inspired album and I put this on all the time when I need to get some pep in my step for the day. If I need to clean up or get dressed for a late shift at work after I'm already done in, this does the trick. It also reminds me of the movie (which I love!) and that's always a fun bonus when you listen to soundtracks :)



I first heard this when I was staying at The Polynesian in Disney World two years ago and I ended up downloading the album to listen to on the plane home, and then I found an LP on ebay to listen to on my record player. My favorite song on the album is "Pineapple Princess" followed closely by "Hawaiian Love Talk." It's just so fun and bubbly and, especially in the winter, it's nice to be transported to Hawaii (or a Disneyesque version of Hawaii, I guess, lol!)



Last but not least, my favorite Frank Sinatra album -- Moonlight Sinatra. This has spun around my turntable so often that sometimes I think I should buy a backup. Whenever I decide to put this one on, I just can't stop. I keep flipping it over, playing, flipping over, playing, until it's time for bed. My favorites on this album are "Moonlight Serenade" and "Oh, You Crazy Moon."

music complete

New Order released a new album, Music Complete, in September and I'm a horrible fan who just got around to purchasing it. But I'm beyond obsessed with it already (I may have a few songs memorized and I just got the album on Sunday, oops) My favorite songs are Singularity (you can listen on youtube here) and Superheated (you can listen on youtube here.)

Brandon Flowers from The Killers does the vocals on Superheated and SOMEHOW I wasn't super familiar with them beforehand, except for Mr. Brightside. But I loved Superheated so much I ended up binge-listening to their songs on youtube and then buying all of their albums on itunes. I have a somewhat large itunes library (mostly due to me acting impulsively like I just did with The Killers) but my actual listening habits tend to be very focused on one single song or artist. I'll listen to one song on repeat for weeks sometimes. I don't end up trying to find new music too often because I get so compulsively attached to the songs I'm already listening to.

Maybe that's why whenever I do find new music that I love I fall completely head over heels. Music just makes me happy in a way that few things do. It reminds me of Leslie Knope's quote about taking risks ;) "Amazing. Tingling sensation throughout my whole body. I feel flushed. My muscles are relaxed yet I feel awake. Just waves of pleasure. I wish there was something physical that could make me feel this way."

ps. If you're like me and were somehow unaware of The Killers, these are my favorites so far -- Human, Spaceman, Change Your Mind, Read My Mind, Joy Ride and All These Things That I've Done. Go forth and listen!! :)

dress - asos | cardigan - old navy | shoes - bait footwear

my summer playlist

I used to share monthly playlists here when I first started my blog, but that wore off quickly when I realized that I pretty much listen to the same songs over and over again, haha! My favorites haven't changed a lot over the years but I have added some new songs to the mix and I'm really loving my itunes playlist at the moment! I uploaded it to 8tracks so you can have a listen too if you'd like! Here's the link to listen, and here's the tracklist:

1. Crush on You // The Clash
2. Satin Chic // Goldfrapp
3. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue // Bryan Ferry
4. Fallin // Connie Francis
5. Worker's Song // Dropkick Murphys
6. I'll Be Seeing You // Francoise Hardy & Iggy Pop
7. Dark Streets of London // The Pogues
8. Paris 1919 // John Cale
9. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes // Serge Gainsbourg
10. Atmosphere // Joy Division
11. The Crane Wife // Marianne Faithfull
12. Lullaby of London // The Pogues (my favorite song ever!)
13. If There is Something // Roxy Music
14. Sunday Girl // She & Him
15. Back to Black // Bryan Ferry
16. Apeman // The Kinks
17. Breaking No One's Heaven // Peter Murphy
18. After Hours // Velvet Underground
19. Wait for me Down by the River // Marianne Faithfull
20. Ceremony // New Order

The Back to Black track is really low for some reason, I can barely hear it unless I turn up my volume.. but it's so good I had to include it anyway :) Also the drawing at the top is from my etsy shop :)

by the sea [guest post]

Hi! I'm Emma Wallace and I am a crazy-fan of Kate's delightful drawings (she did my album cover here!) and whimsical bloggings.

I am a singer/songwriter and I get most of my musical inspiration from classic (and brilliant, of course) songwriters like Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and my beloved Cole Porter. And my beloved George Gershwin. And my beloved Hoagy Carmichael. And... (please don't make me pick a favorite!) As you see, I can go on and on.

This song, however, I know from a dvd I used to watch when I was a kid called Disney Sing-Along-Songs where they had clips from Disney movies and a bouncing Mickey head cheerfully guiding you through the lyrics.

You are welcome to download the song for free, if you like, and maybe it'll make you think of the breezy summer days ahead!

on repeat.

cardigan - forever 21 (really old)
daisy brooch - flea market
skirt - h&m
shoes - francesca's collections
ombre tights - c/o modcloth

Is anyone else a music repeater? When I'm hooked on a song, I literally don't listen to anything else for weeks. It's one of the reasons I ended up stopping my song of the week series here, because I'd be SO hooked on one particular song for so long that I just didn't want to listen to anything else, even for my blog. Right now I'm obsessed with Lullaby of London by The Pogues (it's usually something by The Pogues.) I just CANNOT STOP. Every single time I listen I find another part that gives me goosebumps, it's just so good*. I've listened to it so many times the last few weeks that even when I don't have my computer or ipod anywhere nearby, I find myself singing it in my head like a broken record.

Sometimes I get really tired of the repeat offenders and don't listen to them again for a really long time, but some just resonate so deeply that I know they're forever favorites. This is definitely a forever favorite. Want to have a listen? :)

*right now that part is when he sings "as I walked on with a heavy heart, then a stone danced on the tide" ... goosebumps, I tell you! goosebumps!

Pi Day Playlist

I put together a little playlist using the first nine digits of pi! Enjoy!

1. Honey Pie // The Beatles

2. We THREE // Frank Sinatra

3. Number ONE // Goldfrapp

4. FOUR Strong Winds // Marianne Faithfull

5. Just ONE of Those Things // Bryan Ferry

6. FIVE Minutes More // Frank Sinatra

7. Beethoven's NINTH (Ode to Joy) // Jingle Cats

8. Takes TWO to Tango // Annette Funicello

9. SIX to Go // The Pogues

10. FIVE // Joan Jett

You can listen to the playlist on 8tracks, here!

nepotism and t-shirts

My dad has owned a small mail-order music t-shirt company since the late 1970's, and since times are tough right now I thought I'd try to help him out a bit! If anyone on your Christmas list is a music lover (or movie lover -- he has movie shirts, too!) this is the perfect gift! He has merchandise on literally THOUSANDS of bands, everyone from The Smiths to Adele, from Death Cab for Cutie to The Spice Girls. If you like them, my dad probably sells their shirts. He also has baseball caps, hoodies, stickers, keychains and basically everything music related you could ever possibly want. All those music shirts UO sells for $45? My dad has them for $16. Seriously.

...AND since I'm his daughter, he gave me a coupon code for my blog post! You can get 10% off with code SB10. Make sure you use that coupon code if you order, because I'll be sneaking into his office and throwing free flapper doodle prints into orders placed with the code!! ;D

ps. He started the business in the late 70's and named it after a Brian Eno song, "Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More." It's been excruciatingly awkward since 2001, and honestly I get embarrassed every time I have to explain this, but let's just blame it all on Brian Eno. ;p

vertical turntable giveaway! (closed)

I just got one of these for myself last month and I'm absolutely in love with it! It's a huge space saver, it plays beautifully, it's battery operated so there are no messy wires and (my favorite) if I accidentally leave a record in the player for way too long (which I often do) I don't have to worry about warping because the record is being kept vertical. It's a little gravity-defying wonder! :)

To enter: simply leave a comment letting me know that you're entering, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) You must be a follower to enter (and, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!) The winner of the giveaway will receive one record player and a few LPs from my annual birthday visit to Princeton Record Exchange! It's open to readers in the US & Canada only... sorry!

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win an awesome gravity-defying turntable on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that tweet.)
2. Follow me on facebook
3. Follow me on bloglovin

4. Follow me on tumblr

Giveaway ends on November 21st at 12:01EST Giveaway is now closed.

piano recital

Learning to play the piano was one of my 2011 new years resolutions that I never got around to, and I figured I still have two months left to get it done! But before I could tickle the ivories I had to learn how to read the notes first, so I downloaded this amazing app that teaches you how to read music! Seriously within an hour I had already memorized which notes went with which keys. It's amazing. So Monday night I decided to test my newfound skills with It Had to Be You on my iphone keyboard app. I practiced all night, until I ended up memorizing the song. Then I proceeded to practice on our piano pretty much all day Tuesday... I'm pretty sure my parents never want to hear this song ever again, lol ;)

I'm so excited about this! I've wanted to learn forever, and until now the only thing I could play was the beginning of Silent Night. Since I didn't know how to read music, I'd sing in my head as I played "GAG E, GAG E, DDB, CCG, AACBA, GAG E" and match the letters up to little stickers I put on the keys of our piano! ha!

Anyway, I was a total dork and recorded myself playing It Had to Be You so I could show you here... keep in mind I'm a complete beginner, so if my hands aren't in the right spot or I don't hold a note long enough or whatever please don't chide me! ;)

ps. Do you see Chloe watching me in the background? ha! love her!!

may playlist

I have no idea what this playlist is.. I just randomly added songs I've been listening to lately, and ended up with a mish-mash. I'm really hooked on Eliza Doolittle right now.. I downloaded her album after hearing one of her songs on Pamplemousse a couple weeks ago. She reminds me a lot of the Lily Allen songs I like (I don't really like her hip-hop stuff) and has that British accent that makes any song 10% better right off the bat ;)

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

What's on your playlist right now?

a glorious dawn - playlist for april

A still more glorious dawn awaits


Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise


A morning filled with 400 billion suns


The rising of the milky way

April's playlist is one song, simply because for the last month I've just been listening to this one song on repeat. It's been all consuming.

I found Glorious Dawn on youtube whilst searching for Carl Sagan clips, and immediately fell in love. It's an autotuned song (stick with me.. it's actually good!) using Carl Sagan's voice (with a cameo by Stephen Hawking!) and it's just beautiful. He had such a deliberate, quiet way of speaking, and the words he spoke were often beyond poetic, so his voice is an ideal one to set to music.

One of my favorite things about Carl Sagan was the childlike wonder he retained throughout his entire life. In a documentary I watched recently, "God, the Universe and Everything Else," Sagan laments the way we treat children who ask questions. If a child asks "why is the sky blue?" we're inclined to answer, "just because." or "what color did you expect it to be? yellow?!" when instead we should be explaining to them what we do know, admitting what we don't, and encouraging them to pursue answers to the unknown when they get older. He wanted children to experience the same thrill that he felt exploring the uncharted waters of the world. This enthusiasm that he had for historical, new and future discoveries is what makes Glorious Dawn so beautiful. You can hear that childlike wonderment in his voice, and whether you're listening in broad daylight or in the middle of the night, you'll find yourself staring out your window, gazing at the sky and wondering...

ps. you can buy a 7" vinyl of the song from Third Man Records!

march o'playlist

It's March, and that means St. Patrick's Day is coming up soon! yay! I'm with George Carlin, in that I don't say I'm "proud" to be Irish since I didn't really have any say in the matter.. but I'm definitely very happy to be Irish! I love hearing stories from my mom about my grandfather's Irish family gatherings.. they just seem to really enjoy life... and beer, but that's another matter lol.

What I love most about Irish culture is the music. It's just so beautiful, even (or maybe especially?) when tinged with some punk. The Pogues are one of my very favorite bands, so this playlist is definitely a bit Pogues heavy, but I don't think that's a bad thing ;-D Oh, and I think that Unicorn song is for children, but come on. It's an Irish song about unicorns.. how could I not include it?!

february playlist

Either mixpod got rid of the "add song by URL" option, or it just wasn't working today, so I had to use playlist.com again. I really, really prefer mixpod now. It's much easier to add songs (well, provided their url option is actually working) and I love that you can customize the colors of the playlist, and edit the titles of the songs. I obviously would prefer songs not begin with "YouTube -" or "22." lol. Oh well!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the songs! I'm already planning my March one.. it's going to be all Irish. I've been super hooked on Irish music lately so I'm really looking forward to making that one. :)

the first song - january's playlist

For some reason my playlist would not accept the fact that Marianne Faithfull's last name has a "full" at the end. I kept editing it and re-editing it, and each time I saved the playlist, it dropped the "full" again -- from both of her songs, too! It's bizarre. It also keeps calling Bobby Darin simply "Darin." I'm sure there's another computer generated typo that I just haven't picked up on yet...

Well, I hope everyone's having a great new year so far!! Mine has started splendidly. Just some little things ..

- I reorganized my room, and brought my couch back in so it's much more comfy and cozy now! And neat, which is a rarity for me ;-D

- Someone on tumblr taught me how to add gifs to my posts. Previously whenever I tried to add one it would show up as a little empty box, and you had to click on it to see my animation. Used to drive me nuts!

- Millie made me realize that I can rip segments of movies to my computer, instead of always ripping the whole thing. This means I'll be making MANY more tribute videos this year! I used to rip a whole movie, even if I only wanted a two minute clip..

- My breakfast this morning was phenomenal. Eggs, toast with grape jelly, home fries and fake bacon. With grapefruit juice. YUM!

- I made this playlist and I'm having a ball listening to it ;-D

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nestled all snug in her bed

Hypatia's already cozy & ready for Santa to come tonight. She's actually sleeping in her Christmas present from me .. I really couldn't see any point in waiting for the 25th to give it to her when she could be enjoying it a few weeks beforehand too!

My favorite thing about Christmas is that my cat Chloe (aka The Assassin) comes into the living room and keeps us company. I swear, she does it this one day only! I think all the fuss with the wrapping paper and boxes is what lures her in, but I like to pretend that she's in the Christmas spirit and enjoys spending time with us once a year ;-)

For some reason I'm only just now starting to feel like it's really Christmastime. It's taken a while to sink in this year but I'm glad it's finally happening. I was afraid I'd wake up in the morning still feeling like it was the middle of October. Believe it or not, cookies, the house smelling of Christmas food, Christmas Eve presents and last minute shopping with my dad did nothing to put me in the mood. But when I started playing The Pogues "Fairytale of New York" on repeat it finally kicked in. It's not even a legit Christmas song (I think.) Go figure! lol..

Hope everyone who celebrates has a fantastic Christmas, and if you don't, I hope you have a great weekend! :)

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english is cuh-ray-zee

Just discovered this song by Pete Seeger, and it's hilarious (and so true!) It's all about the funny ways that English makes no sense :)

English is the most widely spoken language in the history of the planet.
One out of every seven human beings can speak or read it.
Half the world's books, 3/4 of the international mail are in English.
It has the largest vocabulary, perhaps two million words,
And a noble body of literature. But face it:
English is cuh-ray-zee!

Just a few examples: There's no egg in eggplant, no pine or apple in pineapple.
Quicksand works slowly; boxing rings are square.
A writer writes, but do fingers fing?
Hammers don't ham, grocers don't groce. Haberdashers don't haberdash.
English is cuh-ray-zee!

If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth?
It's one goose, two geese. Why not one moose, two meese?
If it's one index, two indices; why not one Kleenex,two Kleenices?
English is cuh-ray-zee!

You can comb through the annals of history, but not just one annal.
You can make amends, but not just one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one, is it an odd or an end?
If the teacher taught, why isn't it true that a preacher praught?
If you wrote a letter, did you also bote your tongue?
And if a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
English is cuh-ray-zee!

Why is it that night falls but never breaks and day breaks but never falls?
In what other language do people drive on the parkway and park on the driveway?
Ship by truck but send cargo by ship? Recite at a play but play at a recital?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
English is cuh-ray-zee!

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same
When a wise man and a wise guy are very different?
To overlook something and to oversee something are very different,
But quite a lot and quite a few are the same.
How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English is cuh-ray-zee!

You have to marvel at the lunacy of a language in which your house can burn down
While it is burning up. You fill out a form by filling it in.
In which your alarm clock goes off by going on.
If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?

Well, English was invented by people, not computers
And reflects the creativity of the human race.
So that's why when the stars are out, they're visible,
But when the lights are out, they're invisible.
When I wind up my watch I start it, but when I wind up this rap,
I end it. English is cuh-ray-zee!

rum pum pum pum

This has to be the best version of Little Drummer Boy I've ever heard ..
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a trip down music memory lane

I think my parents are pretty awesome. There's a hundred reasons why, but one of the biggies is the music they introduced me to as a kid. My dad owned a record shop for the 1st decade or so my parents were married, then they opened a music t-shirt/poster mail order business around the time I was born. Music is super important to both of them, and they made sure it would be to me, too. I could probably buy one record a day for my entire life, and wouldn't come close to matching my dad's collection.

I remember when I was around 8 or 9 I was singing along to a Peter Murphy song (the lyrics of which I only understand now, as a grown up) and my mom apologized to me in advance for exposing me to that kind of stuff. "When you're an adult, you are going to hate us," she said. That might have been true if they hadn't also been busy making me into a progressive open-minded person who'd totally play the same music for her own kids.

When I was about 13 I became interested in older music (Sinatra, Crosby, etc.) and never really listened to the songs I'd loved as a kid, except on road trips when my parents would make mix-tapes for the car. It was only recently, within the last six months or so, that I finally started listening and appreciating their tastes in music again. Not only are the songs little trips down memory lane, but I'm really enjoying exchanging youtube links with my dad, who, needless to say, is beyond thrilled that I'm listening to his favorite music again (except T-Rex. I just can't get into them..) and keeps sending me songs I might like! :)

When I have kids, they're going to be little music aficionados who sing inappropriate lyrics and hopefully they won't grow up to hate me for it ;-D

for he's a jolly good fellow

I don't seem to mention this much online, for some reason, but I've been a HUGE Frank Sinatra fan since I was 13 years old. He and Audrey Hepburn were the two people who triggered my larger fascination with old Hollywood & vintage/classic things in general. Most of my family would probably say I was obsessed (when you can riddle off facts about someone like their birth weight I think that may be an accurate description) and until quite recently he was pretty much the only singer I'd listen to.

Each year on Frank Sinatra's birthday, I watch a double feature and a concert -- two of his films & one of his live concerts -- and make pasta with his signature sauce recipe. If you're interested in snatching the recipe for yourself and honoring Sinatra spaghetti-style tonight, here's the link to my post from last year :)

christmas playlist

Here's the playlist for December -- all Christmasey tunes :) This one was actually really hard to put together because almost none of my favorite seasonal songs were in the Playlist.com directory, I had to upload them to my server & add them by url. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy, and maybe find a new favorite! :)