Playlists

Amanda and I have spent the evening on the couch working our way through her music collection in iTunes. We're not actively selecting songs for our reception playlist, but are actually commenting about songs that would work well for road trips. After all, we'll be going to Edmonton in a few weeks and we'll need some tunes for the road.

...and I don't think Amanda will be happy if I have one of my Minecraft playlists going while we're rocketing down the highway. In fact, I think the second time Splash Wave came on the stereo, Amanda's hands would tighten on the wheel, and I'd get the mother of all glares. :-)

At any rate, it's been a fun evening. It's hard to improve on spending the evening with your favourite person talking about your favourite songs. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to it. :-)

Five Weeks...

It's just over five weeks until Christmas, and things are going full steam.  We're already noticing much larger crowds in stores, and are starting to think about getting our Christmas playlists ready.  That means it's time to talk about Amanda and my favourite Christmas music.

Amanda is a huge fan of Run, Run Rudolph, while I have two favourites.

The Crash Test Dummies' rendition of The First Noel is my favourite religious Christmas song.  Brad Roberts does an amazing job singing it, and I always look forward to starting my Christmas season by listening to it.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is my favourite secular song.  Garth Brooks does a great rendition of it, as do many other people, and it sums up my feelings about the holidays succinctly.

I think we'll wait another week or so until *officially* kicking off the Christmas music season, but it may be time to add another song or two through the iTunes store.

Until next time,

Even More Wedding Songs (Part Six if you're counting)

Yup, it's time to discuss even more songs that will probably make the playlist at our reception!

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

• Amanda and I both like this song more than we have any right to.  It's fun, catchy, and it's awesome that she's a Canadian.

Hey Jude - The Beatles

• This song is incredibly fun to sing along to, particularly the last four minutes or so.  As an added bonus, everyone will remember all the words to the last half of the song nomatter how much they drink at the reception.

Wedding Music Part Five

Yup, the well is a little bit dry tonight, so I'm going to talk more about the music that will probably be on our wedding reception playlist.

I think we'll need some music from Glee -- maybe the three songs they sang at Regionals in season 3 -- the mashup of Fly and I Believe I can Fly, What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger), and Here's to Us.  I thoroughly enjoyed all three songs, and in fact, they were my background music while playing Minecraft for about two weeks after the episode aired.

There are a few others songs that are in consideration too.

Be my Yoko Ono - Barenaked Ladies

• When I left Tumbler Ridge, I joked that people had better not refer to Amanda as the Library's Yoko Ono.  As a result, this sort of became my anthem for a short time.

...actually, that's all I've got tonight.  Hopefully I'll have more to write about tomorrow night.

Wedding Music Part Four

So far I've written about songs I'd like to play at our reception.  Tonight though, I thought I'd talk about a few songs we *won't* be listening to.

The Nyan Cat song

• Amanda will not be happy with me if I play this song at our reception.  She tolerates it for 30 seconds, and that's enough.  To commemorate her dislike of this song, I even stayed up late a few months back to make a minigame using Warioware D.I.Y. where Amanda could deal with the Nyan Cat.  She liked it.

Splash Wave

• I found this song while searching iTunes for a song of the same name that was used in Sega's Outrun.  It's a Eurodance song that I find really catchy, and Amanda finds really annoying.

Better Things to Do - Terri Clark

• I dislike this song.

Kryptonite - Three Doors Down

• I love this song, but it's also my favourite song to be depressed to.  If I'm having a lousy day, this song fits my mood *perfectly*.  I don't think I'll need it on my wedding day.

For Now - Avenue Q

• Again, I love this song, but it works much better as an anthem for bad days.  There's no way I'll want to hear it on my wedding day.

So those are a few of the songs that won't be played at our wedding reception.  I'm sure there are many more, but this is a good start at a Do-Not-Play list.

Wedding Music Part Three

I think I might enjoy writing about this topic far more than it warrants...  Presented for your consideration, here are more songs we're considering for play during our wedding reception.

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

• Amanda and I saw Elton John in Grande Prairie this April and the show was incredible.  This song isn't Rocket Man, but it would be a lot more fun for Amanda and me to dance to.

Never Gonna Give you Up - Rick Astley

• I'd like to include this for two reasons:  first because the song covers some of what I feel about Amanda, and second because I think it would be really funny to have our reception playlist get rickrolled.

Not Moving at All - Major Maker

• I first heard this song on CBC Radio 3 a few years ago, and it's Amanda's way of telling whether the iPod currently playing is mine or hers when it's not playing a very distinctive playlist (Japanese/video game music on mine, or tons of Tom Petty on hers)

Waiting - Tom Petty

• Amanda is a huge Tom Petty fan, so I know we'll have some of his music playing at the reception.  This song would be my pick because it seemed like a very appropriate anthem for Amanda and me dating while I was still living in Tumbler Ridge.

So the reception playlist is still very much a work in progress.  Amanda and I spent some time this afternoon while we were making pizza talking about the wedding and some of our ideas.  We talked more about date and location, colours, the wedding party, and started talking about what we'd like to do for a wedding cake.

I'm not panicking anymore though.  I just look at the ring on Amanda's finger and the smile on her face, and I have confidence we'll get things figured out.  Besides -- I'm looking forward to the day I get to see her walk down the aisle.

Wedding Music Part Two

It's time for another edition of possible songs for Amanda and my wedding!

Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

• I really like the song and quite often I'd make sure it was playing through my car's stereo for the last few minutes of the drive to visit Amanda before I moved to Grande Prairie.  To make things even better, the song is from the 80s.  As we all know, the 80s will *never* die.

Black Sheep - Metric

• I'd prefer the version sung by the actress who played Envy Adams in the Scott Pilgrim movie, but even the version from the soundtrack would be good.  It's just an awesome song and I spent lots of time sending my love to Amanda "on the wire" (over the Internet).

Sugar Sugar - The Archies

• Yup, I'm still a fan of Archie comics at 31.  I bought a greatest hits CD of the Archies years ago and still love the songs on it.

Rainbow Connection - The Muppets

• I heard this song for the first time, if not ever, in many, many years in The Muppets movie that was released last year.  It still brings a smile to my face and I love singing it with Amanda, with me trying my best to sound like Kermit the Frog.  Supposedly I'm pretty good at it according to Amanda.  :-)

Anyway, those are a few more of the songs that I'm considering for our wedding reception.  I don't know if they'll make the final list or not, but Amanda already likes all of them well enough.  Maybe next time I'll tell you about Splash Wave and how there's no chance of it playing at our reception.

Wedding Music Part One

This blog post could also be titled "Songs I'd like at our wedding, but I don't know that they'd really fit the mood or be appropriate...

1)  The Star Wars march

No, not the Imperial March, though that would be interesting.  I'm talking about the song that plays during the medal presentation to Luke and Han at the end of Star Wars.  It's an awesome piece of music, and I'd really like to use it for when I make my way down the aisle, but I worry too many people would be looking around to see if Chewbacca was in attendance.

2)  You are my Sunshine

I have an irrational love of this song, and I think of it fairly often.  The only thing is that it's really not a happy-celebration-go-lucky song.

3)  I'm too Sexy

I've been to one wedding already where my brother had his vest and shirt taken off by bridesmaids to this song -- I don't need it to happen again at my wedding.  That said, I did post on Facebook today that "It's my wedding, and Tyler can party if he wants to!"  I stand by that.

Anyway, we've got lots of time to figure out what music we'll have during the ceremony itself and the reception afterward.  Perhaps Amanda and I will post about it in more detail later on.

Music to my Ears

A while back I started putting together a playlist in iTunes that I ended up naming "Jake Loves Amanda."  I tinker with it now and then, but it's got a core of songs that I like that make me think of Amanda in one way or another.


I know this isn't original, and that it's fairly cliched.  Tough cookies -- it makes me smile and gives me something to listen to during the last stretch of driving to Grande Prairie.


Walking on Sunshine
Happy Together
The Waiting
Holding out for a Hero
Look at Us
Show Me the Way
Everytime we Touch
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
I Love You Always Forever
All Life Long
All My Life
One Boy, One Girl
Fantasies Come True
Livin' on a Prayer
Hapi Hapy Sunday!
Be My Yoko Ono
If I had $1,000,000
Flower of Happiness
Serah's Theme
Night of Summer Side
Summer Mirage


There are a few other songs I'd like to add to this list, and I will as I purchase them from iTunes.  In the meantime, I have a ninety minute playlist that makes me think of Amanda.  That's music to my ears!