Pine Trees and Peyroux

I love outdoor concerts. Central Park, Prospect Park, and Battery Park in NYC have all provided wonderful evnings of entertainment. Other favorite locations include large outdoor concert halls, such as SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) in upstate NY or Great Woods (now Comcast Center) in MA. I've even been to shows at the Allentown Fair in PA. But on the grass, next to the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, ME? I wasn't so sure. I was eager to see Madeleine Peyroux, but her bluesy jazz seemed more appropriate for a smokey bar and berets, not pine trees and plaids. Yet there we were on Saturday night, surrounded by fleece pullovers, and it felt like a Paris cafe.

A SWIK Summer Dance Mix

As the summer solstice and the longest day of the year draw to a close, I’m thinking about songs of the season. What is it about summer music that seems to stay with us forever? Even if you’re not a passionate music geek like me, there are songs that whenever you hear them they bring you back to a particular moment and feeling. Of course, music can bring you back to any significant moment in life. But the songs of summer, they’re different. They capture a spirit and a feeling. For me, an overall sense of freedom and joy that came with summer and being out of school. Somehow it seemed that there was just a little less supervision. Once we leave school, it becomes more difficult to capture these warm weather sentiments. Summer vacation is only a week or two, if we’re lucky. So with the equinox and the official start of summer, here are a few songs for a SWIK Summer Dance Mix. Because summer, of course, includes a lot of dancing.

SWIK Icon Series: The girl still wants to have fun

After her performance on last month’s final episode of American Idol, some may say she’s back. In fact, she never left us. 1980’s indie-pop icon, Cyndi Lauper has been putting out albums - 12 to be specific - for years. It started with the party anthem, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in 1983. Since then, she’s done everything from rock to big band. (We’ll forgive her unfortunate foray into WWF). I discovered she had a new album in the previously mentioned dance class (see Trina’s Single Again post), where we warmed up to “Into The Nightlife” a few months ago. It’s a high energy dance tune, but does the rest of the album hold up?

Camera Obscura and my maudlin mood

Finding music to suit one’s mood can be a challenge. Particularly when it's overall ennui or daily tedium. When there's nothing bad happening (thankfully), but nothing great either, I find myself reminiscing.  So I choose some music to capture the mood, resorting to a few old stand-bys, and sit with a glass wine. But this weekend I wanted something new. I discovered Camera Obscura several years ago and decided to check out their latest album, My Maudlin Career. A fitting title for a record that will likely become a regular in my playlist for those “weakly and effusively sentimental” moments.