Rebecca's like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind...

[rebecca_in_blue]

Yesterday started out as an amazing day. I went to my first Torah study at the temple, which was very enjoyable and educational. I have met some amazing people at the temple, and I'm touched by how far they've gone to make me feel welcome there. Afterwards, I burned a CD for Mom that she'd wanted, then I went for a long, wonderful bike ride (and collected cans; I need the money). It was warm and sunny out, perfect bike riding weather. But yesterday night at work was not pleasant, so the day started out awesome and ended badly. I'm still looking for a new job. A cold front arrived over night, and all day today has been freezing cold, windy and rainy. Looking out the window this afternoon, I honestly could not believe that I went bike riding just yesterday in short sleeves and sunglasses. The hell!

My favorite song of the moment is Firework, by Katy Perry. If you haven't heard it already, go to YouTube and listen to it. Its lyrics are an inspiring, powerful message about accepting and believing in yourself. It's also the first song I added to my iPod in 2011. Speaking of which:

About halfway through 2010, I started keeping a list of songs I had added to my iPod that year. Shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve, I went through the list recorded the playcount for each song. I know I have no life, but it was a fun thing to do. So, here's the musical recount for 2010. The second list is old songs I added to my iPod, and the first list is new music. I was rather impressed with how many songs there were for that list, because I usually don't listen to new music. Rebecca is not a hip person. But no doubt you already knew that, didn't you?

Most-Played Songs on Rebecca's iPod (2010): Recently-released

1) Fearless, Taylor Swift: 58. Added around Oscar time.

2) Somebody to Love, Glee: 49.

3) Smile, Uncle Kracker: 49. One of my favorite summer songs for 2010. Added around our trip to Galveston.

4) Solo, Iyaz: 46.

5) My Husband Makes Movies, Marion Cotillard: 41. This song mesmerized me the first time I heard it. Marion is such an unbelievably beautiful and talented woman. After Sara rented Nine, I added this and Take It All, the two songs she sings in the movie.

6) Airplanes, Hayley Williams: 33. Technically, this song is by BoB, who wrote it and sings the verses. But I much prefer the chorus, which is done by Hayley Williams, so I downloaded an mp3 of just her parts.

7) Take It All, Marion Cotillard: 32.

8) Teenage Dream, Katy Perry: 31. This was also added pretty late in the year but reached a high playcount fast.

9) Impossible, Shontelle: 29.

10) Alejandro, Lady Gaga: 24. One of the characters on the NCIS finale arc was named Alejandro, and a number of posters on NCIS message boards mentioned the song in relation to him. I listened to it and ended up liking it.

11) Candlelight, The Maccabeats: 24. An amazing song explaining the story of Hanukkah. I didn't discover it until late in the year (until after Hanukkah was over, in fact!) and it's a testament to how great it is that its playcount reached 24 in such a short time.

12) Mine, Taylor Swift: 24. I had this song stuck in my head for days after I first heard it, and I didn't even mind because I liked it so much. I didn't know who it was by right away, and when Sara found that out, she said, "It's by TaylorSwift, of course! It sounds like every Taylor Swift song. 'I love you, but we can't be together, but in the end we are together, because this is a Taylor Swift song.'" Haha. Added around the time I first started attending temple.

13) You've Got a Friend in Me, Gypsie Kings: 20. Also from Toy Story 3. It's the Spanish cover of the song played at the end of the movie, but for some reason, its title is apparently in English.

14) We Belong Together, Randy Newman: 10. This played over the closing credits of Toy Story 3. Adam, Eva, and I saw it in theater last summer but I didn't download until months later.

15) The Bed Intruder Song, Antoine Dodson: 9. This was the year for Antoine Dodson! Although its playcount is only nine, I listened to this song a lot throughout the year, and Sara and I easily quoted from it more than anything else. I gave her a Bed Intruder shirt for Christmas, and when she wore it on New Year's Day, everyone (Uncle John, Aunt Celeste, Eva, and even Ben) knew where it was from.


And...

Most-Played Songs on Rebecca's iPod (2010): Oldies & classics

* = Added after I heard it on the radio and remembered how much I liked it.
+ = Added after I rediscovered it on a Sporcle music quiz. One thing I need to do in 2011 is waste less damn time on Sporcle!

1) Noe! Noe! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir: 69. Added the minute I found a copy of it on YouTube. I had been looking for it for some time. At Midnight Mass 2010, Rebecca proudly (but very quietly) sang along with this song. Every. Single. Word. And even though I'm going Jew now, I don't love this song one bit less. It's so beautiful.

2) So Caught Up in You, 38 Special: 56. Added after I watched Whip It (not a great movie, by the way) with Athena and Sara in February. The song has a montage in it.

3) I Think I Love You, The Partridge Family: 53. Added after I saw a Tiva NCIS fanvid for it. Oh, shut up.

4) Stand in the Rain, Superchick: 48. See I'm Still Standing.

5) De Que Vas, Maria Isabel: 46. Apparently I posted an entire entry about adding this song. It's a little grating to me now.

6) Sugar, We're Going Down, Fall-Out Boy: 41. * Added around the beginning of summer.

7) Young Turks, Rod Stewart: 32. * Added around the time of our canoe trip.

8) C'est La Vie, B*Witched: 31. A very Disney Channel-style song. A little embarrassing.

9) Blinded by the Light, Mannfred Mann: 29. *

10) I'm Still Standing, Elton John: 28. * This was one of my fight songs when things were coming to a head with my mean manager back in March.

11) I Would Die for You, Prince: 26. *

12) Long May You Run, Neil Young: 25. I heard this for the first time when Neil sang it on Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show. It was actually written about saying goodbye to a car (which is also fitting for 2010).

13) Mary Pickford (Used to Eat Roses), Katie Melua: 24.

14) I'll Be, Edwin McCain: 23. +

15) Heat of the Moment, Asia: 21. Added after I accidentally took Sara's iPod instead of mine (which she'll never let me forget!) and heard it.

16) Levon, Elton John: 20. *Added here. How didn't I have this song on my iPod already? I love it! Sir Elton now has a son named Levon, and he was born on Christmas Day, just like the Levon in the song!

17) I Get Around, The Beach Boys: 16.

18) Mr. Brightside, The Killers: 16.

19) Hands Washed Clean, Alanis Morisette: 14. I added this one shortly after we rented The Runaways; for some reason, the movie reminded me of that song. So does The Scarlet Letter.

20) Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby: 13. +

21) Hips Don't Lie, Shakira: 11.

22) Walking on Broken Glass, Annie Lennox: 10. +