Afternoon all! What are you listening to on Veterans’ Day?

What I’m listening to at Limbo (aka, my current must-have music)…

The tween in me is ecstatic these days. Not only is it Eggnog Latte season at Starbucks (when I was a tween this was a rare – and yet so addictive – treat thanks to being from the middle of freaking nowhere – no, we didn’t even have Starbucks) but the official soundtrack to the first half of the first season (wow, I know) of GLEE has been released!! I cannot get enough of the Broadway-style R&B, pop rock, and classics that they spit out every week. To have the official, produced, 17-track collection has had me (literally) dancing my way through the metro all week. I think the appeal of GLEE’s music is it’s depth of genre – I had never heard “No Air” or Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” before the show featured their own versions, but have since become fans of both the R&B songstress and have checked out Jordan Sparks’ freshman album to be pleasantly surprised. However, the show balances it’s modern tracks with Journey, Queen, and the best of musical theater (I know I tuned in specifically to see Lea Michele – of the hit Spring Awakening – and Kristin Chenoweth duke it out in a spot on duet of “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret). The soundtrack can get a bit schmoopy at times (the best example of this being the cast’s remake of Avril Lavigne’s “Keep Holding On” – but even that track works to their advantage with amazing vocals from Michele and leading man Cory Monteith), but who doesn’t need a little extra bubble gum in their day?

Elsewhere on my play list (on constant rotation it seems) is Cobra Starship‘s “Hot Mess”, the group’s third studio album and first to hit real radio success with a little help from Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz (who’s a constant cheerleader for them, and even gets a shout out on the new record in the form of the track “Pete Wentz is the only reason we’re famous”), released this past August. The songs are pure 80’s pop joy with lyrics that will startle and charm you all while walking the fine line between a little bit dirty and a little bit concocted. My favorite tracks are the flagship single “Good Girls Go Bad” (featuring Meester), title track “Hot Mess”, and “Nice Guys Finish Last” (a new, fun, very snarky take on a subject that’s been done a million times before).

It seems to me that I use pop beats and hot topics to keep the chill away this time of year – what about you?