Music is the best kind of gift

CDs I asked for, and received, this Christmas morning:

Son of Evil Reindeer and Ya'll Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! by The Reindeer Section
This Side and Why Should the Fire Die? by Nickel Creek
Not All Who Wander Are Lot by Chris Thile
Far by Regina Spektor
Winter Songs by the women of the Hotel Cafe
The soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer
The soundtrack to Battlestar Galactica (Season One)
Quelqu'un M'a Dit by Carla Bruni
Slice by Five for Fighting (actually this is my dad's but I stole it briefly to put it onto my computer)

There's a reason I asked for each of these, however tenuous those reasons may be. One of my summer creative writing teachers, the inimitable Barry Yeoman, used to put on the Chris Thile CD while we walked around the room getting ready to write. I thought I'd like the Reindeer Section because I love Snow Patrol (Ben and I saw them in Nashville!) and Gary Lightbody's voice, and so far I do. I had one Carla Bruni song and loved her voice, so that's the reason for that. Nickel Creek comes from Chris Thile and from a childhood love for their first album; Battlestar Galactica soundtrack comes from Battlestar Galactica being awesome. The soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer makes the movie, and it was a great movie. I saw Ingrid Michaelson, Meiko, and two other women in the Hotel Cafe tour a little over a year ago, and it was a fantastic concert. All the women on that CD are so talented, and it is (as the title promises) a lovely collection of winter songs.

I obviously haven't been able to listen to all of this yet. I'm listening to the first Reindeer Section album now, and I like it. It's not amazing, but it's good. I've listened to smatterings of the others (I'm so late on the Regina Spektor that I've heard practically the whole thing legally over the internet) and I am excited for the music and the mix CD material that these will provide.

Today, by the way, was a wonderful day. Merry christmas, world. :)

Don't get me wrong, I'll never say never.
'Cause though love can change the weather
no act of God can pull me away from you.

-Five for Fighting