ACL

In preparation for my first visit to Austin City Limits I've been making some iTunes purchases and expanding my realm of music. Though I'd like to boast a broad range of musical interests, I tend to find something I like and stick with it for a while. For the past two years my go-to album is Adele's 19 - I can listen to that album while doing anything from working out to cover-letter writing and it puts me in just the right mood. Other albums I can put on repeat and never tire of are Only by the Night by Kings of Leon and Taking the Long Way by Dixie Chicks. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the shuffle feature on my iPod - with a few standout songs I am particularly fond of without having a love affair with the whole album. These include my most favorite song in the whole wide world, Breath Me by Sia (I once put the song on repeat on an eight-hour flight, fell asleep and woke up in a euphoric trance-like state), The Heart of the Matter by India Arie, several Britney Spears songs - my fave BS song is Overprotected the Darkchild Remix - a gaggle of Spanish rock songs and a handful of rap songs. Reading over this it would seem my music scope is quite narrow - I promise this is just a sample of the albums that have gone in and out of my ears over the years. Still, I know there are hardworking artists out there that deserve a listen and ACL affords them an opportunity to grow their fan base. This is exactly what happened with Passion Pit and their electro-pop sounds. I immediately loved their album and am very much looking forward to hearing them live in a couple of months.

I'm so overwhelmed by the ACL lineup - I don't really know which bands to invest in and with just about two months before the big concert, I'd like to zero in on a few bands. One artist I am looking forward to hearing live is Bon Iver, his songs are sweet and would be perfect in one of this summer's romantic movies. I'm off to do more blind research and find some artists I can sink my teeth into!