Happy Memorial Day fellow Americans. It's the unofficial start to summer and that gave me an idea. There has always been a "song of the summer" every year since they began tracking songs way back in 1959. The Song of the Summer is chosen every year based on chart performance data. Usually, by the 3 or so week of summer, the song is usually apparent whether we like it or not. Just think about how many times Despacito was played last year. Of course, throughout nearly 60 years of keeping track, there have been good ones, bad ones, and annoying ones.

Obviously, I grew up in the 90s and teen movies taught me everything I thought I needed to know about life. Long gone were the days of watching the 80s teen movies my mom loved (and would watch constantly). It was time for me to learn about what being a hip, cool teen in the 90s/early 00s was going to be all about. There was cliques, dating, proms, and everything in between. I spent many years, as did most people, soaking up these movies although my high school experience truly was nothing like these. While the high school experience wasn't exactly translated perfectly to real life, the music is what truly made these movies awesome.

Another month has come and gone. Right now I would be in the midst of making a birthday playlist filled with popular songs from times gone by. Usually, 90s music from that reminds me of when I was younger and life didn't seem so hard. I definitely don't feel inspired to make one this year (hello sad funk). But, I figured another installment of What I'm Listening To was in order.

This is my very first blog post on my new domain name. Although I fear I may end up changing it once more before anyone even reads this. Choosing a domain name is hard. Mostly because I have to define what this blog is about while making people interested. Some people are really good at nailing this, and I'm just not. But Nicole, you are a marketer. You should be able to sell your personal brand better than anyone! Yeah, I wish that was true. I might be able to sell others, but selling myself is a little different. How do you define yourself in a short, catchy name?

We spend so much of our lives curating the person we want others to see, and sometimes it can feel draining. Not to mention when you hit emotional lows and feel like you just can't really show that to other people. It's almost like the masks I (we) continually wear have just been exposed revealing far too much to the outside world. This feels way too deep for a measly little post about a playlist I made, but hey what can you do?

Now, how did I stumble on such a niche theme like love songs from the 1970s? It's relatively simple: Fondue parties. Oh yes, that wonderful, dinner party staple from the 1970s is back. Okay, maybe it's just back for my friends and myself, but I've been to a few fondue parties in 2018 so that's where I got this idea. It came to me because while enjoying melted delicacies with a long stick dipped into a hot pot, we frequently listen to music from the 1970s. Get where I'm going with this?

I think I should start this mixtape post with a bit of a disclaimer. Arizona has been in the mid to high 70s since like October or November. We have been incredibly short on long, cold winter nights. That said, there are days where we reach average winter temperatures so I guess that balances out.

The list is fulled with indie rock and some hip-hop albums that I really enjoyed over the past year. If you read this blog frequently or know me in real life, you wouldn't be surprised by that at all. This post contains three things: the album list (in no particular order), a sampler playlist featuring gems from the albums on the list, and a link to another (recently updated) playlist featuring plenty more songs from 2017 that were played in fairly heavy rotation. My hope is that you'll agree with at least some of my choices or that you'll find something new to listen to you'd hadn't considered or heard of before.

There's one thing that's very important to me when it comes to cooking & baking: music. I always have it playing. It's really helpful for tuning out distractions and keeping me focused. What makes this playlist different from a regular Christmas playlist is the types of songs. For baking or cooking I like playing more jazz or standards that don't really distract and just fill the room with sound (and set the mood). It's a win-win because if there are guests around, they will be content and happy. So it basically fits both baking and entertaining. I've made a few of these over the years. I think 2012's was the most popular of the bunch, but it was also the first.