When One2One Network asked if I wanted to review Five For Fighting’s new album, Slice, I agreed with a nostalgic smile. Five for Fighting had a hit single in 2000 with “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” which, of course, was right in the middle of my college career. As such, the music is so entwined in those memories, both good and bad. I have a soft spot for John Ondrasik’s (the man behind Five For Fighting) music.

I had high hopes for the new album. I was not disappointed. Song after song rolled by on my first and second and third listens and, while it took a listen or two for a few songs, they began to entangle themselves in my present day memory making. It’s not surprising, of course, as I love when piano is evident in music of any genre. The special thing about Five For Fighting, however, is that while the musical part is above and beyond anything else on the Top 40 lists right now, the lyrics are those that hit you in your deepest of places.

I wasn’t expecting the song, “To The Unknown Soldier.” As a wife of an Army Veteran, this one hit me. Hard. It ends with the line, “My kids will know your name.” I can’t listen to the song without crying. I’m a sap for anyone who audibly respects our soldiers, especially to such a beautiful tune.

Of course, the big song on the album is “Chances.” It’s catchy with another beautiful tune. It’s easily singable and sticks in your head for hours and hours. And hours. Of course, the line that hits me is rather sappy:

No act of God could pull me away from you.

Aww.

The album is full of little gems like that one which is why it catapulted itself to one of the most played positions on my playlist. The other songs are just wonderful. Here’s the full tracklist:

1. Slice
2. Note To The Unknown Soldier
3. Tuesday
4. Chances
5. This Dance
6. Above The Timberline
7. Transfer
8. Hope
9. Story Of Your Life
10. Love Can’t Change The Weather
11. Augie Nieto

(Also, I love “Slice.” The song.)

John is also on twitter if you are interested in following him: @John Ondrasik. And, of course, Facebook as well.

Not enough? How about an autographed copy of the CD? Swanky, right? Here’s how you can enter:

1. Comment on this post with your favorite Five For Fighting song. If you’re not familiar with John’s work, guess which one you think you’ll like on the new CD.

2. Tweet about this giveaway by copy/pasting this into your twitter stream: Win an autorgraphed copy of Five For Fighting’s new album, Slice, from @FireMom: http://bit.ly/1Z1OhE . You may do this as many times as you so desire. Be sure to leave the link to the individual tweet each time.

3. Blog about this giveaway on your public blog with a link to this post. Be sure to come back and leave the link.

This giveaway will be live through Saturday, November 14th at noon. I need to have your information by the following day or you can’t get your copy! So be checking your email on Saturday the 14th! CD will be shipped from my contact, not me.

Seriously though, hit up the website and investigate the new songs. I know many of you will love them and relate in different ways.

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[Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of the album in exchange for my honest review.]

Our schedules have been insane as of late. While we normally like to have our boys in bed before primetime TV rolls around each evening, FireDad and I still don’t always get to watch our shows. He works 24 hours at the fire department every third day. Sometimes I have projects that need worked on that make watching TV impossible. We’re also involved in certain things that meet on certain evenings. While we do have DVR, sometimes we do silly things like go away for a weekend and unplug the satellite receiver. Or, if it is raining too hard and our satellite goes out, we’re out of luck. On top of that, we have too many shows recording on Wednesdays for our DVR to accept.

Enter Fancast.com.

One2One Network let me know about this particular site. I clicked through without much hope and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is one of my new favorite shows on the site (Glee) but so is my all time old favorite, Friends. (Only 7 episodes thus far but I’ll take it!) Add in CSI, Dateline and (one episode of) How I Met Your Mother, and I’m really starting to get on board. In fact, they’ve got new shows like Trauma and Three Rivers. Now if only I had more time!

If you don’t believe me, read this stat:

FANCAST debuted in January 2008 and now has more than 10,000 hours of online video programming; with more than 60,000 videos available, including over 13,000 full-length shows (more are being added every day).

That’s a lot of hours. I don’t think I want to watch that much TV, on my computer or otherwise. But still! That’s pretty awesome. The site also offers things that other similar sites might not: movies, pictorials, blogs, listings, live chats and Q&A’s with stars, and much more. It’s really an all-in-one entertainment-fix kind of site!

Like some other sites, there are short breaks for commercials in the show. Personally, I don’t mind it on this or other sites. Why? As long as it stays free (which there are rumors that another popular site, name withheld, won’t be free for much longer), I’m game.

Fancast.com is now bookmarked on my browser bookmark bar. I like the idea of being able to watch TV when I want to (or when my schedule allows). I hope you do as well! (They’re also on twitter: @Fancast!)

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[Disclosure: I received no compensation for writing this post. One2One Network let me know about it and I liked it enough to share with you.]

When One2One Network asked if I wanted to review Joshua Bell’s new album, At Home with Friends, I said yes but only because the playlist included Kristin Chenoweth. I’m in awe of her many talents and thought, “Well, if she’s on here, certainly the rest of the album will be somewhat decent.”

Somewhat decent doesn’t even begin to describe the rest of the album.

If you’re unfamiliar with Joshua Bell, he is a violinist. Perhaps when you think of the violin, you think of classical music. Perhaps you think, “That’s not my style.” While I personally love classical music as I was raised on it and sang it through college, I want you to know that this album is not just one classical song after another. There’s a great mix of genres and styles, all with Bell playing his finest. The title of the album and my previous mention of Chenoweth should let you know that he also invites some vocalists and other musicians to join him for some very unique collaborations. I was blown away by quite a few of these amazing pieces.

The track list looks like this:

I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I’ll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals

I have to say that I did love Chenoweth’s rendition of “My Funny Valentine.” Her range is outstanding. Furthermore, my other favorite on the album was the beautiful version of “Elanor Rigby.” In fact, the boys also love this song. Which brings me to my next point: TheBrothers like this CD. I’ll be honest when I say that they have very eclectic music tastes (everything from jazz to the 80’s to apparently now a random mix of classical) because we are constantly playing random styles of music in this house, day in and day out. I love that they now ask for “that violin guy” on occasion in the car. I happily play it for them. Have you ever heard an almost four year old pretend to be a violin? It is love.

If you’re interested in this album, you can check out Joshua Bell’s official website or become a fan on Facebook. Or you could win a copy here on Stop, Drop & Review. How do you enter?

1. Leave a comment as to which song you think would be your favorite on the album. You may do this once.

2. Tweet this giveaway by copy/pasting this into your twitter stream: Win the new Joshua Bell album, At Home with Friends: http://bit.ly/26vfrv (via @FireMom) – You may do this as many times as your twitter followers will allow without becoming disgruntled.

3. Post about this giveaway on your public blog, linking to this post. Come back and leave me the URL to your post so that I’m sure to catch it. You may do this once.

The give away will be live through Monday, November 2, 2009 at noon. I will contact the winner via email. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, I will pull a new winner. Album will be shipped from contact, not me.

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[I received a complimentary copy of this album in exchange for my honest review.]

If I didn’t already love Harry Connick, Jr. from his stint on Will and Grace, I would be able to admit that I am fully in love with this talented (and handsome) man. His new album, entitled Your Songs, is a beautiful tribute to various well-loved songs over the years. Two of my favorite artists are honored with songs on this particular compilation (Elton John and Billy Joel). To make it even better, I would have to admit that this is the best I have ever heard Harry Connick Jr. sound. That’s not an insult. It’s a compliment of the highest degree.

I’ve never been a die-hard Harry Connick Jr. fan. I wasn’t a non-fan either. I enjoyed some of his songs on some of his albums. This, however, has pushed me over the edge to a legitimate fan. I must admit I’m surprised at this as I don’t usually enjoy current artists’ covers of other artists’ past songs. It usually rubs me the wrong way. This particular album, however, touched something in my music-loving soul and I won’t be turning back. Count me in as a fan. At this point, I’d buy tickets to a concert. (Not front row. I’m still too cheap to do that for any musician. But I’d get decent seats as long as he promised to sing “Your Song” by Elton John. Swoon.)

The full song list reads like a who’s who and what’s what of music.

All The Way (Frank Sinatra)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)
And I Love Her (The Beatles)
(They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)
Besame Mucho
The Way You Look Tonight
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
Your Song (Elton John)
Some Enchanted Evening
And I Love You So (Don McLean)
Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)
Smile (Charlie Chaplin)
Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

Whew. That’s a pretty big setlist to step up to. I wonder of Harry Connick Jr. felt overwhelmed by the song choices as they began to materialize and finalize. I would have been; those are all some beautiful songs and some pretty big shoes to fill. The good news is that he fills those shoes and he does it well. For me to love an album of covers as much as I am right now, it has to be good. Trust me.

Which is why we’re excited to be giving away a copy of this lovely album! You can enter a few ways.

1. Leave a comment here with what you assume will be your favorite song on this album and/or your favorite all-time Harry Connick, Jr. song. You may do this once.

2. Copy/paste the following into your twitter stream, coming back to leave me the link to your tweet: Win a beautiful album by Harry Connick Jr at Stop, Drop & Review: http://bit.ly/2vx0kS (via @FireMom)

3. Post about this giveaway on your public blog with a link to this post. Come back to leave me your link so I’m sure to catch it!

This giveaway will be open until Monday, October 26 at 12:00pm (noon). I will pull a winner via random.org and contact said winner by email. You have 24 hours to reply before I pull another random winner. Album will be shipped from One2One, not me.

In the end, if you don’t win this giveaway and you even remotely like or have heard of either Harry Connick, Jr or the songs on the album, I encourage you to pick it up. The album is currently $9.99 on Amazon (10.12.09). As a side note, he’s also on Facebook!

(Mandy is our winner!)
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[I received a complimentary copy of this album from One2One Network in exchange for my honest review.]

Guess what Disney just pulled out of the vault? “The one that started it all.” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I remember watching it as a child and being transported to a world where magic happened… and apples were evil. I wanted a Snow White dress but, back in the day, there wasn’t a Disney store in every mall with an affordable costume. So I just imagined one as I danced around the living room and sang, “Someday my Prince will come, Someday I’ll find my love.” Imagination is grand. (And I did find my Prince!)

Disney has made the movie even sweeter by releasing the movie in their Diamond Edition Combo pack. What’s that mean? The movie comes on DVD and Blu-Ray in the same pack. I know, some of you just said, “But I don’t care about Blu-Ray.” Did you know that Blu-Ray players play Blu-Ray discs (obviously) and all of your current DVDs? I didn’t either. To boot, this particular Blu-Ray has a bunch of special features that we got to check out as FireDad’s super swanky computer plays Blu-Ray discs.

Disney Family Play

• What  Do You See? – Decipher the scambled image
• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – Which princess are you most like?
• Jewel Jumble – test your matching skills
  

Backstage Disney

• Snow White Returns – Newly discovered storyboards. Was Walt planning a sequel?
• Hyperion Studios – Explore Walt’s original studio
• The One That Started It All – See how Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs forever changed the world of movies
  

Classic Bonus Features

• Dopey’s Wild Mine Ride Game
• “Heigh-Ho” Karaoke Sing-along
• Disney through the decades

Add in an all new music video and other things and the Blu-Ray disc is awesome. Here’s something else that I didn’t know about Blu-Ray until I was offered this review: they’re more scratch resistant and, as such, kid-proof. We do allow our children to put their own DVD’s in and out of our DVD player. They are to go straight into their “DVD book” but, over the years, we’ve had a ruined disc here or there due to scratches. I could go with kid-proof, couldn’t you?

The movie is being released today, October 6. If you’re not familiar with Snow White itself (under which rock did you live?), you can check out the trailer. For more information about the Diamond Edition release, hit up the Official Website. This timeless movie would be a great way to start your Blu-Ray collection of movies that will last through your children. (Anyone had to buy another copy of a movie? Yeah. We did as well.)

Interesting in building your collection? Already own Snow White on VHS or DVD? Click here to grab a $10 off coupon for the new Diamond Edition Combo Pack! The offer is only good until October 20, but starting this fall Disney will introduce their Blu-ray Upgrade program so you will be able to upgrade other Disney titles in your library too! (I love this idea and am thrilled that we’ll be able to upgrade our collection!)

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No giveaway today (did you see yesterday?) but this is just another great stop in our Media Review & Giveaway Extravaganza week. Tomorrow brings you another giveaway so be sure to tune in! And don’t forget to get that coupon before October 20th if you already own Snow White on VHS or DVD! Go!

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[Disclosure: I was offered a complimentary copy of the Diamond Edition combo pack by One2One Network for my honest review.]

Diane Birch’s debut CD Bible Belt is a new and welcome addition to my music library. And not just a song here or there, but the whole darn album! I loved it through and through, from song to song. That rarely happens for me as I tend to be rather picky about songs, music and what I listen to (and/or belt out while driving along in my car). While Diane’s voice is a bit lower than mine (I’d classify her as an alto whereas I’m a Soprano I), I can still get some singing and grooving going on as I drive down these winding roads. I mean, sure, she’s got more soul than I do but it makes for a good time.

Favorite songs of mine included:

• Fire Escape (duh)
• Nothing But a Miracle
• Ariel

But, again, I should point out that I didn’t dislike any of the songs. So, I really should just list all of the songs. But I won’t. Those three could be called my favorites if I have to pick!

If I had to explain Diane’s style in one word, I couldn’t. It’s ecclectic and vibey. It’s unique and necessary. It’s jazzy and groovy and funky and beautiful and full of everything that I love (piano included). (See? Not just one word!) She’s soulful, which is what probably appeals to me most as my classical training didn’t leave much room for some jazzy soul at the piano side. As such, I find myself gravitating toward such music when I want to relax and/or play with new music. Diane gives me that which I don’t get in my own vocal life and, for that, I am happy and grateful to be grooving along with her at the present time.

(Plus, and I don’t mean this in a shallow way, but have you seen her eyes? Totally jealous of their big, beautiful size! Beautiful and talented? This woman has it going on!)

You can check out some of the songs on Diane Birch’s Myspace page. Be sure to listen to Fire Escape which is an official FireFamily approved song. Of course. (Which, by the way, you can download for free via this link.)

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[Once again, thanks to the One2One Network for exposing me to more amazing music!]

When the One2One Network asked if I wanted to review the He’s Just Not That Into You soundtrack, I jumped up and down in my seat! I saw the preview trailer for the movie while out on a rare Girl’s Night Out and have wanted to see the movie ever since. To boot, as you may remember from my recent Yanni Voices review, I’m a music lover. I love soundtracks the most because they have all kinds of different music on one CD. It’s like a mix tape that I didn’t have to think about!

I listened to the entire CD the other night while doing some work. It’s just a great listen. It starts with a favorite of mine, Corine Bailey Rae and has everything from the 80’s (omg! The Human League!) to present day (omg! Maroon 5!). I enjoyed the randomness of decade jumping as that’s really how I happen to listen to my music as well. (Seriously? If this soundtrack had thrown a song from a musical on it, it would have been as if I really did make this CD. Seriously.)

My favorite songs included REM’s “Supernatural Superserious,” Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” and The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love.” And those are just the top three that made me dance in my seat with happiness. There wasn’t a song on the CD that I didn’t like. I was quite shocked by the final song, sung by Scarlett Johansson, one of the actresses in the movie. I didn’t know that she was a singer and so when I looked to see who was crooning at me, I was happily surprised. Not my favorite song on the CD (see above) but not my least favorite either! What a talented lady!

The soundtrack CD actually is an enhanced CD so you can watch a piece of the film (which has only made me want to go see it more). To boot, the website for the soundtrack lets you have a listen to a bit of a few songs. (I love being able to listen before I buy, don’t you?)

Review aside, I’ve got a chance for you to win this soundtrack! That’s right! You can win! Thanks to the One2One Network, we’re giving away a copy of this stellar mix of music AND a swanky hoodie sweatshirt. No, really, it’s swanky. See?

Hoodie

I know you want to enter! So how do you do it? Two ways!

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite movie soundtrack. Don’t have one? Look at the song list on the soundtrack part of the movie website and tell me what you think your favorite song might be. You may leave one comment of this nature. Note: all first time comments are held for moderation. I will get to you and approve you, I promsie.

2. Tweet this giveaway in your twitterstream. Just copy and paste the sentence below and bring back the URL to the singular tweet and leave it in a separate comment. (To grab the singular URL, click on the time stamp (5 minutes ago, as an example) and copy/paste the URL here.)

FireMom of Stop, Drop & Blog is giving away a copy of the He’s Just Not That Into You prize pack. Go enter! http://tinyurl.com/hoodiesntk

You may do one or both to enter but you do not have to do both to win!

Giveaway will be open to new entries until noon on February 10, 2009. At that time, comments will be closed and a winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner’s information will be shared with One2One Network solely for the purpose of shipping the winner’s soundtrack and hoodie. Winnings will ship direct to winner!

And if you can’t wait to see if you win, go ahead and grab the soundtrack which came out TODAY! Even better? It’s available on iTunes which is the quickest (and, if you live where I am, warmest) way to go about jamming out to some new tunes.

Best of luck to all!

If you know me outside of blog land, you might know that in addition to being a freelance writer and a pseudo-photographer, I am a singer. I was a double major in college (broadcast communications with music). Music has always been a huge part of my life. After college, I wasn’t involved in singing again until I joined our church’s choir two years ago. I have since taken a leave of absence from choir as I’ve taken over the nursery care in our church. In doing so, FireDad encouraged me to audition for a local chorale. And I must tell you, it has been great to be back on stage, actively practicing and performing music once again.

And that’s why I jumped at the chance to review Yanni Voices when One2One Network contacted me. I love music of all kinds. I really, really love experiencing new and phenomenal music as well. And, let me tell you, this? Is phenomenal.

Basically, Yanni took two years to produce this collaboration. The four vocalists featured on Voices are outstanding. (My personal favorite is Chloe. I’m shocked that she’s only 20! Such maturity to her tone!) On Voices, Yanni has “reinterpreted” his classical composition and is debuting new music as well. Really, it’s just a treat for your ears.

My favorites? Change (Chloe) and Kill Me With Your Love (Chloe) are just amazing. Change probably takes the cake for favorite of all favorites. Nathan Pacheco’s Enchantment made me long for my old classical music college days. (In fact, I think I might break out my Italian aria CDs in the very near future!) And Leslie Mills in Before the Night Ends was just simply beautiful. We have now listened to the music for a good month. I have not yet tired and, in fact, I am now singing along with a handful of the songs (my favorites, mainly!).

Being as dorky as I am, I must say that I love that the Yanni Voices project has teamed up with PBS. I’ve watched the DVD myself (you can watch a blurb about it here) and can tell you that it’s just a beautiful addition to the music itself. There’s a schedule where you can see when Yanni Voices is airing on your local PBS station.

Even more awesome? These amazing Voices are ON TOUR! I’m very tempted to buy tickets to the June 7th stop in Columbus, Ohio. If I go, I will definitely blog about it over on the main blog! Honestly, I’d love to meet with the female singers specifically and ask them more about their training and how they feel working with Yanni! I can’t even imagine. It must be such a rush. When you consider that so much music in today’s culture really shies away from anything like this, I bet it must be amazing to be recognized for their ability in such a grand-scale way. But my guess is that even if I had enough cash to buy a VIP Package, I wouldn’t likely meet the singers! Such is life.

Anyway, I’m rambling. I do that when it comes to music. Whoops.

I encourage you to check out the website (you can listen to a few of the songs right there), watch the PBS special and, if you like all of that, you simply must grab the CD. You won’t regret it.