I finally did it! ...and got free money through Ibotta for doing it!

What have I gone and done now, you ask? I finally got a new(er/ish) iPod. Yes, I'm a dinosaur, so I still like to have my music stored on an iPod not an iPhone. I don't want the expense of an iPhone either. I was surfing around on eBay the other day and saw a 120 GB iPod that was going pretty cheap. It was used, but still about 1/2 the price of others I'd been watching and bidding on. I was able to get in a last-minute bid and steal that baby away for a song. Not only did I get a great deal, I will get cash back from my eBay purchase because I made the purchase through a link on my Ibotta app.

No this isn't a sponsored blog, but I will say I earn money using Ibotta and want you to know about. If you click my referral link I can earn referral cash from Ibotta, but so can you, so it's not like they paid me to write this. I am telling you about Ibotta because I use it and love it so far.

So, what is it? Ibotta is an app that gives you rebates. You buy something that has a rebate you've activated and when you take a picture of your receipt (typical way of confirming purchase), they put money in your account. Once you get $20, you can have it. Really, just put it right in your PayPal or get a gift card, or there are other options.

I had the app about a month before I got my first gift card. You do get pretty good bonuses when you first start, so I thought well, that'll be the only money I ever earn. Excuse me, but NO. I have a balance on my account of over $65 right now. I'm just letting it accumulate until I know I'll be short on cash for Spring Break. I can have it anytime I want it.

I have a small team of friends. Not many of them are extremely active, but just between me and a co-worker that is pretty active with the rebates, we've earned several monthly bonuses that add to the balance too.

Anyway, you can tell I "drank the kool-aid", so I'm just going to say I strongly recommend it and hope that you'll check it out.

Click one of the 900 links I've posted in this blog to join so you're part of my team. While I can't make promises about reaching any certain bonuses, I can say I'm in it for the long haul, because money talks.

Know what I'm fixing to do? I'm going to plug in my old-new iPod and start loading it up with my 90GB or so of music. Not counting CDs I've purchased in the last year that I couldn't even dream of uploading to my old iPod that was packed to the gills. Let's see how long this takes.

Maybe I should keep them both, or maybe I'll sell the old one. I haven't decided yet.

I'm guessing the download will take 30 hours or so. Let's see if my laptop melts. (No great loss there.)

Lazy Dinosaur sitting around watching YouTube

That about sizes it up. I've been lazy and antisocial. I haven't wanted to go to music shows or really even deal with stuff. I've been doing a lot of watching YouTube and a little bit of eBay.

I'll tell you some of my favorite channels and give you a sample video...

emmymadeinjapan



Annika Victoria


First We Feast



Those are some of my recent favorites, anyway. Of course I watch Grav3yardgirl, Good Mythical Morning, ThreadBanger, lisbug, etc. Do you have any other suggestions?

I don't mind the ads, so I haven't bought into YouTube Red. I barely use my Netflix account, so I don't see the value of it right now. Maybe if the add some more "gotta see" content, but I'm pretty good at avoiding the hype of shows you have to watch on a subscription service, including HBO and it's cousins.

I'm still keeping some eBay stuff going. Take a minute and check it out; you might find something you want. I have a variety, you can't deny that. Right now, I have some vintage (still sealed) card booster packs, some awesome never-used vintage bowling patches from the 60s and 70s, office supplies and just an assortment of pop culture, useful, new, used, randomness.

Dinoscore: Sing Street (Movie)

I'm old. I grew up in the 80s, although I'll admit I was in that awkward part of the decade where I was a bit too young to be fully in the know for the early 80s music. I didn't have older siblings to help me catch on, so I locked in around when a-ha was really starting to take hold.

I had long school bus rides each day to our little school. Everyone rode the same bus from Kindergarten through 12th grade. So, a little kid like me could learn a lot from the big kids (which isn't always a good thing). But, some of the stuff I learned was about music. The kids would have their boom boxes and be playing the latest songs. My older cousin, Andy, would take the time to try to explain them to me. Then, Friday Night Videos came out. It was past my bedtime, but we had recently gotten a VCR so I was able to tape the show and really feel like a grown up. I didn't really know what to think about those videos, but Andy explained that I was trying to take the lyrics too literally. He explained a lot of stuff, but never could quite get me to understand the appeal of Tears for Fears.

My taste has ping ponged back and forth, sometimes daily, but tonight I saw a movie that brought back the excitement I used to have as a kid getting a new cassette or getting to visit a friend that had MTV (we didn't have cable out in the country!).

I love Irish movies and tonight was no exception. I got invited to a screening of Sing Street. It's set in 80s Dublin, where a group of school kids start a band to impress a girl and escape problems at home and at school. Sounds serious, I know. It did have a little bit of serious, but just enough for suspense, it wasn't one of those tear jerkers. Between the music and the laughs watching those teens, it was worth the serious moments and I really enjoyed the music!

I don't want to give it away, but I do seriously think you should give it a try:

A little list of recent favorites: Sun Club, Judah Lee, Criminal Hygiene, The Ballroom Thieves

I was planning to do a post each month this year...but March just skipped right by me! Let's see what happens for April.

Honestly, I've been a little out of touch. I seem to never get around to listening to my iPod much and certainly don't get a lot of downloading done. I even let my Daytrotter subscription lapse for a bit, but I'm sure I'll get it going again before long.

I haven't been to any shows. I was going to go...I was even there at Golden Groves EP release party, but ended up leaving before the show started... not because of them, but because I was tired and my back hurt.

Maybe this summer. We'll see what happens. Middle of the Map Fest has some shows I'm interested in but not necessary at venues I'd prefer. I'm definitely not doing a full pass this year like last year.

So some recent "likes":

Sun Club - Beauty Meat



Judah Lee (w/ Sam Pinkerton) - I Do

You know I love Sam Pinkerton, so it's almost like it's cheating with this one.



The Ballroom Thieves - Archers


Criminal Hygiene - Pickman
Here's a different song, I couldn't find Pickman link




That's a pretty good list.... right? OK, see you around.

Recently Unearthed: DREAMERS - You Are Here EP

While I'm waiting for my iPod to sync, I'll just start typing. If I'm still awake when that's done, maybe I'll get to something of some interest.

I've been home for two days taking care of my mom who just had knee replacement surgery, so I'm a little stir crazy right now. I'm about 37 minutes from just sitting in the corner of my room and rocking back and forth. I cannot watch any more TV or play any more Candy Crush or Bloons. Sure, I could do something a bit more productive like listing all of my personal belongs on eBay, but let's not get crazy with productivity... I still have 3 days to go before I go back to work.

I've been horribly behind on updating my music stash. Today I got caught up on downloads from Golden Groves, Mat Shoare, and a bunch of stuff from Noisetrade (I usually go for samplers on there). So, I've got something like 200 songs syncing right now -- if they'll fit.

While it might be a bit early to give you any feedback on the newest downloads, I did grab
DREAMERS - Wolves recently from a Daytrotter session.


Actually, I like the EP, You Are Here, so much, I just stopped and bought it while I was writing this.

So, I think my computer might melt now, so this list is going to be less list and more of a mention of DREAMERS. Check it out.

I'll say goodbye for now.

Hello 2016! Best of 2015.

I decided this summer I wanted to listen straight through to all the 10,000+ songs on my iPod. I got to about "P" before the play sequence got messed up and I never could get it to go quite back to the same sequence. However, I still feel like that was successful. It allowed me to delete a ton of stuff that honestly I hated and have no need to ever hear again. Although I sometimes want to name names, I typically try not to just for kindness sake, so I'm not going to dwell on the "losers". Now, in that same activity, I also found a lot of songs I really like, so for today's blog I decided to sort my list by songs I've uploaded to my iTunes in 2015 (doesn't mean the song was from 2015) and since uploading have given it a good score.

So here we go, sort of in order, sort of not. I'm going to give you some links, but some of them I've talked about before so might not go into huge detail about. Besides, you don't need me to tell you a bunch of stuff. Your ears will know.

I've put as many as I could in a YouTube Playlist for you.

Michelle Branch - Creep (Cover)
Lo-Fang - You're the One That I Want (Cover)
Both of these songs were featured on the CBS series, Stalker. The show didn't last long, but I loved the creepy covers they'd play at the end of each eposide.

The Lone Bellow - Then Came the Morning
The Lone Bellow - Cold As It Is
I really, just really love The Lone Bellow and all that Zach Williams does.

J. Roddy Walston and The Business - Boys Can Never Tell
I listen to a lot of music from these guys, but I particularly like this one.

Sam Pinkerton - You Never Will
I still just love Sam Pinkerton's music a ton. I've told you about her before, so I'm not going to repeat myself. If I'm trying to just relax and get some work done, she's singing to me on my buds.

Golden Groves - Remember
Their album will be out in February 2016. Yeah, I'm ready.

Current Swell - Ulysses
It took me about 2 seconds to know I was going to love this song. Songs like this are the very reason I've been trying so hard to be sure I listen to my entire hoard. I own some great songs and am missing out on them! I got this from a Nettwerk Fall Music Sampler, probably from Amazon. I'll definitely be downloading more tracks.

Mat Shoare - I Yi Yi
If nothing else, get his Daytrotter Session, but I just really enjoy his sound.

Criminal Hygiene - Pickman
This, along with several songs on this list came from the Spring Limited Fanfare Records sampler. The band is very new to me and not my usual sound, but I still like it and look forward to finding time to listen to them more.

*repeat repeat - Don't Want Anybody

Moving Pictures - What About Me
This is an olllld song, but sometimes I get it stuck in my head, so I downloaded it.

Josh Garrels - Decision
I own a lot of Josh Garrels music. I enjoy his voice. Not every song of his is for me, but I do like this one a lot.

Benjamin Booker - Wicked Waters
The label must have really be pushing this song because I own like 14 copies of it. I really like the song and it's one of those I have to listen to at least 3 times before I go on to the next song.

Ex Norwegian - First Time

First Aid Kit - Hard Believer

Ellen O'Meara - Weep Not for Me

Knox Hamilton - Work it Out
I am eagerly anticipating the new recordings they're working on right now.

The Ballroom Thieves - Archers

Austin Manuel - Hold On Tight

Butch Walker - Chrissie Hynde

Milo Greene - Lie To Me

Two Gallants - Invitation to the Funeral

Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends

Dan Deacon - When I Was Done Dying

The Last Bison - Magic Carpet Ride (Cover)

I know there's some missing from this list, for a lot of different reasons. I have tons of excuses, some of which include, but are not limited to:

My new living situation and really, really busy work life has really made it difficult to keep blogging for numerous reasons. Since about 4th grade I've had what I call arthritis in my hands, I don't know if that's really what it is, but my hands hurt a lot when I write or type a lot or do things with my hands. Even though I have just a normal 40 hour job, that usually is really more like 45 hours or so a week and a lot of it is using my hands (typing and doing basic office work). Sometimes, by the time I get home, I really just sit around praying for my hands to fall off because I think it would be less painful if I laid my hand on the railroad tracks and let a train cut them off.

So, out of that is my dramatic way of saying that sometimes blogging physically hurts too much to do it. I've considered stuff like YouTube, but I'm just not into being in videos and it's a lot to figure out, honestly. Although I love my job so much, I do enough reading and figuring stuff out all day, I don't need to add that to my life either.

I try to keep my iPod close by and listen, but I haven't been good about staying on top of downloads. My iPod is mostly full. Sometimes I think it hates me. Maybe I need a newer one? But, I don't know.

Really, this isn't about excuses, but just know that a lot of times there are things I want to blog but just don't have time or energy to do it. I try to do some Instagram stuff in between, although I'll admit it even slacks off when it's super busy.

Before I sign off, I wanna give a shout to The Shameless Pursuit, a KC band that was kind enough to check out my blog recently and send me a message, which encouraged me to get something new posted. I haven't seen them live yet, but a chance is coming up January 10 at the Riot Room.

Let's Talk about some Kansas City Live Music edited 10/2018

What has been going on lately? Not as much as I'd like. My new living arrangements have toned down my night life quite a bit, though I do have a healthy list of shows I'd like to attend over the next couple of months. Realistically, I'll be lucky to make it to 2 or 3 of the shows I have on my "I wanna" list.

I do have tickets to IAMDYNAMITE for later in August. I've enjoyed their music for several years now. I have a ticket to G-Love, but it falls on the same night as Water Liars, so I'm not sure who is going to win that battle.

Mat Shoare has a few shows coming up, which all fall at kind of not great times for me, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Kodaline is coming in October. They're at Power & Light so I'm going to try to make that work, though it's not my favorite venue.

Dawes is back in town, but they're never here at a time I can make it to a show. Natural Child will be here in September, which should be fun.

October brings William Fitzsimmons. I listen to him a lot, but haven't really kept up with newer releases.

Martin Sexton will be here in November. I've seen him perform live before and enjoyed it, so I might swing by for another try.

What have I been doing with my time? Well, I spend a lot of time listening to music still, I just never get around to telling you about it. I've been to several shows in the last months, but not as many. I've been staying active with Yelp events too.

I sold my condo and am renting now. I've actually been doing some decorating, which is something I didn't do much of before. My Insta Hang has been a miracle with hanging pictures, etc. If they'd spent a little extra on manufacturing quality, that thing would be a miracle product. As it is, it's a little rinky dink, but I still use it a ton. I've already bought refills for it!

RedditGifts is a ton of fun for me. If you haven't done it before, give it a shot! I'm more in to the gifting than the receiving a gift for some reason. I think it's because I usually find a way to make some little craft project to go with the gift and that's fun for me.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram. I've found that's a good place to give frequent updates and use it more than other Social Media platforms.