I've been a Matchbox Twenty

I’ve been a Matchbox Twenty fan for a while, especially since the free CD they sent “me” when I was Entertainment Editor back at the Technique. So I bought Rob Thomas’s debut solo album last week after hearing the first single on the radio an insane number of times. But then, fortunately for me, I have never been one of those people who tires of songs if they are overplayed. On the contrary, I can often listen to the same song three or four times in a row if I’m enjoying it. And then three times again the next day.
But I digress.
Anyway, it’s a great album. If you like that type of music, I highly recommend it. It also got me thinking about other albums I’ve bought (yay iTunes) and enjoyed lately. Not just songs, but entire albums. So here are some music recommendations, in no particular order, if you like standard (yet varied!) mainstream stuff like me. 😉

• Rob Thomas, Something to Be – Same type of music he did with Matchbox Twenty. My current favorite song on the album is “Problem Girl.”
• Green Day, American Idiot – This album totally rocks. You should really buy it. Favorite song off it for now is probably “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
• Bonnie McKee, Trouble – I think she’s only like 16 or something. But she can sing, and has an interesting variety of songs on one small album. I like the first two songs best, I think. “Trouble” and “When It All Comes Down.”
• Marc Broussard, Carencro – Bought this one back in the fall sometime. The first song on the album is this great rock/blues combo that I imagine I’d hear somewhere deep in New Orleans. The rest of the album is a bit more standard, but I still love it. Favorite song is probably “Hope For Me Yet.”
• Matt Nathanson, Beneath These Fireworks – Also bought this one a while ago, last summer maybe? Good stuff.
• Dirty Vegas, One – Bought this one after I heard “Walk Into The Sun” on one of the cheesy TV dramas I watch. The O.C. maybe? Anyway, I ended up liking the whole album.
• Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams – I first heard about Jack Johnson when I was out at Stanford four years ago, which makes sense because he’s very California/surfer/good vibes/laid back. Good songs for mellow, rainy days.
• Ryan Cabrera, Take It All Away – I know some people won’t like it, and maybe he’s a bit too “boy pop star” but oh well. He can at least carry a tune, which is more than I can say for his girlfriend.

I had dinner at Mely’s with Becca and Cari last night. It’s hard to believe that I hadn’t been to Mely’s in at least a month. WOW. That’s saying something, since it tends to be our default restaurant of choice, and even more so for those that live in League City. My enchiladas al cardon were good and the margarita was strong, as always. Afterwards I went to Target for socks, superglue, and Swiffer cleaning stuff. A very random combination, which is why Target is so great. And the greater thing is that I actually left Target having bought only two additional items. Marvel at my willpower, people…