"Caroline laughs and it's raining all day, she loves to be one of the girls. She lives in the place in the side of our lives where nothing is ever put straight. She turns her self round and she smiles and she says, 'This is it, that's the end of the joke.' And loses herself in her dreaming and sleep, and her lovers walk through in their coats. Pretty in pink, isn't she? Pretty in pink, isn't she?" ~the psychedelic furs

The song was written by The Psychedelic Furs, but the version posted above is a cover by The National. I love The National's version. It's more melancholy than the original, which I think fits well with the lyrics.

Just a few random things:

1. I love Mandy Patinkin as Saul on Homeland (Mandy Patinkin, Holla!). I really love Mandy Patinkin, though, because of his musical theatre talent. He's been nominated for three Tony Awards and won one (for Evita). My favorite role of his is Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden. Of course I was about eight years old when I saw him in the show on Broadway (it was the first Broadway show I ever attended) so I don't remember seeing his performance live, but I listen to the Broadway cast recording all the time. I pretty much have the whole thing memorized. Mandy has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard.

Here's the show's performance on the Tony Awards. They did a medley, which includes an excerpt of my favorite song from the show, "Lily's Eyes." Listen to how awesome Mandy is (and notice how young he looks!).

2. Halloween! I went to my friend Kim's party over the weekend, which was an 80's-themed party. I wanted to be Andie from Pretty in Pink (one of my favorite 80's movies) but couldn't find a perfect outfit, so I went for more of Pretty in Pink as a concept. It was fun. Here are some of our costumes:

I was Rosie the Riveter at school for Halloween. Of course no one knew who I was. What is the state of public education in America coming to? My denim jumpsuit was so comfortable I wish I could wear it every day.

Team Logan. Always Team Logan. I know Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, isn't on Team Logan. I know Piz is the more sensible choice. Please just let me be insensible when it comes to this one issue, okay? I'm sensible when it comes to most other things. Also, is it spring 2014 yet?!?

"Satellite's gone up to the skies; things like that drive me out of my mind. I watched it for a little while, I like to watch things on TV. Satellite of love, satellite of love, satellite of love." ~lou reed

This is the original version of "Satellite of Love": 


 And here's my favorite version of it, by U2 featuring Lou Reed (this video can make me cry on a normal day, so you can imagine I'm a mess now):

And here's what is probably my favorite song by the Velvet Underground, before Lou went solo:

I'm sad. I'm sad about Lou Reed's death; he was a legend in the music world, and his influence can't be overstated. I'm so grateful I was able to see him perform live at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert; he was a true genius, and he will be missed. Rest in peace, Lou. 

"You can get lost in the music for hours, honey, you can get lost in a room. We can play music for hours and hours, but the sun'll still be coming up soon. The world's not forgiving of everyone's fears. The days turn into months, the months turn into years. So just for a moment, let's be still." ~the head and the heart

 ETA: The Head and the Heart performed on Hart of Dixie last night (Monday, 10/21)! It made me really happy. It was a great episode, too, because of the band's appearance and some other awesome moments (Have I mentioned I love Lemon now? She's become one of my favorite characters. There was also some great Zoe/Brick stuff.)

You must check out The Head and the Heart's new album, Let's Be Still. It's absolutely lovely. They're one of my favorite bands, and I was so excited to hear their sophomore album and fall in love with it as I did with their debut. The track posted above is the title song from the new record.

Here's video I took at a concert of theirs about a year and a half ago. They put on a great show. My friend Leah and I told each other before the concert that we'd be lucky if we got through seeing them perform "Rivers and Roads" without crying (we're hardcore Chuck fans, and Chuck fans know the significance of that song), and we did, but boy was it difficult. The video is the second song in the playlist below.
You can also visit my post here after the show, in which I posted audio (and a downloadable version) of the whole show. Looking back at it, I realize I meant to upload more video but never got around to it (this was when I didn't have internet at my apartment). Maybe I'll do that now. 

Yesterday I went to the second annual Global Citizen Festival. I went last year (and posted about it here), and I was excited to return this year. The weather was beautiful; it was a perfect day to spend in Central Park with 60,000 other people. We got a great spot in the front of pen 1 on the rail, right behind the VIP section. Kings of Leon opened, and they were followed by Alicia Keys, John Mayer, and Stevie Wonder. Between sets, appearances were made by Elvis Costello (who performed two songs), Janelle Monae (who performed one song), Bono (who presented an award), Katie Holmes, Olivia Wilde, Gerard Butler, and more. Here's a video I made of some highlights (the concert was streamed online, so I'm sure official videos will be popping up online):


Tonight is the finale of Breaking Bad (the show that many have argued is the best TV show ever made). It's weird to think that after tonight it will be over. I'm hoping Walt dies and Jesse lives. In honor of the finale, here's Los Cuates de Sinaloa performing "The Ballad of Heisenberg" on Conan.

Monday's entire episode of Conan was devoted to Breaking Bad, and it was pretty awesome. It was the day after the show won the Emmy Award for best drama series, and the whole cast seemed very happy. Here's the show if you want to watch it. And here's a great compilation of "five years of awesome interviews in 176 seconds" (no huge spoilers in this video, so I think it's safe to watch if you haven't seen the show).


Nic and I are watching the finale air tonight, and she's making a themed menu. My themed contributions are homemade funyuns in honor of Jesse Pinkman, Ben and Jerry's in honor of Landry Todd feeding Jesse in last week's episode (sorry, Jesse Plemons will always be Landry from Friday Night Lights to me), and this (crushed blue jolly ranchers):

 Happy finale, bitches!
(Okay, last of the videos. These are the best ones. I never ever curse, but this has become such an integral and entertaining part of this character.)


And finally (this is it, I promise; I'm going all out for the finale), 35 Reasons Why Aaron Paul Should Be Your Favorite Actor on Television.