Author Archives: mari

I am, I am, I am Superman; and I can do anything. 'Cause I’ve got it going on like that. I think in pop culture terms and most everything I see or hear reminds me of something I’ve seen or heard before. If I'm having a conversation with you, be assured that it’s being filtered through a song, TV show or movie that is tucked into my gray matter. The last of 7 kids, I was raised in a world between my dad’s Merle Haggard and my brother’s Black Sabbath (with some Bay City Rollers thrown in for good measure). My first mix tapes were made sitting on the front porch with a transistor radio and a tape recorder; I've since moved on to CDs and playlists. I spent a lot of quality time as a kid with a stash of old 45s (we had a corner of our basement set up to look like our own little WKRP in Cincinnati) and I would lip synch to “Ballroom Blitz” and “Hooked on a Feeling.” I like my music (and I could end the sentence there & be happy) a bit gritty, and I’m happiest when the songs are a bit unpolished. I’ve seen Metallica live 5 times and cried when Van Halen broke up. I’m happily married, the mom of two young kids (8 & 6) and the editor of a local parenting magazine. I like to run, read, listen to music, knit, cook, and kick back with friends for drinks. Then I like to write about all of that stuff (names may be changed to protect the innocent).

This or That? Live and Let Die

I was listening to this song over the weekend, and I thought about remakes and how many of them go horribly wrong. But how some remakes were just meant to be.

Details – the reveal

Here goes nothin’ … Track 1: Against Me, New Wave [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Against Me! is a Florida punk band that’s been around for a while but never has seemed to gain traction. I can’t remember where I heard of them. This is from their 2007 release of the same name,…

11-11-11 = Friday Fiver

Can you believe it? We made it to 11-11-11. Remember back when we thought that 1999 was light years away? Yeah. Good times, people. Good. Times. On with the fiver!

This is your Sunday Scoop

Thanks for playing the Fiver! This is your big reveal. We’ve got something old, something new, a few things in between.

This is the Friday Fiver

Yay for Friday and music and all of that mess. And yay+ for the Friday Fiver. What can I say? I’m impatient. So I’m springing this a day early!

TMI: Mari’s Ultimate Mix side 2

A long, long time ago In 1990, in a galaxy far, far away on the back roads of rural southeastern Wisconsin, The Ultimate Mix tape was born. I wrote about Side #1 of this tape last fall, and promised to return to discuss Side #2, but well, what can I say? Time slipped away from…

Who Doesn’t Like Cake?

Here you go; the big reveal on your Friday Fiver.

Five for Friday

Oh hey there! It’s Mari. It’s 6am and I haven’t had coffee yet. Witty banter (which I almost just shortened to “witter”) is not quite ready yet, coffee’s still brewing. And can I say, that every Friday when I do a fiver, I picture that platter of cakes wielding guy at the top of the…

This or That: REM

Pick your poison: REM 1980s? [Audio clip: view full post to listen] or 2000s? [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Discuss.

Sunday Scoop: The shuffle revealed

Welcome to the Scoop! This week’s Friday Fiver was based on “hit random on the music & see what floats up.” Some songs I skipped over and pulled out the ones that really needed to go up this week. So here goes!