It's days like this that make it all worth while

So we found out today that one of our writers' songs is the first single on Rascal Flatts new album. "Here Comes Goodbye" will be shipped to radio Monday, and I can't wait! This song is going to be huge. Like at least "What Hurts the Most" huge, if not more. I've been listening to this song for the last 9 months, waiting for this moment, and it's so great to see everything come to fruition. Hearing RF's recording will be one of the proudest moments of my young career, and I think it will probably stay right up there on that list for a long time.

I joined the YMCA last week, and this evening was my first chance to actually work out. I lifted weights for the first time in years, and I'm gonna feel it tomorrow. A necessary evil. One of these days I'll be ripped though, I just need to keep telling myself that.

And finally, she's on everyone's radar after being the iTunes Single of the Week last week, but check out Erin McCarley. Straight out of Nashville, she's like Sara Bareilles meets Feist. Kind of. Anyway, she's good, take my word for it. And, if you don't, see for yourself:

Blue Suitcase - Erin McCarley

Buried alive

After a 16-day vacation, it was back to the grind for me today. And, about 15 minutes into the day, I realized the next month is going to be crazy. I'm not going to bore you with details; suffice it to say I'll have plenty of late nights over the next couple weeks.

One thing I am looking forward to this month is the release of Fiction Family's debut release. FF is made up of Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins, two of my favorite groups ever, and they're doing a folk album, which happens to be my genre du jour. You can stream some of their stuff on their website, and the album drops January 20.

In the meantime, here's a blast from the past that helps me get through my mounds of data entry:

Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of.....

I enjoy a well-developed explanation

So I really wanted to make this post really long and elaborate, espousing ad nauseum the greatness of Lala.com. But, there are two reasons I'm going to keep it short and sweet. First, I just started season 1 of Veronica Mars, and it's very engrossing so far. But second, because I can't explain it much better than the site does itself. Just go to THIS PAGE and see how lala works. Remember, we are quickly approaching a day when smartphones with touchscreens will be standard equipment for middle America, and this site will make that day a lot more fun.

And, listen to this song:

Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy

Picking up the pieces of my broken promises

On September 23, I promised a series of posts about the wonders of internet streaming. Well, here we are, exactly 100 days later, and I've only come through with one of those. By now I'm assuming you've all familiarized yourself with Pandora. If not, read this past post and get with the program, because we're moving on to Hulu.

Hulu has been around for over a year now, and began with the backing of Fox and NBC as a way to let people keep up with their shows outside of the network sites. Over time, they've added classic shows, show clips, and full-length movies (YouTube has since followed suit).

Yes, there are advertisements. But, in my opinion, they aren't terribly annoying. I mean, it takes you thirty seconds to fast-forward through the commercials on DVR; this just makes it easier for you. The selection is wide, the quality is solid, and they continue to add new content and features to the service.

For example: You can share and embed entire videos. Sounds like YouTube right? Here's where Hulu raises the bar: they allow you to edit the video down to a specific clip and share or embed that part only. So, rather than post an entire episode of Arrested Development on here (which, by the way, they have every episode from all three seasons posted on the site (watch this show: it will change the way you think of television, comedy, and amputees)), I can post my favorite scene:

Pretty sweet, right? That's what I thought. Now get yourself acquainted with this one quick, because tomorrow I will be showing you the wonder that is lala.com, and that will, undoubtedly, change your life if you will only let it.