F.N.V. – Growing Up With and Within John Mellencamp Songs

A few years ago, Rob – of My Side Of The Laundry Room – began a series called “F.N.V.,” taking its name and inspiration from NBC’s Friday Night Videos (1983-2002).  Anyway, I liked it so I totally stole it from him.  Kalie liked it and she stole it too, proving far more prolific with her sharing of music videos and stories than I ever am.  Today I’m going to do something I haven’t done before – focus exclusively on one artist.  Why John Mellencamp?  Well, ever since I was a kid, John Mellencamp’s music has led me down surprisingly contemplative roads.  So I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the musings he’s led me to over the years.

F.N.V. – Songs and Love Stories

A few years ago, Rob – of My Side Of The Laundry Room – began a series called “F.N.V.,” taking it’s name and inspiration from NBC’s Friday Night Videos (1983-2002).  Anyway, I liked it so I totally stole it from him.  Kalie liked it and she stole it too, proving far more prolific with her sharing of music videos and stories than I ever am.  But I was driving around the other day and I heard a song.  It sparked a memory of love gone by…or, more accurately, of an attempt at love gone by.  I started thinking this could be a fun premise for a new piece in this series, to walk through some pivotal romantic experiences from my past – some sincerely sweet, most catastrophically awkward – and pair them with the songs that embody those memories.

F.N.V. – An Imperial Talker Sing-Along

Over on my blog – The Imperial Talker – I spend all of my time offering my various opinions on the Star Wars franchise. While I love waxing eloquently about the galaxy far, far away I am certainly not a one-trick pony. Oh no, I have lots of other things I could extrapolate on such as my bromance with Michael, my hatred of Michael’s brother David, my enjoyment of Deadpool, Squirrel Girl, and Ms. Marvel, my obsession with the show Scrubs, the way I marvel at fireflies, my years of playing and coaching volleyball, my love of hating Michael’s brother David, and so on and so on and so on. You get the idea, there is a lot more to me than just Star Wars.

F.N.V. – Well It’s My Birthday Too, Yeah (…almost)

We had a bonus FNV on the fourth to make up for my missing last week but now we’re back to Fridays where the series belongs :).  And what an installment we have!  This week’s Friday Night Videos is a showcase of some of my all time favorite songs.  Why?  Well because it’s my birthday on Sunday, that’s why!  And, as per my understanding of international laws regarding such things, a birthday weekend should be all about moi.  So I’m going to look back, get nostalgic, tell some stories, and listen to some great music!

F.N.V. – The Fourth of July!

Okay, I know it isn’t Friday.  So a Friday Night Video post may be unexpected.  If it helps, you can think of this as a Fourth (of July) Night Video post!  Or, if you prefer, you can think of this as a makeup for the one I wasn’t able to write last Friday since I was at that conference all week.  However you slice it, as people all over the country celebrate America’s birthday in their own way, I wanted to offer some music that explores all America does, can, and should represent.

F.N.V: Reminiscences – Music of my Early 20’s

By Kalie Zamierowski

On my blog, Just Dread-Full, I’m adamantly open and enthusiastic about my love for all things (or most things) horror. Indeed, this passion is foregrounded so much that it often eclipses my other loves in life – a reason why I started another blog a few years ago, one I didn’t have time to follow through with and for which I ultimately stopped writing. One of those passions that I don’t frequently share on the horror-centered Just Dread-full is my love for music – and my interest in what I would consider a wide variety of music.

F.N.V. – Guilty Pleasures

Last week I kicked off my summer DJing Rob’s Friday Night Video series as he does his YouTube thing over at My Side Of The Laundry Room.  For my first outing, I looked at some summer/summer vacation songs.  It was my last day of school and my mind was on vacation (all I ever wanted…)!  This week I’m rocking out to some of my favorite guilty pleasure songs.  However, the name “guilty pleasure” implies I feel some guilt over liking these songs and, honestly, for the most part I don’t.  I should probably call these “Should Be Embarrassed By Them But I’m Not” songs.  But that’s a mouthful and everyone knows what a “guilty pleasure” song is so I’ll stick with it.  So let’s look at some of my awkward favorites shall we??

F.N.V. – Helloooo Summer Vacation!!!

Last summer, Rob ran a wonderful weekly summer series on My Side Of The Laundry Room called “F.N.V.”  Inspired by NBC’s Friday Night Videos (which began airing in 1983, showcasing the ever-growing world of music videos at the dawn of the era) Rob would kick off everyone’s weekend with a rockin’ and rollickin’ assortment of ‘80s greatness.  I loved the series!  I loved it so much I asked if he was planning on running it again this year…with hopes of totally stealing it if he wasn’t.  Fortune was with me as Rob’s plenty busy with the three YouTube shows he’s doing each week.  He graciously said I could take over as F.N.V.’s new DJ.  YES.  I figured this would be the perfect day to start as my summer vacation begins today!  Woo hoo!  So, without further ado, let’s rock.