The First Echo

For the final playlist of the year I have gathered a number of tunes that should act as the perfect soundtrack to your holiday weekend. So before y'all succumb to your food comas, make sure to sample this cornucopia of goodness... 1. "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor 2. "Got Love" by Tove Lo 3. "Teacher" by Nick Jonas 4. "Just Like Me" by Betty Who 5. "Shut Up And Dance" by Walk The Moon 6. "Dead Air" by Chvrches 7. "Style" by Taylor Swift 8. "Gladiator" by Dami Im: 9. "I Won't Let You Down" by OK Go 10. "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars 11. "Under Control" by Calvin Harris feat. Hurts 12. "When We Were Young" by Dillon Francis, Sultan & Ned Sheppard: 13. "Dreaming" by The Knocks 14. "Come Alive" by Chromeo feat. Toro Y Moi 15. "Ready To Run" by One Direction 16. "What Is Love

"The Park Is Open." I know what I'll be doing all Thanksgiving weekend long... Watching this trailer over and over and over and over... [in my best John Hammond voice] Behold, and welcome to Jurassic World :

File this under: Holy Crap, I'm Old . One of the songs that defined most of my high school experience turned 20 on Halloween last month (it was officially released as a single back on October 31, 1994). It was a track prominently featured during several school dances I attended during my freshman year at Iona Prep in the suburbs of New York. I hear this song, and I can't help but flashback to baggy Tommy Hilfiger jeans, Timberland boots, and plaid flannel shirts on Friday nights. And, to this day, I still can't get enough of it. @TheFirstEcho

It feels like I have entered a new stage of my life here in Los Angeles. The reason: I now have literary representation. I have an agent. I now have "people." People who can talk to your people. I'm one of the many many folks in this town who rely on individuals to pimp out their creative work and then wait by their iPhones to hear the latest developments and be on the receiving end of numerous rejections. This was the day my 22-year-old self had been waiting for. It's the first step towards what I hope will be many more steps. However, it wasn't quite the experience I had envisioned for myself. The whole process wasn't as glamorous as one would expect. There was no glass-walled conference room with me seated at one end and a team of suits on the other with nothing but a fruit and muffin platter between us. No champagne corks were popped. No hands were shaken. Everything all came together...over email. There were a few phone calls. And then, t

WALK THE MOON's "Shut Up And Dance" is giving Neon Trees's "Sleeping With A Friend" a run for its money in the 80s Pop-Rock Revival category. Just when I thought 2014 didn't have any more spectacularly awesome tracks up its sleeve, along came this fantabulous track I happened to catch on the radio while commuting home after a tedious 11-hour day at work. This just might be a last-minute addition to my Best Of list of the year: @TheFirstEcho