Making Valentine’s Day Special with Help from HP (Day 3)

Did you watch the Grammy’s last night?  I figured it would be fitting to talk music today…

Listen to the Grammy Winners on XBox Music Free

Every time I write up a blog post, I always say to The Hubs, “The next one won’t be nearly as long as this one, I swear!”  It took me about three days to be happy with what I was going to write for Day 2, and I’m completely happy with that labour of love!  Day 3 is going to be a bit different, not only in how “quick” it’ll take to write compared to Day 2, but because I’m gonna need some help from you!

I’ve thought and thought about how to prepare this one for you.  I know the technical aspects of finding the best music for a Valentine’s Day playlist, and the fact that most if not all HP computer systems now come with Beats Audio™ (developed by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Lovine,) including the HP ENVY x2 that you’re trying to win!  It always blows The Hubs mind (someone whom deals in audio content everyday,) whenever we use my HP desktop or laptop to stream a Netflix movie, ’cause the Beats Audio sound quality is just that awesome.

And the Windows 8 xbox Music App is all kinds of fantabulous, even on the Free Subscription (that includes occasional 11 second ads to help keep the music flowing freely.)  You can create a playlist that fits your mood with all of your favourite songs!  Also, for the time being, you can try out xbox Music’s Premium service for 30 days free!  So I’ll be ad-free while playing my Valentine playlist.

XBox Music Premium Free for a Month

Get Music Pass Premium for Free

 

I’ll admit, it took a while for me to get used to the xbox Music app – and one thing that urks me is that there isn’t a common search function, but once I figured out how this baby worked, I had 20 songs in my “Everyday” playlist; ready to get the party started every time I open my laptop now. 😉

EDIT (DOH!): There *IS* a simple search!  Its one aspect of Windows 8 that I’m obviously still getting used to, but it’s going to make my playlists turn from 20 songs to about 200!  In Windows 8, you first learn to swipe along the right hand side to find the “Charms”.  The Search Charm works for any app you have running, including xbox music, so you’re totally good to find your music FAST. *whew*

To do a “simple” search on the music you want, click the “Play An Artist” button on the front screen.  It will bring up a smart search, like the window below to find the artist you’re looking for asap, then when you’re brought to the artist’s page, you can search through all of their albums for the music you want.  When you have a song playing, you can click the “Add to Playlist” button at the bottom left bar.

Searching on Xbox Music App for Windows 8

So now I know that if I choose to make my guy a wonderful home-cooked meal for Valentines Day (still haven’t found the best of fondue yet in Toronto, so I may just make it myself…), and the music? Its going to be the perfect fit to our dinner.  It’s something that I won’t have to worry about once I have the song list finalized, ’cause the tablet alone (ie without the keyboard) will lay flat somewhere in our dining room playing our favourite tunes in the corner (ie. heard but not seen.)

There is the alternative of creating a slideshow of pictures to run while the music is playing.  If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day this year with your husband or wife, this would be a very romantic moment to run a slideshow of your favourite engagement, wedding and honeymoon pictures.  A nice mixture of all three events to simply view while enjoying a nice meal at home is a sure way to bring a beautiful smile to your partner’s face. 🙂

Like wise, if you have a ton of pictures of your BF/GF from past vacations, or those memorable moments that happened right in your home town, a collection of those running as a slide show in your computer’s picture viewer will always be a nice touch!

But I digress.

So as I said above, I need your help.  Today, we’re going to create an amazing collection of love songs for everyone to use on Valentine’s Day.  Whether you use xbox music on Windows 8 or one of the multitude of music programs available out there, this is something that we can all use.

So my favourite readers and contesters in the whole wide blogosphere, tell me a love song.  Just one!  And if you see your song already listed in the comment section, please think of another one so we can make this list big.  If you see a song that’s you’re absolute fave, go ahead and say so as a reply to that specific love song comment (“ditto” or “+1” are acceptable,) so that we can see what would be best recc’d.

Here’s my playlist and the Hub’s list to this baby started!

Mine:

  • My Valentine – Paul McCartney
  • I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons
  • We Are Young – Fun
  • Love Song – Adele
  • Locked out of Heaven – Bruno Mars
  • You and I – Ingrid Michaelson
  • Try – P!nk
  • I Knew You Were Trouble – Taylor Swift
  • Smile – Avril Lavigne
  • Thank You – Dido
  • Building A Mystery -Sarah Mclachlan
  • Lay Lady Lay – Magnet
  • And  of course, you MUST include “Marry You” by Bruno Mars if you’re going to pop that special question tonight!

The Hubs:

  • Heart – Stars
  • Make It Wit Chu – Queens of the Stone Age
  • Soul Meets Body – Death Cab for Cutie
  • Ho Hey – Lumineers
  • Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men

 

Creating a Playlist on Xbox Music App for Windows 8

If this is the first post you’ve seen for this series, you have a chance to win the HP ENVY X2 laptop (that doubles as a tablet) AND eAIO 7520 Photosmart Printer! Complete the rafflecopter ballot box to enter below.
Every day there will be a new question to go with each blog post (total of five questions), so be sure to come back regularly to answer each one! Best way to keep up to date for a new blog post is to join the Geek with Style newsletter, as it will send you a note each morning when a new post to enter is available. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This blog post has been compensated, but please rest assured that it in no way affects the information that I’m imparting to you. I want you to have the best that’s available out there, so you won’t ever find “lemons” from me.