Tuned In: Sanders Bohlke

I, like many of you reading this right now, love music. A lot. To the nth degree and then some. I'm the kind of person who creates a soundtrack in her head to go along with all the big moments in her life; who wishes the world really were a stage, like Shakespeare said, but for a never-ending musical in which everyone sang their feelings at really inappropriate moments and occasionally danced down the street in cheesy, choreographed togetherness. I never go anywhere without my iPod, and if I'm at home and not watching TV, I'm almost certainly listening to one of my 8 million personalized playlists in iTunes. Or baking. Often both.

I'm pretty pleased with my music library, too. And when I say I like a little bit of everything, I really mean that I like a little bit of everything. My taste runs the gamut from Britney to Bright Eyes, Justice to Jay-Z, Dylan to Disney. (I actually have "Colors of the Wind" on my iPod, right between All-4-One's "Colors of Love" and Ani DiFranco's "Come Away From It," a remnant of my Barnard days.) Only about a third of my music is stuff I've found on my own, though. The other two-thirds came from friends' recommendations or—surprise, surprise—TV. I discovered The Avett Brothers, for example, after hearing "I and Love and You" on a recent episode of One Tree Hill. (Yes, I watch One Tree Hill. We'll revisit that topic in another post.) I opened my ears and heart to Ivy because of Veronica Mars. And I fell in love with Ryan Adams watching Seth and Summer fall in love to his cover of "Wonderwall" on The OC. Gossip Girl gave me The National, Grey's Anatomy gave me Ingrid Michaelson, and now Brothers and Sisters and Private Practice have given me Sanders Bohlke.

I first became aware of Bohlke a few weeks ago, when his song "You" played behind a conversation between Luc and Sarah on Brothers and Sisters. Only snippets of the melody were audible, but what I could hear, I loved. Then, a few nights ago, there he was again, singing "Misdirections" in the final moments of Private Practice. It was beautiful, haunting. I wanted more. So I tracked him down online.

According to his website, Bohlke is a singer/songwriter hailing from northern Mississippi. His first album had a bit of a folk slant, but it seems like his style since then has evolved and spilled into other genres, most notably acoustic rock and soul. If I had to compare him to someone, I'd say he sounds like a cross between Ray LaMontagne and James Morrison, but I think that probably does all three artists a disservice, since each has such an original and distinctive voice. Bohlke's is at once mellow and barely contained—his music is incredibly soothing, but there's a kind of energy and passion to it boiling just beneath the surface. Listening to him feels like walking but being always about to break into a sprint.

If you're interested, you can find a few of Bohlke's songs on his MySpace page. "You," unfortunately, is not available, but "Misdirections" is there, as is "The Weight of Us," which has apparently been featured on Grey's Anatomy, One Life to Live, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Clearly, someone at ABC is a fan. And now so am I.


Artist: Sanders Bohlke
Heard on: Brothers and Sisters, Private Practice
Sounds like: Ray LaMontagne, James Morrison
Listen to: "Misdirections," "The Weight of Us," "Somewhere"

Fictional Characters I Would Date in Real Life, Part 1

(A little housekeeping note: Since this is a blog about TV, I'm limiting myself to only characters who have appeared on the small screen. Otherwise, this list would be, like, four times longer. Also, in instances where characters might be considered age-inappropriate for my 25-year-old self, please consider said characters people I would have dated when I was younger or would someday date when I'm older.)

Jim Halpert, The Office
Okay, I know he's married now. And I love him and Pam together. But let's pretend for the purposes of this list that he's single. (I'm already suspending disbelief by treating him as a flesh-and-blood person; taking his made-up wife out of the picture doesn't seem that much more absurd.) Jim is playful, funny, easygoing, and kind. He's just a really nice guy. And sometimes that's enough.

Chuck Bartowski, Chuck
My fondness for Chuck is well-documented on this blog. I think he's adorable. Slightly awkward, but adorable. And I love that he has no game. He's completely charming without even meaning to be. What you see—in terms of personality, at least—is what you get, and what you get is sweet, sincere, and sensitive. Plus, he's had the same best friend since he was 6, so you know he's loyal. And lest he be mistaken for a total softie, there's that whole super secret spy thing he does in his spare time. Hot.

Brendan Dorff, My Boys
This is so clichéd, and I hate to even admit it, but: I'm kind of a sucker for bartenders and baristas. Drummers, too, but that's a problem for another post. Brendan isn't exactly a bartender or a barista, but he does occasionally tend bar at the club he co-owns with his buddy John. Which means, of course: free drinks! And, more importantly, a go-to hangout spot. A place, perhaps, where everybody knows my name. (Isn't that the dream?) I don't love Brando just for his connections, though. I also love him for his taste in music, his eternally youthful energy, and his tight-knit group of friends. I think you can tell a lot about someone by looking at the people with whom he chooses to spend his time. Brendan's pals are a quirky but endearing bunch. And I appreciate the fact that his oldest and best friend is a girl. Plus, he loves baseball, so I'd always have someone to take with me to games.

Justin Walker, Brothers and Sisters
I admit—his history with drug addiction is, um, less than ideal. In his defense, though, he's been clean for a while, and now he's studying to be a doctor. Well, kind of. He may in fact be failing out of medical school—what happened to that story line, writers?—but he's at least trying to do something meaningful with the rest of his life. Honestly, I'm not sure what it is about him that appeals to me. He just seems like he has a good heart. And while I'd obviously prefer that any potential mates not have substance-abuse issues, I think his past has actually made him a stronger and more resilient person.

Tim Riggins, Friday Night Lights
My tortured 16-year-old self would have written notebooks upon notebooks of epically bad poetry about Tim Riggins. I mean, the guy's a football star with a bad-boy streak and a soulful loner vibe—he's pretty much every angsty teenager's dream come true. I never would have stood a chance.

Matt Saracen, Friday Night Lights
With Matt, on the other hand...well, Matt is different. Matt's the guy I would have been friends with for three years while pining over Tim—the guy I would have turned to when Tim showed up at the Panthers team party with Lyla Garrity on his arm. I would have loved him dearly—but I wouldn't have realized I was in love with him until he started dating Julie Taylor. (Adolescent me always wanted what she couldn't have. Not much has changed in that respect, actually.)

Logan Echolls, Veronica Mars
Logan is a hard choice to defend. He can be a colossal jerk when he wants to be—but he can also be incredibly thoughtful and warm. Beneath all the smug, rich-guy bravado beats the heart of a romantic who's just been hurt one too many times. And can anyone really blame him for being so guarded? In three seasons of Veronica Mars (spoiler alert), he lost his girlfriend, his mother, his father, his best friend, and the love of his life. I'd be a little tense, too. High school me would have fallen hard for that angry/wounded act. Everyone wants to save and be saved.


Still to come: Fictional Characters I Would Date in Real Life, Parts 2 and On (it's an embarrassingly long list), plus A Few I Wouldn't Touch With a 10-Foot Pole