Music fan? “Live” Playlist for you. For Free.

This morning, I was talking on the phone with a friend about the new music he liked. Within seconds, I started playing the full length albums on his list. I love this!

If one of your great joys is discovering new music, playing old favorites or making mixes for friends, check out Rhapsody. Each time I use it, I feel like I walked into Amoeba (record store) with a gift certificate in the amount of “carte blanche.”

For free, you can listen to 25 tracks/month. When you want to hear more (and it’s likely you will), get a subscription for $10/month.* A small popup web player is all you need to listen.

Here are artists & albums that have caught my ear lately. Play the music for free. Check out what Rhapsody has to offer.

By the way, Rhapsody is the music engine for A Sound Match. Insert your own “live” playlists to your profile and emails.

Lynne’s 10 Blog Songs (click to play or download the web player)

[You can play one, stop the player, and move on to search for your own tracks to play for free on rhapsody.com]

Jose Gonzalez-Slow Moves
Pinback-Seville (demo)
Pop Levi-(A style called) Crying Chic
Rodrigo y Gabriela-Diablo Rojo
The Avett Bros-Matrimony
The Features-Walk You Home
The Shins-Sea Legs
Elbow-Leaders of the Free World
Gotan Project-Mi Confesion
Cal Tjader(Verve Remixed)-Los Banditos

*[Note: Get it now to lock in $10. Sadly, the fee increases to $12.99/mo as of June 1. It's Mac + PC-friendly. For a bit more, you can also put the music on your mp3 player and take it with you anywhere.]

He’s Just Not That Into You: Personal Rules of Dating as a Guide for Doing Business

Dating is rarely straightforward.  To stay sane, I have developed strategies to help guide me through the confusion and frustration.

Business should be straightforward. But it’s not. Often, I find myself tackling the same issues. Is it too soon to call? What did he mean by that? It’s been weeks, does this mean he’s not that into me?

I wondered. What if I applied my personal rules of dating to uncomfortable business situations?

One golden rule of dating: The beginning of a relationship should feel mutual and effortless.

Even the best relationships have their challenges. No need to start early. It may be time to let go after a few dates if something doesn’t feel quite right. Even if the dates are thrilling. So far, this rule has well served me. Why not apply this rule to new business relationships?

I was recently introduced to a business contact who was described as “the one” to help A Sound Match move forward. I was intrigued and eager to connect. It took effort to get him on the phone, but we had a great call. He said he was interested and wanted to meet me. Only, it took weeks to reach him again to set up a meeting during the few days I was traveling in his area. Did I imagine his interest? At last, we arranged to meet with only a few hours to spare before my flight left town. Before we met, I felt skeptical about whether this guy was for me.

But … the meeting was great! We spent three hours together. I liked his ideas and energy. His enthusiasm for my business was clear. Working with him could be the very thing I needed. I was ready to get down to business and willing to overlook my initial skepticism. I felt thrilled.

Only, we met several weeks ago and I haven’t heard from him since. I emailed once and waited. It was tempting to reach out again. But, experience told me to step back to see if he liked me as much as I liked him. Guess he’s just not that into me. With little invested, the pain of withdrawal is minimal. Rather than get tangled in a new relationship that was already showing signs of pending confusion and frustration, it feels right to move on and find another relationship that feels mutual and effortless. No hard feelings.

Some people hate to date because of the rejection. I think it’s a gift. Over and over, the experience guides me through other important life decisions. Wouldn’t trade it for a thing.