First off, Frank wanted me to tell you thanks for checking out his video book review in the last post.

(We’ll pretend that I am not speaking about myself in the third person, k?)

I think this is the best assessment of Frank’s accent at the time of this writing, and it comes from my friend Jim: “Your accent sounds like if Bjork did an impression of The Count.”

I also want to take this opportunity to tell you, oh loyal Frankophiles, that my ability to update this blog regularly over the next few weeks may or may not be impacted by another new career move. As I figure my schedule out, I will work hard to give you a weekly dose of something here. And don’t worry — it’ll probably continue to be weird. I’m going to start a [hopefully humorous] series, possibly called “Why Am I So Neurotic?!”  — you’ll just have to wait until you see it.

So anyway, Mondays are a bummer. I’ve got a bit of a #MusicMonday for you, but in the spirit of Frankasaurus, I’m calling it Dino Jams. These are my five picks, upbeat and current (though not all necessarily mainstream) and I think they’re rather catchy. They’ve been helping me get pumped and shake off any bad moods.

1-2-3-HIT IT!

Airborne Toxic Event – “Changing”

I dare you to listen to that and tell me you weren’t bouncing around just a little bit.

I won’t hear one more word about changing, changing.

The Shins – “Simple Song”

I just want to give some big ups to Zach Braff for introducing me (and probably lots of other people) to The Shins via the Garden State soundtrack back in 2004. This is off of their new album.

“I know that things can really get rough when you go it alone. Don’t go thinking you gotta be tough and play like a stone”

Love. It. Also, I may or may not sing this song frequently into my mostly unused TV remote. Don’t hate.

Florence + The Machine – “Shake It Out”

I’m not really a big Florence fan, and sometimes, in an epic move of Shakespeare nerdery, I refer to her as “Friar Lawrence and The Machine” (for no real reason), but I can’t stop listening to this song. It makes me feel so happy. Why? Because it’s hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off. (Oh-whoa-oh.)

And I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t. So here’s to drinks in the dark and the end of my rope.

I double-dog-dare you to listen to this and NOT get it stuck in your head. Go ahead. Try it.

Ryan Adams – “Lucky Now”

Had to get some singer/songwriter action in here. This song is really neither happy nor sad. I just like it.

I feel like somebody I don’t know. Are we really who we used to be?

Gotye – “Somebody That I Used To Know”

In about three weeks, I will probably be sick of this song, and maybe you already are. However…  you know how you get fixated on a song that just seems to fit with you at the moment? That’s how I feel about this one. Who knows. Maybe we all know someone who one day suddenly adopts a “you are dead to me” or “I will only acknowledge you when I can’t find at least 5 other better things to do” policy toward us. Shrug.

But you didn’t have to cut me off, make out like it never happened and that we were nothing. And I don’t even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough.

…Also, James Van Der Beek recommended this song on Twitter one day and said it was like walking through an indie art movie or something. And we all know that I do everything James Van Der Beek tells me to do (buying the Motorola Droid was, in retrospect, a horrible idea. Thanks, Dawson).

So… what are your current dino jams?