Targa Team | Targa Media

The Songs that Bring us Joy

by Jason Steed | Dec 15, 2020 | Targa Team

Jason Steed

Owner & CEO

The Songs that Bring us Joy

Holiday traditions have indeed been a bit non-traditional this season. But as Elf taught us, “singing loud for all to hear” is a sure-fire way to make everything a little more cheerful—and it works with non-holiday songs too.

With that in mind, each member of the Targa team picked out five of the songs that are sure to bring us joy all year long—even with a pandemic raging, murder hornets on rampage, earthquakes rattling the dishes in the cabinets, wildfires ravaging forests, and well… whatever else we have to stomach. Take a look at our favorite songs and the reasons we love them—hopefully they can bring you a little joy along the way.

What are your favorites? We’re happy to consider them for our next power playlist.

Jason’s Picks

The Dance – Fleetwood Mac
Back in 1998 Huddleston Malone Design gave us designers an all-day team building exercise. At one point we were each gifted $100 bills and instructed to spend it all on ourselves within an hour. After a new pair of basketball shoes and some saltwater taffy, I was running out of time, with more money to spend. I spotted Fleetwood Mac’s 1997 The Dance CD to finish off my shopping spree and race back to the office. Well, 22 years later my iTunes tells me this is my most listened to album. I’m not surprised. Enjoy!

Paper in Fire – John Mellencamp
I know I should claim this as a high school favorite, but for some reason I overlooked John Mellencamp for too long. In 2016 I was sitting in Del Taco snarfing down a stuffed burrito when Paper in Fire caught my attention through fuzzy overhead speakers. I can’t even put my finger on why the song was so captivating (I’m even a self-proclaimed musical psychoanalyst). But since then I’ve reintroduced myself to several JCM tunes—especially this one.

Politik – Coldplay
My brother introduced me to Coldplay with a surprise CD, Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head. Not sure how he tagged me as a sure-to-be fan, but I love their styles for layering simple melody motifs to create new structures and moods. They’re very similar to U2 in that respect, yet they managed to find their own unique style. I couldn’t tell you what the song “Politik” is even about, but I stay captivated through the entire song.

No Need to Argue – The Cranberries
I gave little attention to this 3-minute song as the last song of the album, until one of my shuffled playlists brought it to the top. It’s such a simple arrangement—a soft Wurlitzer organ accompaniment—but it has such a poignant build and retreat. I saw The Cranberries at a small Salt Lake City club in 1993 before they were really anybody. I remember there was a rowdy opening band, and the mosh pit continued as the Cranberries took stage. Dolores didn’t know what to do about all the riffraff, and even asked the stage hands to gaff tape the mic stand to the stage so the front row fans wouldn’t keep pushing it around. But no doubt, a great concert!

Royal Station 4/16 – Melissa Etheridge
Melissa is one of only a few artists I’ve recently seen in concert. Rewind 30 years earlier when I was first introduced to her Brave and Crazy album while I was serving a church mission in Vienna, Austria. Melissa’s final song, Royal Station, demonstrates the perfect formula for an encore piece: It starts personal and direct, then the inescapable build of energy, and the improvised finale. Melissa keeps my attention through all 7 minutes with her pleading vocals, steel acoustic slides, and percussion that feels like a heavy but unstoppable train engine.

Taleen’s Picks

Ain’t It Fun – Paramore
I first heard Hayley Williams sing a live set when she was 16 years old. The power and control behind such a young voice just blew me away. I’ve been a fan ever since. I love this song, especially cuz it reminds me not to take life too seriously. Paramore is a great go-to alternative band in the Taleen Life Soundtrack.

Level of Concern – Twenty One Pilots
Played for me first by my eighteen-year-old son, this song has become a favorite of mine during quarantine. Way to make a love song out of a global pandemic, Twenty One Pilots!

The album artwork of the goo goo dolls album dizzy up the girl

September – Earth, Wind & Fire
This is a Taleen standard. You will find this song on almost ALL of my playlists no matter their theme. This song never fails to make me feel happy and energized. Who doesn’t need a little disco in their lives???

Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
You could call me an old soul when it comes to music. Raised by a musician father in the late 70’s, I can sing almost any song from the decade you play for me. Fleetwood Mac remains a favorite of mine. This song in particular has recently been finding new life as a TikTok track. You can create a whole world “vibe” with the right music, and I’m loving the content. #dreamsfleetwoodmac

Cruel Summer – Kari Kummer
I tend to be a purist when it comes to music. I am not often a fan of covers or remixes. This one however gets the Taleen stamp of approval. I really dig the darker vibe of this version, and if you haven’t watched Cobra Kai you really should!

Acoustic #3 – Goo Goo Dolls
To wrap up I leave you with my all time favorite track from my all time favorite band. If you get a chance to see them live I highly recommend the experience. Their catalog of music is always on repeat in my life. I love music and love the way it can carry us though all the moments in our life, good, bad and everything in between.

Maddie’s Picks

The Graveyard Near the House – The Airborne Toxic Event
Okay, Mikel Jollett is a writer. I knew that before his recent foray into memoir writing (check out Hollywood Park—I haven’t yet, but it’s probably great.) This this song demonstrates exactly what I love about The Airborne Toxic Event. They sing about love and religion and belonging—well-covered topics—but they do it in a totally new and fresh way. This is a song about love. Tell me you’ve heard any other love song like this one.

Loyalties Among Thieves – New Politics
New Politics have a great anthemic sound. Their best songs are the ones you can scream alone in a car or with hundreds of other people at a concert. Not to mention that they put on a great show live. This song is classic New Politics: catchy chorus and rebellion-centric lyrics.

the album artwork of the plain white ts album american nights

Better – OneRepublic
Ryan Tedder is a legend. Not only does he have OneRepublic, he’s written smash hits for dozens of other artists, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Kelly Clarkson among them. That being said, this song resonates with me on an entirely different level. Having dealt with some bouts of anxiety and depression myself, “Better” is a testament to Ryan Tedder’s ability to capture what it is to be human and turn it into a total jam.

Stay – Plain White T’s
Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve got a Plain White T’s obsession. They were my first concert back in 2011 and my most recent concert about a year ago. The T’s have a classic sound that never gets old for me. Simple lyrics (often with some clever, catch-it-on-the-eighth-listen wordplay) and no over-the-top electronics. Just vocals, guitar, bass, and drums in 90% of their songs—Stay exemplifies the best of the T’s.

Body Parts – Plain White T’s
Okay, I wasn’t going to put any repeat artists, but how else would I demonstrate my love for the T’s? I figure it’s alright because lead singer Tom Higgenson takes a back seat to guitarist Tim Lopez for this one. This song has been important to me for a long time. I love the personification throughout, and the way it freshens up a cliché metaphor by turning to the literal. “My heart was talking to my head, saying ‘I’ve loved once, I’ll never love again.’” Good, clever writing.

Rachel’s Picks

All female voices this round, saving the gods of metal for another day…

Roads – Portishead
Roads by Portishead has been with me since junior high. Moody and self-indulgent, and I enjoy it every time I hear it.

Phenomena – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are pure rock n roll joy. All their albums are played on the regular at my house. Phenomena is up-beat and still pretty tough.

The album artwork of the Portishead album Dummy

The Sweetest Taboo – Sade
Sade is central because I just can’t stop listening to her. The band is amazing and it mellows me right out. The Sweetest Taboo is my favorite love song, at least, right now it is.

Heartbeats – The Knife
Heartbeats by The Knife is not my usual but it makes me happy. I remember hearing it at parties back when I would stay up all night on purpose.

How – The Cranberries
The Cranberries! Need I say more?

We’d love to hear about the songs that keep you going through the tough times, and dancing through the good times. Hopefully our carefully-curated playlist of favorites will help get you through 2021, and whatever it may bring!

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Working from Home: How the Targa Team Takes Care of Business Remotely

by Maddie Gray | Jun 11, 2020 | Targa Team

Maddie Gray

Content Lead

Working from Home: How the Targa Team Takes Care of Business Remotely

Working from home looks different for everyone. Different distractions, different setups, and frankly, different productivity levels. At Targa Media, working from home has always been one of our default settings. We love collaborating in the office and bouncing ideas off of one another, but we usually set aside a day or two to work remotely. In other words, we were really lucky heading into this quarantine, because we already had experience working from home.

Now we could offer you tips and tricks to make working from home more productive, but since everyone’s environment is completely different—some people have pets, some have children, some have a designated office space, some don’t. So instead, we’ll offer a window into our work from home spaces. Maybe you’ll gain a little insight, or maybe you’ll just satisfy a little curiosity you didn’t know you had.

Jason, CEO

As a lifelong musician, it seems fitting that I’ve set up my work-from-home shop in the piano room. Until we finish the basement, it’s really the best option. Our family moved in just a few weeks before the COVID-19 quarantine, and for the most part we’re unpacked from the move. The thing is, as furnishings find their way to the piano room, my home-office real estate is quickly diminishing. So here I am, at my stand-up desk (no room to sit down), loving my Logitech Webcam and Macbook Pro, taunted by the Young Chang grand piano daring me to take a music break to accompany my constantly-singing 17-year-old daughter (Theater major.) Fortunately, there’s room to sit at the piano.

Taleen, Project Manager

I have turned one of our home’s extra rooms into my work haven. I live with a day-sleeper which comes with its own set of challenges. I wear headphones most of the day, so I don’t disturb him while I take meetings, listen to music, or tune in for my favorite spooky podcast, Lore. Surrounding my desk are things that make me happy: my lava lamp, my Mackie speakers (once the day-sleeper is awake things get LOUD around here,) old ticket stubs for events I never want to forget, and pictures from all the theatre productions I have been a part of over the years. My two miniature dachshunds (Otis and Ginger) have a bed under my desk and are always close by. They help remind me when it’s time to take breaks. They love to get snacks from the kitchen or take a lap around the house to stretch our legs.

Maddie, Copywriter

I’m lucky enough to have a home office with four walls and a door. I’ve loaded it up with Harry Potter merchandise, concert memorabilia, and other geekery. It’s one of my happy places. My puppy (who is actually a full-grown dog at this point,) Xena, lays under my desk—often on top of my feet—all day. She is the true winner of this work-from-home situation. I don’t know how she’ll cope when all this is over.

I need background music at all times when I’m working. At home, that means rewatching TV shows I’ve seen a million times (currently Monk,) listening to true crime podcasts, or playing Airborne Toxic Event’s new album on repeat.

Oh. And I definitely wear pajamas. ALL. DAY.

Rachel, Art Director

My apartment is in a busy neighborhood downtown, and my significant other works odd hours, so my WFH approach attempts to keep distractions at a minimum. Luckily, we have a spare room that is my dedicated office space. I keep it pretty sparse since it also serves as my home gym, laundry room, and auxiliary closet. Typical apartment dwelling! With my desk next to a huge west-facing window, I have a lot of natural light and a view over the city. That goes a long way to keeping me sane and focused. Music helps drown out most of the city and boyfriend noise, but when that isn’t enough, I can take my laptop, earbuds, and wireless mouse to one of the nearby cafes. Of course, that would mean I’d have to get dressed, which is not in the cards on most work-from-home days.

Even within our small team, work from home conditions are very different. What has working from home been like for you? Do you dread the day you have to go back to the office, or are you chomping at the bit to get back to that familiar cubicle?

Whatever the case may be, we wish you the smoothest quarantine possible. Let us know if you need any help with marketing, or if you have any work-from-home tips to share.

Jason’s Take

If you’re in the marketing space, you’re seeing how many of the familiar marketing rules are up in the air right now. I’ve been asked if I think marketing is “on hold” during worldwide quarantine. I feel the best approach is “re-toned marketing” rather than “revised marketing.” Fortunately all the same rules apply, but the circumstances for many of your clients are much different now. So the order of the rules are a bit shuffled. I’ll have more to say on this in a follow-on post, but I feel it’s a good time to go back to marketing basics.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask the important questions, “Where are my customers looking for valuable, non-biased information?” Or, “Where do my customers draw the line between empathetic messaging and exploitative messaging?” It’s eerily a fine line right now. How do you say, “Hey, we’re still here for you during these difficult times” without actually saying those thoroughly exhausted words? Most of all, think of your fine-tuned marketing messages as a “lane change” rather than an “offramp.” Be true to core brand values, and your customers will be true to you.

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