But before we turn the page to 2012, we thought we’d get our Top 10 season underway…

We have our annual lists of Top 10 albums from all of our staff, as well as some of the bands on the Chop Shop Record label in the coming days/weeks, but first we thought we’d kick it off with an old Chop Shop Blog favorite: Who We Are!

If you are familiar with this Blog, you know that every so often everyone on staff at Chop Shop compiles a small list of things they are digging on at the moment in our Who We Are section. This is essentially your chance to stalk us. Plus, it’s a perfect way for our friends and family members (& Santa if you are reading this) to know what to get us for Christmas!

Enjoy!

>>> CHECK OUT WHO WE ARE HERE <<<

We are super duper excited about joining with Invisible Children for their Holiday Benefit shows! The organization is hosting two nights at The Troubadour here in LA, and we are honored to be curating the 2nd show on December 16th. Both nights are sure to be amazing so get your tickets and we would love to see you there!

Here’s the info you need (via Invisible Children)…

Tickets are $15 until December and then they go up to $20. Get them quick because this is going to sell out fast!

The first night is curated by Pete Wentz and Alternative Press Magazine and features some of our biggest supporters from throughout the years.

Jon Foreman (Switchfoot)

Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids)

Aaron Gillespie (The Almost)

Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou)

Ryan O’neal (Sleeping At Last)

The second night is curated by Alexandra Patsavas from Chop Shop Music who picks all of the amazing music for your favorite TV shows and films like Twilight, Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Private Practice, etc.

the Mountain Goats

Eric Johnson (Fruit Bats) + Andy Cabic (Vetiver) Acoustic

Ivan & Alyosha

La Sera

NO (free EP out now)

Keep following our blog for a mix tape of all the artists soon.

Purchase tickets here:

DEC 15th: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/78175?utm_medium=bks

DEC 16th: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/78179?utm_medium=bks

Ps.. please Tweet the artists to tell them Thank You.. .and a very special thanks to our sponsors at The Stash Box

But we don’t just listen to music…we are much deeper than that. Well, maybe that’s a little bit of a stretch, but just go with it. Every so often we like to let you all know what stuff we are into at the moment, and now is one of those times.

In honor of us passing the 7,000 follower mark on Twitter, we thought we’d give you a fresh Top 10 of things we like from each person on our Chop Shop staff.

Intrigued? I thought so.

Check it out HERE!

Enjoy and thanks for hanging around with us!

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood – “Some Velvet Morning”

Over on the Twitter machine, @chopshopmusic recently passed 7,000 followers! Not too shabby for a little music company in South Pasadena, eh? We really do appreciate all of you who keep up with all the fun stuff we get to be a part of here at Chop Shop, so we thought we’d throw a few things on the BLOG for everyone to enjoy.

Part 1 of our appreciation comes in the form of a Song Of The Day from the one and only, Ms. Alexandra Patsavas. It’s a classic, so enjoy!

Part 2 will come down the pipe tomorrow morning. Hint: it might involve another well known portion of the BLOG.

AIR – “Kelly Watch The Stars”

It is that time again…NEW TOP 10′S! Once again, all of us here at Chop Shop have put together our own lists of stuff we are into at the moment. As a special little bonus, we went ahead and posted a photo of us during our younger years too. How cute were we??

Check it out in the Who We Are section!

We want to hear from you too…

What would make your Top 10?

Who was the cutest kid?

Post in the comments section below!

Check out this great article from Rolling Stone breaking down ‘The 7 Best Musical Moments of Mad Men’. Much credit needs to go to the genius of show creator Matt Weiner, who has played an integral role in shaping the music for Mad Men. Hope you enjoy re-living some of these key moments from the office of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Mad Men Season 4 DVD is available March 29th. Click here to Pre-order!

Our fearless leader, Ripley is turning 5 years old today! As you can tell by the photo, he is thrilled and and ready to party. So as the defender and patriarch of the Chop Shop family, Ripley has decided to select his very first Song Of The Day for the Blog. After much deliberation and intermittent napping, Ripley’s choice proves that he definitely has the best music taste of any pup out there.

Broken Bells – “Meyrin Fields”

Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields by jp917

Enjoy! (Bark!)

Just in case you missed it…the staff here at Chop Shop has updated all of our favorite things in the Who We Are section of this BLOG. If for some reason you actually care about what we care about, then check it out. If not, well then don’t…I guess. You don’t have to be so mean!

CLICK HERE FOR THE GOODS!!

The basic criteria for our selections are simple…it’s the stuff, places, music, people, experiences that we love. Would love to know what makes your Top 10 favorite things of the moment. Feel free to post yours in the comments section below…

KASEY

There is a song called “Don’t Go to Klaksvik” by Leif Vollebekk.  I heard the song and immediately fell in love with it. At first, I thought Klaksvik was a euphemism for “crazy” or something.  Then I googled it and found a photo (above).

I have been in awe ever since. I must go there.  Klaksvik is a town on the island Borooy, which is part of the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands are halfway between Great Britain and Iceland.

I don’t do well in cold weather, but I still must go to Klaksvik.

I don’t care what the song says.

JOHN

I am pretty obsessed with Vans.  Not the kind that Cheech & Chong rode around in, but the good ol’ Skate & Surf company from Southern California.  I distinctly remember back to Los Angeles in 1975 when I got my first pair of red and blue lace-ups.  The only other widely available color at the time was yellow and blue.  Soon after there was dark blue and light blue.  From then on, the options just kept growing.  Sure, they stopped making them in USA a while ago, but they at least held on longer than most.  These days, you can get seemingly infinite styles and designs plus limited edition signature pairs ranging from Tony Alva to Slayer to The Simpsons.  Mark Jacobs even had an amazing run of several designs a couple years back.  My current favorite is the Chukka Low.  It’s old school; pretty straightforward (though certainly nuanced in its design); and super comfortable, durable and multi-functional.  My favorite model is the Chima Ferguson in Navy/Red with a super cool red pinstripe around the white base of the shoe.  As the guy at Val Surf said, “dude, that’s such a sick colorway.”  I also recommend the black/gum,white/white (with the black pinstripe) and the sliver Alex Olson’s.  In addition, their current Core Basic Zip Hoodie is top notch.  At $39, their spin on collegiate couture brigs quality, affordability and style.  The Gray Heather is simply classic.  James Perse should take note (and not break my bank).

BRITTANY

Since my husband and I rescued our boxer Ruby in August, we have started hiking and exploring the outdoors pretty much every weekend.  The place that we end up most of the time is the Eaton Canyon Nature Center which is a great starting point to hike various trails.  There are many different hikes that people of all fitness levels can do, starting at anywhere from 1.5 miles to around 15 miles roundtrip.  Our favorite walk is up towards the Eaton Canyon Waterfall, which is around 4 miles from start to finish and fairly leisurely.  The great part about it is that there are so many different places for our dog to cool down in the water, as well as unbelievable scenery that most of the time leaves you forgetting that you are in LA.  The Henninger Flats hike is definitely a bit more strenuous, but it’s worth it.  It takes you uphill for quite a while and on a clear day has some of the best views the city has to offer.  I highly recommend checking it out, it’s such a beautiful place.

ALEX

Top 5 Things of the Moment:

Ray Pettibon
The Lazy Ox
The Barefoot Contessa
Lee Hazelwood + Nancy Sinatra
Missoni

JUSTIN

The Daft Punk Tron Legacy Soundtrack  This may be the last album I am truly excited for this year.  Our robot friends have taken this opportunity to experiment outside of the electronic box, and employed a 90 piece orchestra to complete their epic score.  It’s out in stores now, but if you still want to try before you buy, Myspace was kind enough to post this lengthy mix of some of the album’s highlights.  Daft Punk has created an electrifying blend of the analog and digital worlds that will surely enhance the dazzling effects on screen.  I don’t think they could have found anyone better fit for the subject matter.  Can’t wait to see this one in theaters.

MATT

My daily attire consists primarily of jeans, cons, a t-shirt, & a hoodie. So whenever I can find some quality items to enter into the rotation, it’s a good thing. Awhile back, my friend started designing shirts for his band This Providence and had a lot of fun with it, so he teamed up with a friend to create Make Believe Clothing Co. The winter 2010 line just came out and it is super rad. I can’t wait to get some of the new stuff…especially the hoodie!

GINGER

I recently went to an awesome spa at the Beverly Hilton Hotel called Aqua Star. I had a message and facial (called The Jetsetter)  which was phenomenal! What tops this spa on my list is their pool that sits next to the tikki restaurant and bar – Trader Vic’s. Trader Vic’s is known for inventing the original Mai Tai in 1944 and introducing it to the Hawaiian Islands in the 1950’s. The music playing by the pool was from the ‘50s era so it was  reminiscent of old Hollywood. I couldn’t have found a better spa anywhere!