(Lio videos)
Amoureux Solitaires, 1980
Sage comme une image, 1980
Amicalement votre, 1981
Les matins de Paris (Teki Latex), 2007
(a happy ending)
WHAT?! No more CD101.9?! I don't even know what to believe in anymore, if they can just overnight turn New York's Home for Smooth Jazz into The New York Rock Experience. Rock "Experience"? Really? There's money in rock radio now? Reeeally. Maybe whatever Marketing Genius™ is behind that should just give me all their money instead, as I would indeed put it to much better use on important things such as coffee and bus passes.
I guess this is what the world needs to give up in order to get CBS-FM back, if in diluted form, after that horrible ROCK EXPERIENCE that we all have to endure if we are in a CBS/Viacom radio market. I miss hearing the Association and the Foundations every hour on the hour. I need that kind of consistency in my life.
Seriously, though, CD101.9 is dearly important to me. My old roommate played it all the time. All day long. All the time. All the time. I'm not exaggerating, there was a boom box in the kitchen that was on and set to CD101.9 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all the time, all the time. All the time. Al Jarreau. Stanley Jordan. Spyro Gyra. David Sandborn. All the time. All the time. For what it's worth, I suppose it's on a permanent loop in my head so I wouldn't need it anyway (7 years of that, people, 7 years!!!) but it's the principle of the thing. FOWAD, 2 Columbus Circle, are any cornerstones of my city left? (Honest, I just took a Google Street View tour of my old neighborhood and freaked myself the F out.)
There is a long-winded explanation why this song is my head. Long story short: This song is in my head, and I share it with you.
I need more structure and joy in my life (who doesn't?) so I'm going to start posting objects that bring me joy. YOU LOVE IT.
There are few objects in this world that bring me more joy than Les Desmoiselles de Rochefort, or as they say in America, The Young Girls of Rochefort. I wish this movie was a documentary about my life. I still remember sitting in a screening with all these smug assholes snickering (snickering! I mean really) because they didn't have the STONES to face the magnificence of ecstatic zazz without getting all defensive about it. Man, F those people. Anyway, here's a wake-up call to awesome in the form of the trailer. Subtitles? Shut up, you don't need 'em!
Dude, when I looked this up I found a BONUS object of joy, which is, holy shit, Patrick Juvet (!) and Amanda F-ing Lear (!!!) performing the signature "La chanson des jumelles"--oh my God, my brain just melted.
That was a more progressive time, 1979. In France. Ah heck, we need some bonus Amanda mugging with D.B. during "The 1980 Floor Show":
Aww, that's love! And when the song was over, they all snorted the set. Finally "Queen of Chinatown," in which she tells a story in song ... and hand gestures!
I like that one a lot. She sounds like Al Stewart. I feel happier now, don't you?
Yes, today marks the fourth anniversary of the day I married ah-one Christopher Robin Zimmerman (you must read that in a Megan from "Wake Up Wakefield" voice), so in celebration of our glorious union, here is one of our favorite songs. I dare you to avoid getting emotional.
Oh man. We totally need to go to Chicago to spend St. Patrick's Day with Egyptian Lover. Who's with me?
If this video doesn't convince you, then I don't know what to do, son.
If anyone can remind me what I sang tonight, now would be the time to do it:
"Girl Don't Come" by Sandie Shaw
"Magic" by Pilot
"Driver's Seat" by Sniff 'n' the Tears
"Sucked Out" by Superdrag
"Big Bang Baby" by Stone Temple Pilots
Oh yeah, that's it.
It's nice to know my ears don't always fail me.
I saw the new Old Navy ad with one of them FASH, ON. jingles, right, and I suddenly went
AHH HOLY SHIT
I know who that is, but ...
am I crazy?
I went to Chicago and saw Scritti Politti and it was great! I'm tired! I have to sleep! Bye!
I have a sudden insane need to listen to August Everywhere by Blinker the Star and I can't find it. I can't find it. Well, I know where it is, it is in one of the dozens upon dozens boxes of CDs and records that are stashed in the "storage" bedroom, hopefully not crushing one another after two years of being stacked on top of one another. I never put it into iTunes and I need to hear it now now now and iTMS doesn't sell it and I desperately need to hear it. I have two copies of it even! (A promo and a finished copy!) You know what I do have is a 7" of ... something, with a sparkly cover, which I bought for like $1 when Let It Be was going out of business last year, but I don't think that's even a single off the album and the only way I could listen to it right now is if I, like, played it with a fingernail. (Which totally works, by the way! I used to do that with my "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 45! But I don't want to do that with THAT.)
I have it on a MiniDisc, so maybe I need to dig the MD equipment up and out to hear it. But I need to hear it. I desperately need to hear it. Can anyone hook me up? James, you're Canadian, c'mon, you must have it around someplace. I need to hear it. I need to hear it.
(N.B., this is after two nice pint-sized [not pint-sized as in small but pint-sized as in a pint] screwdrivers made with Shakers Rose and Chambord. LOVE IT. I live.) (Ohmigod I said it!)
If you love Steely Dan and Luke Wilson the way I love Steely Dan and Luke Wilson, this may be the greatest thing you've ever read.
August Everywhere. Do you have it? Please give me it.
I can do this one! It requires almost NO effort! It also probably requires me to be 15 years old, but whatever. Thank you, Scott.
1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question.
3.) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4.) Don't be petty enough to cheat on something as ridiculous as an online "meme" determined completely by chance, please.
1.) How am I feeling today?
"The Village Green Preservation Society" by the Kinks
2.) Where will I get married?
"Always ... " by Claudia Brücken
3.) What is my best friend's theme song?
"New Brat in Town" by the Auteurs ... hahahaha
4.) What is/was high school like?
"Charading Chauffeurs in Wait" by Ennio Morricone
5.) What is the best thing about me?
"Lanternlight" by Peter & the Wolves
6.) How is today going to be?
"Lovin' Him Was Easier" by Arthur Lyman -- oh, my
7.) What is in store for this weekend?
"No Rainbows for Me" by Saint Etienne (I swear this is totally random)
8.) What song describes my parents?
"Time Out From the World" by Goldfrapp
9.) How is my life going?
"Naughty Boy" by Ron Rogers
10.) What song will they play at my funeral?
"Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo" by the Alan Price Set -- OMG
11.) How does the world see me?
"Green Typewriters I" by the Olivia Tremor Control
12.) What do my friends really think of me?
"Against the Sky" by Vashti Bunyan (that's DEEP, man)
13.) Do people secretly lust after me?
"Love Removal Machine" by the Cult -- ahahahahaha
14.) How can I make myself happy?
"Let's Do the Latin Hustle" by Klaus Wonderlich & His New Pop Organ Sound. YES.
15.) What should I do with my life?
"Roller Girl" by Anna Karina and Serge Gainsbourg (it's like I'm SAYING.)
16.) Will I ever have children?
"Tut, tut, tut, tut (Busy Signal)" by Gillian Hills
17.) What is some good advice?
"The Further I Slide" by Badly Drawn Boy
18.) What do I think my current theme song is?
"Writing Wrongs" by the Monkees
19.) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"Point Me at the Sky" by Pink Floyd -- hahahaha
20.) What type of men/women do you like?
"Un jour comme un autre" by Brigitte Bardot
21.) Will you get married?
"Sunrise at Kowloon" by Les Baxter
22.) What should I do with my love life?
"Why Should I Cry Over You?" by Frank Sinatra ... well I'll be.
24.) Where will you live?
"Kino" by Cabaret Voltaire
25.) What will your dying words be?
"Another Satellite" by XTC. Whoa.
I'm a little frightened.
In which I continue my streak of Staraokeing things I have never Staraoked before.
I feel I successfully disenfranchised myself from almost the entire room, FYI.
Michael McDonald~~~~~~~~~
'Sup nerds. So you know what's great about going to Staraoke when there's practically no one there is that you can do all the songs you want to do and do a whole lot of them and it's totally OK and great. But what did I do though.
One of these days I'll talk about J-Will going to the Heat. WHAT'S UP MIAMI, CAN YOU FEEL THE HEAT. That was my Ricky Martin impression. Thank you.
*first-time-ever duet w/ the Mr.
There's a record store in town where I used to go in high school all the time to get all my jangly alternative rock records and whatnot. I remember going there one time and buying the soundtrack to The Magic Christian instead of Stump's A Fierce Pancake and many years later I would look back on that like it was a mistake! Because I really wanted that Stump record, oh man. I found it eventually on GEMM. Real cheap too!
ANYWAY.
When I moved back here, I ended up working on the other end of the block from the record store, so just like when I used to work across the street from Sephora, this was a Sexy Shopping Danger. I liked to go in there and spend money.
ANYWAY.
The building is being torn down (condos!!!) and the store is going out of business.
This makes me sad!
I mean it's not like I went there for the 15 years I was not living in Minneapolis or anything, and it's not even in the same building I used to go to, but I have memories. And now, the store has discounts.
I went in today and spent more money on records than I have in a zillion zillion years. I mean I don't even know if I've spent this much at one time ever. (I think I have.) But there were so many great things in there I waaaaaanted and figured oh hey, I don't have to spend top dollar on them or anything and I am helping to fund the store owner's retirement and yay.
What I didn't know was that Ze Records was BACK, and that it reissued a bunch of Cristina stuff last year. No idea! I even have Sleep It Off on a real actual record and have had it for a long time unlike all them HIPSTERS. But this other stuff, I don't think I've ever even seen it.
So that was exciting.
Then I go to the Ze site to get the art and discover that they will be reissuing the LIO CATALOG! and I got extra excited.
Maybe this will turn into Kenneth Anger/Fantoma II, but I have faith. They did a good job on these Cristina reissues, I have to say.
So there's sad music news and glad music news.
The store is also silent-auctioning off its memorabilia on the walls and stuff, so I put in a bid on a poster. Not even an old poster or anything, and in fact I already have a poster for this album, but I've admired it since I've been back and I figured it'd be nice to have a little something something from the store that doesn't go WAY back to ages ago, like I don't think I really deserve that.
They also had this awesome Reprise record label clock up behind the counter, but I think that's gone already. Oh well.
I need to take pictures of the building before it gets torn down because it has some cool original signage and paintage and, you know, that'll be toast soon enough.
Oh my goodness gracious, what have I done re: Staraoke
Oh and then there was a time a few days ago when we went and oh what happened then
I was originally going to do "Son of My Father" in the style of Chicory Tip third, but the disc didn't work proper.
They just added "Baker Street" to the book and next time we go, I'm totally doing it. Totally totally totally.
Did you know Chris' birthday is on 6/7? You need to clear your calendar for Staraoke like immediately.
xoxo
k!
Things I'm wondering right now:
*I REMEMBER! It was why no Ismail Merchant obits were mentioning the majesty and wonder and sheer awesomeness that is Slaves of New York. Oh man. Hated the book, love love love the movie.
Tonight I surpassed 20,000 songs on my iTunes and didn't even notice it. I'm tired. Through forensic analysis, It appears song #20,000 was "Non-Stop to Brazil" by Astrud Gilberto, from The Shadow of Your Smile (1964). Yay Astrud Gilberto.
I was all set to make a big post, but then I launched ecto and it told me there was an update, so I updated and lost all will to post. UNTIL NOW.
Basically, I'm excited because there's a new Saint Etienne single coming out, and it's here. It's great. It's all about courting death while you're walking home, which is fantastic. "Got cash in my pocket to last the weekend/ And I got features I quite like and don't mind keeping." Sarah's driving a white Mini in the video. It's like some kind of sign!
See, I decided the thing to keep me working is the promise that I might make enough money to buy a Mini. A pepper white Mini Cooper S with black stripes. That is my vision and my motivation.
Also, I have no idea if there's just crazy crime around here, or maybe I just notice it more because I have to deal with it at work on a daily basis. Living in NYC I guess I never paid it much mind, because if it wasn't like completely brutal, it didn't make the news and I never heard about it? Like I'd hear about the homeless dude who smacked people over the head with bricks, or the serial hypo stabbings, or when all those people got murdered at Wendy's and Primal Scream dedicated a song to them when they played at Hammerstein Ballroom.
But here, random fondlings? Bank robberies? Dudes on BMX bikes robbing people on their front lawns at gunpoint? That's everyday stuff everywhere and I think hmm, how strange. Then again, I actually have to pay attention to local crime every day now, so I suppose my views have become a little distorted.
Anyway, this ties into the new Saint Etienne song because I was just thinking about all the dangerous-walking-home scenarios in my life, like riding home on the subway and walking back to my apartment plastered at 4 a.m., alone, and the only time I ever felt threatened was that time the sidewalk was paved with rats like I'd walked into the Secret of NIMH.
I don't feel threatened around here, but should I be? I don't know. I probably should have constantly felt threatened when I was in New York, but when you take the M96 from First Avenue to Broadway in the middle of the night enough times, you begin to think you're immune to everything.
That's kind of what the song is about, I guess. OK. That's what I was trying to get to.
Anyway, this all becomes fascinating when you take into account that some woman got sexually assaulted last week in the middle of the day around Marquette and 8th Street, which is basically the Minneapolis equivalent of raping someone in the middle of Rockefeller Center in broad daylight. It's ludicrous.
Plus double plus, who wants to go near Marquette in the first place? Every other entryway is a frigging parking garage thruway. You will get mowed the F over. Also, the sidewalk is about three feet wide. Give me a break.
Now, what makes this SUPER hilarious is that Metro Transit, or the City, or whatever, decided they're starting this new "experiment" where they're no longer running buses on Nicollet Mall between 6:30 and 11 p.m. on weekdays! Which is perfect timing, you know, because I actually like to take the bus because a) I'm lazy and b) if I walk across town I'll end up buying more shoes at Saks Off Fifth~~~. But that's my own personal problem -- just think of all the hot fun criminal opportunities opening up for everyone else to contend with.
Oh wait, here's the explanation about the bus shutdown business:
It is a test -- designed at the request of the City of Minneapolis and the downtown business community -- to see if the heart of the city could become even more livable by shifting buses to other streets.
I'm supposed to get out of work at 6, but I usually don't, or CAN'T, therefore I'm not able to hop a crosstown bus by 6:30. Therefore my options, if I'm not walking, would be to bus crosstown on Hennepin or on Marquette. Hahaha what?
It's not as bad as all that really -- I just wanted to make that map.
I really should have put little danger skulls around Gaviidae and Marshall Field's, but that would have taken too much effort. (I'm not shopping at Neiman Marcus anymore. We have "issues". You know, "Not putting merchandise in the customer's bag after the customer pays for it" issues.)
Hey look! I made my post after all.
Did you know Crow II is running again? He's right here and he says hi.
STARAOKE TONIGHT OMG WHAT HAPPENED
"Couldn't Get It Right" (Climax Blues Band)
"Hold on Loosely" (.38 Special)
"No Matter What" (Badfinger)
"Go All the Way" (the Raspberries)
I am awesome (clap clap clap-clap-clap) also LOTS AND LOTS OF BEER BEER BEER BEER BEER DRINK TICKETS BEER YAY
I was listening to the Figgs all day so I think that was sufficient inspiration. Did you know Slow Charm is an excellent album? It truly is.
Also Chris did a rendition of "Human Beings" IN THE STYLE OF SEAL that brought the house DOWN. DOWN DOWN DOOOOOOOOOWN. THAT'S RIGHT
So much more awesome than the "Idol." I'm telling you.
Also "Vehicle" was in the book which we briefly considered doing because you know it would have been better than Bo Bice a.k.a. Bo BUTT.
We need to start practicing all the songs with "Jane" in the title, we have decided. And the entire Bob Seger catalogue. Also this one dude who is there every day but I still don't know his name because of the pseudonyms? He did "Lady" and I was a little upset that I didn't get to do it first. It was pretty awesome, though. That should just inspire me to do it awesomer.
I have to go to work so I should stopr I mean stop right now and go to bed.
I have a bad feeling about April 20, but I'd like the world to prove me wrong.
Love,
Kim!
Holy OMG, we went to Staraoke tonight? WHATEVER DID I DO
"Accidents Will Happen" (Elvis Costello etc.)
"Reelin' in the Years" (Steely etc.)
"We're an American Band" (Grand Funk etc.)
One of these I did for the first time. DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONE IT IS?!
Have you seen the movie "Groupie"? If you have or you haven't you should tell me, because I got it on the DVD and it is fascinating.
Hahahah Bo Bice, who I like to call Bo Butt, hahahahaha suck it~~~~~~
I got Georgie Fame's 20 Beat Classics and Alan Price's A Price on His Head and they're like my new favorite albums. Thank you Germans! You know how to reissue.
I also got the Fantomas special edition CD with the calendar. Which if someone were to ask me what my record store purchases say about me, it would clearly be "I am a sucker."
I tend to babble when I've been drinking.
Work tomorrow? Oh man. NEWS, why can't you STOP HAPPENING.
Love,
Kim!
P.S. the new pair of shoes? Choco cupcake brown Lilly Pulitzer slip-on backless loafers with hot pink trim, 70% off at Saks off Fifth -- F-I-F Fifth -- they're moccasiny delicious.
I need to go to sleep now.
"Your voice is truly your instrument, and it is an entire orchestra." I think that's what Paula said tonight? That's crazy.
We're drinking the Bailey's we liberated from my parents' liquor cabinet. At least I'm drinking it. It was in a special "1997 edition" container and the label says it would be best enjoyed by December 1998. So I guess that makes it finely aged. It tastes a little like bubblegum. That's slightly odd. I just started sneezing and my ears are ringing a bit. Oh well, at least I don't have to work tomorrow.
I was supposed to work seven straight days to cover for someone who just quit, but I got lucky and got the day off tomorrow. Go Team Me. Now I have to work on Friday, but dude whatever. Better four days on/ one day off/ three days on/ one day off than seven days on/ two days off, right? I think that's reasonable.
So today, I got to spend my first full-time weekday at work. Did I tell you I got promoted to full-time? No? Well I did. After less than two months, I think that's making pretty good time.
I got Chris to drop me off at the express bus stop and everything, although I ended up taking the local because it was almost empty. I felt responsible. I got on this bus and this crazy cranked-out guy got on and started having this conversation with his "lady" about wearing corduroys. It was outstanding. Even with my headphones on, I could still make it out. I need to write it down before I forget. He asked everyone if he could borrow their phone "just for a second" and then when he finally proceeded to sucker this guy into lending him his phone, he made about 17 calls on it. Tremendous.
My throat feels a little itchy. Is that supposed to happen?
So you know I broke down and got the domestic version of the new Doves album because I'm still waiting for my limited edition linen slipcased CD/DVD package to arrive from the U.K. and I simply could not wait for the music anymore, man.
I got to listen to it about twice and plus some and it's really really wonderfully good. At first it reminded me a little bit too much of American Music Club's Mercury which is hardly a quality complaint, certainly, because I love that album to death, but it was just feeling too familiar in an un-Dovesian way. But then I got over it. It's great. It's DEECE. And Jimi, you know, Jimi's still hot. Yes, I've seen what his hair looks like now. I know. I know. There's trust there, you've got to understand me.
Here's my track-by-track what I remember of it without going back and listening to it to doublecheck things.
1) "Some Cities" - ooh. The first two lines are like "I think I've seen you before/ I think we should settle a score" or something, and how can you not love being greeted with that to start an album.
2) "Black and White Town" - the single, I quite honestly can't get enough of it. Very unlike the rest of the album in its jollity bumpfulness but a good introduction to its eerie Morricone elements with all that hot processing, which I took to be throwing the piano line from "Just Got Lucky" by JoBoxers down an echo chamber. And J.G., you know, he's still very foxy.
3) "Almost Forgot Myself" - lovely. Oh my. It's simply Sheila Divine, and I mean that literally. You will be amazed.
4) "Snowden" - the chimes are BACK. Very lovely, with the Morricone-ness and some Goldfrappy theremin oooohs to punctuate it. Is this the next single? Can't complain. There's one of many "mans" in this one, where the first lyric is something like, "I said, man, can you help me out?" and I begin to suspect J.G. is familiar with using that word the same way I use "dude" only I think his version sounds much better.
5) "The Storm" - one of the Williams ones, like a George Harrison song on a Beatles album. Swirly. I guess it takes part of the Ryuichi Sakamoto score from Snake Eyes, right, and I'm curious to know if they even saw that awful piece of crap or perhaps if they share my curious affection for Gary Sinise. I'd enjoy sitting down with J.G. to discuss the complexities of A Midnight Clear if not the entire Keith Gordon oeuvre. We could have a nice side conversation about the works of John Heard. Anyway, there's this weird stop-start looping of the samples where the cut-offs become the percussion, basically, and I'm drinking expired Bailey's so I could be writing in Farsi right now for all I know.
6) "Walk in Fire" - this is where I can't make up my mind yet because it's the obvious centerpiece of the album, yet it's basically an American Music Club cover of "There Goes the Fear." The resemblances are uncanny. Check back with me in two years, this will probably be my all-time favorite song.
7) "One of These Days" - actually right now, this is practically my all-time favorite song.
8) "Someday Soon" - and this is practically second.
9) "Shadows of Salford" - another Williams song, see above.
10) "Sky Starts Falling" - cute cute cute! Probably cuter than it's intended to be. PEPPY. I think I need to read the lyrics and I'll change my mind.
11) "Ambition" - and we float on, or out, or ... ? There's a big helping of Eitzel in here, so I need to reserve judgment on this for a bit. Also the first time I heard it I was in Walgreens and I don't really remember it enough.
There it is.
And don't forget:
Still foxy.
Since I've got Looking for Mr. Goodbar on TV in the background (why do I always watch this when it's on? do I hate myself? I mean really), I was inspired to finally get a copy of Donna Summer's superhumanly fabulous cover of "Could It Be Magic" off of iTunes, right, and clicking on all the songs from A Love Trilogy (1976! Giorgio! THE MUNICH MACHINE!) I discovered that The Apple ripped off this album's "Wasted" practically note for note for the disgusting "Coming". Yes, that song. Ew. It is the same flipping song. I'd go as far as to say it's the same exact flipping song.
If you know The Apple like we know The Apple, it must be heard to be believed. Even this clip gives you everything you need to know. It's astounding. How did this slip by us until now? Does my husband not already own this album? Did he not listen to anything after "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It"? Somehow I find that tard to believe.
My brother already reminded me that The Apple's lynchpin weepie "Where Has Love Gone" totally rips off "Look at Me Now" by ELO (check it) but this is ridiculous. Are there any original songs on this soundtrack? If there are doppelgängers of "Bim" and "How to Be a Master" out there, my faith in THE POWER OF ROCK ... IN 1994 will be shattered. How can "Showbizness" not be a firsthand creation? Forget it, Vladek Sheybal's science is just too tight.
Oh no look out, it's disco William Atherton! Jesus, this movie.
I need to put up what I did at karaoke tonight otherwise I will forget it forever
That's it.
Swedish nuts~~~~~~
Love,
Kim!
Sup nerds!
It's been a while but I've been WORKING and also I've been liking working. Yeah I said it. Just wait until I start getting paid so I can blow it all on a Hermés Birkin bag. Being around my mom has made it unhealthy for me to be aware of consumer options regarding purses on a regular basis.
I went and did karaoke tonight and GUESS WHAT I DID.
I was going around trying to find a gratuitous glamour shot of Brad Miller in order to do what catchin' up and all the photos from the game tonight against the Knicks are like total open dunk shots. My God, they make it so easy.
Instead, how about this gratuitous smiley shot. That's what America, nay, the world needs right now. Smiley Brad. Without the crazy hillbilly biker moustache.
<-----------(crazy hillbilly biker moustache)
'Sup nerdlingers. Today's my birthday. I'm 35. I'm an old lady. An ooooold lady. I'm now in the 35-49 age bracket on surveys. That is depressing! I honestly was taking a lot of surveys leading up to this day so I could deny my own mortality just a little bit longer. I still get carded though. Sometimes I don't have my ID on me, and then I don't drink. Which is crazy, because I'm OLD! Look at me. I feel 50.
Remind me to tell you about the time I went to Flannery's and for whatever reason they had a guy working the door who was convinced that my drivers license was fake, and therefore he refused to let me in. This was a bar where I was a regular, and me being, like, probably 31 at the time. And the door guy was showing my ID off to people in the bar (people who looked to be about 17) being all, "Hahaha, she thinks people would believe she's 31! Next time she gets a fake ID, she needs to be more realistic!" It was horrible. I mean, I was a REGULAR at this bar. And finally one of the bartenders (known for reasons beyond explanation as The Gay) saw what was happening, bless his heart, and cursed the guy out and let me in, thank God. That was a nightmare. All I wanted was drinking and dancing and my friends, which are my favorite things ever.
I've had other experiences like this and it's the worst feeling in the world. People trying to tell you that you aren't who you actually are. Hope I never get my identity stolen else I go on a murder spree. Hey, why am I talking about this when it is a time of CELEBRATION because it is my BIRTHDAY!!!
Dudes, check this out. It's my birthday and I got a job. A JOB. Oh yes. I got a job but I'm not going to tell you where because it's EXCITING and SEXY. AND on top of that, the Kings won. What a fabulous time to be alive.
Tonight we went to karaoke and my brother and his girlfriend were there, and they gave me a giant vat of amaretto and a bottle of sour mix. It's like they KNOW me! I also sang and they indulged me in a fourth song even though I would not normally have gotted it, because it is my birthday and I am special. People sang me birthday songs and gave me things, complete strangers, and it was lovely. What did I sing? Oh yes.
I have nothing else to say at the moment other than happy birthday to me. Yeah.
Hi! Sup nerds. So Chris got a job and he starts on Monday. With that in mind we went and did KARAOKE since who knows when we will be able to do that again with any authority or Taste for Fun. What did I do?
I should have other things to talk about, and I do, but I don't right here. It's just one of those things. Oh! You know something, you should go read Scott Christ's The 2004 SC 100, which even if you don't watch or pay attention to wrestling ever, is still a very entertaining and enlightening read. Because honestly, who even writes anything intelligent about wrestling anymore? Practically no one other than Scott and Cubs. These guys, they mean it. They keep the fires burning and whatnot, and in an even more awesome way than REO Speedwagon.
The Kings are here. If not tonight, then later today. Oh man! My husband was talking me into letting him assist me in stalking a certain member of my favorite team. Which is adorable. But I can't take him up on it, because already tonight he demonstrated his majesty by taking me on a trip to Costco and buying me a) pills and b) booze. My two favorite things. And I'm not even exaggerating.
This is what we came home with.
I feel our lives are all the richer for having welcomed "Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas" into our home. We're celebrating the triumphant return of 98º. Somewhere in America, G`` K`````` feverishly updates his controversial report on the decline of the boy band phenomenon, certain someone will still pay him if he delivers it three years late.
Jessica: "I wish I could sing with Bing Crosby." Nick: "I'll be Bing!" Nick starts BEATING HER. And then the ghostly visage of Bing appears behind them and he starts beating them both. This show rules.
When exactly did the whole Victorian/pioneer blouse come back in style? I anxiously await the return of boatneck sweaters with dolman sleeves and shoulder pads up to the ears.
For some reason, I felt it was important I take note of these things.
Oh man, Thanksgiving karaoke, what happened.
This was the night of me doing songs where the groups' names were all messed up in the book, as in "We Live" and "Nobb, D." I wish they had "That's the Way of the World," that song makes me cry a little.
Tomorrow night (I mean TONIGHT) it's KINGS AT LAKERS BABY. Vlade vs B-52. EROTICA. ROMANCE. I'd like to put you in a trance/ All over. Oops, sorry, I got a little distracted there for a sec.
Song #16,000 added to iTunes is "Mod Lang" by Big Star. I only bring it up since I forgot to celebrate #15,000, which according to my calculations was "I Know" by the Beta Band, although I did a lot of pruning between then and now and it probably wasn't that at all.
"A lot of pruning," haha. I passed the 10,000 mark back here on June 16. At this rate, I really need to slow down my rate.
Karaoke on the big money Thursday night? Why yes of course.
Also the other night I found an .avi of the time Shaq took a girly swing at the back of Brad Miller's head. Drop it like it's hot:
movie opens in new window
Our supermarket's in the news, check it out: Shooting Victims Dumped at Two Metro Grocery Stores (KSTP.com)
Other than that, I ain't got nuthin'. KINGS GRIZZLIES TONIGHT OOH YEAH
OK, so the Bulls were leading by one at the half and that made me cry a little, but I should not have feared, because the Kings are now 4-4! 4-4! .500 baby! What would Jesus do? Connect on six of ten from downtown, that's RIGHT, Mike Bibby! Tune in to ESPN on Friday when the Grizzlies meet the Kings! J-Will Hair Watch 3000 collides with the Gargantuan Foxiness of B-52! Caution, I sense SEXCAPADES may be afoot!
So tonight we did the karaoke. OMG what happened.
P.S., I have to be terribly proud of myself because I had blanked "Shiny Happy People" out of my mind so completely that I was left singing a totally backwards atonal version of it that had no resemblance to the original whatsoever because I could not remember it at all, and I was trying even. Of course afterward it all suddenly came rushing back to me so now I am cursed to have both my backwards atonal version and the actual version of it running through my head at all hours of the day. What was it, ten years without having that song polluting my consciousness? It was a good run.
Sup nerds. I've been feeling a little bit too much like this lady on the left to write much in here lately. Let me tell you what is making me insane. Someone from my Former Place of Employment emailed me about doing some work, and since it was for a different department from the one I used to work for, I deliberated then decided, "OK, I will give this a shot." It should not have been such a difficult decision for me to make, but guess what? They find a way to make me regret doing it anyway. And these aren't even the people I expect to suck at all times! I gave them the benefit of the doubt! And they haven't even given me any WORK yet. Let me map this out for you, because I care about clarity and organization.
I saw Shaun of the Dead. It's adorable! The first hour was fantastic. The last half hour, it kind of fell apart and the tone shifted too far to "fighting zombies and fire and guns and explosions and gore" and lost the magic, I thought, but it's still highly recommended. You could tell they were sort of saving up all the gore shots for that one big disgusting part. That was kind of unnecessary. Still, highly recommended! The record collection fight scene, priceless. And Goblin's theme from Zombi is still the best zombie music in the world. Every zombie movie should use it. Zombie zombie zombie.
Also tonight we saw John Cale. He's adorable! I hadn't seen him for ages. Oh! He was great. Also great that he was supporting such a great great album that made the show even greater. There are few things as delightful as watching a 62-year-old man play a Flying V, and play it like he could use it to KILL PEOPLE. Oh! He's just the best. I wish I could remember the crazy time signature he was using for "Leaving It Up to You" because it was hot. He did "Frozen Warnings" and also "Venus in Furs" (!!!) which was not only awesome? But also great. Unfortunately it inspired some of the more learning-disabled people to begin shouting out requests for other VU songs. Yes, I'm sure he'd love to play "Heroin" just for you. At the table next to us were Harold and Kumar, I swear, and they were so happy to hear everything that came off their prized Close Watch: An Introduction to John Cale, so much so that when "Cable Hogue" started up, Harold suddenly contracted autism and began rocking violently back and forth in his chair with total disregard for the laws of rhythm. I'd never see anything like it. And for "Cable Hogue," even.
Afterward we went to Perkins and I had a ham and cheese omelette. The perfect end to the evening. Now I can look forward to people continuing to not get back to me before the weekend. Delicious!
Karaoke? OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED.
(Take the above with at least one grain of salt, because I worked in an office that had at least one, if not at least two, copies of Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too in each and every giveaway pile.)
(But seriously, I love that insipid little song.)
(And a lot of that album.)
(Yes.)
(I do.)
I'm depressed that I didn't get to do another song because I wanted to dedicate it to the ugly-ass androgynous couple that was DOING IT in the seat directly behind me. Thunder in the Valley Nick was laughing and making the Universal Signal for "doing it" (index-finger-in-other-hand-"OK" sign) so I got totally grossed out and proceeded to email Jane on my OGO, then clap loudly during Cayenne's rendition of "On the Wings of Love" and then take my keyring out and jingle it like it was frigging sleigh bells right next to their heads. Then the waitress came out and shoved a bill in between their faces and yelled "WHO PAYS THIS TAB?!" I now love her forever.
It was an eventful evening. Happy Birthday Sue!
Hey, you know something?
Especially and most of all, Happy Birthday Jane. I wanted to do a song for you, and I was going to do a song for you, but they stopped me. You are missed. You are loved. You Are My Lady.
Hey I redesigned a little. The title display still keeps coming up a little too slow for my liking but it could be stuff I'm running elsewhere on my computer. I'll try it again. But if it takes a while to come up for you, let me know and I'll F that B up.
You know what I want is one of these. Or maybe I'll just get a cardboard playhouse like I got for Christmas when I was five? One of those Eames Management Chairs would spruce it up nicely. Although if I could afford one of those, I'm sure I could afford my own portable soundproof office. Oh man. I'm gonna DREAM about it.
Karaoke last night. WHAT DID I DO. You bet I did it.
The Sox/Yankees game ended while my brother was singing "Karma Police." Hmm.
I was up all night watching "SCTV" Vol. 2 so now I think I'm ready to take a nap. BYE
Thank you iTunes, here's my top ... let's make it 15! For the last couple of months. It's the Fun 15. Yes.
1) "When I'm With You" - Sparks
2) "Don't Stop Me Now" - Queen
3) "Barabajagal" - Donovan
4) "One Vision" - Queen
5) "Yesterday's Not Here" - Pete Shelley
6) "(Millions of People) No One Like You" - Pete Shelley
7) "The Wild Ones" - the Push Kings
8) "XL1" - Pete Shelley
9) "Young Girls" - Sparks
10) "Thunder Road" - Bruce Springsteen
11) "Papercuts" - Broadcast
12) "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated To ... )" - Queen
13) "Play the Game" - Queen
14) "International Feel" - Todd Rundgren
15) "Guess I Must Have Been in Love With Myself" - Pete Shelley
I should be asleep right now but I just had to point out
PARIS (Reuters) — French crooner Sacha Distel, whose seductive good looks won him legions of female fans around the world, died Thursday, his record company said. He was 71.
Distel died at a family home near St. Tropez in the south of France after having been ill for some time. A private funeral is expected Saturday in the Paris region.
Although the cause of death was not immediately known, the singer was hit by thyroid cancer in 1970 and skin cancer a decade later.
His version of "The Sunshine of My Life" with Brigitte Bardot is forever a mixtape favorite. Holy moly, what a suave dude. Also, R.I.P. Jerry Goldsmith! The Omen, man, The Omen.
I really need to get some sleep.
OH
MY
GOD
So you know, Aloud is like one of my favoritest new bands ever in, uh, the last 12 months, in that they are Frenchy and dancey and housey, and the singer has this outlandishly macho and unctuously suave voice that is a wonder and a thrill to behold. (Take a wild guess which one he is in that picture over there, oh ho ho.) While I was away, the Mr. dug up their new "Sex & Sun" single for me, since I had no idea it was out or anything (Europeans!), and that inspired me to go to their site to get all updated on their doings and stuff. So they had the video for "Sex & Sun" up there, right? So I watched it? And
OH
MY
GOD
it is a total homage to one of the great achievements in music video history, "Club Tropicana" by Wham! As if I didn't adore Aloud enough already. About 15 seconds in I realized that my "Haha, it's Pepsi & Shirley" joke was actually no coincidence, and I was so shocked, I started screaming. I think Christopher might have run in here to make sure I was okay. Anyway, there are total shot-by-shot recreations that must be seen to be believed, including trumpets in the pool, the waterfall shower scene (!) and all sorts of scandalous cavorting in Speedos and Ray-Bans. You just might have a heart attack, and you will thank me for it.
The other night I had a dream that S Club 7 was on the cover of Rolling Stone, and I was thinking "Oh, of course."
Because there are so many other things I should be doing right now, here's a list of all the songs on the iPod. This feature threatens to be updated on occasion.
"Lucretia Mac Evil" by Blood, Sweat & Tears just became the 10,000th song added to my iTunes. Go figure. I was hoping that there were going to be noisemakers and confetti and a big window message telling me CONGRATULATIONS! I'd just earned a big iTMS gift certificate to commemorate my landmark but no such luck.
Right this second, here's what I've got in there:
10,006 songs
32:02:06:03 total time
47.82 GB
Good thing I don't have a job so's I can get around to actually listening to all of it. Oh ho ho!
So I twiddled around with some conditions on my iTunes so that my Top 10 will now somewhat more accurately reflect what I've been listening to lately, rather than what I've been listening to since the beginning of iTunes time. iTime? Whatever. Here it is.
1) "The L.S. Bumblebee" by Peter Cook & Dudley Moore
2) "When I'm With You" by Sparks
3) "Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)" by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity
4) "Do That There" by Lyrics Born f/ Cut Chemist
5) "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" by Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
6) "Keep It Warm" by Flo & Eddie
7) "Wonder Girl" by Halfnelson (Sparks)
8) "My Ship Is Coming In" by the Walker Brothers
9) "All Over the World" by Electric Light Orchestra
10) "How Are You Getting Home?" by Sparks
I've been listening to Sparks a lot lately, I guess that's obvious. There's also something resembling a tiny part of a theme in there somewhere, see if you can figure it out!
OUTRAGE! Lance Bass, nasty nose job. He is now officially eew.
I know, I don't believe how bad it is either. Of course this is from Awful Plastic Surgery Forums.
Oh man, Christopher digitized my Simon F albums up and it's so exciting to finally hear Gun again, I can't even begin to explain it. He scanned the cover too and it's GORGEOUS! LOOK AT IT!!!
click to enlarge (448 kb)
I made a CD for my mom for Mothers' Day. I've never made a mix for her before! I think I did good and stuff.
"Silver Dagger" and "Like a Motorway," oh aren't I just clever. Mom's on a giant Lotus Eaters kick right now, which is crazy, because I practically wore out my "Set Me Apart" 12" some 20 years ago and I don't remember her commenting on it then, but she goes crazy for it now. Also she loves loves loves LOVES the Hives but doesn't have the album, I don't think. She went cuckoo when she saw them on the VMAs. "Oh, aren't they just the cutest things? They're just ... well, they're just the cutest things." Of course I prefer Jet, so who knows, maybe I'll steer her in the right direction. And Rufus! That infatuation goes back to the Lennon tribute concert. "Well, isn't he just a little something?!" ELO, forget about it, she's bananas for ELO. I hope she doesn't mind that my copy of "Blackberry Way" sounds like crap. And I hope she doesn't get scared off by that crazy bitch C.P. at the beginning, but I'm willing to bet she's gonna like that one.
Anyway, if she says anything about it, I'll tell ya later.
You know something? Today has been a banner day for horrible news, absolutely horrible news.
(l.-r.) Hugh Grundy, Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Chris White, Paul Atkinson
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Atkinson, who played guitar in the British invasion band The Zombies and later became a successful music industry executive who signed such acts as ABBA, died Thursday, said his publicist Susan Clary. He was 58.
Born in Cuffley, England, Atkinson had lived in Los Angeles for the past 20 years.
He started his music career with The Zombies, which had hits in the 1960s with "She's Not There,'' "Tell Her No'' and "Time of the Season.''
Later, he went on to work as an artists and repertoire executive, signing acts including ABBA, Bruce Hornsby, Mr. Mister, Michael Penn, Judas Priest and Patty Smyth.
In January, Atkinson received the Recording Academy's President's Merit Award at a tribute and benefit concert in his honor at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
The event included a reunion of The Zombies.
Is it weird of me to be all excited for Usher and his superlative first-week sales? I guess it's weird of me. I mean I figured he would do OK this time around, but dame.
So I guess I'm now an official elderly person, because we went out to the Best Buy so's Christopher could get his DM box sets all shiny and new on release day, and the hot new fresh jams I ended up with were a) Bob's Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Live 1964 and b) the Who's Then and Now. I had been resisting the thought of getting the latter since it's just greatest hits anyway, but it does have the two new songs on it and everything. And Vol. 6? I was right, Bob does look adorable in that booklet.
As if there were any doubt. I mean stop it???
If they could have gone back in time and gotten him looking like that in those Victoria's Secret ads, forget it.
I also got this magical work of art. Yeah you know, you know you want it too, yeah you know.
WOOO. Although the finished cover substitutes Karen Black for the creepy moustachioed Jack Lemmon (a wise decision) and spells "Concorde" correctly (a slight improvement). Slipcased, embossed foil-like finish, a very tasteful presentation. Now I've got eight hours of Airport movies and over 15 hours of Berlin Alexanderplatz sitting here waiting for me to watch them, and it's not even my birthday! How did I get this lucky? Thank goodness I don't have to work again until next week.
Did you know that the Figgs make a video for "Slow Charm"? I had no idea until I found it here. Also the new album cover, Palais, look how beautiful it is. I'm crying a little.
From pretty to ugly:
While it still brings no joy to look at, it's at least an improvement. I like to think I'm doing my part for the children.
Hey! I'm back. I was out of town, and now I'm back (and to prove it I'm here). I'm too pumped up on SUGARY COLAS to sleep just yet and I just noticed that this existed and I am itching to see it. Itching! Although the filmmaker sounds like something of an extreme douche. So let me get this straight, he needed some dork (some dork from dorkass Dramarama no less) to explain to him who Rodney Bingenheimer is? In 1997?
Dude what.
1997, that's a joke right. In case you weren't aware (and I'm certain you ARE), the G.T.O.'s are required listening for every human being, just as I'm With the Band is required reading for every human being. 1997 and this butt has no clue. This is American history we're talking about here. THIS oooh THIS BURNS ME UP.
Someone out there needs to prevent idiots from making documentaries, some sort of Nightmarish Ghoul who STEALS SOOOOULS as well as financial backing, although apparently having no grasp on a particular subject leads to a person really needing to study up on it in a big way, so why not film the course of education? Yeah I guess. Good Lord. I hate everybody. But I still want to see the movie. Although on third/fourth/etc. thought, that poster/soundtrack cover design is eerily reminiscent of SOMETHING.
Yes, please hang on Mike
while we lift your album cover design
And while we're on the subject, BOTH of these are, obviously, "tributes" to my user pic on Friendster. I can't believe I didn't see it before.
America's #1 source of inspiration
Oof, doesn't it just make you livid. People are so devoid of creativity that all they can do is take take take take everything. Maybe I shouldn't see this movie after all. I bet it's EXPLOITATIVE. Nothing's right I'm torn.
It's not that there's been a lot going on, it's just that there were things to do and that somehow magically took me away from the computer.
On Friday or perhaps Saturday, we saw Starsky and Hutch. Oh! What a delightful cinematic romp. I have to say that if I were to make the inevitable comparison to Zoolander, I thought that Zoolander had more moments that were insanely hilariously awesome beyond belief, but Starsky and Hutch was the more consistently enjoyable cinema experience. I skip through big chunks of Zoolander a lot. I mean a LOT. Starsky and Hutch clearly succeeds because when you include more scenes that involve Owen Wilson, or when the scenes that don't involve Owen Wilson usually have something to do with characters thinking about Owen Wilson, you will be well taken care of. And then there's also Snoop and Juliette Lewis, who themselves should make movies together. I also acknowledge that it was a great sacrifice for Christopher to go with me as he has something of an anti-Stiller gene. But he seemed to like it, or at least like that I liked it so much. And honestly, isn't that what's important? He still refuses to watch Zoolander, though.
Sunday was WRESTLEMANIA XX WHERE IT ALL BEGINS ... AGAIN. This was a good time although I drank too many of my double dirrty martinis and proceeded to pass out during the main event. I caught it on the encore but oops, I kind of missed out on experiencing the magic with the rest of the world. But I was tired and the booze was so so good, so I feel I made the right choice. Then I sobered up enough to win an auction for a copy of Pamela Moore's Chocolates for Breakfast for the opening bid of a single solitary pound (plus £2.49 shipping). I'm so excited for it, I can't even explain.
Monday, something probably happened that I can't remember. I put some more stuff on the iPod, most notably my Steely Dan, Bobby Darin and Velvet Underground box sets. We're taking a trip later this week that will involve some driving so I'll be playing mixmaster. Also everyone is up Franz Ferdinand's butt now, when did that happen? Oh! And I took a Design Within Reach survey and they sent me a $25 discount promotional code, which is hot! Although I can't exactly afford to buy anything from there.
Tonight was "American Idol" and I am at a loss for much to say about it. My girl is going to get CANNED on her ASS. Which is fine because now I am certain that it's not that she's interestingly weird and fascinating, she's just plain horrible. I know you knew that all along, but I thought I saw something there for a sec. Everyone was so boring. Boring boring boring. And like they're singing at a pep rally or some crap. I don't share these kids' school spirit. I thought George was OK though, like watchable and enjoyable or whatever and much better without the moustache. I can't muster up anything to say about anyone else. Boring.
What else is boring, and yet ... not boring? Zero 7. I am now firmly into the Zero 7. It's enjoyable faceless chillout music that is easy on the ears of old ladies such as myself. They do Air better than Air have been doing themselves. Who told them it was a good idea to sing all their own songs? I mean really.
iTunes has Bob's Bootleg Series Vol. 6 available two weeks early, but I can't justify getting it if it's not actual physical merchandise. Plus he's going to look so cute in that booklet, you know it.
Oh! So I got a bee in my bonnet (and a tiger in my tank) for finding Intaferon and Simon F songs online, because all the ones I have are on cassette. Although I do have "Baby Pain" on 12", which is actually credited to Intaferon though it wound up on the Simon F album, blah blah, I guess it's all the same anyway.
Oh man, the Simon F album, by which I mean Gun, because apparently he put out another one that I don't know anything about? I LOVE IT. I only found a couple of reviews of it online and oof, people hate it and hate him. Why? It's a great album! I LOVE IT. I wish I had an actual copy of it instead of the one I taped off my brother. A) Gun and B) Strawberry Switchblade, it's like the greatest tape ever. I couldn't remember what the cover of Gun looked like until I saw that one single solitary generous soul had a really crappy image up online.
Thank you, whoever you were, I went ahead and took the image without thinking to thank you proper. It was like buddy icon size anyway and at least I'm not stealing your bandwidth. So! This got me thinking how I want to scan the tape, because it's just a very potent image in my mind, but all my cassettes are in storage. So I tried searching for a picture of the kind of tape it's on, and I ended up finding one that far surpasses even my wildest dreams.
That even sums up how I feel about the Simon F/Strawberry Switchblade pairing, come to think of it. Although to be specific it's on an XL-II, which is more gold looking, instead of an XL-II-S, which is more bronzey. I saved those for like Robyn Hitchcock and stuff, you know, the things I really wanted to preserve for archival posterity. Little did I know the Simon F album would vanish off the face of the earth. (I did find a sweet Japanese reissue of Strawberry Switchblade, however. The Japanese, they're so wise.)
While I was searching for the Maxell image, I found a whole bunch of other awesome cassette-related stuff that I'll have to get to later, as they're trying to make me work right now. Bleah.
Not just of the Banshees, but also Visage, Magazine and P.I.L. :'(
... although it's pretty darn close to last time, anyway. For lack of anything else to write about at the moment (working```) the top 10 all-time most played songs on my iTunes as of today are:
1) "False Alarm," Sloan
2) "Gimme That," Sloan
3) "Rosetta," Georgie Fame and Alan Price
4) "On a Saturday," Keith West
5) "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," the Cowsills
6) "Ebony Eyes," Bob Welch
7) "Wrapped Up in Books," Belle & Sebastian
8) "Get Away," Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames
9) "Who Got the Number," Pigmeat Markham
10) "Telephoning Home," Wreckless Eric
This is an important uh sociological experiment. (No it's not.)
There is nothing going on other than the rent. Time to list another big batch of stuff I've managed to suck up off of CDs and import to the iPod over the last couple of days. Sucking in Stereo? Why yes.
The Figgs - Low-Fi at Society High, Banda Macho, The Figgs Couldn't Get High ... , For EP Fans Only, Sucking in Stereo, Badger, Slow Charm
The Gentlemen - Ladies and Gentlemen ... the Gentlemen, Blondes Prefer the Gentlemen
Thrush Hermit - The Great Pacific Ocean, Sweet Homewrecker, Clayton Park
Phil Ochs - American Troubadour (2 discs)
The Auteurs - New Wave, Now I'm a Cowboy, µ-Ziq vs. the Auteurs, After Murder Park, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys
12 Rods - Split Personalities, Separation Anxieties
The Olivia Tremor Control - Music From the Unrealized Film Script "Dusk at Cubist Castle," Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One, John Peel Session 18.3.97, Presents: Singles and Beyond
The Guess Who - The Ultimate Collection (3 discs)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
The Alan Parsons Project - The Best of the Alan Parsons Project
America - History: America's Greatest Hits
Hall & Oates - Rock 'n Soul Part 1
The Association - Greatest Hits!
Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
The Monks - Black Monk Time
Margo Guryan - Take a Picture
Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
Marmalade - The Definitive Collection (2 discs)
Lee Hazlewood - The Cowboy & the Ladies
I think I've got about 10 GB to go. I should fill that up pretty easily. I was excited to discover that 12 Rods are still kicking around. Utterly fantastic, that.
Have you visited wrecklesseric.com? He's been quick with the updates the last couple weeks, it's exciting. And he's playing a bunch of dates in a few weeks with the Rutles. The Rutles! Two of my idols on the same bill, Eric and Neil Innes, I think I would just fall apart and die of glee. Of course the shows are all overseas so I won't ever see them. I also thought the same thing about Colin Blunstone/Rod Argent shows, and then look what happened. But onward with that wishful thinking. To just imagine, then know the shows are actually happening, it's a gorgeous and thrilling thought.
Read Eric's site! Read it even if you've never heard him or heard of him. And then once you've heard of him, go out and hear him. He's a genius. His book was the one and only book I can think of in ... maybe years that didn't get affected by my (mostly imagined) adult ADD. I read it in a day and it's indescribably great. Maybe some other time I'll try to describe it, or at least describe my history relative to being a Wreckless Eric fan. It's a rather convoluted narrative with, for the foreseeable future, a very happy ending.
He signed my copy too, bless him.
click to enlarge
You know, it's really difficult for me to think of anything that is more awesome than this right now.
Television's Dr. Phil McGraw meets his match — Dr. Feel — a new Sesame Street Muppet who will be making his national debut during a segment on the syndicated talk show on Friday, February 20. (AP Photo)
Today was a busy work day, by which I mean I spent most of it importing more stuff for the iPod. Like a LOT. Like:
Bob Dylan remastered: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, Planet Waves, Blood on the Tracks, Desire, Street-Legal, Slow Train Coming, Infidels, Oh Mercy, "Love and Theft"; plus Time Out of Mind, Live 1966, Live 1975 (not remastered)
The Soundtrack of Our Lives: Welcome to the Infant Freebase, Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization, Behind the Music, Future Excerpts
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (remastered): Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Organisation, Architecture & Morality
Duran Duran: Singles 81-85 box set (13 CDs)
At least it helped the day go by faster. Like a LOT.
Jane tells me that WE just showed The Swinger. My God, how could I have missed this. WE, the same geniuses who dug up Moment by Moment which made me have a freakout of glorious proportions. I really need to start paying more attention to them ... start paying attention to The Space We Share.
So the flu has finally done gone and caught up with me. Or at least it caught up with me while we were out shopping yesterday. You don't want to fall victim to the onslaught of a virus in the middle of dinner at Fuddrucker's. Fuddrucker's! I hadn't eaten at one of those since I was like 16, when our party placed its order under the name "Mike Hunt." I'd totally forgotten how the place worked.
Yesterday the Mr. got me the Deluxe Edition of Who's Next which means the time has come for me to finally put my Who collection into iTunes and consequently onto the iPod. I'm doing everything except Live at Leeds for reasons that aren't quite clear to me at the moment. I guess I just don't want to add a live album? Or maybe I'm waiting until I have the Deluxe Edition before I add it? Hmm. But Face Dances and It's Hard, here we come! Was there ever an extended version of "Eminence Front"? If there wasn't, I sure wish there was. Maybe one will show up on a Deluxe Edition of It's Hard someday, 'cause it's sure not on my expanded one. And if Universal is actually putting out crappy Gin Blossoms albums in Deluxe Edition form, I can't imagine why It's Hard wouldn't rate, right? Even if there's not enough stuff to pad it out to two discs. Maybe the second disc could be a 74-minute version of "Eminence Front." I'd pay good money for that. Well, real money anyway.
I went to the Universal Chronicles site (as touted on the packaging -- we also picked up the Deluxe Editions of Diana and Bad Girls, I'm very excited!) to see if they had any other Who repackaging planned and the big thing they're touting on the band's artist page is the imminent release of the My Generation one, which came out in August 2002! Who's getting paid to maintain this crap? I sure do hate the Web sometimes. OK, a lot.
Mystery solved -- the song from that new VW Phaeton commercial is Stereolab's "Fiery Yellow." Ohh, that was bugging me like you wouldn't believe. Thanks to um some Stereolab fansite, I can't remember which. But man that was bugging me. Not enough to get me to go through my albums and pick it out, though. Plus I was thinking it was either Stereolab or Broadcast and blah blah. I just waited for the Internet to do the work for me. Wow this Internet, it's great.
I'm so happy Jennifer Lopez finally got rid of that horrible, horrible man. I read the Enquirer, I know what's up. I hope she finally finds someone who deserves and appreciates her BEAUTY and TALENT and oh, all the great things she has and is. Someone like hmm, Jane's brother maybe? (She'll probably just go back to eew, Puffy though. I read the Enquirer, I know what's up.)
My new favorite song. As found on this album:
Here is the CD reissue cover version, updated retro stylee for the 2K:
Since I don't wish to contribute money to what may essentially turn out to be the MJ Defense Fund, I can't bring myself to buy it. All I want to know is, why did they crop out that bent metal thingie in the foreground? THAT'S HIS THING MAN
Bands I considered using instead of Salem 66 in the last entry:
First Guadalcanal Diary (ugh ugh ugh), Code Blue (uh what), now this. OK now, we need to have a talk. It has become clear that someone at Rhino Handmade is stuck in a really crappy sector of the '80s. Make that subsector. Hey guess what, I have this album. It cost me an entire dime. I have never ever listened to it. I'm sure it's a perfectly tolerable album (not that I could even muster the energy to put it on the turntable once), but I certainly don't think I could sell this original copy for $19.95, bonus tracks or no, you know? $19.95, that's practically 20 whole dollars. So I must ask you, Rhino Handmade, where your quality control has gone. Next thing you know, you'll be offering, like, The Compleat What Is This? Anthology for $49.99 or something when there are so many other artists worthy of reissue and being reissued first, right. And I like What Is This? even. So even though I really really want that Neon Philharmonic collection (ooh check it out), I'm sorry, I can't give you any money if you're just going to sink it into Salem 66: All Their Best.
This made my day, even if the clips are too short. I highly recommend everything, especially the TOTP clips in which Green just kind of stabs indiscriminately at his guitar every so often, he's such a genius. Also the "She's a Woman" video because it's always such a thrill when he dresses "street." Green, you're a treasure, don't ever change.
OH MY GOD. OH MY DEAR LORD. WHO IS IT BUTCHERING DAVID GATES' "GOODBYE GIRL" AS RECORDED FOR THE TELEVISED CINEMATIC BUTCHERING OF "GOODBYE GIRL" FOR THE 2K4 ON TNT. My husband wagers it is Hootie and the Blowfish. I did not want to believe it was Hootie and the Blowfish but you know what, he is correct. It is HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH. Butchering DAVID GATES. I AM OUTRAGED.
