Music Asks:

Someone on sent me this list several months ago, and, slacker that I am, I'm just now getting around to it! It's actually pretty damn difficult to come up with a song for each of these, but I'm gonna do my best..

1:A song you like with a color in the title: "Blue Spanish Sky" by Chris Isaak

2:A song you like with a number in the title: "1985" by Bowling For Soup

3:A song that reminds you of summertime : " Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys!

4:A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about: "According To You" by Orianthi

5:A song that needs to be played LOUD: "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet

6:A song that makes you want to dance: "Twisting The Night Away" by Sam Cooke

7:A song to drive to: "Under The Boardwalk" by The Drifters

8:A song about drugs or alcohol: "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw" by Jimmy Buffett

9:A song that makes you happy: "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" from Gypsy

10:A song that makes you sad: "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss

11:A song that you never get tired of : "Daybreak" by Barry Manilow

12:A song from your preteen years: "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence

13:One of your favorite 80’s songs: "The Warrior" by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth

14:A song that you would love played at your wedding: "True Companion" by Marc Cohn

15:A song that is a cover by another artist: the Tom Jones version of "Kiss" is better than Prince's original.

16:One of your favorite classical songs: "Bach:Prelude from Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Bwv 1007" by Yo-Yo Ma

17:A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke: "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors

18:A song from the year that you were born: " (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" by Otis Redding

19:A song that makes you think about life : "Angel From Montgomery" by Bonnie Raitt

20:A song that has many meanings to you: "I've Still Got My Health" by Bette Midler

21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title: "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel

22:A song that moves you forward: "God Give Me Strength" -- I prefer the version from the film 'Grace of My Heart'

23:A song that you think everybody should listen to: "Love Can Build a Bridge" by the Judds

24:A song by a band you wish were still together: "Message In A Bottle" by the Police

25:A song by an artist no longer living "Faith" by George Michael. I miss him.

26:A song that makes you want to fall in love: (This one doesn't quite fit, since I am already in love) : "Roses and Violets" by Alexander Jean

27:A song that breaks your heart: "You Can't Make Old Friends" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

28:A song by an artist with a voice that you love: "How's the World Treating You" by Alison Krauss & James Taylor

29:A song that you remember from your childhood: "Return To Sender" by Elvis

30:A song that reminds you of yourself: "Bird On A Wire" by Leonard Cohen

My reasoning on some of my choices are rather random, but I'm not changing them now!

I Shuffle, Therefore I Am

The last week I've been nearly glued to my laptop, listening to music and constantly creating new playlists, or watching random stuff on YouTube. YouTube gets me every time. I always end up watching the same few favorite things: Craig Ferguson's cold openings from The Late Late Show, a Monkees episode or two, music videos, and eventually, finding something new. That's my favorite thing about YouTube, actually; discovering the strange, or wonderful, or wonderfully strange things that I would never have known about if I'd stayed off-line!  Makes me kinda sad that there weren't things like this around when I was a teen; my life would have been so much more fun if I'd had access to a wider variety of music!



 

I put my iPod on shuffle this morning and this is the selection I was given"

 

"1985" Bowling for Soup  (One of my favorite bands, and one of their best songs.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI

 

"Simple Gifts" Yo-Yo Ma & Alison Krauss (I love both of them, and together on this, they are magical!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYi9Vr8bHJY

 

"All Around the Kitchen" Dan Zanes & Friends (a holdover from my days as a preschool teacher)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzm1_RK2XvE

 

"Scottish Temple Stomp"  by Craig Ferguson (One of the cold openings. I'm a little obsessed with Craig.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvAPov24d4Q

 

"Parents Just Don't Understand"   DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince  (Will Smith will always be fresh.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW3PFC86UNI

 

"Shenandoah" by Peter Hollens (This guy is amazing! And he's from Oregon!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NmKp5A8i3M

 

"The Diva Dance"  from the Fifth Element, two arias from Lucia d Lammmermoor, sung by Inva Mula

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syo6tLeZfHw

 

"Dream On" Neil Patrick Harris & Matthew Morrison--their duet from Glee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkoQLTO5gZY

 

"Bohemian Polka" Weird Al  (Exactly what is sounds like. It rocks.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkd_280xlvQ

 

"Coal Miner's Daughter"  Loretta Lynn (I'm proud to know all the words.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM84OekHtAQ

 

"Uptown Funk" Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (Love this song. Makes me wanna dance!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0

 

"Cuddly Toy" The Monkees (Yes, I like the Monkees. Do not get me started on misconceptions about this band.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3127ue93-0

 

"I Want Love" by Elton John (This is one of my favorite songs.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbexgPyeJQ

 

Usually when I hit shuffle, I get  selections from Barry Manilow, Bette Midler & Chris Isaak, simply because I have nearly their entire catalogs. Same with Bowling For Soup, James Taylor, The Monkees, and Elvis Costello. (This list could go on and on...)  I hate to limit myself to one or two styles of music, and there is so much out there to enjoy. There are only a few things I really dislike. I cannot stand the sound of Stevie Nicks' voice, same for Mariah Carey. I don't care much for electronic or serious metal. And really, I am way too much of a suburban white girl to have ever gotten into rap or hip-hop much, other than a few very mainstream things. I've always preferred music I can sing along with. Probably always will.  The genre's listed on my little iPod range from Children's Music (that's mostly Disney stuff, really), to Classical, to Classic Country (I grew up listening to Dolly, Johnny, and all those folks), to Disco (life is not complete without a little bit of the Bee Gees). There's Folk/Rock (Simon & Garfunkel, who are the reason I can sing harmony to this day.), and Hard Rock (Bon Jovi ); Jazz (Ella & Louis), and New-Wave (Adam Ant, among others); R&B, and Soul, as well as one lonely little listing under Ska. Lots of Soundtrack stuff--from Broadway shows, as well as movies, and a little bit of Opera. We have Gospel and Bluegrass, Adult Contemporary and Alternative, as well as general Pop & Rock. These are the categories assigned by the iPod, not me. I wouldn't really classify Bon Jovi as Hard Rock; I don't have any real Hard Rock.

Anyway. Music is keeping me sane right now. I'm having a difficult time focusing long enough to read more than a few pages of anything, but I can concentrate on a song.

Call Me Grinchy

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, and I'm already sick of the holiday season. There was a time I liked Christmas music, as well as the Christmas season. Many things have ruined that for me, primarily the over-commerciallization of what should be a happy time. The commercials began before Halloween, and I am not as fast with the mute button on the remote as I'd like to be, so I keep hearing the carols over and over. I now throughly detest 'Carol of the Bells.' If I am ever captured by terrorists, all they'd have to do is threaten to play that song over and over again, and I'd break.

Of course, being a single woman at the holidays is never any fun. Everything is aimed at families, or couples, or children. The only ads aimed at singles are those for couples, telling us that every kiss begins with k. (Duh.)

I am a woman in the middle of her life, no children, no job, poor-to-middling health, and at this point no pets. I don't have a home of my own to decorate, family meals to host or prepare, parties to attend, or even many people to send cards to.

Wow. That sounds more pathetic than I intended it to, and much more pathetic than my life actually is. Sure, things aren't all roses and lollipops these days, but frankly, I'm not all that fond of roses or lollipops! I like tulips and lemondrops!  I started this post to whine a bit about how annoyed I am about how commercial the holidays have become, and I lost my train of thought.

I'm going to go now, and watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' It's still the only holiday television show that reflects the true meaning of the season. Plus, the music is awesome. And I love the way they all dance.

Dancing Fools

 

No reason for this post, really, other than these make giggle. I've come across several gifs lately that I quite enjoy, and decided to share.



There are dozens of these "single ladies" out there, and I wanted to share a couple with you all.   

Everybody dance now!

 

Okay, this image of dancing Harry Potter is one of my favorites. I wished there was also a Draco to go with it, and then discovered there is an entire video, called Dance Dance Potter Revolution! Makes me happy in such a stupid way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5M3HlihSg

Because I'm obsessive, I spent several hours (read: DAYS) looking at gifs, and even found websites where I could make my own, so of course I did.  (I have nothing but time on my hands, people.)

Twist like Travolta, baby.



Some Like It Hot is my all-time favorite movie, and this tango is awesome.


 

I hope these guys are dancing together in heaven!

 

Carlton rocks. 

As does Cap'n Tightpants. 

He's The Doctor. Of course he can dance!



 

Still one of the best movies ever. 

Johnny Bravo and PeeWee have more in common than we knew. 

Go, Farmer Ted. He blows my mind. 

 

There's an entire Tumblr dedicated to Chandler dancing on things, but this is better. 

 

Mr Noodle, and his brother, Mr Noodle, from Sesame Street. They groove, man. 

And because I am obsessive, and because I found a way to make my own gifs, I give you  Dance Dance Draco!



 

Enjoy my silliness.

 

Beaches and Beds

Yeah, that title sounds like this is gonna be a dirty post, but really, it's not.

I've spent 65% of the last week in bed. Sleeping, I mean. For some reason, I'm incredibly tired lately. Amanda would tell me that I'm depressed, Lori would say I'm still getting over whatever made me so sick, and my Mom, well, she said "You've become lazy." Which made my sister and I laugh, because I've always been lazy. Lazy is not a new thing for me! I've fallen asleep all over the place this week, though. I went in to talk to Max, fell asleep on his bed, and woke up when he started hollering at the video game he was playing. I sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, started snoozing. Fell asleep in my chair at least once a day. And yesterday, I swear, I fell asleep in the shower. Weird. I like my bed best. It's squeaky, and tall, but comfy and I sleep better there than anywhere else.

"Beaches" is on television as I write this, and Barbra Hershey just died, so I'm typing and crying at the same time. I saw this movie the first time with Michele, and we both cried then. I read the book at some point, too; this is one of the times where the movie is better than the book. The story of childhood friends growing up together, and the death of one feels especially poignant to me these days, as I miss Michele. The anniversary of her passing was earlier this month, and I'd intended to write a big sentimental post about her, and our friendship. I just couldn't do it. Something inside me wanted to keep that day personal to me. So I lit a candle, said a prayer, and looked at pictures.

The songs that make me think of Shel are not those in the soundtrack to "Beaches,' no disrespect to Miss M. Michele and I danced to Copacabana, sang along to every stupid 80's tune, and tunes from The Pirate Movie. And this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyTpu6BmE88

 

This song still makes me cry.

 

Talk Nerdy To Me

Let's talk about nerd-dom. My nerdiness. It's my blog, nobody reads it but me, I'll talk about what I want, and you can't do a thing to stop me, nyah-nyah-nyah. I can write all about how I spend way too much time reading Drarry fanfiction, or watching Glee (or listening to music from Glee while reading Drarry stories--that's the best!), and nobody would care! Ah, the joys of the internet.

But first, I must point out that I am not a geek, or a dork. A geek is smart enough to create and fix things like computers, etc., and I am not. A dork doesn't really get anything. A nerd both understands and is into really cool stuff. That's me.

Yes, I do enjoy Harry Potter fanfiction, and I do not care if you think that makes me a nerd, because I embraced my nerdiness way back in Junior High when I sang a Barry Manilow song in front of the entire school. Yes, I am THAT big a nerd. I am a Barry Manilow-loving, Doctor Who-watching, Firefly-missing, Sherlock-worshipping, fanfiction-reading, nerd. And I am damn proud of it. In some respects, I guess this makes me a hipster, because I was dorky long before it was cool, and I was happy being this way. I've never really wanted to be anything but who I am.

In high school, I had good friends, and while we weren't the popular crowd, we got along with everyone, and we had a ton of fun. We were primarily choir and theater geeks, and most of us made good grades as well. At the time I thought we were all staying away from drugs and alcohol, although I know now that wasn't true for all of us; either way, we had a lot of fun just being totally stupid, as teenagers tend to do. I never remember wanting to be any "cooler" than we were; I thought we were fabulous then, and I still do. Mostly. Except for the friend I've since discovered was stoned pretty much since eighth grade. That just pisses me off, although it does explain a bit about him.

In college, it was pretty much the same. Weird friends, just older. Different states, different things, and eventually, a bit of that alcohol. Either way, we were all some kind of misfit toy, and it worked.

Anyway. All these years later, even with Michele gone, I am still listening to Barry, still spending most of my Friday nights watching bad movies and occasionally eating pizza. Not the same movie anymore, thank god. And nobody will let me get Hawaiian pizza anymore, which is okay, since I've had my fill.

I'm still a nerd. If I had friends nearby, I'm sure we'd be sitting around a coffee shop somewhere, laughing until one of us spit coffee out our nose. Heaven for me will involve lots of time in cozy cafes with Michele, Elissa, Louis, Doug, Andy, Demere, Marina, Christopher, Lori & Don, Marty, Eric, Kathy, Karen, Leslie, Kenny, Wes, Teri, Monica, Fay, and so many more. Lots of time just being nerdy with the friends I love.

This Song Says It.

A few days ago my friend Tara K. posted a link to a video of Robert Downey Jr singing with Sting, and since I adore RDJ, and quite like Sting, I watched the video, and then viewed several more. I had already been aware that RDJ could sing, having seen him in movies like 'The Singing Detective,' and in that episode of Ally McBeal (ick) where he sang with (oh, yeah) Sting! What I didn't know is that he'd recorded an album, which is pretty good. But this isn't really about that.

It's about this.



This video is the first thing Rob did after he got himself out of trouble, back on the straight and narrow, clean & sober, etc. The song, by Elton John, was never very popular, but, it speaks to me. Says everything I've been feeling. I hate when that happens.

"A man like me is dead in places other men feel liberated...but I want love." Yeah. That's it, all over. There are parts of me I cannot feel anymore, things I'm not sure I'll ever be able to feel again. My heart seems to be so hard that I'm not sure that anything can get through, or if I want it to. Too much pain. Too many scars, and why would I want more, yeah? Yet, I am craving something that will actually make me feel something, anything. I'd take pain over this nothing all the time.

 

Book Review: I Think I Love You

 

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson 
You'd expect a book about teens in love with David Cassidy to be light and full of air, a pop song of a novel, wouldn't you? Well, that is not at all what the reader gets with this book. The story of Petra, who as a teenager in a small Welsh town, who along with her best friend Sharon, enters The Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz contest in hopes of winning a meting with their idol. Petra's mother is staunchly against all forms of popular culture the family doesn't even have a television and so Petra must hide her devotion to Cassidy, as well as her plans to see the man in concert in London. Years later, after her mother's death, she discovers a letter in her mother's things, telling her that she'd won that contest back in 1974; in a rush of grief, Petra calls the publishing company and demands her prize.

 

Intertwined with Petra's story is that of Bill, a writer at the magazine sponsoring the contest, who in many senses becomes David Cassidy for the fans. He writes the letters the teenyboppers think are from David, using his poetic and musical heart to win their love. Bill even behaves like a prince at the concert where he and Petra unknowingly cross paths.

 

Years later, as adults, they cross paths again, as Bill's publisher sends Petra and Sharon to Las Vegas to see David Cassidy, fulfilling their adolescent dreams. The plot sounds simple, but like a good pop song, there are layers. Upon layers. Love, anguish, teenage and adult heartbreak, music, poetry, and friendship. I didn't expect it, but I am so glad I found it. Allison Pearson, I think I love you.

 

The Frozen North?

I thought Canada was supposed to be cold. That's why I packed more cardigans than t-shirts for my visit to Toronto.  I've been here a week, and the temperature has been in the high 70's or 80's every day! Jeez Louise, I felt like I was on the bayou one day, it was so muggy & hot. I kept listening for a jazz band to start playing, or frogs to croak; instead, I heard Indian & Scottish accents, Bollywood music, and saw seagulls overhead.

I'm here in Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, for the summer, staying with my BFF Michele and her family. As my readers know, Michele is going through chemo for breast cancer. I'm came up to help her out, give my support, and entertain her if at all possible. She and her husband have three boys, ages 14, 4 & 2, so I'm trying to help with them, as well.

This is not an easy time for any of us. Stress levels are high, and there have been moments in the last week when I wanted to scream. I know I cried at least once, but I did it alone, in my room. Since they were tears of frustration & exhaustion, they were especially annoying to me.

There have been many tears here this week, as often happens in a house with little kids. These children  cry and scream a lot more than usual, and I'm not sure if that's due to the tension of their parents, or their father's parenting style.

I never understand parents who holler at their little kids "Stop crying!" as if that will work. Especially when the child has had a tantrum, and is at that point where they cannot physically make themself stop; what they need is to be held, and soothed. Shouting never works. I find myself very frustrated here, because I want so much to help, and yet I can't really interfere. I have been given the go-ahead on some things, but not others. Some of teacher skills are being used, others, ignored or contradicted. 

I have to remind myself "they aren't your kids, not really your problem, nobody really asked for your advice," and keep my mouth shut. If I can do that, and keep the eye-rolling to a minimum, all will be well.

I may need to send home for more warm weather clothes, though. It's hot here in the frozen North!

Frozen Song & Dance

Posted on September 3, 2010 by jonnadee| Leave a comment

This afternoon as I pushed my cart through WinCo, I was struck with jealousy for the bright & shiny little girl who stood in her parents cart, smiling & singing at the top of her voice. She was so happy, smiling at everyone who walked by. I wanted to sing along with her, right there in frozen foods.

This is the curse of adulthood for me. I’m able to sing along with every episode of Glee and have even been known to get up & dance occasionally, enjoying every single moment! From childhood I’ve believed life should be scattered with song & dance numbers, and there was a time I was the one planning them. So, while my wooden spoon becomes a microphone for me while I make dinner, I wasn’t brave enough to sing along with that sweet little girl today, even though I knew all the words.

If I’m in front of a preschool class, yes, I could sing, and be silly. Tell stories, dance & laugh; play and have a ball. That’s why I know that girl wouldn’t have minded if I sang with her; little kids love to share their joy.

When did I lose that? Where did my joy in music & being silly go? I didn’t know any of those people in the store; why did I care what they thought?

Next time I’m in a store (or an elevator, or anywhere) and I hear a song I know & like playing on the overhead music system, I won’t just hum to myself, I’ll sing out loud & proud! Maybe even dance a little. And if I see a child singing, I’ll join in. I promise.