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So it seems I've finally reached the point of blogger's constipation. I have so much to say that nothing wants to come out, so here I sit. (There's an image.)
I would say that the ramped up frenzy of last year's election has left me with a sense of quiet. Now instead of comsuming mass amounts of CNN, MSNBC, and all the other newsy junk food, I have to face myself again....coming back to the same uncertainties that I managed to stave off for a period of time. That mirror gazing can be a bitch sometimes, but it's necessary I suppose.
Some other quick updates: So far I'm weathering the financial crisis OK, but I don't know how much longer the folks around me are going to be able to hold out. No less than 6 of my close family members have been out of work since last year, and I don't see things picking up any time soon. I'm wondering if I'm going to have to take in a few of them. We shall see.
I saw The Watchmen last week and really enjoyed the film. As a non-reader of graphic novels, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read and familiarize myself with the story prior to attending the movie, else I would have been very confused at times. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good rendering of a novel that had to be difficult to translate to film. I did find the music at times to be totally incongruous with what was happening onscreen, awesome soundtrack notwithstanding. (Thanks T-Rex. =)
My book challenge isn't going so well this year, probably because I seem to have less time to read and am tired all the time. I've also cut back on my TV viewing, so at the present time I have no idea what the latest hap is on Heroes, Supernatural, Psyche, or Ugly Betty. And I'm really not all that concerned.
If you wanna know where your flist has gone, they are all on FaceBook..or at least it seems that way. ::whistles innocently::
Grammar geek note: Last week I was accused of being a "gerund hater." :: Snort :: It's true, when proofing reviews, I tend to remove -ing verbs and replace them with straight present tense. But of all the things to be called...
A word to the stupid parents: Not to go all Bill Cosby on your ass, but if you name your child after a mixed drink or an alcoholic beverage, you
And last, to finish out a pretty pointless post, how about a good old awesomely awesome 80s video. Timeless, poptastic, goodness:
"Think about it, there must be higher love....without it, life is wasted time..."
- Mood:
bored - Music:"Higher Love" - Steve Winwood
'"The Need to Be"
To forfill the need to be
Who am I in this world is all I ask
I can't pretend to be something I'm not
And I won't wear a mask
You've touched my face with love in your eyes
But will you touch my heart?
With the understanding that it takes to realize
I just can't play a part
There's the need to be true to myself
and make my own mistakes
And not to lean too hard on someone else
No matter what it takes
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
I'm not fool enough to ever think
That I could be the master of my fate
But it's up to me to choose my roads in life
Rocky may well be the ones I take
There's the need to be something more than
Just a reflection of a man
I can't survive in someone's shadow
I need my own spot to stand
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
- Music:"The Need to Be" - Gladys Knight and the Pips
"You Are My Sonia"
ETA: Okay, so somehow the entire bottom half of my post just disappeared. Dunno wassup with that, but piss on LJ for depriving the world of my genius! :-/
- Mood:
pleased - Music:"Walk Away from Love" - David Ruffin
Leave her alone they said
Separated by fools
Who don't know what love is yet
It's clear from the opening lines that this song can go someplace creepy way fast.
Recorded in 1980, "Into the Night" has the distinction of making the Billboard Top 20 twice...once in 1980 and again in 1989. Most of you are probably too young to remember this song when it was a "radio hit." I myself only really know it as an adult contemporary standard and until recently never really paid much attention to the lyrics, which is a shame because the emotion of the song is compelling.
I found this fan video on youtube for "Into the Night." It is appropriately 80s inspired and I can totally see it as the "official" video for the song.
ETA: Thanks for the recs! The iPod is stocked with all kinds of new goodies.
- Mood: mellow
- Music:"Into the Night" - Benny Mardones
awake
It was hotter than hell in that theater, but what a great show. Lisette opened for him and I'd like to say she was great...but I didn't get there early enough to check her out. Oh well. Did I mention that Lenny was WONDERFUL??!
The Set (in no particular order)
Bring it On
Love Revolution
I'll Be Waiting
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Fly Away
Again
Mr. Cab Driver
American Woman
Always on the Run
Let Love Rule
Lady
Where Are We Runnin'?
Dig In
Stillness of Heart
Great sound. Lenny was very enthusiastic and very complimentary to Detroit and its musical legacy. He was clearly driving his security detail batty as he often reached into the audience and at one point just hopped down off the stage and into the crowd. Schweet.
What he didn't perform:
( So many tears we've cried... )
Apparently, Lenny has this thing on his MySpace page where you can log on 24 hours before the tour hits your town and find out where you can get a limited number of tix set aside for his fans. I get the impression if you manage to figure out the secret location, you get super close to the stage and you also get to meet him after the show. If I had known I'd have been all over that.
Other things of note:
- This was my sister-in-law's very first "rock" concert. Ha...newbie!
- Lenny took us all to church during "Let Love Rule." When he asked that everyone hold hands I thought the guy next to me would die of repulsion...then afterward he acted as if he didn't want to let go of my hand. Weird.
- After the spiritual coming together of "Let Love Rule," my goofy-ass brother quipped "...and the Bi-Racial children shall heal the world!!! BARACK 2008!!!!" BWAHAAA HAAAAAAA!! (The stupid...my brother...he haz it.)
- Why did I start thinking about my son's biracialness after that statement?
- There was a lot of Aqua-Net sustained 80's hair. Faaaaaaaailure!!!!
:-)
- Mood: exhausted
- Music:"Again" - Lenny Kravitz
That happened to me yesterday while listening to the radio. A local DJ kinda does his own version of "Behind the Music" and everyday he features an artist (usually R&B/Soul) and tells their story. Yesterday was Michael Jackson day.
Well, -eff what you heard. Michael Jackson was and will always be the man. He's weirder than a duck on a skateboard, but he defined a musical era and back in the '80s he showed the world what it really meant to be a "superstar."
As expected, the DJ started off in Gary, Indiana. We get some interesting tidbits about MJ growing up and how he came to loathe his appearance so. (I guess no one ever told him that kids/people can be cruel.) He gets to the solo stuff. A few classics were played from the "Off the Wall" album (THE definitive Michael Jackson record and anyone with a hint of a clue knows it.) Then we got to the enormously successful "Thriller" album and the song "P.Y.T."
Of all the songs on that album, I've always regarded PYT (Pretty Young Thing) as probably the most innocent song on the album. "Billie Jean" had an adult subject matter. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" was MJ's way of calling out suckas and telling them to just "bring it!" "The Girl Is Mine" was about a love triangle. But PYT was light, sweet, and innocent...until today when I really HEARD these lyrics for the first time:
Where did you come from lady
And ooh won't you take me there
Right away won;t you baby
Tenderoni you've got to be
Spark my nature
Sugar fly with me
Don't you know now
Is the perfect time
We can make it right
Hit the city lights
Then tonight ease the lovin' pain
Let me take you to the max
(Chorus)
Nothing can stop this burnin'
Desire to be with you
Gotta get to you baby
Won't you come, it's emergency
Cool my fire yearnin'
Honey come set me free
Don't you know now is the perfect time
We can dim the lights
Just to make it right
In the night
Hit the lovin' spot
I'll give you all that I've got
(Chorus)
::head spins::
Did Michael Jackson just spend the better part of that song first talking about his erection (spark my nature), and then relieving his "blue ball" situation (ease the lovin' pain) by sexing up his girl and then promising to give her an orgasm (let me take you to the (cli)max)???
Then he further drives his point home (excuse the pun) at the end of the second verse by craftily crooning about hitting the g-spot and tapping that ass until he's completely spent?
WHAT??!!!
I never knew Mike had it in him. I can't believe our parents let us get away with singing that song (but I'm glad we did :-). It just all kind of hit me today in a blast of awareness and it caught me off guard a little. The gloved one wasn't as innocent as we all took him to be, and while I'm kinda glad I feel, well, sorta...tricked but in a good way...if that makes any sense.
Now I feel like I need to go back and really listen to all of the albums of my childhood. I need to find out what else I've been misinterpreting over the years.
Weird.
ETA: This song takes on a downright creepy tone when you consider the fact that Janet and LaToya are the "PYTs" singing backup on the track.
::shudder::
- Mood: sleepy
"Just keep me where the light is"
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:"Just Friends" - Amy Winehouse
Reason #2541685213 that I know I have too much on my mind.
I accidentally walked into the Men's room today. THANK GOD no one was in there.
Wow, that could have been REALLY embarassing.
*****
Everyone keep talking about how pissed Beyonce is that Jennifer Hudson is getting so many accolades for "Dreamgirls." I'm wondering if superego aka Jamie Foxx is a tad jealous that Eddie Murphy is also getting much love (as Jamie's acting and singing numbers left me flat in the movie.) Jamie seems to be a non-factor in this movie. JUST wondering...
*****
And thanks to The Today Show, I've found my new (for now) theme song. Check out the
Is this song written for ME or what?
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:"New Shoes" - Paolo Nutini
Last week we went to the Ribs -n- Soul Festival. The Ribs were "meh" but the night was beautiful and I got to see one of my all time favorite male singers...Mr. Howard Hewett.
To say I LERVE this man's voice would be quite the understatement. From the days of Shalamar I can remember sitting in front of my radio as a kid singing along to "Make That Move," "Second Time Around," and "A Night to Remember." And who doesn't know the urban classic wedding song "For the Lover in You?" The grooves were upbeat and Howard's melodic voice just soared above the music like a heavenly sound solely to comfort my soul. I don't think I ever once gave notice to Jody Watley or Jeffrey Daniels. Vocally, visually, or otherwise. For me Shalamar = Howard Hewett.
As the years went by, Shalamar as a group became a shadow of its former self. Those awesome R&B grooves gave way to craptacular 80's pop fluff. Jody and Jeffrey left the group and eventually Howard went solo. As a solo artist Howard enjoyed a few moderate R&B and Smooth Jazz hits, but for me practically everything he sings is pure joy. It's amazing how some singers can possess a voice with the tone and phrasing capable of just stroking that nerve in your spine that bends you to their will. It's that way when I listen to this man sing.
When he sings love, I feel love. When he sings pain, I remember it well. Whatever it is, I'm along for the ride. So it was in 1994 the first time I saw him perform, and so it was again last week. As always, he had a wonderful stage presence and his voice was simply amazing.
Now he may have put on a few pounds and lost a lot of that wavy hair, but he is still pretty and I will always try to check him out whenever he comes to town. That's just the way it is, now and forever.
'Cause for me Howard Hewett is Love.
- Music:"I Commit to Love" - Howard Hewett
Sometimes inspiration finds you.
My 3 1/2 year old son does this for me.
One of his favorite songs is Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds." He calls it the "'Bout a Thang" song (as in "Don't worry about a thing...") It's the cutest thing.
To hear that little voice singing his heart out to a song that he has latched onto for no particular reason just brings a smile to my face and tears of joy to my eyes. As he sings, I listen:
Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")
Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"
To see my son sing this song is something to behold. He seems to "get it" in a way that is unbelievable for a small child. He sways to the music and smiles ear to ear as he sings. He connects with this song, and I with him.
And so it is. And in that moment I let all of my worries slip into the power of the divine and nod along in time.
I think to myself...the poor child has his Dad's sense of rhythm, and luckily he got that voice from me.
But that joy...
...that's his own.
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:"Three Little Birds" - Bob Marley
So today I'm sitting in my son's room playing puppet show and watching The Soul of VH-1 when lo and behold what shows up on the screen?
Al B. Sure! - "Night and Day"
Oh. My. God.
I can remember the year that song came out. I remember begging the employees at the local record store (remember local record stores??) to let me have the promotional poster for that album. I was sure that Al B. Sure was the next big thing. I even learned the song in Spanish.
"Puedo decir de como siento de ti, Noche y Diaaaaaaaaaa!"
Well so much for the wisdom of a teenager.
This evening I watched this video and found it hard to surpress the giggles. Actually I didn't. He spent the majority of the video doing what one could only assume was his version of a sexy scowl. Between the "Woos!" and "Uhhs!" and the arms thrown in the air, I'm hard pressed to figure out what Quincy Jones saw in him. He was cute in a beige-brother/good-hair kinda way I suppose, but what was up with that unibrow?? I couldn't help but remember his follow up single "Off On Your Own Girl" which was highly unfabulous. I also recall Mr. Sure looking like he had been eating quite a bit since that debut video.
I don't want to sound too harsh about Al B. Sure, because at the time I really did love that album. That trip down memory lane was enjoyable if not a little embarrassing. I miss those days sometimes. School, friends, music, and general silliness. Acid wash jeans and high top fades.
Thanks Al. I needed that. If you were around, I'd kiss ya.
- Mood: silly
Gonna love you right
Gonna take my time with you
Gonna love you slow
Can't get enough of you
Gonna love you right
Gonna take my time with you
Gonna love you over
And over and over...again
Yes, yes, YES!
Damn I miss those guys from After 7. "Ready or Not," "Baby, I'm for Real," "Heat of the Moment," those songs were sho' nuff jams.
"Gonna Love You Right" has a special place in my heart though. That song makes me wanna throw my right hand up in the air to let you know that I'm feeling what they are saying.
I wonder if other cultures have a similar habit of "testifying" as to the strength or the shared feelings of a song. It's so impulsive, so involuntary, so real.
Long live the power of a song.
( My Y2K )
- Mood: pensive
- Music:"Never Will I Marry" - Nancy Wilson
Things are going to crank up to full on craziness by this time next week.
I can't wait to see how these half time rehearsals are going to go.
***************
"Hot like hot wings and hot chocolate in Hell." - Macy Gray, "Related to a Psychopath"
Never let it be said that Macy Gray can't turn a phrase...or give a sufficient description.
***************
First 10 Songs on Shuffle:
Sideways - Santana & Citizen Kane
Dust - Van Hunt
Long Time Coming - Leela James
I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues - Lou Rawls
Desafinado - Astrud Gilberto & George Michael
She Ain't Right for You - Macy Gray
Storm - Lenny Kravitz & Jay Z.
Right to Be Wrong - Joss Stone
Dynamite - Jamiroquai
Morning Glory - Jamiroquai
Man, I love my iPod.
- Mood: relaxed
- Music:"Deep Waters" - Incognito
So much music, so little room for CDs in the car.
So anyway, here's my question. When's the last time you LISTENED to your music?
( Read more... )
- Mood: pensive
- Music:"That's the Way It Goes" - Swing Out Sister
I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
But she's just like a maze
Where all of the walls all continually change
And I've done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands
Now I'm starting to see
That it's got nothing to do with me
Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too
*****************
As profound as these words are, d'ya think John Mayer ever considered calling this the "Dat bitch is crazy" song?
- Mood:
dorky - Music:"Daughters" - John Mayer
