This Song Will Change Your Life

I was sick earlier this week and glued to my couch all day on Tuesday. I pretty much spent the entire day watching television because I couldn’t focus on anything else.  I sat and watched all of the past few weeks of SNL.  Yes, I realize that they aren’t that funny.  But it was that kind of day.  So I got to last week’s episode with Jonah Hill and The Shins.  And I just want to know whether it would kill The Shins to ever, just not sound like the Shins.  Sure, the entire band has been replaced and they’ve said they are going in a new direction, but I just don’t see it.  Still sounds like The Shins to me, except that they seemed to have switched from the acoustic to electric, which doesn’t do them any favors. Beyond that, the only real difference I hear are the lyrics, which are just more cliché.  Snooze.

I’m not trying to hate on them.  I’ve always liked them.  Never loved them, but liked them.  I just don’t get behind all of the hype they’ve always received. I haven’t listened to the new album yet and I will gladly take commentary from anyone that has and thinks its amazing.

 

Good song, but I’m still sitting in this dingy doctor’s office with a crazy person.

 

 

The Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys – Verizon Show

This is  a few weeks behind, but I thought I’d share anyway. I went to see The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys concert at the Verizon Center a few weeks ago and I have to say it was pretty awesome. Even though I’m not into the Arctic Monkeys.  I was for about five minutes when they came out in 2006 but they quickly made one of those stupid being better than the Beatles comments and I was over them immediately.  They were just riding in on The Strokes wave anyway and The Strokes are a much better band. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not opposed to an arrogant rockstar. Even those that make comments about being better than The Beatles. Those Gallagher brothers and their ridiculous sibling disputes in the Oasis days (and beyond) entertained me more than I’d like to admit. Those two were oozing with arrogance. But the Arctic Monkeys were never good enough for that level of arrogance. And I haven’t paid any attention to them since.  Until now of course. But they put on a decent show.  Not amazing by any means, but pretty decent.

I got the tickets through work and we sat in a box.  I’m generally pretty happy down on the floor, but I would never turn down a box seat.  We had our own bathroom, free food and drinks and a great view.  The only downside was that there were some industry people in the box with us, so we couldn’t really rock out as hard as we would’ve liked.  But free food and drinks can make any concert a little better, so the Arctic Monkeys were more than satisfactory.

The Black Keys were awesome though.  I wasn’t sure if their type of sound would be able to fill up an arena like the Verizon Center, but their sound techs apparently know what they are doing.  The Black Keys proved that two guys with just a guitar and a drum set are more than enough to fill an arena.

I think The Black Keys are really one of the best rock bands out there right now.  They’ve kind of filled the Kings of Leon void for me.  I played them to death and then they blew up and became uber popular on the radio and everywhere else and I found myself needing a break from them. I’ve always liked the Black Keys, but they really stepped up for me when I went on the KoL break.

And in case anyone cares, here’s the Set List:

Howlin’ for You
Next Girl
Run Right Back
Same Old Thing
Dead and Gone
Gold on the Ceiling
Thickfreakness
Girl Is On My Mind
I’ll Be Your Man
Your Touch
Little Black Submarines
Money Maker
Strange Times
Chop and Change
Nova Baby
Ten Cent Pistol
Tighten Up
Lonely Boy

Encore:

Everlasting Light
She’s Long Gone
I Got Mine

Hi, we're the Gallagher brothers. We're so arrogant that we're stealing the thunder from this blog post.

Yo Gabba Gabba’s Biggest Fan

Yo Gabba Gabba’s biggest fan might actually be me, sadly.  I added all of the available music to my phone so Ava could listen it to on the way to and from daycare. Initially she was very excited.  But a few songs into yesterday’s commute I noticed a weird thing.  She was silent.  I turned around and she was contentedly sucking her thumb and looking out the window.  Meanwhile I had been singing along the entire time. I’m not sure how many songs we had gone through at that point, but it was at least four.  Naturally, I just assumed that she was tired, so I tried again this morning after our car routine.  The car routine, if you are curious, generally involves her telling me where we are going and who is going to be there, followed by her telling me everything she sees outside…trees, cars, buildings and sometimes and airplane.  And if we’re lucky, we’ll see a helicopter (a strange and also unexpected bonus of living near the District.) Beyond that the car ride varies depending on her mood. So this morning I put Yo Gabba Gabba back on, and started to sing along absent-mindedly as I drove and again discovered that I was singing along by myself.  She just didn’t care.  Until recently this was her favorite song (and mine too apparently:)

I asked her if she was ok and she was fine of course. I went down the list of things she likes to do in the car (sing songs, play the alphabet game, etc.) When she said no to everything I asked her if she’d like to listen to something different and she said “mommy put on Goyte please.”  So, at two years old my daughter is already cooler than me.  I have already started to cross the line when the parent becomes decidedly un-cool.  It’s only a matter of time until I become embarrassing. No more street cred over here folks.

 

Bizarre takes bizarre and runs with it

I saw this a few days ago and wanted to share and totally forgot about it.  Stupid New Years brain.  But here are the Flaming Lips covering the Beatles “I am the Walrus.”  I’m a huge Beatles nerd, but this is one of my least favorite songs.  Leave it to the Flaming Lips to take a weird song and make it even weirder.  I want to like the Flaming Lips sometimes, but their fans are much too infuriating.  Go to a concert and tell me you feel differently.  It’s like being trapped in a room with a pack of furries. And if you don’t know what a furry is, I’m not the person to tell you.  They creep me out too much.  You’ll just have to google. Except for the people who are dressed up like aliens.  Because they are there too.

Flaming Lips fan:

Versatile Blogger Award – I’m blushing!

When I started this blog I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t if truth be told. I just wanted to write. So that’s what I’m doing.  Just writing.  About me, about being a mom, about my struggles of being a grown-up, about music, about stupid things that I see/hear/do. About anything really. I’ve always been all over the place, so why would my blog be anything different?

Some classify me as a mommy blogger, which in some respects I am.  Being a mom is the most important part of my life. Ava changed my entire world for the better.  Everyday is a joy/triumph/disaster/comedy/learning experience.  I still get overwhelmed at times, while at the same time I am itching for number two.  We’re not quite ready yet, but we can talk more about that in 2012.  You know, at the end of 2012.  All that aside, I don’t consider myself a mommy blogger any more than I consider myself just a mommy.  While that is an important part, I am not one of those women that becomes all consumed in it (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)  I am a person and an individual and prefer to be seen as one.  And I need to keep being that individual for my own well-being.  There is so much more to me.  In a non-bragging way of course.  I love so many things.  Music is a big one.  I’ve been known to be a bit of a music snob, but I’m getting over that these days.  While I don’t have the time or energy to read as much as I like these days, I still consider myself to be an avid reader. If I wasn’t smack in the middle of *nerd alert* “A Feast for Crows” (A song of Ice and Fire – book four) I would probably be knee-deep in one of my beloved historical fiction novels.  Or starting to read Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time.  I love fashion and art and film and a lot of ridiculous stuff as well.  I laugh at some of the same stuff I laughed at as a teenager (see: http://wp.me/pROJ9-jF) I still love costume parties. I am a huge nerd and love sci-fi, and tech toys and everyday start my morning reading my morning tech updates to see what’s new out there. But now I’m just rambling.

In my time blogging I have made some new “blog friends.”  People that I’ve never met but correspond with on a regular basis.  People that actually pay attention to what I have to say (amazing!) and those that I listen to as well. I’ve gotten a lot of great advice on all things kids related as well as on life in general.  Can’t beat that folks.

So I am really, really excited to say that one of my readers awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  How cool is that?  Thank you to Mommy’s mom”ments. You made my day.   She’s only been blogging for a few months and she’s already making a name for herself in the blogosphere as a well-written mommy blogger.  I read her posts and think “man, I know exactly what she means.”  In other words, I can relate.  And I’m sure some of you can too.

Now, there are rules of acceptance that come with this Versatile Blogger Award, so let’s get that out of the way first:

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.  – Done!  Please drop by her blog and check her out.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Here are my 7 random facts:

1.  My list of guilty pleasures is growing dramatically as I get older.

2. Sometimes I wish I had never told anyone I know that I started this blog.  I have so many more confessions that I would love to get off my chest.  And for some reason, I am perfectly fine with sharing these things with complete strangers, but not quite prepared to let on to those who know me.  But I may change my mind as time progresses.

3. In a completely non-bragging way, I sometimes quite like myself.  How fun am I?

4.  In a totally honest way, sometimes I can’t stand myself.  How annoying am I?

5. I steal my daughter’s coloring books and color in them at night once she has gone to bed.  Thank you Ava.  Laugh all you want, but they are an excellent stress reliever.

Note: almost freaking out when your kid tries to color on your masterpiece is probably taking it a bit far.

6. My hair is my security blanket. I have fabulous hair. There, I said it.

7.  I regularly listen to some of the same bands that I’ve loved since adolescence.  I love them. And true love lasts a lifetime.

I read a lot of good event planning and catering blogs, but I’m going to skip over them for now.  But picking 15 bloggers is hard. There are so many great writers out there.  And some entertaining folks that really deserve to be heard.  I often forget to “follow” the blogs that I like and just show up, so I think some of these bloggers may be completely surprised by me. (And after I finish this I swear to go back and follow every single one.) But here we go – the nominee’s are:

1. Pooter and Booger’s Place  – Writer, formal model, mother, and highly entertaining human being.  She has brought me to tears of laughter, but also had me on the verge of tears following one particular story.  She of course knows which one that is. Nothing but honesty over here folks.  Check her out.  Well, honesty and laughs.

2. The Weekly Argus – One word: HILARIOUS.  If unsure where to start, I recommend this: I’m thankful for potatoes.

3. camille reads – Ah yes, a fellow nerd girl like myself.  You may be amazed by the list of tags listed on here.  She really is the definition of versatile.  Plus, not going to lie, her Eye Candy section is pretty, uh, pretty.

4. Where Do Gaybies Come From?  – Recently showcased on Freshly Pressed, I am confident that he does not need me or anyone else to point out his blog.  But I’m doing it anyway.  He’s a self-titled “Gay Superdad.”  And it appears to me that he is 100% correct.  Always well-written, humorous and informative, this is a gem of a blog.

5. The Man Repeller – This fashionable lady puts a humorous twist on fashion.   What’s not to like?

6.  rockstar diaries – taza & husband – Happy (super fashionable)  people, happy baby, happy dog. Their dog by the way has his very own diary.  I like these people.

7. Cupcakes and Cashmere  – This girl is so put together that you almost want to hate her – but you won’t.

8. Down The Rabbit Hole – My favorite Bostonian by far….let’s start with her likes:

Likes: Glossy magazines, felines, tall men, cities, witty banter, trashy television, online stalking, bangle bracelets, unicorns, red wine, green olives, books with pictures and socialites.

OMG ME TOO!

9. MODGBLOG  – Oh the hilarity.  I don’t even know where to start on this one.  Just read it and laugh.  They are not assholes…so they say. Operation Wana is pretty awesome.

10. ChickenNuggetsAndElmo – – Chicken nuggets and Elmo?  Yes, I may or may not know a lot about those.  “PS: She would only agree to eat pasta on Thanksgiving.”  -yes we have a lot in common this lady and I.  And she’s funny.  Have I mentioned that I like funny?  She’s new to blogging so I’m happy to direct some traffic her way.

11. TheRedneckPrincess  -this reads like a guilty pleasure.  And maybe it is.  She’s also got an etsy shop.  Versatile indeed.

12. LittleMissVix  – This lovely brit is highly entertaining.  You can tell by her posts that she is an aspiring author.  But she talks about much more…did I mention that she’s british?  Brilliant!

13. SemiWeeklyEats – Meet Jess, fashionista and mom-to-be. Yes, that is a video from Kindergarten Cop you see. Be prepared though, her adventures in baking will make you hungry.  Very hungry.

 
I know this is cheating, but I’ve got to stop here.   I don’t want to just give this to anyone, and as I mentioned earlier, the other blogs I read are generally strictly event planning and catering. You know, because I plan events.  And I like food. And when I’m not busy working (and eating) I’m chasing a two-year old around, helping my husband find his shirt, shoes, socks, watch and everything else right under his nose.  And then when I’m done with that I  try to take some time to actually have a life. And then I come here.  I am BUSY.  If I’m lucky enough to get this again I am sure I’ll be able to fill those two spots.

 

 

Other F Word

Punk Rock grows up.  Indeed it does.  I came across the review for this documentary and I was instantly sad and I haven’t even watched it yet. Seems reasonable, right?  There’s no real explanation for it, other than the fact that I was really effected by these kids growing up and while I often feel tired and have never felt more like a “grown-up” in my life, here’s one more piece of evidence that I am no longer young.  Not old, but not young, either.

I was never punk rock, and didn’t pretend to be, but I loved the music and especially the boys.  I was never comfortable in my own skin as a teenager (is anyone?) and while I hung out with some of these guys, I was too afraid to admit how much I loved it because I didn’t look like them and was afraid to be ridiculed.  Not only that, but I was under the impression that some of these guys really believed in the lifestyle (and some of them really did) and I didn’t.  On most levels, I “got it.” But I had a great childhood, my parents were good people who did the best that they could and I was just rebelling in the standard teenage way.   It was a great outlet for anger but it was really more of a teen angst thing for me.  If someone asked me if I was anti-establishment or something of the sort I probably wouldn’t have even known what they were saying.  I just wanted to listen to the music, drink beers and break stuff.  Or watch other people break stuff.  And had I let on how much I really loved it to my peers, someone would have called me a poser and that is like a curse word in that world.  And my poor, delicate teenage brain could not have handled that. In my late teen years and early 20s, my life had been turned upside down by a series of traumatic events and that’s when I really got into it.  Nihilistic swagger and self-imposed alienation?  No rules? Yes, sounds good to me.  You have how many tattoos?  Yes, I think I might be interested in making out later.  That period can only be described as a shit-show.  It’s funny how coming across something as simple as a documentary can cause a person to look back so far and so in-depth.  Although maybe it’s just me.  I’ve always been that way.

I’ve been listening to The Buzzcocks at work all afternoon.  I have been going back and forth between laughing at it(and myself,) trying not to sing(scream) along like I’m that girl again and wishing I could leave and get in my car and listen to the Misfits with all the windows down.  I still listen to the Misfits by the way.  A lot.  As does my husband.  But with the windows up.  We could roll them down if we wanted to, but it would probably go over better if we took the car seats out of the back seats of our cars.  It’s funny how sometimes you can feel so old and then other times feel like you are 31 going on 17.

By the way – Everclear?  Blink 182?  So not punkrock.  But I won’t hate on this anymore until I actually see it.  I’ll let you guys know how it is.

 

 

Ho Ho Ho

Thanksgiving has come and gone, so I am ready to embark on the holiday season in all its sparkly glory. I ventured into our scary attic and pulled everything out, so the decorations are up. Last week I was grumbling about Christmas music being played too early this year, but I successfully avoided it and am now listening to pretty much these three songs on repeat.  So while I’m at it, I’d like to talk about how amazing these videos are (well, two out of three anyway:)

There are so many awesome happenings in this video.  The first one is obvious: NICE SWEATERS. My favorite part is the epic 80s dinner party.  These people have sparklers in the cake and its not the 4th of July.  Genius!  I love when George Michael’s ex-girlfriend casually brushes her hand across the brooch on her jacket, foreshadowing the the upcoming flashback scene.  Because ten seconds later  they flashback to last Christmas when he gives her his heart….and that fabulous flower brooch.  For those of you that may have wondered how anyone could possibly not know that George Michael was gay, take a second look.  They ALL look like him.   Also, if you skip to 2:18, you may agree with me when I say that I think those girls are like 16. I think the one on the right may have braces.

*If anyone is able to replicate that brooch, or know someone who has, please let me know ASAP.  This is very important.

Ok, so this video is clearly the one that I was referring to that does not classify as amazing.  Everything Mariah does is pretty cheesy (or just bad) but this video is less brutal than usual. It’s probably the puppies.  Or maybe it’s because she’s actually wearing a fair amount of clothing.  But I think it’s actually because the song is so good.  As soon as I hear this song every year I get so excited.  Ava loves it now too.

And my personal favorite:

Forget super committees.  Let’s get back to charity super-groups instead. And look – its George Michael again! The best thing in this video is obviously the hair.  There are some serious haircuts in here.  Bono’s haircut alone makes me stop and stare. He looks like he’s got some sort of animal in there.  And if you skip ahead (you know you love this song too much to skip ahead) to 3:38 why don’t you hit pause and take a gander at the skunk-like number that guy is sporting.

And look at Sting.  Just look at him.  There is nothing in this world hotter than 1984 Sting.  Not sure if I could deal with current Sting (too much talk about tantric sex,) but I would go back in time in a heartbeat for that. He is just so cool.  But poor Paul Weller must have been in a bad mood.  He was the only one that looked like he wasn’t having any fun.  Perhaps he was pissed Simon LeBon got a solo and he didn’t. Now, if anyone can tell me who the guy with the really cool braid is in the back, I would greatly appreciate it.

Is it weird that I still love Duran Duran?

No, it isn’t.  Thanks in part to Mark Ronson who produced the video.

Here is the premiere of the “Girl Panic!” video.  It actually came out yesterday, so I’m a day behind.  I do what I can people!

 

I love that all of my favorite supermodels reunited for the video.  And hellllo Cindy Crawford.  You still look amazing.  As do you, Simon Lebon.  Keep rocking that beard.

 

Happy Monday

from the Happy Mondays.

 

Today could potentially be a big day for me.  But I’m keeping it a secret for now so I don’t jinx myself.  In the meantime, I’ve got my fingers crossed that I don’t have to hear anymore about Kim Kardashian this week.

The Point!

My friend Jess has one of my favorite songs posted on her blog (http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/.) The song is “Me and My Arrow” from the movie The Point!  Finding this inspired me to pull out the soundtrack. The Point is also one of my favorite movies of all time and I can’t wait until Ava is old enough to sit through it.  My dad used to have the story/soundtrack on cassette so we would often listen to it when he had to drive us somewhere that required us to be entertained for any length of time.  So when he eventually brought the movie home my sister and I were stoked.  My dad was a cool dude.  And he influenced me a lot when it came to music.  All of the music in the movie was done by the amazing Harry Nilsson, who I still listen to all the time.  And if you have kids, there’s a great moral to this movie and I highly recommend it.  And if you don’t, I still recommend it.  I made my husband watch it in the early days of dating to see how he’d feel about it.  Oh, the strange tests I used to put people through!  You can just pretend that there were no drugs being taken during the making of this movie if you want to.  Or not.  Either way your kids won’t know.

“I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s a point to it.'” – Harry Nilsson

In a nutshell, the story is about a boy about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point.  So poor round-headed Oblio has to wear a pointed hat to hide his round  “pointless” head from his pointy-headed peers. Everyone pretty much accepts Oblio until he embarrasses one of the kids in the land who happens to be the son of the evil count. The Count’s son challenges Oblio to a one-on-one game of Triangle Toss (where participants catch the triangle on their heads), which Oblio wins. In a fit of rage, the Count (who wants his son to rule the land one day) confronts the King to reaffirm the law of the land, which states that those who are pointless must be banished from the kingdom and into the Pointless Forest. A jury reluctantly convicts both Oblio and his dog Arrow, forcing the king to banish them.  So the pair head into the Pointless Forest,where they meet creatures like giant bees, a “pointed man” pointing in all directions who proclaims “A point in every direction is the same as no point at all”, a man made of rock, three dancing fat sisters, and the man made out of leaves who helps Oblio see that everyone has a point, though it might not be readily displayed. So actually,  even the Pointless Forest has a point.  So Oblio heads back to the kingdom to tell the King and the people of the land that everything has a point, including the Pointless Forest, and himself. The Count is obviously pissed and pulls off Oblio’s pointed hat, but is taken aback when he sees a point on top of Oblio’s bare head. Upon this revelation, the points of everyone else in the land disappeared, and even the pointed buildings became round. With the exception of Oblio of course. His hat is removed only to discover that while everyone and everything else is becoming round; he has developed a point.

So, I think I’ve made my point by now (I am laughing so hard at this stupid statement.) Watch the movie.

Also, there are different versions with different narrators, but I prefer the Ringo Star the version.

And just because I’m thinking about Harry Nilsson, here is his version of Over the Rainbow.  It’s probably my favorite version.  It once brought tears to my dad’s eyes.  And since that so rarely happens, it has always stuck with me.