song posts

for those who have lost track, what follows is a list of the songs i posted and / or linked to during the past 12 months. (a lot more adam ant than i would have expected...but about as much from the 80's in general, as we all have come to expect.)

20100110: got a habit now, val emmich
20100106: universal daddy (aquarian dance mix), alphaville
20100107: pass this on, the knife
20100108: all in my mind, love and rockets
20100111: blood, tears & gold, hurts
20100114: screaming skin, blondie
20100118: moth's wings, passion pit
20100121: lust for life, girls
20100123: jealousy, pet shop boys
20100127: jaws 2: brody misunderstood, john williams
20100129: euroboy, pet shop boys
20100130: let's go surfing, the drums
20100131: you were on my mind, we five
20100201: symphonies, dan black
20100205: stranded on love, i am noxious
20100206: the resistance, muse
20100207: i won't say adieu, the inertia kiss
20100212: mad world, tears for fears
20100212: the ghost in you, the psychedelic furs
20100213: glorious, andreas johnson
20100213: english boys, blondie
20100221: nothing is real but the girl, blondie
20100221: no stars, figures on a beach
20100221: downtown, petula clark
20100222: fresh, devo
20100225: "if i loved you", from carousel
20100228: the certainty of chance, the divine comedy
20100301: home, engineers
20100309: lowiza, the lovely feathers
20100315: kick-ass, mika
20100322: not alone anymore, the traveling wilburys
20100324: miss thing, adam and the ants
20100331: fat-bottomed girls, queen
20100404: the more you live, the more you love, a flock of seagulls
20100408: something's jumping in my shirt, malcolm mclaren
20100411: don't stop (michael jackson cover), blondie
20100413: fear of drowning, mirrors
20100414: invisible light, scissor sisters
20100421: libertine, adam ant
20100421: who's a goofy bunny then, adam & the ants
20100422: song away, hockey
20100424: seven seas, echo and the bunnymen
20100427: get on with it, val emmich
20100427: E.S.T., val emmich
20100428: better than love, hurts
20100509: wouldn't it be good, nik kershaw
20100515: theme from "heaven can wait", david grusin
20100516: theme from "capricorn one", jerry goldsmith
20100517: that's good, devo
20100527: hold me now, thompson twins
20100529: good girls, a bigger splash
20100603: a sunday smile, beirut
20100610: forever & ever amen, the drums
20100611: lay your hands on me, thompson twins
20100612: i gotta feeling (black eyed peas cover), i am noxious
20100613: what i heard (live), blondie
20100617: no place like home, devo
20100620: neverest, hey champ
20100626: homo, goodbye july
20100626: waiting, my robot friend (featuring alison moyet)
20100626: rebel fleet/end title (star wars V), john williams
20100627: let me go, heaven 17
20100702: babopbyeya, janelle monae
20100703: bad boys, wham
20100711: blue, fine young cannibals
20100711: (keep feeling) fascination, the human league
20100813: if you want it, OMD
20100904: sleeping, rick astley
20100904: lights out, rick astley
20100911: i die for you today, alphaville
20101010: hide and seek, mirrors
20101023: love is the law, the suburbs
20101025: could it be, mackintosh braun
20101026: sister marie says, OMD
20101026: not in love, crystal castles (featuring robert smith)
20101031: it's not too late, wolfsheim
20101105: holding back the night, findlay brown
20101110: desperate but not serious, adam ant
20101122: night people, the human league
20101202: intervention, margaret cho (featuring tegan and sara)
20101205: what i heard (studio version), blondie
20101206: call me down, alphaville
20101209: made of money, adam ant
20101221: all you need is now, duran duran
20101226: all i want for christmas is new year's day, hurts

fwiw, most of the links in the original posts seem to be working, if you wanted to review.

The King's Speech

i love learning history from a movie, don't you? inspirational story of the man who would be king, but feels overwhelmingly intimidated by his own speech defect -- have we run out of underdogs, that we are left with empathizing with the priveleged?

who knows how much of this is fact, but an intriguing story, just the same.
i went in, wondering how much of a man stammering through public appearances i could bear to watch but 1) they portrayed a fairly small number of appearances and 2) colin firth's portrayal of the man was so enjoyabe to watch, that the stammering business wasn't bringing on any cringes at all.
(in fact, the movie showed plenty of other characters' cringing, so my own cringing wasn't necessary.)

the stories of "doctor and client" interaction and of "royal and commoner" interaction, by the same two characters, played well, and there were lots of interesting magazine-like photography tricks in the movie: positioning a solitary character in a third of the frame, wide angle shots in unexpected places, shifting focal points in extremely shallow fields, etc. kept my interest visually, as well.

definitely a recommendation.

shake weight 20101226

look what i got for xmas:

will keep you posted

TRON: Legacy

where the original TRON was likable for what it could have been, TRON: Legacy is likable for everything that it is.

the light cycle games are actually thrilling. and beautiful 3D photography throughout, imaginative futuristic imagery, with some very nicely composed shots here and there.

the story never gets too complicated (and not so reliant on knowing the original), but the parts that seem like they might get confusing, pass quickly enough.

jeff bridges's younger "flynn" incarnation is mostly convincing (moreso if you don't remember what he actually looked like 30 years ago), though in the early scenes with young son, he just looks and moves oddly. and flynn's reliance on 80's slang ("radical!") isn't so convincing, but forgivable: cut him some slack, man, he's been trapped in a computer for decades.

it's a rare movie that makes me want to go in a second time, but i am really, really looking forward to watching TRON: Legacy again.

(please note, i like 3D movies, but am not a sucker for them. evidence: i really disliked "avatar". that's not me in the row behind you going "oooooooooooh" when the 3D glasses come up on the movie screen.)

HURTS holiday

everybody waits for christmas…for me, it’s new year’s day

a holiday single from my favorite new band of the year. it bothers me that this single isn't available in the states, and that we USA'ers can't link to the video in our blog posts. stupid music companies.

done

before hollywood ran out of ideas

duran duran - all you need is now

hey, they're back again...



i saw duran duran in concert about 5 years ago (for their "astronaut" tour), and they were pretty good. admittedly, i got sooooo tired of them when they were overplayed ("the reflex"), but i'm rather okay with this new one.

equation

i used to bring my personal mail, which i always opened at home, to work so that i could shred it (ensuring my identity remains within my possession, yes). then i decided to bring the shredder from work, home (brilliant!).

since doing so, i've (unconsciously) stopped opening my mail at home, and open it at the office...and then take it home again to shred it.

looks like i kept that equation in balance.

angelina

found on postsecret:

i almost agree...a digitally madeover alien, perhaps.

the fourth kind

finally viewed the movie, the fourth kind (2009). i'm generally all into movies of this sort: quasi-documentary, science fictiony, aliens. but this one took itself so very seriously, and tried to pass itself off as authentic...all of which ended up seeming almost offensive to me.

kind of paranormal activity but with aliens. did it have some good (scary) parts? absolutely...freaky, even. but at the end, i was feeling a bit put off by the whole thing.

and how much of a kickback did chapman university get for having their name plastered over the "real" video footage of therapist and client video footage? (after a quick consultation with the google, i found out that the director graduated from chapman u, and it was a sort of homage to his alma mater; they were happy enough to see their name onscreen.)

not a recommendation.

monster

i post pictures of the monster almost everyday (not here, to my flickr). my flickr friends must hate me.

movies and trailers

movies and trailers for the week:

movie of the day

we saw the tourist today, mainly because we visited venice this year, and thought it looked interesting from a tourist point of view. it seemed to be jumping between stupid and ridiculous throughout the first half or three quarters, but then it settled on "contrived".

and did they really break for a pop song in the middle? yes, they really did.

angelina jolie looked like a horse from behind. literally, a horse. and both her and johnny depp's faces just looked odd throughout...like they had digital makeovers, or something.

trailers of the day

i am number four looked okay, like fugitive spies trying to blend into society. oh, and quinn from glee plays a high school girl who falls in love with the diary-snooping spy...but wait, no, he can make light shoot out of his fucking hands. suddenly, this is the dumbest trailer of the day.

the mechanic looks like yet another hitman / chase scenes / loud explosions movie. wonder what might make this one different...because the trailer gives no indication.

true grit looks decent, even before you see it's by the coen brothers. i wanna see this, based on the trailer alone.

the adjustment bureau: matt damon is a senatorial (?) candidate who falls in love with a strange girl (who turns out to be a ballet star, of course), before falling into the matrix and finding out he can't be in love with her or she will die, becaue this bureau didn't intend for them to fall in love (or simply because terence stamp says so). hopefully this is not as dumb a movie as the trailer wants us to believe.

adam ant returns?

looks like adam ant's comeback is actually going to happen, after all...some touring now, and the new album coming up next month!


and here's an article with some appreciation for what once was. the money shot:

Ant’s multi-million selling number ones Stand and Deliver and Prince Charming are rarely played on radio, outside of 80s stations and have never been given the X Factor cover version treatment.

They are utterly unique creations, stemming from a single-minded belief that pop music should be exciting, dramatic, flash, a bit bonkers and with memorable tunes attached.

adam ant - made of money

catching rays

so much to listen to at the tail end of the year.

i've been going through alphaville's terrific new album, catching rays on giant, and for the moment, the standout track is "call me down".

not cliche alphaville-ish, but not unlike him/them, either. sort of a mellow glide...a criticism i've heard before regarding marian gold's solo albums (too adult contemporary). but i like the textures of this one.

fortunately, someone posted it on youtube:



alphaville - call me down

blondie - what i heard

finally, the studio version of the single they've been playing on tour the past six months:

blondie download

hey look: blondie has a free download of a new song from the upcoming album!

http://www.blondie.net/download/

this is a track they've been playing on their recent tour, and truth be told, the song wasn't half so powerful live as this recorded version. gives me additional hope for the album (that i hope gets released in my lifetime).

Margaret Cho - Intervention - featuring Tegan and Sara on Vimeo

no more hugs till you give up drugs!

Margaret Cho - Intervention - featuring Tegan and Sara from Margaret Cho on Vimeo.

catching up

i'm seriously behind reporting all the movies and music and tv i've been consuming the past few weeks. so, with the end of the year popping up soon, let's get a few of these out of the way, shall we?

MOVIES

• harry potter and the deathly hallows: let it be known that i have only seen two other HP movies, and never read any of the books. with that out of the way, i liked deathly hallows enough, though i've come to understand from other reports that this one was somewhat slow and heavy on "character" rather than action. i didn't notice that.
  also, the elf guy? so much reminds me of our pet monster. really.
  
• burlesque: this one is taking a beating with the "critics", but i liked it. great moviemaking? not at all. was i expecting that? not at all. somehow, they made cher look like a football player, but otherwise, for a farmgirl-goes-to-hollywood story (quite literally), it was as much as i would have expected.
  why so little use of alan cumming, though?
  
• who is harry nilsson (and why is everybody talkin' about him?): i watched this one on netflix a couple of weeks ago, and it hasn't left my head, since. i've been a very casual fan of nilsson's since i was a little kid ("can't live" being the ultimate emo song, before it was destroyed by mariah carey), but never knew anything about him, personally. this documentary has plenty of archival footage and photos, and goes fairly deeply into his career ups and downs, his friendship with the beatles, and his own self-destruction.
  good overview of his music, as well. watch it, become a fan.

MUSIC

• mackintosh braun: can't say enough about this band, and the two albums i've been listening to non-stop for the past month. kinda electro-ambient, but more pop, and with vocals. great, great synth sounds...like cut copy, but dreamier, and without trying to be rock stars. and they're such nice fellas on facebook, too.
  might be a pick of the year.
  
• alphaville: catching rays on giant: okay, whatever that title means. the sound of the album is classic, classic, classic a'ville. no
  WTF surprises here, and that's just perfect. i haven't picked out my favorite tracks quite yet, but if i were to rate this with the other alphaville albums, i think it might be #2 or #3 for me...after afternoons in utopia, but ahead of, or tied with, salvation.
  i wasn't aware that marian gold (the only apparent permanent member of alphaville these days) was accused of being scientologist. in alphaville's homeland of germany, that's a fairly scandal-ridden charge. i wonder if that may have contributed to such a long time between these last two albums.
  
• bryan ferry: olympiai want to like it, but it's mostly more of the same. "heartbreak by numbers" is fairly gorgeous, though. maybe i'll crack open the album once again, give it another shot.

TV

• outsourced: not to be a negative nelly, but this show just isn't appealing. stupid cross-cultural setups that make no realistic sense. the first episode, one thinks of forgiving how racist the show is, because the characters might end up being endearing or whatever. by the fourth episode, it's time to throw a shoe at your tv and swear to never watch again.
  just awful. and to think we've been denied leslie nope in parks and recreation for this?
  (while i'm at it: couldn't hang onto the event, though the husband still watches. my breaking point: the first time the jetliner vanished above the president's reception. the effect for that was so bad, i just gave up on it right then and there. too bad...i like blair underwood.)
  
• the walking dead: how awesome is this show? zombie movies rarely (never?) actually frighten me, but the walkers in this show really stick in my head. if i watch this just before going to bed, i'm looking behind doors to make sure nobody blue is waiting to grab my face.
  it's kind of like LOST, in that we already have seen a party of "the others" come and go (maybe they'll be back), and as the husband noted last night, a "hatch" where the science is still happening against all odds. i hope this one continues to intrigue.
  
• community: still loving the show from last year, but i'm wondering how much "bigger" the show is going to allow itself to get? already this year, they've had an alien/zombie episode, an alice in wonderland ep, a lord of the flies (i guess) ep, and a claymation ep. for a sitcom, that's a lot of excessive ambition.
  the alien/zombie episode was pretty great, though. and troy and abed continue to be the most watchable couple-but-not-couple on tv.

human league - night people

hooray, they're back

discarded

i've been leaving now-too-large clothing in the alley for rummagers to claim.

it bothers me that homeless folks don't want some clothes i was wearing a year ago.

dinner with adam

dita von teese wrote:

'I just had dinner with Adam Ant, he's in full Westwood regalia,& he's brilliant! Isn't it grand when your idols exceed your expectations?'

grand, indeed!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1331630/Dita-Von-Teese-glorious-geisha-kimono-doesnt-stay-long.html#ixzz15ynbrug7

re-don't

i hope i die before this ever happens...

Warner Bros Wants Zemeckis For 'Wizard Of Oz' Remake Based On Original MGM Script

adam ant - friend or foe

has a day off work today (and tomorrow, thank you war veterans), and so i'm revisiting a classic from my very late adolescence, adam ant's friend or foe.

the album's very first notes are a sort of jumble of warming up trumpet and sax, then jumps right into the first of 12 nonstop rhythm-heavy songs that. all the tracks make up one very comprehensive whole, with not a dub among them.

i guess the lyrics are all very personal for a somehow fantastically successful, yet bitter, popstar. we all know the road has been difficult for mr ant the past twenty years or so, but at this time in his life, was stardom so difficult?

as for myself, when this album came out, i was a young, closeted gay at BYU, who found that an interest in british new wave popstars was a good way to meet the nicest young men on campus.

anyway...my favorites: desperate but not serious, here comes the grump. and i have no problem with the doors' cover, hello, i love you.

sidenote: sounds like adam is recovering from his recent meltdown, and might even get back to finishing off that album that was supposed to come out earlier this year. fingers are crossed.

new ringside

remember the "maybe i was right" guys? well, one of them is finally back with a new (free) EP, and promises a new album soon...here's where to get the EP:

findlay brown - holding back the night

i can't get over how much i love this song...



you can find it on amazon:

amazon fact

did you know that if you lose your amazon.com MP3 purchases (laptop theft, for example), they only allow re-downloading the last three months' of tracks?

why the arbitrary number, and what does it cost amazon to open that window up?

itunes, on the other hand, appears to retain ALL your purchase history, and automatically feeds those to your new itunes installation.

bye-bye, amazon.

the worst part is...

our home was robbed yesterday, sometime during the workday. most of our electronics are gone, which i'm not upset about as far as the hardware itself, but for the content that was there.

yes, i diligently backed up my laptop to a separate hard drive. a separate hard drive they also found and stole.

YEARS of photos, gone.

that is the worst part.

wolfsheim - it's not too late

this alien has long considered this to be a favorite record (can't say as much for this video interpretation):

RED

this alien really loves the idea of going to the movies on a weekend morning...the whole ritual of it. but when there's nothing showing that we want to see, well, the experience lacks. today was one of those experiences.

we saw RED, the bruce willis feature. i'm sure to forget about this one within the next six hours or so. helen mirren shoots big guns, mary-louise parker was cute, but miscast, and bruce willis was bruce willis. john malkovich might have been fun to see, but the short screen time he had was fairly background noise.

the story...oh, forget it. don't see it.

old geographies

can anyone tell me why a U.S. shopper can't purchase an MP3 music file from the german amazon site? i mean, why this makes any good business sense to anyone: amazon, the music publisher, or the artist?

in what era are music industry decision-makers living?

because i'm a fan, i'm (impatiently) waiting to purchase the new alphaville single, which has been available in germany for a couple weeks now. in the meantime, i found a pirate copy online (with the acoustic b-side). this is the point any casual fan or impulse buyer would give up the wait.

congratulations, music distributor.

Tim Gunn - It Gets Better

this alien wonders how he got through it all so easily, compared to so many others.

Crystal Castles - Not In Love ft. Robert Smith

more noise than anything else...but because it's robert smith, it must be posted.

OMD - sister marie says

new single from OMD, sister marie says. very much in line with enola gay, and stuffed with lots of religious imagery...classic OMD, but new.


Sister Marie Says

OMD | Myspace Video

Mackintosh Braun - Could It Be

this alien loves this song...and so should you





(merci to hype and sick)

The Suburbs - Love Is The Law

in the 80's, love was the law

OMD - history of modern

 

picked up the new OMD album, which i find to be a remarkable comeback after so many years out of the spotlight. though the album certainly has some questionable direction on a few tracks (three of them are just terrible), for the most part, this album fits very easily into a space somewhere between -- and spanning -- architecture and morality, junk culture, and crush. not so much dazzle ships, which would have been way too experimental as a comeback. really, some great stuff here:

1. new babies: new toys: fairly unremarkable opener to the album, but not offensive. more in line with their "john hughes" phase than their earlier releases. move past this track without judging, because it gets a lot better...
   
   
2. if you want it: first single (which had a laughable dance video) is all about heavenly choruses getting interrupted by his lead vocals. it's a decent, accessible pop song, ready for airplay.
   
   
3. history of modern (part 1): here's where the album kicks into gear...taking us back to 1985, keyboards running scales up against the drum machine. more in line with junk culture than later releases, which is a good great place to touch back to.
   
   
4. history of modern (part 2): picking up from the previous track, and all the more thumpy bass and drum machine, and very much in line with architecture and morality.
   
   
5. sometimes: kills the momentum the album just gained. this track is dreadful, as if they found some old moby backing vocals and decided to slander him with it. you will miss nothing by skipping over this completely.
   
   
6. RFWK: back to the good stuff. btw, did we know the band took a gay perspective? here the lead sings "i loved you when" lines to a male figure, with which i have no problem (obvies)...i just didn't know this.
   
   
7. new holy ground: returning to their religious imagery, "new holy ground" is a little more moody, a little more introspective, than prior tracks, a la "joan of arc" before the percussion. nice.
   
   
8. the future, the past, and forever: trying to find their funk, not finding it. another track that doesn't belong.
   
   
9. sister mary says: indulging more in the cliches that they themselves established, (and that's a compliment), the arrangement of "sister mary" makes something of a companion piece to "enola gay" (though not lyrically).
   
   
10. pulse: see "the future, the past, and forever", above. i'm not saying a band who have been out of the spotlight for well over a decade doesn't have a right to put out something unexpected...i'm just saying this isn't the way to do it.
    
    
11. green: toning down "if you want it", above. not a bad track, but works best if associated with the other track.
    
    
12. bondage of fate: you know how some movies seem to have several points at which they could have very successfully ended? this track is something like that...a good ending to the album, that isn't the end. starts as a sleepy bye-bye, but then goes into a short burst of fireworks...and then, back to sleepytime.
    
    
13. the right side?: the real end of the album, and though it's quite long, it's an utterly charming send off.

a big, big recommendation.

meet the mormons

because comments aren't enabled on the youtube site:

your admonition to not engage in bullying and intimidation should be preached from the pulpit, not from a press conference. instead, your congregants get this about the very existence of gay people:

why would heavenly father do that? remember, he is our father.

this is what one of your prophets said regarding those who know they are born differently than what your prophets want them to be.

such statements are absolutely inviting bullying and intimidation. you need to acknowledge the harm of what you preach, and direct your young members to QUALIFIED counselors and organizations, since your company does not have the interest or qualification in helping.

mirrors - hide and seek

really loving this band.

new alphaville!

found this on youtube:



do i find this to be disappointing, a weak attempt? absolutely not...this is brilliant classic alphaville, great big echo-y keyboards and all, and i think i'll be playing this over and over this weekend. this alien is thrilled.

the single will be released mid-october, with a whole big new album to follow in the weeks thereafter.

happiness

regarding HURTS happiness:

i've been posting (in anticipation) about this album for months, all based on how much i love, LOVE, the lead single, "wonderful life".

last week i came across a preview version of the album (thrilled), and having given it a couple listens, now, have the following impressions:

"wonderful life" is still the stand out track from the album. favorite single to pop out in the past several months. too many of the tracks are similar to "wonderful life", with heavy-handed bass and beats (said with admiration), but, applied to what would otherwise be mellow adult-pop songs. some come off a little too...easy-listening...or something.

which is not to say that the album is a loser. just doesn't live up to (what i interpreted as) the promise of "wonderful life". and that's to be expected, i suppose.

other stand-out tracks are "sunday" and "feels better than love", with their string-like arrangement. and there's a duet with kylie minogue, if you like that sort of thing.

i've kind of held the impression that HURTS is like spandau ballet, without the jazzy influences, especially after they released, "blood, tears & gold"...but much of this album is actually more like a-ha, particularly later a-ha (not "take on me").

i still have this on heavy rotation, so my impression may change.

val emmich album leaks

i'm very much looking forward to the new album by val emmich...for the next several days, he's going to leak a song from the album up till the release date. you can listen to them at this link:

http://www.valemmich.com/contest/audioplayer.html

highly recommended...very highly.

terrible

from the "i'm a terrible person" file:

today i was supposed to attend the memorial of a former coworker / friend. i really, really didn't want to go, for two reasons: i hate funerals, don't deal well with them at all; and so many of the former coworkers are people i go out of my way not to associate with.

so about an hour before i should have been getting ready to go, i figured i'd take a quick nap.

and woke up 10 minutes after the memorial started.

terrible person.

Lights Out - Rick Astley

so rick astley has a new video, "lights out". i question my own obsession with this man, because not only is his classic stuff pretty dated, but his new stuff is pretty weak.



the video makes me dizzy. and the constant stretching out of his arms...who said that was an appealing visual?

still...i'll go far and wide (online) looking for new tracks from him. (this particular track has "no release date" as of yet. why do i keep stalking bands that have new music, but no distribution deal?)

here's a much better track from several years ago...

loser

i've been avoiding a subject, because i don't want to sound all braggerson on it...but it must be shared: i'm less than two pounds away from having lost 30 pounds since the first week of june.

seriously.

i'm going to go all jenniferhudson and get on tv, telling the world. actually, part of the reason i've not talked so much about it is that i don't want to go all evangelical. the husband has been subjected to my weekly weigh-in results, and very, VERY supportive...but other than him, i try to keep it to myself.

nobody wants to hear about someone's weight plan.

but yes...it's kind of incredible to me. i'd figured that "at my age", chances of slimming down were pretty low. but it's been working. and the best part of all this: i haven't had to sacrifice any food favorites...the whole point is to plan for them now. and be subjected to a weekly weigh-in, which is hugely motivational.

and it's been working for me. yay.

"the big C"

you know what's interesting about laura linney and her new show, the big C?

nothing.

but you know what's funny about it?

nothing.

seriously. showtime is a premium channel. do something worthwhile.

the switch

the husband and i went to see the switch today...admittedly, my choice. jason bateman? a plus. small kid who dreams of being a hypochondriac? a big plus.

jennifer aniston? neither plus nor minus.

so...entirely predictable romantic comedy. surprises? none. emotionally satisfying? not really.

worth seeing? i guess.

an open letter to vern yip

hey vern,

now that the latest season of "HGTV design star" is over, can we talk?

we were your fans. we waited, breathless in anticipation, for an episode on "trading spaces" in which you'd appear with your orderly and symmetrical room designs that brought dignity and gorgeousness to the recipients home (especially as opposed to designers who "franked up" so many other rooms). your designs shone, really moved the entire show into a higher level.

your charitable nature came through on your show, "deserving design", where you found the best in your clients and played up on that, rewarding them for doing good.

along the way, we learned from you, like how squares bring in tradition and simplicity. learned about color choices. learned that a designer can be a real teacher, a coach.

and then comes "HGTV design star", a show that depressed viewers because of your cranky demeanor, your inability to say a good word, or to provide mentorship to up and coming designers who have committed no greater sin than trying to make good under the most ridiculously unworkable parameters.

vern, what happened? who told you that viewers wanted to watch you being a cranky grandpa? that viewers wanted to see you ridicule and demean those whom you should be encouraging and teaching? (and don't even get me started with the idea that a designer should be able to dress himself with shirt collars that don't transform you into a munchkin.)

hopefully, if there is such a thing as another season of "HGTV design star", you'll have some time to recall those qualities in yourself that made you such an engaging tv presence. and cast off the bitter and heartless creature you've become.

sincerely,

your optimistic one-time fans

tv marathon

the husband's visiting family this weekend, so i'm enjoying another weekend of nothing but TV...

catching up on mad men (season 2): i find myself compelled by the office and business scenes, but bored by the home scenes.

waiting for guffman: still the best of the christopher guest movies...and the "penny for your thoughts" is a favorite showstopper. but "then i just hate you, and i hate your ass face!" remains the reason to watch.

dracula (1979, frank langella) has some of the worst bat effects (not to mention the baffling kite scene at the end credits), but the rest of the movie is so gloriously overdone. john williams' score is one of his absolute best.

cecil b demented: hey, it's maggie gyllenhaal! and the "entourage" guy! i love this movie...i think it's more successful at character development, and sticking to a story, than most of john waters' movies (though i certainly love others of his, too). melanie griffith is terrific in this, and the lunacy of the cinema terrorists is corny, yet an ongoing highlight.


8: the mormon proposition i'm watching this, and the "executive director" of affirmation: gay & lesbian mormons is interviewed. over his shoulder is some classic (gayish) mormon "art" of moroni burying the plates...and i can only think of this guy: you make me sick.

i've been to an affirmation meeting, and their whole goal is to gain acceptance by the church. a church that they still don't recognize as being a corporation of sheltered and corrupt individuals extorting money from a fearful following.

and unfortunately, that was only the start of the sickness that i had to endure for over an hour. image after image, face after face, quote after quote, of the damage that church inflicts upon its followers.

the doc tacked on an ending meant to be uplifting and motivating to keep up the fight. but the previous hour and a quarter was just too overwhelming. there is no uplift.

OMD - if you want it

new track from OMD, with embarrassing video. (still waiting for them to break in and say JK about the 'dancing'.)


OMD - If You Want It
Uploaded by BangOn. - See the latest featured music videos.

blondie in concert

HIM: so how many times have you seen blondie in concert?

ME: hmmm...between "blondie" and "debbie harry" [solo], about 10 times, i guess

...a moment passes...

HIM: wait...i've seen blondie 4 times since we've been together.

ME: oh, then...i guess it's more than 10? [counts to self numerous occasions] i saw debbie three times in one year, during the def, dumb and blonde era alone...then there was jingle ball when they hadn't played together for years...and a couple of times at [local venue]...

HIM: so more than 10!

ME: well more than 10. are you saying that we should stop seeing them?

HIM: no. just counting.

after the concert...

HIM: that was a really good show...i think my favorite time seeing them.

ME: [thinking to myself] i'll never stop seeing them.


images borrowed from: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/lastnight/blondie-last-night-at-the-paci/

not to brag...

...but okay, i'll brag. this is what i've lost in the past 2 months:

oddest phone call

waiting for our order at islands burgers, and my cell buzzes me. i pick up the call (because it might be work calling), and the guy starts talking mormon church and japan mission stuff to me.

normally, the "mormon church" part would put me into a state of indignant huffing and puffing, but the "japan mission" part kept me listening. i went outside to take the call.

the guy calling was a bishop (pastor) at a michigan mormon congregation, and read that a local "anti-mormon" wrote highly critical (negative) things about the mission in which i served, specifically about the Devil Groberg (the mission president), and his tactics he either taught or at the very least encouraged, to drag people into the church. bishop wanted to speak to the anti-mormon, but with some background (refreshingly commendable that he didn't just go in with blind faith on his side).

bishop asked me if i could confirm the things the anti-mormon had written (as bishop described them to me), and i told him right up that yes, i could, and would. also that i was still in contact with a few guys i knew from that era, and like me, they have very little positive to say about the whole experience.

more and more talked about the Devil Groberg, and what it boiled down to, i said, was that the guy was very ambitious, and only sought his time in the spotlight. a time he earned, oddly enough.

bishop thought it was very unfortunate that one man could have ruined the mission experience for so many...i told him that the Devil Groberg was not alone, that his higher-ups encouraged and validated the "results" of the mission.

it felt good to have someone on "that side" listen. and even better that he didn't try to talk about me.

(sorry, to those unfamiliar with the whole mormon mission experience, none of the above makes sense.)

costco carne asada bake

this awful thing filled me with self-hatred

peanuts

i work so fast, i can't be captured on film megapixels.

this is me working on friday...had some stuff to ship off, and the friendly folks in the mailroom couldn't assist me with packaging...ended up being a nice diversion from the normal workday routine, anyway.

this is what you need to know

today i am wearing a shirt and a pair of jeans that, 2 months ago, i couldn't button myself into without looking like a tufted sofa.

The Human League - (Keep Feeling) Fascination

from a time before CGI made everything easy...

cannibals

not sure what took me there, but i've been having an FYC festival on my PC today. after having a big presence at the end of the 80's, fine young cannibals...just seemed to disappear. wonder what became of them?

one could spend a fairly enjoyable afternoon youtubing the band, as well.


blue, fine young cannibals

dumb

i spent three hours on the phone with tech support friday night. three hours that both the technician and i could / should have saved by remembering to UPDATE DRIVERS FIRST.

that was dumb.

anyway, furniture movement to accommodate a new desktop PC for the husband's classwork. so now, what to do with a giant blank wall?

waiting

radio shack called last night to update me on my waiting list status for a phone (might be in, anyday now). i mentioned that "we" were actually waiting on two phones.

"oh yeah, you came in with that younger gentleman."

FUCKYOURADIOSHACKFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU.

and so my phone might be in a couple of days. yay.

Bad Boys - Wham - Rare Video

vacation update

the upcoming vacation is finally paid for; 80+ days till departure!

you only live...

janelle monáe channels dame shirley bassey and john barry...to great effect

Heaven 17 - Let Me Go (2006 Digital Remaster)

great song from the 80's, or greatest song from the 80's?

Star Wars Episode V Soundtrack - Rebel Fleet/End Title

so i'm traipsing around youtube again tonight, this time doing "john williams" searches. landed on the empire strikes back, and i remembered how surprisingly open-ended this sequel was. (going, i expected a re-hash of a new hope, but instead was left with an unfinished trilogy...who knew?)

Waiting - My Robot Friend (Featuring Alison Moyet)

youtubing last night...and listen to this: alison moyet vocals on my robot friend's "waiting".

first

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-22/news/1970-a-first-person-account-of-the-first-gay-pride-march/

“Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.”

goodbye july - homo

beautiful

read this post, "dear friend". it says it so very, very well.

You say that you need to rely on God until you can believe in yourself again. That makes absolutely no sense. YOU are here. YOU have proven yourself to be an incredible woman, with incredible attributes. You have so many friends and loved ones who admire and look up to you. YOU. It has nothing whatsoever to do with God.

work stuff

so my boss was out of town this past week. this was supposed to be a kickback week, where i could get finished so many of those naggy little documentation things that having a boss around, does not allow for completing.

instead, two unrelated servers went kablooey AND a manager in another department decided she was too busy to fulfill a customer order (that only she can process)...meaning that i was on the phone all day attending to server recoveries and figuring out how to get past that non-servicey manager.

and i'm exhausted.

anywayz.

seriously

i love this show...

devo makes something for everybody - part II


the exasperation of the band versus the enthusiasm of the corpspeakers...kills.

can't or won't

last night i went to bed while the husband stayed up with his studies. after an hour or so, i sorta woke up, shivering from the cold...but couldn't or wouldn't get myself out of bed to get the extra blanket, sitting just 10 feet away.

and completely unrelated, here's a song i found here and there.


neverest, by hey champ

CD or itunes?

dear project leader:

devo have released their new album (about which i've written way too much already); the frustrating thing is that they've released three different versions of the album. which to buy? the CD, of course!

but wait, the CD doesn't have three of the songs that are found on the itunes deluxe edition. but who prefers download versions of an album to a CD? apparently those who sell music for a living.

according to the beautiful information on the web site, information is beautiful, the label releasing an album wil make $6.29 from an itunes download; whereas the same album sold in hardcopy CD format enriches the label company by only $2.00. (the artist gains 6 additional pennies in the CD deal, but you know, fuck the artist.)

hence, the death of CD's.

fwiw, still so loving "no place like home", from the new album.

blondie live

Blondie @ The Manchester Apollo 16/06/10



wow, the show has gotten better and better over the past dozen years, hasn't it? the new stuff sounds very intriguing, and i like the revamp of "two times blue" (which i saw them do last year). so excited to see them in august. and like lito said: really, orchid club? awesome. finally, may they never give up playing ATOMIC.

conan

funny, because it could be true...

Conan O'Brien presents "The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" -- Cold Open with Crowd from Dan Dome on Vimeo.

devo - something for everyone

what i think of the new album, something for everyone, by devo:

we first heard fresh on the broadcast of the winter olympics, remember? and it was awesome, remember? a perfectly good single for a comeback album. i like it, as a strong lead to a pretty good album.

my friend bearzbub said please baby please is their "goody two shoes" take, and yeah, the percussion does go there. they tend to stick to what "devo" sounded like through most of the album, though. it's interesting that devo didn't attempt to do anything new with this album. sounds almost backhanded, but i think it is the only approach they should take. a band like devo is so unique in sound and packaging...it's what [they] do. and it's what we want them to do.

except the track, sumthin', which comes off as son of "whip it".

other tracks have simple 80's synth lead-ins, sounding like old video games, at times, but now layered over with giant bass and percussion. i told you about seeing devo live, right? the dreadfully painful vibrations because the volume was so incredibly high? several of these tracks would be perfect in that setting. (see them live, and hope they play several from this album.)

toward the end of the album, no place like home is a shockingly restrained tune. and you know who they sound like here? alphaville. seriously. i think i love this track. finally, march on: the call to arms that wraps up the album. devo has always led an army, and the war continues, apparently.

so yeah, march on.



no place like home, devo

devo - episode 1

well worth watching...



(i thought it was going to be an extended concept video or something, but it really is a reality show! and only 5 minute episodes!)

gold star

i'm feeling somewhat accomplished, in that i lost 5 pounds this week with the WW @ W plan. (one earns a gold star for losing 5 pounds. go, me!)

of course as this was announced in the meeting today, the women in the group were all mumbling about how much easier it is for a man to lose weight than a woman.

because it would kill them to be happy for my little accomplishment. whutevs.

Blondie - What I Heard

hey! blondie performed a new song at the Isle of Wight 2010 festival. and you know what? it's a great song.

he's got a feeling

good to hear that I AM NOXIOUS is still at it. wish i could find his stuff for sale on the web somewhere, though.


I AM NOXIOUS - "I Gotta Feeling" (Black Eyed Peas Cover) from I Am Noxious on Vimeo.

WW @ W

at my age, something had to be done.

started weight watchers at work this past monday. been watching my POINTS all week, which has been an interesting hobby. i'm starting out with an allocation of 32 points per day, which is calculated from my height and weight and level of daily activity.

food points are calculated with calories, fat grams and fiber grams. i'm surprised that i have so much to "spend" each day.

M = 26.5
T = 30.5
W = 23
Th = 17
F = 31.5

monday was my first weigh-in. my next weigh-in is in two days. they say men lose weight faster than women, so as the only man in my WW group, the pressure is on for monday morning.

Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands on Me

from where does the need to see an old video like this come?



it's not the world's greatest song. but i played it to death, back then.

the greatest album of all time?

when i was in college, k-tel records released a collection called, "the beat: soundwave of the 80's", which, surprisingly, encapsulated the oncoming new wave rather well:


A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away)
Kim Wilde - Kids In America
Haircut One Hundred - Love Plus One
Sparks - I Predict
Split Enz - I Got You
Graham Parker - You Hit The Spot
The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like
The GoGo's - We Got The Beat
Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy
Duran Duran - Girls On Film
Thompson Twins - In The Name Of Love
Depeche Mode - Dreaming Of Me
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Joan Of Arc
Billy Idol - Hot In The City

nobody on radio or tv was playing this stuff...for a young student stuck in utah, this collection was something of a lifeline.

The Drums - Forever & Ever Amen

new video from yet another favorite new band...



the album is out (download only, no CD...booooo), and it's rather fantastic.