Coworker From Hell Out To Spoil Christmas

I don't usually whine about coworkers, but I've been coming home from work lately feeling rather ragged and mentally drained and it's not due to the customers. One of the supervisors in the store is a self-proclaimed nerdy, Manga-loving computer geek with absolutely no people skills. She's loud, opinionated, and often breaks the very rules she yells at others for not following (i.e. taking unpaid for merchandise into the bathroom and reading it in there a la George Costanza.) Her supervisory repertoire includes sneaking up and checking on her team constantly (checking their carts to see how much they've shelved,) even though they are capable, hard-working people, yelling at staff in front of customers when they make small mistakes, and watching over the staff's shoulders while they perform tasks, pointing out everything that is not done "her" way in a very loud, snippy manner. She generally creates discontent wherever she goes.

Today, I wanted to bitch-slap this assclown when she derided me in front of a customer for accepting a return of a superceded edition of a travel guide, even though I called her up to approve it. She looked it over and said, "Ok this time" to the customer, I processed the return, and then she realized the mistake. After her bitch-out, one of my other coworkers made a crack about her under his breath, and the rest of us cracked up. Cold stares followed.

What gets me is that she excels at every part of her job except the supervising, so the store general manager just looks the other way.

I think I'll be ready to give my two weeks notice soon after the holidays. I think I can find something else to do! I wonder if there's a job cleaning up elephant poop at the zoo....

Take Me Back Tuesday

Name three songs with moon or madness in the title.

Mad About You - Brenda Carlisle
Driving Me Mad - Neil Finn
Mad World - Gary Jules (that haunting song from Donnie Darko)

Name three artists with moon or madness in their name.

Madness
Moon Zappa
Matthew Moon

Name three albums with moon or madness in the title.

Dark Side Of the Moon - Pink Floyd (DUH!)
Blue Roses From the Moons - Nanci Griffith
Pink Moon - Nick Drake

What's New This Week

The holidays are closing in, so maybe one of these could be a gift for your favorite music fan:

INXS - Switch - With J.D. Fortune as the front-man.

Dave Matthews Band - Weekend On The Rocks

Bryan Adams - Best Of Me

The Samples - Rehearsing For Life

Crosby & Nash - Wind On The Water - reissue

Leon Russell - reissues

Various Artists - She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn - This one intrigues me. Covers by various Aussie artists, along with Tim & Neil as Crowded House and Split Enz. I'm going to have to call this the Pick Of The Week.

Artist Of the Day

Winterpills

Every two months, when my Paste Magazine is delivered by Frank, The Friendly Postman, I thumb through quickly to find the "4 To Watch For" feature. This is where I've been introduced to engaging, original artists like Hem, Kathleen Edwards, and Josh Rouse. The current issue of the magazine offered up a glimpse to a Northampton, MA band, Winterpills (almost local!) If your soul is touched by music from people like the late Elliott Smith, Iron & Wine, or Low, click here to visit their myspace site and have a listen. I'm posting their song from the latest Paste Magazine sampler. Click here* to grab Pills For Sara.

*download available for 7 days only

Reasons To See "The Concert For Bangladesh" (DVD)

I've had this in my "to watch" pile for a couple of weeks, and the day after our family, like so many other American families, filled ourselves with a bounty of food seemed like the perfect day to watch a benefit concert assembled in 1971 by George Harrison to raise money for hungry, dying people in Bangladesh. Although 34 years have passed since Harrison and his friends took the stage in New York's Madison Square Garden and the crisis in the small country of Bangladesh has long since passed, the proceeds from this re-release are earmarked for The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. Think of this show as a granddaddy of all rock-for-charity events.

If that is not reason enough to fork over 30 bucks for the standard DVD set or $50 for the deluxe set loaded with extra goodies, consider the following:

• Seeing musicians actually lighting cigarettes and smoking onstage. They don't do that anymore, do they? Watching George light up was an especially poignant moment, since he died of lung cancer 4 years ago. Clapton lights his cigarette and sticks it in the guitar strings to hold it. Now THAT is addiction!
• Watching Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner play drums side-by-side with near-perfect synchopation!
• George's pre-Saturday Night Fever white suit and Leon Russell's white levis.
• Dylan: you can actually understand what he's singing.
• Clapton, huge rock star that he was back then, doesn't even get a turn to sing solo, but his guitar gently weeps through the whole show. He's simply awesome. On disc two he explains his state of mind at the time, and the use of his "semi-acoustic" guitar for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
• Billy Preston puts aside his "King of the Funky Electronic Keyboard" persona and delivers a solid, soul-filled performance of "That's The Way God Planned It." You can see it online by clicking here.
• The previously unseen rehearsal of "If Not For You" with Harrison and Dylan. Lovely.
• The hair. The beards. George looks like a less-crazy Charles Manson with his shaggy hair and beard! Rock stars just don't look like this anymore.
• Dhani Harrison pointed out on Good Morning America last week that her favorite moment occurs when George, who during the entire show up to that point had been very serious, breaks into a smile during the opening notes of "Here Comes The Sun." Knowing this, I waited for that moment, too, and totally got what she was saying. It's just a little moment, but it's wonderful.

The little backstage glimpses certainly take you back and make you appreciate the simpler times. These days, each star would have an entourage of publicists and personal assistants, cell phones, lap tops, and who-knows-what else, but back then, it was mostly the stars, some managers, a few choice groupies, and other hangers-on.

This is a gem of a DVD to own! Highly recommended!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 musical things that you are Thankful For:

1. My iPod - It's become a love/hate relationship, though. I love having over 2000 songs available to hear when/where I like, but I hate narrowing it down to 2000 (I know, what a crybaby!)
2. Live Concerts - There really is nothing like a live show!
3. Free mp3's on the internet - Lots of free and legal downloads are out there! Here are a few recent finds from salon.com:Chris Whitley - Dirt Floor - click here. (RIP Chris. Passed away last Sunday. )Devendra Banhart - Quedate Luna - click here. Rogue Wave - Publish My Love - click here. (This is an excellent song) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Ain't No Easy Way - click here. Cowboy Junkies - No More - click here.
4. Music Blogs - Some of my favorites: sixeyes, Fingertips, Womenfolk, and The Big Ticket.
5. All Music Guide - Loaded with info!!

I'm also thankful for The Music Memoirs for giving me two fun music memes every single week! Thanks, ladies!!

Thanksgiving Countdown....

• Turkey in large plastic bag full of brine in a large pot on the cold cement garage floor (yes, it's safe, since the garage temp is under 40 degrees right now)....CHECK (Wed. night, 7:15 pm)
• Celery and onions chopped for stuffing...CHECK (Wed. night, 7:40 pm)
• Pumpkin pie in the oven...CHECK (Wed. night, 8:10 pm)

Break for this week's episode of Lost...CHECK (Wed night, 9:00 pm)

Fall to sleep watching Conan O'Brien...CHECK! (sometime after 1 am)

• Get up at 8:30 am and peep out the window to see if weatherman was right. See this outside....
  
  

• Stuffing prepared ...CHECK (Thurs. morning,9:00 am)
• Turkey out of brine, dried, seasoned, stuffed and into the oven...CHECK (Thurs. morning, 10:10 am)
• Hubby enters kitchen and declares that he feels like he's dying. Oh great, sick for Thanksgiving! (Thurs. morning 10:15 am)
• Youngest emerges from sleep and bounds down the stairs (10:30 am)
• Youngest asks "When are we going to eat the turkey?" (10:31 am)
• Finish preparing meal: boil and mash potatoes, cut, boil, and candy sweet taters, prepare corn, open that "gelatinous mass of cranberry" and slice it (the guys insist on having it this way,) and make the gravy. (the rest of the day until 4:00 pm)
• Eat...CHECK (4:00)
• Finish eating...CHECK (4:25 pm)
• Veg
• Clean the kitchen (with help from the sick guy!) ..CHECK (finish at 6:25)
• Did I count WW points today? HELL NO!! But right back to it tomorrow!!

Hope you all had a great day!

Take Me Back Tuesday

Name three songs containing the word or the idea of thanks or gratefulness.
Thank You - Dido
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again) - Sly & The Family Stone
Thanks For The Memory - Bob Hope

Name three artists you are thankful to have in your various collections.

The Beatles
John Hiatt
Patty Griffin

Name three albums you are thankful that you received from someone. (Yourself counts as a someone)
If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears - The Mamas And The Papas -Given to me by my parents for my birthday in 1966!
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd - Hubby gave me this cd when we replaced our old albums with cds.
Gordon - Barenaked Ladies - Given to me by a good friend.

Queue the Lights, Queue The Music...

Saturday night I saw one business and one house lit up with Christmas lights already. Last night, as the family headed out to celebrate my hubby's birthday with a dinner out (BBQ!!!), we noticed one more business with the lights blazing. Since I haven't even picked up my Thanksgiving turkey yet, I'm calling it Premature Lighting, and I'd love to put a ticket on these houses and businesses! (And ticket my workplace, too, for Premature Carol-Playing!)

Ok, so now I feel like a grumpy old lady.....

Top 5 On Friday

Jude Cole, one of my 5

Top 5 "Forgotten" Artists

(You know those bands that are still around but when you mention them people ask you if they are still recording or alive)

• Chicago - Evidently, they are still around and recording a new release. I'm good with that, just so Peter Cetera isn't with them!
• Hothouse Flowers - Are they still together?
• The Jayhawks - Supposedly got together this year, but I have not heard anything further about it since then.
• Jude Cole - Not a band, but he's been forgotten. He's still working, though, and produced Lifehouse's last album.
• Marshall Crenshaw - Still working, too, but I never hear about him anymore.

Overheard At The Cash Register Today

An elderly lady walked up to the register today, accompanied by a young boy. In her shopping bag were 2 "Dummies" books. As she put her items on the counter, the boy asked, "Grammie are you a dummy?" Without missing a beat, she replied with a grin, "No honey, Grampy is."

Take Me Back Tuesday...On Wednesday

Name three songs that never fail to make you a little melancholy. (sad)

Eva Cassidy - Fields Of Gold
Bonnie Raitt - I Can't Make You Love Me
Fleetwood Mac - Landslide

Name three artists who never fail to pick you back up.

The Beatles
Barenaked Ladies
Fleetwood Mac

Name three albums that you were never quite sure why you bought them but they own a little piece of your heart now.

Barenaked Ladies - Gordon
Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
Golden Smog - Weird Tales

What's New This Week

Here's what you'll find newly released today:

Johnny Cash - Collection: The Fabulous Johnny Cash

Townes Van Zant - Private Concert

Martin Sexton - Camp Holiday - A Christmas cd from Martin!

Jackson Browne - Running On Empty (reissue with bonus tracks)

Jimmy Buffett - Live At Fenway Park

Dire Straits - Private Investigations: Best Of

Eurythmics - reissues

Sarah Harmer - I'm A Mountain

Gemma Hayes - Roads Don't Love You

Madonna - Confes- Oh hell, do I really need to mention her?

Jim Messina - Oasis

Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart - Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart - Half Monkees, Half Sixties Songwriting duo. All good.

The Moody Blues - Lovely To See You: Live From The Greek

Todd Rundgren - Best Of Todd Rundgren Live

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (30th Anniversary Edition) - 30 years since Bruce was pronounced "the future of rock and roll."

James Taylor - Collection - Box set.

Pete Townsend - Gold

Carrie Underwood - Some Hearts - Here she is Miss American Idol. Here she is our ideal.

Various Artists - MySpace Records, Vol. 1 - Yes, an online network gets a record label and packs it with its users. Find cuts from Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, Click Five, and AFI.

Wilco - Kicking Television: Live In Chicago - PICK OF THE WEEK - I've listened to four cuts online and it kicks something, but it's not the television.

Original Soundtrack - I Walk The Line

Monday's Random Post

Courtesy Toothpaste For Dinner

Virgin Group's new Virgin Digital Red Pass subscription service is set to launch today. For $7.99 per month, you get access to offerings from 15,000 labels (yep, I read it on their site). Music can be played back on any portable digital player, including phones. Check it out here.

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Seems that accessories for digital music players (with iPod leading the way) is big business these days (read the story here.) Go figure. I've got a portable speaker system, a case, and an FM car player to go along with my 15meg little wonder. I like my music, and I like to play it whenever and wherever I want. Just call me a baby boomer! If you have a player, have you accessorized? What little gadgets do you have?

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At work, the merchandising manager has asked us to submit lists of our favorite books, dvds, and cds of the year, with up to 100 items. I submitted a list of my Top 35 favorite cds, leaving it up to him to edit, since I didn't have the heart. He left it as is, typed it, posted it with a display of 8 of the cds, and then picked on me in our weekly employee news flyer. (35 CDs! My hands are cramped!) I know there's still a month and a half left in the year, but here are my picks:

1. Brandi Carlile – Brandi Carlile
2. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
3. Laura Veirs – Year of Meteors
4. Josh Rouse – Nashville
5. Wilco – Kicking Television
6. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cold Roses
7. Son Volt – Okemah And the Melody Of Riot
8. Neil Young – Prairie Wind
9. Brendan Benson – The Alternative To Love
10. Low – The Great Destroyer
11. Kaki King - Legs To Make Us Longer
12. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
13. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
14. Nickel Creek – Why Should the Fire Die?
15. Bruce Springsteen – Devils & Dust
16. Blue Merle – Burning In the Sun
17. Paul Weller – As Is Now
18. Denison Witmer – Are You A Dreamer?
19. Coldplay – X & Y
20. Mike Doughty – Haughty Melodic
21. Eels – Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
22. Shemekia Copeland – The Soul Truth
23. Sonya Kitchell – Cold Day
24. Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow
25. John Hiatt – Master Of Disaster
26. James Blunt – Back To Bedlam
27. Kathleen Edwards – Back To Me
28. Nic Armstrong & The Thieves – Greatest White Liar
29. Pat Metheny – The Way Up
30. The Raveonettes - Pretty In Black
31. Fruit Bats - Spelled In Bones
32. My Morning Jacket – Z
33. John Butler Trio – Sunrise Over Sea
34. The Duhks – The Duhks
35. Antigone Rising – From The Ground Up

And The Winner Is....

Congrats to Mungen Cakes for getting all 10 answers on the Rock and Roll Movie Screen Shot game! (Did the clues help at all? HMMM??) Sis #2 was the first runner up, with 7 correct, and Mrs. Mogul had 3 right!

I've posted the correct answers with the photos in the previous post!

Thanks for playing, everyone!!

Screen Shot Game..With A Prize!

Another screen shot game for you all, but the winner will receive a prize package of promo cds! (Promos of Bonnie Raitt's single I Will Not Be Broken, McCartney's Fine Line, Essential Rock by various artists, Border's Rock Essentials, Vol. 4, and Josh Kelley's Only You.)

To win, just be the one to get the most correct answers. All films are rock and roll or feature rock and roll artists! I will post a tie-breaker if necessary. You can email your answers to me (nataliet757@excite.com). Good luck!

I thought you guys would know more of these! Sorry if I made it TOO hard. Am I queen of the music geeks or what? I'll insert a film quote or a tagline as a clue for each.

Film 1

"Is this the band then? Betcha U2 are shittin' themselves."

This is a shot from the 1991 film, The Commitments. Interestingly, this band out of Dublin is still performing together as The Commitments and their web site is here.

Film 2

Tagline: 1959. New York City. The battleground was Rock and Roll. It was the beginning of an era. You shoulda been there.

This is one of the best movies about rock and roll, American Hot Wax, from 1978. Catch some fine performances, especially Tim McIntire as Alan Freed. You can spot Laraine Newman (original SNL cast member,) Jay Leno, Fran Drescher, and Cameron Crowe in this one.
Film 3


Tagline: The most shocking film of our generation! (it's a 1967 film.)

Yes, this one's obscure. It's 1967's Riot On Sunset Strip, a campy fictionalization of the riots in LA in December of 1966. Very low budget.

Film 4

"It's a real waste to smoke that shit. Don't ya have any needles?"

A shot from 1986's Sid And Nancy, starring Chloe Webb and Gary Oldman.

Film 5

Tagline: When the SKI NICKS meet the SKI CHICKS it's called SNOW-A-GO-GO

How could I leave out one of those 60's hip-teen flicks? This one's from 1965, stars Deborah Walley, Frankie Avalon (ohh, how dreamy!!), Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis!) and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl from the Batman TV series!) Ski Party is the film.

Film 6

No quote or tagline I can find, but the film starred a former Beatle, a Who member, and a big-time English glam rocker.

Another obscure one. This one gets its name from the Buddy Holly song, That'll Be the Day. Released in 1973 and starred Ringo Starr, David Essex, and Keith Moon.

Film 7

Tagline: You have to believe it to see it. (And yes, that is perhaps the most famed of the glam rockers in the photo.)

David Bowie plays a humanoid alien in 1976's The Man Who Fell To Earth. This one's freshly re-released on DVD, too, though I cannot highly recommend it. Bowie's good, and the visuals (Nicholas Roeg directs) are stunning, but the story just didn't do it for me.

Film 8

Tagline: Why a movie? Why a big suit? Where do the odd movements come from? What will the band do next?

Stop Making Sense, a concert film directed by Jonathan Demme. Oh, that's David Byrne of Talking Heads.
Film 9

Tagline: 1962... JFK was in The White House... John Glenn was in orbit... Cadillacs had fins... Beehives were in... And girls really knew how to tease!

One of my absolute favorites, 1988's Hairspray. John Waters wrote and directed this campy classic, which made a star out of Ricki Lake.

Film 10


"Miss Togar: Those Ramones are peculiar.
Police Chief Klein: They're ugly. Ugly, ugly people. "

Rock 'n Roll High School. (1979) "B" movie features The Ramones (as themselves,) perennial "B" star Clint Howard, and Vincent Van Patten.

Toothpaste For Dinner

Courtesy Toothpaste For Dinner.

Let's Play...Link The News Stories!

This morning's news (you can read it here) offered a blurb about the Senate hearing concerning Big Oil and their recent windfall (Thanks, Mother Nature!) and huge profits. Seems it's pissing us off that the companies are making such a killing while us Average Joe's and Janes (and those less fortunate than we are) are having to cut out a couple of trips to Starbucks or Panera every week so we can fill our gas tanks and heat our homes.

Don't we live in a country where capitalism is practiced with relish? Only here would we applaud the success of some small, homegrown business, yet rag on the huge profits of a major corporation.

Fast forward through the newspaper to the story about the folks who won that disgustingly huge Powerball jackpot. Now, I'm happy for the folks, I really am. I'm sure that the money will allow them to live in comfort and fulfill many dreams they've had for their family. What caught my eye in the story is that Mr. Chaney, one of the winners, went out and bought a Humvee, that gas-guzzling behemoth of a vehicle.

What's with that? Hey, I'm an American and I'm rich! Screw the environment and gas conservation!

Big Oil may be profitting, but it's because we asked for it, folks, or at the very least, we had a hand in it.

Take Me Back Tuesday

3 songs that have a holiday in the title or are about a particular holiday

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - The Carpenters
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi
The Christmas Song - Vince Guaraldi

2 songs you listen to when you need to de-stress from thinking about the holidays

Los Peces En El Rio - Mannheim Steamroller
Carol Of The Bells - George Winston

1 song you'd like to give your fellow memers as a gift for the holidays.
Sweet Secret Peace - Neil Finn - Click here* to download.

*available for 7 days only

NPR Rocks!

Did you know that the NPR site is packed with live concert streams?

Go here and you can choose from a short, but sweet list of mainstream and indie artists who played live for NPR! This morning, I'm in the mood for My Morning Jacket in the background as I work on clearing a closet in the finished half of the basement. You might be in the mood for Death Cab For Cutie or The White Stripes! The sound quality is good, too.

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 songs that best describe your life "right now"

• I Still Miss Someone - Johnny Cash - Even though I see him often, I do miss having College Boy around the house every day. Letting go is so tough.
• I'm Losing You - Rod Stewart - Actually, I'm losing me, or some of me. No, my arms arent' falling off; I'm just losing weight!
• Fall On Me - R.E.M. - Just loving the season.
• Galaxies - Laura Veirs - What I can't stop listening to lately, along with Brandi Carlile.
• It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby - Our store is decorated and the musical onslaught has begun. Here we go!

What We Did Yesterday...A Walk In the Woods

Youngest and I spent a quiet afternoon yesterday at Broad Meadow Brook nature preserve in Worcester, MA. Of course, I have photos!



Come this way, Mom. I see a blue dot on this tree!



Something built this. I wonder what?



It also did this! Got a clue now?

If you can, go out and enjoy the brilliant autumn, everyone!!

Artist Of the Day

Amy Rigby

Amy rolled into New York in the late 70's to attend art school, but became enthralled by the music she heard at the storied CBGB's club. Music then became "the motivating force in my life."

Listen to Amy's motivating force here, at her web site.

You can download Don't Ever Change by clicking here. As usual, you have 7 days to download the tune before it vanishes.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Fallen says she's winging it with this week's Take Me Back Tuesday. I'll play along anyway!! As long as she's using a name theme, I'll going to pick name songs!

Name three songs that begin with the first letter of your middle name. (Middle name: Jean, so "J" here.)

Joe - Jude Cole
Jeremy - Pearl Jam
Julia - The Beatles

Name three artists that begin with the second letter of your middle name. ("E")

Enid - Barenaked Ladies
Eli's Comin' - Three Dog Night
Emily - Elton John

Name three albums that begin with the fifth letter of your middle name. ( I don't have a fifth letter, so I'll go with the last letter, "N")

Natalie - David Crosby
Dancing Nancies - Dave Matthews Band
Jolly Old St. Nicholas - Burl Ives

New Release Tuesday

Time for the weekly recap of what's newly released!

Trey Anastasio - Shine

blink-182 - Greatest Hits

Garaj Mahal - Blueberry Cave - Warning: Jam Band music may be harmful to your sanitary habits. Proceed with extreme caution here, where you can download some tunes and have a listen. (Blueberry Cave is only 8:11 long!)

Eric Johnson - Live From Austin, TX - Recorded in 1988. Eric's got that Flock of Seagulls-style 80's hair on the cover of this one.

John Hiatt - Live From Austin, TX - Recorded in 1993 - He's got long hair on the cover shot! (Little things like hair excite me, see?) - Pick Of the Week

Santana - All That I Am - Using the "I Am" theme in a superior fashion than Ashlee Simpson's "I Am Me," wouldn't you say? (Unbelievably, AMG gives this release only 2 stars, calling it "middle of the road pop." So, having Bo Bice perform on the latest recording isn't the best idea.

Texas Tornadoes - Live From Austin, TX - Recorded in 1990. Ok, so you ain't nobody, I guess, until you've played Austin, TX. I'll bet Ashlee hasn't played there. ( And who can see the hair under all of those cowboy hats?)

Various Artists - La Guitara - A Vanguard Records compilation featuring female guitarists of differing genres.