Overheard

Overheard as I checked out a customer at the register today:

Chirp. Chhhhh. It's all over. She just died. You need to come home. Chirp. Chhhh.

Chirp. Ok, I'm at the bookstore buying some magazines. I'll be back after I go to pick up some dinner. Chirp.

Chirp. Chhh. Ok. Chirp. Chhhhh.

I must have looked stunned, so the customer said to me, "It's ok, it was expected. It was my 93-year-old aunt."

I get it. It's expected. But why is it ok to tell someone over a friggin' walkie-talkie? The technology is available, so it's ok to use it for everything? I think not. Maybe it's me.

Tell It To Me Tuesday

Janet's question this week:

If they were making a Hall of Fame for your state, who would you think should make the list and why?

I'm certainly not a native of this state, but it's where I live now, so I'm going with Massachusetts.

Matt Damon - He's simply one of the finest American actors and always impresses with his choices of roles and his abilities.

John F. Kennedy - Whether or not you agree with his politics, JFK was a great man and a respectable leader.

Jack Lemmon - Ok, it's another actor, but in my eyes, this guy was one of the best ever. We loved him for his comic roles, but his best work was in heavy-hitting dramas, such as The Days Of Wine And Roses. His entry in wikipedia begins with: He was born in an elevator in Newton, Massachusetts. Gotta love that!

James Taylor - Musical treasure of singer/songwriter stuff.

New Kids On The Block - Hey, why not? I was not a fan of their music, but it did draw lots of attention to Boston. Those Wahlberg boys are hot stuff, and Mark's got an Oscar nod. Besides, Entourage is based on their move to Hollywood. That show is fun!

Steve Herrell - Never heard the name? Well, to me, he's a god! In 1973, he founded Steve's Ice Cream, near Boston. Here he introduced an exceptionally well-flavored, extra smooth and creamy ice cream, by mechanically altering a commercial ice cream freezer. Steve Herrell was also the first ice cream maker to grind Heath Bars and other name brand candies and confections and mix them into ice cream. In other words, he's the father of MIX-INS and modern ice cream! Move over Ben and Jerry! My son and I visited Herrell's in Northampton, MA on a trip to ice cream mecca, and we saw Steve in his office, which is behind a large window overlooking the ice cream shop. We put our hands up and did that "all bow to the god" thing. He gave us a huge grin.

That's my 2007 list! Who made yours in your state (or country?)

The Monday Podcast

Photo: Harp Magazine

New Music: Women

Everything in today's podcast is new or upcoming and from a female artist. Why? Cuz Lilith Fair is so 10 years ago, but you still need a fix from your favorite lady troubadours. And no, there's nothing from Patti Smith, even though I used her photo to represent the ladies. Soon, she's going to be Patti Smith: Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer!

Smile - Lily Allen

Leave In The Middle Of The Night - Dana Falconberry

Words - Lucinda Williams

Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin

Sinkin' Soon - Norah Jones

Podcast at left or here.

The Return Of Psychedelic Sunday

Get Back - The Beatles from Love


To kick off the return of Psychedelic Sunday, I've chosen a hippy-trippy version of a straight-ahead rockin' Beatles tune from the hippy-trippy recently released Love cd. Love, produced by the true fifth Beatle, Sir George Martin, and his son, Giles, with the full blessing of Paul and Ringo, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, is the soundtrack for the latest Cirque du Soleil show, currently playing in Lost Wages, NV.

This cut, Get Back, starts off with the guitar riff from A Hard Day's Night, followed in quick succession by the classic drum part from The End, and some screamin' teenaged girls, then morphs through another guitar riff before arriving at Paul's wailing, Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner. Get Back is the second track in the Love show, an interesting thing since Get Back was the final song on The Fab's final studio album, Let It Be.

Aside from the re-mash at the beginning of the song, there are some missing parts, but you do get the fab Billy Preston electric piano solo, so the rest is gravy anyway.

Enjoy the song by listening to the player at left, or here.

Top 5 On Friday

Part one: Pick an emotion that best describes how you've been feeling lately. Tell us what emotion it is.

Emotionally, I've been pretty "steady as she goes" lately, so I really don't know how to respond. I get a bit peeved when people are stupid, but that's something I can easily dissipated by venting! See here. There's been a little tension concerning the purchase of a vehicle, but even that's not enough to send my spirits into an uproar for any length of time.

Part two: Top 5 songs that best convey that emotion for you.

5. Easy Livin' - Uriah Heep

4. Some Fantastic - Barenaked Ladies

3. Already Home - Marc Cohn

2. Steady On - Shawn Colvin

1. Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs

Podcast up later this afternoon. Have a great Friday!

With A Podcast Here and A Podcast There...

It's a two-fer day in Podcast-land, folks! First, I've contributed a song to this week's Contrast Podcast, but am I proud? I don't know. The theme was Stick To Acting, and the songs are positively dreadful (most of them anyway. I kind of like the Dogstar song.) I can't make it through the song I sent in: Jennifer Love Hewitt's cover of Me and Bobby McGee. You can hear the entire podcast here.

My short, sweet podcast today covers new songs from today's new releases.

Day Glow - Kristin Hersh from her new Learn To Sing Like a Star

So It Goes - The Broken West from I Can't Go On I'll Go On

Split Needles - The Shins from Wincing The Night Away

Hope you enjoy!

Random Crap

Yeah, yeah, I know the Pats lost to the Colts in a bummer finish! I guess I just got a little spoiled after the great run my teams have had in the last few years, what with a Buckeye national championship in '02, a Red Sox World Series win in '04, and 3 Pats Super Bowl championships! Still, I have to join plenty of New Englanders in the annual, "Wait til next year" chant. Did you hear us chanting in unison?
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I haven't posted a Psychedelic Sunday since December, but I'm blaming it on my struggle to organize music files on the new backup hard drive. Somehow, my iTunes library came up missing (my fault?) and I am trying to get it all squared away today. Repeat after me: computers are our friends.
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A really, really good friend of mine just celebrated the first anniversary of turning 49 again! Congrats to my officially Old Fart friend, Lisa! Did you get the AARP invitation yet?
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Battlestar Galactica began the second half of their 3rd season last night, so, of course, hubby and I switched over from the game so we would not miss a second of the action. There, now you know I'm a closet sci-fi geek. But, hey, this show is one of the finer dramas airing these days, sci-fi or not. Looks like the end for Lucy Lawless' D'Anna character though. I loved to hate that Cylon beyotch!
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Enough procrastinating. I really should get back to my iTunes library debacle! Catch you later!

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 songs that make you hit the Repeat Button

To be sure, there will be some catchy pop tunes in this mix!

Take On Me - A-ha - Not only must I hit repeat, I must also dance, dance, dance like a fool. (Believe me, you really can dance in the car!)

I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren

Suffragette City - David Bowie - I sing along to the "Hey Man" and the "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am" parts every time, too.

Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs

Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Podcast up later this afternoon!

FOAD Thursday

Denise at Mental Excrements often participates in FOAD Thursdays, and I've been tempted to join in on several occasions. I can feel some anger and frustration building, so it's time to open the lid on the tea kettle and alleviate the steam buildup! If you want to join in, there is a site (duh!) explaining what to do.

FOAD...

To Myspace friend requests: I caved and created a myspace page last year, so I could keep up with some friends all in one place, but now every stinking band out there wants to be my friend. For Christ sake, people, does my profile or my photo give an inkling that I like death metal or frickin' crappy goth music? If I want to be your friend, I'll come lookin' for you, OK?

To everyone who cut me off on the road yesterday (and there are at least 6 of you): Was there an email yesterday morning? Seek out Nat and cut her off at every opportunity? And the idiot who waved me to go, then proceeded to cut me off: I hope your teeth turn brown and fall out one by one.

To Massachusetts RMV - Your phone wait time is atrocious. What, do you have only one operator answering while the rest are on smoke break? I swear I waited longer on the phone (and finally gave up after 20 minutes) than I did in the RMV office itself. And all of that hinting in your wonderful recorded message to go to your web site to get answers? FOAD. Your FAQ "help" sucks!

To endless parental whining at schools: There were two instances reported on Boston news yesterday. In one instance, some Cape Cod parents bitched because the nurse had the audacity to send home a letter informing parents that their child may be over- or under-weight. The schools often do height/weight screenings, but what are they supposed to do with the findings? File them away? I guess the kids are too sensitive to see such a damning paper coming home from the nurse. And, you know, those bad grades might harm their little psyches, too. Better not send home the report cards! Another parent whined about all of the flyers that come home with the kids, basically calling them backpack spam. I know, those things are breaking my kid's back! Hey lady, just throw the frickin' thing into your recycling bin and shut up!

To Football whiners - Last week, the brilliant honchos in San Diego decided not to sell tickets to Pats fans to attend the Chargers/Pats game. (The brilliant shiteheads in Indy are doing the same thing.) That's bad enough, but after the Pats did a little celebrating on the field when they stunned the Chargers, one of their players went on camera and complained about it! Deny them fans and deny them their celebrating? Grow up, Mr. Football Player! If your team had won, are you telling me you would have just walked off the field without a word?

(In my opinion, the celebrating did not look like anything out of the norm for the NFL.)

Well, that was a load off. Got an FOAD to share? I'd love to hear it!

Tell It To Me Tuesday

Janet is sticking her cute little nose into our medicine cabinets today, with her question:

What one toiletry item could you never live without and why?

I could choose soap or a toothbrush, but, hey, it's those around me who may suffer if I choose to live without them. If I want to sit around the house smelling like a goat or having the breath of some prehistoric animal, that's fine by me. But with no makeup?? NO WAY!

I choose my Bare Minerals makeup, people. It covers those rosy patches of rosacea that have marred my middle-aged flawlessness (RIGHT!), and it's easy and quick to apply. I don't leave the house without it, which is more than I can say for my Dry Idea. There, now you know my big secret: I'm so vain! I'm so vain, you probably think this post is about me. Don't you? Don't you?

The Monday Podcast

For today's podcast, I thought I'd take a trip down a very long memory lane, all the way back to 1965, when I was 8. Pop and rock music weren't as prevelant on TV as they are today, and there was no MTV or VH1. We listened to transistor radios, watched American Bandstand, or caught rock acts on The Ed Sullivan Show to get our music fixes. Shindig! and Hullabaloo were both cool shows, but Hullabaloo had that added cheese factor when they featured Hollywood stars joining their pop music guests for medleys of current top hits. Can you imagine Michael Landon singing I'm Telling You Now with Peter & Gordon? Yikes! Just fast forward that to Little House On The Prairie, please.

Here's what's on the podcast:

She's Not There - The Zombies (from Episode 1: Jan. 12, 1965)

Go Now - The Moody Blues (appeared on Episode 11: March 23, 1965)

Nowhere To Run - Martha & The Vandellas (appeared on Episode 17: May 4, 1965)

Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds (appeared on Episode 18: May 11, 1965)

California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas (Episode 44: March 14, 1966)

Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals (appeared on Episode 47: April 4, 1966)

Podcast at left or here.

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 Songs Under 3 Minutes Long

Well, this covers just about any radio hit from the 50's through the 60's, since songs over 3 minutes were considered a no-no back then. You know, after the excess of those long songs of the 70's and 80's, we are coming full circle. I'm noticing many artists recording short songs again. Those DJ's will have to spin Free Bird if they want a bathroom break!

5. Rock & Roll Queen - The Subways

4. Happy Together - The Turtles

3. You Really Got Me - The Kinks

2. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - Elvis Costello

1. Back In The USSR - The Beatles

Bonus Picks: Cripple Creek Ferry - Neil Young, Pull Shapes - The Pipettes, All Shook Up - Elvis Presley, We Will Rock You - Queen, Ballad Of Easy Rider - The Byrds, Down On Me - Janis Joplin, In My Room - The Beach Boys

Podcast is at left or here.

Only My Son Could Do This

The saga of Patchy the Pirate kid continues. It began yesterday, when Youngest had to visit two docs after waking up with a nasty eye boo-boo. Although Opthamologist #2 assured us that the abrasion would probably heal by today, he forgot to take one thing into account: my kid is a picker. This is the kid who picks scabs (and other things I'm sure you don't want to know about,) and rubs his eyes. Yep. He's the kid who grossed you out in third grade, although I don't think he's mastered the art of flipping his eyelids up yet! So, after some ointment and a great patch job, we were sent home and told to return today. Today, the wound was worse. The picker had rubbed his closed eye through the patch! Now he's wearing a bandage contact lens and has three different drops and ointments I must apply into next week. Gee, it breaks the kiddo's heart that he has a doctor note to stay home until next Tuesday.

I'm thinking..time to catch up on those Buffy DVDs!!

Tell It To Me Tuesday

This week's theme: What, in your opinion, are the best satire songs?

I covered similar territory in a Top 5 recently, but I didn't include "novelty" songs. This time, anything goes! I don't know if these are all satirical, though.

The Homecoming Queen's Got A Gun - Julie Brown - Julie is twisted, and proves it with lyrics like, "God, my best friend's on a shooting spreeStop it, Debbie, you're embarrassing me." She lambasted preppy chicks and Valley girls with this one!

Star Trekkin' - The Firm - Totally pokes fun at everything Star Trek. I like the Spock-alike who practically raps, "It's life Jim, but not as we know it, not as we know it, not as we know it. It's life, Jim, but not as we know it, not as we know it, Captain."

Bitch - Stephen Lynch - In 1:03 seconds Lynch speaks for every guy who's ever broken up with a girl and does it with a sweet acoustic ditty. "How do I say what needs to be said? The words are hard to find. How about 'Bitch, give me my money.' "

Yoda - Weird Al - I could pick almost any Weird Al song, since he is the reigning king of parody songs, but Yoda strikes home with the Star Wars geek in me.

Cheney's Got A Gun - Bob Rivers -Parody of the Aerosmith song, Janey's Got a Gun. You can see the video on YouTube here.

I'm a big fan of songs like this, which is why I used to be a Dr. Demento junkie. I miss listening to his show every week!

Stuff

First of all, tread lightly on me today, since my team failed to show up to play the Gators last night. OUCH! Congrats to my great friend, Lisa, the transplanted-Floridian-who-lives-in-California, but calls her office there "The Swamp." I'm sure you're walking on air today (as I did 4 years ago!)

Secondly, if you have kids and they like to sleep in a sleeping bag occasionally, I have a little heads up for you: the zipper can harm! Youngest woke up today with a puffy, watering red eye and pain. Three hours and two doctors later, he's sporting a nifty eye patch and dealing with some discomfort. Seems he cut the cornea during a fitfull sleep. The first doc wasn't comfortable with the possibility of having to debride the injury, so he sent us off to a corneal specialist. The nurses at both offices said this is fairly common, along with scratches from feather and down pillows. (I've been scratched on the cheek by a pillow before, so I knew of that risk. That's why we have foam and/or microfiber pillows here!) So, beware the sleeping bags and stuffed animals with scratchy things attached, etc. in your kiddo's beds!

Go Bucks!

Toothpaste For Dinner

Lifted from Toothpastefordinner.com

Top 5 On Friday

Top 5 songs that weren't written by the artist that recorded them. (But not cover songs)

This just isn't that common in the rock genre these days, since singer/songwriters have proliferated! Still, there are plenty of old songs to fit the bill. And, this remains a common practice in both country and Top 40 pop. (Do you think Britney and Beyonce write their own material?)

5. Cry - Faith Hill - Written by Angie Aparo. Angie recorded this as well, but he is fairly unknown and Faith Hill's version was a huge hit and she won a Grammy for best female country vocal.

4. Angel Eyes - The Jeff Healey Band - Healey made a name for himself in the late 80's with two John Hiatt songs, Angel Eyes and Confidence Man. Hiatt didn't record Angel Eyes himself until 1998, to include it in a greatest hits package. (Hiatt's songs have been recorded many times over by all sorts of Nashville folks.)

3. Up On The Roof - James Taylor (The Drifters, Neil Diamond, etc. This song has been recorded by over 200 artists) - Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King in the Brill Building days.

2 .Last Train To Clarksville - The Monkees - Penned by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, who wrote several of The Prefab Four's big hits.

1. All The Young Dudes - Mott the Hoople - Written for them by David Bowie.

Podcast will follow!

Top CD Releases of 2006 - Part II

Happy New Year! We stayed up to watch Dick Clark and the ball-dropping extravaganza last night. Bless his heart, he's still trying to entertain. (It's painful to watch, though.)

I have not been able to get to the computer for anything more than 5 or 10 minutes here and there in over a week, so my apologies for being a wee late with the remainder of the list!

These are not in any number order, with the exception of my top pick.

Adventure Rocket Ship - Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 - from Ole! Tarantula

Wednesday - The Drive-By Truckers - from A Blessing And A Curse

Into The Open - Heartless Bastards - from All This Time

Whatever You Want - Vienna Teng - from Dreaming Through The Noise

Dirty Mind - The Pipettes - from We Are The Pipettes

Show You How - Lindsey Buckingham - from Under The Skin

Roscoe - Midlake - from The Trials Of Van Occupanther

Get Back - The Beatles - from Love

Someday Baby - Bob Dylan - from Modern Times

and number one...

Wolves - Josh Ritter - from The Animal Years

Honorable mentions:
Everything All The Time - Band Of Horses
Black Cadillac - Rosanne Cash
Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth
Young For Eternity - The Subways
Nothing But The Water - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Songlines - The Derek Trucks Band
The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen
All The Roadrunning - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Rockford - Cheap Trick
Comfort Of Strangers - Beth Orton
Ammunition - Tim Easton
Veneer - Jose Gonzalez
The Road To Escondido - JJ Cale & Eric Clapton
The Devil You Know - Todd Snider
Streets Of New York - Willie Nile
People Gonna Talk - James Hunter
Another Fine Day - Golden Smog
Personality - One Was A Spider One Was A Bird - The Sleepy Jackson