Look what the manager of DD brought us! Seriously, this could be a problem. A big, beautiful problem. (this is in addition to what I bought this a.m.)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
My musings on Yazoo and what they meant to me...
Yes, this is like 12 year old girl stuff:
I thought the album cover for Upstairs at Eric's was creepy/sexy and that is what got my attention:
I always wondered what Alison Moyet sounded like over the telephone and secretly wished she'd call me.
I made it my mission that year to ensure everyone heard Situation. No, not just heard it but understood it.
I wanted to shave my head like Vince, but was only brave enough to clipper it down to a #3, leaving the front long and a tail in the back. (but I was happy with it.)
You could tell which games were my faves in the arcades by the initals YAZ on the screen. (Millepede, Joust, Frogger, Dig Dug, Q-bert, Paperboy)
I hated that they had to shorten their name in America because of a Floridian Little Leauge team with the same name, and swore I was going to start a petition to make them change their name!. (I mean what the hell kind of name is that for a baseball team, anyway?)
The song And On, on You and Me Both, made me cry. Not a girlie "oh-i-love-this-song" cry, but a very sad cry... and
I cried when they split (yeah, I've always been a crier)
The first time I heard Erasure I had to pull the car over because I thought Yaz had gotten back together. I called the college radio station and had a lengthy talk with the DJ who sent me the promo 12" single of Who Needs Love Like That because we connected over our love of Yaz.
That's all that comes to mind now... more as I have flashbacks!
Reconnected Live out on cd today 09/28/10
Reconnected Live - Yazoo
They met at 21, recorded 2 albums, did about 2 dozen concerts and then parted ways, breaking my heart completely. I used to spend countless hours, In My Room, listening to Vince Clarke's amazing synth soundscapes and Alison Moyet's incredibly soulful voice, getting lost in the pre-MTV videos that would play out in my head.
I think you could walk to the moon on the list of projects Vince has had his hands in and the musicians that he has influenced. The man, in my opinion, is the reason the synth was invented. He was one of the originators of Depeche Mode, y'know.
Then, there's that voice. Alison's sultry, bluesy/rhaspy I-just-woke-up-and-now-let-me-sing-for-you voice, It demands attention but never overpowers the music.
The beauty of it all is that when you listen to this cd, it's like it never ended. They've never forgotten how beautiful they were together. It seems as though they've been secretly meeting in a basement playing together, for fun, for the last 28 years. Now it's out for the world to hear and to quote Yazoo; "...Don't it make you feel good?"
Oh, yes it does, Trust me, I'm a DJ...
You can read all about them and listen to selected tracks from Reconnected Live at the official Yazoo/Yaz website.
You can read my memories of me and Yaz in the early 80's if you are so inclined @ My Musings of Yaz
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Summer, from Hot Shot.
"That's my double-cousin, Buford. He ain't right, but he never hurt nobody!" ~ the inbred Summer, from Hot Shot
William said:
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"you're not gonna believe what I've done..."
...It was hard in '88 to go from vinyl and cassette to cd's. I mean really hard. I was one of those people that swore if you take the pops and crackles out of records it would ruin the music. Sure the sterile and pristine reproduction of music onto cd was great for classical, orchestra and adult contemporary, but rock and disco needed that "chet-chet" sound pre-empting (and during) the music. Liner notes and lyrics went away and you were lucky to get a picture of the band inside. What good were cd's to a dj? You couldn't cue them up, or change the pitch, let alone "scratch-mix." Good-bye Malcom McClaren, see ya later Fab-five Freddie.
Imagine my obstinance when music downloads came along. Wow, now you couldn't even hold the cd, look at the pictures, take it with you in the car. What was the point?
So, now more than a couple thousand mp3's into the 21st century, (and after converting a lot of vinyl LP's into mp3's)I find that I rarely give cd's a second glance. I have bought more records than cd's since about 2002. I will wander into a music store and see what's displayed, check bargain bins, see if there's anything in the dance/techno section that I haven't heard of... and usually, i walk out empty-handed with no human interaction at all.
BUT
Tonight was different. William and I ran to the mall with 29 minutes left before close to find a gift and you may find the following unbelievable:
First I was caught off guard by a great sale at Macy's. I found 2 Marc Ecko shirts that I could not pass up. I had two items price checked and had a conversation about an upcoming sale with the cashier. then ran into Hot Topic, bought a gift-card, discussed True Blood and Dexter with the Assistant Manager and was checking the points on my HT Card when William spotted a pair of shoes and asked if she had some in his size. She went to the backroom, found them, he tried them on, she rang us up, we chatted some more.
Leaving Hot Topic we strolled halfway down the mall, went down to the lower-level and William decided he wated to visit MAC in Nordstrom. While he was doing that, I went to the "e-bar" and stood in a line of 5 people to get a Mexi-Mocha frozen coffee beverage. (Delicious! Look out Starbucks). I found William and told him I had 5 minutes to get to f.y.e. to check out music. He said he'd meet me and I hustled off to see if it could be done.
The guy was closing the door but stopped when he saw me. He said I "looked like I knew what I wanted," and let me in. I explained I really wanted to look at the new Kelis "Flesh Tone" cd. He put it in my hand and I noticed it was alot cheaper than I was used to paying for new cd's. He assured me it was the full version and we got into a short discussion of music censorship and clean versus explicit and he was genuinely happy to talk. (more on the subject at a later time). The fact that he was friendly and not in a hurry to push me out the door amazed me.
Now 9:05 i walk right into Nordstrom and there is William and the MAC rep ringing him up. (and while 20 miles away, and in another city, she turned out to be our neighbor!) She stopped to answer another question and began pulling out product to show off. It was 9:28 when we got in the car and I played my Kelis cd for the ride home. It was an amazing experience that I would not have gotten from itunes.
The only thing that would have topped that is if the Kelis cd started with a crackle and pop, but I can add that in later.
... trust me, I'm a dj.
Imagine my obstinance when music downloads came along. Wow, now you couldn't even hold the cd, look at the pictures, take it with you in the car. What was the point?
So, now more than a couple thousand mp3's into the 21st century, (and after converting a lot of vinyl LP's into mp3's)I find that I rarely give cd's a second glance. I have bought more records than cd's since about 2002. I will wander into a music store and see what's displayed, check bargain bins, see if there's anything in the dance/techno section that I haven't heard of... and usually, i walk out empty-handed with no human interaction at all.
BUT
Tonight was different. William and I ran to the mall with 29 minutes left before close to find a gift and you may find the following unbelievable:
First I was caught off guard by a great sale at Macy's. I found 2 Marc Ecko shirts that I could not pass up. I had two items price checked and had a conversation about an upcoming sale with the cashier. then ran into Hot Topic, bought a gift-card, discussed True Blood and Dexter with the Assistant Manager and was checking the points on my HT Card when William spotted a pair of shoes and asked if she had some in his size. She went to the backroom, found them, he tried them on, she rang us up, we chatted some more.
Leaving Hot Topic we strolled halfway down the mall, went down to the lower-level and William decided he wated to visit MAC in Nordstrom. While he was doing that, I went to the "e-bar" and stood in a line of 5 people to get a Mexi-Mocha frozen coffee beverage. (Delicious! Look out Starbucks). I found William and told him I had 5 minutes to get to f.y.e. to check out music. He said he'd meet me and I hustled off to see if it could be done.
The guy was closing the door but stopped when he saw me. He said I "looked like I knew what I wanted," and let me in. I explained I really wanted to look at the new Kelis "Flesh Tone" cd. He put it in my hand and I noticed it was alot cheaper than I was used to paying for new cd's. He assured me it was the full version and we got into a short discussion of music censorship and clean versus explicit and he was genuinely happy to talk. (more on the subject at a later time). The fact that he was friendly and not in a hurry to push me out the door amazed me.
Now 9:05 i walk right into Nordstrom and there is William and the MAC rep ringing him up. (and while 20 miles away, and in another city, she turned out to be our neighbor!) She stopped to answer another question and began pulling out product to show off. It was 9:28 when we got in the car and I played my Kelis cd for the ride home. It was an amazing experience that I would not have gotten from itunes.
The only thing that would have topped that is if the Kelis cd started with a crackle and pop, but I can add that in later.
... trust me, I'm a dj.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
An afternoon at Sarah P. Duke Gardens
This was just shortly before it hit 92° and we started walking uphill for 2 hours. :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
This label has some free songs to download
This label's site offers 10 free mp3s for download of some great artists like Amanda Blank, Miike Snow, Fyfe Dangerfield, Kid Sister, Major Lazer and more. (in exchange for your e-mail address)
They say it includes the new Scissor Sisters song but you don't get that untill June 29!
For the free sampler click here.
to listen to the songs first, click here.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Gaga on American Idol
Lady Gaga performing Alejandro on American Idol.i can't wait to see her in September.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The pool is open :)
What I love about living in the south. It's still another month before they open back home, if it's not still snowing. Lol!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Frankie's
Considering my lack of luck @ Frankie's Fun Park - I should probably stay away from Vegas, LOL!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
"Jemi" up next on Idol. Yeah, they're a couple.
Ok, that was just horrible... I think they should go home.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Intermission
Iintermission. Cinderella has ended, next up 3 Ballenchine and then an original by Robert Weiss.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Used to live in these shirts
And when they became unwearable, i'd sleep in them. I still listen to "power of love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood often. And Holly Johnson singing it on "...Later with Jools Holland" is beautiful.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
American Idol so far...
I know, so far, not Idol's best seaon. No stand out performers. No Adam Lamberts. Ellen is a good judge, she seems honest in her opinions but also seems to be trying not to be like Paula (I miss her desperately). She has a tendency to have a look of "Wow! I can't believe I am really here!" constantly on her face. However, did anyone catch Shelby Dressel on ellen? She was absolutely amazing. Here's the link:
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/02/american-idol-castoff-shelby-dressel-performs-for-ellen-0223.php
The girl can sing like nobody's business and I would hate to think that she was let go for the nerve damage in her face. She did better on "ellen" than 6 of the top 12 girls left in the competition! I really hope someone somewhere gives her the opportunity she strongly deserves.
as for tonight's show:
Good show tonight, only one suprise in my book: Tyler going away.
I don't think he did well on the first live show, Wednesday, however he seemed to have a character that would have gotten him through.
Best Part of the show? Tim Urban and the look on his face when he was told to sit down. Not the first time the camera caught his "I can't believe they voted for me" look and not even the second time as he shook his head while saying something to his competitor (that you couldn't quite make out) but the final time that the camera cut to him clapping along to Joe Muñoz's exit song and still shaking his head. Those are the things that remind you that, for the most part, it's real and not so staged.
As for the girls, no suprises there.
So I know it's still a little early but here are the ones I want to see go on:
(and mind you these are in the order of "I would like to see them take the critiques to heart and learn, get better and advance" and not necessarly by "the best so far" that is at the bottom of this post)
Girls
Crystal Bowersox
Lilly Scott
Haeley Vaughn
Katie Stevens
Didi Benami
Siobhan Magnus
Guys (same order)
Casey James
Aaron Kelly
Andrew Garcia
Alex Lambert
As for tonights guest stars:
Allison Iraheta- not fond of the song, but i really do love her.
Kris Allen- great version of Let It Be coupled with the video of him playing with the Haitian kids. Very moving.
As for best so far in order of performance strength:
Crystal Bowersox
Casey James
Aaron Kelly
Lilly Scott
And remember last year my pics were (In order)
Alex Lambert, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Danny Gokey even though Allison had a really tough begining.
Any thoughts?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Finally a Trader Joes in Raleigh
Picked up a bag of seafood blend (shrimp, scallops calamari) and some fresh mozzerella @ Trader Joes to go with our Giada sauce. Delicous dinner for 2 for about $10 :)
Look what we found @ Target
William's been cooking from her recipes for years, now we can see how close he was to the real thing :)
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