Limes with Orange

Just got this in my email one minute ago from the Mocking Shadows:

Just in case you haven't heard already...the long awaited Calgary release of our new album "The Sound" is tonight Friday Dec 14th at Wyckham House/Liberty Lounge on the Mount Royal campus. We be joined by three great local acts: Kaley Kinjo, Ryan Bourne and Five Star Affair. Doors are at 8pm, the first band goes on at 8:30 and the cover is $10. Hope to see you there!

Um, yeah... thanks for the advance warning guys. I was looking forward to this all fall and now I can't go. In future, giving your fans a little more heads up would be appreciated.

Labels: music

With the holidays coming up, I've been asked to update my Christmas list. Which mostly just means updating my Amazon.com wishlist. And I've just discovered that they now have a handy dandy widget (that should technically go in my sidebar but it's wider than my Music Box which is already wider than any widget that I'd like to have in my sidebar... so blog post it is) so that I can share my list with the world (or at least the fraction of it that visits my blog):


FYI, for anyone actually checking out this list, I recommend sorting it by priority because there is some stuff on there that's been there for a while but I still want more than more recent stuff that I've added.

Labels: books and literature, film, music, special days

Hmm... now there's a title that can get the imagination started. What it actually refers to is the Calgary Cinematheque Society's screening of Joseph von Sternberg's masterpiece "Underworld" at the Plaza Cinema tonight accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra. Now this is gonna be cool. Here's the blurb:

"Recently restored by Paramount, Joseph von Sternberg's masterpiece UNDERWORLD plays for one night only at the Plaza Theatre on November 10th. This will be the Canadian premiere of the film that is credited with starting the gangster genre in Hollywood. Gangland big shot "Bull" Weed (George Bancroft) takes high-class bum "Rolls Royce" (Clive Brook) under his wing, but things go afoul when Bull's moll "Feathers" (Evelyn Brent) starts taking an interest in the new recruit. Initially ignored by Paramount, UNDERWORLD opened in one small theatre in New York in 1927 and went on to become the box office smash of the year. It made a star of George Bancroft and earned writer Ben Hecht an Academy Award.

"The Calgary Cinematheque is pleased to present the world famous Alloy Orchestra to accompany the screening of UNDERWORLD. Fresh from the recent New York Film Festival screening of UNDERWORLD where they premiered a brand new score, the Alloy Orchestra will be in Calgary on November 10th to play live to the screening at the Plaza. Mark your calendars and join us for this unique, one-time only event. ALLOY ORCHESTRA is a three man musical ensemble, writing and performing live accompaniment to classic silent films.

"Working with an outrageous assemblage of peculiar objects, they thrash and grind soulful music from unlikely sources. Performing at prestigious film festivals and cultural centers in the US and abroad (The Telluride Film Festival, The Louvre, Lincoln Center, The Academy of Motion Pictures, the National Gallery of Art and others), Alloy has helped revive some of the great masterpieces of the silent era."

Maybe I'll see you there!

Labels: film, music

Well, last night's screening went very well. Lots of people in attendance and they all seemed to be having a good time. My screening stations got a lot of use, which was rewarding (a huge thanks to Mitch and James... I couldn't have done it without your help!). "The Curse of the Piano" looks really good, so look for it at a festival near you. I'll be curious to find out how much money the silent auction raised, because the bidding wasn't exactly fast and furious. But I think bidding for these types of things only becomes fast and furious when you've got a bunch of oil execs in attendance. Artists tend to have a little less cash to throw around. But hopefully it will still add up to a reasonable amount.

I went down to the Wildwood for a bit afterwards because the Mocking Shadows were playing. Unfortunately, someone had spilt a drink on their sound board so they were in the middle of technical difficulties. They finally managed to get a board for the instruments and such to go through but I guess they couldn't get the mikes back up. So they ended up just jamming with no vocals, which was kind of cool. Their new CD is out and they'll be throwing a CD launch party shortly. Can't wait!

And now I'm exhausted. Unfortunately, I can't totally veg out until tomorrow because today is the very last day of my screenwriting workshop were we get to hear actors read sections of our script. The instructor is working with them as I type this and pretty soon I'm going to be heading down to the CSIF to see how my script translates to the spoken word. It's a little nerve wracking but I'm so tired that I don't think I'm capable of mustering up the energy for anxiety. Probably a good thing. Wish me luck.

Labels: film, music, writing

I just found out that the Plaza Cinema is holding midnight showing of Grease this weekend, complete with costumes and singalong! So, as a warm up for tomorrow night, I've posted three songs from the Grease soundtrack to My Music Box in the sidebar: "Summer Nights", "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and "We Go Together".

And here is a link for the lyrics to all of the songs from Grease (there is the odd error here or there but, by and large, they're mostly accurate): Grease Soundtrack Lyrics.

Labels: film, fun, music

Just wanted to mention that I went to the Blue October concert at the Calgary Stampede over the weekend. My review is over at my Music Musings blog: Stampeding with Blue October

And I've also uploaded videos of two Calgary area musicians, Jasmine Whenham and The Fates. They're also over at Music Musings: Calgary Musicians

So go check 'em out.

Labels: music

I've uploaded a new song to My Music Box. It's called "The Bird and the Worm" by The Used (on "Lies for the Liars"). At the risk of lowering my CMQ (Cool Music Quotient ), I'll admit that I discovered it on Canadian Idol when Montana Martin Iles sang it last week. You can watch Montana sing it over on Music Musings, my music blog, where I'm currently posting my commentary on Canadian Idol.

And in defense of my CMQ, I love to discover new talent and new songs regardless of the setting. And Canadian Idol gives me a chance to do both. Not every week, mind you, but more often than you might think.

Labels: music, tv

There's a commercial from the UK for the new 30th anniversary Police CD posted on You Tube. It's a brief little medley of "Roxanne", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Message in a Bottle", "Walking on the Moon", "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" and "Every Breath You Take"... just enough to make me nostalgic and wonder why I haven't bought that CD set yet, since all of my Police albums are still on vinyl.


It's strange… I've been so busy discovering new music that it hasn't bothered me until recently that I don't have easy access to the music of my youth, the music that shaped my musical tastes. And, quite frankly, I credit The Police with the fact that I think my current musical tastes are pretty cool. Granted, we all probably think our musical tastes are cool, but before The Police I was listening to Rick Springfield and Olivia Newton John. So I think you'll admit that I'm light years beyond that kind of music now.

Part of me still wishes that I'd been able to make it to their recent concert in Edmonton (I don't know about the rest of the band, but Sting is ageing REALLY well). But I am definitely glad I didn't end up working that concert; I ain't 19 anymore and a concert teardown is not my idea of fun… but I've already covered that (see my previous Police post).

Oh, and did I mention that this CD set comes with a cool vintage poster of the Police? I think it will go quite nicely with the other movie and music memorabilia that lines my home office walls. (Or maybe I should act like a teenager again and put it on the ceiling in my bedroom. )

So excuse me while I use up that HMV gift certificate I got for Christmas and go buy this thing. (As to why that gift certificate is still kicking around, the answer is pretty simple… I usually buy everything online. But I don't feel like waiting on the mail for this one!)

Labels: music, videos

Okay, I was waiting to do this post until I got the photo that I wanted to have accompany it... but the first photo attempt was a no-go and I just bumped the teaser post off the front page, so I figured it was now or never. A while back, I posted about The Police concert and how I wasn't going to have a chance to go. Well, I didn't go but I did write a little teaser that I had another post in me about that. So here's what happened..

Two days before the concert, just as my cousin Zenon and I were preparing to go to our Handmade Film Workshop, I got a phone call from I.A.T.S.E. Local 210 in Edmonton. For those of you who aren't familiar with them, I.A.T.S.E. is the union for film and stage crew and I'm a permittee member of the electrics department for I.A.T.S.E. Local 212 here in Calgary. (Not a lot of women in that department, but I wanted a chance to learn more about lighting from the big films that come through town.) Anyway, I got this phone call saying that 210 had a job for me in Edmonton for the following day and if I came up for that, they'd keep me over to work... THE POLICE CONCERT!

Alas, my mother was arriving in town the very next afternoon to stay with me before heading to another cousin's wedding the following weekend. So, even though it nearly killed me to say it, I had to say no.

About an hour later, sitting in our workshop, Zenon's phone vibrated. He checked the number and it showed an Edmonton area code. Zenon is also a permittee member of 212. I told him it was probably about the concert and he should go call them back ASAP. Which he did and, long story short (and the preparation for that trip was a very long story), he went and worked the concert!

I have to admit I was insanely jealous... until he got back and I heard about his 17 hour day on Friday and the all-nighter that was the concert teardown. Yep, that's right... he didn't work the concert itself, just the teardown. But he did catch a glimpse of Sting and he did drink one of Sting's expensive, imported-from-Norway water bottles (that was the photo that didn't quite work out). I guess I'm not quite so jealous now. I still have my Police Picnic memories and I didn't have the backbreaking labour that my cousin had, so it's all good.

Labels: film, music, odds and ends

Whether you're a fan of the Grateful Dead or just a fan of music in general, Phil Lesh's book Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead is supposed to be a great read. A little rough around the edges because it's a true autobiography, not a ghost written one, this book is conversational, intimate, informative and candid. What interests me most about it is that Phil Lesh is the academic of the group with his avant-garde classical composition training, literate mind and passion for the arts. So ultimately it's a book about music, its creation and its powers. And now it's available as a downloadable audiobook.

So if you're also intrigued by the Grateful Dead Audio Book, remember it's just a click away.

Labels: books and literature, music

As my regular readers know, I'm big in my support of indie artists in general and indie musicians specifically. So I was very interested in this new service offered by tourdates.co.uk for unsigned artists: an unsigned chart with free music downloads. Their press release:

Tourdates.Co.UK, Britains fastest growing new music website, has launched a chart for unsigned bands.

The site allows new bands to upload promotional tracks, announce gig dates and create profiles to promote themselves alongside major artists such as the Artic Monkeys and The Twang.

Tourdates Jarrod Robinson says, there are some fantastic unsigned bands in the UK and we wanted them to know how much our community likes their music, an unsigned chart seemed the perfect answer.

Chart results are announced on the site at 19:00 every sunday, the sametime as the No1 single of the week is announced on BBC's radio 1.

I think it's a great idea and I hope that someone in North America considers doing something this progressive. (If anyone knows of a site on this side of the pond that is doing this already, please let me know.)

Labels: music, news

I realize that for most people when they hear the phrase "police picnic" they think of your local law enforcement agency having a picnic in the park. Well, if you were a teenager in Toronto in the early 80's it meant waaaay more than that. It was The Police playing at Exhibition Stadium with around half a dozen other bands and thousands of fans. It was The Event to go to every summer. Well, my sister went every summer. I finally got to go in 1983, the last year they held it, when I was 14 (and now everyone knows how old I am!).

First of all, the concert was awesome. I don't remember the entire line-up, but I do remember that Peter Tosh was there and so was James Brown... that's right, James Brown, the godfather of soul!!! And then The Police came on and, well… magic. I may be a writer but I lack the words to express the magic of seeing this trio of musicians on stage. You really just need to experience it once in your life. (And now you can! They're actually on tour again! Sorry for all the exclamation points but it's just amazing, astounding, unbelievable and any other adjective that you can think of!)

But back to 1983… My sister's friend (my big sis had been gracious enough to let me tag along with her and her friend) knew somebody who knew somebody who was doing security backstage. It wasn't a big enough somebody to actually get us backstage, but they were able to tell us that the band was staying at the Westin Harbour Castle. So the three of us decided we had to get over there ASAP. But none of the three of us had any money. So we managed to convince some nice couple who was taking a taxi to a hotel in that general area to give us a lift.

Once we got to the hotel, we weren't sure what to do next. I mean, we knew the hotel wasn't going to tell us what rooms the band members were in. I think we ended up overhearing somebody because we somehow found out what floor they were staying on. So we jumped in an elevator but found out that you needed a room key to use the elevators. Once again, we somehow convinced some nice couple to take us up in the elevator (we must have looked fairly sweet and harmless, is all I can figure). But before the elevator came, they asked us why? We told them and they said that The Police were actually in the hotel lounge at the moment. I think it must have looked like some scene from a cheesy movie with the three of us staring at each other for a moment and then simultaneously taking off at a flat run for the lounge, calling out thank you's over our shoulders.

So we went racing into the lounge and there they were. Sting, Andy, Stewart and a couple of other people. Just sitting there… lounging. It was kind of surreal. It pretty much stopped us short for a moment because I don't think it had occurred to any of us that we would actually find them. But there they were.

Once we caught our breath and found our nerve, we approached the band. They were extremely friendly. We got Andy and Stewart's autographs first, because Sting was busy talking to someone and we didn't want to interrupt. While we were waiting, Andy invited us to have a seat (we were lounging with The Police!) and then he commented on my broken arm, saying that he hoped it hadn't happened at the concert. I laughed and said no and he actually asked me how I broke it. Then HE asked ME if he could sign my cast! Well, gee, let me think about that… of course! (I wanted to keep the cast after it came off but it was pretty gross… pity.)

By that time, my sister and her friend had gotten Sting's autograph so I handed him some paper for mine. And I don't know why, but after Sting singed his name he bit the paper. He hadn't done that with anyone else's. But I thought that was totally awesome (gotta use that 80s vernacular). Not only did I have his autograph but I had his tooth marks and his DNA! Anyway, that night was definitely one of the biggest highlights from my youth and I'm so glad that we were so determined in our hijinks.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to catch them on their current tour. They're not coming to Calgary and it's not a good time for me to be able to travel to see them. But I will definitely be purchasing the new Police CD (given that most of my Police collection is still on the original vinyl). I'm trying to decide what my favourite song is, and I don't know that I can narrow it down to just one. It's so very, very close but I think I can say that my top two from this CD would be "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Walking in Your Footsteps." But we're talking an infinitesimally small space between these two and the multitudes of other amazing songs on the track list. So which one (or ones) are your favourites?

Labels: music

Well I finally discovered who does that current dance song that samples "Tainted Love." The song is called "S.O.S." (not to be confused with Abba's "S.O.S." or The Police's "Message in a Bottle" which has S.O.S. in the chorus), the artist is Rihanna.

I went to Amazon.com to check her out further and discovered that she also sang "Pon De Replay," which is a song that I find irresistable to dance to. And it turns out that she's got a new album coming out next month: "Good Girl Gone Bad." Check out her video for "Umbrella," the first single off the album:

Labels: music, videos

If you've ever been to Calgary and didn't visit the Beat Niq Jazz & Social Club, then you're one deprived cat, man. That's where I first saw Johnny Summers singing his swinging tribute to Frank Sinatra. It's the hot place for cool jazz and I'm entering it in to a contest of the best Things You Should Do. It's full of Cool Places, Hot Nightclubs and the Best Restaurants all over the world. And I could win an iPhone if they think my suggestion is the best! Click to get the details about the iPhone Contest.

Labels: cool sites, music

I've also decided to start a music blog called Music Musings. Not to say that I won't still be talking about music here, but I want a place for those long posts about the interpretation of lyrics and so forth. Both this blog and Inner Game Geek are obviously still in their infancy, so they will be improved upon both in functionality and aesthetics. But it's the start of my grand reorganization plan. As for the details of that plan... well, those are on a need to know basis.

Labels: blogging, music

I had intended to promote this beforehand rather than talk about it after the fact, but since I wasn't feeling all that well last week and SOMEONE didn't get me the info until Thursday… well, suffice it to say, here we are after the fact.

Anyway, my erudite, laconic, guitar-playing friend Brian has recently joined Caught Staring, the current band of his former Burning the Ground band mate (who happens to be an ex-boyfriend of mine… but don't worry, we're on friendly terms). My friend and I caught them at the Pig & Whistle last night and they were great! Brian may have been concentrating a little harder than usual, what with only a handful of rehearsals under his belt and this being his first gig with them, but he sounded solid and tight with the rest of the band. And the rest of the band is REALLY tight.

I had hoped to have a chance to chat with Brian's very cool wife, but there wasn't really much opportunity. (I have a short film idea that I think she'd be perfect for, but I have no idea if it will interest her or not.) But I did meet a funky chick who is friends with the guys in Curious George, another local cover band that I enjoy. She's a "closet writer" (I've been there, my friend) and I'm hoping to help her come out of that closet. But I digress...

I highly recommend checking out Caught Staring. They're a talented cover band with an awesome song list and loads of energy… great for dancing! And I'd have to say they're pretty easy on the eyes, so that's a nice perk for the ladies in the audience (or gay men ).

Labels: music

Here's a website with a very cool idea. You can trade your DVDs, music CDs, games, books and audiobooks all in one place. It's called Hitflip UK and, as the name implies, is currently only in the UK. But they started in Germany and it looks as though they're planning on expanding into the States, so I'm crossing my fingers that they'll end up in Canada eventually (hopefully they'll post these kinds of updates on their blog).

I love the idea of being able to swap DVDs that I've grown tired of (doesn't happen very often) or have duplicates of (which is somewhat more common) or that were gifts from people who didn't check my Amazon.com wish list (probably the most common reason I would swap).

*a few moments pass as I browse the site... *

Okay, now I'm desperate. I just did a search and seasons 1-5 of "Drop the Dead Donkey" are available to swap! I know the site is just for residents of the UK and I know the DVDs would be the wrong format anyway, but I want that show!!!!

*takes deep breath*

Okay, I've calmed down now. But I still want that TV show. I'll just have to figure out another way to get it. And I will. I'm quite determined that I will.

Labels: books and literature, cool sites, film, games, music, tv, videos

Blue October performed on Conan last night... and I missed it! I was working late into the night on a grant report that's due... well... now. Unfortunately, Conan doesn't seem to provide videos (he could learn a thing or two from Jon Stewart), nor has anyone uploaded it to YouTube yet. But some kind soul on MySpace has the video... many thanks to Dory. So here's Blue October on Conan singing "She's My Ride Home":

Blue October on Conan O'Brien

Labels: music, tv, videos

Browsing through the Blogger's Choice Awards again (I've got new votes... yay!), I found that someone had nominated PostSecret. A friend of mine sent me a link to this blog a while back and I'd meant to blog about it but got sidetracked.

What is PostSecret? It's an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Some of them are amusing, some of them are insightful, but what keeps me coming back are the ones that are frightening in their truth and beautiful in their pain. If you haven't visited this site before, I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, the award categories weren't really made for a blog like this. If I were to invent a category for it, I think I would call it "Best Humanist Blog" or "Best Blog about Truth" but those aren't categories that people would typically think about or use. So it's in the Pop Culture category. Yes, yet another post for a "pop culture" blog.



In keeping with the spirit of viewing this as a pop culture blog, I've uploaded "Beauty from Pain" by Superchick to My Music Box for you to listen to while you explore. I've also decided to change the other songs to create a sort of theme of pain and secrets. So there's also Blue October's "Razorblade" sung by Zayra Alvarez and "Merry Go Round" by Athena Reich.

Labels: art and photography, blogging, music, pop culture

Now, now... get your mind out of the gutter... that's not what I meant. (Or is mine the only mind that landed in the gutter?)

Blue October is going to be performing on Conan O'Brien on Wednesday, April 25!

(I feel like a little Blue October cheerleader. Oh well, I guess I can live with that as long as I get to be the Gothic Cheerleader! )

Labels: music, tv

I've discovered a cool new site called Fliptrack that let's you "put your life to music." The concept? Use your photos, add music from their library and voila! You have a Fliptrack Music Slideshow that you can share with the world.

I would definitely like to give this a try myself, but for the moment I'm just enjoying the ones that are posted. There's a very moving one called "In Memory of Martin Luther King," a really cute one called "Cats Don't Like Mondays" set to—you guessed it—the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays," but I've opted to embed one that is more beautifully artistic, entitled "I'm my only enemy":

Doesn't it make you want to go and make your own? So what are you waiting for?

Labels: cool sites, music, videos

Hey, my review of the Blue October concert has been posted on the Blue October Canada MySpace blog! You do need to be a friend of Blue October Canada to view the blog, so those of you without a MySpace account won't be able to access the link (no biggie... it's exactly as posted here). But those of you with MySpace accounts should be friends of Blue October Canada anyway, right?

Labels: blogging, music

As my regular readers know, I went to see Blue October at Mac Hall at the University of Calgary on Saturday night. Given the way I was feeling, I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to enjoy it. But I did. Boy did I.

The opening band was fine, nothing earth shattering ("something Moses" or "Moses something"… don't really remember; just remember the lead singer had a cool Gothic version of a Sergeant Pepper jacket and one of the other guys had a huge 'fro; plus they were late, holding up the whole show... not particularly endearing).

But on to the main show. First of all, it felt waaay too short even though it was an hour and a half. And that's saying something with the short attention span that I have these days. Secondly, I'm still just getting to know their music (aside from the few songs that I have memorized so far) but there wasn't a single song during the concert that didn't grab me… which is not the norm with music I'm not familiar with. Usually it takes me a while to warm up to new stuff (well, new-to-me stuff), but I was captivated during the entire concert. Why? Justin Furstenfeld.

Not to say that the other musicians aren't amazing. Loved the violin. Loved the bass player, playing his solo almost as if he was playing an upright bass. Loved the cutie guitar play and his faux hawk. And Justin's brother Jeremy on drums. But none of that is why my gaze was fixated on that stage for an hour and a half that felt like 20 minutes. That was all Justin.

Justin is a born performer. Which amazes me because his lyrics are so deep and sophisticated and his music so catchy, that it seemed too much to hope that his performance could match his songwriting ability. But it did, it does. I don't know how much he can actually see when he's on stage, but it feels like he's making real eye contact with the audience… intense, singing-right-to-you eye contact. And his hand gestures. Wow. Along with his body language and his facial expressions, his gestures tell the story of the song and makes it really personal. I could watch that man perform all night long.

As for their music, it's truly their own sound but familiar at the same time. Sounding like it's inspired by the best of U2, Depeche Mode, Madness and even the Barenaked Ladies, it's still fresh and original with that intensity in Justin that I can't remember hearing so consistently ever before.

And I don't know the details of Justin's personal life (apart from how open he is about drugs and rehab), but I feel like his songs were plucked from ugly ideas in my head made beautiful. I know I'm not alone. I realize that's a huge part of their success; how much people can identify with Justin's words. And yes, they're dark thoughts but they're tinged with hope. And I don't know if "18th Floor Balcony" (just uploaded into my Box) and some of his other love songs were written for his wife or not, but I choose to believe they were. Because I feel like if Justin can find someone to love who can love him that way, then there's hope for the rest of us.

P.S. Calgary audiences suck! Don't they know that if you keep stomping and clapping and cheering that the band WILL come out for a second encore? A little persistence please people!!!!

P.P.S. Buy the new album, Foiled. You will NOT be disappointed!

Labels: music

I've decided to dub this "Blue October Week." Not as an annual thing as part of my calendar of interesting "holidays" (I was talking about that here, right, not in Things That Make You Go Huh? Frack, I'm losing track already... but that's neither here nor there). "Blue October Week" is to get pumped up for the Blue October concert in Calgary this coming Saturday. (At Mac Hall... some tickets still available!)

To that end, all of the songs in "My Box" this week (that big orange thing in my sidebar) are from Blue October's live album: Argue with a Tree. Enjoy!

Labels: music

I've lived in Calgary for almost seven years now, and it's only in the past year that I've really managed to find the artsy people that I want to hang out with. I'll admit that much of that is my own fault. I arrived with the attitude that Calgarians expect from Torontonians: what little redneck, culturally-bereft backwater have I just landed in? Not too endearing an attitude, I'll admit. But I only seemed to be meeting people who worked directly in the oil and gas industry or indirectly for the oil and gas industry. And my parents were hippie actors. No common ground. I did try. Really. But I felt like I was selling my soul.

Then last year, I joined the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers and started taking a bunch of courses there—meeting people who had not only heard of my favourite movies, but actually liked them—and my one musician friend married a really cool actress with really cool creative friends and all of a sudden I have artsy people back in my life. Yay!

This whole process could have happened a lot sooner if The Whole 9 had been around when I first moved here. The Whole 9 is an online community to connect creative and artistic people for networking and dating (there's even a place for your portfolio). I may not be needing it for friendship or dating at the moment, but I'll definitely be exploring the networking potential!

P.S. Couldn't resist the Beatles reference in the title, especially since 9 is one of my favourite numbers. My fave favourite number is actually 108... long story... short answer: I'm weird, remember?

Labels: art and photography, cool sites, dating, film, music, theatre

I just found this cool new widget while I was visiting The Bellclapper's Garden. See that box on the side? Well, I can now upload songs to it so my viewing audience can become a listening audience. (I seem to be having a glitch viewing it in Opera 9.10, but it seems to be fine in IE and Firefox. Anybody have Netscape and wanna let me know whether you can actually see the uploaded files in that browser? Same for Mac users... thanks muchly!)

Hope you enjoy "The Box" (oh my, that sounds kind of ominous, doesn't it?)

Labels: blogging, music

Well, I may have been right about Starbuck (thank the gods... of course she could still be a Cylon, so I guess "is Starbuck a Cylon?" could be the "who shot J.R.?" equivalent... but she's back and that's all I care about right now) but holy frack was I wrong about so much other stuff! The Chief?! Seriously... the CHIEF?!?! My "Savio-like in his glory" Chief? Say it isn't so.

And I guess skin jobs have been around for a looong time. And I guess they do have the ability to appear to age. Who knew? (Apart from Ron Moore and the BSG writers, I mean.) But I have to say that I respect Tigh more now, after his little speech (I wish I had it on DVD so I could quote him exactly). Actually, I don't think I ever respected him before, so I should say that I finally respect him. Ironic, dontcha think? The method of reveal was interesting though and I find myself wondering how each of them is going to react in the next season.

But I'm particularly looking forward to watching the unfolding storyline connecting the President, Athena, Caprica Six and Hera. THAT should be good.

Oh and the song, for those who haven't figured it out yet, was "All Along the Watchtower" written by Bob Dylan (I'm not sure whose version... Hendrix maybe?):

"There must be some way out of here,"
said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief
Businessmen they drink my wine, plowman dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No need to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who think that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and that is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view,
while all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

Labels: battlestar galactica, music, pop culture, tv

Ever since I wrote the last post, I've had the song "The Christians and the Pagans" going through my head. So I figured I should write a wee post and try and leave the song here on the page, literally and figuratively. So here's a live version to listen to (courtesy of LookIt). Personally, I prefer the version that's on Mortal City. But you can only listen to a tiny snippet of that one on the web. This version is pretty much the same, just different production value obviously.

And just in case you'd like lyrics and chords, here's a link: The Christians and the Pagans.

Labels: music, pop culture

I've been exploring that Tribeca Network further and checked out one of their subsites: Radio Free TriBeCa (I'll save Tribeca Shorts, their other subsite, for another post).

This is a very cool concept. Did you ever see the movie "Pump Up the Volume" with Christian Slater? The one where he runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthrals fellow teens. Well, now you can do the same thing (or something completely different) with a lot less trouble than Christian Slater went through in the movie, just by signing up with this site.

So if you think you're the next Alan Freed, Wolfman Jack or Rush Limbaugh *shudder* (how come the only talk radio personalities that come to mind make me want to shudder... surely there are some progressive, liberal radio personalities out there; of course, it might help if I actually listened to traditional radio rather than just internet radio... but I digress). Anyway, if you're burning to broadcast, Radio Free TriBeCa is where you want to be. And if you just want to listen? Well, they've got a 24/7 streaming Beatles station that works for me!

Labels: cool sites, music, pop culture

Okay, so this meme has been going around for several months now, but I just recently had it forwarded to me and it looks pretty cool so I'm gonna do it anyway.

The Year You Turned 18 Music Meme

Go to popculturemadness.com and select the year you turned 18. Paste the list of the top 75 songs. Bold the ones you liked; strike the ones you disliked; and italicize the ones you know but don't exactly like or dislike. The ones you don't know will stay plain text.

1. That's What Friends Are For - Dionne & Friends
2. Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer
3. Kiss - Prince
4. Walk This Way - Run D.M.C./Aerosmith
5. Living In America - James Brown
6. You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi
7. Take My Breath Away - Berlin
8. Burning Heart - Survivor
9. Walk Like An Egyptian - The Bangles
10. The Sweetest Taboo - Sade
11. Higher Love - Steve Winwood
12. Never As Good As The First Time - Sade
13. Greatest Love Of All - Whitney Houston
14. Tarzan Boy - Baltimora
15. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
16. You're A Friend Of Mine - Clarence Clemons & Jackson Browne
17. Manic Monday - The Bangles
18. Glory Of Love - Peter Cetera
19. Like A Rock - Bob Seger
20. I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock and Roll) - Nick Lowe
21. Word Up - Cameo
22. Conga - Miami Sound Machine
23. The Men All Pause - Klymaxx
24. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
25. Live To Tell - Madonna
26. Venus - Bananarama
27. Typical Male - Tina Turner
28. Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
29. Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
30. I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz
31. If You Leave - O.M.D.
32. You Be Illin' - Run DMC
33. Crush On You - The Jets
34. The Rain - Oran "Juice" Jones
35. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
36. Mad About You - Belinda Carlisile
37. R.O.C.K. In The USA - John "Cougar" Melloncamp
38. Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
39. Words Get In The Way - Miami Sound Machine
40. Walk Of Life - Dire Straits
41. I'm Your Man - Wham!
42. All Cried Out - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam With Full Force
43. West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys
44. Dancing On The Ceiling - Lionel Richie
45. We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart
46. My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen
47. On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
48. Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung
49. All I Need Is A Miracle - Mike & the Mechanics
50. Tuff Enuff - Fabulous Thunderbirds
51. The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades - Timbuk3
52. Love Walks In - Van Halen
53. Shot In The Dark - Ozzie Osbourne
54. The Next Time I Fall - Peter Cetera & Amy Grant
55. Move Away - Culture Club
56. I Wanna Be A Cowboy - Boys Don't Cry
57. Superbowl Shuffle - Chicago Bears
58. Rumors - Timex Social Club
59. The Power Of Love - Jennifer Rush
60. One Step Closer - Gavin Christopher
61. A Love Bizarre - Sheila E.
62. Sex As A Weapon - Pat Benatar
63. More Than Physical - Bananarama
64. Everybody Dance - Ta Mara and the Seen
65. Day By Day - Hooters
66. Live Is Life - Opus
67. Great Gosh A'Mighty - Little Richard
68. Pleasure and Pain - Divinyls
69. Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads
70. Don Quichotte - Magazine 60
71. Crazay - Jesse Johnson and Sly Stone
72. Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen
73. Baby Talk - Alisha
74. Jungle Boy - John Eddie
75. Caravan of Love - Isley Jasper Isley

The limited number of songs that I bolded led me to muse upon what I was listening to back then. I guess I was already into more alternative stuff. Some of my favourite artists at that time (in no particular order) were Jane Siberry, Sting, Suzanne Vega, David Bowie and Depeche Mode. But the number of songs I italicized suggests that I at least listened to the radio more than I do now.

Labels: memes, music, pop culture

Unsigned.com is a music site that I've talked about before (see "Indie Artists Unite"), but I consider it worthy of another post because it's growing fast.

I love almost all kinds of music (not so much a fan of country, but even I will admit to enjoying a little Patsy Cline once in a while). One of my favourite genres is industrial goth, in the style of Evanescence, Kidneythieves, Switchblade Symphony, Tapping the Vein, etc. So on this visit I was browsing Unsigned's industrial music section. Here are some of the bands that made the biggest impression on me:

Acid Void… I could totally imagine using them to create the soundtrack for one of my short films. Hmm, I wonder if they actually would?

Curiosity Valentine… Strange, but I like it. I particularly like the quote in their bio: Author Warren Ellis described Curi by saying, "She has a big, smoky, whisky-sharp voice: like Tom Waits if he were an angry 24-year-old woman preoccupied with Doom and Hate." (LMAO)

Eldest… A little too metal for me in the chorus, but otherwise I like both their sound and their message.

Papa Zombi… Gothic rap? Cool.

Syncro Nine Factor… Good balance of industrial, metal and alternative without being too much of any.

Violent Sleepers… Great sound, check out their lugubrious version of "People are Strange" (although their original stuff is actually better).

If you don't like industrial goth, try another category. Whether you're looking for Jazz, Trip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Punk, Funk (okay, they don't actually have a category for funk—yet—but I was in a beat poetry groove), Folk or World Artists... trust me, there's something there for everyone. And, like I said, there are more artists every time I visit. So check it out!

Labels: cool sites, music, pop culture

The oblique West Side Story reference in the title suggests that I have not yet shaken my musical-theatre-itis. But this post is actually another one about the Women's Open Mike Night hosted by Jadesong at the Jane Doe Marketplace & Café (311 17 Ave SW).

Some local artists that will be performing:
Vi An : Vocals & Percussion
Shelly K Hip Hop : Spoken Word
Kali (Karylin) : Spinning Poetry
Moksha (Mel) : Vocals, Percussion & Electro Pop

It starts at 7:00 p.m. and you have to sign up right at 7 if you want to perform. I still haven't decided what I'll be reading... and part of me is starting to chicken out... well, we'll see.

Labels: music, poetry

Chatting with my friend's son yesterday, he was telling me about his music project for school: to write an original song. He and his friends had decided to write a rap song, which led me to talk about rap music being street poetry and how its rhythms and rhyme schemes remind me a bit of sixties beat poetry. And me being me, I of course had to do a little research.

Which leads me, very indirectly, to the topic of my post: rap opera. While searching for interesting tidbits on rap music, I landed on this article on Opera at Encyclocentral. In amongst the generic information about opera was this innocent sentence: "In more recent news, radical styles of opera buffa, rap opera and even opera electronica have been very popular with audiences." I've heard of rock opera but rap opera? I admit, I'm intrigued.

But I also wonder, when people create this kind of opera are they intending to develop a new artistic form or are they hoping that contemporizing the opera style will renew interest in classical opera? Enquiring minds want to know.

P.S. Hey, maybe if my friend's son turns out to be a whiz at songwriting, he'll need the Encyclocentral article on Talent Agencies.

Labels: music, pop culture

My friend and I went to see a production of Chicago this afternoon, presented by the Front Row Centre Players. I've always loved the play. I saw it for the first time when I was a kid and one of my mother's acting students used to work the box office at the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto. We used to hang around until everyone else was seated and then he would let us sit in the empty seats. That's where I saw Chicago and Sweet Charity, and others that I can't remember… I think it's the Bob Fosse shows that tended to stick in my head. And obviously I saw the movie and I thought they did a fabulous job with it (even if Renée Zellweger was distractingly skinny).

But back to today. I had seen the ads for this production of Chicago but hadn't been planning on going just because I'm so busy (and currently rather broke after buying my new couch). But then I got an email from Nikki—who played the female demon in my short film last summer—saying that she was the understudy for Velma and would be performing that role in the matinées. So I bought my tickets and off I went.

Already a huge fan of the script and the music, I was curious to see how it would be handled by a community theatre group. Overall, I think they did well. The singing, acting and musicianship were all very good. The choreography, however, was just so-so. Maybe it was that the dancers weren't up to anything more challenging, maybe it's because we were watching the understudies, but the choreography and dancing were definitely the weakest link. The energy, however, was great and the actors were obviously having loads of fun which makes up for a lot in community theatre, as far as I'm concerned. And I got to introduce a friend of mine to live theatre for the first time… so that was pretty cool, too.

And that's
Good, isn't it?
Grand, isn't it?
Great, isn't it?
Swell, isn't it?
Fun, isn't it?
But nothing stays

In fifty years or so
It's gonna change, you know
But, oh, it's heaven
Nowadays.
(listen to sample)

Labels: film, music, pop culture, theatre

I'm having way too much fun with that Eventful site and decided to add Sarah Slean to their database so I could create a demand for her to come back to Calgary. When I saw her here before, it was one of the most incredible concert experiences of my life. Her voice, her energy, her words, her music... I was transported. I would love to experience that again.

Sarah Slean

Do you want Sarah Slean
to perform in your city?

Labels: cool sites, music, pop culture

I've just discovered a new site for unsigned artists. Unsigned.com is dedicated to providing independent artists the best possible outlet to be heard globally on the Internet, as well as providing the artists with a new revenue and distribution model for their music.

Having recently had the "joys" of putting together a MySpace Filmmaker's site, I no longer think MySpace is the answer for any indie artists. It's so glitchy and has no real tech support that it drives me crazy most of the time, and I can't imagine it's much better if you're in the music area of MySpace.

Granted, Unsigned.com is still in Beta and I haven't tested it out, but anything's gotta be better than MySpace!

Labels: cool sites, music, pop culture

I noticed that someone landed on my blog searching for the meaning of the Blue October song "Ugly Side" (sample). Although on the one hand I think the general meaning is self-evident, I decided to write about it because the specific lyrics might seem a little odd to some people.

Ugly Side lyrics:

I must have sneezed
On knees I freeze
I mean I just choked up
Somehow I slept
I dream, I mean
I dreamt of nothing
Able to breathe
A sweet relief
Now that you're here with me
A northern degree
Dove into me
Now I'm recovering

[Chorus]
I only want you to see
My favorite part of me
And not my ugly side
Not my ugly side

Hook up a C.B. Wave a way
For conversation flow
I'm shoved in your cave, to wage this rage
Don't let me go
A kick and a scream is all that seems
To mean a lot thus far
I won't let you on my stage, my page
You can't know
Yet you have to know

[Chorus]

So calm... and now it's dark
I look for you to light my heart
I'm in between the moon and where you are
I know... I can't be far

The most general interpretation is simply how hard it is to share your those parts of yourself that you don't like with someone that you actually want to share your whole self with. More specifically, I believe it relates to Justin Furstenfeld's history with drugs, his recovery and his ardent desire not to have to share that part of his past and himself with someone he's starting a new relationship with.

As for specific phrases that may or not make grammatical sense… I say don't analyze that stuff too deeply. It's poetry. It elicits an emotional reaction of confusion and melancholy and fear and love. In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg writes:

"The aim is to burn through to first thoughts... to the place where you are writing what your mind actually sees and feels, not what it thinks it should see and feel. It's a great opportunity to capture the oddities of your mind. Explore the rugged edge of thought."

I believe these lyrics are definitely the stuff of "first thoughts." Not to say that I don't have my ideas about what Justin means in certain phrases, but I'm more concerned with what he's feeling and how he makes me feel. So my advice is not to try to deconstruct the song, just feel it.

P.S. Blue October is coming to Calgary!!!!! They'll be playing at Mac Hall on April 7. Get your tickets soon. I know I will!

Labels: music, poetry, pop culture

I just discovered this new site where you can request (or as they say "demand") that your favourite performers come to your city. So I entered a "demand" for Rachael Sage (since I discovered this on her MySpace page), even though I'm not sure she would ever venture this way. But hey, if you don't ask... right? So I started the demand, but it needs to reach a critical mass before they actually contact the performer. So if anyone else wants to make a demand for Rachael Sage to come to Calgary, please do so.

I am a little disappointed, however, that most of the codes on the Eventful site don't seem to work for me. So this is as interesting a "demand" image as I could muster:

Rachael Sage

Do you want Rachael Sage
to perform in your city?

For those of you who aren't familiar with Rachael Sage and her music, she's a New York City songstress whose music is an eclectic mix of literate folk-pop-rock with a variety of world music influences. Trust me, that description will make sense once you listen to her. One of my favourite tracks off one of my favourite albums of hers (Smashing the Serene) is "Bruises without Blue." Give it a listen and if you actually like it, then please help me drum up some demand!

Labels: cool sites, music, pop culture

As a big fan of indie music, I felt the need to post about this Singer/Songwriter contest that I just heard of. It's sponsored by a London based artist development group called We Are Listening. But it's not just for artists from the UK or Europe, it's completely international and open to both signed and unsigned artists. (There's even a Canadian judge… Katia Cadet (Babykat)… I just wish I'd actually heard of her, but I'm not really a hip hop person so I guess that's as good an excuse as any).

Anyway, back to the contest. They'll be picking six artists and flying them to London for a luxury weekend production extravaganza which will include an exclusive recording session with producer Steve Williams who has produced artists like Sting, Seal and Eric Clapton. Can you imagine? Holy opportunity, Batman!

There are also other prizes like the Master Writer software suite, a scholarship for the Summer Songwriting Workshop at Berklee College of Music and a bunch of artist services at CDfuse.com, including one week as a "featured artist" on the front page of the site (to name just a few).

I hope Jasmine Whenham decides to enter. I still remember when she won the local Ship & Anchor songwriting contest. When she got up to sing I felt transported from a local amateur competition to a world class musical performance. Maybe this contest will be her chance to play with the big boys… and girls.

So is it worth it? Well, it only costs $30 to enter and one of last year's winners, Jag Star, is going to be included on the soundtrack to MTV's "The Hills" as the only independent act on the recording. I don't know about you, but I think that makes for a pretty impressive credit.

But don't wait too long to enter… the deadline is March 1, 2007!

Labels: music, pop culture

Apparently the last time my cousin went to the movies, they showed a pretty cool music video. Unfortunately, they gave neither the title of the song nor the artist. But my cousin liked the song quite a lot so he went home and Googled some of the lyrics and discovered it was "Into the Ocean" by Blue October.

Why is this noteworthy? Well, I first discovered Blue October when Zayra Alvarez sang their song "Razorblade" on Rock Star: Supernova (watch the video). I think it was her best performance on the show and yet it was the night that she got kicked off… so unfair. Anyway, after the show I downloaded the Blue October version along with a few of their other songs and I was hooked. I had suggested to my cousin that he download "Weight of the World," a song of theirs which I love but that he didn't like much at all. I now see that I should have recommended more than the one song. Oh well, hind sight and all that.

But now I'm curious: Is this band bigger than I originally thought? Or are they just now gaining in popularity and getting good airplay? I never know these things because I don't listen to the radio. Sometimes I "discover" a band that everyone else already knows about. Other times one of my indie bands makes it big and all of a sudden everybody knows who they are which kind of weirds me out. (I'm really pathetic when it comes to popular music… totally my own fault, I know, but obviously I don't care enough about it to bother to change and actually start listening to the radio and paying attention to these things.) But I think it's a riot that these guys are obviously doing extremely well right now, and just last summer the Supernova guys were giving Zayra a hard time for doing a song by a band they'd never even heard of.

There are still a lot of Blue October songs that I'm not familiar with, so I can't offer extensive reviews or recommendations, but aside from the songs I've already mentioned I also really like "Independently Happy" and "18th Floor Balcony" and I LOVE "Ugly Side" (listen to sample). I was really hoping that somebody would buy me Blue October's live album "Argue with a Tree" for Christmas, but no such luck. Oh well, I think I can manage to buy it for myself.

Labels: music, pop culture

I've had a lot of people landing on this blog looking for "The Hippopotamus Song." I assume they're looking for the Flanders & Swann song but, having no idea if there's another song by the same name, I could be way off the mark (I've included the lyrics below so you can figure out at a glance if this is the song you're looking for). I'm not quite sure why this resurgence in popularity for the song (if this is indeed the song they want), but I think it's pretty cool. If you happen to be one of the people looking for the song (which is available here), I would love it if you would leave me a comment as to what prompted you to try to find it. If, however, you are looking for "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"... I'm afraid you won't find that here, sorry.

The Hippopotamus Song
Words by Michael Flanders
Music by Donald Swann and Michael Flanders

A bold Hippopotamus was standing one day
On the banks of the cool Shalimar.
He gazed at the bottom as it peacefully lay
By the light of the evening star.

Away on the hilltop sat combing her hair
His fair Hippopotamine maid.
The Hippopotamus was no ignoramus
And sang her this sweet serenade.

Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.

The fair Hippopotama he aimed to entice,
From here seen on the hilltop above,
As she hadn't got a ma to give her advice,
Came tip-toeing down to her love.

Like thunder the forest re-echoed the sound
Of the song that they sang as they met.
His enamorata adjusted her garter
And lifted her voice in duet.

Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.

Now more Hippopotami began to convene
On the banks of that river so wide.
I wonder now what am I to say of the scene
That ensued by the Shalimar side?

They dived all at once with an ear-splitting splash,
Then rose to the surface again,
A regular army of Hippopotami
All singing this haunting refrain.

Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.

P.S. There's a "Hippo Encore" as well!

P.P.S. I first posted about this song in a "Christmas CD 2 — Funny Guys" back in 2004. For more novelty music, check out the song list in that post.

Labels: humour, music

My whole family (well, on my Dad's side) loves to sing... except maybe my cousin Chris (but I'll bet he sings when no one else is around). There have been parties in the past when my aunt would rent a Karaoke machine and everyone would have their chance to belt out their favourite tunes in the privacy her living room... no noisy bar, no drunken louts, no cigarette smoke. Unfortunately, I was always away at university when those parties happened.

So I've been trying to nudge the family towards buying a Karaoke machine so that we can sing at a moment's notice (well, sing with musical accompaniment; we sing at a moments notice anyway... and who says musicals are unrealistic?). Anyway, I came across this online Home Karaoke Machine Guide that looks like it could be very helpful. Now if I can just figure out a way to casually get my family to look at it...

Labels: cool stuff, music

I was browsing around You Tube and initially stumbled across DCLuigi in his "ADD Shopping Network" video (very funny) and decided to check out some of his other stuff. That's when I discovered this sick and brilliant music video "Sick in the Head":



"Don't leave the kittens on the grill; Why use the stairs when you can fall?
Just leave your problems in the sink; I've got my shoes, they're made of dreams.
Is that a fire on your back? Think twice before you rape the dog.
I don't belong to triple A (hey, hey); Hey, let's pretend that we're alive.
I'm sick in the head, Just to let you know,
I'm sick in the head, Anyway, let's go"
Aren't the lyrics great?!

Labels: humour, music

We were at the Rose & Crown last night and heard a new band (well, new to me) called Urban Divide. They remind me of the Mocking Shadows with their funk/r&b/soul thing goin' on and their horn section (gotta love the horns). But they've got a chick on lead vocals which is pretty cool, especially because her voice is low and bluesy. I don't think they're quite as tight as the Shadows, though, or maybe I just prefer the rock edge that the Shadows bring. Regardless, I would still definitely recommend them.

Speaking of new bands, when we were at the Rose & Crown for my birthday a couple of weeks ago, we caught a band called The Heavyweights. Good solid rock & roll cover band. Great for dancing!

Check 'em both out!

Labels: music, pop culture

Come one, come all to the Jasmine Whenham CD release party tonight at Club Paradiso in Inglewood. I've been eagerly awaiting this new CD... I'm really hoping this will launch her big break. *fingers crossed*

Labels: music, pop culture

Some time ago, I downloaded a song that was entitled "Persian Teardrop" but turned out to be a brilliant mix of "Persian Love Song" by Dead Can Dance and "Teardrop" by Massive Attack with Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins). I had assumed it was a remix that was available on a CD somewhere but I've had no luck finding it. I'm now beginning to think it's a homemade remix that has just been circulating on the internet. I posted on the Massive Attack forums hoping someone there might know for certain, but no joy. So I figured I would try posting on my blog on the off chance that someone might stumble across it and know if (and where) I can find a legitimate copy of this remix.

Labels: music, pop culture

Boing Boing had a "Battlestar Galacticakes" blurb today which was mildly amusing. But tacked on to the end of it was music video cobbled together by BSG fans (that would be Battlestar Galactica for those who haven't made the hyperjump). It is catchier and funnier than I anticipated. If you like the show, I think you'll get a kick out of this:


Battlestar Galactica: A New Crew In Town

"...You're a frackin' awesome machine,
So much better than the one with Lorne Greene."

Labels: battlestar galactica, music

So I see that Storm took my advice and has recorded "Ladylike" already, both clean and explicit versions. (What? You don't believe that she might have stumbled across my blog, saw my suggestion that she go directly into the studio to record "Ladylike" and said, "Hey man, that sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?"... What? You don't think it could have happened that way? Yeah, well, neither do I... *sigh*)

Anyway, you can buy her single "Ladylike" by Storm Large & the Balls through CD Baby or download the song from iTunes (I assume they have both song versions available there as well). Then get ready to rock!

Labels: music, pop culture

Tempest = Storm
Great = Large

I know I haven't been commenting on Rock Star: Supernova this year, even though I was a two-posts-a-week Rock Star: INXS grrl last year. That doesn't mean I haven't been watching, just that I've been too insanely busy with my short film to blog (said film is now in the can, except for one insert shot, then it's off to the lab when the rest of the students finish filming). But enough preamble...

I was keenly disappointed to see Storm Large leave the show. Especially after her incredible, anthem-like original song the night before: "Ladylike." I hope she goes straight into the studio to record this song (both the PG and R-rated versions). I simply can't get it out of my head which, in this case, is a wonderful thing. Aside from the fact that it's crazy catchy, the sentiment is so relatable for all of us women who feel constrained by society's desire for us to fit a girly-girl mold. And I HIGHLY recommend wat