Can I call you Jessica? I know we've never met, but I'm cool and not stalkery in the least, so I'll call you Jessica. True, I don't know any of your songs and not seen a single movie you've made, but I have tried on a pair of Jessica Simpon shoes, so I think we're pretty tight. Glad we got that over with. I'm writing to you because you're all over my interwebs today and honestly, though it is by no fault of your own, you're preventing me from getting some work done.
Don't cry, it's not your fault, it's those bad bloggers, I'm not one of them, I promise. These evil bloggers are calling you fat. Now, I would never say that because I don't think you're fat, you're not! And who the hell cares if you've gained a few pounds? You're dating that Tony Romo guy, you're happy, maybe you're hitting Taco Bell a little more often, I don't know — I love the Taco Bell, myself, it's okay. It's a Kerry Blog scientifically-proven fact that people gain a little weight when they're happy. For instance, my hubs has gained some pounds since marrying me and it's obviously because I make him so freaking happy. What do you mean I can't prove that? Jess, I'm on your side, don't make me slap you. Again with the crying? Oh, come on, I was just kidding.
It's pathetic that the mean bloggers result to elementary school name-calling to go after you when some of us just want to help. You're gorgeous girl! Lord knows if I looked like you I'd be naked all the time! Really, you're still maybe a size 8 and I haven't been an 8 since 9th or 10th grade, I'd go to Target naked if I were an 8 — I'd blog naked, for that matter. Jess, you just need a girlfriend to go shopping with to help you stay away from unflattering outfits like this. Trust me, high-waisted denim and and a double belt never did a girl with curves any favors. I'm not saying anything about the pockets.
Honey, come over, we'll get you fixed up with a good bra to boost the girls up (I know a thing or two about this, ask my friends), find a good pair of jeans, and I'll help you burn that infernal belt. Really, girl, I'd fire whoever told you to wear that belt, it's all kinds of wrong. And while you're at it, tell that make-up artist of your's to find some red lipstick, that pinky-lilac washes you out. At least the make-up artist didn't make you look older 'cause then I'd have say ala Kanye, "THIS IS SOME BENJAMIN BUTTONS SHIT!" And red lipstick just makes you feel good. You'll have to trust me on that one, too. For now, just go to Walgreens and get a tube of L'oreal True Red and put it on, it's practically an anti-depressant. That is also Kerry Blog proven. So have your people call my people (me in a British accent) and set up a shopping date, it's going to be fine.
In case you're looking for the perfect birthday gift for me or something to give for redheaded blogger's day — here's the item that has made its way to the top of the old wish list in record time. May I present Aretha Franklin's Inauguration hat. Here's Luke Song, the dude who made ReeRee's hat. You know She picked Luke Song strickly for his name. ReeRee's like that, she wakes up in her big house in Detroit and wants a hat — she goes to her man Luke Song.
If you've been reading the Kerry Blog for more than 10 minutes you know I love my Aretha. She and I have a connection. How can you not love the woman who gave the BEST quote in the history of the big woman: "I'm a big woman, I need big hair." Yes, that is my motto, but you knew that. I love her. And I love her hat. It looks like it's trimmed in marcasite, it's not, but Mr. Song made it look like it is because Mr. Song is that effing talented.
And so in honor of Aretha, here's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man." Why? Because it's my favorite, that's why and this is my damn blog. And because this is probably the first Aretha song I identified with as a young woman, since I had more than a couple of crappy boyfriends until Scott came along. This song is just perfect and lovely. Unfortunately, the only video of Aretha singing "Do Right Woman" had its embedding disabled, so I had to settle for just the song. And yes, I did think of lipsynching to it and taping myself for you wearing some kind of hat and showing lots of Aretha-like cleavage, but that would be silly wouldn't it? As if that's stopped me before. Tee hee hee.
While I'm on the British soul bandwagon, I thought I'd tell you about another chick who's rocking the more traditional sound. Adele would make Dusty Springfield proud and she's only 20. What is it in a 20 year-old who can belt it out and sound like they have the experience of a much older woman? Her album "19" is Grammy nominated and she appeared on SNL in the fall, so you may have heard her lovely voice before. Here is her cover of Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" for your Wednesday.
Okay, I know I'm barely getting in Tunes You Need Tuesday on an actual Tuesday — but it's been a crazy day with lots of drama — too much drama for this mama. Anydrams, I thought I'd give you a little something different today.
Since around forever, I've loved British chick soul singers. Love that sound. I suppose my introduction to the genre was with Dusty Springfield, over 20 years ago when she was on the Pet Shop Boys song "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and then discovered her older recordings. In the past couple of years I've listened to Amy Winehouse, who I'm afraid will never produce another record, so picking up the mantle is a new fave of mine, Estelle.
Estelle is straight up British soul meets modern R&B. She's been nominated this year for a couple of Grammy awards for "Shine," which features Kanye West and John Legend. You've probably heard "American Boy" on the radio with Kanye, it's fresh and so different from what the majority of female artists are doing today. "Shine" has the traditional soul sounds with some hip hop thrown in, as well as a little regae and it's just pure fun. "No Substitute Love" is one of my faves off the album, it sounds like something that could have been recorded by one of the greats — Aretha or Diana Ross in the 60's or 70's, very well done.
So, if you're looking for something new, get "Shine" and give Estelle a listen. Here's "No Substitute Love" and "American Boy" (minus Kanye) for you to listen to. Enjoy.
Some call The Cure goth-rock, but they're far from that. Sure, there they are pros at the melancholy (of which I am a fan), but they've gone pop several times as well. I wanted to get that out of the way before diving into why I like them and what makes them a great band for those of you who may have dismissed The Cure as a mopey English band.
The Cure started out as The Obelisk way back in 1976 and won a recording contract as The Easy Cure in a talent competition in '77 (take that, American Idol). Their debut single, "Killing an Arab" was met with critical acclaim and controversy, which is always a great way to start out for a post-punk band. The first Cure song I remember hearing was 1979's "Boys Don't Cry" a perfect little song. I know I didn't hear it until the early 80's, but I knew I liked their sound. It was 1982 when the jazzy "The Lovecats" became a hit and it was the break The Cure needed. Three years later the singles "Close to Me" and "In Between Days" made them a European success and the US started taking note of the band. "Close to Me" is a great little song with horns and a fun sound — not depressing or sad at all like most people think of The Cure. Here's the acoustic version.
See? Not depressing, just fun. Love that and Robert Smith's voice is one of the wildest in the biz. You never know what to expect from him and that's something I love. The Cure isn't boring. Smith's lyrics are literary and introspective, passionate and sometimes silly. I suppose I'll touch on his look, the red lipstick and dark eye makeup, black clothes, and tennis shoes. I'm a fan of all those myself, save for the tennis shoes, but whatev. It works for him and he's had the same look for over 20 years. Maybe he could teach me how to do the smokey eye for an evening out, you never know.
If you listen to a few Cure songs you'll start to notice something that you don't find in many songs of the band's contemporaries — guitars! Yep, these guys like guitars, which are noticeably absent from their contemporaries music, save the Smiths. Robert Smith even has his own model, the Ultracure guitar. Utracure just sounds cool. The Cure are masters of incorporating lots of sounds from all kinds of instruments. I love the rich sound of their music, it's well organized, well played and they are great at playing practically every instrument in the music store and making it sound easy. Just on his own, Smith plays guitar, bass, double bass, violin, flute, trumpet, and keyboard. Now, I played violin back in the day — it's hard — in the wrong hands the thing sounds like a frozen cat going through a woodchipper. So, to play that many instruments and play them well is quite something.
Back to the music.
1987 was a big year for music and was big for The Cure as well. They released Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and it was their first platinum album in the US. You may remember the singles "Just Like Heaven" and "Why Can't I Be You?" Those are superfantastic songs that are fine examples of how different The Cure's styles are — "Why Can't I Be You" is eclectic and uptempo with horns and a chaotic sound. Oh, and in the video not only is Smith wearing a bear suit minus the head piece, he also wears a black jumper, white button down, and black tie. I wore that same outfit in high school, not the bear suit, the jumper, tie, and button down shirt. Really. With wood and suede clogs. I was quite the snazzy dresser. And I fell down the stairs at Byrd High School many times due to those clogs. I blame Robert Smith.
The album Disintegration came out (have you noticed that now CDs "drop" — wtf does that mean?) in 1989 and became the band's biggest success so far. Songs like "Fascination Street," "Lovesong," "Pictures of You," and "Lullabye" all did well on the Modern Rock charts, which among all the titles given to the genre of music The Cure has been called, may fit pretty well. My favorite song of The Cure's is "Pictures of You" and it's a heartbreaking song. Here's the opening lyrics and the video follows:
"I've been looking so long at these pictures of you/That I almost believe that they're real/I've been living so long with my pictures of you/That I almost believe that the pictures are all I can feel."
My friend Megan and I have a running joke, mainly when we're scrapbooking and take turns playing our iPods in the speaker-dock-thingie. It will be my iPod playing, a song will come on and I'll say "I love this song." Well, of course I do, it's on my iPod. Megan does the same thing. We're goofs. But — I love that song.
1992 brought The Cure's Wish album, which was their biggest hit. "Friday I'm in Love" was huge for them and it's a good song. Not my fave, but good. The years prior and after Wish brought big personnel changes for the band and now Smith is the only original member, kind of sad. In the years after Wish, The Cure released a few more CDs and their Greatest Hits in 2001 with the single "Cut Here," which is a favorite of mine. It's a song of regret and the theme is that "later doesn't always come" — I just love that, as a writer, as a person who loves words and expression. Here's some lyrics and the video for "Cut Here:"
But how many times can I walk away and wish "If only…"
But how many times can I talk this way and wish "If only…"
Keep on making the same mistake
Keep on aching the same heartbreak
I wish "If only…"
But "If only…."
Is a wish too late…
Ok, so that's a little Cure for your Tuesday. Hope you enjoyed it, if not maybe I'll hit on something you'll like next week. That's what's so great about music, there is much to be discovered and we can't all like the same things, but it's fun to listen. Y'all be good and I'll be back tomorrow.
I love music with soul. There's nothing like music you can feel, that stirs something in you and one guy who did that like no one else (as far as I'm concerned) is Otis. Otis Redding is and was the best at what he did and what he did was make you feel what he was feeling and as an artist, what could be better than that?
Otis was born in Georgia and grew up in Macon, a town the hubs and I lived in for a couple of years before Molly was born. I don't know what it was about that town, but a lot of musicians came out of Macon. The Allman Brothers, Mike Mills and Bill Berry of REM, and Little Richard are also from Macon — and the kazoo was invented there in the 1840's. It's also home to Capricorn Records, which is pretty cool. And the Georgia Music Hall of Fame is there as well, if you're ever in Macon for some reason (I really can't think of why you would be unless you were attending Mercer or Wesleyan or if you have family there) you should check it out, it will be well worth your time.
Back to Otis. So, Otis said he entered the music business because of Little Richard, who was a big influence on him and wound up recording a few of the best loved songs anyone has ever recorded. Everyone knows "(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay" and "Try a Little Tenderness," and I'm sure everyone my age remembers the scene in Pretty in Pink with Duckie lip synching and dancing to "Tenderness." But did you know he wrote "Respect" — the song my girl Aretha ReeRee Franklin is known for? But my favorite Otis song is "I've Been Loving You to Long," followed closely by "I've Got Dreams to Remember" and "Cigarettes and Coffee." Those songs are all soul and better than nearly anything that you would hear on the radio today. I have to admit, I really don't listen to the radio because a lot of the music is annoying and over done, over mixed, and just over. I like music with passion, expression, great lyrics, great melody, and emotion and Otis has it all.
So, here's a little Otis Redding for your Tuesday, and because I obviously can't figure out how to post an audio clip, I'm pulling videos from Youtube, which isn't ideal for listening, but it's the best I can do for now. Happy Tuesday.
There are songs that are a sort of soundtrack of your life, representing time periods, feelings, relationships, and the like. My go-to band for my life's soundtrack is Counting Crows. Now, CC is one of those bands that most people either really love or really hate. I'm not sure what it is about them that brings on the hatred, but it's there, I assure you. I've had some heated discussions with the haters. I haven't written about CC for that very reason, but over the weekend I did a lot of listening and a lot of soul searching and usually that brings me around to CC and Adam Duritz's lyrics, so here we are.
The weekend for me was like a big flashback in a movie. Going home usually does that. For me the best lyric in "Mrs. Potter's Lullabye" is "if dreams are like movies/then memories are films about ghosts." Boy, that fits. Whenever I have flashes of memories from whatever period of my life it feels like that and it sums up my trip home pretty well. The reason I do not reside in my hometown can be heard in "Recovering the Satellites." I know that sounds cryptic if you're not familiar with the song. Here's the heart of the song:
So why'd you come home to this faithless town
Where we make a lifetime commitment
to recovering the satellites
and all anybody really wants to know is…
when are you gonna come down
She sees shooting stars and comet tails
She's got heaven in her eyes
She says I don't need to be an angel
But I'm nothing if I'm not this high
But we only stay in orbit
For a moment of time
And then you're everybody's satellite
When you're the self-appointed caretaker of everyone who needs saving in your circle, you're recovering the satellites and at some point you get tired of that job. I can practically pin-point the moment I resigned that job and I try not to look back. While I was still head satellite-recoverer I went through a dark period that lasted 3 years, my "She Don't Want Nobody Near" period. I still have moments, as everyone does, but when I heard this song in 2003 I had a majah flashback to that dark place in the movie of my life. This sounds like it's straight out of a journal of mine, circa 1993:
Pretty whitewashed lies/Endless alibis
And the reasons that need cleaning every night
Half a world away
You can't wash away the stain of the deceiving
And the things that you cannot believe, and well…
She don't want no one around
Cause she don't want anybody to see
What she looks like when she's down
Cause that's a really sad place to be
Man, that's sad. I was sad. It's really not a depressing song, just melancholy, like me from time to time. If you've taken the Personality Plus test and remember the Perfect Melancholy personality, that's me — with a healthy dose of Popular Sanguine (those really don't go together, but that's me). And I don't know how CC got hold of my journal and turned it into a Top 20 song, but I haven't seen a dime of the royalites. I don't keep a journal anymore, unless you count this blog and stuff scribbled in my Mom Agenda. Anyway, things are good now, no big, but that song is a reminder to me of how far I've come and the dark times I don't want to go back to. Of course, this past spring what I've suspected for years came out when Adam Duritz admitted to being treated for severe depression and dissociative disorder, which makes a hell of a lot of sense when you examine his songs. There's nothing like a little mental illness to bring on creativity in artists, just ask Brian Wilson.
The follow-up to an earlier CC song, "Goodnight Elizabeth," "I Wish I Was a Girl" is one of my faves. In the song, Adam is saying if he were a girl, maybe Elisabeth would believe him when he told her that he hadn't cheated on her, but the lines in the song that always get me are:
The devil's in the dreaming
You see yourself descending from a building to the ground
You watch the sky receding
You spin to see the traffic rising up
And it's so quiet
You're surprised
And then you wake
For all the things I'm losing
I might as well resign myself to try and make a change
Maybe you've never had a time when you felt like throwing in the towel, then had something happen or someone point something out to you and thought, "for all the things I'm losing/I might as well resign myself to try and make a change." But for me, that line nails it. The line "And I could shake this static everytime I try to sleep" is fab, too. The diction CC uses is pure brilliance in my opinion. Like I said, people either love or hate CC, I've loved them from day one, since "Mr. Jones" won over the masses and I've stuck around for everything after. If you see them live, you may have the oppurtunity of seeing the slow version of "Mr. Jones," which I prefer and you'll get to see some superfantastic covers like "Ghost in You" and others. Anyjones, if you've never listened to Counting Crows, go pick up Films About Ghosts (their greatest hits) that came out a while back, then get Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings — it's the most recent CD and chronicles Duritz's climb back out of crazy. It's a good listen and filled with great lyrics as well as beautiful melodies, particularly "When I Dream of Michelangelo." I'm included a live performance of the song just for fun. Hope you enjoy and happy Tuesday.
EDIT: the Christmas song list below is only one of my mixes — the swing/favorites playlist. Y'all know me — I have several Christmas playlists: rock, Elvis, crooners, and the kids list. So, any song you feel I've left out is most likely on another playlist. I take my Christmas music seriously, because at no point will I turn on the radio to hear Manhiem Steamroller, Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, or God forbid — John Denver with the Muppets.
Christmas is my favorite holiday. I'm a gift-giving fool, always have been. Receiving gifts is not my thing, I'm a giver. When I see something a loved one would appreciate, I buy it 'cause I like to make to make the people I care about happy. Occasionally I'll make a purchase for the sole purpose of aggravating someone, but most often, it's out of love. When I was younger I hated giving music as gifts, but I view it differently now, especially when the gift is well thought out. So, why not make the Christmas mix cd for your fam or friends so they won't have to listen to the garbage on the holiday radio stations. Here's what I included on my mix, it's fun and it swings, rocks, and rolls.
All of the following songs are available on iTunes (I know 'cause that's where I got them). Go download them for a proper Christmas song education.
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is my fave Christmas song of all time. I love it so much I have several versions, but you have to go with the original Judy Garland to start with. If you want to branch out after Judy, get Ella Fitzgerald's version, too.
"(Everybody's Waitin' for) the Man with the Bag" by Kay Starr is just fun, big band, horns, fab.
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burle Ives is a classic and a must if you have kids.
"The Christmas Song" by Mel Torme is the version I like, but you can go with Nat King Cole's — that's the one you hear most often.
"Christmastime is Here" and "Greensleeves" from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special by the Vince Guaraldi Trio just say Christmas to me.
"Jingle All the Way" by Lena Horne is just plain awesome.
"I've Got my Love to Keep Me Warm" by Billie Holiday is one of my faves. Sensing a theme here? I dig the old school Christmas songs that are fun and swingy.
"Cool Yule" by Louis Armstrong is the bomb. Put it on and dance.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee is a must.
"O Christmas Tree" by Aretha Franklin is on the list because she's Aretha. 'nuff said.
"Please Come Home for Christmas" by the Eagles goes nicely with the rest and it's one of my faves.
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by John Mellencamp makes the list for the notalgia factor.
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is the only Michael Buble song you'll hear me play.
"This Christmas (Hang All the Mistletoe)" by Macy Gray is really fun and fits in with all the old school tunes.
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by U2 is my second favorite Christmas song in the history of ever. Love love love.
"Christmas in Hollis" by Run-DMC is the final word on any Christmas mix of mine. If you don't have it, you might as well not make a mix, that's all there is to it.
Well, that's my list for this Tunes You Need Tuesday. I'm sure there are a few listed that you're not familiar with and maybe this is the season to branch out. Why listen to all the traditional stuff when you can swing? And don't you dare play any Manheim Steamroller or Celine Dion around me at Christmas. I'm not kidding, it's like nails on a chalkboard to hear either of those. So, after the turkey and dressing Thursday, download some Christmas tunes that are fun and just say no to the radio this season.
Word on the street is our Beyonce (aka Sasha Fierce) is begging to be the next Wonder Woman in the film currently in pre-production by Warner Brothers. I think I speak for all of us who grew up with Wonder Woman on television, when I say oh, hell to the no, Beyonce, you are not Wonder Woman. This is where I put my foot down. We simply cannot stand for this, people.
Do I need to remind you who my friend on the right is? This is Lynda Carter, the Wonder Woman of my generation. She was Amazon Princess Diana of Paradise Island and became Wonder Woman on tv from 1975 until I was 5 in 1979. She had an invisible jet and magic lasso, a boomerang crown and bullet-deflecting bracelets — what I wouldn't give for some of those bracelets! I've checked Macy's, I can't find them. And the boots! Those are crime-fighting boots. If I had those boots right now, New Orleans would not have the highest crime rate in America. Well, it would take more than the boots, I'd need the whole costume. And someone to be my sidekick 'cause I hate fighting crime alone. You know what I mean. A girl's gotta have friends. And an invisible jet wouldn't be bad either.
Can you see Beyonce in that costume? No. Plus, Wonder Woman does not sing and Beyonce has sung in the movies she's been in to stop you from noticing what a mediocre actress she is.
Let's talk about this for a minute. If you're my age you grew up with Lynda Carter, too. I did not wear Wonder Woman Underoos in the late 70's for this. That's right, the Underwear that's fun to wear. Man, those were awesome! Do they still make those, 'cause I'm so getting them. Not for my girls, for me. Okay, I'll get some for the girls, too. Anyway, at no time when I was a little girl running around in my Underoos did I think "ooo- I hope when I have kids a big movie studio will make a movie version of Wonder Woman with a singer who thinks she's an actress and has an alter ego!" No way.
Have we learned nothing from Catwoman? Ah, how quick we forget. Halle Berry is great and all, but she's no Catwoman just like Beyonce's no Wonder Woman.
That's Beyonce in her finest crazy costume. Do you see Wonder Woman? No, Beyonce is better suited
play, oh, I don't know, maybe C3PO's love interest in a future Star Wars film. Or Mr. Roboto's love interest in the Styx reunion tour. Here's what she had to say on her plans: "I would definitely have to keep it right for that
costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was
amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It
was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman
and it'd be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be
handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need
that. It would come in very handy."
Say wha? Why does she need the lasso of truth so bad? Maybe it's because she and hubs Jay-Z won't actually admit they were married a few months ago. I don't know, I'm just sayin. I'll check in with y'all later, I have to write a letter to Warner Brothers Studios.
I'm sure I'm completely alone on this one, but the whole time I was watching the new 007 Quantum of Solace movie last weekend, I was distracted by the creepy villain. Not for his sheer creepiness or for the floppy hair (that I adore on non-creepy dudes — shout out to Hugh Grant and Patrick Dempsey), but because he bears resemblance to the non-creepy singer from Simple Minds, Jim Kerr. Creepy actor Mathieu Amalric has crazy eyes.
This is Jim Kerr. He's a cool guy from Scotland who happens to share my birthday (along with OJ Simpson and Tom Hanks). He is the singer in Simple Minds of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" fame and he used to be married to Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders. Sounds like a fairly cool guy to me. How can you not love someone who sings a song from the soundtrack of your life? He's on my list of cool guys from the British Isles with Mick Hucknall from Simply Red and a few others.
This is creepy Mathieu Amalric . I'm sure he's not creepy in real life, but he was damn creepy in 007.
He's French and apparently an accomplished actor in his homeland — his IMDB credit list is pretty long, not that I've seen any of his other films. For one thing, my French is super rusty — I can tell you what color my pencil is, but that's about it. And I hate reading subtitles. If I want to read, I'll pick up a book, not watch a movie. And I never believe that the subtitles are really what the actors are saying. I don't know why, but I always suspect they're saying something completely different. Like "look at the stupid people reading the screen, fools! Ha! We are mocking you, you dumb English-speaking people with your nachos and popcorn and your giant $5 beverages!"
It's like when Megan and I go for pedicures and the pedicure women are speaking in their native tongue and we have no idea what they're saying. It's probably "damn chubby girl comes in here always talking about stupid things and playing with her phone." Then the other woman says, "her friend's no better, laughing at Ellen and talking loud to us like we don't speak English!" I'm fairly certain that's what they're talking about. That's totally it.
Anyway, you can count on the Kerry blog to bring you quality info like this. Musicians, actors, and the pedicure ladies — this is what's on my mind on a Sunday in November. This is Kerry signing out, thinking about stupid crap so you don't have to.
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