Thinking About…

(picture found here)

Ted’s doing a radio/video show called American Liberal, on TRadioV.com, and at the end of the show, they (he and his co-host) give a recommendation…sometimes it’s a book, sometimes it’s an album, sometimes it’s a life thing.  This last episode, Ted recommended an overnight getaway.  I agree wholeheartedly.

Maya went to Los Angeles (Orange, actually) last week, and Ted and I had 4 days together in between her leaving and coming back. She had fun with her cousin, went to look at some colleges, went to the beach and looked at the Stars on the Hollywood walk of fame.

While she was gone, Ted and I did some work (boring), but we also went on an overnight away to Santa Cruz. We haven’t gone on any kind of vacation at all in quite awhile. When you have an old blind dog who needs 12 or more pills a day, plus tends to give you about 15 minutes warning before she craps up the house, you don’t leave town. Too cruel to take her with you, because she’s blind. Too cruel to leave her behind, because she’ll crap up someone else’s house. Between that and the month-to-month of our finances, vacations aren’t as often as we would like them to be.

Way back when, in 1983, I saw The Fixx at Day on the Green, at the Oakland Colosseum. It was the beginning of my Jr/Sr year of High School (I graduated in 3 years), and I was feeling like I had my whole life ahead of me. Which, duh, you do. By the way, that was an amazing concert…Oingo Boingo, Madness, Thompson Twins, The Fixx, and The Police. So I was excited to see them again.

Ted worked a bit on Friday morning…I went for a swim. Then we went to lunch at a delicious and somewhat fancy restaurant in our area, Bridges (remember the restaurant from Mrs. Doubtfire?), and then drove down to Santa Cruz. Back when I was in my early 20s, I used to sometimes go to a place in Santa Cruz called “Cooper House”, with my friends. They had some killer rum drinks. It first turned into a nasty crepe place, which I think doomed it. Then it was destroyed in the 1989 earthquake. Anyway, I like that neighborhood, though it’s gone through a lot of changes since I spent any time at all there in 1986. So we walked around, looked at the shops (some chain stores, some independent…several thrift shops with used clothing), enjoyed ourselves. Then we went to the Boardwalk, and talked about fond memories of our childhoods going on the rides, though neither of us wanted to go on them anymore. I have to say, I’d rather go to Santa Cruz than to Disneyland any day of the week and twice on Sundays. The rides aren’t necessarily as good as Disneyland, but the ocean is RIGHT there. You don’t pay to get in, only to ride. There are decent restaurants right on the pier, in easy walking distance. The lines aren’t NEARLY as long. The smell of salt water is in the air. And while there’s no chance of running into Donald Duck or Ariel while you’re walking around, there are cave people on the sky ride. In the summers, they have free concerts there on the beach. Not top name acts, clearly, because the venue can only handle a couple of hundred people, who bring their own chairs or towels and sit on the sand.

So we were there to see The Fixx, who were amazingly great. They were as good as back in 1983, and I suspect that if I’ve aged, they have as well. And I have. They had two shows, and we stayed to see both, which was a good thing, because they played two separate sets, with different songs. Their new album, Beautiful Friction is really good. Really good. I really enjoyed hearing the songs. But when I heard the songs from the early 80s, I LOVED that even more. At one point, when they were playing Red Skies, I remember thinking, “Oh, the Police are next!” Crazy, huh? It’s been almost 30 years. After the concert, we went to dinner (fastish food, since it was after 10 and not much was open).

On Saturday, we decided to go to see 2 Days in New York, which I’ve been wanting to see, but isn’t in our town yet. I’m not sure if it will make it here. So we went to Berkeley, and then came home after that.

We were gone maybe 30 hours total. It was so nice, so relaxing, just to get away a bit. From home. From work. From responsibilities. From so many things that we actually cherish. I’m with Ted. I recommend it. Highly.

(awesome mix-tape picture found here)

A couple of people commented on my anniversary post about the beauty of mix tapes, and Dad Who Writes even requested to know what might be on some of the ones that Ted made me back in the day.  So I dug out what’s left of our tape collection, then sorted through to find any that might still have their cases intact.  I found just a few.  There are a lot of tapes, but many are unmarked, and we no longer have a tape deck.  Not even in our cars.  OK, I think I still have a walkman somewhere, which I kept JUST in case I wanted to listen to one of these tapes someday.  Smart girl.  (Actually, Ted just told me we still have a decent tape deck, it’s just not hooked up to anything.  I wish we had one in the car.)  I might give them a listen sometime soon.  I guess I could even get really motivated and make playlists on iTunes that match the songs…hmmm.

Ted and his brother both work (and worked) in radio, and used to make money as mobile DJs at weddings (his brother still does, if anyone ever needs an awesome DJ in the Bay Area), so they had a great collection of LPs and CDs.  So his tapes usually rocked.  This is one of my favorites.  At least, I think so.  I can’t tell with the ones that don’t have cases anymore, because the track listings went with the cases.

Anyway, here’s the track listing.  No year on the tape, so I don’t know WHEN he made it.  It had to be between ’87 and sometime in the early ’90s…we moved in together in ’90, and we still made each other a few tapes, but the majority were when we were ‘wooing’ each other…

Side One

1. “Blind” ~ Talking Heads
2. “2 Much Blood” ~ Rolling Stones
3. “The Night You Murdered Love” ~ ABC
4. “Just Around the Corner” ~ Cock Robin
5. “Heaven Knows” ~ Robert Plant
6. “Rev it Up” ~ Jerry Harrison
7. “It’s the End of the World” ~ R.E.M.
8. “Light of the Moon” ~ Pretenders
9. “I Need You” ~ Paul Carrak
10. “Jokerman” ~ Bob Dylan
11. “Jockey Full of Bourbon” ~ Tom Waits

Side Two

1. “We Close Our Eyes” ~ Oingo Boingo
2. “Silver” ~ Echo and the Bunnymen
3. “Burn For You” ~ INXS
4. “Brand New Cadillac” ~ The Clash
5. “Mandinka” ~ Sinead O’Connor
6. “One Small Day” ~ Ultravox
7. “Second Hand Love” ~ Pete Townshend
8. “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86″ ~ The Police
9. “Peace Train” ~ 10,000 Maniacs
10. “Skin Deep” ~ The Stranglers
11. “Hit that Perfect Beat” ~ Bronski Beat
12. “Under Pressure” ~ Queen w/ David Bowie

I know, awesome, right?  If I could, I’d mix up a tape for you to actually listen to, because it’s a really good one.

18 years already?  I’m not sure exactly how that can be, since it feels like we’re still in our 20s….

Thank you for being my husband, my best friend, such a wonderful father to our child, and for always being on my side.  It’s you and me against the world, honey.  I’m looking forward to the next 18 years of happy marriage to you, though not so excited to think about the wrinkles I’ll have at that point!  HA!

OK, here’s another anniversary video for you…

I remember when you used to make me mix tapes, and this song was on one of them…the next song was ‘Legal Tender’ by the B-52s.  Even now, some 20 years later, when I hear this song, I expect to hear that one next…

Thanks for the many awesome mix tapes you made me, the trip to Europe on our honeymoon, tea and toast at 5am before driving me to work back in the day. Thanks for time watching silly TV, going to movies and concerts, skiing, snorkeling, sailing on the bay. Upgrading to 1st class on the train, and on the airplane to Hawaii. Thanks for amazing dinners at wonderful restaurants, and wonderful home-cooked meals, where the secret ingredient is love. For days spent sleeping in, day trips to Monterey, driving to Canada and Washington DC. Thank you for fireflies and ‘You’re killing the pizza!’, ‘Don’t flour the fish!’, and sticky hot summer afternoons. Thanks for the love you have showered upon me for these many years, and for the love we share with our pickney. Thank you for being so supportive when I lost my mom, and the times I lost my job. Thank you for being my greatest cheerleader (you are the winner!) when I’m going out into it again, looking to start over again, one way or another. Thank you for our life together.

I’ve been listening to Tracey Thorn’s newest album, Love and Its Opposite, and the more I hear it, the more I like it. First off, Thorn has a gorgeous, lush voice. I don’t know if you were ever a fan of her joint venture with her (now) husband Ben Watt, Everything But the Girl, but I really loved their stuff back in the late 80s, especially Idlewild. Past her voice, though, are her lyrics. Together with the melodies, her music can really speak to me. Apron Strings so perfectly captured my baby lust in those years before we were emotionally and financially ready for a baby, but god, my hormones were READY. Equally poignant to me was I Always Was Your Girl, which wasn’t so spot on, but I loved the sentiment of ‘You and Me Against the World’ for a marriage.

Well, Idlewild came out about a million years ago, when I was young and newly on my own (1988), and so many themes resonated with me, and with being that certain age.   Now, with Love and Its Opposite, Thorn is taking on the issues of life after 40. Divorce, hormones, braving a singles bar for the first time in perhaps decades. Sounds boring and depressing, right?  Not really.  Take, for example, Hormones, with a daughter’s hormones raging, just as the mother’s are starting to wane in that uncomfortable and moody way that they do.

Hormones
Yours are just kickin’ in,
mine are just checkin’ out;
You’re at the beginning of this tunnel,
and I’m just comin’ out;
And either way these days we’re not as in control as we think.

You’re stampin’ up the stairs;
I’m cryin’ at the kitchen sink;
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

You worry ’bout growin’ up;
I worry ’bout lettin’ go, oh ho ho.
‘Cause I know what’s comin’ up,
Don’t let me be the last one to know.
And either way some of these days we’re gonna have to tough it out.
You turn the music up … I … I try to think before I shout;
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

And I have to own up: that dress looks better on you now;
Only half grown up, you should really twirl, take a bow.
You ask me what goin’ on, why do we feel this way?
I can only shake my head,
“Hormones, babe,” I say.
Yours are just kickin’ in, mine are just checkin’ out;
Aw, you’re just kickin’ in….

The pop synth sound is there enough that this sounds a lot like EBTG’s late 80s, early 90s stuff, before they had their dance hit, the remix of ‘Missing‘, which while I liked it, always sounded just a bit off to me.

The whole album is really good, worth a purchase and sitting down and listening to the whole thing. When was the last time you did that, listen to a whole album from beginning to end? Here’s Singles Bar, about as un-Cougarish an approach to dating in your 40s as I’ve heard.

For several years after we first married, I would find my thoughts drifting back to July of 1993…”last year right now, we were driving to the pier to pick up the discounted wine for our wedding reception…” or “2 years ago now we were on the plane to London to start our honeymoon…”  That sort of thing.  Well, as the years pass, I find my thoughts going back to specific days less and less, but for some reason today I was thinking about 17 years ago, when we took the train from Amsterdam to Paris, for the last part of our Honeymoon.

We bought coach tickets, but decided while underway that we would prefer to travel first class, which you can do by paying the difference while on the train.  The only bummer is that you have to pay the difference each time you enter a country.  So we had to pay the difference first in Holland, then when we passed into Belgium, then again when we passed the border into France.  Which was fine with us, but there was another couple in our cabin, and one of them wanted us to get the upgrade for free, because we were on our honeymoon.  It was a gay couple, probably as old then as we are now (aka, they looked old), and one of them was kind of grumpy and probably had hoped for peace and quiet the whole trip, so he could read his Dick Francis mystery in peace.  The other one was charmed that we were on our honeymoon, and seemed happy to have someone to chat with during the journey, since his partner had his nose in his book the whole way.  So the happy one kept trying to get the various conductors to give us the upgrade for free.  “But…they’re on their Honeymoon“, he’d smile…no one cared, and we paid full price.  Ah well.  It was a lovely way to travel, and we enjoyed ourselves.  Though first class meant a less crowded car to ride in, not anything fancy like tablecloths or champagne or anything like that.

We arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord, on the night before Bastille Day.  It seems that Bastille Day in France (in Paris at least) is celebrated on both the 13th and 14th, so we arrived to people setting off firecrackers, which sounded a lot like gunshots to me.  Because, you know, I’ve never heard a real gunshot, at least not that I can remember.  Just TV.  So with the firecrackers and everyone speaking French and me not understanding a word of it, and the train ticket machine not working and all, I was completely overwhelmed.  Not to mention that I stayed with the bags while Ted went to try to figure out the ticket situation, and some creepy guy was giving me the eye and I was starting to wonder if I might be abducted and Ted would come back to find just our bags sitting there.  No worries, Ted came back, we got a cab, and found our hotel.  With our room just across from a little bar, where people were drinking mightily to celebrate Bastille Day (we were just a few blocks away from the Bastille, actually), so we were kept up by the sound of partying and bottles being dropped into a dumpster.  On the 14th, we slept through the parade, but did see some huge aircraft flying low over the city, which looked to my untrained eyes to be circa WWII.  We spent several days in Paris, had amazing food, went to museums, walked all over the place, and really enjoyed ourselves.

All of which brings me to the soundtrack for today, The Moderns.  The Moderns was a basically forgettable movie (at least, I’ve forgotten it) which takes place in 1926 Paris, which has a wonderful, romantic soundtrack.  Some of it is original music by Mark Isham, and the rest is vintage music from the period.  Love it.   I haven’t listened to it for quite awhile, but it’s been popping up in my mind a lot these last few days, perhaps because of the time of year.  The soundtrack is mostly, if not completely, in French, and always takes me back to Paris, as well as to our wedding reception, where we listened to The Moderns as our dinner background music. It’s a wonderful soundtrack, and really sets the mood for a romantic dinner.  I highly recommend it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIAQWr34De0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs[/youtube]

Strange Fruit

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

I had never heard this song before, nor did I know the story behind it. I was listening to ‘Talk of the Nation‘ on the radio today, and they were talking about Billie Holiday, amongst other things, and brought up this song. It’s chilling.

You can read about the history of the song, and its inspiration in the famous picture of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, two black men lynched in Marion, IN, in 1930.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk41Gbjljfo[/youtube]

One of my favorite songs ever, and one that sums up a lot for me.  A lot about atheism.  A lot about not being able to make the leap of faith to understand how the tragedies that affect so many people: earth quakes, tsunamis, sick asshats who kidnap kids and keep them in the basement, etc..  How can these things be explained in a world with a loving God, who at the same time, is involved in our lives and answers our prayers.   I can’t make that leap.  I know that many people can, and that a big part of it is being able to say, faith.  Faith.  That they believe that we cannot understand God, that His will is a mystery.  That his love is there for comfort, even if he doesn’t cure your dying child.  I can see that.  I just can’t get there.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeqDk7203U[/youtube]

I remember being really impressed by Bringing Down the Horse, by The Wallflowers. Loved all of it. My favorite three songs were probably this one, One Headlight, along with Three Marlinas, and 6th Avenue Heartache. The pop hook is great in all of them, but I particularly think that Jakob Dylan got some pretty decent lyric writing chops from his old man.

Here are the lyrics to 6th Avenue Heartache, which I think I like even more than One Headlight, but I couldn’t find a copy that would embed on YouTube. Click the link above, to listen to 6th Avenue Heartache. Written for a homeless man in New York City below Dylan’s window, who sang the same songs, day after day, until one day he wasn’t there. His things still were, but he was gone. Eventually, his things were stolen.

Sirens ring, the shots ring out
A stranger cries screams out loud
I had my world strapped against my back
I held my hands, never knew how to act

And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache

Below me was a homeless man
Singin’ songs I knew complete
On the steps alone, his guitar in hand
It’s fifty years, stood where he stands

And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache

Now walkin’ home on those streets
The river winds move my feet
Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams
They stood by me, just like moonbeams

And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache

Look out the window, down upon that street
And gone like a midnight where was that man
But I see his six strings laid against that wall
And all his things, they all look so small
I got my fingers crossed on a shooting star
Just like me just moved on

And the same black line that was drawn on you
Was drawn on me
And now it’s drawn me in
6th Avenue heartache

On a lighter note, while One Headlight isn’t exactly a cheery song, there are times when my house is particularly cluttered and messy and I feel out of control that I like to sing this lyric:

Well this place is old
It feels just like a beat up truck
I turn the engine, but the engine doesn’t turn
Well it smells of cheap wine & cigarettes
This place is always such a mess
Sometimes I think I’d like to watch it burn

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQeP1UOwss[/youtube]

Here we are at V already, coming mighty close to the end of this mostly ignored experiment called, The ABC’s of Music, which I copied and morphed from Gina, and was then copied (yay!) from me by Simon.  I thought of Veruca Salt, who I do enjoy from time to time, but I’ve mentioned them before already.  Thought of the Verve, but then I remembered The Violent Femmes!  Oh my, does this take me back to a particular time and place, that being my sophomore year of college, in Stockton, CA.  We didn’t get much ‘good’ music in Stockton, or at least it didn’t feel like it at the time.  It’s not like we were living in the land of Footloose, where dancing was outlawed or anything, but the radio that we got generally sucked.  Classic Rock, A/C, and top 40.  Not much room for the late-teens, early 20s in the crowd, if you know what I mean.  But when we heard the Violent Femmes…well, we felt like we were getting away with something.  Quite racy back in the day in the burbs.

So I went looking for some Femmes on YouTube, and due to copyright stuff, most of what you can find is grungy live stuff, which is fun if you’re there, but the sound is pretty crappy.  Sigh.  So, here’s a cute little video of one of their more popular songs, Blister in the Sun.  Love it.  And how about just audio for Gone Daddy Gone?  Love me that.  How about a video for a later work of theirs, Children of the Revolution.  Excellent.  Want to get naughty?  Try Add it Up on for size.  Want to stay clean, and still have fun?  Here’s American Music.  Me?  Popular, naughty, or clean, I love it all.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdA-2oXzk10[/youtube]
For those of us old enough (or young enough) to remember Live Aid, it was indeed an amazing phenomenon. We missed a lot of it in California, being 8 hours behind England, and 3 hours behind Philadelphia, and it being announced not too long before the concerts were held. But wow, the work that went into that…without email, without cell phones, all of that. And a lot of it didn’t make it to MTV at the time. Originally, Geldof didn’t want the concert to be re-broadcast, saying that it would have more power in our memories than in being replayed over and over again. Not like today, where it would have been available via OnDemand and broadcast over and over again. Thankfully, it has lived on via DVD, between the BBC and the vaults at MTV. What an amazing coming together of a lot of huge egos, really big stars, all putting it aside to raise money for a wonderful cause.

In case you don’t remember, the event was organized by Bob Geldof, he of the Boomtown Rats. I don’t know a lot of their songs. Their most famous song, in my mind, is I Don’t Like Mondays, which was based upon the first really well known school shooting, in which two men were killed (the school principal and the custodian, who were trying to protect the students) and eight children were wounded at an elementary school in San Diego in 1979. The 16-year old girl who committed the crimes from her house across the street, when asked why she had opened fire on a group of children, said, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day.” The insanity of that statement hit a lot of people hard, including Geldof.

She came up for parole a few weeks ago, btw, and was denied, yet again. She has never shown any true remorse, and never fails to try to push the blame onto others.

Back to Live Aid, I think that while this song never fails to bring tears to my eyes, never fails to break my heart just a bit, what touched me even more was when Bob Geldof looked out at that huge audience that he had brought together in the biggest fund-raiser ever, and said, “I just realized, this is the best day of my life…” I think he says it right after the end of this clip, sadly.

Geldof is still involved in the fight to eradicate poverty. You can read a bit more about his efforts, here. And if you want to read about his controversial career, life, and interesting names he has for his children, check out the wiki.

I have a soft spot for this song.  I had kind of forgotten it, but a few weeks ago it came on while I was driving around, and it brought back memories of when Maya was a toddler, and a HUGE Jewel fan.  She especially loved this song, though Foolish Games came in as a close second. Look closely at the picture above, and you’ll see that she’s holding a printout of the cover to Jewel’s Pieces of You album.  She would carry it around with her, sleep with it, everything with it.  One copy would get torn or wet or lost, and Ted would print out another one.  We got her to relax and enjoy the fireworks by pointing out that some of them were streaming down and looked like Jewel’s hair.  We went to a concert, and she thought that Kenny Wayne Shepherd was Jewel, because of his long blond hair.  To her, women could have two types of hair.  Jewel hair, which was long and preferably blonde, or Carefully hair, which was short, and reminded her of her other favorite singer, Sarah McLachlan (there’s a phrase in Building a Mystery when Sarah says, “Holding on so carefully…” which is where the carefully hair comes from).  Actually, she sometimes had a printout of Jewel in one hand, and Sarah in the other.  Ted’s aunt would take her to Target, and she would go visit the CD, and Maya would hold it throughout the store, and then say goodbye and leave it there until next time.  Good times.

Anyway, from the time Maya was 1 until she was about 3, Jewel could do no wrong, and Maya loved to play You Were Meant for Me on her little toy piano, and sing along.  She used to also emote really well to Foolish Games.  So as you may have noticed, the song brings back a lot of smooshy memories of when Maya was a toddler. Wish I could go back for an hour or two sometimes…

Enjoy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emj1H65g00Q[/youtube]

One advantage of Ted’s job is that we sometimes get free tickets to local events. One such event was yesterday’s Great American Food & Music Festival, held in Mountain View. This was the first (perhaps last) year for this event. The idea was to take iconic dishes from around the country and bring them all to one venue, bring in some big names from the Food Network, and pair it up with some good music and make a day of it. Sounds good on paper, right?

Unfortunately, something fell apart in the execution. I’d be interested to read a newspaper account of what all actually went wrong, but one major thing was that they weren’t set up to take cash for food. (UPDATE: The official reports are just starting to come in…or should I say, the official apologies) They had some computerized wrist band system set up, where you could add money to your wrist band, and the vendors would simply scan it and deduct the price of the meal, and away you go. The festival started at noon, and we got there shortly after 2, and by then, the wrist band system had already crashed, and people were scrambling to figure out what to do. Never a good sign when you arrive for an event and there are hundreds of people in line working on getting their money back on their way out. I’ve also heard stories of stoves not working, food not arriving, vendors simply running out of food, vendors not being properly staffed for the event, booths not having the proper equipment to handle the volume of food they were serving, etc.

The one item I wanted to try was a Pink’s Chili Dog. I’m not a big fan of pastrami, so a Katz’s Pastrami Sandwich wasn’t important to me (good thing, because I heard they ran out of food twice); the cheese steak place wasn’t one I had ever heard of when I lived in Philly (it was Tony Luke’s), and I love a good chili dog. So Cherry and I decided to brave the long line and wait for our dogs. Ted, Eric, and Maya went in search of other things, and finally decided on the shortest line (Maya’s blood sugar was dropping), which was local ‘gourmet’ peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I didn’t try any, but they said they were yucky. (One comment I read online called it ‘spread that tasted vaguely like peanuts, with strawberry slime) But at least her blood sugar was back to normal, right? Eventually, they gave up and went to find our seats, while Cherry and I stayed in line waiting for our hot dogs. All I can say is that I am VERY glad I opted for my comfy MBT shoes, rather than the cute boots with a little heel I had been considering, because standing still like that for so long can be murder.

2 1/2 hours later, we finally got to the front of the line and ordered our hot dogs. We then found our way to our seats and ate, and I’ve gotta say, really good hot dogs. Really good chili. Very nice combo. I’m a fan. Worth 2 1/2 hours in line missing the lineup on stage? No, but good nonetheless.

We saw the SF Weekly burger cookoff, which was 4 local restaurants known for their burgers, competing for a trophy, judged by Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell from the Food Network, and two other judges I don’t know…I believe the guy whose idea this whole event was, and someone from SF Weekly. I don’t remember who the competitors were, but one was Burgermeister, and another was Pearl. Pearl won the competition, which was surprising, because whichever the fourth place in the competition was seemed to be the favorite from where I was sitting. After that, we saw Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, a group that we thoroughly enjoyed. They were great and had a ton of energy. Must have been hard to get up and perform in front of a stadium at least 3/4 empty, and to know that so many people had left angry, and that the people who were left were also kinda pissed off at having to wait so long for their food. But they pulled it off, and were great.

We left after BBVD, though Cherry and Eric stayed a bit longer, and said that Guy Fieri was entertaining and funny, and Bobby Flay was drinking semi-heavily (who can blame him after a day like he probably had, with his name all over this train wreck of an event?).

All in all, 1.5 thumbs down. I would have liked to sample a few more dishes at a food festival, and I would have liked to see more of the music and demos, which I missed by standing in line so long. .5 thumb up, because the chili dog was good, the people working the booth seemed to be keeping their cool (as were most of the people around us in line, actually), no wait at the bar or bathrooms, great music, and an overall fun time. If they dare to try this again, I hope they are able to better coordinate so people don’t gnaw off their own arms in desperation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM0Pl80Zf00[/youtube]

I was having a hard time with picking a ‘D’ here…I mean, David Bowie was my first husband, so of course, loyalties should go there.  But I also love Depeche Mode, and Dire Straits have always been a huge favorite.  What’s a girl to do?  So I was toying with the idea of blowing them all off, and putting up David and David’s Welcome to the Boomtown.  Went searching for “David and David” on YouTube, and came across this live duet of David Bowie and David Gilmour performing Comfortably Numb at the Royal Albert Hall, and I couldn’t pass it up.  The Wall was such an amazing, amazing album, and I remember going to a late night double feature with the film version, doubled up with Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which seems odd except that The Wall pretty much had the audience of teenagers curled up in our seats, looking for a quiet way to go open a vain or something.  I think it was almost half way through Fast Times before we unclenched enough to smile, and by the end, we were no longer suicidal.  So good job, midnight movie people.

I’ve noticed that since I added the Groove Shark buttons to my blog, the page has been loading a LOT more slowly than it used to.  At least on some computers.  So instead of adding buttons here, I’m going to add links to songs, so you can go there and listen to the songs if you want to.  Because I’m not sure I want to deprive you of the other excellent selections I would have made.  Right?  So, here you go, in no particular order:

Never Let Me Down Again ~ Depeche Mode

Welcome to the Boomtown ~ David and David

Romeo and Juliet ~ Dire Straits

Space Oddity ~ David Bowie

Happy ABC Music Monday, everyone!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6k4ZYjW-cA[/youtube]

Some music hits you with its beat, or the melody, or the way the guitar and the bass work together…and sometimes a song hits you because of the absolute poetry of the lyrics.  I’m not talking “Jump” here.  But there are a handful, at least, of artists who can truly paint a picture, a beautiful picture of real life and honesty and pain and loss and love, something that touches your heart.  A few examples, for me, are Simon and Garfunkel, Aimee Mann, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and Texas.  Another is The Cowboy Junkies.  This song, especially, evokes a certain feeling.  The bittersweet feeling of loss at the end of a relationship. You miss having someone there to hold you, but at the same time, you enjoy being alone as well.

Sun comes up, it’s Tuesday morning
Hits me straight in the eye
Guess you forgot to close the blind last night
Oh, that’s right, I forgot, it was me

I sure do miss the smell of black coffee in the morning,
The sound of water splashing all over the bathroom,
The kiss that you would give me even though I was sleeping,
But I kind of like the feel of this extra few feet in my bed
Telephone’s ringing, but I don’t answer it
’cause everybody knows that good news always sleeps till noon

Guess it’s tea and toast for breakfast again
Maybe I’ll add a little T.V. too
No milk! God, how I hate that
Guess I’ll go to the corner, get breakfast from Jenny
She’s got a black eye this morning, `Jen how’d ya get it?’
She says, `Last night, Bobby got a little bit out of hand’

Lunchtime. I start to dial your number
Then I remember so I reach for something to smoke
And anyways I’d rather listen to Coltrane
Than go through all that shit again

There’s something about an afternoon spent doing nothing
Just listening to records and watching the sun falling
Thinking of things that don’t have to add up to something
And this spell won’t be broken
By the sound of keys scraping in the lock

Maybe tonight it’s a movie
With plenty of room for elbows and knees
A bag of popcorn all to myself,
Black and white with a strong female lead
And if I don’t like it, no debate, I’ll leave

Here comes that feeling that I’d forgotten
How strange these streets feel
When you’re alone on them
Each pair of eyes just filled with suggestion
So I lower my head, make a beeline for home
Seething inside

Funny, I’d never noticed
The sound the streetcars make as they pass my window
Which reminds me that I forgot to close the blind again
Yeah, sure I’ll admit there are times when I miss you
Especially like now when I need someone to hold me
But there are some things that can never be forgiven
And I just gotta tell you
That I kinda like this extra few feet in my bed

I don’t have much of an ear for Country music…this is about as close as I get. But man, I love this song, even though, thankfully, I haven’t gone through these feelings in just about forever. If the 80s hair in the video gets to you, click below and listen through Grooveshark.  Actually, I think the sound is a bit better here than on the YouTube bit.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tgFVltYVfM[/youtube]

New feature here at Thinking About.  I did an ABC Meme last week, which got me somehow to thinking about Gina’s Music Monday feature, and then somebody put peanut butter in my chocolate, and the next thing you know, I decided that for the next 26 weeks, I’ll post videos.  I’m going to go through the alphabet, and I think I’ll stick with the name of the band/artist, but I can’t promise to be consistent on that.

So, Happy ABC Music Monday!  Our first group, of course, is ABC, with their fabulous song, “All of my Heart”.  I love this song.  It’s about eleventy billion times better than their more popular songs, “Poison Arrow”, “Be Near Me”, “The Look of Love”, or “How to be a Millionaire”. The only other ABC song that’s as good is “The Night You Murdered Love” (Awesome song, btw). Back when Ted and I were dating, he used to make me really awesome mix tapes, and I remember both songs being on them.  I can almost figure out what song comes next on the tape….

UPDATE: The video was disabled, so it wasn’t working.  I’ve replaced it with another version.  The video is kind of lame, though…if you just want to listen, you can do that too!  Just click and enjoy.