The Vinyl Kings

I've heard of this band for several years, but I never bought their CDs. More fool me. I finally went to CD Baby today and purchased A Little Trip.

Before I gush about how great the sound clips were, I'm going to send you to the band's website.

The Vinyl Kings

Do you like The Beatles? Do you like the innocence of 60's pop music? If you do, this band is for you. They are definitely for me. Now I need to find a copy of their follow up, Time Machine.

If you want to hear clips of this awesome band, go here, you'll be glad you did.

Plus if you buy music from CD Baby, the artists actually make more than a quarter on their album! Woot!

Top 5 On Friday - Week 152

From Music Memoirs

Because Nov 29th marked the 6th anniversary of George Harrison's death...

Top 5 songs by George Harrison (Beatle, solo and Wilbury inclusive)

From the album Cloud 9 - Fish On The Sand


From Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1 - Heading For The Light



From The Beatles - Rubber Soul - Think For Yourself


From Thirty three & 1/3 - Crackerbox Palace


From the bootleg 12 Arnold Grove - I Don't Want To Do It (Written by Dylan, I believe)

I Think I'm Resigned...

All I've ever wanted in my life is someone that I could talk to about music and the bizarre stuff that I like.

I'm fast realizing that this person doesn't exist.

I'm not even looking for a relationship in the "intimate" sense of the word, though I have to admit it would be kinda nice, though I'm not sure I could deal with it. I've lived the way I do now too long. Real life would probably send me into culture shock or something like that.

However none of this changes the fact that I'm lonely. I haven't any real friends in the area anymore, and the ones that I do have, don't share my interests.

~ big sigh ~

Yes, the Mistress is feeling sorry for herself in a big way.

In a few days I'll be back to normal. Maybe. Until then...Can I have a pity party?

It Was 6 Years Ago Today

That the world lost George Harrison. What a sad day this is indeed. It's a day that I try to forget about, truth be told. I hate being reminded, but I belong to too many Beatley sites not to be.

I miss George.

Even now, a full 6 years since his death, it's hard to accept. He was my favorite Beatle. I have all his solo material on one format or another, and yes, Bilbo, The Concert For Bangledesh is even on 8-track. I didn't buy that one though. It was found, back when my stereo had an 8-track deck. I still need to get that one on CD, even though it's one I probably won't listen to much.

What's the hardest is knowing that I'll never hear any new George Harrison songs. I wish Olivia would unearth something that he had done or put some of the b-sides or something on an album. I know when they remastered the Dark Horse albums, some songs didn't get added that should have. I'm still sad that the only copy of Lay His Head is on the Got My Mind Set On You single and on a bootleg. That was such a beautiful song. Have a listen.

Lay His Head


George, I miss you and your wonderful voice.

Hump Day Hunks

Ok, Hump Day Hunk...I'm in the mood to stare at the prettiest man on my Hump Day Hunks list.



Looks like the paparazzi were after Fishy here. Have I mentioned that I love the Pickle T-shirt and sandals. No wait, it's the shorts! LOLzers! Never mind how much drool was on the floor by the lady with the camera who sneakily snapped that shot of a cute widdle fishy backside.

Why do I still want to goose him? Oh wait, I really want to give him a gigantic WEDGIE!

Anyone that could manage to get me a Pickle T-shirt for Christmas would get my undying love and affection, as I can't have what I really want for Christmas, which is the cute little Fishy.

~sigh~

C'mon, make The Mistress' Christmas special, get me that Pickle T-shirt.

Now more pictures of my favorite Pickle DJ, FISHY!!





I yanked these from the Oldies Radio website.

But this is my favorite picture of him ever.






Followed closely by this one..





Le sigh

Le pant

Le drool

Le giggle



Yup, I'm a crazy one, but at least I'm loyal.

I Hate Junk

My life is full of junk. I have just spent an hour tossing old VHS tapes. I wish I never bought them or recorded them. I don't watch them. I don't watch my DVDs either and I have oddles of stuff.

I don't want it anymore and the VHS tapes are so old that I wouldn't even want to give them to someone. So in the trash they go.

I can't believe I have so much stuff. OK, I can believe that. I love stuff. Stuff is my favorite thing. The more the better. Or at least that's how I used to think.

Now I just want most of it gone. I want space. I want less clutter.

BUT DON'T TOUCH MY CDS!

Those are sacred. None of them will be tossed, discarded or traded away.

But please let me be brave enough to toss these stupid tapes!! ARGH!

Tuesday Tunes - Week 11

From Music Memoirs

What musical things are on your Christmas Wishlist?
My wishlist is mostly music, CDs that is. There are a few discs that are really hard to find that are on the list, like the Japanese issue of Keri Noble's new disc, Let Go! which won't be released until March in the US and the latest offering by The Buckinghams, Reaching Back which can only be bought here on their website.

Do you keep an online wishlist of music? If so where?
I keep mine on Amazon. Go on, have a look, you know you want to buy me presents. Ok, I know you don't but go ahead and look anyway. Right now there are 105 CDs on that list. Where they would go if they made their way to me I don't know. I need a bigger room for my music.

What would be your perfect music/music related gift if money were no object.
I would imagine that this would come as no surprise to any of you....


FISHY! I love my Pickle DJ, he's just the cutest widdle fishy wishy evah! Always has been, always will be. Le sigh.

Hey, he's a DJ, so that makes him music related, right? Yeah, and I know I'm beating a dead horse, but a girl has to have some kind of dream right? RIGHT!!!!

Today Was A Weird Day

Here are the reasons why...

~ Thunderstorms in November.

~ A response to an email I sent the Pickle DJ. Wow! Mr. Two-Words-Or-Less is speaking to me. If 2 words can be counted as speaking to me. Ah well, I'm happy, at least I haven't pissed him off.

~ Walmart was quite nearly empty today.

~ I only spent 51 cents more than my allotment at Walmart.

~ I finished my shopping in Walmart in less than a half hour.

Random 10 - Week 133

From Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

Well a lot of my list has to come from Avenue Q!

Avenue Q - What Do You Do With A B.A. In English/It Sucks To Be Me
Avenue Q - The Internet Is For Porn
Avenue Q - Special
Avenue Q - For Now
Avenue Q - Purpose

I still stand by my claim that this show is the funniest thing out there. Even if you don't like musicals, if you have a sense of humor, you'll enjoy this one.

Celtic Women - O Holy Night
Celtic Women - O Come All Ye Faithful

The Celtic Women had a Christmas PBS special that mom watched on Saturday night.

The Moody Blues - December Snow
Gordon Lightfoot - Song For A Winter's Night
Grey Eye Glances - Snow

3 songs from my winter playlist on my Muvo. If any of you would like these songs, just give me a shout and I can upload them for you.

Oh and the picture.....

My Christmas tree

Purrbee Is A Lazy Little Dog

100_0884
Originally uploaded by moodylady

I really shouldn't say that, as my pooch is about 12 years old and he's still active.

Purrbee loves my bed more than anything. As soon as I'm out of it in the morning, he is up on it and under the covers if he can manage it. He makes a wreck of the bed on most days. I hate trying to put it back to rights because, he's going to mess it up at least 2 or 3 more times before I walk out the door in the morning and possibly one more time after that.

On the weekends he gets quite put out by me, because I'm not up at my usual 5:30. He comes into my room at least 3 times, as if to say, aren't you getting up yet? I have some bed messing to do. I'm a tired pooch! You've got your 7 hours or so, get the hell up.

I counted today. He was in my room 4 times between 6 and 8, and as soon as I got out of bed at 8. Whoomp! There he was on the bed, getting all comfy and cozy.

It's a dog's life, isn't it? I wish I had one.

Sunday Randomosity

~ Avenue Q is one of the best musicals out there. I can't begin to gush enough to truly express how much I enjoyed this show. I mean there were gay puppets, puppet sex, cussing puppets. What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, the songs were catchy too.

Here's There's A Fine Line which reminds me of something I'd sing to a certain person that's obviously not really a friend of mine. Does that make sense?



Oh and here's Schadenfreude



~ I have to move this photo of my favorite Fishy from beside the bed. He's been crawling in my ear at night it seems and giving me the strangest dreams, which cause me to wake up and go WTF!

~ Trax Farms makes the best fudge. It's just like the fudge I used to get in Lancaster. Mmmm. Fudge.

~ I'm trying to figure out if my tiny little Creative Muvo is dead or if the batteries are bad. If the Muvo is dead, I will cry. Even though I have 2 players that store more songs. I always liked to have my little 1 playlist player. I liked to use it better for walks then either of the other Zens. ~sigh~ I hope its not dead.

~ I shared this picture or one similar on my Livejournal last night, but I have to say it again here. I love this tree!

Avenue Q

Well, I'm finally going to see the musical Avenue Q. I've been waiting to see it for years now. My sister and I are taking in a matinée at 2 this afternoon in Pittsburgh at the Benedum Center. I'm going to try not to sing along, because I know and love all the songs.

After that we will probably try to find dinner, though I imagine on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we're going to be in line for quite awhile for that. It's bad enough I forgot that the Celebrate The Season Parade was this morning from 9 - 11. I'm seriously hoping that there are a few parking spots by the theater for the car.

Parking is the one thing I can't stand in the city, though on the weekends its not usually a problem. This weekend is special though.

Damn me for not deciding to go on Thanksgiving or even yesterday evening. But nope, I picked Saturday.

I'm such a dorkalope.

If I survive the experience I'll let you know how much I liked the show.

Wish me luck

Top 5 On Friday - Week 151

From Music Memoirs.

Top 5 artists you wouldn't mind sharing Thanksgiving dinner with and why?

1. Justin Hayward & John Lodge of the Moody Blues - I'm going to count them as one. John can bring his wife, Justin can't. (It's a digestion thing....Marie is not easy on the eyes.) Why would I choose them? Well John can bring the wine, and on the holiday, the more wine you get the less likely you are to kill someone when they whine! I'd love to hear some of the stories they'd provide too.

2. Simon Lebon of Duran Duran - Comic relief comes from this guy. Plus if he were at dinner, there'd be no leftovers! Hmmm, maybe I should rethink inviting him, I like my leftovers! Then again, no matter how much I'd eat, I wouldn't feel fat with Simon around. Plus I could mock him about the badness of the last few Duran Duran albums.

3. Elvis Costello and his wife Diana Krall - Am I cheating? Probably. They can bring the twins too. It's always nice to have little ones around during the holidays. I wonder if they'd do a little impromptu concert? Maybe I could put a little bug in their ear to do an album together. Costello and Krall...ah that would be some pretty music.

4. Gordon Lightfoot - Here's another artist that has to have some interesting tales to tell. 40 + years in the music business and still going, perhaps not as strong as before, but he's still going. It helps that I wouldn't mind hearing Song For A Winter's Night played with just a guitar and Gordon's lovely voice.

5. Davy Jones of the Monkees - I love him. I have since I was 5 and I don't want to be the shortest person at the table!!! I'd invite him so I could have someone to flirt with, as all the others are married.

Happy Gluttony Day

It's said the the average American can put on as much as 6 lbs from Thanksgiving through New Years.

Yikes!

But in the spirit of the holiday season, which is essentially about being with loved ones and sharing every manner of tasty food stuffs....I say, enjoy the day!

And here's one turkey that will be having a great Thanksgiving, because though it didn't get an official pardon by our fearless leader, it's a member of the Pittsburgh Zoo.





Happy Thanksgiving! Eat!Drink! And have a wonderful day!

Hump Day Randomness

Bunch of stuff today...and none of it really goes with the other.

~ Blue Point Brewery makes a beer called Hopical Illusion. It's very good. But I haven't met a fancy beer at Barley and Hops that wasn't good yet.

~ The in thing this year in ornaments is The Pickle. No not the radio station with that sexy/pain in my backside DJ. I mean "the pickle." I had to buy one. It was only $1.99. It won't go on my tree in the computer room, but it will go on the tree in the living room.

~ Panera Bread makes a gingerbread bagel. I bought one but I'm afraid to eat it. Gingerbread and bagels just don't seem to go together.

~ I'm not in the mood for work today. Not that I or many people ever are in the mood for that. Today however, I'm really not in the mood. There's too much to do at home for tomorrow.

~ The kitty I'm cat sitting for is being very anti-social. Not that most kitties aren't anti-social, but Jez is taking it to extremes.

~ It's Wednesday...Hunks are needed, right? Today we have Justin Hayward, Elvis Costello, John Lodge and Richard Roxburgh.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 10

From Music Memoirs

To celebrate our 10th week of this meme:

10 facts about your favorite artist/band

Elvis Costello



1. One of his biggest hits in the US was the song Veronica off the album Spike.

2. He's collaborated with many artists, including Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and Anne Sofie Von Otter.

3. He's been married 3 times and has 3 children, one son to his first wife Mary, and twins with his current missus, Diana Krall.

4. His real name is Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus. (That's a mouthful)

5. He shares his birthday with Tim Burton.

6. He sang Happy Birthday to Hillary Clinton and referred to her as Madame President.

7. His albums cross many genres, country, chamber music, blues, pop, and rock to name but a few.

8. He had an affair with Bebe Buell aka Liv Tyler's mum. Ewwwwwww!

9. His early recordings are now on their 3rd reissue in the US.

10. He's appeared in many movies and tv shows; Two and a Half Men (Yay) and in The Spice Girls movie (Boo!)

I Look Slender?

In a bizarre twist at the gym, someone actually spoke to me last night. No it wasn't a man. Damn and blast. Gym Hottie wasn't there. I had no drooling action going on.

It was some random lady who I had seen there before who decided to strike up the conversation by telling me I looked like I had really lost weight. I did my best not to cock my head to the side and go WTF or FTW depending on my level of confusion.

She hasn't been to the gym in about 2 months. I wondered where she was, because...well she was one of the only normal people that ever spoke to Gym Hottie, and I still have a pipe dream that one day he might say "hi" to me. She's actually a nice woman, probably a little older than I am with a young son.

Seriously even stupid conversation about weight etc is welcome at that gym. That was one of the things that Curves had going for it. The people there talked and became friends. You can exercise and chat. Honest!

When you are surrounded by hordes of little skinny college girls, it's nice to someone "normal" to talk to. It keeps the rage down. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to walk out of there, drive up to Wendy's, Burger King or McDonald's and shove the most calorie laden burger down the throat of one of those stick thin wenches that make me feel like a heifer by just being there in their next to nothing workout clothes.

Please put away your pelvic bone, it's most unattractive. If anyone can tell me what is attractive about a 95 lb woman that's about 5'5 I'd really like to hear it, because personally I think it's gross.

I'm 5'2.5 and I weigh somewhere in the 135-ish range..That can be anywhere from 133 up to 139 depending on what demon device I'm standing on. I don't think I'm horribly fat. I think if I weighed 95 lbs, people would be sending me to the doctor to find out what disease I was wasting away from though.

Why can't we be allowed to look normal? Why do these sticks make me feel so damn inadequate. Oh and why does it have to ruin the pleasure I get when I'm eating a good meal. Damn it, I like food.

Random 10 - Week 132

From Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

Not my usual weekend for music.

The Searchers - Don't Throw Your Love Away
Lulu - To Sir, With Love
(this is the worst song ever)

A Fine Frenzy - Let It Snow
Sarah McLachlan - I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
(2 songs from the Christmas CD Stockings By The Fire that I bought at Starbucks)

Duran Duran - Skin Divers
Duran Duran - Box Full O' Honey
Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre
(3 songs from the new album that I'm not sure if I like or not)

The Wallflowers - Here He Comes (Confessions Of A Drunken Marionette)
The Wallflowers - One Headlight
The Wallflowers - The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere
(3 songs from my favorite band right now)

And the picture: A very big kitteh at the zoo.

Bad Night

Mom woke up around 2:30 this morning with an Atrial attack. I was really thinking I wouldn't be sitting here at my usual time blogging as I'm so used to doing. I really expected to be sitting in a hospital waiting area.

~big thankful deep breath~

It took awhile but her heart rate returned to normal. However I have hardly slept because I didn't get to bed until after 11 last night, because I'm every manner of an idiot and spent the better part of my night editing and uploading my photos from the zoo to my flickr page.

I don't know how capable I'm going to be today of doing anything after having only about 3.5 hours of sleep. It's a good Mondays aren't usually busy for me because there's a strong possibility that I may go face down on my desk long before 4 o'clock. Heck, my keyboard is looking rather comfortable right now. Really comfortable.

I will say that even though I'm still half asleep that it's better than sitting in the ER or Cardiac Care Unit of Mon Valley Hospital.

Off To The Zoo

I'm heading to the Highland Park part of the city today, even though the weather is iffy, but damn it, I want to go to the zoo. I haven't been to the zoo for at least 15 + years, and even if I can't use my free passes, I'm going. I want to see the polar bears, monkeys (I almost spelled that monkees) and the otters!

Assuming I make it home, because I've never driven there, and the Pittsburgh Zoo is hard to get to, I'll have some pictures later. If not, sent out the search party, because I'm lost in Pittsburgh.

I do have a theory that if I can get to any of the main Interstates I'll be able to make it home. So if I get lost I just have to look for 579, 279, 79 or some major road like that and I should eventually be able to find my way back home.

Wish me luck! I'm really going to need it!

My new boyfriend's name is Murphy

Oh yeah, Mr. Murphy and his damn Law love me to pieces. Yesterday I won a contest on 99.3 The Pickle for tickets to the Pittsburgh Zoo, only to find out they were good only on M-F. The nephew wants them all. Since I don't have any days off that aren't holidays from now til the new year, I guess he gets them.

ARGH!

I am however going to the zoo, because I got my hopes up and I won't have them dashed like that.

Today I go shopping for my mum, and everywhere I went, except for the grocery store had the Sierra Mist Cranberry. ARGH! I wasn't walking back to Dollar General after buying ice cream etc.

Oh and then I head over to Quiznos for one of the new Sammies only to find out that the fuckers at the Rostraver location are out of the flatbread. I walked out. I wasn't buying a huge sandwich because that wasn't want I wanted. So do you know what I did? I went to Starbuck's and got a Peppermint Mocha for $4.50. I can't believe I spent that much money on coffee!

So yeah, Mr. Murphy and his law think I'm the hottest chick on the planet right now. GAH! Personally I think Mr. Murphy is a creep!

My 3000th Post: Coming Soon

In probably a little less than 30 days I'll have made my 3000th post to this blog. That means in the 5 years blogging I've made more than one post a day. I did the math it comes out to be something like 1.6 and I know I've blogged most every day of the last few years, except when I was away on vacation to Atlantic City. Who the hell wants to blog from the land of bright lights, good eats and the shore? Not me!

My guess is that the 3000th post will come sometime before Christmas. I've been averaging a post or two a day. and there are about 30 some days til Christmas. So yeah, it will definitely be before the holiday.

The question is...what should I do? Should I celebrate that I've bored all my readers to tears with my nonsense about my life, music, celebrities, a certain DJ at 99.3 The Pickle? Hmmm perhaps my 3000th post should be an apology for not being entertained enough.

What do you, my poor defenseless readers think I should do?

What The Stars Say About Me

Two crazy blogthings in a week? Well yes, because I think this one is really dead on.

Lets101 - Free Online Dating

So what do you think? Is it as dead on as I think it is?

Top 5 On Friday - Week 150

From Music Memoirs

Top 5 albums that you are thankful that you bought this year/or are thankful were recorded.

1. Tommy James - Hold The Fire



I bought this after the New Year, very cheap on Half.com and it's one of my favorite CDs. It has some bad memories attached to it, but I'm slowly getting over them and I'm glad I bought this disc. If you like Tommy's stuff from the 60's, you'll love this one.

2. Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 & 3



I had these CDs when they first came out, but bad things happened to them. I was thrilled when these were reissued this year.

3. Cast In Bronze - Bells Of Christmas



I got this on this at Renfest in Sept and its simply gorgeous. Check out all the CDs by Cast In Bronze here.

4. The Buckinghams - Terra Firma



Best $5 I spent this year at Amazon.

5. Erasure - Light At The End Of The World



My favorite "new release" of 2007.

Another Week Over?

Wow! Tomorrow's Friday already! And not a minute soon enough for this girl. It's been a bad week and I'm ready to put it all behind me, far far behind.

I need to find something to do this weekend that will keep me occupied and not thinking about things that I can't do anything about or change.

I imagine that it's going to have to be a big project too, because I'm a chronic thinker. My thoughts come at a rapid rate too. I read somewhere that when you think about a bad memory you should immediately try to find a good one to replace it, so the bad one gets pushed to the back of you mind. This is a good idea in theory, but I can see myself trying this, and I can also see my head exploding from moving all the thoughts around at such a rapid pace. The friction alone would cause a fire.

Let's hope I can find something to keep me occupied. I don't want to be the cause of our house going up in smoke!

You Can't Make Someone Like You

That's the one thing I've learned in the course of the year. You just can't make someone feel something for you that they don't, even if its just simple friendship.

~sigh~

Even if they felt friendship towards you at one point.

I guess this all stems from my hating to have people angry at me, especially when I've tried to fix things in whatever way I possibly could. I've extended olive branches, I've tried using the most worthless word in the english language, I've done just about everything I could, and I never felt like it was totally accepted.

I was useful when this person wanted to bitch about something or if I knew something that they didn't.

Now that there's nothing that I'm necessary for, I've been pushed aside as a nuisance. At least that's how I feel, because I don't know what's going on, because this person isn't speaking to me right now. Lord knows what I did this time. They could simply be too busy to say anything, but how would I know? So I'll assume that my teasing or general need to communicate was too much and that I fucked up again.

I'm good at that. Apparently my people skills suck. I don't know why I was still trying, except that losing 2 friends in one year is just too much for me, and I wanted to cling to the hope that I could salvage a little bit of one of them.

Big mistake I know, but I've never found it easy to walk away. I still don't. But I guess I have to, even though I don't want to, because I'm never going to know anything. I just need to accept that Sorry doesn't fix anything and that I'm the biggest kind of fool out there.

Bad Day

I've had one of those days where everything that can go wrong, did. I don't even want to go into all the technicalities of this day.

I've had work issues. I've gotten involved in family issues, that are pissing me off from here to eternity and I'm angry at someone that's obviously angry or annoyed by me.

GRRRRRR!

If anyone can find the shop that sells lives, let me know where it is, so I can go buy a new one, because I think I got a shoddy deal on the one I have now.

I don't know if I want this week to be over or if I want to call a do over on today.

Pass me my pillow and give me a good mix CD and a hug....I'm going to bed.

It's Hump Day!

The only thing that could make me happy right now would be a parade of hunks. I've got a very long day ahead of me at work and I'm really not looking forward to it, but it's going to be upon me in just a little over an hour anyhow.

~sigh~

So because my day is going to be rough, I'm trotting out my favorite hunks so that I don't crawl under my desk and cry, or at least try to fake illness.

First up is Davy Jones...my first favorite hunk.



Next up is Elvis Costello, my snarky hunk, who always makes me grin.



And I could never forget Justin Hayward, the tall blonde (ha ha) hunk.




And I think I forgot someone....someone very cute...someone that cleans up very nicely.

Who could it be?

Could it be that DJ from 99.3 The Pickle?

I think it might be.

Let's see.

1

2

3



Yup that's Fishy.

~drools~

Tee Hee

It's a silly blogthing!

Get Your Sexy Name

Countdown To Gluttony Day

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week. I can't believe I'm excited about it. It's not because of any family gatherings, because this year it's just going to be the regular crew that are always here + grandma. I think it's more that its just going to be a day off. Mind you its going to be a day off with some good food, that will mess up the diet I'm on, but it will still be good food.

I wonder how I can survive gluttony day without messing up the diet? I am really glad that we've bought very little holiday candy and that I'm not a fan of pie of the pumpkin variety. That would be a killer.

I still have about 10 lbs to go to get back to where I want to be, and I don't want one day of feasting to ruin it. It's been a long walk back to a lighter me. And it's much harder than it was a few years back when I was working at the local Curves part time and exercising more than any human should be.

The worst part about the more recent Thanksgiving meals is that I've been taking part in the preparing of a lot of the food. That means spoons will be licked etc. ARGH!

Why can't I be one of those stick thin wenches that don't seem to enjoy even a lettuce leaf?

Massacring The Red Carpet

I was lucky enough to have had the chance to preview Duran Duran's latest offering, Red Carpet Massacre before it hit the stores. Now most people that know me, know that I've been a Duran Duran fan since high school. I picked up on the guys when The Wedding Album came out, because in the 80's I was stuck in the 60's. Go figure, I'm crazy that way.

I loved The Wedding Album and I loved all their previous albums. However after that great record that managed to get them 2 hit singles, everything went downhill. Thank You was an atrocity. It's probably the worst album of cover songs ever done. (OK, not the worst but close to it) Medazzaland is just vile with only 3 or 4 songs to recommend it. Pop Trash is better but not by much.

Astronaut saw the band reforming with all original members and to me the best album they'd done in yonks.

But lets not talk about the past. I listened to Red Carpet Massacre and I had mixed feelings. There's good and bad on this record, and the more I listen the more it seems to be evening out. There are 12 songs on this album, half of them are good and half are vile.

The vile tracks? The ones that feature the strong Timberlake/Timbaland vibe. They take the Duran Duran out of Duran Duran and that's wrong on all counts. Falling Down, the first single is the only song from the odd collaboration that works well. Stay away from Nite Runner and Skin Divers, they are just bad music. (Very bad music)

The title track is full of Simon screaming and making me go WTF, that I'm left speechless, and I'm not sure if it's in a good way or not. This is one of the songs that I like on some days and hate on others.

Box Full O' Honey is a bizarre retro number that sounds psychedelic while having the Duran vibe that we all are used to. I love this song best of all.

Zoom In, Uh...erm...weird...odd...and proof that Simon must be doing some seriously weird drugs, because that's the only explanation I can give for the lyrics.

The Valley - This is all Simon, it has to be. I waffle on this song too. The heavy breathing makes me laugh hysterically though.

Tempted is a get up and dance song. I love this one, even though the dance groove isn't Duran Duran.

She's Too Much - Simon's token ballad. It's almost too much. Really it is. Not as good as Come Undone, but it's nice.

Tricked Out - Wow there's some guitar work on this album. I think. It's a shame they forgot to write lyrics for this. Duran Duran instrumentals are a waste of time and my ears.

Last Man Standing - The album's second ballad, and Simon's trying really hard to write intelligent lyrics. Note I say trying. Writing intelligent lyrics is something Simon will never ever be able to do. I do like the song though. It's catchy, even though it's slow.

Dirty Great Monster - Blergh. Blergh. Blerghity, blergh blergh. Make Simon stop.

All in all, I don't think this is an album that's going to draw new fans to the band. It's not good enough, and I don't think Timberlake and Timberland are going to save them. If this album were a novel it would be a pot boiler. It's only worth having if you are a die hard fan, and I am that, or a person that doesn't mind having only half an album.

Ranking against some of their more recent work makes it seem brilliant though, so it might be worth giving it a listen or two. They've got my $13, I hope they are happy.

Weekend Recap

~ The scale hits 130 at home again. Can I get a Yee haa for that. I'm between 5-10 lbs of the goal I have for myself. Depending on the scale I'm on. The scale at Jack's where I work out, says 135, but that's with workout clothes, my gram's scale is around 133. Either way...I'm almost back where I should be. ALMOST.

~ Did some Christmas shopping, both for presents, myself and the house! I have new garland and some ornaments for the tree; I also have Bath & Body stuff bought for a few people in the house for gifts and I have some new clothes for me. Woot! Presents for everyone. It's all about win!

~ The vanilla lattes at Eat N' Park are wonderful. I'm still sulking that I didn't get to try the cranberry pumpkin cheesecake.

~ Waffle House makes a chili cheese omelet. OMG it is so good. That was my lone meal yesterday and it was worth every damn bite. I love Waffle House.

~ I wish there was some different way to get my cardio going on at the gym. The elliptical is getting boring and I just don't like the treadmill. However I will plug away at the elliptical because I can do 45 minutes on the damn thing now, much to my own chagrin.

~ I managed to not get the laundry done this weekend. Grrr. That means Tuesday is laundry day, and there's a lot of it this time. Boo! That suck!

~ I didn't finish reading Stillwatch either. What the hell did I do on Saturday besides shovel coal and go to the dollar store?

~ There's a new pizza place in my hamlet of Charleroi On Mon. It's called Paolo's and they are full of win. They make pizza fries. One word; YUM!

Random 10 - Week 131

From Music Memoirs


10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

I found a mix CD in my car with quite an odd mixture of songs, and I really love it.

Elvis Costello - Who Are These People (album version)
Rob Thomas - Problem Girl (This song is one of my theme songs)
Elton John - Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Wilco - California Stars
The Monkees - Star Collector
George Harrison - Lay His Head
Justin Hayward - The Way Of The World
Ray Thomas - Migration
John Lodge - Thunder Child

And one song not from the mix:

Midge Ure - Fields Of Fire



~ I can upload any of these songs for you if you'd like to hear them.

Busy Day

Today is going to be one of those days that I'll feel like my head's spinning when it's over. I've got a full plate and I'm awake far too early for a Sunday morning, but oh well. You've got to do what you've got to do, and today my list of things to do is long.

~ Thanksgiving dinner shopping. (Need a ham and a turkey, though I insist this house is full of turkeys, as well as a host of other nummy things)

~ Trip to Washington to spend some money I don't have at Bath & Body Works because I have 2 coupons.

~ Target to get that dress I didn't buy last weekend. (I want it for Avenue Q at the end of the month)

~ Waffle House for brunch.

~ Jack's this morning so that the scale remains down. We are oh so close to 130 again. I must fit into my cute brown and black striped pants. I miss them.

Now I need to start accomplishing these things, so I can get some sleep tonight.

Shoveling Coal?

Yup, you read that right. Santa stopped by around 11 and told me I had been a bad girl this year and dropped about 2.5 tons of coal on the road by our house.

Seriously.

We have one of the only houses left that has a coal furnace. Right now that's a beautiful thing, because coal is cheaper than natural gas or electricity. However getting the coal off the road and into our coal cellar is not fun. It took an hour with 3 of us shoveling, my two nephews and myself. My back is killing me.

However I did get to use the tiny pick ax to break up the large pieces, so I got to vent my frustrations out a bit. I needed that more than you can imagine.

So if there's any kind soul out there right now, SHARE SOME ADVIL!!!

Oh and if you see Santa? Kill the nasty fat man, cos he's mean.

A Reminder

I got my first digital camera in 2003 for Christmas. I have had at least 2 pages where I posted my photos before I decided that I liked flickr best.

The first place I had for pictures was fotolog. As you can see I abandoned it about 2 years ago. It was a poor free service and a paid account didn't really offer any real benefits either.

The next place I hosted my photos was blogger. This is my photoblog. I haven't updated there since July and I feel guilty about it, but since blogger has a certain amount of photos that I can upload for free, I've given up using it. In fact the last few updates on the photoblog are photos I have posted on my flickr account.

But finding the fotolog page brought back some memories to me. I found pictures of my beloved Misty that I didn't know I had.





Let's just say that little reminder brought a nice flood of tears this morning.

Weekend Reading

I found Mary Higgins Clark's Stillwatch a few weeks ago while cleaning. I'm just getting around to reading it. So far it's excellent.

I have a fondness for good mysteries and thrillers, not those wretched Harlequin Intrigues, that fill my room, that I can't seem to read fast enough. (Oh and they multiply like the loaves and fishes) This book, is one of those good mysteries, although I have to say I have an idea of whodunit already, that doesn't stop me from wanting to find out how we get there.

So far it's been hard to put down. Which is good, since I have no attention span these days.

I hope to finish it sometime tomorrow in between all the errands I have to run for my parents, that way I have Sunday for "me" time, which I really want. I plan on a good brunch at Waffle House and some shopping at Target and Washington Crown Center. Who knows I might even get my Christmas shopping started.

Top 5 On Friday - Week 149

From Music Memoirs


Top 5 albums that have been in your collection the longest.

I'm not sure how accurate this is going to be.

I'll start with one first that I do remember:

Then And Now The Best Of The Monkees: This CD has been in my collection since it was released in 86



My first Monkees album was a vinyl copy of their Arista Greatest Hits album when I was about 5 or 6.

Olivia Newton-John - Physical



I loved Olivia, still do. She has a great voice. And yes, I know that Physical was so cheesy and awful at the time, but I was a kid and it was great!

And well to be honest the next album on the list has to belong to her too.

Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol 2



I came to know Cliff Richard through this CD because it had Suddenly on it. Oh and have I mentioned Xanadu? I wanted to be Keira as a small girl. I always wanted to be someone's muse, plus I wanted to skate like they did in the movie!

Now it's going to be a bit embarrassing

Culture Club - Colour By Numbers



I think I still have the vinyl copy of this one. Karma Chameleon was such a great song, it's a shame Boy George is such a train wreck.

And not to ignore The Beatles or rather a Beatle:

Paul McCartney - Tug Of War



I remember buying this one at Hills Dept Store back in what 82. Ballroom Dancing was my favorite song, and Here Today made me cry even at 6.

I couldn't use any actual Beatles albums here, because I can't remember when I got them and my first Beatles album is actually my brother's which I snagged from him when I found it in an old cupboard. But Beatles 65' has been with me for a long long time too.