Tag: music

mismanaged monday meandering

Alliteration, bitch, WHAT!?

So yeah, lots in my head today. Here we go.

  • I am still sort of reeling from the news that my friend is positive. He hasn’t told me, but I want to talk to him. Not sure of how to do that without seeming totally conspicuous. Perhaps I will use another friend as a contact. We’ll have to see where this goes.
  • I am not attracted to Ray Lamontagne at all (way too shaggy), but I definitely love him. His music is awesome. I am seriously all, Damien Rice who(?) now. HA!
  • I can’t believe that this article was written recently. Seriously, a checklist to see if your husband is gay? So basically, if your husband hates gay people, or, if he likes them and surround himself with gay people, he must be gay. Well, that is pretty much everyone, the gay haters, and the gay supporters; we must all be gay! WTF? I would like to believe that times are becoming more progressive, but people still holding these antiquated views of homosexuality really show that we have a long uphill battle ahead. Now, while I am sure that it is very difficult for a woman to discover that she is married to a gay man, I don’t like that the gay men are painted as some sort of predatory manipulator that is trying to take advantage of the marriage situation, just to make himself feel better (without regard for his wife’s feelings). That is just BS, and we all know it (at least, we should). Being gay is hard, and admitting it and living it is even harder; but getting married because you aren’t okay with your homosexuality isn’t some sort of manipulation game you are playing with, it is obviously way more complex than that. I just can’t believe that there is a checklist that reinforces all of those stupid stereotypes. Ugh, I would like to think that we are normalizing homosexuality, but things like this are just creating more stigma. Bleck.
  • I really don’t know how I feel about this. I mean, it is good that Barbara Walters is bring attention to something that really goes unnoticed (that is, until someone is beaten to death because they are transgendered) and something that is utterly shunned, but I don’t know what the impact on these kids will be. First of all, a HUGE kudos to the parents who support their children; I hate those so-called Christians that throw their children out because they didn’t come out exactly like “God made them”, i.e. “normal”. At least there are parents who are supporting their children. I guess my concern, is that exposure as transsexual really does put them at risk for those nutsos that really would want to beat them to death for who they are. I just have hope that people can change, you know? I just want the world to be more tolerant; is that so much to ask? Until the answer to that question is a resounding ‘no’, I will be concerned for people that deal with situations like being transgendered, and even for those that have the unfortunate circumstance of being gay in a very homophobic area. Be careful!
  • I painted two paintings last night. I think that it is definitely one of the first times I have painted something, and was very pleased with the initial results. It came out exactly as I imagined, and I haven’t second guessed the project at all. I am kind of floored with my lack of criticism, to be quite honest. I will put some pictures up, hopefully this afternoon. I can’t wait to hang them up!! It also reminds me of my utter wish that I could do creative things for a living… but alas, I do live in the real world, not the dream world where I get to do things I enjoy for a living…
  • Finally, a HUGE WTF for this story. I mean seriously… not one spider, but TWO SPIDERS were living in this kid’s ear. That freaks me the fuck out. My grandma was just telling me the other day that she cleaned out her boyfriend’s ears, and got a pea-sized amount of wax out (EW!) because he NEVER cleans them. WTF?! I am very weird about stuff in my ear, and I am just shivering thinking about a spider being in there. Yikes!

Yeah, so um, yeah. That’s what’s going on with me right now. How about you?

post concert post: Aqualung and Sara Bareilles

Based on the two previous photo posts, I am sure you got the idea; I saw Sara Bareilles and Aqualung in concert Monday night. I took lots of pictures. I had a lot of fun.

They were both magnificent. I got to meet both of them, and had my picture taken with both Sara and Matt (from Aqualung). Needless to say, it was sort of surreal, because I got a little fan-struck later in the night, which was definitely due to those blue motorcycles. I didn’t say anything that stupid, but I did ask Sara to redo a photo because the one I took with her initially, I had fat face. She laughed and obliged. To Matt, I managed to look like an idiot, because the first thing I said to him was, “I’ve never heard of you before tonight”. Wow. Nice one, duane. I followed it up with, “but I am totally going to get your CD tomorrow!”. Good save, eh? I did manage to get his new one, and it is quite fabulous. I am glad to have discovered Aqualung! Rock!

Oh well, no real harm done, I guess. If you want to see the MANY photos of the night, check out my flickr page. I had a lot of fun taking them, and not so much fun editing them. Thanks again to Barry and Rebekah for inviting me along, and a big thanks to Doug for hooking me up with photo creds! Now if I can only have future opportunities to take concert photos, get good enough at it to do it more, and get paid… Now, THAT would rock!

Also, just so you know, if you haven’t heard of Sara Bareilles before now, you need to catch up. She is amazing. Words can’t describe how awesome she is. Her CD is coming out soon, and I have been eagerly awaiting its release for nearly 2 years. And I will get it the day it comes out. To get a taste of her sound, make sure you go and buy her EP on iTunes… It is only $2, and it will be the best $2 you ever spent on music. She is flawless, and I hope that she becomes the big ass star she deserves to be. This woman is the true epitome of talent. I heart you Sara B!!

On a different note, is it me, or is there a big hush over the blogosphere? I mean, it doesn’t seem like there is much going on, and there certainly isn’t any conversation going on over in my neck of the woods. No biggie, just noticed it, that’s all. Hope everyone is well, and hope y’all come back soon…

Rove vs. Crow and some music stuff to smooth out the stink

Wow. I knew that Rove was an ass, but it is pretty interesting that he is such an ass in such a public way. Apparently, Sheryl Crow and Laurie David (the producer of An Inconvenient Truth) were at a dinner with Rove, and tried to talk with him about global warming. Rather than just have a talk with them, he got very defensive, and ended up telling them that he didn’t have to talk to them, because he didn’t work for them; he worked for the American people. To which Crow responded, “we ARE the American people”. Whoa. Harsh.

That just begs to question Rove’s, and frankly most of the top dogs of this administration, motives in what they do. If they don’t really think of some people as Americans because of the fact that they have popular positions in society, and have a voice to get out opinions that differ from the administration’s, then I wonder if they have anyones interest’s (other than their own, of course) in mind when they make decisions. I mean, if he gets this huffy over global warming (which apparently, he said that China isn’t doing anything, so neither should we), then one must speculate that he would act similarly to a current, more threatening, topic, right? That just bothers me to know that a representative of our government, especially one so high and influential, is unwilling to at least listen to what the American public has to say. Not only that, he gets belligerent and mean about the whole thing.

I think that it is a testament of his character that he is so nasty to people, especially in such a way that he is assured to get bad press from it; but yet, he does it anyway. Lots of people think that Rove is the devil, perhaps he is just more apt to show it to the rest of us, now. I can hope that he really isn’t this closed off to listening to the opinions and requests of the American people, but it appears to be another example of the “head in the sand” mentality that our government continues to portray. I just wish that the Bush administration would actually listen to what we think; this is supposed to be a democracy, right? Well, we have some say!! Don’t shoo us away!

Now, that story left a bad taste in my mouth, so I want to rinse it away with something sweet and refreshing. I have been listening to this magnificent group called Melee for the past several days, and with each listen, I love the CD even more. The lead’s voice does remind me a little of the lead singer of Snow Patrol, but they definitely have more of a Maroon 5 type of pop to their music. I really like every song on the CD, and look forward to enjoying it more and more.

Also, which is totally random, but totally awesome at the same time, I was asked to go see Aqualung by my good friends Barry and Rebekah tonight. I was all, “sure, that sounds fun”, mostly like “eh”, but only because I haven’t heard anything by Aqualung. But, once I found out that Sara Bareilles is opening, I got down right giddy. I LOVE her. I have seen her before, and I gushed about her then. She is amazing, and I can’t wait to see her tonight!!! Also (this is the random part… sorry for the delay), a very nice guy on flickr commented on one of my Mat Kearney photos, and a back and forth comment stream discovered that he is a concert photographer, and he is going to try and hook me up with a photo pass for the show tonight!(!!!!!!!!!!!) Um, wha? I really hope that it comes through, because that would be amazing. Keep your fingers crossed, and if I do get this amazing pass, I will have LOTS of pictures to boast about in the coming days. Stay tuned! Wish me luck!!!!

mat kearney @ the roxy 4/20/07

Last night, we had the distinct pleasure of catching the sold out show for Mat Kearney at the Atlanta Coca-cola Roxy theater. It was awesome. Mat totally delivered, and amazingly enough, sounded just as good as he does on his record. He has really perfected his craft. I love seeing an artist in concert who blows you away with their talent, and Mat is definitely in that category of artist.

He played a few new songs, which were delightful, but I really loved listening to his current music, because his is a CD that I truly adore. It was really neat being there with the people that were at this concert too, because you definitely tell that most of the people (if not all) were definitely fans of his; as almost everyone knew the words to every song.

It was definitely a good vibe and a good crowd, which I didn’t expect in the uber-hetero environment usually displayed in Buckhead. While the main floor is standing room only, when we arrived, we scouted out the upstairs to see what the deal with the balcony was, and much to our surprise, there were lots of seats, many of which were available. The balcony provides a great view of the stage, and you can definitely get the whole experience from there. And, if you were like us and didn’t want to stand the entire time, you should definitely scope it out to see if you can snag seats like we did.

Every once and a while, I would get up and go downstairs to snap a few photos, and much to my surprise, again, I was able to literally walk right up to the left side of the stage and get in prime position for some great shots. I have to say though, that Mat really does enjoy being in the dark, which made getting good photos of him difficult, but I did manage to snag a few that I was happy with.

I posted two of them on flickr already (one here), but have several more that I will try and get up on Monday. Mat is definitely a handsome guy, and with that voice to back it up, I can see why the theater was filled with women (there were lots of guys too, but I suspect many of them were boyfriends brought along for the ride). All in all, I was glad that we trekked our way out to the Buckhead scene in order to catch this show, because it definitely exceeded my expectations. I was also extremely happy that I was able to take my camera, because that is a definite highlight for me at concerts; I like being able to have a token to remind me of the show. I wasn’t able to find out much on the internets about being able to take in a camera, so I hope that this post can provide that information for someone in the future.

My only complaint about the show, was not really about the show at all; the Roxy was fucking hot as hell inside. By the time the concert was over, my entire head was soaking wet with sweat, but it wasn’t that big of a deal since we went straight home afterwards. I have no idea how Mat was able to play with that long sleeved shirt on, but alas, he didn’t seem to care.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check him out yet, I highly recommend you get his CD, so that you can fall in love with him like I have, and catch him next time he is in town; you will definitely be glad you did. It was definitely a great night.

OCD gets the best of me…

Kinda like Sophie Ellis Bextor, but with less panache. Basically, I have spent most of the afternoon organizing my iTunes library, so the damn album art will show up when you are playing the song on my ipod. You would be surprised at how many you have to manually put in there. At least I figured out how to do multiple items at the same time… that was uber frustrating at first.

Today has been pretty productive, I guess, because there is nothing like a little order to make things all better. We babysat for a good friend this morning, and ever since, the relaxation and organization have been a good team.

The only way it could be any better, is if I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow… but I guess you can’t have everything, right?

Since I have been spending so much time in front of iTunes today, I picked up several new CDs to check out. Here’s the list:
Mark Ronson – Version
James Morrison – Undiscovered
Ray Lamontagne – Trouble
Fall Out Boy – Infinity On High
Linkin Park – Minutes To Midnight
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Melee – Angels and Demons

So far, on initial listens, I am liking a lot of what I am hearing. As always, let me know what you are checking out! Share and share alike, right?

on a high

Who needs anti-depression meds when you can just buy things!?! Seriously, I feel so bouncy and happy today, all because I have some shiny new things at home. It doesn’t come from the items themselves, but it was the actual “getting new things” that does it. It could have been anything. But this boy loves his technology, and I got a hefty dose of it.

And yes, I did need a new ipod. At least, that is what I keep telling myself. LOL I did order this kick ass skin for it from ifrogz.com (papaya wrap with the mandarin band, in case you were curious). I was going to go with my tried and totally trusted iskin, but the motherfuckers decided not to make orange cases anymore, and I am sorry, but that is just rude. I was holding out hoping that they would eventually add orange to their colors, like they always had, but no dice. They should realize that not everyone likes generic blue, red, pink, white, green, etc.; some people actually like vibrant colors, and ifrogz has my back. I can’t wait for it to arrive. I might have to just use to the old ipod until the case arrives, so that I won’t scratch up my new baby. Oh yeah, his name is Charlie. How cute is that?

As for the computer, I am IN LOVE with Vista. Perhaps, I am more in love with the fact that my computer actually does what you want when you click on something now. And it does it fast. When you drag a set of mp3s to make an itunes playlist, it takes less that 1/2 of a second, before, it took like 20 seconds. No lie. HUGE improvement. I don’t know why I waited so long to get a new PC, but I am glad that I finally did. Vista is pretty, but a bit muddled, as they make simple tasks difficult to figure out. It took me like 20 minutes to map my home network; although, to give it credit, it jumped right on the network upon just plugging in the ethernet cord. I guess you can’t have everything. I am going to attempt to burn a DVD tonight, and hope that it goes smoothly; after all, that was one of the reasons I wanted a new PC.

That’s about it for me today; it is difficult to concentrate, but that isn’t a bad thing… I am riding that retail therapy high. It feels really good. I can’t wait to get home and organize my music on my new PC, as I discovered that MOST of the music on my other ipod isn’t on my hard drive anywhere. Oh well… something for me to do! I also want to get some videos on there, that will be cool.

James is on spring break this week, and will be leaving me and Sydney all alone from Wednesday to Sunday. If there is anyone out there that wants to do something, this is the week to do it, because I will have access to lots of free time. Anyone interested in doing something one, two, or all of those nights?? Let me know! I am ready to hang, ya’ll!

Hope your Monday is going well!

get these now!

Seriously, you must do yourself a favor and go get Mika and the new Kaiser Chiefs‘, CD, Your’s Truly, Angry Mob!!! Both of these new CDs are only $8 at Best Buy!! Go pick them up!! You will not be sorry, both are fantastic. I love this continued British invasion! Let’s keep it up, by showing our support!!

Also, I just listened to the new Joss Stone, and it is HOT. More great Brit music. YES! Also, it comes out next week, so you will have to wait until then to get it; but it must be said that the new Hilary Duff is off the hook. There is a clear influence from Kylie on this one, and Hilary has really taken the “bubble gum” sap out of her music. It is a very good listen, and what I am always looking for… great pop!!

There are a few other things I am checking out right now (most of them came from seeing them at my visit to the Times Square Virgin Megastore *drool*):
New LCD Soundsystem
Muse
The first Kaiser Chiefs album, Employment (“I predict a riot!”)
The Bird and the Bee (from an initial listen, I believe I may be in love –> A little bit Imogen Heap, a little bit Jem)
Elliot Yamin (he covered my favorite Carpenter’s song… I had to at least check it out) side note: I can’t believe I just linked myspace. Barf.
Young Love (haven’t heard much yet… vote’s still out)
and the new Tracey Thorn (from EBTG) record, which is slowly growing on me (I was hoping for love at first listen). I think that she put too many sound effects in there, but I am slowly warming up to them.
I also snagged the live Portishead album, and eh. I don’t really like live stuff, but I have been in a Portishead mood lately, so I will give it a shot.

What’s everyone else spinning right now? I love finding new good music!! Also, I will gush even more about the albums that I am still completely and utterly in love with: the new CDs by Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, Kellie Pickler, and Dashboard Confessional. They are all FANTASTIC, and have been getting HEAVY rotation. Good music is like gold, but for my ears!

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday, and I am working on getting my NYC photos on flickr (the uploader is being douche), and so I will post about my trip later. Just know, I had a great time!!! And I am jazzed about my new music choices! YAY! Now, share the love, alright!?

Also, be sure to get Children of Men… it’s on DVD, and it is great. Love that movie!

the wednesday run-down

Today, there are 5 distinct thoughts running through my head, so I thought I would give you a run down. In summation, here it is: 1) come on Dems!, 2) get this CD NOW, 3) examining relationships, 4) buying too much stuff?, and finally 5) comments on TV things. Let’s get started, but let’s keep it brief.

First of all, most people don’t think that I am critical (enough) of the Democrats actions. They are wrong. This is just great; now we can EXPECT an attack on Iran. Why were these guidelines abandoned? This just seems to keep getting worse and worse; if we don’t at least put caps and regulations on things, then things will continue to go in the same direction, and there will be NO changes. That can’t be allowed to happen! We need to send a message, that is LOUD and CLEAR to the president; no more occupation! No more war! Things just seem to be idling along, while real action needs to be taken. This is seriously disappointing, to say the least. UGH. We need some people that will take real action, fast.

In lighter fare, I am proud to announce the American release of a GREAT UK artist’s sophomore disc, entitled Back to Black. It is none other than the fantastical Amy Winehouse, and you must do yourself a favor and buy this CD today. It is only $8 at Target and Best Buy, and it is definitely $8 well spent. Let’s show our appreciation for bringing great artists to our shores, rather than leaving them as imports. Amy’s voice is an old classic voice, much like Billy Holiday, and it has power, class, soul, and life. The music is fantastic, like a hip hop jazz, and you will enjoy this if you enjoy great music. Do yourself a favor and pick it up today!

Relationships. UGH. Sometimes they are great. Sometimes they suck. Sometimes you realize that certain relationships in your life are not worth fighting for, but for whatever reason, they go on, because you let them. You don’t want yourself to be like them, so you do your part; even when they don’t do theirs. All that leads to is frustration, and the occasional cryptic portion of a blog post. I am just wondering what I will do next time they take it upon themselves to call. Perhaps I will just let it go for months on end, as it seems they prefer to do themselves; or maybe I will do what I did this time, and just suck it up, and sit through another fake attempt to maintain something that isn’t really there in the first place. Oh well… we’ll see. Relationships can really take it out of you. Thank God for the good ones.

I spent a lot of money yesterday and goodies that made me feel better. Sometimes, you just gotta pull out that card and swipe it. I am glad that I did, but I need to calm down. This is kind of a suggestion and a reminder of that need. Retail therapy! WOO!

Finally, I just want to say this, if you watch 24, were you not extremely excited that Martha came back this week? Even more than that, can you BELIEVE what she did to Logan?!?!? I LOVE YOU JEAN SMART!!!! YAY! Also, if that Sanjaya Malakar makes it through, I will be PISSED. Melinda, girl, you are my favorite, and I hope you win. Lastly, I wouldn’t mind having a three-way (or a four way if James wants in) with Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis. Those boys are hot AND they can sing!

Hope everyone is having a great hump day! That’s the run-down! I’m out!

POPcast episode 2, more soldier nonsense, and why Fox “news” is evil

A few weeks ago, I recorded the second episode of the Atlanta POPcast; a podcast where I highlight music that I want to get the word out about. As of yesterday, that podcast is now up, and ready for you to download, listen to, and enjoy!! Make sure you check it out. In this episode, I expose you to the greatness that is Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jamelia, as well as a few fantastic singles. If you are hankering for some new pop music, this will definitely wet your appetite! I hope you enjoy my podcast, and know that I am already getting materials ready for episode number 3! I never thought I would like doing this, but it totally encourages me to find new music, as well as lets me share music I love with all of you. I am having fun with this, ya’ll!

Alright, seriously, I read this today, and I really hope that it is an awful farce, or at best, an extreme exaggeration. If they are really sending troops that are deemed unfit for battle back to Iraq, that is unacceptable. I am disgusted and appalled that the soldiers that are risking their lives in this war are continually being treated so badly. I never thought that it was so dreadfully awful to be in the military (well, I definitely don’t want to be in it myself), but unfortunately, I am being shown more and more everyday what an awful position it must be for those that have no other choice but going into the military. Those that choose to serve our country deserve much more than respect, they deserve to receive our fucking support already. Shame on anyone that had anything to do with this, as well as the other injustices that continually come to light about the troops. I just can’t believe that serving your country seems to get you continually shit on. It doesn’t have to be that way, and it has got to change.

Finally, THIS is the reason why Fox “news” is not ever going to be right, unless you follow that “right” with “wing” and “propaganda”. Seriously, I have said it before, and I know that at least one person watches this program for his news, and I just don’t get it. This is an organization that “predicted” the election back in 2004, and as a result, threw a huge fuck up in the air, causing doubt, and an eventual turn of events. Making the false into something true is what Fox “news” is really good at. If you don’t want to be given false information, steer clear of Fox “news”, please. And if you do watch/read it, I hope that you are intelligent enough to question things that don’t seem to add up, especially when they are the opposite of what the rest of the media is saying. And get over this “the media is leftist liberal” bullshit. It isn’t.

a brief coulter note, band notes, and a few words about veteren benefits/care

I was going to call this post, Tuesday whatnots, but I have read that you are supposed to be clear about what your posts are about, so there it is. Enjoy the lengthy url as well, won’t you? Alright, let’s get this party started, shall we?

Based on the response to Coulter’s stupidity, and complete ignorance about what gay people go through as children “on the school yard”, people are pulling their ads from her website. Perhaps what I want to happen will happen; people will stop putting her in front of a microphone and cameras, and her voice will die out. That would be the best that could happen, in my opinion; although, I do agree that one great thing she does, is make the conservatives look even crazier. Even so, I would rather her be gone, because most conservatives do a great job of being crazy on their own. So whether or not you agree with the use of the word (which, I don’t really think should be up for interpretation, but whatever), people are obviously responding, and that is good, in my opinion. Maybe she’ll wise up? I doubt it.

Basically, the band notes are just a shameless plug on bands that I have discovered, and have been enjoying a lot recently. No one commented on the Mat/Matt post, but I figure that my music tastes may not be for everyone (even though Mat K is insanely good, so you are missing out if you ignore it). Either way, I have laud praise where praise is due. Right now I am spinning the Kaiser Chiefs newest CD, Yours Truly, Angry Mob. I fell into it through the single “Ruby”, and I have to say, it is bloody good. I have never really payed much attention to Brit-punk rock, but I am liking this. Also, I think the lead singer is pretty cute. Another CD I can’t get enough of, is Kellie Pickler‘s CD, Small Town Girl. I don’t usually go for country, but it is flawless. I love her voice, and I think she is super cute (and you know you agree… she totally owns the ditzyness). I think that if this is the direction her career is headed, she has a successful future ahead of her. And just think… she wasn’t even in the top 4 of American Idol.

Other CDs I am IN LOVE with as of late: Lily Allen – Alright Still (LOVE her… seeing her on March 19th, and I can’t wait), Amy Winehouse – Back in Black (Is is me, or is her voice like one of the most amazingly beautiful things ever? And the music… wow), The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (YAY! Damon Albarn gets back to more of a Blur feel! And it’s good!), Dashboard Confessional – Dusk and Summer (Um, first of all, the lead is HOT, and I don’t know why I ignored them before now… love them! I know… I’m so emo), and of course, Katharine McPhee’s CD is great… but I already told you that.

Now, at the risk of making this kind of long post longer, I have to say, I have been following this Walter Reed/soldier benefit atrocity, and I have to tell you, it makes me sick to my stomach. Regardless if you believe in socialized health care or not, if ANYONE deserves the utmost respect and full financial support from this country, it is the troops. First, we don’t give them the training they need for combat. Then, we don’t give them the equipment to safely patrol a war zone. Then, when they get hurt, we fuck them over again, by making them stay in a hell hole. Then, when they try to get their benefits, they don’t get what they need, or worse, they get rejected or denied benefits. What the fuck is going on??? People that keep saying that they support the troops need to throw a TON OF MONEY at them… NOW. It is unacceptable that people that fight for our country come home battered, bruised, suffering from disease (mental and physical), and we turn our backs on them? How can that be possible? Some of those billions and billions of dollars need to be going to these awesome men and women, and NOW. I am sick of hearing about soldiers that are homeless, denied benefits, denied care, and whatnot; that is just sick, and you can’t point the finger at anyone but the government. SO DO SOMETHING, GOVERNMENT! They are counting on you!

And that is what I am thinking about today. You?