The mind is the first thing to go....

Can you believe that I just had to read through ALL of my previous song of the day posts, because I couldn't remember if I had picked today's song already???? Pretty sad, I must say! I had to chuckle a bit, though. I'm happy to report that the mood is alot better today. Two sunny days in a row.....to be followed by an April Fool's Day snowstorm! WTF????????????? Mother Nature, you sure can be a rotten beyotch when you want to be!! The forecast is 4-8 inches for my area. Ugh. That's all I can say about it, Ugh.

Speaking of "Ugh", I watched a movie today that fits that description. If you saw it and liked it, then I don't mean to offend you, but this is my opinion. I should mention first that normally I love offbeat movies (I also love commercial movies, didn't mean to imply that I didn't) and I even love to watch "so-bad-they're-good" movies. (Like Rocky Horror Picture Show and "The Room". Oh, the glorious awfulness of "The Room"!! I laughed all through that piece of garbage!). This movie was actually Oscar-nominated this year, I think for best foreign language pic, but don't quote me on that. It is a movie from Greece, called "Dogtooth". I didn't have a problem with the subtitles, because I have enjoyed many foreign films before. It's one of those movies where I asked myself "what is the point of that?" afterward. Maybe I would have found out if I had watched all of it, but 3/4 of the way through, I said "life's too short for this crap" and turned it off. It is about a family who seems to be well-to-do, but the father keeps his family closed off from the world. He has three teenaged kids who have never left the family compound (which is surrounded by a huge fence and gate), and stay with their mom there all the time. It's a nice house, with a big back yard and a pool, but they can't leave, and I have no idea why he keeps them there! The father takes off for work each morning, and the kids never leave, I think because he has them sooo afraid of the outside world. Early in the movie, the father brings home the female security guard from his job (he makes her wear a blindfold in the car so she won't see where he lives) and pays her to have sex with his son. In another scene,the son is out in the backyard when he sees a stray, common housecat sitting on the grass, minding its own business. He is terrified of the cat, and goes to get these big gardening shears, which he uses to stab the cat to death!!! That is where I turned this piece of crap off. Did I mention the scene where the female security guard, after having sex with the son, goes into the room of one of the teen daughters and offers her a headband if the daughter will perform oral sex on her? And, the girl does it without hesitation!!! "Yippee! A headband!!!" So, in case you were wondering, I do NOT recommend this movie. If, however, this sounds like something you'd enjoy, it is currently streaming on Netflix. But, don't say I didn't warn you.

Let's get to today's song, shall we? Today I have chosen "As Forever as You" by Boston band Face to Face, from their 1987 album "One Big Day". This was the 3rd and final album by Face to Face, fronted by Laurie Sargent, as they disbanded in 1988. Earlier in the '80's, Face to Face had a hit with the song "10, 9, 8" from their self-titled album, and I believe they released the song "Under the Gun" as a single as well. "One Big Day" was a stylistic change for the band, as they went from a new wave sound to a more country-rock style, but it worked for them. I love "As Forever as You", and it has always been a favorite to sing to in the car! Unfortunately, this album is out of print now, but it can be found if you search in the right places. After my vinyl copy was destroyed a few years ago, I found a copy of the CD on Amazon.com. Don't look on Ebay for this one, unless you want to pay an outrageous amount for it. If that is the case, then by all means, go for it!

Blue morning, blue day

The title of this post is a lyric from a Foreigner song, but that is not the song of the day. It actually describes how I have been feeling the past few days. I won't go on and on about that, but I have been asking myself this question: why is it that when it comes to my friends, I am happy to be there for them anytime they need me, for whatever reason, yet when I really need to talk to someone, I don't because I feel like I am "bothering" them with my problems/feelings? I'm not saying that THEY feel that way, I am saying that I do. I feel like I am "butting in" to their lives, even if they say otherwise. Why do I feel this way? Why do I value others, yet not myself? That's all, just wondered about that.

Since I have been so blue the past few days, I have chosen a silly, upbeat song for today. The song is "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen, from their 1988 CD, "Beelzebubba". The Dead Milkmen are described as a "satirical punk band" on Wikipedia, and I couldn't have said it better myself. Their music has no nutritional value whatsoever, more like the musical equivalent of eating a box of Twinkies (mmm, Twinkies.....), but damn it, it makes me happy to listen to it!!! And, who could resist a punk song that name-checks Minnie Pearl?? Anyone?? Twenty-three years after its' release, it still makes me smile everytime I hear it.

Song of the Day

Yesterday's song of the day post was cancelled due to technical difficulties. Thank you for standing by.

Now, for today's song.....

I have chosen "Standing in the Way of Control" by the band, Gossip, from their CD of the same name.Singer Beth Ditto has a really great voice, and this song rocks! In fact, this whole CD is full of great tracks, so check it out if you get the chance.  Have to run for now! "See" you tomorrow!!!

Ode to a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie

Yesterday, you caught my eye,

Green boxes of you piled neatly on a table of a roadside stand.

There were many other different colored boxes on the table, but I only saw you.

You wanted me to stop, you had your girl scout minions standing by the side of the road, beckoning me, doing your dirty work for you.

Especially cruel, you had two of your minions actually dressed up as cookies to remind me of what lay inside those stacked boxes.

They flailed about, there on the sidewalk, yelling “GIRL SCOUT COOKIES” “COME BUY SOME GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!”

I looked over at you, and swore I saw an evil grin, taunting me.

“You know you want to stop and buy me”, I could imagine you saying snidely from your plastic-wrap cocoon, “Me and a big glass of milk, you know you want it”.

I don’t know how, but I found the strength to keep on driving, even as your minions did their best to convince me.

Curse you, Thin Mint cookie, with your deliciously crunchy minty wafer, lovingly embraced by a thin chocolate coating.

My favorite of the Girl Scout cookies, you’ve always known that.

But, alas, you are no good for me.

Untitled

Another Saturday, another afternoon spent at our local Border's store. This week, they hosted a Lego Racers party for the kids. The festivities began with a few craft projects, some refreshments and then each child got a Lego Racer kit (a small race car made of Lego's) to build before they raced them. The staff had fashioned a rather crude "racetrack" with a flattened cardboard box and a dolly, but the kids didn't care. The great thing was, this large group of kids (primarily boys) was getting along so well. They waited patiently for their turns to race without any adults having to "fuss" at them, and they were really respectful of each other. Devin loves his Lego's, so this party was great for him, and free for us. Now, Devin is in VideogameLand (playing Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars), Tom is taking a nap and I am here, blogging.

Which brings me to a little feature that I like to call "Song of the Day". You might have heard of it? Today's song continues with the hard rock theme. It's called "Beautiful" by the band, Joydrop, from their 1999 CD "Metasexual" . Joydrop were a Canadian alt-rock band in the late 1990's to the early 2000's, fronted by singer Tara Slone. If any of you saw the TV show "Rock Star: INXS" a few years ago, you saw Tara Slone, as she was vying for the position of lead singer of INXS. In my opinion, nobody, especially not current singer JD Fortune, can ever replace the late Michael Hutchence, but I digress. I would have liked to have seen one of the female contestants win that show, as I think that would have given INXS a fresh start and a great sound, but that's just me. Where was I? Oh yes, Joydrop only released 2 CD's in their brief time as a band, but I can only vouch for "Metasexual", as I haven't heard the second one. The song "Beautiful" starts out sounding like a lovely balad, then explodes into the chorus. Great vocals, great lyrics, which I am reprinting here:

If I was beautiful like you
Oh the things I would do
Those not so blessed would be crying out murder
And I'd just laugh and get away with it too
Like you do

If I was beautiful like you
I would never be at fault
I'd walk in the rain between the rain drops
Bringing traffic to a halt

But that would never be
That will never, never be
Cause I'm not beautiful like you
I'm beautiful like me, I'm beautiful like me

If I was beautiful like you
I'd be quick to assume
They'd do anything to please me, why not
I see their reaction when you walk into the room

But that would never be
Never, never, never be
Cause I'm not beautiful like you
I'm beautiful like me, beautiful like me
Beautiful, beautiful like me
Like me, Like me...

If I was beautiful like you
I'd have so many friends
All fighting for my time to be next in line
So if I hurt one, I wouldn't have to make amends

But that would never be
Never, never, never be
Cause I'm not beautful like you
I'm not beautiful like you
I'm not beautiful like you
I'm beautiful like me
I'm Beautiful like me, beautiful like me
I'm beautiful like me, I'm beautiful like me!

Enjoy!

Mom & Devin Day

It's about 4:30 p.m. and I am BEAT!! As you can see from the title, Devin and I had a Day O' Fun. His school had a half day today, but I decided to make it a whole day off for Dev. Our day began at around 8:00, when I took him to Dunkin' Donuts so he could have a donut and a chocolate milk. I am happy to report that I resisted the donuts and even the triple chocolate muffins this time, as I had my Fiber One twig cereal before we left the house. Mmmm. Mmmmm. good!!! We did a bit of shopping (mostly "window shopping", it's free!), had lunch and then the event Devin had been anxiously awaiting: going to the movies to see the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid film. Devin insisted that we go to the very first showing of the day (the movie opened today), which was at 11:50, and apparently alot of other people felt the same way, as the theater was over 3/4 full. Still, he loved the movie and laughed all the way through it. We went to a theater that is about a half-hour drive from home, because it is a nice one with stadium seating (Devin likes to climb the stairs and sit in the back row). On the way home, I let him pick the radio station, and heard myself saying something I swore I would never say: "You actually LIKE this music?" Devin has been getting into that "screamo rock" lately, which is just heavy metal music where the "singer" screams the lyrics. Kind of sounds like demons are singing. I like classic heavy metal, and I even like some modern heavy metal, but not a fan of the screamo overall. To me, it sounds like someone is being tortured, when in reality, it is my eardrums that are suffering the torture. But, it bothered me a little that I made that comment to Devin, because I remember being a kid and my parents asking me the same questions: "Do you really like this crap?" "this music is horrible!", and I am sure their parents said the same thing to them as they were growing up. I like to try to be open-minded about Devin's choices, because I want to encourage him to be his own person and form his own opinions, even if they aren't always the same as mine. In the future, I will try to state my opinions without making him feel bad about his.

Okay, now it is time for Song of the Day. Keeping with the hard rock theme, I have chosen the song "It's Not You" by the band Halestorm. Lzzy Hale (yes, I spelled that right) is the singer of this newish band, and I have really been enjoying this CD for the past year or so. My husband, Tom, actually introduced me to Halestorm, and I was hooked on their music from the first listen. Some of the lyrics are: "I'm in love with somebody, and it's not you". You have to listen to the entire song for the context, though. Lzzy Hale has a great rock n roll voice, a bit reminiscent of the fabulous Ann Wilson of Heart (one of my all-time favorite female singers).

In totally unrelated news, Duran Duran happen to be on the Ellen show at this moment, which reminds me of how badly I want to see them on their current tour!!! And, of how I probably won't get to see them, frowny face...... I'll get over it....in time.....

For today's song of the day, let me take you all the way back to the 1980's. Picture it: big-ass hair, jumbo combs in back pockets, stirrup pants, Rubik's cubes, etc..... Now that you are strapped into the time machine, let's go to the movies to see a little film called "Pretty in Pink". That, friends, is where we will find today's song, called "Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega. We all know that "If You Leave" by OMD (also a great song) is the iconic track off this soundtrack, but I have always really loved "Left of Center" because it captures that feeling of not fitting in, being an outsider. I had some really great friends in high school, then there are many others from that time that I really never got to know, because of my shyness and low self-esteem. I just assumed that they couldn't possibly like me, so I shut down alot and kept to myself at times. This was really evident when I went to my 20th high school reunion a few years ago. I wanted to talk to everyone, but felt like I didn't really belong there or that I wasn't wanted there. It was nothing that my former classmates did, it was all in my head. I weighed alot more at that reunion than I did in high school, so I was especially embarassed about that. That was reinforced when one of my former classmates came over to me later in the evening, and couldn't stop giggling as she told me that she didn't recognize me, in a snide way that was so insulting! Ugh. I'm pretty sure I left the reunion after that. Not that I spent the whole reunion alone. Tom and I sat with a couple of my good friends all night and had fun talking about the ole' days!

Back to the song. I actually have seen Suzanne Vega in concert a couple of times over the years. Once in the late '80's and again about 4 years ago. At the latter, I was able to meet her after the show. I'd like to say that I said something clever, or that we became buddies, but that simply didn't happen. She barely replied when I said "hello" and she could not have been less interested in meeting any of us. I like to tell myself that she is simply shy, and not a beyotch, and give her the benefit of the doubt. Good show, though.