Pic Of The Day - 01.12.15 - Music Makes The People Come Together

Originally I was going to use this for my pic of the day because the other day when I was in Bed Bath and Beyond with no comma, I heard a David Bowie song from the '80s and a Go-Go's song and they both brought back memories.

Music tends to do that to me. Some songs will take me all the way back to elementary school. Some songs bring back happy memories and some bring back memories that are not so happy.

So...as I was walking to my car after work on Monday, I noticed this:

It's pretty in an old worn out kind of way.

Because it was trash pickup day, I couldn't park in my normal area of the neighborhood so I had to venture out and park on a side street. I've parked here before but had never noticed this gate. Maybe because it was gray and cloudy, the pop of colour caught my eye.

One of my least favorite holidays of the year...

...is just a few days away. There has always been a build up to New Year's Eve that I have never understood. There have been a few years when I have said, "Bah humbug!" and stayed in and went to bed. There have been years when I have been at parties and left shortly after the stroke of midnight. I think the best time I have ever had was a black tie event put on Bayou City Boys Club at The Warwick. Everyone was dressed up, there was great music, and a wonderful midnight breakfast. Many people that I know were there. Another memorable year was the black-tie dinner in Wayne's backyard in a tent. It was a catered event and a small crowd. With the exception of those two years, I can't say anything else is memorable except for the year that I de-friended someone before the stroke of midnight.

And don't worry, I'll be at a party this NYE with some friends. Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper will have to party on without me in Times Square.

And now that 2009 is about over, how many of you were successful in keeping your resolutions? I stopped making resolutions because I could never keep them.

So yes, I'm in a funk because NYE is just a few days away. And why aren't there any peppy songs about NYE? Just askin'.

Jukebox Wednesday

I actually had another song selected for today's Jukebox Wednesday. However, since this is Pride month I thought I would select one of the anthems. There are several recordings of this song that I like. Gloria Gaynor does a "get off your feet and dance to beat" version of the song. The Original Cast recording from La Cage Aux Folles is good too. However, my favorite recording that I couldn't find on YouTube is by Linda Eder. That lady belts it out like it was meant to be sung.

I chose this song today because the other day at Miss Ginger's Roundup, someone decided to perform and wanted this song. I was outside and someone came running up to me asking if I had this on a cd in my car? Believe it or not, the answer was, "No." And then I looked at Kevin in wonderment as to why I don't have it in my car on a cd? I have several versions on the iPod.

So for your listening (and viewing pleasure), here is John Barrowman singing, I Am What I Am. Enjoy!

Doors

Doors are funny things. They open; they close. You can see through some and some you cannot see through. Some you have to push and some automatically open. Some are heavier than others. Doors can either let things in or keep things out. And Doors sing.

I've had an odd experience with doors this week. One was closed but then another one opened. Then there was one door that I could see through and I didn't think I liked what I was seeing but I opened it anyway and it hit me in the face...only to make my headache and mood much worse.

All this talk about doors made me think about The Doors. And here is one of my favorite songs by The Doors. (BTW...this was WAY before synthesizers. Gotta love the musicians performing with them.)

Jukebox Wednesday

Today's selection for Jukebox Wednesday is a remake of a song that has always makes me shake my groove thing.

LaBelle originally recorded Lady Marmalade in 1974 or 1975. All I remember is that I was in the 8th grade and that would have been September 1974-May 1975. I remember going to the roller skating rink and trying to skate to this song. (I have never been much of a roller skater.)

When the movie Moulin Rouge was released, a newer version of the song was recorded. Here is a live performance with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, Pink, Missy Elliott AND Patti LaBelle!

Jukebox Wednesday

Some bloggers post pics of themselves on HNT (Half Naked Thursday) and yes, they are HN. I can't imagine anyone wanting to see me HN on a Thursday, much less FN on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday!

So...I thought I would start Jukebox Wednesday. Once a week, on Wednesday, I will either post a video or the lyrics to a song that I really like.

With today's launch, I am posting a song by Tina Turner. Are you shocked that it isn't a Pet Shop Boys song? Knowing that my gentle readers would expect that I decided to throw you for a loop and make your day a bit caddywampus!

I saw Tina Turner perform this song live in May 1996 when she launched her Wildest Dreams Tour at The Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavillion in The Woodlands, Texas. And guess who was there that night? Oprah! That would be the first of two Oprah incidents in my life and it would be the first of two times I would see Tina Turner perform. I digress. So here is Tina Turner's Silent Wings.

Music

I've commented before how music has had a huge influence on my life. I'll hear a song and it will take me back to a period in time. Sometimes it is a good memory and sometimes it is a not so good memory. There are some songs that define an era and there are some songs that are timeless.

I heard this song today and didn't realize that it is from the early '90s. Enjoy!

Flashback

AIDS Walk Houston

This morning after I left Target, I was driving down Washington Avenue in The Cal Mobile and listening to the radio. Macy Gray's I Try started to play and it took me back several years. It is my favorite Macy Gray song that to me is timeless.

Friday Flashback

I'm having a flashback tonight to a flashback on Sunday which was a flashback to the '80s. You see...

On Sunday while I was having the oil changed in The Cal Mobile I heard three songs in a row that me think of my youth. Here are the songs;

1. Don't You Want Me Baby by Human League

2. It's Still Rock 'n Roll To Me by Billy Joel

3. Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

I'm sure there were others but those are the only songs I remember hearing. Old age ya know.

Isaac Hayes dies

On Thursday evening, I heard a remix of Isaac Hayes's Theme from Shaft and I thought, "I need to see if that is available on iTunes.

Click 2 Houston: Your Education Station is reporting that Isaac Hayes has died.



I always like Theme from Shaft because of the orchestration. This was LONG before synthesizers were common place. I was in high school and we would play this song at some of the football games.

From the story about his death:
In the early 1970s, Hayes laid the groundwork for disco, for what became known as urban-contemporary music and for romantic crooners like Barry White. And he was rapping before there was rap.

To this day, my favorite line from Theme from Shaft is:
"They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother... Shut yo mouth! But I'm talking about Shaft."

Rest in peace Isaac and thank you for your influence on music.

Does Anyone Still Wear A Hat?

I'm sure by now you have seen these photos from the Sex And The City movie premiere in London.

You also know that I can usually associate a song with most circumstances. When I saw the pics I thought of Ladies Who Lunch and specifically this part of the song:

Here's to the ladies who lunch--
Everybody laugh.
Lounging in their caftans
And planning a brunch
On their own behalf.
Off to the gym,
Then to a fitting,
Claiming they're fat.
And looking grim,
'Cause they've been sitting
Choosing a hat.
Does anyone still wear a hat?
I'll drink to that.

And if you've never heard the song, here ya go




I got cable installed well after SATC went off the air but I have been able to catch up on almost every episode. I think one of my favorites is when Carrie is in the fashion show and falls down. LOL That's something I would do.

I don't go to the movies often but I will be going to see SATC when it hits Houston.

What Did You Just Sing?

In a previous post I told the story about a guy who confused the words to one of Madonna's songs. Admit it. We've all done it.

Remember the song Guantanamera? The chorus is, "Guantanamera. Guajira Guantanamera." Well someone once sang, "One ton tomato. I ate a one ton tomato."

How about Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising? There is a line in there about "There's a bad moon on the rise." Someone thought that they were singing, "There's a bathroom on the right."

And I think I've previously mentioned a former neighbor who thought Madonna's Isla Bonita contained the lyrics, "Last night I dreamt of some bagels." Instead of "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro."

So now I present the Bulgarian version of American Idol. Everytime I watch this I giggle.

Music makes the people come together

Happy VD everyone!

Some random thoughts about Valentines Day

I'll drink to that! (and one for Mahler)

Celebrating Valentines Day in Bulgaria is a rather new tradition. According to Radio Bulgaria, if you are single you celebrate Wine Day. February 14 is the Feast of St. Trifon Zarezan who is the patron saint of wine makers and grape growers.

iPod
Taking a cue from The Guy Who..* I thought I would take a look at what the iPod nano played this morning. You see... runnerOne and I met up at 500a. Like two old men we complained about aches, pains, hayfever, etc. Then he tells me that he is having some intestinal problems. rut-ro! Any runner knows that is not good news because the more that you run the worse it gets. We didn't get very far into the run before he had to stop.

So I went to The Cal Mobile got the iPod nano and did the run by myself. Thought it would be fun to see what it played on VD. Not sure what this says about me but here ya go:

Fashionista (Original Radio)

Cha Cha

Spiritual High (Part 1)

Spiritual High (State of Independence) (Part 2)

Spiritual High (Part 3)Missing (Album Mix)

Whispering Your Name (Single Mix)

Love Is In The Air

Desafinado

Make Your Own Kind Of Music (Dance Mix)

Pavement CracksDefying Gravity (Tracy Young’s Flying Monkey’s Radio Edit)

Sentimental Sunday

Former Houstonian & Now Bostonian Greg has been in town with Sean. The Fabulous Miss Jolie Shay (TFMJS) had a small dinner party on Friday night so that some of us could spend some time with the boys.

I took them to IAH this morning for their return flight to BOS. It was a beautiful day to be outside so I loaded up The Cal Mobile with The Calvinator and off we went. I changed out the cds in The Cal Mobile and put in some compilations that I made. They are a part of The Contessa Collection.

• Contessa Without A Country
• Cocktails For Two: The Contessa Has A Guest
• The Contessa Needs Another Cocktail

This whole collection was inspired after spending a few days with Calgary Ken in Calgary. You see...

Several years ago when I went to visit Calgary Ken, Calgary Ken made a wonderful dinner for a few of us. The plan was to go out after dinner and visit a few clubs. Well...one bottle of wine lead to another and then we each started going through his cd collection and playing one song that we liked and one song lead to another and well...

I remember waking up under the dining room table and Ken was next to me. Brian and Joe had gone to bed at some point. Ken was out of wine; his cd collection was a mess.

So I listened to these songs today while driving around and taking The Calvinator to Memorial Park. There are a few songs that I just really *heart* that are a part of The Contessa Collection.

The first one is You're So Vain by Carly Simon. I did change the words one night for AttyHou. Instead of You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavot... I changed it to You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself go by... because he did. He actually had two eyes in the mirror as he flexed in the mirror of a hotel foyer.


Then there is The Way Of Love. Kaye Sedilla keeps saying that if she ever does a cabaret show full of torch songs this will definitely be on the bill. In this video, Cher looks flawless and she really shows her range.

There are too many songs to list but others include: Being Boring; Something Stupid; When October Goes; Kissing A Fool; Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters. Quite an eclectic collection of music.

While I'm on the subject of music...

Did you see Tina Turner with Beyonce on The Grammy Awards? Of course they were introduced by Cher! Does it get any better than that? Beyonce and Tina performed Proud Mary. Tina wasn't moving as fast as she normally does but that's ok. She was still in her stiletto heels!

The last time I saw Tina perform live was in October of 2000. She performed at the place that is now Lakewood Church formerly known as Compaq Center. She did an outstanding performance. That night Joe Cocker was her opening act. No one around me knew anything about Joe Cocker so I finally said, "Do you remember the opening song from Wonder Years? That was him!" Young ones I tell ya!

OK. Back to Sentimental Sunday. I reconnected with a couple of West Coast friends this past week. We had lost touch for awhile. If the writer's strike ever ends, one of them will be back on the telly.

Also ran into Midtown/Montrose David at Memorial Park on Saturday. So it was a good week to catch up with friends.

So one of the new cds that I purchased is Disco 4. It is a Pet Shop Boys cd. They have taken some of their songs and songs of other artists and remixed them.

I'm hooked on Sorry [Pet Shop Boys Maxi-Mix]. It is a remix of Madonna's song. OK. Look at the equation. Pet Shop Boys + Madonna = gay orgasm. I play it really loud in The Cal Mobile when he's not traveling with me.

And speaking of Pet Shop Boys. Yesterday when I was working out I decided to have a Pet Shop Boys kind of morning. The one song that always makes me laugh and is rather appropriate for tonight's festivities is You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk.

I'm trying to decide if I should do a year end post: a recap is what I'm thinking. If I do, I'm not sure what to include. Hmmm...

Life imitating art or....?

Conflicting reports about Amy Winehouse are circulating about whether or not she is in rehab. Did she overdose? Why has she been cancelling concert appearances? Is she in rehab? Is she locked up in a hotel room? Is she just weird?

I must say that her song Rehab is one of my favorite songs of 2007. Included in this group: Rihanna's Umbrella and Shut Up And Drive; and Pink's U+UR Hand.

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'

Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know

I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine

He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 2.0

I'm a bit late with today's posting. I've been busy today helping Kaye Sedilla with a mail out promoting her upcoming appearance in Houston on July 15.

In case you're wondering, the finger is much better. Not as swollen and not as much pain. I may actually go to the gym and try to do some weights.

Didn't go running this morning. The Calvinator and I went for a 530A walk right before it started to rain. We did his mid-day walk in the rain and it looks like it has finally quit...for awhile.

I have a few things on my mind....

Concert for Diana

I didn't get to watch the whole thing; I'll watch it later. However, I did see parts of it and then saw some highlights on NBC last night.

When did Nelly Furtado become a hottie? I remember when she first released I'm Like A Bird. The music that was packaged with that song was OK. And she looked OK. At some point she seems to have found her groove and changed her look and music style. Maybe I just never noticed? I have a few of her songs from Loose on my iPod.

Diddy. or is it P. Diddy? or is it Puff Daddy. (Bill or Billy or Mack or Buddy) There is one song that I really like of his and wouldn't you know that he performed it yesterday and almost had me in tears? I'll Be Missing You was written about The Notorious B.I.G. He performed it yesterday in honor of Diana. It was an excellent rendition. He had a choir in black robes backing him up and and an all female string section. I've already commented on Duran Duran. SIDEBAR: NBC showed them performing Rio and The Calvinator was sitting next to me. I reminded him that he slept through the live performance. I asked him if he wanted to dance and shake his maracas? Every time I said maracas, his ears perked up. I kept saying it over and over to the point where I was almost hysterical.

And I don't care how round Elton John has become he can still play the piano!

The Cal Mobile

I've been teasing y'all with "something I've been up to" and now I will do my reveal. I bought an '06 Escape last week. Wasn't sure that I could do another hurricane evacuation so I wanted to make sure that Calvin and I could get the h#ll outta Dodge if need be. I love being up high! However, this is Texas and someone will always have a vehicle, bigger, wider and taller than mine.

iPod nano Mostly Recently Played 6.10.07

Heaven’s What I Feel (Love’s To Infinity’s Classic Paradise Mix), Gloria Estefan

Pandora’s Box,OMD

Before He Cheats, Carrie Underwood

Big Time, Linda Eder

On Silent Wings, Tina Turner

• Irreplaceable (Irreemplazable) [Nortena Mix], Beyonce


• One Day In Your Life, Anastasia


• Addicted To Love (Live), Tina Turner


• Flawless (Go To The City), George Michael


• I Beg Your Pardon (12” Remix), Kon Kan


• Midnight, Robin S.


• U + UR Hand, Pink


• Candyman, Christina Aguilera


• Without Me (Album Version), Eminem


• Get Here, Q Featuring Tracy Ackerman


• If Everyone Cared, Nickelback


• Wonderwall, Oasis


• Say It Right, Nelly Furtado


• Rehab, Amy Winehouse


• Into The Ocean, Blue October


• I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing, Pet Shop Boys


• Losing My Mind, Pet Shop Boys


• Killer/Pappa Was A Rolling Stone, George Michael


• Above The Clouds, Amber


• Hips Don’t Lie (featuring Wyclef John), Shakira

Sunday was another fun-filled day. Fun in the sun amongst other things. :-)