Have You Heard: Calvin Harris

I am officially obsessed with Calvin Harris. My friend Ashley played this for me this weekend, and oh man did I flip for it. I'd only heard his new stuff before this, but now watch out -- hardcore fan, right here.

Why is American TV SO LAME in comparison?

This just tied those crazy Germans modeling new soccer outfits as the greatest thing I have ever seen. Ever. Seriously.

If I knew how to tag myself on the Fbook app

I would tag myself at a hotel in Seattle. But that would be but a tiny fraction of the fascinating story of me hanging out in a room with two eleven year olds and my friend while their mom did some socializing, being the only person awake, and watching a Celtics v. Lakers game circa Kareem Abdul Jabbar on ESPN Classic.

Have You Heard: La May & Company

I woke up on Sunday with, of all obnoxious songs, She's Like The Wind* stuck in my head -- and I mean tapeworm stuck. UG! I don't know any of the words (excepting of course the phrase "she's like the wind") and I don't like that song at all. When I mentioned to a couple of girls at church that I couldn't get that song out of my head, someone suggested that I was trying to tell myself to watch Dirty Dancing.

Let me set the record straight. I know myself, and I would never make that suggestion for me. I've seen that movie .5 times, and I just couldn't handle it; it is not a movie for me. So, I'm pretty sure the last thing my subconscious would be telling me would be to watch Dirty Dancing.

Fast forward two days, and this song, and by this song, I mean that line, was still in my head. I'd been listening to a bunch of other stuff trying to get it out -- nothing seemed to work.

But then, Lucille 2 on shuffle came to my deliverance with this little ditty:



Thank you funk phase circa 2010!  Now instead of [phrase that shall not be uttered] I've got "Free! (Free) Free! (Free) Free the soul man! HEY! Set him free. HEY!" in my head. And for at least the time being, that is a great, great thing.

*I don't mean to offend, I'm sure it's a perfectly nice song once you listen to it. But it's been three days, people!

This song exists - and I am not the only one who knows it.

A few years ago, some roommates and I were in a car and I started talking about the classic Blessid Union of Souls song, "I Believe." Neither of these girls had ever heard the song before. "What? How is that possible? It was a popular single. It was all over the radio in the mid 90's." They still had no idea what I was talking about. I busted out one of the verses,

"I've been seeing Lisa now for a little over a year
She said she's never been so happy but Lisa lives in fear
That one day daddy's gonna find out she's in love
With a brotha* from the streets
Oh how he would lose it then but she's still here with me
'Cause she believes that love will see it through, one day he'll understand
And he'll see me as a person not just a black man
'Cause I believe that love is the answer"

Yes. I sang the whole verse and started the chorus, and they still had no idea what this song was. 

Fast forward to yesterday, when I said "all we do is eliminate our future with the things we do today" and the person I was with looked like they sort of knew that I was quoting something, but didn't know what. (Kind of like the face I give people all the time.) I said, "I Believe." "Blessid Union of Souls." Nothing. I then sang the chorus. NOTHING. I repeated my claims that it was a very popular song in the mid 90s. Still nothing. We moved on.

But right now, to all of these friends, I would like to say, this is a real song. It reached #2 in the top 40 in 1995. I wasn't making any of that up.



Now, while this isn't a major favorite of mine, it is a major guilty pleasure and I know all of the lyrics.** My main point is that I was a very impressionable radio listener at 12, and I totes jammed out to it, because it totes exists.


*RADIO EDIT
**Even what Eliot Sloan*** whispers at 4:02. Which reminds me of the "Footloose" wailing which several of you don't believe me is there. It is. I'm not crazy.
***I did not know his name before finding the wiki page. I promise.

Cultured like yogurt*

or: An excerpt from a conversation at a party on Friday night:
(The names have been cleverly changed.)

Jerry: Some guys at work call me gay because I'm cultured.
Me: What? That's stupid. What do you mean cultured?
Jerry: I like opera, and stuff like that.
Me: Oh, what operas have you seen?
Paige: Have you been to the Sydney Opera House?
Jerry: No.
Paige: I have.
Jerry: Have you been to the Metropolitan Opera?
Paige: No.
Jerry: I have.
Me: (To Paige) Did you see an Opera in Sydney?
Paige: No.
Me: (To Jerry)  Did you see an Opera at the Met?
Jerry: No.
Me: Then you both need to shut up. (To Jerry) Have you been to any operas?
Jerry: No.

So much fun was had. 

And Jerry, if you're reading this, I was this close to having your character be called "Mack Daddy." But, since I stand behind the fact that you cannot give yourself a nickname, I'll stick with Jerry [insert famous Jerrys' last name here].

*Why yes I did say that terrible pun to Jerry right after he said he hadn't been to any operas.

Real Life is for March!

I woke up this morning to a text at 5:25 from my dear friend Ashley, "March...Real life starts today ;(" I responded that "I welcome real life after the questionable decisions of yesterday. Welcome real life!" Except that the only truly questionable decision I made yesterday on Leap Day, the day where nothing counts, was to wear yellow.* Nothing counts on Leap Day! I feel like I should have taken more advantage of the holiday that embodies the ever-inspirational, and oh-so practical, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" mentality, especially when it so seldom happens. I suppose I'll just have to wait until May Day for a chance to go crazy, and live like I can "make the biggest little mistakes of your life in Reno."

*I of course paired it with blue. And when I wished several people I came across a "Merry Leap Day!" let's just say, I got some interesting looks.