last night i dreamed i got lost on the metro and ended up in this friendly town called olive reach that had the most beautiful grocery store ever, with the most amazing fruit smoothies...i was drinking one just before the phone rang and woke me up and the dream felt so real, i was like "hey, what happened to my fruit smoothie? it was just here!" phones should not ring during good dreams!!:)

One night in the late 80s I was listening to a weekly Westwood 1 radio program which often played "extra" songs during popular music countdowns (it wasn't the official Top 40 by Casey Casem). The DJ started something featuring George Michael on vocals. It was a cover of "Jive Talkin'" and I was flabbergasted. At the time I loved George Michael and the Bee Gees with equal passion.

The next time I was out shopping I looked everywhere for the single, but it turned out (I would later discover) it wasn't an American release. It was only available in the UK.

Yesterday, for some odd reason, I thought of the song for the first time in years. I had tried a few times in the past to track it down, but George Michael wasn't credited for the track so it took some digging. On iTunes and Amazon it is available as a 7" inch single and a 12" Jellybean remix (Amazon only offers them in vinyl while iTunes--obviously--is strictly digital).

Without even pausing to consider that more than twenty years had passed since I last heard this particular "Jive Talkin'," I downloaded both versions onto my iPod touch...and I can say without hesitation that it sounds as good as ever. The Bee Gees once said that they had heard this cover and liked it very much!:)

Here's more background on the song and Boogie Box High:

Boogie Box High 

Back in the 90s , whenever I would get down, this album always kept me company and then one day I just lost the collection...so now (since it's hard to come by in physical form) I'm trying to get all the songs separately...this was an amazing cd when you just needed to go off and cry by yourself for a little! Of course you don't need to be sad to put the music on...it's a great listen, no matter what!:)

by Stewart Mason

Another typically eclectic, weird, and wonderful compilation from the unfortunately short-lived Risky Business imprint, The Big Hurt takes its name from Toni Fisher's classic 1960 single, an over-the-top early example of stereo phasing that sounds as if it were recorded in an empty water tower. The other 11 tracks tend toward this type of pre-Beatles soft pop as well, with only J.D. Souther's soft rock "You're Only Lonely'" and Don McLean's 1981 cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying'" deviating from a program that includes weepy classics like the Fleetwoods' gorgeous "Mr. Blue" and Del Shannon's paranoid classic "Runaway," along with relative rarities like Johnny Tillotson's countrypolitan gem "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'." The Big Hurt, as the subtitle implies, is just right for a good old-fashioned sobfest. It's good that it's only 33 minutes and change, though -- no need to wallow.

Tracks

				Title	Performer	Time
		1		Big Hurt	Fisher
		2		Cry	Ray
		3		Crying	McLean
		4		Mr. Blue	Fleetwoods
		5		It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin'	Tillotson
		6		Hurt	Yuro
		7		I'm Hurtin'	Orbison
		8		Hurt So Bad	Little Anthony & the Imperials
		9		Mr. Lonely	Vinton
		10		Runaway	Shannon
		11		Suspicion	Stafford
		12		You're Only Lonely	Souther

"Lonely" by Anita Baker is a song I hadn't thought about in years, but used to love...so I downloaded it recently and it sounds just as sparkly and vibrant as ever...which made me wonder: is she working on anything new?

The last I read, Ms. Baker was working on an album called 21st Century Love, which was due for a November 9th release...but still has no availability date on Amazon.

In the meantime, it looks like she'll make an appearance on the upcoming Soul Train Music Awards:

Soul Train

On November 22nd two previously unavailable MP3 versions of Andy Gibb albums will appear on Amazon's digital download store...I'm so excited!!! And on the very recently released Bee Gees Mythology 4 cd set there's a disc devoted exclusively to Andy! Included is a never-before-released song called "Arrow through the Heart."

The girls I babysit for adore Max and Ruby...and now I've sort of gotten hooked on the Nick Jr. series, too. I especially like Max, who strikes me as a very independent and "in his own world" kind of guy. His older sister, Ruby, is pretty bossy and very rigid in her ways; it's no wonder Max is always wandering off chasing butterflies or lightning bugs while Ruby is so busy getting everything together, she can't keep track of her mischievous brother, who's having a blast.

Babysitting is not just something to do for money (which so many people seem to need in an economy where many of us are taking on second jobs or supplemental income through paid focus groups or odd jobs), it's a wonderful opportunity for anyone who loves kids and missed out (either by accident or on purpose) on having kids of his or her own. While I definitely need the extra dollars, I think I'd still babysit even for free...especially with the family I regularly watch now:)

Black Tie White Noise was the beginning of David Bowie's return from the wilderness of post-Let's Dance, the first indication that he was regaining his creative spark.--all music website

I always know I'm really really going to like a song when I hear it and feel like I'm going to pass out. More than spotting someone I think is cute or dreaming about a favorite meal, I hear that special track from a favorite album or a song that is new to me and I almost feel (sometimes actually do) as if I have to grab hold of something to steady me.

That's how I felt the first time I heard "The Wedding," the first track off of Black Tie White Noise. Though I've already blogged about this album, I can't say enough good things about it since I've still been playing the entire thing on my iPod weeks after I bought it...

Other times a song I haven't heard in years will come on the Internet radio stations I listen to and wham!! I'm back in my teens...recently I heard an old Go West song and I got chills....even though when it comes to 80s duos I much prefer these guys:

 

The only Wham album I was ever truly truly passionate about was Music from the Edge of Heaven; at the time I first bought the cassette version I though "Battlestations" was the coolest song ever!:):

I try to stick to music, books and movies, but (as I have before) am taking a detour....saw this article and while no one (on other side of the issue) will be breaking out champagne and wine glasses to celebrate, it's a bit more unexpected and open-minded than I would have imagined the Mormon Church to be. They are by no means advocating that acting on same sex attraction is acceptable to their Church, but at least (in my mind, it seems) anyone who is gay and Mormon and already vulnerable to self-hating thought may be a bit relieved that their thoughts alone aren't necessarily going to land them in Hell.

It's one thing to tell someone gay that their actions are "sinful," but another to tell them their thoughts and feelings (things they can't help as much as they can their actions) is heartbreaking when they are already facing a (more times than not) homophobic society, especially in their church or small town where anti-gay sentiment is usually stronger.

I do think "attraction" is not the best word choice. "Attraction" implies physical feelings or sex, when being gay is about so much more. The romantic and emotional aspects (caring for someone else of the same gender, enjoying their company and talking with them) are so complex and complicated. I think it makes it easier for people who hate gay people to think it's tied in to nothing more than simple sex acts...which is far from the truth as anything can be....

...in an 80s kind of mood...

I found this cool website the other day, which includes an extensive list of 80s music compilations on cd...last night I downloaded "Sidewalk Talk" by Jellybean, an oft neglected (when it comes to being featured on 80s collections) dance song featuring Madonna.




It's funny...I didn't much care for the 80s when I was actually living through them, but now I occasionally find days or nights when I want to play my old records or listen to Internet radio stations where I'll hear songs I've long forgotten about...

 

This past Saturday I went to NYC with my niece and her best friend and we had a blast!! The time passed way too quickly and, already, I want to go back. We focused on 5th Avenue and Times Square (where we have a very scary incident with a possibly coked-up Cookie Monster), but there is so much more to cover.

Next time I'm hoping to spend more than a day...and I'll be using the above books; they are just great for trying to figure out where to eat (Morton's is definitely out of my price range!), shop (Tiffany's is strictly window only for me) or even stay overnight or for a few days (I once stayed at this wonderful hotel called The Doral Inn, way back in 1996 when I could afford it.)

Haven't we seen this before?

I absolutely love Chuck, but I feel like I have already seen the current storyline done in the exact same fashion on another beloved spy show you may have heard of called Alias. During season two of Alias, the writers brought in Lena Olin to play Sydney's ambiguously shady mom who was a double agent. Now in its fourth season, Chuck is doing the same thing with the title character's mom, played by Linda Hamilton.

Both shows feature Olin and Hamilton playing mothers who may or may not  be fighting on the good side and who may or may not love their children. The ping-ponging back and forth (the "is she or isn't she?" motif) is eerily similar and frankly sort of starting to get on my nerves as far Chuck goes.

Hamilton, whose acting I've always enjoyed and who set the bar for female action heroes in the awesome Terminator 2, is doing a phenomenal job (a scene with her character's daughter Ellie in last night's episode was especially moving) but I felt almost exhausted when the most recent episode closed.

In an otherwise stellar episode (with a hysterically funny performance by Timothy Dalton) Mama Bartowski had gone back and forth so many times I got dizzy. Just finish up this part of the storyline, please!:)

 
"Don't Worry Be Happy" is what I like to listen to when things seem low. I used to hate this song, but now I find so much peace in it!!:)

For anyone who is concerned with gay rights issues at the most basic level, forgetting gay marriage for the moment and just hoping (at this point in time, at least) for things that aren't anti-gay, there's an interesting article off of the Advocate website.

I thought several times last night and this morning about removing  yesterday's post because I usually like to stay light-hearted and on topic with music, books and film, but I didn't remove it...this is just too close to my heart right now....I can't apologize for what I feel, only for if I offend anyone who feels differently...because you are just as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine.

Sincerely,
just a girl blogging

The night before Election Day and all through The House...

 
In the film V For Vendetta there is a scene (informally called "Valerie's Letter" if you search for it on YouTube) with an eerily realistic and plausible scenario of what could happen to gays and lesbians in the not too distant feature (see here) if the haters have their way. The first time I saw this in the theater I cried so hard my friend asked me what was wrong, but I couldn't tell her...

At the risk of sounding extreme (because I'm hopeful for our society someday soon advocating a lot more zen in our fevered and frenzied political climate) I fear for the future for gays and lesbians. With blindly hating anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family and our own Democratic president back-pedaling on gay rights (the very issues he promised to help with during his campaign he's either neglected or turned 180 on) I worry that things are only going to get more grim.

More and more people seem to be speaking out against gays and lesbians and those who defend (whether straight or not) the rights of gays and lesbians continue to be portrayed as "promoting homosexuality"...as if homosexuality is a disease of uncontrollable sexual activity and not just a small part of who someone is...as if being gay or lesbian isn't about so much more than sex...like wanting to find that special person and to fall in love and grow old with her and do plenty of other things besides sex.

Whenever I feel like crying (when my parents go on about how sick being gay is or the world itself is one huge hateful place) I go to "my quiet place." It's an  "inside my mind" place where my views won't disturb anyone else because I keep them to myself (except here)...it's a place where I'm lucky enough to have someone who loves me back and in the general scheme of things no one cares whether we're straight or gay, human or alien...it's a place free of hate and open to possibilities for a real life free of being scared and alone...it's my place, my cone of silence, my fantasy land.

I guess I'm back in soapbox mode because it's the day before Election Day and it's looking more and more like the Republicans are going to sweep through it all and take over Congress...which to me means yikes!!!!

If Republicans take over health care, social security and social issues will take a huge turn for the worse...with the horrifying possibility (if some political figures and leaders of anti-gay groups have their way) that in some states homosexuality will be made a crime. A crime!!! Think I'm exaggerating or kidding? This is just one of many stories of what some far right conservatives would like to see happen.

The thought of that happening makes me so sad and sick I feel like I'm going to throw up...it makes me overwhelmingly sad and if that happens I hope there are good people around to fight the good fight!!!I don't want to live in a country where love can get you thrown in jail. Obama (whom I voted for and generally like otherwise) certainly hasn't shown that he would fight any legislation like that and also...how would the law handle people who loved with their hearts and souls, but not their bodies???

Would you have to be "caught in the act" to get arrested? Or could something as private as emotions get you in trouble? What would happen to gay and lesbian fiction ? (this may sound melodramatic but novels like the above Annie on My Mind have the power to reach gay and lesbian youth who have nowhere else to turn) Will the day come that our minds can be read? When hate crimes rise more than ever and go unpunished? I am so sad and afraid inside..and I would love to ask the haters: don't you think if gays and lesbians (facing all the hate and possible violence that life can sometimes throw their way) could they would change?

Of course, being forced (sometimes through "ex gay treatments" as horrific as electric shock therapy) to do something you can't when all you really wanted in the first place was the right to love someone else...that sounds like the real crime to me.