I'm listening to my Styx's Greatest Hits album and wondering why I feel a bit shameful for it. "Babe" gets so much hate, even if I'm convinced some people secretly love it. "Mr. Roberto" seems to be many people's guilty pleasure. I admit neither song is very deep or always pleasing to the ear, but there's something kind of wonderfully hammy about both of them.

On songfacts.com there's much to be said from the lovers and the haters. I like this comment since I've always loved "I Go Crazy" by Paul Davis:

In the refrain to this song, just before the "Babe, I love you!" lyric, is some unknown instrument playing a pattern of 5 notes (4 notes, one played twice), & the pattern played multiple times. It's perfectly identical to that note pattern at the end of the refrain of "I Go Crazy" by Paul Davis. Same time signature in fact. Only a different key & octave, & probably a diff. instrument. But whenever I hear one, I always think of the other. Coincidence or not? Of course, "Babe" also has the same time signature & very similar melody to "The Best of Times", which I'm *quite sure* was no coincidence, since it's by the same group. Again, when I hear one, it reminds me of the other.

- Drew, B'ham, AL

On the straight dope message board, someone asks "What's with the Styx hate?"

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=633146

I have picked up and put down What Has Become of You so many times, not because it isn't good (I still can't decide on that yet) or boring (it's definitely not that!) but because the level of creepiness to it unnerves me.

The really weird thing is that I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel creepy about the main character or the events going on in her life. Vera Lundy is sometimes someone to empathize with, other times someone you just don't understand. She can even be dislikable when it comes to how she relates with strangers, though many parts of her strike me as realistic even if those parts aren't something you want in a teacher.

The stars on Amazon are pretty much straight down the line:

20 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

Author and book review publications seem to like it:

“It takes a lot to creep me out--I spent my youth reading Stephen King under the covers--but Jan Elizabeth Watson has more than succeeded in this gripping literary thriller. Part gloss on The Catcher in the Rye, part millennial The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, What Has Become of You is that rare beast: a page-turner that asks dark, difficult questions about the state of contemporary American society.” –Joanna Smith Rakoff, author of A Fortunate Age


Kirkus gives it a glowing review with a great opening line:

Vera Lundy's had a little trouble letting go of her high school demons, so teaching 10th-grade English might not have been the wisest career choice.
 
I'll give the novel another chance because I honestly want to know what happens and there are times when I feel like I'm almost reading a Shirley Jackson novel (which is a good thing.)

There's also the side of Vera that I truly feel for which keeps her human for me, even if later on she makes colossal personal and professional mistakes.

Great Friday music...

"Jimmy Mack" is a good way to jump start your day, especially if you're in an oldies but goodies kind of mood. Karen Carpenter once covered it for an album she never got to see released and as much as I love her singing, I have never cared for her version as much as the original.

Also good for the spirits is "Oye Como Va," specifically Tito Puente's version of off Mambo Birdland. At over five and a half minutes, it's the most delightful jam I think I've ever heard. As Tito says at the end, "Did You Feel It?"

Most indeed!! :)

 

 

Oh, wow, is I Love You But I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now wonderfully sultry and sophisticated pop, perfect for summer. A bit like the bird and the bee with a little Lily Allen and lots of sixties lounge music thrown in, this album is just amazing. At first, I thought "Did We Live Too Fast" was too good for the rest of the cd to compete with, but I was wrong. Each of the eleven tracks that follow the bewitching kick-off stand up well, with maybe the exception of the guitar-fizzed, potty-mouthed, but still kind of fun "Da Da Da."

 



"People die all the time. Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely. It's too easy not to make the effort, then weep and wring your hands after the person dies.” - Dance Dance Dance (1988)
― Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

I love this man's novels and cannot wait until his new one comes out on August 12th. It's called Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and sounds very Murakami-like which, if you enjoy his work, is a good thing. :)

 

 

 

Easy Come, Easy Go



Boy, do I love this song. It always puts a smile on my face with its overall bubble gum pop sound and optimistic spirit of bouncing back from a bad time in love. How can it not put someone willing to embrace an era light years away in fashion and music into a great mood? Plus, Bobby Sherman just looks like an overall nice guy. He has long been retired from show business and devotes lots of time to a children's charity he and his wife started.

 

So sweet, so wonderfully goofy, "Easy Come, Easy Go" :

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqty94GA9-g

 

 

 

Takin the shade out of the sun

Whatever made me think that I was number one
I oughta know easy come, easy go
Sittin' it out, spinnin' the dial
Thinkin' about the chump I've been
I have to smile
Didn't I know easy come, easy go
She wasn't kind, I wasn't smart
I lost my mind and fell apart
I had to find myself in time
Now I can start all over again
Hangin' around takin' it slow
Happy I found
I still can smile and dig the show
Lettin' me know easy come, easy go

Songwriters
Keller, Jack / Hilderbrand, Diane

Published by
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc