El Vy, Ed Sheeran, Et al, on Sirius XM are Worth Hearing

Remember when 1975 performed live on Sirius XM and it sickened me?

I believe that Sirius XM sessions are a litmus test of musicianship. El Vy is a great example of success.

Matt Berninger, whom you may remember from such groups as The National, is also part of El Vy. He performed their single Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to sing, with Crescendo) live for Sirius XM.

First, here's the track from their album:

And here's their version for Sirius XM. It's different, but good and worth hearing. 

I don't have any idea what this song is talking about but I do know it references places in Cincinnati such as The Serpentine Wall, pictured below.

These Sirius XM recordings are little gems and you can find them on YouTube. This isn't a sponsored post, although I would happily become their spokesperson.

A few more sessions of note:

Ed Sheeran's Don't

In this you will find proof of Ed Sheeran's adorability and talent. He uses nothing but a loop pedal and tiny toy guitar to play a song that will make you lose respect for Ellie Goulding and Niall Horan of One Direction. I thought we were mates, bro.

David Garrett's Smooth Criminal

In this you will find proof that violinists should be heard and not seen. I like this guy. I'm impressed. Respect, all round. But I just don't want to see anyone's face while they are intensely violinning.  I don't mean to be impolite because I think this is interesting music. But when people close their eyes tightly with joy to me it indicates they are having a private time that I shouldn't watch. Can you watch without looking away?

(Major props to Lindsay Stirling who has made great strides in this arena. It's not you, it's me.)

Let me know if you see or hear any Sirius XM sessions you think I'd like.

Mumford and Sons Forgot Their Fiddles

Mumford and Sons has a new album coming out on May 4th (Star Wars day, yay!). In the meantime their new single, "Believe", is out and proud. Conspicuously missing from the song, fiddles. Mumford and Sons sounds different. I support them in their attempt to try something new. Here's the new song. Could use more banjo.

Their new album will demonstrate their electric-instrument-playing-prowess. Marcus Mumford told Rolling Stone, "We felt that doing the same thing, or the same instrumentation again, just wasn’t for us. We’ve got a broader taste in music than just that." I like Mumford and Sons a lot. I like banjos and fiddles a lot. I'm pretty interested to see how this turns out. 

On Sadness, Joy Division, and Baptismal Covenants

I've been really into New Order and Joy Division lately. I can't believe I never knew about the tragedy of Ian Curtis until yesterday when I was googling the details of the Joy Division to New Order transition.

I can't believe I never heard about (or was simply unaware of, at age 8) his debilitating epilepsy and suicide in 1980. (That's when Joy Division became New Order.) Ian Curtis had seizures on stage as the Joy Division frontman. He was only diagnosed in 1979 and there was some stigma surrounding epilepsy. He didn't have the right medicine for his seizure disorder. He struggled with depression and his fans and bandmates didn't know. Then he hung himself. It is so, so sad. What a sweet, troubled guy. I watched interviews and videos until I cried. He speaks in a pretty high voice, which is surprising considering how low he sings for Joy Division.

I was already sad about Robin Williams, of course. I mean, obviously I didn't know him but he meant something to me (he seems to have meant something to everyone.) I loved Popeye so much and bought the soundtrack with my own money in 1980, which might explain why I wasn't so up on Joy Division at the time.

At any rate, every now and then tears would just start streaming from my eyes thinking about Ian Curtis or Robin Williams. There are people more immediately affected by their loss for sure. I know that. I wasn't even crying for my own loss of Robin Williams in my life. I guess I cried because I'm sorry there are people who are that sad. I don't have depression, but I've been down. Without minimizing it, I think I can kind of imagine what it might be like. I remember after 9/11 (and I know it's unusual to conflate the death of a rock star or Robin Williams with 9/11, but that's what I'm doing) I would cry intermittently as well (and if you know me you know I'm not a big crier). Again, I was not personally affected by 9/11 the way so many people who lost loved ones were effected, but every now and then it was like this massive grief just settled on me. And I let it. It's like, I'm willing to feel some of this sadness. It's not that I'm a masochist and I hope I'm not trying to horn in on someone else's tragedy. Because that's tacky. But if there is that much suffering I wish I could take some on me. When my kids give a talk or do something they are scared to do I feel nervous for them and I always wish I could take the nerves off of them and have them on me. It's kind of a moot point though because no one feels as nervous as I do about giving talks.

It doesn't seem like there is any point in this willingness to share grief or bear the sadness of another person. I don't think it lessens the overall grief or takes away someone else's sadness. Certainly me feeling sad about Robin Williams doesn't help his wife or kids feel any better. Does it? I don't know. I wish it it did. 

I am wondering about this because there seem to be people who breeze through this life unscathed because they don't care. I'm jealous of them. They make decisions that affect other people without agonizing over it. They don't feel guilty. They don't worry that they said something dumb or that someone took it the wrong way. I hate them! They don't suffer! I wish I were like that.

But then again, in Mosiah when Alma explains the LDS baptismal covenant (which I have made) he says that we should be willing to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort and "willing to bear one another's burdens that they may be light." 

So maybe helping bear a burden does lighten it? Literally helping someone carry something lightens their load. I don't know how it works with sadness or depression but it is clear that whether it is for us or for them or for the sake of humanity we should mourn, comfort, and bear the burdens of other people. Probably sitting around feeling sad is not exactly doing this, but a lack of sympathy is worse. 

Still Awesome? Michael Stipe Hitting Metal Chair with Something Wooden

The year was 1989. Spazzing out inexplicably was de rigueur. Something happened at the REM concert at the Salt Palace ("Acord Arena") which simply and thoroughly blew my mind. I didn't know what was happening, how, or why. I found this video the other day. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, Michael Stipe hitting a metal chair with something wooden for the song "World Leader Pretend" is still awesome.

I don't know how Michael Stipe thought of doing this or why he has to fight so hard to not sever his head with the stick in the middle of the song, but I do think the world is a better place for that metal chair and for Michael Stipe hitting it with something wooden that is, in retrospect, obviously a 10 3/4 Blackthorn wand with dragon heartstring core. 

Nuts to the Flabby Guys

I know it makes me seem a thousand years old to share this but it's burned in my memory. Plus my school was always 10 years behind everything so this was my grade school work out. We even did it for some kind of assembly in the gym. We had to wear dresses for the rest of the performance but we had shorts on underneath so when we went down to do "bicycle"with our legs in the air we BLEW EVERYONE'S MINDS.


It seems so lame to me now but I remember it being quite rousing. This was all before irony, guys—if you can imagine.

I Could Be Wrong

I know the SiriusXM video of 1975 in my last post was painful for fledgeling fans (myself included) who heard and loved "Chocolate" on the radio. I don't know what to say.

I'm sorry.

I still stand 100% behind my disdain for their SiriusXM exclusive performance—from bottom of tank top to tip of slurring tongue, it is insufferable.

But maybe they're OK. I've been wrong before. I once idolized Oscar Pistorius, initially thought the song "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire was too long, and didn't think the word "actionable" would ever catch on.

More poignantly, I've recently become interested in Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, who sings that song I love with Taylor Swift. I noticed him on Twitter because he became engrossed in the show Hannibal around the same time I did. I also noticed that he read and loved The Sisters Brothers (one of my faves) and that he formed the band Tired Pony with REM's Peter Buck. I love their newest album and when I was reading up on them I noticed that they are performing in Ireland this summer with none other than—you guessed it—1975.

As I went down the Snow Patrol rabbit hole I gained an appreciation for their classic hit "Chasing Cars" which became famous on Greys Anatomy. What I like about it is that, instead of getting sick of an old song that fans love, Lightbody has embraced it and appreciates it and loves it, even reworking it into something new and even more beloved. When I watched the original video of it I thought that I might not have liked it when it first came out. As Seymour Chase commented on my last post and Jerry Seinfeld proclaimed, "I can't watch a man sing a song."

But I would have been wrong. Gary Lightbody is big-hearted, interesting, and articulate. This, for example, is fantastic and lovely. I'm all in, Snow Patrol.


I used to hate a woman in my ward. I thought she was awful. I even had "proof." But I was wrong. She's fine and she would help me if I needed it. There is also a guy in my stake who I thought was ridiculous and horrible. But in the context of this world and all the people in it he is not ridiculous, he is good. I mention examples from my ward and stake because, like family, they are the ones I have an ongoing relationship with even if I don't want to.

On the whole I'm finding, begrudgingly, people tend to win me over. Not 1975—not yet, at least. But I'm open to the possibility.

SiriusXM Gives Me Clarity

I love satellite radio. I have it in my car. It's one of my favorite modern luxuries, except for the swear words in some songs and the insufferable Madison (who, it must be said, spins some good tracks.) They sometimes play exclusive versions of songs recorded at their studio. These versions can be GREAT. 

Love this. It can't be easy to do live. Ay ay oh. Ay oh.


But this made me SICK. I heard 1975's "Chocolate" on the radio and made a mental note to look up some of their songs but their in-studio version is just the grossest thing. I hate it so much.

Don't skim this and think that I like the above video because I don't. I hate it. You might say to give their other music a try but now that I've seen and heard the way these words come out of his mouth there's just no going back. Pronounce a mid-word consonant, buddy, or lose me forever.

I love NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts too. Look at the XX's Tiny Desk Concert! Bless their hearts. I love them. Look at them. Listen to them. The silence is like a 3rd instrument. So great. I know you think I look exactly like her but I didn't wear braces in junior high for nothing, so.

Why do I love them and hate 1975? Who can say. The heart wants what the heart wants. My heart doesn't want Death Cab for Cutie either. Go figure!

The Civil Wars are so much the real deal. This hurts me to watch because they hate each other now. It's bittersweet. I keep looking for early seeds of dissension. My guess? Love affair gone bad.

You can't hide your love from us, guys. But you're married to other people. I hope things work out for the best.

Also, YEAH MAN. Marry me.

Give them a million dollars–or a billion—whatever is a lot in show business these days.

Some Thoughts

I hope you'll indulge me in sharing some thoughts today. As is my blogging prerogative, I haven't bothered to find a consistent theme or revise.

Did you ever know or babysit kids when you were young who referred to using the bathroom as "having a b.m."? I did. They were always a bit odd, but I have a feeling they grew to be successful adults. Maybe I can confirm on Facebook?

Speaking of having a feeling, I have a feeling my foster dog is pregnant. She sleeps all day and has big nips. I have no idea if this is an indication of pregnancy—I'm not a veterinarian! And I didn't grow up learning at the knee of one either, for some reason—but I just feel like she might be. She gets spayed next Monday so we'll see what happens and if the 14th amendment comes into play.

Yesterday Sam used the sewing machine to fix a hole in his sweater and today Ben fried his own egg. I think it's wonderful!  Are my expectations too low? Or are my sons advanced for 16 and 11? It's hard to gauge.

Also, everyone is talking about how cool Jared Leto is and how he should win an Oscar. I haven't seen Dallas Buyers Club. I imagine that it's quite good, but in this discussion of how cool and talented and how great Jared Leto looks at 42 no one—NO ONE—has mentioned how pedestrian his music is. He's the front man for 30 Seconds to Mars, which has always taken itself too seriously.

And finally, here are links to my Babble posts. Read them! It will prove to Babble that I am good and worthwhile and also you will like them. You will probably like them.

Here's the Mike Rowe story about his Walmart commercial. Maybe you already read it when Mike Rowe HIMSELF linked to it on Facebook. Please quit stalking me, Mike Rowe.

I covered the movie Noah, which hopes to appeal to Christians and non-believers alike. All I know is that my Sunday School class is very excited for it to come out.

Here are some good pictures of Princes William and Harry cradling fake burlap babies I mean sandbagging a flooding town in Berkshire.

And this is a pretty cool "Sweet Child o' Mine" cover done New Orleans Jazz style. I like it. Do you?

Are you having a good day?Are you having a good b.m.? Do you know when dogs are pregnant? Is Mike Rowe stalking you? I hope the answer to all of those questions is a resounding "Yes!"

I Write the Blogs that Make the Young Girls Cry

My title is a reference to Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs." I've mentioned it before but it cannot be stressed enough, when I was a child I loved Barry Manilow's music with a great passion.

I'm currently reading Robert Hilburn's (my #1 favorite music journalist along with Sheffield and Klosterman who are #2 and #3) Johnny Cash bio. It discusses all of Johnny's earliest musical encounters and, of course, they are gospel country folk cool little tidbits of Americana.

It occurred to me that any book about me that left out the early influence of Barry Manilow would be fiction. I was just so taken by "Copacabana." I balanced on the edge of the kitchen sink listening to our black tape player for, like, really long amounts of time.

You people with iPods don't even know. Ellen lays atop her fluffy loft bed with the ability to conjure any song she's ever heard at her fingertips.

The child me is filled with jealous hatred towards my children.

But I don't write songs. I write blogs. Read them. If you don't, no one will.  (This is a true fact based on statistical internet research. Seriously!)

Fred Armisen will be Seth Meyers' band leader on late night. I love this. I love Fred so much. Do you? He's so talented and hilarious and a real weirdo. There is a skit on Portlandia where he's working at a hotel and a band comes in and he just makes this weird eye contact at them from behind the desk. He's hoping to convey that he gets them and he's into music too. I try to make that weird eye contact with people whenever I can.

Walter White's Facebook moved me more than my own. It's totally true. But I hesitate to link because it has a swear word in it. You get the idea--No need to watch it.

Comic Genius is a fun book. All the proceeds for buying it go to charity. I got it at the library but I'm still a good person.

Some really good soundtracks. I don't usually like soundtracks. They're for lame-os who listen to Barry Manilow. Am I right?

Here are some shows my sons like. And you can be sure they are awesome. Most of the things I write for Babble are! Or amazing! Or things you can't live without! Or won't believe!

Google will calculate Bacon numbers for you. What did we do before Google? I know that I, personally, fell off the sink a lot.

I joke that Babble sensationlizes my titles a lot but I am actually very grateful for the changes my editor makes. I need the help. I'm so bad at titles. Look at the title for this post. You probably didn't even click on it and are not even reading this part here at the end because the title didn't grab you so you'll never know how bad I am at titles. Except, you will. Anyway, another fun fact about editing: The only thing they ever change in my posts are the insults I hurl at Liam Hemsworth. I try to sneak in as many as I can but they almost always catch them.

I just think he's really dumb, stupid, and ugly compared to his brother Chris who is a class act who is married to a lady with short hair and will soon father twins.

Best Albums of 2013

I whipped up a little slideshow for Babble: My favorite albums for 2013. I'm amending it all the time in my mind. I still want to put together my favorite songs of 2013—There are a lot more good songs than good albums. It's hard to have a whole, listenable album. But these music posts take me so long. I enjoy it, but I go down lots of rabbit holes. I need to stay focused on shopping for Christmas with money I don't have—got to remember the reason for the season!

Babble editors changed my title from "The Best Albums of 2013—One Mom's Picks" to "The 10 Best Albums of 2013, Really" [They're so much more confident than I am, really.]

It’s almost irrelevant. Best albums? No one listens to whole albums anymore. But every year I can’t help it. Something compels me to select my favorite album of the year. Not just a single. Not just a band — a whole album.

Maybe it’s because one of my first jobs as a teenager in the late ’80s (DON’T JUDGE ME NEW YOUNG HIPSTERS — I’VE SEEN SOME THINGS) was working at Pegasus Records. It was a dream job. We did a lot more than vacuuming at night and alphabetizing the racks. We counseled our customers. They trusted us. They weren’t just spending $.99 online with the click of a button for a song they liked. They had to plop down cold hard cash for a record, tape, or CD. They wanted to know, “Is the whole album good?”

There are tons of great songs this year. But it takes a little culling to find an album that you can put on and listen to without having to skip a disappointing track. As a mom I prefer albums without a lot of obvious swears so Eminem and Kanye are out of my top 10, even though I think they have good albums this year. And Daft Punk gets an honorable mention, but NO ONE can listen to that whole album without skipping through to “Instant Crush.” Go ahead and try.

It’s an academic exercise, I know. It’s just so easy to pick songs a la carte. And I’m glad for that. But let’s give credit where it’s due to the artists who turn out whole, listenable albums.

Here are my top 10 picks with links to listen on Spotify or to buy on Amazon. Enjoy!

What Happens When You Take the Kids to a Fun. Concert

2013′s Grammy-winning, Best New Artist Fun. puts on a pretty hopping show. I had the chance to check out their Most Nights tour at Utah’s historic Saltair (once known as “The Coney Island of the West“) last weekend.

The energy was high and Fun.’s songs—anthems, really—sounded fantastic. It was the perfect end-of summer-treat.

Oh, and I had my 4 kids in tow.

We all loved it. Collectively, from my little girl, age 6, to my oldest son, now 16, we knew most of the words.

Do you ever take your kids to concerts?

One thing I really like about going to concerts is that it’s still basically the same experience it was when I was a kid. It costs more and you buy the tickets online, but parking is still a pain. You still have to stand there and wait between bands. Lines for the women’s restroom are long. And even though we hold  phones up now instead of lighters, it still feels just the same to hear your favorite band live. There’s a camaraderie among the crowd, which is usually quite diverse, that is bonding and fun. I imagine people who run marathons feel the same way but, hello! So much more fun to prepare for a concert than a big long race. Am I right?

My husband and I made the hour-long drive to Saltair with the kids in the back of the van and Some Nights blaring on the radio. I’m not going to lie to you and say we were all blissed out with no bickering or crying on the way there. Newsflash: There is always bickering and crying. So if you just had a baby let me assure you that it doesn’t get better. But you care less. In that way it gets better. When we hit the parking-lot traffic backed up onto the off-ramp I kind of felt bad for the youngsters in front of and behind us. That’s right, hipsters. We are middle-aged and in a van and we are here too. So what does that say about you and your cool factor? Not much, my friends. Not much. (Burn.)

My husband is a great sport and always enjoys the concerts I drag him too, but he’s an earplug guy. Me, I’m a slowly-losing-a-small-percentage-of-my-hearing-at-each-concert guy. To me the next day’s ear-ringing is worth it, not unlike the delicious taste of a curry that lingers. Like Beethoven, I know I will one day be deaf to the very music I love. I press on willingly towards my fate because I’m totally banking on a cochlear ear plant.

Can I get a what what!

My husband just started a Sweeto Burrito food truck. It took a lot for him to pull himself away from the truck for the concert. He kept checking the sales online on his phone. He’s obsessed with it, and it’s a pretty fun venture. But once we hit the crowds at Saltair the cell tower must have been jammed or overloaded or whatever happens when too many people with cell phones are posting concert selfies to Instagram. He couldn’t check his numbers. As a result, he laid down on the grass after the opening band and took a much-needed nap. See? Concerts just can’t be beat.

You know how dads are considered major heroes whenever they take their kids out on errands? My husband gets the warmest looks and nicest comments on Saturdays at Lowes whenever he has the kids with him. I’m just a haggard mom when I go places with them.

But it’s different at a concert because there is an abundance of good will.  It was an all-ages venue and there were several kids there, but everyone thought it was so great that I had my kids at a Fun. concert. People were effulgent and let me cut in line for the bathroom. Drunk people were careful not to bump or step on my kids. I reveled in the positive attention. Finally. I’m getting a little respect for being a mom! Only at a concert, I tell you.

I sing at the top of my lungs a concerts. Just so you know. My kids know this. They are embarrassed by me but I pay my 40 bucks to be there just like everyone else so I’m going to enjoy myself, is how I see it. I’m pretty self-conscious in real-life. I don’t know if it’s good or bad for my kids to see me pump my fist and play air symbols—yes, it’s a thing . . . actually, no. It’s not a thing—but, why not let them see me as more than their driving, check-writing, chore-nagging, posture-correcting mom?

Concerts almost always have smoking, drinking, and swearing. I don’t condone those things. I teach my kids not to do them. I don’t do them. I’m not judging you for what you do or don’t teach your kids, that’s just how it is for me. I’m old-fashioned and strict. Prude, even. It’s how I am and I feel like it’s right for my family. As a mom you teach young children absolutes. The fact that the world has gray areas and exceptions and hard questions with tricky answers comes up later. But yes, 6-year-old, you must brush your teeth every night or they will get sugar bugs on them. I don’t tell my young children that eventually all those baby teeth just fall out so, who cares-let’s- have-a-free-for-all because I’m teaching habits and values and all that. You can’t let things go. Parenting is hard core. You spend a lot of time setting standards. And enforcing them.

So how do you teach a kid tolerance? Tolerance is at least as important as not smoking, in my opinion. But in my family’s day to day I make it my business not to tolerate bad manners, mean comments, slacking off. If my 13- year-old started smoking? I wouldn’t tolerate that.

On our way to the concert I told my children, “We are going to hear the f-word tonight. We are just going to ignore it. ” Yes. I’m that mom.

But maybe once a year or so it’s OK for my kids to see me standing shoulder to shoulder and singing with all sorts and types of people, some who smoke, drink, or swear. Maybe they don’t know, because of my strict momness, that I can be in the world and interact happily with other people who might not be exactly like me. Maybe they don’t know that at the heart of things, I accept them and love them no matter what and I always will even if they stop brushing their teeth.

I know the song We Are Young is about getting fall-down drunk. Do I approve of getting fall-down drunk? No. True story: I’ve never even been stand-up drunk. Do I prohibit naughty songs with swears? You betcha. Does it bother me when my daughter belts out, “So let’s set the world on fi-yuh. We can burn bri-duh . . .  than the sun!” Not at all. In fact I encourage it. Because it’s a dang fine tune. And even though it mentions drugs, there’s a macro-message to the song that is genius and lovely and belt-from-the-booster-seat approved. It’s like, yeah man—We are the champions.

I can’t really explain why our Fun. concert experience was worth the price of 6 (!) tickets, 4 t-shirts, and 6 cups of soda, but to me it was. Ellen fell asleep on my husband’s shoulder before the encore even started. He hauled her out to the overflow parking lot, put her in the car, buckled her up, and pulled the van around to wait for the rest of us to come out after the encore and beat traffic.

So if by the time the bar closes
and you feel like falling down
I’ll carry you home tonight.

Book Report: VJ The Uplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave

MTV launched August 1st of 1981. I was 9 and I watched it all the time. It was awesome. It was everything. When I look at pictures of the MTV VJs I feel like I'm seeing pictures of people I went to high school with or of my cousins. I imprinted on them.

I just finished VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave.  I have mixed emotions about the book. On the one hand, it's super intriguing and I read it in 2 days. On the other hand, it made me hate the VJs. Self-congratulatory, shallow, ugh. This always happens when I read about Rock and Roll.

I hate to even say this in case one of the original 5 vjs Googles themselves and finds my review. I still think they are cool and want them to like me. But I have to say that they are disappointing. Nevertheless, I spent the day watching videos and downloading images for the post I wrote for Babble, 10 Things You Never Knew About the Original MTV VJs, and they won me over again. Maybe they just don't come off well in print.

First of all, it's a lazy book. It's just excerpted from interviews of all of them. There aren't normal paragraphs and exposition. It just has quotes from all the VJs.

Martha: I made 26,000 when I started.
Alan: That was pure discrimination. Martha and I were equally experienced.

Page after page, they each weigh in on different topics. It's like the transcript of an interview, with the interview questions left out. Still, it's fascinating to read.

I'm always really disturbed by drugs. Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman talk about doing drugs throughout the 80s like it was the best time they ever had. There's no layer of reflection or perspective that older people usually have. It was a turn off.

I always loved Mark Goodman and thought he was the smartest one. He was the smartest one, and he knew it. He's really pretentious. And even when he talks about how pretentious he was, he still says things to show that he was the smartest one. However, he mentions 2 maybe 3 times in the book that during that time period in the 80s he was working out a lot, "lifting really heavy weights." Lifting really heavy weights? Why do you keep talking about lifting really heavy weights, Mark Goodman?

I think they have an inflated sense of their importance, even though I totally think they were important. They talk about MTV hiring Kurt Loder and none of them can really get over how Kurt Loder was critical of MTV when he wrote for Rolling Stone. Nina Blackwood flat-out called him a hypocrite. But if you're really looking at the history of MTV, bringing Kurt Loder on was important and improved the channel's credibility in terms of News. Those original VJs are just sour grapes. They aren't being objective about the history of MTV. They just want to talk about themselves. Even Martha, who I adore, "pulled a weird thing" on Kurt Loder when he tried to interview her at something and she put him on the spot and asked him why he hadn't shown up at JJ Jackson's memorial service. "And that was the last time I ever spoke to Kurt Loder," she says. They seem kind of immature. And I say that as someone who was AS IN LOVE with Billy Squier and Adm Ant as Martha Quinn was.

Martha Quinn regrets not embracing "sexy" more and wonders why she "sabotaged herself" with the preppy, non-sexy clothes she wore. THIS WAS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING THING SHE SAID! I thought Martha was awesome and smart and cool for wearing a boy scout shirt and skinny tie when she interviewed David Lee Roth, and everyone loved her for it.

I thought she was totally punk rock and was doing the short hair and androgynous clothes on purpose. I was so bummed when she said she regretted it. Boo. You were rad, Martha. Own it. When MTV decided not to renew Martha's contract, they generously kept her on the payroll for 6 months. After that she had to collect unemployment in order to pay rent. That seems kind of loser-y. She hadn't saved any money? How can that be?

The book really did do a good job conveying how MTV was started with a radio mindset/format. It's hard to even imagine now, but music wasn't on TV. Music was only on the radio. Everything about it was experimental and revolutionary. The VJs worked in shifts going from Martha, Alan, JJ, Mark, Nina around the clock to Martha, Alan, JJ, Mark, and Nina. They were a year into it before they realized they could shoot Martha, Martha, Alan, Alan, JJ, JJ, Mark, Mark, Nina, Nina and everyone could go home after their segment was filmed. Because it was the mentality of live radio. They didn't think about filming segments out of order—something that is a total no-brainer today. Also, a big part of the VJ's job at the beginning was going out and schmoozing cable guys in order to get cable stations to carry them. That's where the whole, "I want my MTV" thing came from: Call your cable provider and tell them you want MTV. Manhattan, where the VJs all lived, didn't get MTV. They couldn't even watch it at first.

Well. I can't deny that there is some interesting stuff in this book. I recommend it if you remember MTV and feel like reminiscing. But the VJs just aren't as cool as I remembered.

Summer is Getting Away from Me

So, summer got away from me. Being at Girl's Camp the first week of summer killed all my plans for structure, summer bridge, family fun, routines, and any semblance of order. I'm still catching up. In the meantime, my kids are staying up late, sleeping in late, doing "chores" sporadically and begrudgingly. The only routine we have fallen into is the absence of routine except for the daily fighting and me getting mad and forcing my kids to read in their rooms where they go to text their cousins instead.

Not that Girl's Camp wasn't worth it. Because it was. Just don't post your cute laminated Summer Spinwheel in radical fonts of balanced food, job charts, and learning games. I can't bear it. Actually, do post it. What do I care?

Ugh. I also had to speak in church last Sunday, which just about killed me. 

Then again, this week was my Birthday week so most of our routine-interuptus was caused by me going to lunch, watching long stretches of TV, going to movies, and greeting well-wishers with large Diet Cokes. I love my birthday because on it the people who love me come out in full force and I really love the people who love me.

So I'm having a great summer. It just feels a little out of hand. But that's OK.

If you remembered it was my birthday but you didn't get me anything, just read my Babble Blogs. It's your gift to me. Here are the best ones from June (so far!).

The 9 Worst TV and Movie Moms We Love to Hate

Your Favorite Rock Stars Sing About Fatherhood

Jim Morrison Thinks Fat is Beautiful

Duggar Daughter-In-Law Becoming a Great Mom

Oh my gosh, SPOILER: Can you believe Josh and Anna are moving to DC? How will they cope? I'm glad they are going. It will be such and adventure. I love the Duggars.

How do you like my Jim Morrison image? I totally made it myself. He's pointing at the sign that says "Fat is beautiful." He's trying to get your attention. He's all, "YO. Check out this sign I'm pointing to with my finger." Well, he only points to it if someone fat walks by. Because it only applies to them.

Hey Guys

Hello there. How are you? Fine, I hope.

I've been so busy lately, which I hate. I hate saying that I'm busy because everyone says it and everyone is and it's really obnoxious.

I also hate actually being busy. I work so hard to maintain long stretches of down time to use for reading and blogging and that time has been encroached upon more and more lately. No one thinks reading a book is a good enough reason to not do something else. Sigh. So persecuted.

Newsflash: It's better in many ways to have big kids. But when you don't have babies anymore, all of the sudden you're fair game and it's hard to say no. Hard, but not impossible. Learn how now.

Incidentally, I have a new calling as a counselor in the Stake YW Presidency. (But then, you already guessed that from my Pinterest Boards.)

Still blogging away at Babble though. Here are April's posts:

Some of Media's Most Influential People Are Parents

Google Fiber Coming to Provo

Let Brian Eno Soothe You in the Hospital

Michelle Williams Focuses on One Thing at a Time

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell Team Up for New Album

How Did He Do It? Sherlock Pics Suggest Spoilers

Gloria Steinem Says to Lay Off Kim Kardashian's Body

Can you believe it? I wrote my first Kim Kardashian post for Babble! (Hopefully, the first of many.) I feel like my analysis of the Sherlock pics is my first true scoop. I'm proud. That should tide you over. But if it doesn't,

Meg Ryan and Daisy True

Call the Midwife is a Great Show

How to Get and Stay Creative

Jeremy Renner Becomes a Baby Daddy

If Only My Kids Would Follow Tim Gunn's Golden Rules

What Kids Learn From Super Heroes

Roger Berman: 10 Things I Love About You

Celebrities Who've Written Children's Books

I know you're too busy to read all of them. But I want you to treat yourself to at least a few.

Have an uneventful day!

I Could Kill You With My Bare Hands if I Was Free: Song For Zula

I am obsessed with a new song from Phosphorescent called Song for Zula. You have to listen to it.

I don't know who Zula is or what, exactly, this song is about but I am in love with it. From the 1st line which alludes to both Bette Midler's The Rose and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire to the last horrible line—It's the most interesting thing ever. I want to write a paper about it.

It seems to be saying that love has the power to consume and trap, even to disfigure. This person never wants to be open to its grip again. Love, it's not pretty. I love the seething rage that seems to lie below the surface. The way the word "folks" is spit out with disdain, you think it's going to be a swear word. I'm always interested in hidden seething rage. I like it when something we behave condescendingly towards that seems weak or naive is actually totally self-aware and ready to pounce. I'm interested in the idea that we are constrained by love and disfigured by it.

This song sounds so beautiful and yet it is so devastating.

I like to imagine that at her spunkiest and most self-aware, this is my mom's song to my dad.

It is as romantic as it is hideous. Enjoy.



Matthew Houck is the man behind Phosphorescent. I'd love to find out his deal, if you know what I mean. He reminds me of Santino Rice from Project Runway, who I'm also pretty intrigued with.

And here are the lyrics:

Some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
Oh but I know love as a fading thing
Just as fickle as a feather in a stream
See, honey, I saw love. You see, it came to me
It put its face up to my face so I could see
Yeah then I saw love disfigure me
Into something I am not recognizing

See, the cage, it called. I said, “Come on in”
I will not open myself up this way again
Nor lay my face to the soil, nor my teeth to the sand
I will not lay like this for days now upon end
You will not see me fall, nor see me struggle to stand
To be acknowledge by some touch from his gnarled hands
You see, the cage, it called. I said, “Come on in”
I will not open myself up this way again

You see, the moon is bright in that treetop night
I see the shadows that we cast in the cold, clean light
My feet are gold. My heart is white
And we race out on the desert plains all night
See, honey, I am not some broken thing
I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee
No my heart is gold. My feet are light
And I am racing out on the desert plains all night

So some say love is a burning thing
That it makes a fiery ring
Oh but I know love as a caging thing
Just a killer come to call from some awful dream
O and all you folks, you come to see
You just stand there in the glass looking at me
But my heart is wild. And my bones are steam
And I could kill you with my bare hands if I was free

Write me a paper about it and I will grade it.  Here are some resources.



I get very obsessed with things. The internet is my enabler. It can be yours, too.

I Am Moved by the Camaraderie of Rappers

I'm not sure if you know that I love Eminem. I do. It's problematic because I don't listen to big swear music. The song below is edited. I enjoy it. 

I really love the camaraderie of rappers. It sometimes even moves me to cry, as is the case with the song below.

I like the dogged perseverance of underprivileged people like Eminem who become successful. It's one of my favorite things. And I love it when they are all, "In your face, haters." Or, in this case:

I love it when I tell em shove it
Cause it wasn't that long ago when Marshall sat, flustered lack lustered
Cause he couldn't cut mustard, muster up, nothing
Brain fuzzy, cause he's buzzin', woke up from that buzzin'
Now you wonder why he does it, how he does it
Wasn't cause he had buzzards circlin' around his head
Waiting for him to drop dead, was it?

Bad Meets Evil is a group comprised of Eminem and Royce da 5'9. They sing with Bruno Mars in this song. I'm not a huge Bruno Mars fan, but he was funny on SNL, so that's good.

I think it's interesting when people are fueled by hatred. Not good, necessarily, but interesting. I nursed a lot of low-level hatred when I was a kid. I kept track of who I hated and why. It was like a hobby. Nothing like Eminem, though. I still initially hate a lot of people and things but I get over hating them much sooner. I've gone soft.

I wanna just say thanks cause your hate is what gave me the strength.
So let em bics raise cause I came with 5'9" but I feel like I'm 6'8″!

Enjoy!

This Week

This week I got a new foster dog, Annie, and her 5 puppies. They are 2 weeks old. Annie and her puppies will be up for adoption in about 6 more weeks.

Puppies are a lot of work. I'm going through a lot of bleach. I'll post puppy pics when they get a little older. Look forward to that.

I've been covering the Entertainment channel for Babble. Here's what I've been working on:

My Beef with Spring Breakers This is my best post of the week. If you only read one from me this week, read this one about Selena Gomez's new movie. I have issues.( You will too.) 

Michelle Obama Looks Bangin' on the Cover of Vogue Get it, bangin'? Because of her new bangs? This post has a great quote from her about keeping her family whole.

For Rachel Zoe, Every Day is Take Baby to Work Day I'm recapping the Rachel Zoe Project, because I like it and they said I could. Even though recaps don't get very many page views.

Why is the Sky Blue? WHY IS THE SKY BLUE? Here's a video from PBS that explains why the sky is blue. So your kids can quit asking.

Coolest Harry Potter Prints In celebration of the new Harry Potter book covers Scholastic is releasing in September.

How to Save Money Like an Extreme Couponer These tips come from an actual, real-life extreme couponer. She sent me her book. Ima read it.

And here are a couple more fun videos I posted:

Clever french commercial

College student upstaging Billy Joel on piano

Finally, here's a creepy look at a show I'm going to watch and be afraid of on Monday, Bates Motel—It's a Psycho prequel. Yikes.

Now you're all linked up for the weekend! I'm off to do my puppy chores.

Book Report: Who I Am

It's always disappointing to read about rock stars. I was really excited to read Pete Townshend's memoir, Who I Am. Christian gave it to me for Christmas. That was nice of him.

I'm a big Who fan. I really love Pete Townshend, well. I thought I did. He's interesting and, frankly, because I like some of his music so much there's nothing that would make me not like him. But this book came close. I almost quit reading it because he's such a cliche. The decadence and addiction is interesting to read about to some degree, but it just gets old so fast. And I felt like he rationalized a lot. He cheated on his wife. He was greedy and rich and selfish. Bleh.

But then he has moments of self-awareness and vulnerability that are endearing and kept me reading to the end. I knew that Pete Townshend always felt ugly—and by "knew" I should say that I imagined it in the personality I created for him in my mind based on songs and snippets of interviews over the years. Anyway, it's true. He did feel ugly. His mom was mean and told him he was ugly. He always had something to prove in that way. I think he has aged quite well. He's a musical genius. I mean, just a full-on genius. I don't know what he's talking about half the time with the music stuff but I appreciate it. He's full of contradictions, self-loathing at times and arrogant at other times. Sometimes he's so thoughtful and sweet in his recollections and other times he's totally oblivious and unlikable.

At one point he says, "It became important to me to be an artist of conscience,"  when he's ignoring his kids and cheating on his wife but donating to charity. That bugged me.

But when he got his computer confiscated for downloading child pornography (I basically believe his story) he says, "I knew nothing incriminating had ever been on my computer, and although I was aware of the possibility that images could easily be planted, I was more worried that excerpts of my personal diaries would get out and I would look like a self-obsessed prat, whose only interest was which car or boat I might buy next to cheer myself up. This was sheer vanity, but I was still embarrassed by it." I liked that.

He's an interesting guy.

See, I have this thing with musicians, actors, or anyone famous who I admire where I become compelled to find out if and decide whether we would or could be friends in real life. So while I read this book I kept thinking, "Would I hate Pete?"
But in the end I decided that we'll always be friends.

And So It Must Be for So It Is Written

Are you ready for me to talk about Les Miserables? I've been eagerly anticipating it for a while now. Here are my thoughts.

It's great, of course, The story is wonderful and I love it. Did I cry? No. But I did feel sadness. I wish it were a little more family-friendly because I love the music and message of it. The bit with Fantine is rough. I probably won't take the kids, which is disappointing because I've been playing the music for them since Thanksgiving and I made them watch the 25th Anniversary special.  The parts that almost made me cry were the Bishop's candlesticks part (Colm Wilkinson is the Bishop. I DIE!) and Eponine's death. Sad.

Now, for my critique of the singing. This is all just a matter of my taste. I'm not a singer and I'm no great critic of musical theater. The kids are show-stealers (little Cosette, Gavroshe). Usually little singing and dancing kids are so horrible and obnoxious. But these little guys are a treat to watch. Eponine is the stage actress so she's a wonderful—a real pro. Amanda Siegfried is sure pretty with big eyes and a face like frying pan but her voice is flimsy and wiggly. Whatever. Grown up Cosette is boring anyway. Her freckle-faced Marius seems like a great guy. I like him. But he sings like a woman a lot of the time. Too bad stage-performer Enjolras didn't survive the barricade. Am I right, ladies?

The movie-actor Enjolras is enthusiastic and vibrant. He's good. I'm sad that he dies. Sacha Baron Cohen is great. He has some kind of elusive star quality that people often talk about.

Now, I don't want to make too much of this, but I don't totally enjoy Hugh Jackman's voice. He sings well and hits notes but it has a quality to it that I find unappealing—grating, even.  That said, I think he makes an excellent Jean Valjean in terms of acting. I love Hugh Jackman. I think he feels the weight of the morality in the story. He is famously faithful to his wife who suffered miscarriage after miscarriage before they adopted their kids. I think he brings his experience as adoptive father (by which I mean, father) to his role with Cosette. He was fantastic. That said, I wouldn't buy the soundtrack to hear any of his songs again.

But what I would buy and what I find myself listening to over and over again, is Russell Crowe as Javert. I think he may technically not be a great singer of musicals—his voice isn't as loud and booming as it should be. But I loved him in this movie. I love his version of Stars. I love how his sweet little baby voice undercuts the blustering certitude of Javert. I like his fat face and beady eyes and I was just so moved by it. Obvs, Javert is one of the most interesting, misguided characters ever. I haven't read the whole book but I know I should and I want to. Still, I relate to Javert's small-minded clinging to his understanding of truth and rules and justice. It is easy to mistake vengeance for a kind of integrity. When you see a better man, when you benefit from the mercy of a better person it makes you feel like crap because you kind of still hate them. I know how it is, Javert. Oh, Javert.

And what can I say about Anne Hathaway that hasn't already been said by everyone, including herself? I heard some people after the movie saying that when Jean Valjean sees her in "Heaven" at the end she should have had her long hair restored. That made me mad. She's so fetching with short hair. It is true that she gives up her pride and vanity in the service of her child (don't we all). But I like to think that by doing so you gain insight and perspective so you care about bigger things—the sacrifice of teeth and hair seems small within the bigger picture. I just hope growing my hair out in Heaven isn't a "thing."

Have you seen it? What did you think?

What About Babble?

What's wrong--Why haven't I been tweeting and Facebooking my Babble posts a million times a day?

To those of you who assumed I quietly lost my job at Babble and have decided not to mention it to me, thank you. That's exactly what I want you to do when, inevitably, I am quietly fired from Babble.

But I'm still plugging away. Babble launched a site re-design around Thanksgiving and there have been a few glitches getting the blogs back up. All of the Kid Scoop bloggers are on standby for full parental blogging and we can't wait to start posting slide shows, ASAP.

I expect the Babble blog to be back up this week so stay tuned. Don't worry, I'll tweet my posts a million times. That's how you'll know I'm back.

In the mean time, Live Strong. (Are we still saying that? Considering?) I've been making the most of my time off by teaching myself to play the ukelele and by listening to all versions of all songs from Les Miserables.

Here are the uke songs I'm working on:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (of course)
Call Me Maybe (of course)
Intro to Stairway to Heaven (of course)
I Walk the Line (what else?)
Riff from I can't Get No Satisfaction (I say "riff" now)
Riff from Back in Black (of course)
7 Nation Army (of course)

Am I good at the uke? Mmmmmm, no. But I feel like I am. I know about 6 chords. The main problem is that I can't really tune my uke very well so all my songs sound bad. There's a lesson in there somewhere. Part one of my plan for complete guitar domination is almost complete. (Part one is learning how to tune things.)