That Idol Motown Sound

Every year, Idol has some sort of classic R&B type episode, and it usually centers around Motown... and tonight is that very night... and they kick it off, as per usual, with the Barry Gordy story, and how Motown Records came to be... then they show clips of The Temptations, Little Stevie Wonder, Martha & the Vandellas and so on.  This is always one of my favorite weeks, because I love Motown music, I love the Jackon Five, I love the Four Tops and Temptations, though I can't tell them apart, and of course, Marvin Gaye.

So, while I watch this years version of the Motown History video, I can type:

THIS IS

AMERICAN IDOL

Liv Tyler sighting! 

First up, its Casey A, doing "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", with his beard shining and his hair slicked back.  Tricky song, and like last week's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", he has a scratch to his voice that sounds good, but if he's not careful, he can over-do.  The Straight Adam Lambert has worked hard to master his screech, so Casey A needs to watch the scratch.

He kinda sounds like a less-refined, if thats possible, Axl Rose.

J-Lo's makeup is horrifying. 

Crazy Uncle Steven Tyler loves Casey A's performance, J-Lo calls him an original, and Randy the Dawg concurs.

Thiamegia is finally doing something thats not a ballad.  She tells the camera about "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas, that it was released in 1963, and a little about the song, information that I'm almost positive that she got about 45 seconds before saying said info on camera.

Personally, I'm a "Nowhere to Run" fan by Martha and the Vs, but this one is good too.  The Lovely Steph Leann watched this show last night (and is finishing up her work day as we speak/read/type) and I'm sure she was clapping and moving the entire time.  Like myself, she loves Motown.

J-Lo loves Thiamegia, and wants to see more fun from her.  Randy the Dawg really liked it, but wants more.  Steven Tyler says same.

And next, there's no reason why The Soulful Jacob Lusk shouldn't blow this away, because he's full of soul.  He's doing '68's "Your All I Need (to get by)" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and I gotta tell ya, I'm excited about there this one.  This is one of my favorites from that era.

Rockin' the pink cufflinks and pink shirt and tie, TSJL is bringin' it, like I knew he would.  Fabulous.  A quick pan to the judges and you can tell they agree, as they rock and bounce and point.  This is one of those type performances where the other Idol contestants go, "Oh crap." 

Steven Tyler physically gets up, walks to The Soulful Jacob Lusk and hugs him, shouting "Baby Luther!' into the mic.  Randy the Dawg says, "Barry Gordy is somewhere sayin' 'oh my gahhhhh!'"  Steven Tyler and J-Lo burst into a Paula Abdul type gushing.  And well deserved.  That was fantastic.

Seacrusty then invites the entire front row to come up and give The Soulful Jacob Lusk a hug.  What?  What? 

America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina is doing 1966's "You Keep Me Hanging On", one of The Lovely Steph Leann's favorites.  I don't know who did the chick makeup this week, but not only does J-Lo looked like a Paas Easter Egg coloring kit threw up on her face, America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina looks like she didn't put on makeup, she installed it. 

Let's be honest, America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina has a great voice, and she's doing a great version of this, even with the twang on "There ain't nothing I can do about it", the spoken line in the song.  Nothing out of this world, but she's getting the job done and shouldn't have a problem sailing into next week.

Steven Tyler said she ripped that song a new one, and was awesome, while J-Lo loved the head bobbing and sass.  Randy the Dawg said last week America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina brah it, and this week, she's brah it again.

I read about this earlier, how Stefano Italiano's mom brought some pasta for everyone, and Seacrusty brings it to the stage.  Apparently, he lets Gordon Ramsey, who is in the audience and looking like he would rather be anywhere than there, try it, and Gordon Ramsey wasn't a fan. 

Anyway, Stefano Italiano is about to undo every good thing he's brought to this show in the last few weeks, that being "Hello" by Lionel Richie.  I don't know if I mentioned this last week before my interweb crashed, but "Hello" is one of those songs you don't touch on Idol anymore.  You just don't.

"Alone" by Heart, then done by Carrie Underwood... "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, then done by Fantasia... "Takin' It to the Streets" by The Doobie Brothers, then done by Taylor Hicks... "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi, then done by Blake Lewis... and, "Hello" by Lionel Richie, then done by David Cook... those are definitive versions done on Idol that will get you not only compared to the original artist, but to the version done by the Idol before you.  And Stefano Italiano is about to learn this lesson the hard way.



This song blew chunks.

The judges go on about how great he sounded, but he needs to have a better connection with the song and the audience.

Whatever.  It was awful. 

They cut to Gordon Ramsey trying Mama Italiano's pasta, and when asked how it was, he says, "Its fine."  Cut to Mama Italiano's face, and she forces a smile, the audience goes "awwwww..."

And now, Haley Reinhart is doing Smokey Robinson and the Miracle's classic "You Really Got a Hold on Me", a song that I've never really cared for that much, but hopefully she'll give me something.

In what looks like 28 inch heels, she works her way down the stage, and she's wearing what looks to be short shorts, but it might be a belt.  Put it this way, if at 15 or 13 or 17, Lorelei Addison comes down the stairs of The Cabana Plantation wearing those shorts, she's going to march her little fanny upstairs and put on a burka, and if she slips out of the house and you see her, give me a call. 

That being said, I can dig the outfit on Haley Reinhart.  Her song is a little screamy for me, but its pretty good.  I find her strangely attractive, but I like her spin on this song. 

Randy the Dawg includes the name "Janis Joplin", and even sends a sentence with the word "Yo".  Steven Tyler says, "you don't look a day over fabulous..." and loved the music.  J-Lo calls her the most soulful chick in the competition.  The Soulful Haley Reinhart?  Not so much.

And here comes the first big speedbump for Deep Voiced Scotty.... he's so good at country, but now he's got to not just step, but jump and run out of his comfort zone... but he's going to turn Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life" into a slightly country version. 

Who knew a Stevie Wonder could have a song that sounded good with a harmonica?  Holy crap, this sounds awesome.  You can tell he's a bit uncomfortable with the material, but he's doing it!  This sounds good enough to be played on country radio stations, like, right now.  Fabulous.  Stevie Wonder would be proud.

Crazy Creepy Uncle Steven says what I was thinking, "Just like Glen Campbell and Harry Nilsson!" which is a great compliment.  J-Lo says it was a great version, saying it wasn't his best but it was great.  No, it wasn't his strongest, but he did a great job with what he had to work with.  Randy the Dawg calls him a lady-killer.

Keeping with Stevie, Peepee Tuscany is doing a song that I just don't know, one called "All in Love is Fair", from the album "Innervisions" in 1973.  I've heard people talk about how beautiful she is, and... I just don't see it.  Oh, don't get me wrong, she's pretty and such, but I'm not all like "oh she's so hot" and all that.  She's cute.  She's not beautiful, she's elegant.

Her song is slow and melodic, and its sung really well--she has an awesome voice.  But she has to be careful to not to be boring, because like Thiamegia, she keeps doing the ballad thing... but she's better looking and more talented.  Her dress is

J-Lo compares her to Celine Dion, but wants to see other stuff besides ballads.  Randy the Dawg says the same thing.  Creepy Uncle Stevie says she's the closest star in the Idol Universe right now. 

Next up, Pauly Mac, doing some "Tracks Of My Tears" by Smokey.  Apparently The Unambigiously Gay Adam Lambert did this in his season, but no one remembers that now.  With guitar in hand, he's going to do a Jack Johnsony kind of version on the song. 

So like, since Ashthon Jones would benefit from being a ProActiv spokeschick, I think Crest White Strips should put Pauly Mac as their poster child, because wow doggy does this cat have some white teeth.  He's like an Orbitz Girl, but a boy, and not a girl. 

Song was great.  Randy the Dawg gushes.  J-Lo gushes.  Steven Tyler gushes. 

You know, I am just going fast forward through Nixa Armania, because... well, I just don't like her.  I'm sure personally, she's fun and nice and sweet and all that, but I don't like listening to her sing, and I'm still afraid when she gets booted, she'll be saved.  The Lovely Steph Leann walks in and asks me how I can blog about a performance when I don't even watch it.  I smile and say, "Watch me."

I did back up a little and watch the dancing I had heard about.  Or two seconds of it.  I saw that at The Festival of The Lion King at Animal Kingdom, so I wasn't impressed. 

And finally, with the tail back, The Straight Adam Lambert comes out to "Living For the City" by Stevie, once again.   He does a little quirky dance step on the stage walk way, and does a better job that his previous Idol performer did on hers. 

A little too much "yaaaaa!" for me, though.  Cut to the judges, and J-Lo is clapping, Randy the Dawg is bobbing, and Uncle Stevie is barely moving. 

J-Lo says "Oh my gah!" about four times in a crazy, Valley Girl voice.  The crowd goes wild for a minute or so, and J-Lo has to wait to talk.  She says he's an incredible thing to watch, leaving her speechless.  Randy the Dawg thought it was a little rough at the beginning, but got it right at the end of the song.  Steven Tyler says, "It takes a little being crazy to make a difference in this world..." and says the song was perfect--for The Straight Adam Lambert's voice.

My favorites:
The Soulful Jacob Lusk (tie) & Deep Voiced Scotty (tie)... Peepee Tuscany... Pauly Mac... Casey A... Haley Reinhart... America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina... The Straight Adam Lambert... Thiamegia... Stefano Italiano...  Noxama Agrabah

My Bottom Three predictions.. Stefano Italiano... Haley Reinhart... and Naimath Armstrong.  And unfortunately, I think Haley might go home tonight. 

RESULTS NOW

In a brief recap of Motown, plus tossing in clips of our Idols, our show begins.   Seacrusty comes out to tell us that approximately 74 billion people voted last night, from 1,344 different countries and 5 different planets... its time...

THIS IS AMERICAN IDOL RESULTS

Our Top 11 come out dresed to the 9s, and guess who has the plunging neckline?  Haley Reinhart.  She's got boobies and she's proud of them. 

We see a quick clip of the Idols learning about their pitch problems from none other than Mr. J-Lo, Marc Anthony, who looks really thin and emaciated.  Maybe he's sick, or maybe just broke after being married to J-Lo.

We fast forward through most of the Group Song, but I stop when I see Stevie Wonder onstage... I imagine the Idols are going nuts right now, performing with Stevie Wonder, in front of Steven Tyler.   After "Signed Sealed Delivered", Stevie calls out Steven, and sings a big birthday song to Steven Tyler. 

The Idols bring out a cake and a big card and all... this now sets the bar for The Lovely Steph Leann to make my own birthday bigger. 

Later, we get Oscar Winner and former Idol Jennifer Hudson, and a performance by Sugarland, but now, the results...

America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina, Deep Voiced Scotty and Peepee Tuscany come out to center stage.  The Sofa of Safety awaiting those we are safe, the Silver Stools of Suck awaiting the losers.  Seacrusty pulls a fast one again, saying, "Because of the outcome... you'll all be packing your bags... to go on the summer tour!"

With the 13 Idols, only 10 get to go on the summer tour, and tonight's Idol Elimination will be the final one that we'll never hear from again--anyone else eliminated after tonight will at least get to go on the summer tour.

Sugarland is up now, singing "Stuck Like Glue", which we hear half of it before we fast forward.

Then we get to the video of the Idols as they talk about The Straight Adam Lambert's obsession with wrestling.   Seacrusty comes back and says, "The Smackdown continues with the results..."

The Straight Adam Lambert and Pauly Mac now come to center stage, with The Silver Stools of Suck awaiting a butt to fill them.  Seacrusty talks about each one, and tells us, "Both of you guys are really not safe tonight..." and as their faces drop, cue Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" and the stage opens up... Hulk Hogan comes out, saying, "The both of you are safe!"   The Straight Adam Lambert is about to pass out. 

Then Hulk Hogan does a fake hit to Seacrusty, who falls into the audience and... well, commercial.

Back to results... Thiamegia, The Soulful Jacob Lusk and Stefano Italiano come out.  The Lovely Steph Leann predicts that Thiamegia will be Bottom Three.   I think it will be Stefano Italiano.

Seacrusty tells The Soulful Jacob Lusk to head back to the Safety Sofa.  Back to Thiamegia and Stefano Italiano... after the nationwide vote, Thiamegia heads to The Silver Stools of Suck.  And then, Stefano does the same.

Next, its Haley Reinhart, Nemoa Apebogbo and Casey A.  I would love for Neaixma to be Bottom Three, but I'm afraid its Haley.  And Seacrusty sends Noxema back to the Safety Sofa, and she's headed on Tour.  Yippee.

And out of Casey A and Haley Reinhart... and Casey Abrams heads to the Silver Stool of Suck.  We were told by Ryan Seacrest that tonight's results will "Shock you", and it is a mild surprise.

We fast forward through Jennifer Hudson singing, then catch Thiamegia getting sent back to the Safety Sofa.  Now, between Casey A and Stefano Italiano, one will go home.   Honestly, I can't imagine this season's Idol without Casey Abrams!

The person with the lowest number of votes is... Casey Abrams.  I'll be honest with you, I wasn't expecting that at all... and none of the other Idols were either, as all have opened mouths.  They cut to Randy the Dawg, who's jaw is on the floor. 

And as Casey starts to sing, the Randy the Dawg just waves his hands and says, "Stop! Stop!"  The music stops, Seacrusty is confused and Casey is bewildered.... Randy the Dawg says, "Dude, stop singing.  We know who you are, you don't have to sing."

Steven Tyler says, "Man, this is crazy wrong, there's no reason you should be going home, we are going to use the Save, you are staying here."  Casey A practically collapses and starts shaking uncontrollably, and runs down and hugs the judges and then hugs the parents and then collapses on Seacrusty again and the Idols on The Safety Sofa are crying and cheering and the audience is chanting "Casey!  Casey!  Casey!" and Steven Tyler shouts out "Listen to J-Lo for a minute!" and she tells Casey A that he needs to get back to his roots and be who he is and not try to be all crazy and such with the faces and scratchy and such and Casey A says, "I didn't think you would use the Save right now because there are 11 people here and this early I didn't know and..." and Seacrusty yells out that next week, two people will be eliminated and that it was already pre-determined that if something like this happened that there would be 11 people on the Summer Tour and not just 10 and...

And that was the craziest Idol elimination show finish I've ever seen.  Best.  Season.  Ever.

Don't "Turn Around"

Tonight was going to be a few more movie reviews--we just saw the movie "Just Wright", starring Queen Latifah and Common (!), upon the request of The Lovely Steph Leann, so I'll make sure we discuss this at length....

However, in the car tonight, something happened that I want to discuss, and I want to make sure that we understand something, you and me.  Tonight, The Lovely Steph Leann and I were on the way back from the movie show (we'll get to that), and I flipped a few channels on the radio until I came to 96.5, which is soft rock, and more importantly, in the evening, its the home of Delilah (deee-liii-laaaah... love someone to-niiiight...). 

And the song that was playing immediately hooked The Lovely Steph Leann and I, as we both jumped right in... "Turn around, bright eyes, every now and then I fall apart... turn around, bright eyes, every now and then I fall apart... and I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever and if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever and we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong, together we can take it to the end of the line, your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time)... I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark, we're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks... I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight, forever's gonna start tonight


"Once upon a time I was falling in love, but now I'm only falling apart... there's nothing I can do... a total eclipse of the heart... once upon a time there was light in my life, but now there's only love in the dark... nothing I can say... a total eclipse of the heart..."

I wrote out half that song, partly because I like to sing it as I'm typing, partly because I know you like to sing it and are doing it now, and partly because I wanted there to be no mistake about what song this is.   This song is called "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and its by a chick named Bonnie Tyler, from her 1983 album "Faster Than the Speed of Night".

The background vocals, the part that goes "turn around, bright eyes" is by a singer named Rory Dodd, who's claim to fame is this song, dozens of other songs doing background vocals, and the lead voice in an old Hungry Hungry Hippo commercial.  You can't make this stuff up.

The original song is a 7 minute opus of music, a monumental song that must who's choruse must be sung loudly until you get to "once upon a time there was light in my life...", upon which your voice must drop to an almost whisper.  If you hear this song on the radio, particularly on 96.5, you'd probably hear the criminally shortened 4 minute version...

...when I'm president in 2028, I'm going to expound an idea I've already discussed--that is to introduce legistlation that will criminalize and heavily fine any radio station that chooses to shorten "American Pie", "Lyin' Eyes" or even "Total Eclipse of the Heart"... Magic 96.5, I'm talking to you...

...anyway, this brings me to my point. 

This song gained more popularity when a chick named Nicki French did a cover of it... The Lovely Steph Leann admitted, "I actually heard the remake before I heard the original."  To which I replied, "Oh, the Nicki French version that came out a few years ago?"  A few years ago was actually 1994, but recently, this song came to light when GLEE did a version of it as well. 

And on Facebook, I saw a dozen people say something to the effect of "Oh, I loved it when they did 'Turn Around'!" and "Who sings that 'Turn Around' song?" and "I love that 'Turn Around Bright Eyes' song!!".  And I just cringed.

This song is not called, nor has it ever been called "Turn Around".  Or, "Turn Around Bright Eyes".  Yes, that is an oft-used phrase in the song, but that's not the title.  The title of the song is "Total Eclipse of the Heart".  The original is called "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and subsequent remakes are called likewise.

After this song was over, I said to The Lovely Steph Leann, "It kills me that people get this song wrong.  This song is too great, too amazing to be called 'Turn Around' by kids who don't know any better."   The Lovely Steph Leann just nodded, in her own way that says, "You're really goofy for worrying about this, but I'll agree..."

I continued, "If we don't teach Campbell Isaiah and Lorelei Addison anything else, my kids will know to their core that this song is called 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie freakin' Tyler from Nineteen Eighty freakin' three.  And I will teach them to mock incessantly anyone who calls it 'Turn Around'."  The Lovely Steph Leann looks at me, smiles and nods again. 

Any song that you and your beloved can immediately dive into together and sing together, no matter how off key (I speak of myself, not her) is a song to be embraced.  Because after "Total Eclipse of the Heart", up came Lionel Richie's "You Are", which we sang all the way into the garage of The Cabana.  

By the way, one of my favorite posts is when The Lovely Steph Leann said the line, "Lionel Richie is universal."  If you never read it, go check it out... its from 2007 and some of the references are dated (like news of a new Harry Potter park being built at Universal Studios in Orlando)... but nonetheless, the part with Lionel Richie is, in fact, a hoot.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2008... 90 to 81

If you are seeing this post on Facebook, chances are the videos won't even appear, much less work. Click over to Clouds in My Coffee to see everything.

90. Erin Formerly-Coates-Now-Whitehead.
She's a friend of mine from Troy State University, and now she is residing in Tallahassee, Florida. Granted, we weren't all that close in college, and honestly, its not like we are BFF now, but Facebook makes stronger friends out of former acquaintances, just like in this case. What's cool about her is that she's an army--scratch that, MARINE--wife... she reads the blog frequently, commenting here and there, and is a Conservative--which means she's got some sense...


Erin and myself on the FarmHouse Frat Riverboat Formal in... 1998? I was dating Melanie Jackson at the time so yes, it was 98. Either way, we were awesome. Still are.

Erin sent me this email not too long ago, something she had written entitled "What I Learned From This Deployment". It is a list of 8 hard-earned lessons about being a mom at home, while hubby is away helping defend our country. This is #8, and I don't think she'd mind me sharing.

Erin writes... "Marine Corps wives are some of the strongest people on the planet. Now, I am not saying that other military wives are not strong, but I didn’t spend the past 7 months with Army wives (except every Sunday night on Lifetime) so I can only attest to my Marine Wife Sisters. And they are incredible. They serve their country each and every day, even when their Marine is home. Because when he is gone they of course have to be Mom, Dad, nurse, chauffer, midnight mechanic, lawn maintainer (ok, I don’t do this but many do), housekeeper, cook, therapist, activities director, veterinarian, baker of 4 dozen brownies each month, and they occasionally do have to shower themselves.

Some of them have to bear the children, birth the children and nurse the children all alone. Some of them have fulltime careers. Some of them are full time volunteers. All of them worry on a daily basis and embrace change as a family mantra mandated by the Marine Corps. The are the very best at waiting. Waiting for them to leave, waiting for them to call, waiting for them to return, waiting for the movers, waiting for the orders that will change their lives once again.

When their Marines are home they take great pride in looking their very best when they accompany their Marine to the Birthday Ball to celebrate the rich history, traditions and overwhelming pride of the United States Marine Corps. They stay awake for long hours when their Marine is preparing for that next deployment just to kiss him goodnight. She listens to people criticize the wars that her husband fights in and while she may get furious and express her opinion, she rarely stoops to their level.

She helps her sister wife who is new to this whole Marine Corps thing by listening to her concerns and maybe by telling her when the very best time to shop at the commissary might be. And she also helps her sister wives who are “seasoned” when they are pulling out their hair because after 15 years they just don’t think they can take another minute. She helps to talk them off that ledge, because she knows she might need talking down in 5 minutes. And they do this with pride and strength and grace and courage. They laugh inside when people say “Don’t you just want your husband home?” because they know that as long as there are Marines, they will always be deployed.

Because America loves it’s Marine Corps, they need those Devil Dogs…and we as Marine Wives know why…the rest of the country gets to sleep under the blanket of freedom they help to provide. But we get the great honor of sleeping next to our Marine…even if it is only for a couple months out of every year.

Erin... you truly rock. And actually, upon further reflection, your sacrifice alone, added to your coolness, probably deserves a much higher ranking than 90... but here ya go.

89. Adding Music to the Blog
What a revolutionary idea! Not that a thousand other blogs are any different, but it all came about when I was reading The Angel's blog, and she had a player on hers. I thought, "Darn it, I have got to figure this out", so I did. And thus, in July, the Clouds started singing. Many people have enjoyed it, many people have given their feedback about what's good (and sometimes, what's not so good) each month, and Alan the Facebook Stalker (my very first one!) even told me that he rocked out to my December Christmas Playlist.

And I figure now is as good a time as any to give you the rundown on what's playing this month. I decided to post a list of my most played iPod tunes this past year--all of the following had at least 14 plays--you may say "What? That's not a lot of play time for a song to be at the top of your list" but seriously, remember I have over 10,000 songs on my iPod, in addition to almost a 100 audio books

"Two Tickets to Paradise" by Eddie Money. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how. This song somehow made it to my Hannah Pruitt playlist and it just went from there.

"If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" by Sting. Ever just had a song pop in your head, and you wanted to hear it then and there? That was the case with this one. And I just kept playing it all throughout the year.

"Full Moon" by Brandy. Possibly one of my top 20 favorite songs of all time, though I'm still waiting for someone to explain what "get to crackin' if you like" means. Anyone?

"Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne. Of course, we all think of Forrest Gump when this song comes on, but seriously, it is a great, great song.

"Kiss & Say Goodbye" by The Manhattans. Smooth, cool, adulterous R&B.

"Light in Your Eyes" by Blessid Union of Souls. This song will probably stay up another month, as I'm working updating 2006's "20 Saddest Songs Ever Sung" list, and the playlist will reflect that in February.

"The Story" by Brandi Carlile. We've been over this in one of my most popular postings as of late.

"American Boy" by Estelle, ft Kanye West. One of my favorite new songs of the year.

"I May Hate Myself in the Morning" by Lee Ann Womack. In 2008, I think I really became quite the Lee Ann fan, listening to her previous works and loving it (all but "I Hope You Dance")

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by Al Green. So slow, so cool, so Al Green. I sound like a Time/Life CD Collection commercial.

"Sail On" by Lionel Richie & the Commodores. The Lovely Steph Leann loves this one... Lionel Richie is Universal, of course. He keeps popping up all over, actually.

"Godspeed" by The Dixie Chicks. Now, as noted in my Dixie Chicks essay a week or so ago, this isn't my favorite of theirs. In fact, this one only had about 7 or 8 plays on the iPod--"Tortured Tangled Hearts" had 15. But since Playlist.com didn't have that one, I chose this one to represent.

"Killin' Time" by Clint Black. Just like The Chicks, the real Clint song that had 14 plays, "A Good Run of Bad Luck", wasn't available. So I picked this one. For whatever reason, I went on a Clint Black run for a while, lapping up his music over and over. And for that same reason, that's over now.

"You and I Both" by Jason Mraz. This became one of my favorite songs to sing in the car this year. I've actually come to realize that I kinda like Jason Mraz.

"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. Naturally.

"Snow (hey oh)" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of the coolest things of 2007, this song continues to be cool. It's addicting.

"Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson. Again, falling into the same predicament as Clint Black and The Dixie Chicks, I couldn't find a copy of "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City", featured in a Dave100 Top Ten Movie. I picked this one out, though I really wish the other had been there.

"Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak. This one caught me off guard. At the end of the year, I opened up iTunes and clicked on "play count". Eddie Money was on top, tied with Sting with 17 plays each. There was Nilsson, and the Chili Peppers, and Clint Black and a few others and then... Chris Isaak? Seriously? Yep. Fourteen times I've listened to Chris wail about not wanting to fall in love. Hottest. Video. Ever.

"Loungin'" by LL Cool J. If the world existed with no The Rock, there's a chance my man-ffections would be geared toward Cool J instead. He's just hot. And cool. And this song rocks, as it did 15 times on my iPod.

88. The Year of the Sharpie
Am I the only one who likes to write everything with a fine point Sharpie? Seriously... on my calendar, I actually use four different colors--red for birthdays & holidays, blue for events, black for The Happiest Place in the Mall schedule and green for my Starbucks shifts--but I've even taken to using them in my journals for church. I love Sharpies.

87. "Shut Up and Sing"
I discussed this last week, but I did feel like it warranted a place in my list. It was just a great, great documentary, so much so that I want to see it again--and I like it because it doesn't excuse The Chicks from anything they did, but treats their response--and its consequences--with respect. Go watch.

86. "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas For Millions" by Ben Mezrich
Supposedly a non fiction account, it tells the story of Kevin Lewis, an MIT student who was recruited by a card-counting group to hit casinos and do just that--count cards. Mezrich discusses the rise of the team, how they went and took out one casino after another in Vegas, Atlantic City and even small riverboat locations, and how eventually, they were blacklisted and sometimes treated to some violent efforts to get them to stop.

I say "supposedly a non-fiction account", because its been reported that many of the incidents in the story were either made up, or called under questioning for their accuracy by those who were there, on either side. Whatever did or didn't happen, it makes for a fabulous, quick read.

FYI, this was the basis for the Kevin Spacey movie "21", which I haven 't seen, but apparently has very little to do with the book, other than the card-counting team aspect.

85. Toolbox Hunting With the Boys
Back in June, I got to hang out with Paulie Walnuts, J Rob and Croyle... here's what I wrote:

The plan, originally, was for J Rob to find a used tackle or tool box, but as the afternoon wore on, it was pretty clear that he just wanted an excuse to go out to thrift stores. Perhaps the best one I'd ever seen was on Highway 150, right across from the Wal-Mart shopping center. Very clean, very organized. We somehow visited one in Centerpoint, then another in Centerpoint, which was like a football field full of nothing but crap.

You can read the whole darn affair here, including the crotch rocket guy, in a post entitled "Shania, Obama and Other Randomness". It was quite a fun afternoon...

84. "Roller Coaster Tycoon 3"
Had fun with Roller Coaster Tycoon, had a blast with Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, and so of course, I had to upgrade with Part 3, which is even better. The leap from 2 to 3 is about a billion times better than the 1 to 2 upgrade. The graphics are better, the rides are better, and though I'm just getting started (I've had it for a while, but let's face it, with two jobs, three blog sites, Facebook, The Lovely Steph Leann, the iPod, Lost, CSI, Mindy D'Andrea, Wii Fit, KT, family, laundry and other stuff, who has the time for anything?) I'm excited about it!

What's fun about Tycoon is that I have a few names during each game... I always call The Scrambler "Mikey's Scramble Butt" for Michael Nipp, I usually name a wooden roller coaster "Ashley's Spell" for just that very person, a metal crazy warped roller coaster gets named "The Hawbaker Hellfire" for Jess and James, and the merry-go-round is called "Princess Stephanie's Carousel". Maybe I do have too much free time.

83. Melissa Clark
She is gorgeously hot. She has a good lookin' man. Her children are just about perfect. She joined Facebook and it looks like her family is, or at least looks, perfect. But after all that, she's one of the most down to Earth, friendliest, fun people I know. We are in KidStuf--Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) Children's Theater--together, but she's also the girl who cuts my hair. Her client list is so popular, she has a waiting list to get on it. I'd say in 2008, my hair got much better.


Melissa, sans man, with her two perfect kids. Of course, she'd probably beg me to differ on that...

82. "Kung Fu Panda"
No, we don't have it. So please don't come into The Happiest Place in the Mall asking for Kung Fu Panda stuff. You won't find it.

That being said, this movie was really, really funny. Credit Jack Black for making Po a great character, and the story line for being entertaining.

81. David Cook Performs
American Idol had several good choices this year, including Young David Archuleta, My Next American Idol Brooke White, and the eventual winner, David Cook. He gave very different, very good performances which set him apart from everyone and anyone... one was his take on Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby"--a white rocker guy singing R&B diva Mariah, and pulling it off? Amazing. Another was his version of Lionel Richie's "Hello". Does it always come back to Lionel "Universal" Richie?


His rocked out version of "Hello", with no cheese head sculpture--not saying its better or worse without it...

Of course, nothing can top the performance of the year, which was truly "Billie Jean"... this is one of those that will go down in Idol history as memorable and much loved.


Not as good as Michael Jackson's, but the lack of small boys and Neverland Ranch helps here

Coming soon... Bobowen gets a store, Bret gets a girl and someone gets a Pruitt Cool Award

Hey... Lionel Richie Is Universal

We're sitting at The Purple Onion, a great Greek place here in The Ham, and just having great conversation like best friends do. Over head, we hear "You are the sun, you are the rain, you make my life a foolish game...", so turn to Steph Leann and say "Hmm... kinda weird we'd hear Lionel in The Purple Onion.


Say you. Say me. Say it for always. Lional Richie.

Without missing a beat, she says, "Hey... Lionel Richie is universal". So, then, a few weeks later, I'm sitting and watching Vh1's Most Softsational Songs, and during "Hello", one of the commentators says "Did you know Lionel Richie is huge in Iraq?" Cut to L-Rich himself who says "It's weird, because they know every word to every song...", and then you see an Iraqi woman who says, in broken English, "Allo... is it me you look for? I wonder where you are..."
So, yes, Lionel Richie truly is universal.

Here's some links and stories to pass the time today...
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I just discovered Scott Baio has his own reality show, coming on Vh1. The title? "Scott Baio is 45 and Single"

Okay, so when I said "Scott Baio raise your hand if the first thing you thought of was "I want Charles in charge of my days and my nights..."? And I'll bet 90% of you who did not raise your hand haven't ever heard of Scott Baio, and that saddens me.
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Unfortuntely, I don't have many font options here on Blogger. Though I prefer Trebechet, it doesn't transfer well to MySpace, so I just use Georgia, the default font. When doing documents and spreadsheets, my font of choice is Arial Narrow. Count me in the crowd that thinks Comic Sans is overrated and overused. However, I must beg the question, what's up with Helvetica?
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Ever bought a CD because of a great song, only to find out its the only good song on the whole album? This happened to me in 1992 when I picked up The Proclaimers "Sunshine on Leith", because "500 Miles (I Would Walk)". Terrible album, save for one single good track. Rolling Stone has issued their own list of the 25 greatest songs from bad albums. Elton John is listed twice.

Along the same lines, Spinner Magazine listed its choices for the 25 Most Monumental Album Flops. I was a little shocked, yet amused, that U2 was first band on the list. (By the way, I totally own "Fairweather Johnson" and think its awesome. So there. Of course, I also own "Glitter", but... um, next link)
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Here's something fun... what would Lilly Rush from "Cold Case" make? Or, what about Lynette from "Desperate Housewives"? As in, what would they make in the real world? And Meredith Grey makes far less that I would have imagined...
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And speaking of Grey's Anatomy, Katherine Heigl is a smoker. That turns me off totally... of course, as the episodes have rolled by, and Steph Leann and I have watched them season by season, I'm beginning to think that I find Meredith more attractive than Izzie. My lovely wife, however, is still a McDreamy fan.


Shouldn't the twentysometing hot blonde be preferrable to the late 30s brunette? Perhaps not. Maybe is a sign 'm getting older. I mean, thirtysomething Steph Leann is preferrable any blonde I know.
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FYI... just saw this story on Fox News. Because I know her, I actually knew this months ago. I've seen them together. It was so odd, I called my wife and my sister to tell them so. Personally, I am surprised it took this long to hit the news, but really don't think its a big deal.
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Want a way to kill, like, an hour when you should be working? I got four words for ya...
Celebrity Mustache dot com

It has a great picture of a mulleted Michael Bolton AND a Stamos sighting
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Crap! I can't believe we missed it! Bidding ended on June 1st! (well, it cost $5,000 to ship, so I guess its okay that I didn't win it)
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Went to Wal-Mart earlier tonight, and three things caught my attention...

1) As I was driving through the parking lot, the ice cream truck was pulled over. Next to it were three police cars, officers walking around the truck, and some dude being interrogated. I was expecting Chris Hansen to walk out holding chat transcript and say "why don't you have a seat right there". (by the way, I'm totally buying his book)

2) I stopped by Sonic (settle down, settle down, I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a Coke. No tots. For those who know me well, "no tots" is a big sacrifice). While I waited for the food, I heard Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape" over head. Now, I like this song, I really do... but I have heard it SIX times this weekend, none on the radio--its in restaurants, gas stations and on tv shows. And I always hear Akon's "woo-hoo! wee-hoo! woo-hoo! wee-hoo!"

3) Every Wal-Mart has this aisle they just throw various crap like books, toys, electronics, socks, baby gear, and slap a red sticker on it with a "get this crap outta here!" price on it. While perusing the aisle, I noticed a radio/cassette Walkman. When I was in 8th grade (in 1989), I wanted one soooo badly. It was like, $40, and no 8th grader has $40 lying around. So I never got one. Tonight, however? $4. Four dollars. I almost bought it just on principal.
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As reported to me first by my friend Nikki, they are planning to build a Harry Potter theme park in Orlando's Universal Studios. How much fun will that be? Perhaps it will be done by Thanksgiving, when we head that way.
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Watching some of MTV's Movie Awards, and like it has been the past few years, its pretty boring. Of course, Sarah Silverman's really dirty (but really, really funny) jab at Paris Hilton was great, if only because they cut to Paris in the audience, and she was not happy.

Mike Myers got the Generation Award, or whatever they call it, and though I like Mike Myers, it surprised me that when he came out to accept it, he got a good applause... but no standing ovation. They always give standing O's when getting a special award like this... but not this time. The Sports Guy said it once, and I agree... has any series of movies held up worse over time (as in, we just don't quote or talk about them like we did when they were new) than the Austin Powers movies? Except maybe the Wayne's World movies?
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Two songs I just downloaded... "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers (with Michael McDonald singing lead), and "This Is It" by Kenny Loggins.
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New movie called "Good Luck Chuck" coming out this summer. Starring Dane Cook, its about a guy who finds himself the victim of some curse because when he sleeps with a girl, she finds the man of her dreams. This makes him very popular with the ladies who are looking to settle down.

The only reason I mention this is because this has been done before... well, not exactly, but I found myself in the midst of a similar situation. Like, from 1993 to 1996, I was in this streak where six out of seven girls I dated married the guy they dated after me, including Chrissy Bullock, Heather Howell and Melanie Jackson, (whom I count because she didn't really date Reggie McCallister).
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Because I've always loved her, even since college, I naturally try to see any movie featuring The Hollywood Goddess. Her latest flick, "Bug", stars said Goddess and some guy named Michael Shannon, who starred in the stage play the film is based on.

The Hollywood Goddess plays Agnes, who, for whatever reason, actually lives in a rundown Oklahoma middle-of-nowhere motel room. She works in a lesbetarian bar with her friend R.C., and one night R.C. brings into Agnes' room a strange guy named Peter Evans (Michael Shannon). He actually sounds like Peter Weller, to be honest.

Anyway, long story short, Peter gets paranoid that he is crawling with bugs, internally and externally, and Agnes is so lonely and desperate for anything to believe in, she hangs on his every word... and slowly, the couple... (wait for the cliche)... descends into madness.

This movie was weird. I'm not even sure if this qualifies for The McGriddle Effect, to be honest with you. As soon as the lights came on at the end, this brother and his boo in the front row both stood up, and he shouted "We gotta get up outta here".

"Bug" makes for another entry into a unfortunately growing longer line of crap that The Goddess has found herself a part of. Perhaps after I finally do my Nic Cage blog, I'll do one about my love and devotion to Ashley Judd.
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And finally, my favorite Lionel Richie song is "Stuck On You". Its a great little that says "Im stuck on you, I got this feelin' down deepin my soul that I just can't lose... I guess I'm on my way. I needed a friend, and the way I feel now I guess I'll be with you 'til the end... I guess I'm on my way. I'm mighty glad you stayed."

Story goes that Lionel was on tour in the early 80s, and he was at a truck stop. Big trucker dude came up, and told Lionel how much he loved that "Once, two times, three times my lady" song. Lionel smiled, accepted the compliment, and the trucker followed it up with, "Yeah, reminds me of my ol' lady. We been together a long time. I shore am stuck on her."
The phrase "stuck" with Lionel and he went back to his hotel room and wrote "Stuck On You" in about thirty minutes. And now you know.
And knowing is half the battle. (GI JOE!!! Woo-hoo! Wee-hoo! Woo-hoo! Wee-hoo!)