Today after I picked up kidlet from kindergarten, we jetted down to Ceres for some gloomy day movie cheer. Clue strangely put us to sleep but then Miss D, kidlet, and I watched us the crap out of some Goonies. We watched every single feature it had. Maybe even to our detriment.

One of the features we watched, which I'd never seen before in its … I'm not sure what to call it? totality?, was a two-part music video put together by director Richard Donner, theme songstress and my fantasy fairy godmother Cyndi Lauper, with a cameo by producer Steven Spielberg, to promote the film. I don't even have words for the surreality of watching the video. It was really something. I will not soon forget it. These are my neutral words.

[The video features] World Wrestling Federation pro-wrestlers André the Giant, Captain Lou Albano, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Wendy Richter, The Fabulous Moolah, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Freddie Blassie; Steven Spielberg; The Goonies cast (except for Kerri Green, Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Davi and John Matuszak*); and the relatively unknown Bangles as a group of female pirates. Roseanne Barr appears as the “sea hag”. Lauper’s mother appears as “Cyndi’s mother”, reprising her role from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. — (the wiki)

*The lead cast members from the film who do not appear in this video are those playing Andy, Ma Fratelli, and the Fratelli brothers.

The plot runs like this: Cyndi’s folks run a Mom and Pop gas station that is being bought out by villains from the WWF, each attired as a different weird stereotype. Unfortunately, they also have dialogue. Cyndi and her brother? friend? and sister? his wife? are helping Mom and Pop (Cap’n Lou) pack up the ol’ place while the nouveau riche chew up the scenery and generally set up quickie symbols of their wealth such as a Benihana-type joint in the middle of the parking lot, which many consider the international sign of good taste and refinement, some to the point of exclusion. (Do not even try to talk dimsum on rollerskates to them; they will not listen.)

Cyndi discovers a secret cave behind a painting of their grand-ancestor, where she encounters the Goonies, who help her decode a map she lifted off a dead guy — real fuckin’ nice, Cyn — but then some pirates show up, and Roseanne Barr. Oh my god, nightmare combination! The Bangles are there, too, but they do not try to sing. In the chase that ensues, Cyndi stops real quick for some hibachi, creating a prevalent and provocative ongoing theme in the video.

Perhaps this is meant to make us reflect on the marketing of foreign cuisine in America, or on materialism and the ease with which an ordinary item common to one country can acquire peculiar clout in another country. Or perhaps it is merely included in order to set up a joke that is some straight racist garbage: ie, the following picture’s caption.

The pirates and the sea hag enslave the kids at murky tasks like, um, stirring big pots, and force Cyndi to dress like a Floridian prostitute while carrying buckets and singing (they do not allow her to stop singing even once).

Cyndi and her friends manage to overthrow the pirates and get away with some loot from the ship, but the “cheatin’ creditors” will not accept it as payment for Mom and Pop’s debt on the shop. Not even when she repeatedly bites it to prove its value! I know, right? If only she had offered them some fresh, dope funky fun hibachi.

As it is, Cyndi grows weary of attempting to convince the creditors to accept her jewels as payment, and whistles as one only does for a taxicab or deus ex machina. And what is it going to be?

Why, it’s Andre the Giant, and I am pretty sure he is literally still wiping coke from under his nose when he first appears! He beats up and chases away the creditors, which means the debt is legally and officially cleared forever, duh, and the video ends with this triumphant shot.

Oh, my god, I want that to happen to me every day after I die. I believe in an afterlife, unless I am in a particularly foul and doubtful and wobegone mood, and of course Andre the Giant is there waiting for me so we can finally hang out and stuff, and I hope so fervently that every single day when I greet him in Heaven he scoops me up and we cheer and do ’80s fistpumps in the air. It’s gonna be sick.

So here’s the video if after a report on all that insanity you need audiovisual confirmation of its existence.

Finally, my secret crush from this movie may be reported to be Data, because I squeal when he comes on screen, but really deep down it’s actually:

Martha Fuckin’ Plimpton. Her and Jan Brady can come live with me and finally be appreciated the way they deserve.

Akie and I discussed the state of the female musician in this week’s Perpetual Post.

____________

There’s something missing from the women of mainstream American music today. I don’t want to generalize and say ALL of American music, because I know that’s not true. But among those females whom fate or luck or talent has elevated to the heights of fame and fortune, I feel that there is a distinct lack of a certain je ne se quoi that for simplicity’s sake I’m going to refer to as SWAGGER.

Where are you, crazy rock goddesses? Where is your cheerful destructiveness, your wild and devil may care ‘go fuck yourself’ attitude? Your MOXIE?! Why, when I want to live vicariously through a rough and ready rock musician, does it STILL always have to be a man—and one who is usually over fifty, to boot? Who is going to step up and take the torch of the ass-kicking, take-no-prisoners rock star away from Keith Richards, before he smokes it down to nothing? And why can’t it that person be a woman?

I’ve endured so many disappointments during my search for a smart, self-assured female musician with flinty eyes, awesome hair and staggering talent who doesn’t take shit from anybody. In the beginning I had high hopes for Amy Winehouse, but then she started losing weight and doing drugs and that went nowhere fast. Pink piqued my interest for a little while, but there’s still something kind of manufactured and by-the-numbers about her. Britney Spears is a puppet; Christina Aguilera is a ghoul. Lady Gaga is a pretentious twit. Katy Perry is like the Hello Kitty of pop music. Fergie can be kind of a bad-ass in her own right, and there’s something a little crazy and half-baked about her; she might be the closest thing I can find to what I’m looking for, but I’m still unsatisfied. She’s no Pat Benatar.

And don’t come at me talking about Beyonce or Miley Cyrus. I’m not looking for a diva, or a child. Rihanna either; the kind of icon I crave would have eaten Chris Brown for breakfast. Bjork is borderline; she’s half out of this world, although she doesn’t seem to give a shit what anyone things of her, which I appreciate. Modern female pop stars on the whole, though, lack the charisma and charm of Cyndi Lauper; the poise of Stevie Nicks—not to mention the steely, hungry ambition that has made Madonna a force to reckon with for going on thirty years.

So-called ‘girl groups’ are also a whole lot of nothing. You could replace each member of the Pussycat Dolls or Danity Kane with a different person, and I’d bet you 75% of their fans wouldn’t notice right away. Each member of those bands is carefully crafted and coiffed and insultingly counterfeit. At least bands like the Spice Girls knew they were a fluffy, manufactured joke—and they were in on it.

Hugely successful all-female bands didn’t used to be cotton-candy assemblages. The Go-Go’s, the Bangles—these were bands whose members played their own instruments and even wrote some of their own songs. Instead of being cobbled together from soul-shriveling auditions filled with aspiring models and actresses, they sprang organically from hard-working and talented female singers and musicians. Somehow we managed to go from, “Hi, I’m Kathy Valentine, and I’m out of my fucking mind and having the best time ever.” to “Hi, I’m the Blond Pussycat Doll, and these are my tits.” Is the genre de-evolving?!

Maybe it’s the times we live in. Maybe it’s difficult for celebrities of any kind to be reckless and raw and learn lessons the hard way anymore. Maybe by the time you attain a certain level of fame in the music business these days, you’ve already got publicists and stylists and handlers and an image to uphold. Or maybe I’m wrong! Am I forgetting someone? I’m throwing down a gauntlet here, but I’d be ever so pleased to be schooled in the world of female musicians who are actually inspiring to either females or musicians. Please, PLEASE, give me some hope. Hit me with your best shot.

1. Pete Burns becomes Faye Dunaway! I did know that Dead or Alive frontman (you know… “You spin me right round, baby right round…”) became a woman. That is decade-old news that Mtv already touched upon in their own series of 80s tributes a couple years back. I didn’t, however, see his latest female persona in which Burns has dyed his hair blond, packed his lips full of mumble-inducing Botox, and of course, made an obligatory appearance on a reality-TV show in which D-list celebrities act like assholes to revive their faded popularity. The lead singer of Dexy’s Midnight Runners attempted the same, but keeping it simple: an ugly man who likes to crossdress.

2. Young MC was an economics major who wrote “‘Bust a Move” (look for actor Max Perlich and RHCP bassist Flea!) in about an hour in his dorm room. He, too, made the obligatory reality-TV appearance, though it was a celebrity weight-loss show.

3. Let’s Talk About God, Baby… DJ Jazzy Jeff shows up in Salt & Peppa’s “Push It” video! And, although an incredibly hip duo, they split after about a decade of producing hits because Peppa (or was it Salt?) became the obligatory former badass girl celebrity turned reformed Born-Again (see also Prince’s ex-collaborator, Vanity).

4. Eric Foreman (or rather, Topher Grace as Eric Foreman) could play lead singer of REO Speedwagon should there be a biopic in the works before Topher Grace actually starts aging.

5. When you can’t play, but can rock… Spectacle rock bands like Kiss and Twisted Sister are living proof that it can literally pay to make at least one simple hit party tune. Because even if it is a stupid song (like “Cum On Feel the Noise”), it can be licensed up the ying yang, paying out in royalties long after the music career is over. Case in point: Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Because really, who can take Dee Snyder singing about being a rebellious bad ass when he’s wearing the makeup of a stand-in for Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? 80’s music, above all else, really highlights the birth of megalomanic consumer culture. (Duh!)

6. The Clash were dubbed the “only band that mattered” at one time. Or, to quote Vince Noir (who a similar comment about Human League): “Before them, everything else was just tuning up.” VH1 only seems to think there are two members of The Clash (Mick Jones and Joe Strummer are the only two they offered Where Are They Now info on), and even failed to mentioned the late Strummer’s work in film soundtracks, particularly collaborating on several films with cult British director, Alex Cox. Which, considering Strummer’s musical contributions to Sid & Nancy, is especially ironic given the rivalry between punk’s primitive Sex Pistols and the sophisticated Clash.

7. The rivalry among the Police: It’s old news that, despite the number of hits put out by the British trio The Police, the band was increasingly at odds. Guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stuart Copeland both cite Sting’s ego as the major source of contention. In fact, in the 90s, VH1 had developed a celebrity version of music jeopardy that ran for about three episodes. Police guitarist Andy Summers appeared as a guest in the first episode and completely flubbed the Final Jeapordy question at the end purposefully as an opportunity to zing Sting’s ego. It was obviously a had-to-be-there moment.

8. Modern English was a little ticked that their publishing company sold the rights to their “I’ll Stop the World (and Melt With You)” to Burger King since the keyboardist was a vegan. Though, as lead singer Robbie Grey said, “…then again, it was $90 thousand dollars.”

9. Before breaking for commercials, this VH1 special featured pre-concert clips of mega band fans from the 80s. Research suggests that 90% of these fans were big-haired female residents of Northern New Jersey, which in turn correlates with the concentration of Aqua Net sales. I also enjoyed the clip of male heavy metal fans with equally massive bouffants expressing their love for the rebellious music, as illustrated in the hairstyles that might have prevented being employed in “a better job,” though the same research also suggests that hair wasn’t the only decisive factor.

10. Ol’ Whats-Er-Name… These idiots completely failed to mention that Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” was originally a (well-done) R&B song performed by Gloria Jones on the Motown label in the late ’70s. Of course, they mentioned all those who did the song that came after Soft Cell… And okay, college rock superstars, R.E.M., made the list… but where the fuck are their Minnesota rivals, The Replacements?!

11. MTV owns VH1. Given specials run by both on the 80s, it’s hard to believe the corporation behind the original music channel now own so few licenses. It’s the only thing that can explain why the same handful of 100 songs are selected for these kind of filler shows. On a side note, MTV’s last great moment as a channel actually devoted to promoting music was in the late 90s when it aired (in full) the top 500 music videos over the course of several days. What a pity.

12. In his close-ups in the Wham! video “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” George Michael very closely resembles the retarded fruit vendor in Amelie.

13. Ever watch a music video of a song that you have loved for so long only to find out that the band is actually incredibly gay? I don’t mean homosexual, but rather, “ghhheyyyy” (to borrow Ed’s Shaun of the Dead pronunciation) meaning embarrassingly corny? The lead singer of British guitar band, The Cult, loved digging through Prince’s hand-me downs, searching for those frilly shirts and applying the artificial beauty mark. And while true, the catchphrase “gender-bending” has come to frequently define the decade’s music videos, it kept a decent 80s guitar band from gaining more respect. Their songs really weren’t party hits like working-class-esque Journey churned out, nor did they produce the kind of nonsense music that accommodated the theatrics of hair bands from that period. So in conclusion, the manufactured persona was more like a failed PR move. On a side note, Axel Rose’s high hair look in the “Welcome to the Jungle” video looks suspiciously modeled on Rebecca DeMornay’s club look scenes in Starships’s “Sara.”

14. How do you know when you’re watching a re-run countdown filler show about the 80s? The King [of Pop] isn’t dead yet.

15. Almost none of the bands featured in this filler countdown show disappeared. So while 80s fans might feel old for recognizing the songs their younger counterparts might not (or not be quite as obsessed with), the bands got even older. So, everybody wins! Also, I wonder if the guy featured in the clip of the die-hard Frankie Goes to Hollywood fan (dressed in the dark glasses, tux shirt and bowtie rather than the traditional “Frankie Says Relax” t-shirt) who claimed that the British pop sensation wasn’t just another short-lived fad (citing the Beatles as one example) still feels the same way? And more importantly, is still so dedicated so as to wear the same clothes.

16. If a band’s lead singer dies and they replace the lead singer via a contest held on television (INXS) or with members from other successful bands (Queen, Alice in Chains), they should consider writing new material as a new band. Otherwise, they’re more like a cover band.

17. Suzanna Hoffs of the Bangles married the director of Austin Powers. The VH1 special failed to mention Hoff’s own late 80s attempt at movies, particularly in the spectacularly awful Allnighter, which starred Hoffs and was written by her mother.

18. Osama Bin Laden is obsessed with Whitney Houston and once joked to his mistress that he’d kill Bobby Brown? No… no… I’m  not making it up. But are they?! I mean, this is the same world in which Michael Jackson is still living!

Where to start…I’ve been lagging I know. We celebrated Mike’s birthday on Saturday and whooo hooo he’s finally 30! Hello my name is Ali and I’m a cradle robber. (Hi Ali!) I also got a little part-time gig at my old school. It should be pretty cool although it isn’t going to be extra money in the end. It will however be extra experience, which works too. I forgot how hard it is to wake up “early” and how the traffic on the 405 in the morning is some bullshit. Good times. I also picked up another freelance writing job for a medical marijuana magazine. Talk about stretching one’s mind. Exactly. Work shit aside…

Erin and I went to see The Bangles last week after I won some tickets on Jill FM. Those bitches sound and look INCREDIBLE and they are 50!!! WTF? Note to self: apply more eye cream. I didn’t realize until we got there I only really know four songs so sitting through the other songs just meant stellar people watching. Which I love and which was excellent as expected. 

I’m still doing the countdown of course, eight days away in case you were wondering. I was so pumped because on NBA TV they air a few preseason games and this Sunday (after sloooooow moving…I mean exciting football) it was my 76ers and the Suns. Awesome right? (At least for me.) Well it turned out to be not so awesome because it was broadcast out of Mexico. Now don’t get me wrong, (Sandra the hater) I love Mexico. I just don’t love that they broadcast the whole game in Spanish. VERY UNCOOL. Not that I think Spanish is uncool…but…when I want to hear the commentary it makes it rather difficult. Although I did love the way they pronounced Stoudemire. They made it seem like he might be related (somehow) to Sonia Sotomayo. Brilliant!

So as you all know basketball is my thing, not baseball. Tonight however, my neighbor is going balls out crazy over the Dodgers/ Phillies game. I decided when he hoots and hollers at whatever the Dodgers are doing; I’d return the favor by doing the exact opposite. Lucky for my eyes…I turned this game on. I always think of baseball players as sloppy fat dudes who are nearing midlife so imagine my surprise when I saw this guy Matt Kemp on the Dodgers!! Hello daddy! I don’t know who he is but I must Google. I’m still not rooting for them though. (No offence Mikey) Not just because of my a-hole neighbor either, because of Jimmy Rollins. Damn…no I’m not switching sports but…damn!

I guess this will need a revision soon...

Funny how things circle around and back again. I bought and liked Emitt Rhodes‘ debut album when it first came out, but somehow I didn’t catch the insatiable bug for his music that so many other power pop lovers seem to have caught. Besides, I’m in New York City and I’m being bombarded with all kinds of sounds as the music of the 60s come crashing to a halt and FM radio finally cuts the umbilical cord to AM radio. Rock stars were dying, The Beatles were defunct, psych and garage and prog and glam and metal and a hundred other things were coming at me at warp speed. Can’t blame me for not following every single tangent. And by the time this one hit the wall, I didn’t even notice.

Several years later, I’m working in a Syracuse record store (which used to be a prestigious job. Hell, I had to audition!) and Ray Paul’s 45 comes across the desk. Looks interesting, so I play it. Sounds great, so I buy it. Ray is from Rochester, just an hour or so up the road, but that’s a million miles at the time. And those other singles are telling me things like “God Save The Queen” and “So It Goes” , so a momentary pleasure is enjoyed and the single gets added to the collection.

Maybe two decades later, I finally meet Ray Paul in California at Poptopia. It’s ironic; he now lives in Los Angeles while I’m in his former hometown of Rochester.  I tell him the story about the single; he tells me about his friendship with Emitt Rhodes. (I don’t remember if we met Emitt that night – Ray and I  tipped more than a few pints that evening along with a couple of magazine editors). Within another year or two, he and Emitt release a new single on Ray’s Permanent Press label. I catch the bug.

And today, a decade after that meeting, Ray – now a friend as well as a musician I enjoy - emailed me with great news. The Emitt Rhodes film documentary, “The One Man Beatles“, will premiere  at the Rome International Film Festival on October 21st & 22nd. Ray was interviewed extensively for the film, along with Keith Olsen, Michael Penn, The Bangles, Joel Larson, Allison Anders, Janice Fortier, Dan Mayer and Jim Rolfe.  “The film, which is in the running for best documentary in  the festival, includes several songs which will be on the forthcoming  CD performed live in the studio by the new Emitt Rhodes Band. English narration is currently being put together for the release in the USA.”

The film announcement is exciting enough, but a new Emitt Rhodes album?? Wow!! Now that Ray lives in Rochester again, I guess it’s time to celebrate with a few pints on this coast.

A link to the film festival website.

Don’t know Emitt Rhodes? Here’s a link that will fill you in while you await the new film and album (and – hopefully – some live performances?)

Emitt wiki page

Ray Paul’s MySpace page.

Permanent Press Records

jeg innser at denne serien neppe blir så langvarig som jeg hadde håpet. det finnes ikke så mange sanger om mandag som jeg hadde håpet på. hvorfor, hvorfor låtskrivere? er det én dag som trenger musikk er det jo mandagen, som enten må kickstartes eller eases inn i. selv gjorde jeg mer av det første, og selv om mandagen ikke føles så veldig manisk så har jeg jo noen ting jeg må få unna. må.

så with no further ado, all the way from 1986:

The Bangles – Manic Monday

Recent photo of The Bangles

This article from CNN.com is a few months old but… The Bangles! I used to have such a crush on Susanna Hoffs! Its good to see such a great band from the 80s still making music. According to CNN, the group got back together in 2000, in 2003 they released the album “Doll Revolution,”

Doll Revolution - 2003

and they are currently working on a new album.

From CNN.com – While shoulder pads and big hair are no longer part of the Bangles’ repertoire, those glorious harmonies remain … The Bangles talked to CNN about fine wine, being horrified by the decade that made them and stumbling across embarrassing photos on the Web.

Watch the video on CNN.com here.

Read the article on CNN.com here.

The Bangles in the 80s

Hawaii Celebrates New Year’s Eve with the Bangles
A party with the BANG.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1347107/hawaii_celebrates_new_years_eve_with.html

Colours and Colours and Colours and Colours

Hey Guys,

Mr. Mister – Kyrie (1986)

Rod Stewart – Baby Jane (1983)

Eddie Money – Walk on Water (1988)

The Bangles – Manic Monday (1986)

Why don’t I hear more Rod Stewart blasting when I’m out at bars. Seriously.

One of their best songs . . . and with Mr. Spock!

Written by Kimberly Rew, of Katrina and the Waves.  More info here.

Música de los 80. Este tema fue compuesto por Prince para este grupo formado solo por chicas.

Klynn, a friend, and I went to Velvet Sessions this past week to see The Bangles perform, and I have to say it was a fantastic show! These girls still ROCK! Honestly, it exceeded my expectations by far.

A few of the well-known songs they performed were “Hazy Shade of Winter” (opening number), “In Your Room,” “Eternal Flame,” and “Manic Monday.”

I recently purchased a new camera (which I’ve already returned) – the quality of pictures pretty much stink, but I thought I’d post a few here so you can get an idea of what the show was like. Hope you enjoy….



If you ever have an opportunity to go to Velvet Sessions at the Hard Rock Hotel, I highly recommend it!

There seems to be quite the hate on for Mondays. I get that Monday means that the weekend is over and work/school starts it’s seemingly never ending cycle over again, but really, if you dread the thought of work on Mondays than you should probably find a new job. School is not so easy, but it gets better… for some.
Anyway, the point: Some of the best pop songs are about the atrocity of Monday, the first came into my head about 3 seconds after I woke up today as it is Monday and it is raining.

“Rainy Days and Mondays” by The Carpenters.

Oh, Karen Carpenter, how my heart breaks for you. Possibly the sweetest sad voice in pop history. I truly love this song even though the hook, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down,” doesn’t apply to me. Quite the contrary actually. However, if you want a really good sad song, they don’t get much better (or worse). “What I’ve got, they used to call the blues…” What she calls it now, I don’t know and quite frankly, I’m glad she never figures it out. “Hangin’ around, nothing to do but frown…” She decides to “run and find the one who loves me” so it’s really not all bad. Maybe they will go on a nice Rain Walk, but “No need to talk it out, we know what it’s all about…” Karen knows it will pass, but she’s also not fooling herself into thinking that whatever is really bringing her down will be fixed as soon as the sun comes out.

“Manic Monday” by The Bangles.

The words say one thing, the music says another. So upbeat and catchy. If it weren’t for being ripped out of dreams, being late for work and running around (without Valentino), it might be the perfect way to start your week. Though I must admit, I did wish that my bed was already made when I got out of it today.

“I Don’t Like Mondays” by The Boomtown Rats.

One of the best piano intros ever! Possibly only surpassed by Hugh Laurie performing it on House. I don’ t completely understand this song. Sometimes I think it is about a mother who goes off her rocker, and other times I think it’s about teenage angst. Either way, I am sure that to late 1970’s British-Alt-Pop-Art-Rockers, fear of  silicon chip powered brains seemed reasonable. Okay, maybe it’s about the treatment of women? Yeah, if we (the men of the 1970’s and earlier) keep treating our wives and mothers as waitresses and maids, they are going to snap and ‘we’ won’t have a clue what happened or what to do! Maybe, but I don’t really like that interpretation. I like to think that Bob Geldoff was worried about the advances of technology. All I know for sure is that even if my mother went berserk, the one thing I can guarantee she would not do is keep us home from school. Overall, this could just be a metaphor for the pressures of the corporate world, hence the main statement of the song. Whatever the song is actually about, you’d be hard pressed to find a more exciting pop song about the implosion of the human race! or the suckiness of going to school, however you want to look at it.

I happen to enjoy Mondays and I think that this week is off to a good start and just think, we’re already one day closer to Friday! Now I’m off to enjoy the rest of the rainy day, plus there is a Red Bull somewhere with my name on it. Ain’t that peachy keen?

This week’s theme for Musical Monday is four seasons . . . so, I chose one of my favourites from my high school days!  It’s called Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangles.  Beautiful lyrics written by Paul Simon that are a reminder that time marches on . . . and cooler weather is coming . . . pumpkins, autumn, change.

Enjoy!

Time, time, time
See what’s become of me

Time, time, time
See what’s become of me
While I looked around
For my possibilities
I was so hard to please

Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky
Is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the salvation army band
Down by the riverside
It’s bound to be a better ride
Than what you’ve got planned
Carry a cup in your hand

Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky
Is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes my friend
That’s an easy thing to say
But if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend
That you can build them again

Look around
Grass is high
Fields are ripe
It’s the springtime of my life

Seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won’t you stop and remember me

Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky
It’s a hazy shade of winter

Look around
Leaves are brown
There’s a patch of snow on the ground

En kanonlåt av kanontjejer

Desde California llegan The Bangles que fue uno de los primeros grupos integrados totalmente por mujeres, junto con The Runaways y The Go-Go’s, tal como comenté en una anterior entrada en esta bitácora.

Walk Like An Egyptian fue un sencillo perteneciente a su tercer álbum publicado, Different Light, de 1986, probablemente el mejor de sus álbumes, al menos desde la opinión de quien esto escribe, con sencillos del calibre de Manic Monday (escrito para ellas por Prince, bajo el pseudónimo Christopher), If She Knew What She Wants, Walking Down Your Street o September Gurls.

Como anécdota, esta canción fue censurada por Clear Channel Communications tras los atentados del 11 de septiembre, debido, presuntamente, a sus referencias a Egipto.

• Sitio oficial de The Bangles (en inglés).

11-13-88

Dear Journal,

I have a lot to tell you about my weekend.

Well first of all I forgot to tell you a dream I had a few weeks ago. It was about this book that I found.

to this day I love that hair

You see, you write a question on it, and the answer magically appears…

So in my dream I wrote asking when I would see Jonas again. (Jonas is this boy I like that graduated from my school.)

Well, anyway, in my dream the book answered: “Nov. 11, 88.” And that was the day of Jessica’s birthday party. By the way, Jessica’s brother knows him. So I thought that I would see Jonas again, but I was wrong, because Jessica told me her birthday party was going to be postponed.

So I thought I would never see him again.

But since Friday I did not go to school I spent the day with my parents. Then we went to the movies and my parents were outside waiting for someone (I was inside) and who should I see by Jonas. So my dream came true.

Plus I got two tapes, Stacy Q and Kylie Minogue so I had a really good weekend.

Of all the things I could ask an all-knowing book, I didn’t for the meaning of life or how to cure global hunger or for upcoming lottery numbers or even for Corey Haim’s phone number (not for me now; for me then). Oh no, instead I aimed much lower than that. I asked when I would randomly run into the red-haired hall monitor I had I crush on back when I could barely spell. And I was thrilled when my dream became prophetic. Never mind the fact that I saw Jonas from fifteen feet away and did not even make eye contact. It was important to me to be psychic and this was burgeoning proof that I very well might be.

I should be so lucky...

As for my music selections, what can I say, I was ten. It would be years until  I discovered the “cool” 80’s music like The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Duran Duran, Bauhaus, New Order, Alphaville, and of course, Depeche Mode. Before I was into male-fronted new wave and post-punk, I was into colorful female-fronted unapologetic pop. Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Cyndi Lauper, The Bangles, and the two women added to my burgeoning music collection that day: Stacey Q and Kylie Minogue.

Stacey had style I coveted and a guest appearance on my favorite t.v. show back then (okay, and maybe of all time), The Facts of Life. She also had what I thought was one of the coolest names in the world, second only to Vanna White.

Kylie had an infectious smile and perky spirit I could not resist. When her hit cover of “Locomotion” came on the radio, I was filled with delight and an urge to dance (badly; rhythm and coordination were not my friends–the way my parents tell it, my childhood dance recitals were “hilarious”).

Truth be told, the use of Stacey Q’s song “Two of Hearts” in Party Monster was my favorite thing about the movie and I still get a kick out of the tune to this day. As for Kylie, I was happy to see her have a major U.S. comeback in the early 00’s and still maintain a strong presence in the pop world.

I still wonder where Stacey is today, but I don’t want to Google her out of concern that it might make me sad.  I want to remember her as the crimp-haired, wide-eyed, helium-voiced pixie that wowed me back in 1988.

It’s Time to Shine!
Your Ticket to the Red Carpet is Their Ticket Home

Party like it’s 1984!

Best Friends Animal Society invites you to attend the Lint Roller Party to celebrate the animals, and to help us work toward a future when there are No More Homeless Pets ™. Don’t miss this fabulous 80’s-style bash that includes live entertainment by The Bangles, dancing, open bar and more!

Plus…

	Awards! Animal Honors and Grant Presentations
	Auction for Animals! Tons of fabulous items to bid on like autographed t-shirts by Alyssa Milano, Charlize Theron, Emmylou Harris and more, Indy 500 tickets, Kiss backstage passes and tour tickets
	Food & Drink! Spectacular veggie buffet by Wolfgang Puck and Open Bar.
	Play, Win, Party! Gift Bags, Raffles, Psychics, Photo Booth and Much More!

Give a Gift and Get One Back!

Give the Gift of Membership to a Friend and Save!

It’s our 25th anniversary and we really want to spread the word about No More Homeless Pets. Help us by Giving the Gift of a Best Friends membership for just $25 and save $50 off the price of your General Admission ticket to the Lint Roller Party! You can use your $50 discount twice – for up to two tickets!

You’ll be helping homeless pets AND share in this premiere event for animals in Hollywood!

Celebrate a brighter future for animals

Each $275 ticket helps fund the lifesaving work of Best Friends, including: Pup My Ride Small Dog Transport, which helps out animals in local shelters; Catnippers, which helps control cat populations and improve the quality of life for community cats; Puppies Aren’t Products, which promotes adoption and fights puppy mills; plus Pet Adoption Festivals, Indie Rescue Adoptions, Spay Days, Best Friends Brigade, and more.

Founders’ Reception from 6pm-7pm

Hollywood celebrities won’t be the only ones shining at the Lint Roller Party. Join the stars of Best Friends and the National Geographic Channel’s “DogTown” when they host the Champaign event from 6pm-7pm. Meet John Garcia, Michelle Besmehn, and more! Click here for more information.

We truly hope you can join us for this special evening.

Thank you for all you do, every day, to help homeless pets.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Oreck
Best Friends LA Programs

Send to a friend!

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Monday’s shopping list paves the way for window dressing and a gentlemens’ soiree, starring in no particular order…

Roses in this here lovely colour
Flowery fabrics
Agatha’s Thirteen Problems
Silver coffee pots
Bunting for a boat
1977 Le Mondes
Catnip for Madame Cholet
Trips to the Tailors
Barcelona blues
Tartan ribbons
Umbrellas for a chap
Goldfish bowls
Cushions for a cabin

As september rolls there’ll be candlelit weddings, the arrival of snowberries, the last few weeks of dahlias and mounds of autumn hydrangeas.

All in all it’s a good time to love flowers.

This is Tim and I’s absolute favourite time of year, the smell of autumn, new school tights, apple crumbles on the cover of Donna Hay, a vast pot of chicken stock and the imminent nesting for winter on the boat.

O donning his warm captain gear and me digging out my wellies, and it all starts on my I don’t have to run day… xxx