Monday, May 26, 2014

Obsesh du jour

We're going with a very loosey goosey interpretation of "du jour" here, the obsessions I'm about to blather on a bit about are enthralling me as of late, not just today. And--zoinks-- for our purposes here, "as of late" can apply to anything since I last posted...WAY THE HELL BACK IN JANUARY. Sorry, sorry,sorry!! At least you can't say I've not posted all year, eh?

--Boob Tubage--
1. I recently discovered The Mindy Project and adore it.  The Season 2 finale was just dreamy. Shameless rom-com style wish fullfillment.  Chris Messina is gorg.  And I kinda adore Mindy Kaling.  She's this odd hybrid of girly +smart and I dig that she's not, like, a stick insect.  Bonus that she's a 2001 graduate of Dartmouth College. She was matriculating in Hanover at the same time I was occasionally boozin' in Hanover.  WOW, right? Makes me feel like we're connected...a bit.

2. Last Comic Standing is back and I am STOKED!!  I just assumed because I loved that reality show that it wasn't very popular.  I tuned into the Season Premier and my standout fave comic was Jasper Redd [aaaand that right there is probably a jinx for the poor fellah. Sorry Jasper!!]

3. Stumbled onto this 2008 BBC show called Ashes to Ashes and became quite  addicted. It's a fantasy cop show set in London of the early 80s.  I just love that era...and the show captures that whole vibe very well.  I went digging on the BBC website and they very helpfully list all the songs used in every episode in all three seasons.  I used that listing to determine some iTunes must-buys. Aside from enjoying the retro-fix, I'm also strangely smitten with Philip Glenister.  It's a great illustration of how xenocentric I am.  If Philip Glenister looked the same and did the same things and said the same things but was from...OHIO, I would not give him a second glance.  But his charisma is very much tied up in his gritty Britty manner.

--Music--
Am gonna list off all my latest acquisitions.  The * denotes songs I picked off of the Ashes to Ashes playlists...which I found so nifty because it's a BBC show, so it's not quite the 80s nostalgia I'm used to.  It includes a lot of songs that are terrif, but just didn't quite make it in the US.
1.Don't Swallow the Cap [the National]
2. Bloodbuzz Ohio [the National] -Matt Berninger's baritone is HOT...a fact you especially notice if you listen to this w/ headphones. Although when you watch the video here, you can see that Matt Berninger looks like a history teacher.


3. Cough Syrup [Young the Giant]
4. One More Night [Maroon 5]
5. Love Somebody [Maroon 5]
6. Virgin [Manchester Orchestra]
7.Crooked Teeth [Death Cab for Cutie]
8. Rock Creek Park [The Blackbyrds]  --Did the great Tone Loc sample this? Methinks so...
9, The Wire [Haim] --I don't think Haim actually copied anybody, but the opening of this song, most definitely puts me in a "Heartache Tonight" frame of mind.  Wonder if The Eagles are in agreement on that ...and does it piss them off?
10. Berzerk [Eminem]-- I love Eminem...he has such a distinctive voice and it makes me chortle. The "bow chicka WOW WOW..." part here absolutely makes  this song!
11.Banquet [Bloc Party] Madly LOVE  this song.


12. Jump into the Fog [the Wombats]
13. The Killing Moon [Echo & the Bunnymen] 
14.Ready to Start [Arcade Fire]
15. Wicked Game [Chris Isaak]  --Chris Isaak is hot.But..holy shite..he's waay older than I thought he was (Google it!!) Oh, heey, 'memba when he had his own show?
16. Black & Gold [Sam Sparro]
17. Paranoid [Black Sabbath]
18 Crimewave [Crystal Castles] --At the time of acquisition, I was OBSESSED with this song. I would put it on repeat and not listen to anything else.  The fact that I still do like this song is a testament to how very much I like it.



19. Heavy Bells [J Roddy Walston & the Business]-- I heard this on the radio one morning and it kinda intrigued me and rocked hard and I impulse-bought it that same day.  Now I kinda hate it.  It's this Southern Rock revival and the damned annoying thing about it is that, apart from the two word title, you can't understand a goddamn word of the song.  It truly sounds like a whole other language.
20. L.E.S. Artistes [Santigold]  --I like belting this one out.
21. Midnight City [M83]
22. Tear You Apart [She Wants Revenge]
23. Pompeii [Bastille]
24. Keep Your Hands to Yourself [ Georgia Satellites] -- I love this song...but I gotta say, it peaks at the opening line
25.Come With Me Now [Kongos] accordian rock. That's dope.
26. Far From Any Road [The Handsome Family ]-- this is the song that they used for the opening creds of True Detective
27.  Breezeblocks [ Alt-J]--Love this one. And the spazzy refrain at the end {Pleasedon'tgo! I'll eat you whole! Iloveyouso, Iloveyouso!!} is the bestest

28. The Walker [Fitz & the Tantrums]
29. Blind [Hercules & the Love Affair]--another song that I impulse-bought after being slightly intrigued.  I don't listen to it much though.  I think if I was in a strobe-lit space and on ecstasy, I'd really groove on this though.
30.Lights & Music [Cut Copy] Neauvo 80s...LOOOVE!!


31. Shooting Stars [Bag Raiders]  the synth riff in this falls just short of annoying and winds up making the song for me.
32.Evil [Interpol]- I like this guy's distinctive voice.  I may have to scrounge up some more Interpol tracks
33.Turn Down for What [DJ Snake & Li'l Jon] --Li'l Jon will never fail to make me grin. In fact, I wich Li'l Jon had made an appearance in that music video . OMFG that video. It is kinda funny and sorta horrifying... simultaneously. It is for sure  memorable!! (follow the provided link to scope it out...IF YOU DARE)
*34. Ashes to Ashes [David Bowie]--I have always loved Bowie, this is my fave Bowie right now.


*35.Vienna [Ultravox]-- hellah atmospheric!!
*36.Police On My Back [The Clash]
*37. Geno [Dexy's Midnight Runners]--and YOU thought they only did "Come On Eileen" (yeah, me too!) this is one of the 80s tunes I'm digging lately that is heavy on tha horns
*38.No More Heroes [the Stranglers]
*39. Over You [Roxy Music]-- my current fave



*40.This Is Not a Love Song [Public Image Ltd]--Reeeally diggin' this. I need to scope out the rest of the Public Image Ltd oeuvre.  I tend to quite like singing that makes me feel like my atonal, outta tune singing is up to task
*41. Money [the Flying Lizards]
*42. Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag [Pigbag]-- I am loving this song and lately it's my go to jam for unpacking boxes in the stock room, and doing weird tribal botched twerking whilest unpacking. Yes, I am working alone back there. What kinda maniac do ya think I am??
*43. Club Country [the Associates]--I'd never heard this one previously, I wonder if it charted at all in the States?




*44.Kings of the Wild Frontier [Adam Ant]
*45. Enola Gay [Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark]
*46. Golden Brown [the Stranglers]--a very very genteel sounding here for a band called "The Stranglers"
*47. Let's Stick Together [Roxy Music]
*48. It Ain't What You Do  [Funboy Three] I swear, on iTunes, I could not find the version featuring Bananarama, but onYouTube, that's all I could find. I think I like it slightly better *with* Bananarana. I'mma hafta do another sweep of iTunes


*49.Stand & Deliver [Adam Ant]
*50. 2-4-6-8 Motorway [Tom Robinson Band]--this song is my introduction to this band. And solely judging from this, I reckon...if you came up in the UK, with no access to a J Geils Band, THIS was your J Geils Band
*51. Dancing in the City [Marshall Hain]--she has such a cool voice. Yes "she" as Marshall Hain is a band name, not a singular dude name
*52. The Cutter [Echo & the Bunnymen]

Comestibles--

chips & salsa at Chilis-- this is all I want to eat for lunch lately.  Not just a general meal of chips y salsa, but SPECIFICALLY the chips & salsa they have at Chili's.  I have not found their match *anywhere* The chips are perfect-- thin & salty.  And the salsa is the best too. Love, looove, LOVE!!  I work right across the street from a Chili's so I could have Chili's chips & salsa for lunch daily without too much hassle.  But I feel like I oughtta  have, like, diversity in my diet, so I manage to limit myself to 1 chips & salsa lunch every other week.
 


ZOTZ-  I did a lot of Easter basket shopping for my nieces& neph at Party City and they have all these different varieties of 15 pcs for $1 candy. I intended to make everything absolutely even between the 4 baskets, but I effed up my counting and got 23 pcs of Zotz. So I made the 3pc surplus my own. "YUM" is not quite the exclamation of delight that works here, but Zotz certainly are delightful.  The trouble with being addicted to Zotz is that they,re a smidge obscure, not readily available at Kmart or the local convenience store.  The only place I have been able to buy them locally [you could, of course, get them online...but I feel like if I go online to seek out a particular candy , that renders my addiction OFFICIAL]  is Party City. And when I step into Party City, I am very, VERY prone to frittering $$ away on tchotchkes.  Like clackers.  I really did buy clackers the other day.
 

CLACKERS.


And a red plastic pirate eyepatch. I'm not shitting you. I bought that.