Time, Music, and Why Liz Lemon is My Soul Sister
This past week has been a whirlwind of art, music, Doctor Who, and laundry, with a couple of migraines thrown in. While none have added up to a great story (thus my silence) I do have a few snippets to share.
Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping...
The week after a time change (damn daylight savings time) is always confusing for me. I walk around in a fog and everything feels just a little bit...off. It's not that I get any more or less sleep, it's just that things are...slightly wrong. I think it is 11 a.m. and when I glance at the clock, it's 10:05. "Wrong, wrong, wrong," says my lizard brain.
Meanwhile, "bad, bad, bad," says Tilly's tabby brain. That's because suddenly, with no warning, mom starts feeding her an hour late. Just like that! And she even acts casual about it, like this is nothing new.
On top of that, none of Tilly's efforts to fix the problem seem to work. Running at top speed across the room to leap on mom's chest and then rocket away in the other direction doesn't work. Spending an hour meowing non-stop at mom's feet doesn't work. Spending all day looking like the most persecuted cat on the planet doesn't work!
Possibly the worst thing is that mom actually tries to justify her actions with some lame story about how humans, except those in Arizona and parts of Indiana, possess the power to change Time at will. As if. If she's going to lie, you would think she would come up with something better.
The Beat Goes On...
As of this morning, I have imported 2180 tracks from my CD collection into iTunes and...I'm not done yet.
I am, however, getting close. In addition to the 80s hits from last week, I've now imported stacks of Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Melissa Etheridge, and Weird Al Yankovic CDs. (How I was living without Melissa Etheridge for the last two years, I'll never know.) My collections of exotica and space age pop, acapella songs, parody tracks, and drumming music are also now online. As of one a.m. last night, I'm also 20 CDs into the process of converting my classical collection. (Ah, Chopin!)
With this embarrassment of musical riches, you'd think I'd feel filled to the brim with music and be happily listening away. But what happens instead is that I start noticing the holes in my collection, holes that become gapingly wide the longer I stare. I become obsessed with filling them. Walking by my office, Kathy overhears conversations with myself that go something like this:
"What? I don't have "Come Dancing" by the Kinks? That makes no sense! No 12" version of "Thriller," either? But I need that. [long pause] Wait a second...I lost the Queen red album in the divorce, didn't I? Why didn't I replace it? And...and...where the heck are the Motown hits? You are telling me I have no Motown?!?"
Yeah.
That's meant that, along with importing music and scanning obscure CD covers, I've been searching for everything I believe I have been missing. As you would expect, it's mad. Absolutely mad. But it's also quite fun, because along the way I have found some unexpected treasures that I must share with you:
Music for TV Dinners
This is the find of the week. You see, for at least
15 years, I've been searching for a certain kind of music, only I didn't know
what it was called. It's the kind of music often used in the 1950s for
educational and industrial films, montage scenes in romantic comedies, and for
transitional moments in shows like Leave it to Beaver. Light, plucky,
and optimistic, this background music begs to accompany you on carefree
shopping trips, wacky traffic jams, and the general hustle-and-bustle of modern
1950s life.
I figure this is music you either love or hate. Personally, I love it, mostly because it cracks me up. Traffic jams and shopping trips are so not like that for me, but listening to these tracks (which I now know are "production music") I almost want to get stuck in a backup on the way to the department store. Someone could flip me off and I'd just grin and happily wave back, because the power of these flirty oboes and chipper violins is just that good.
Good enough, in fact, for me to request overnight shipping.
Dripping Indigo by Chantal Chamberland
I have just one, sad CD of classic torch songs, and given my
penchant for singing "Stormy Weather" to the cats, that's simply not
enough. I need more. So, I searched Amazon.com and iTunes for every version of
the song "Bewitched," figuring that this was a good way to sample as
many singers as possible.
Dinah Shore was in the lead until I tripped over Dripping Indigo by Chantal Chamberland. I had never encountered her before and wow, was I impressed. The way her smokey voice curls around each word before gently releasing it with a purr...well, I knew I'd have to add her music to my library. While I especially love her take on classic songs, her cover of "Here Comes the Rain Again" (which I think on another CD) is very, very nice. Visit her website to hear a number of songs in their entirety. Also, note that ITunes sells the album for just under $10.
Doctorin' the Tardis by The KLF and the Timelords
Okay, this will appeal to maybe ONE reader, but I'm
sharing it anyway. Originally produced in 1988, this is a novelty track (with
variations) that combines the Doctor Who theme song, Gary Glitter's
"Rock and Roll, Part 2," and sound effects from the series. If you've
never watched Doctor Who, it will make no sense whatsoever, of course.
But if you are a Doctor Who fan, it's a bit of a treat. I can't
wait to make art while listening to this.
I tend to enjoy mixes made from my favorite TV and film themes. For example, Moby's James Bond mix? That absolutely rules. And you haven't lived the high-brow life until you've heard the Brady Bunch theme done in the style of Mozart.
It's true. Very little is sacred. Shockingly, that means...not even television!
"I Just Got This Eight Years Ago!"
On this week's 30 Rock (possibly the funniest sitcom I've seen in a long time), David Schwimmer guest-starred as Greenzo, a psychopathic environmental spokesperson/superhero. In a confrontation with Liz Lemon (played by the brilliant Tiny Fey) he throws coffee from her Styrofoam cup onto her shirt.
Liz looks down at the stain, horrified, and exclaims, "Hey! I just got this...eight years ago!"
I had to pause the DVR because Kathy was laughing so hard. She pointed at me while she laughed. "Eight years ago!" she gasped, unable to stop laughing. "I don't believe it! YOU ARE LIZ LEMON!"
If it wasn't so funny, I might be offended.
But, um, yeah, it's possible that I've been known to say things like that and actually mean it. I mentioned that Queen album that I lost in the divorce, right? I don't think I mentioned that the divorce was eleven years ago. And...uh...it's possible that I still have the same kitchen dish towels that I packed up in May of 1996. Because, you know, they are still good. Why would I replace them?
But that Queen album...well, thank you, iTunes for the instant gratification.
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