Sunday, November 30, 2003
 
Feeling Maine looking Massachusetts...
 
Home again, home again jiggedy jig. Your mother's a warthog. Your father's a pig. 
 
Well we made finally made it home after a very very very long drive. Thankfully the weather was clear and we were driving against traffic! Who would have guessed it?  We had a very productive day with a side trip Wal-Mart 1 hour into the drive.  We bought our first Christmas lights, tree topper and skirt. We're totally going retro hokey. Which in reality is how we feel Christmas decorations should be. I can sum up shopping in Wal-Mart in five words fat people in jogging pants. If one more of them would have bumped into me I might have gotten violent. Plus there as a four-foot tall singing snowman which totally sent Gil over the edge. Guess who found the off switch? And I quote,"All I wanted to do was look at lights. Not have some annoying gyrating snowman sing at me the whole time!"
 
I for some reason felt ill most of the trip. Nauseous to be exact accompanied by back pain reminiscent of a burgeoning kidney stone. I had to stop myself from taking my emergency pain pill. It's a good one that I carry in my purse along with all my analgesics, stomach pills and migraine medicine, but taking it would have made me feel way too Jacqueline Susann and who knows what kind of high jinks I might have gotten into at the next rest stop? Kidney stones ugh.
 
It was very odd that I found a letter from my urologists reminding me I was due for a follow up when I got home. Only old men and me actually "have" urologists.  Such is life.  As the trip progressed our mental states severely deteriorated.  Or at least mine did.  I started plotting and scheming. One of such scheme was to invent dances and make the general public fall for them.  I believe I said, "People are sheep. They'll do anything."  My suggested dances were the "Herkimer Jerk" and the "Schenectady Scoot".  Which I think have quite the ring to them.
 
However in retrospect as the inventor I might get sued.   I mean they involve a great deal of flailing about and if you aren't a trained professional like me you might get hurt.  Wade Robeson had better watch out!  However, it got really bad when we passed a truck, which had a Chiquita banana cab and a GE trailer.  I questioned that and Michael said something about "back hauling."  I told him he was crazy and that banana's and electricity don't mix.   As in, "What? I can't hear you. I have an arrhgghhh!" You get the picture. 
 
The best surprise was finding my out of print, special ordered from New Zealand mint condition copy of The Candy Skins "Space I'm In" had delivered.  I may love love love Fountains of Wayne but I think this is my favorite pop rock album of all time.  I am complete woman now that I have it on CD or some close approximation.   So now we're home and the Monkeys have been good. Nothing is ruined and we're ready for bed.  
 
Night night.posted by Little Squaw on 10:54 PM

Sunday, November 23, 2003
 
Fountains of Wayne's "Bright Future in Sales" is playing on the Fox show Malcolm in the Middle! Yippee. Yahoo.Ahem, proceed.
 
posted by Little Squaw on 9:06 PM

Tuesday, November 18, 2003
 
Dammit dammit and double dammit. I just lost a whole freakin post.
 
 UGH...recap blah blah blah, bus diversion to Hoboken...blah blah blah the price of tea in China.I am trying again...bus got diverted...one benefit being I got to see another view of the NYC skyline which always puts things into perspective.
 
The problem with a long bus ride is that I have all these fabulous ideas swirling around in my head but by the time I get home, make dinner, calm the monkeys, investigate what Gilly's day was like, do some misc. shuffling, well the great ideas are pretty mangled by then. So instead you get this. Or something like it.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003
 
I just heard a parody of "Stacy's Mom" on Z-100 titled "Stacy's Grandma"...as happy as I am to hear a Fountains of Wayne song getting spoofed on the #1 POP station in the #1 Market in the world, it was pretty lame. The thing about song parodies is that they are often so very contrived. I mean a song like, "Radiaton Vibe" that was ripe for parody...posted by Little Squaw on 8:58 AM

Sunday, November 16, 2003
"That's just because you're jealous of my mad skillz!" -Moi to Gil

This whole blog thing is very narcissistic and I don't know if I can buy into it. Plus how do you filter your thoughts so as not to offend? Multiple blogs for multiple personalities/segments of life? Okay, I just did spell check for "narcissistic" (I got it on my own thank you very much.) Anyway, how come a spell check for a site called "blogger" doesn't have "blog" in it? Very strange, pathetic and typical. But as I was saying...I am as vain as the next gal. I mean, I've spent many a moment contemplating what I perceive to be my finer points in the mirror, in my mind or in a t-shirt but I don't really buy into it. I spent the day with my best friend picking up clothes and saying, "I'm too fat for that!" i.e. I am too old at this point and I'm losing my nerve to believe I can pull off absurdly stupid and tragically cute clothes or too tired to care. So I've no expectations as to whether anyone will read this but I do think it's a great way to pretend I have an audience for the jumble in my head. I perform best with an audience and feedback. There's no guarantee of that here.

I digress...I got up pretty early for this chicken coop and did misc. house things to make me feel comfortable enough to leave the house and Gil slaving away at the computer. Okay, maybe he was barely out of bed but a man has to sleep. Before I left the house to visit above mentioned friend further to be known as Gert, Gertrude or Gertie to protect her innocence and how she is viewed in her community being that she's a well known politician. I'm just joshing you, that's to throw her snoopy co-workers off track if they read this thing any way. Gert, Gertrude or Gertie derivative of, for some reason my dad gave me a decoy of a mallard duck as a child of three or four and I promptly named her Dirty Gertie or did he? It's all fuzzy now. First car (not completely true but that's another story and I'm not getting paid for this), Gertie...first major car accident...in Gertie...first real and truly trusted mature/adult female friend? The only women who's seen me in all my Moulan Rouge glory i.e. my wedding attire down to the powder blue fishnets, etc..etc...the only women who's groped me in a late night drunken UNO game? She's Gert, Gertrude or Gertie to you until further notice.

Before I left the house I spent some time sorting through CD's. I've been throwing out jewel cases and moving CD's to DJ holders. They fit 70 to a box about the size of a small shoe box. To put it into perspective, 140 CD's converted so far and two mondo black plastic trash bags full of plastic. The ultimate goal is to put them all neatly away on a shelf. During the process I've found CD's I haven't listened to in years. The following CD's made it into the car. This should provide any reader with view much like attending a deep dark tea time of my soul. (Another clue towards a favored writer RIP.)

Mad Season - Matchbox Twenty
Shape - Frente
Urban Hymns - The Verve
Angus - Misc. Soundtrack
Aurora Gory Alice - Letters to Cleo
Laid - James
Elastica - Elastica
Car Button Cloth - The Lemonheads
Operation Ivy - Operation Ivy

Five made it into the player because Welcome Interstate Managers - Fountains of Wayne never makes it out.
Urban Hymns - The Verve
Angus - Misc. Soundtrack
Aurora Gory Alice - Letters to clew
Laid - James
Car Button Cloth - The Lemonheads

Oh happy thoughts. What's better than driving fast on a sunny day with the stereo up loud on the way to see Gert, Gertrude or Gertie, her husband and my soon to be christened God Son? I sing in the car. There's no shame in that.
The drive reminds me of trips to see FOW and summers spent exploring with Gil. Plus on the way I cross over a huge bridge which runs parallel to a much smaller bridge on which as the legend goes my Great Grandfather used to work. Little pieces of me scattered along the way. I love it.

I started with James...wondering how many songs on the album I remembered/liked. I decided it was too somber for my mood. "Say Something" sounds like a divorce song...and "Laid" is about as good as it gets. I am a sucker for a short but sweet intro in this case a few chords...plus the chorus pulls me up. I clicked back to the start before even hearing a word several times. Buttons on a steering wheel will do that for you. God bless the person who invented those...that's my little way of pretending I'm Norman Cook.

The real pleasant surprise was Angus. How do I explain how much I love this soundtrack? I didn't really care about the movie so much. I must have seen it or I would have never gotten the soundtrack. It's circa 1995. I think I must have listened to this a lot the summer of 1996. That's when I was still amazingly independent, but managed to learn how to fall into the right pair of arms. It reminds me of long conversations on the phone, drives on the parkway, warm nights and seeing friends at the oddest of hours...

Contents of Angus...
J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) - Green Day...It may be cheesy but I still love this band's stuff. Dookie...classic...even if I turned against it for a bit, "I liked them before all the frat boys did..." whatever, "You know that I know that you're watching me"...three little angry men with limited chord usage singing about love. Plus it's got a sweet break down in the ending...with just the bass and a Billy Joe singing...

Jack Names The Planets - Ash...if you haven't heard the dialog in front of this song you're not going to know why I am giggling. Who doesn't love Ash? They were like 12 when they made it to the states...they sing with an Irish accent...they pronounce after aaahhfter...okay, I'll admit I may have a bit of a odd attachment to them. In 1996 there was this music festival in NYC called the Mac Music Festival ??? Not CMJ but right in the middle of the summer...I got a free pass because I was going to be booking shows at SHU in the fall...every day I would work in the office at school and then I would trek into the city...down the Ave. onto the train...off to the PATH and lots of lots of walking...Irving Plaza...the bill is Ash (headliner first time they ever play in the state)...Nada Surf (one of the major songs of that summer)...Superdrag...maybe Presidents of the United States???I had blisters on my feet before I even got to the train...that was the summer I started wearing shirts that fit not ones that were too big...this case a vintage Harley dealership t-shirt circa 1976...I was as alterna girl as I was ever going to get...waiting in line...hearing kids talking about seeing Nirvana in concert...kids...not teenagers...kids...one kid saying, "I'd hit my Grandmother over the head with a shovel to have seen Nirvana in concert." Some British girl (Posh Spice before she was invented...mini skirt in heels, very sensible) "fainting" when Ash walked into Irving...a wicked (a New Englander re-sparked that usage)...pit...crazy madness me against the barricade...a Common People video playing on the big screen...it was mad mad mad...a girl goes over the barricade two times...each time hitting me...she lands on my extended arm and almost snaps it against the small fence...they should eject kids that go over more than one time...why should anyone get kicked because you have a death wish???...third time I look at the bouncer, the girl's foot hitting me again and I say, "You catch her. She can fall." And down she goes...I come home with scratches on my back, a bruised arm and no flesh on my ankles. It was GREAT show. I skip the next night (that band that sings "Closing Time" whose name I never remember). I love Ash.

Enough - Dance Hall Crashers...skaish in the beginning strong bass line (where has the bass gone? Gil sold his too early in our relationship...I don't even know if I met it...), chunky guitar, yummy...A female lead..."It's not that we don't get along, it's just that you were always wrong..."a very girlie song. 2 minutes and 56 seconds...

Kung Fu - Ash They're Irish and pronounce Taiwan...Tie wann...too cute...

Kung Fu do what you do to me
I haven't been the same since my teenage lobotomy
Full on, I moved to Hong Kong
With Bruce Lee's brother and Johnny Wong

I think it's strange
He's friends with Fu Manchu
And he thinks he knows you
Uh uh uh u u oh
Oh Daniel San made in Taiwan
Come on Jackie Chan
Uh u u u u oh

Last night Jackie Chan came around
I played pool with him and we hung out
Mr. Miagi and the X-men
Called in for a while as well

I think it's strange
He's friends with Fu Manchu
And he thinks he knows you
Uh u u u u oh
Oh Daniel San made in Taiwan
Come on Jackie Chan
Uh u u u u oh

Kung Fu do what you do to me
I can't live without my Kung Fu movies
'Shanghai Killers' and 'Deadly Road'
My life was ruined when the Green Dragon closed

Oh I think it's strange
He's friends with Fu Manchu
And he thinks he knows you
Uh u u u u oh
Oh Daniel San made in Taiwan
Come on Jackie Chan
Uh u u u u oh

I think it's strange
He's friends with Fu Manchu
And he's in love with you
Uh u u u u oh
Oh Daniel San made in Taiwan
Come on Jackie Chan
Uh u u u u oh

Back To You - The Riverdales...not much to say there...good ear candy...

Mrs. You and Me- The Smoking Popes...remember them? The lead sounds like Morrissey...cute lyrics...

You Gave Your Love to Me Softly-Weezer the most unlikely rock stars...and crazy controlling rock stars at that...
"Still your Bijon lingers on and on and on..."Totally vague reference to an obscure perfume?

Ain't That Unusual- Goo Goo Dolls..."It's like a made-for-TV movie And I just blew my line" "It's somethin' that I wish I'd said But I don't think it'd rhyme" I'm a sucker for cutesy lines...plus...plus...plus...We had them at SHU when A Boy Named Goo came out...that's when I was still active on the chat line circuit...it was obscure then and a much different world...Gertie and I used to giggle at the madness...Anyway I just went there to talk about music...I met a guy from upstate NY who was into the Goo Goo Dolls, he told me a funny story about Johnny Reznik losing his "signature" tweed paperboy hat to a woman in the audience and how he got it back...I mentioned it to him after the show (while a girl was trying to give him her bra...)he was still a sweet married man then. He didn't have all those tattoos and make-up on like he does now...he seemed to appreciate my interest in him and his concerns with being away from his wife...don't hear about her much these days now do you? P.S. "Slide" was playing on the car when Gertie's (the car not the friend) suspension snapped while I was going through a green light...I'm not big on the Goo anymore.

Funny Face - The Muffs Who wouldn't like a band named "The Muffs"? It could go several ways...girls girls girls or a small wooly/furry barrel shaped object you put your hands in to keep warm. I always get The Muffs confused with the The Murmurs. I prefer The Murmurs...

White Homes - Tilt...Kind of a mean fast bummer and I didn't understand the lyrics until I just looked them up...creepy sample...thank God Al Gore invented the internet!"Here I am still intact, and I should give myself credit for that, but I
have cast a stone deep into my throat, I squat on land my feet won't reach, the smell of blood and bile and bleach, I need a square foot and a rope. We can weave, we can unravel..."

Deep Water - Pansy Division... Again a name you know you can love...a lead singer with a voice that reminds you of the Dead Milkmen...

Am I Wrong - Love Spit Love repeat repeat repeat...great band name and even better they never disappoint you when you want to mope PLUS they use a snare drum in this song!

Next CD...
Car Button Cloth - The Lemonheads...there are many things I love about this band or at least what remained of the band at this point...all roads lead to Evan Dando... deflowerer of Bijou Philips...this lead singer... and that man's lyrical talent but this album doesn't do it for me. I have to giggle when I hear, "6ix" "Here comes Gwyneth's head in a box...etc..."think Coldplay will cover it at the wedding? But seriously...I thank this album/tour for introducing me to FOW for the first time...Plus Evan did a great cover of "Different Drum" at the show...I'm sure I'll cover that show at a latttttterrrr date....Much latttttttterrrrr than tonight.

Aurora Gory Alice- Letters to Cleo... was she Gwen before Gwen was Gwen? Now she's Josie to me. Nuff said.

Urban Hymes- The Verve...I found this CD today...unopened...literally wrapped in cellophane like a little time capsule...I pulled it out to give it a try...maybe I was too happy? It didn't strike a chord....Maybe since Travis and Coldplay have been out, The Verve doesn't do it for me? They made me immune to the sound and well Coldplay irritates me a bit? I don't know...Maybe I'll dig it out in the cold of winter when my perspective is skewed by snow and drizzle and it will speak to me then.

I'm going to bed. I've got to go to church in the morning.

If you made it this far. Thank you! I'll be here all week. Try the veal. Da dum dum cha!

She may argue with her logicAnd mention all the things I loseThat really have no valueIn the end she will surely knowI wasn't born to follow
The Byrds - "Wasn't Born to Follow"

As alluded to in my earlier post, which you of course have not read, I didn't get much sleep last night and the reason is this. Before I logged off I checked the Fountains of Wayne website. Which I am prone to do just to check their schedule. Well, I check and I see that they are playing a radio show on 12/12/03 in Sayreville! Just a hop skip and a jump from here. But then I worry. Don't they only sell limited numbers of tickets to a show like that? The options were limited. Tickets were to go on sale today at 12PM via Ticketmaster and at a couple of retail locations such as Vintage Vinyl. I hate hate hate Ticketmaster and they always screw things up. I didn't really want to drive to Fords but I was willing to to assure I'd get tickets. However I also knew the dorky radio guys would be there and the people in that store are alterna snobs (don't they know that collecting KISS figurines is the same as playing with dolls?). Worst case scenario I would have to get one of my friends at work to get me tickets but I don't like to ask for favors. I announce my dilemma to Gil and he responds, "I don't think you have to worry about it. I don't think that there will be a rush for tickets." Sometimes I wonder how he can sleep at night? Tossing and turning and having the weird dream mentioned below. I get up and run a few errands all before the crack of 9:30AM and with a couple of hours to go (having decided on trying Ticketmaster) I organize my knitting stuff and the china cabinet. Conflicting imagery there huh? Rabid about FOW yet knits...not only knits but has an enough knitting stuff to have the need to organize it, but I digress...I kept myself occupied and easily got two tickets one for me and one for well, not Gil unless I couldn't convince my FOW buddy to go.

I know the show is going to be filled with 15 year olds...it's a double edged sword. Especially being a fan from way back. They should know this will make it FIVE count 'em FIVE times in 2003 for me. I'll be prepared to be disappointed. It's a strange cage I've built myself on the premise of preferring to be the person that a band forgets rather than being the person a band remembers for doing something stupid. And you should never give with the intent to give in order to receive. But I am huge supporter damn it. I want a nod. Rant over... in my purest of hearts I want them to make buckets of money and live happily ever after...in a dirty little corner of my mind I want no one to go to their shows so I'll always have my place in the front.

Now I have to get ready to go to our first SHU B-Ball game of the year. I am looking forward to discussing Dramarama's reappearance with Gil's brother. Intriguing. Onward Setonia...