So I spent the vast majority of my Labor Day Weekend down at Lake Whitney with my family. Unlike me, my parents do own a television, along with a satellite subscription, which is fine and dandy because on Friday night, one of my all-time favorite films, Swingers, came on. Now, if you have never seen this film, you must watch it for the hotness of Vince Vaughn alone (as the character of Trent). Wowzer! However, it is also quite entertaining, and it has a lovely soundtrack to boot! One of the bands that appears on the soundtrack is none other than Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Today, I have selected not only "You & Me & the Bottle Makes Three Tonight (Baby)" but also "Go Daddy-O", for which I included a clip from the film itself...Enjoy!!!
Hey Jack...I know what you're thinking
That now's as good as any to start drinking
Hey Scotty...Yeah...What's it gonna be?
A gin and tonic sounds might mighty good to me
Man I know I gotta go it's the same thing every time
But I don't think another drink's gonna make me lose my mind
So I think about my next drink
And it's you and me and the bottle makes 3 tonight.
Well I know this cat named Mo. He wanders to and fro
His and my favorite waterin' hole
I said "Hey Mo, how you doing, where have you been?
He said, "I've been fine with my whiskey, wine and gin.
Man I know I gotta go it's the same thing every time
But I don't think another drink's gonna make me lose my mind
So I think about my next drink
And it's you and me and the bottle makes 3 tonight.
So one of my close friends has been involved, for roughly the past year or so, with this jack@ss whom she met on a dating site... He has really placed her on an emotional roller coaster with so many up and downs that the yo-yoing is even starting to nauseate me, and I'm just an innocent bystander. The worst part about it all is that the "red flags" he displayed from the very beginning were somehow overlooked by her, and this is a chickadee who has practically spent her life savings subscribing to every girly magazine outlining the ways to be successful in relationships and purchasing every how-to book on the proper way to snag a fella. So while I was peacefully re-reading The Picture of Dorian Gray last night and listening to my iPod on *shuffle* mode, I began to receive texts from her about how awful life and the world are...then this song, "Red Flags and Long Nights", came on. I had to chuckle a bit because I love the lines: "You can occupy my every sigh; You can rent a space inside my mind; At least until the price becomes too high..." You see, my father has often had to practice tough love with me when it comes to my romantic relationships because, I too, have a tendency to select jack@sses to be my love interests. There was this one particularly dark period in my life that I was having difficulty overcoming, and my dad's favorite phrases to say to me were: "How long are you going to let that boy have free space in your mind?" and "How long is he going to get free rent up in your head?" --- that was probably the most effective phrasing because I assure you "that boy" had already received plenty of free rent when we were cohabitating. She's not the type with whom I could ever take a tough love approach, but I did start throwing out the idea that he's simply stringing her along...only time will tell how it will all play out. In light of my above tale, I will add another one of my favorites by She Wants Revenge called "I Don't Wanna Fall in Love"...
Sick of trying to find a way inside
Sick and tired of all the after
Sick of trying to find a way to slide
Even though it always ends in laughter
It's never hard to tell when things are done
She looked into my eyes and a voice said run
She says that I'm a mess but it's alright
Whether it's 2 weeks, 2 years or just tonight
You can occupy my every sigh
You can rent a space inside my mind
At least until the price becomes too high
I can find a reason that we should quit
I can find a reason to do it
I can find excuses for all my shit
She tells me just to work right through it
She's pretty and I like her but she's too well
'Cause I need red flags and long nights and she can tell
It's not that it's my fault, it's just my style
Beginning with a look and then a smile
You can occupy my every sigh
You can rent a space inside my mind
At least until the price becomes too high
You can occupy my every sigh
You can rent a space inside my mind
At least until the price becomes too high
She don't need a thing, she don't need saving or a lay
She's got all her friends around and you can hear them say
So I was browsing pollstar.com the other day, and not only did I see that my beloved Psychedelic Furs will be in Dallas on October 31st, but I also noticed that Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins will be part of the Retro Futura Tour along with Howard Jones (but c'mon, guys, MONDAY, September 8th, and out in Grand Prairie, nonetheless?!?!?! I won't be making that one!!! And why won't Echo & the Bunnymen jump on the bandwagon and come to Dallas??? How dare they schedule a North American tour and leave me out?!?!? But I digress...) I figured it was just about time to share some Thompson Twins with you. However, I'm not going to include "Hold Me Now" or "Doctor! Doctor!" or even "Lay Your Hands on Me" because you can easily locate those. Instead, I'm going to include a few of my favorites that I don't hear as frequently called "Love On Your Side", "You Take Me Up", and "King For A Day". Also, most people are well aware that their tune, "If You Were Here", appeared on the soundtrack for the film, Sixteen Candles, but not as many people know that they also contributed a song to the Cool World soundtrack called "Play With Me". And before I go, I will share a sweet little Thompson Twins story with you... I worked for Hilton's corporate office in the early 2000s, and they had a call center located in Carrollton. Since we were not assigned permanent seating, you never knew where you would end up sitting that day. One afternoon, I got stuck by this older lady, whom I always found to be a little odd, and that was seriously "the pot calling the kettle" there. Anyhoo, we somehow got on the topic of Thompson Twins, in between taking our reservation phone calls, and we discussed everything from the reason why Alannah Currie shaved off her eyebrows to Tom and Alannah moving to a sheep farm in New Zealand and working with glass. So a few days later, she came in to work with two Thompson Twins albums. She said that she was at Half Price Books and that they were only $2 a piece, so she picked them up for me. Some people are so thoughtful... I just wish I could run into more people like her in this world and fewer of the a*holes!!! I will include pics of my albums below...
I hear you laughing in some other room
And it makes me feel locked out
You say my passion often stifles you
And you need to move about
I was taught that boys need girls and girls need boys
You say that's not true
You'd rather fool around than be alone with me
Well, that's alright for you
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
I've bought you sentimental roses
But you gave them all away
I've played you all my favorite records
Then we spent the night in talking, talking all the time
You sent me home
I was so surprised to find that after all
It doesn't hurt to be alone
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
'Cos you got love, love, love on your side
Well, all the things you say make perfect sense to me
Somehow I'm still unsure
Then I catch myself going through the same old rhapsody
Rap boy rap
And I don't understand just what I'm doing to myself
Well I guess that's nothing new
'Cos when you meet someone who doesn't follow all the rules
Finally...finally...finally, I have a reason to "stop crying [my] heart out"... I just got another raise at work. Now, you have to understand that, when my boss gives raises, he gives raises!!! Let's just say that I received my first raise at six months and my second raise at a little over a year, and those two raises combined total more than all of the raises that I collectively received in nine years of teaching. That's right...you read it correctly...two raises at my new job total more than 9 raises at my teaching job!!! So, yes, even though I've endured a great deal of sadness over this past month with the deaths of many people for whom I cared very deeply, I finally have a reason to celebrate! The first song that came to mind was "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" by Oasis; however, it is not my favorite song by the band, so I will also include my favorite, "Don't Go Away"... In addition, I will include the first two Oasis songs that I ever remember hearing, "Live Forever" and "Wonderwall"...but this is another band that has a ton of wonderful tracks, so make sure you check out the rest of their material too!
Hold on... hold on... don't be scared
You'll never change what's been and gone
May your smile (may your smile) shine on (shine on)
Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a 23-year-old kid whose life was snuffed out by his addictions... Life doesn't get much more heartbreaking than that... I'm far too sad to say much more... From Wikipedia: "Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995), was a modest college radio success. In 1996, while touring Europe with Radiohead shortly after the album's release, Linkous consumed a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room. Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours, the resulting potassium build up caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. The ensuing surgery almost caused him to lose the use of both legs and left him wheelchair-bound for six months and requiring dialysis for acute kidney failure." "Linkous committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart outside a friend's house in Knoxville at 1:20 pm on March 6, 2010. He was 47 years old. According to a spokesperson for the Police Department, the musician was staying with two friends. The friends said Linkous went upstairs for a short period and then told the two that he was going for a walk and exited through a back door. A witness saw him sit down in the alley near Irwin Street, pull out his rifle, and fire into his own chest. Linkous was declared dead at the scene; police did not find a suicide note, but told the press that he had been having personal problems. The musician's publicist confirmed the details of his death to a number of publications on the same day. Within a few hours of his death, a message attributed to the Linkous family was posted on the official Sparklehorse Web site: 'It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member Mark Linkous took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy, and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.' A number of notable musicians and people in the music world made statements mourning the loss of Linkous, including Patti Smith, Radiohead's Colin Greenwood, Silversun Pickups' Brian Aubert, Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips, Steve Albini, Gemma Hayes, and the Jesus Lizard's David Wm. Sims. Emily Haines of Metric also wrote a eulogy entitled The Rings of Saturn on Your Fingers."
