your choreography has imagination...

While I didn't get anywhere as far as I hoped this weekend on getting my cds into itunes, i did do a fair amount and have had loads of fun reliving my musical past. most of them i just burn and run, but a few catch my ear and I have to listen. Tonight it was the Bright Lights, Big City soundtrack. It opens with "Good Love", a solo Prince track that really kicks ass and leads into New Order's "True Faith." Also features Bryan Ferry, Depeche Mode, Donald Fagen, Narada Michael Walden, and M/A/R/R/S (Pump Up The Volume)... Totally takes me back to seeing the movie in the summer of 1988 at downtown Denver's AMC Tivoli 12 Theaters - same place I saw Under the Cherry Moon and Steel Magnolias. Years later I was a manager there.

The other cd that I listened to beginning to end was Vanity's Wild Animal, her first solo album after leaving Vanity 6. It's a kooky crazy pop/rock/r&b blend with lots of nonsensical lyrics, a couple of great songs, and lots and lots of sex -- including vampire sex and gorilla love -- oh and just to be clear, there was no Prince involvement in this pretty mess. I just love love love the whole album as a piece of true 80's crazy sexy cool. Morris Day guested on Mechanical Emotion.

the promise of a new day

yesterday i started loading all of my old cds from books into my itunes. i want to get all of them in by the end of the weekend. there is so much music, most of it from the late 80's up through the mid-90's that i haven't listened to in a long long time. like the first 2 Paula Abdul albums, or the Commodores, whose greatest hits i'm listening to right now.

the first cds i had i got for Christmas in 1987 - Prince's Sign o' the Times and Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night. Those actual cds are both still in my collection. Batman was the first Prince cd that I bought first and only on cd, it was also the first time that I bought a Prince album the day it came out -- a tradition I held up until 3121 was released in 2006 -- I was doing a Lenten Prince cleanse, and I also didn't really care so much.

Anyway, this importing of the cds has turned into an unexpected resolution of sorts to get myself organized and not so scattered. I'm consolidating 3 itunes libraries at the same time, and looking forward to having all of my music in one place for the first time in years.

white flags of winter chimneys

this is a piece i wrote for out.com's popnography about Wendy & Lisa and their new album:

You may think you don't know Wendy and Lisa, but you've definitely heard them. As resident keyboardist (Lisa Coleman) and guitarist (Wendy Melvoin) in Prince's Revolution, they helped define both his sound and persona at his heyday, adding the only truly gay element to his apparently omnisexual universe. They left the purple fold in 1986 for their own pop career. It never fully launched -- they wanted to make pop-rock-funk music in a pre-Lilith Fair world where record labels were more interested in them as scantily clad "Prince women" than as real musicians.

But if labels weren't biting, plenty of artists were -- over the last 20 years, together or independently, Wendy and Lisa played on, composed, and/or produced songs and records for Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, Seal, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, OK Go, Lucinda Williams, Neil Finn, Lisa Germano, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Robb Thomas, Grace Jones and others. Their day job is as composers of the score for NBC's Heroes, with plans to release a score on CD in the spring.

White Flags of Winter Chimneys is their first album in 10 years -- their last outing was 1998's Girl Bros., an elegiac tribute to both the death of Wendy's brother Jonathon and the end of their own romantic relationship. White Flags is loaded with Lisa's melodic piano and Wendy's steely guitar, shifting from dreamy ballads to uptempo pop and rock numbers with ease, sometimes within the same song. Their lyrics reflect a maturity and vitality of two women secure in their lives and settled into some sort of rock 'n' roll domesticity -- Lisa married her longtime girlfriend in October and Wendy's longtime partner is film director Lisa Cholodenko.

"What you believe in is what I fear," Wendy sings in the rocking "Invisible," possibly an open letter to "the purple Republican," as Lisa called Prince after he shared his religious views with the New Yorker. The standout track is the nine-minute closer "Sweet Suite (Beginning at the End)," which opens as a simple piano track to segue into a reprise of the opener "Balloon" before exploding into a lush orchestration reminiscent of the end credits of a Hollywood tearjerker.

When all is said and done, Wendy and Lisa stand head and shoulders above their former boss Prince (I'm trying to resist the short joke here) and prove they are capable of maintaining a signature sound without sounding dated. White Flags of Winter Chimneys is available exclusively at wendyandlisa.com.

http://www.popnography.com/2008/12/hummer-wendy-li.html

Entiendo means I get it

Watching Almodovar movies always reminds me of a few things:

a) it's hard to casually watch a movie with subtitles, even one i've seen many many times
b) i fucking love his scores - always!!!*
c) gotdamn i want to live in Barcelona, seriously
d) i really need to be fluent en espanol
e) i want to write a script loaded with powerful women
f) Sapic (sa-peek) is a great name for a dog!

*The first score I fell in love with was from High Heels. I found the cd at a used shop in Old Town Pasadena on a visit out here in '95 or '96 (the other cd I bought that day was a collection of Pansy Division singles, including their cover of Prince's Jack U Off). Anyway, along with the score I fell in love with the song Piensa en Mi, written by renowned Spanish songwriter Agustin Lara (I might name a son Agustin, I like that name) and recorded by Luz Casal. In the movie, the visual of the song is performed by Marisa Paredes -- one of the amazingly brilliant women featured in Almodovar works. Before tonight, courtesy of my new best friend, I had never seen Luz Casal, and boy is she a heck of a lot younger than I expected! Here's the video, with clips of Luz, Marisa and co-star Victoria Abril:



oh yeah, this is what she's singing (warning: HIGH drama!):

Piensa En Mí
(Think of Me)

If you have a deep wave of pain
Think of me
If you feel like you're going to cry
Think of me

You know that I worship your divine image
Your childlike mouth
Taught me to sin

Think of me
When you kiss
And when you cry
Think also of me

If you want
Take my life away from me
I don't want it for anything
It's useless to me
Without you

say yes

I have several drafts in my blogger dashboard trying to explain what Panic at the Disco means to me, and how and why they have quickly ascended to the level heretofore reserved for Prince, Madonna, Wendy & Lisa. Words continue to fail me. I try to explain that That Green Gentleman is my new Purple Rain. I try to explain that something this band does in their music and presentation speaks to me in a way that no artist has in years (ever?). While I don't know how to say what I want to say, I do know this: on Friday the 13th, I saw one of the best concerts I've ever seen. It was a live show that had me dancing with glee, singing, cheering, screaming, crying and sometimes just staring in awe at what was before me. That's what I know.

And I know the Saturday show did much of the same, and Sunday found me at the Purple Panther with Ace, adding a piece to my music tribute arm.

20 years after Lovesexy, Pretty. Odd. is what it's all about. I think reinventing love is a pretty close cousin to the feeling u get when u fall in love not with a girl or boy but with the heavens above. Lovesexy. Say yes. Say yes, yes, yes. And your own Lovesexy will be born.

Happy 50th, mon frere. We'll always have '88!

Bit by bit, putting it together

I wake this morning realizing I had a perfect day yesterday, which began with this Twitter from Japhy79:

Old View: Life as journey. New View: Life as process. Where you are headed is less interesting than the means that gets you there.

That pretty much set the tone for the full, rewarding day that found time for all I wanted to do. Check it out:

Got in some good doggie play time with Reading before delivering cough drops to Shana and watching a slew of gay Bden clips. That alone, makes for a great day, and it was barely nine in the early a.m. Andrea showed up early so I didn't make coffee, water the lawn, or grab the checkbook so I could mail rent check -- all bad things, yes, but resolved. Keep reading.

Andrea and I stop for coffee. (Problem #1 solved. See?) L.A. Times 'scope says "Scorpio , you're headed in directions even you don't know. Get ready."

Uneventful work morning, highlighted by hiring a Post Accountant, the one task that lingered from last week and logging in to AIM for the first time since I left that other place. Caught up with some other F.A.G.'s. Talk to shrink and resolve to take a break while I'm in transitional/unpredictable work situation and sans automobile. Check.

Leave loving birthday message for Mom when I can't find her at home or on cell, only to have Goddaughter call ten minutes later to tell me about her presentation on Oklahoma. No, she didn't sing a song from the musical, like I asked, but did wear a Sooners cheerleader outfit to the chagrin of the straight uncle. She then passes phone on to Mom, from birthday lunch at the Olive Garden.

Spend afternoon on festival details for Karlovy, Provincetown, San Antonio and apps for Spain. Segue into job #2, babysitting the 2 girls. Uneventful evening with no crying, teething, poopy diapers, or misbehaving. Good chat with Jamie on the ride home, then on to...

Dinner at the Guilty Pleasure duplex -- yummy as always and good "growing up" stories, which ultimately lead retires to the living room and... Panic videos. YAY!!! I partake for only a few minutes (a definite exercise in self-discipline) and off to...

A brisk walk around the hood with Reading after a call from Mom after she heard the loving message left earlier in the day. Back to the house to water the lawn, throw down some more seed (uh, grass seed. gross.), trim rosebushes and trees, rearrange patio furniture.

Back inside to catch up on personal e-mails/facebook/myspace and a few work e-mails, too. Quality time at prince.org hitting all the usuals: religion, Prince, Wendy, Madonna. Wrap up with the preceding 3 posts on this here blog, which had been sadly neglected for a couple of weeks. (Okay, months, I know.)

And today I'm mailing the rent check I just wrote. Done and done.

Let the joy be in the doing, not in the end -- Mother Teresa

u want me to write my name on your walls...

To a Prince fan, "writing a name on your walls" means, well, it means that you're a top. Today I finally threw in the towel and joined the Facebook world at the encouragement of Jamie. Those yahoos over there have some other wall writing. While Prince's wall writing is definitely more fun, this one doesn't look too bad. We'll see...

2night we make love with only words
Girls first, girls first

OK, so like first
I will start by telling U how smart and intelligent a curve your behind has
And then I can tell U that I can just smell U
And racecars burn rubber in my pants
But I really dig trippin' on the thought of being caught
By somebody with your beauty, style and grace
Baby, I don't care
I would rip out my hair 4 just 2 nights with your face (Lovesexy)
I don't wanna make love 2 U
I just wanna look at U
I just wanna listen 2 U, uh, uh

Oh, pretty little whip, U got me drippin'
Drippin' all over the floor, the floor
If I come back as a woman
I want a body like yours, a body like yours
Living rooms?
I think, I think U would
I think U wanna play house
Yeah, I think U wanna play house (Lovesexy)
U don't mind
I think U… uh
I think U want me 2 f… {beep} inside of U
Yea, yeah, I... (Lovesexy)
U want me 2 sit around your living room, ha ha
Yeah, U...U want me 2 walk right down your halls
Mm hmm (Lovesexy)
U want me 2 swivel in your love seat
D-don't U, baby?
U want me 2 write my name on your walls
U want me 2 write my name on… (Lovesexy)

We make love with only words
I'll make love 2 U… 2morrow

strange but true

U may have lost me, but i found myself
the ones who love me without condition - this is my wealth
and with these words i will win
repeat them over and over again
all understand and all stand under this affirmation now:
By the power invested in me by God
all negativity bows
all negativity bows
all negativity bows
strange but true, let's see what U can do

U can eat what U want, anything is cool in moderation

i wouldn't beg U
instead of playing deduction of what 2 do
they called me rude often
when i called their hand
they judged me and told me that we're through
"y can't U be like the others?"
i cried out over and again
"y can't U learn 2 play by the rules?"
but maybe at last it's the end
because i am not like others
i'm unique in the respect i'm not U

i know in my heart i would try 2 love U
i wouldn't try 2 hurt U despite all the ways U hurt me
u call me a fraud, an uncaring wretch
but I'm a (mad) artist and my only aim is 2 please
between U and yours, myself and mine
isn't life cruel enough without cruel words, cruel words?
u see, words are like shoes
they're just something 2 stand on
i wish U could be in my shoes...
what would life be if we believed what we read
and a smile is just hiding a frown?
come now, isn't life a little better with a pair of good shoes?

by Prince and the Revolution, from Hello

life can be so nice

yesterday, inspired by this, i made a call that i've needed to make for several weeks. it doesn't make it all go away or make it all better, but it's a step to peaceful coexistence. and maybe someday a chance for real friendship.

it's not a thousand years away it's not that far my brother when men will fight injustice instead of one another it's not that far if we all say yes and only try then heaven on earth we will find

prince, still would stand all time

let me up i've had enough

in this car i drive
i'm looking 4 the road that leads back 2 the soul we shared
with my very life
i'd gladly be the body upon the cross we bear (cross we bear)

how do we ever lose communication? (how did we?)
how do we ever lose each other's sound? (i don't know)
baby, if U wanna, we can fix the situation
maybe we can stop the rain from coming down

maybe we can't, maybe we can
stop the rain, stop the rain

it's such a shame

my all, all, all time favorite song is Purple Rain. not a surprise, i know. i have a Purple Rains playlist that has live versions from 1984 through 2007. each version has something a little different -- whether in the lyric, his vocal, or how he does the solo. my current fave is from the Target show in MPLS on 7-7-7. it opened the show and features Wendy on guitar. anyway, in the 24ish years that i've loved this song about love, friendship, loss & redemption, never has it more aptly fit my own life than it does now. here's the lyrics, as per4med on 7-7-7:

i never meant 2 cause u any sorrow
i never meant 2 cause u any pain
i only wanted one time see u laughing, yes
i only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain, oh yeah
i only wanted 2 see u see u laughing in the purple rain

i never wanted 2 be ur weekend lover, no, no
i only wanted 2 be some kind of friend
can u hear me?
baby, i could never steal u from another
it’s such a shame
it’s such a shame this friendship it must end

Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
U all hear me?
Purple rain, purple rain, oh yeah
i only wanted 2 see u, see u in the Purple rain

honey i know, i know, i know
i know times are changing
it’s time we all reach out, time we all reach out for something new
just ain’t talking about me, talking about each and every one of u
say u want a leader but u can’t seem 2 make up yo mind
maybe u better close it
maybe u better close it
let God guide u…
sing it!

Purple rain, Purple rain
if u know what u’re singing about, let me see u
Purple rain, purple rain
i only wanna, only wanna…

u can be the president

on January 31, i did something i had not done since 1991 -- supported a Presidential campaign with my money. when i donated to Barack Obama, i became one of 250,000 individuals to donate in JANUARY alone. i agree with this:

This milestone will be a clear signal to those who rely on donations from Washington lobbyists and spending from outside special interests to support their campaigns that we are a movement of people who stand for real change.

i have never been inspired by a living politician until now and 2morrow i will cast my first vote 4 Obama to be the next President of the United States. i invite u to do the same. check out the NY Times almost endorsement.

slight correction: in my Obama/Kennedy post last week, i stated the following:

i met Caroline at a book signing for the Patriot's Handbook and i was more starstruck than when I met Wendy, Lisa, or Prince.

okay, after serious reflection, i admitted to myself i've never been more starstruck than meeting my 3 lifelong music idols -- Prince when i worked at Paisley Park in 2001, Wendy & Lisa at the Family Jamm in 2003. so i more accurately say, i was AS starstruck as when i met W, L & P -- but way moreso than meeting Ben, Jen, or Christian. :)

back 2 the street where we began...

disclaimer: i'm going to get all Pete Wentz on u and gush about Panic and Barack.

i've been on the Obama-Clinton fence for several months, after an initial lean to Edwards as the closest to progressive candidate. it was Caroline's column that has pushed me off the fence and firmly to Obama. my interest in politics began with reading a JFK biography in 2nd grade. in 1983 i wrote a letter to Ted saying i was disappointed that he wasn't entering the 1984 race. a high point of my childhood was receiving a response from him. i went to college in Boston because of the Kennedys. i interned in Joe Kennedy's Boston office. i met Caroline at a book signing for the Patriot's Handbook and i was more starstruck than when I met Wendy, Lisa, or Prince. color me swayed.





find Nine in the Afternoon and listen to it NOW. it is a slice of billowy wonder beauty. hanging with my Guilty Pleasure comrades listening to it on repeat for, oh, over 3 hours the day it was released, i told them it is to the songs on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out as Raspberry Beret was to the songs on Purple Rain -- purely brilliant pop confection inspired by or at least owing a debt to the boys from Liverpool.

my repeat action followed me from the compound to the office. i now submit Exhibit A, details on the Top Ten most played tracks in my itunes:

1. Purple Rain Live	Prince And The Revolution	Atlanta '85	302
2. Let's Say	Girl Bros.	Girl Bros.	260
3. Erotica	Madonna	Confessions Tour Studio	234
4. Nine in the Afternoon	Panic at the Disco	Pretty. Odd.	179
5. Love... Thy Will Be Done	Martika	Martika's Kitchen	176
6. A Place In Heaven	Prince And The Revolution	Dream Factory Remastered	169
7. Love Song	Madonna and Prince!!!!!	Like A Prayer	162
8. Hands Clean	Alanis Morissette	Under Rug Swept	143
9. Future Lover	Madonna	Confessions On A Dance Floor	128
10. All My Dreams	Prince And The Revolution	Dream Factory Remastered	125

okay, so clearly, we're entering hallowed ground. i first noticed where it was at about 147 plays, when it was creeping up on Love song. i reported myself 2 S, and she replied, "just accept it. u already changed your wallpaper." and she's right. but the thing is, i've been on this machine for 2 years. my Top Ten, hell, my Top 25, is a finely crafted achievement meant to illustrate my musical leanings, my affections, my heart, my soul. and in 2 days, Panic is knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door! granted, that particular version of Purple Rain is 18 minutes +, so in actual listening time it'll be in the lead 4 a long while. but then again Pretty. Odd. doesn't come out until March. whaddamigonnalissen2?

did i mention i also got tix to opening night of the Honda civic tour at the Warfield in s.f.? that's right. poppin the panic cherry in April! don't u wanna come?

just a wet dream 4 the webzine

TAKE THIS:






































ADD THIS:

















AND A DASH OF THIS:



















GET THIS:













Okay, so i knew i was in love in Brendon after watching a three-part interview for the Finnish TV show Pop-Ikoniin, which concluded with the following exchange:

P-I: If Panic! at the Disco was a superhero, which superhero you would be?

Brendon: Like one that I make up or like an already existing one?

P-I: U can make it up.

Brendon: Really. (Brief reflective pause) We’ll be like a mix between Prince and Liberace with more flamboyant clothing, if you can imagine that. And I, uh, use your imagination with the superpowers. Just take those two people, put ‘em together – add Freddie Mercury as well – and more flamboyant clothing…

P-I: So they make everyone gay.

Brendon: (Stutters) That’s just one big gay superhero. That’s fine. I mean, f it gets—

P-I: That’s one big man soup.

Brendon: (Smiling) Yeah, that’s one big man soup. If it gets the job done, you know.

P-I: Alright, thanks.

Brendon: There we go! Thank you very much.

P-I: Nice to meet u.

Brendon: U too.

oh how it's been so long

it's so fucking awesome to be excited about new music and to have a new obsession that is rooted in a genuine appreciation of the musicality and lyricism of a group. a dreamysexyhotqueerish lead singer is just icing. Panic at the Disco has entered my consciousness -- yes, i'm a couple two years late to the party, but after only a month of exposure, i'm a goner. i've fallen hook, line and sinker! their sophomore album is slated for a spring release and i'm loving the tracks i've heard from it. it's been a loooong time since i've been excited for a new album to come out. for the last few years, i anticipate The Idol's albums with cautious optimism. while Confessions was a pleasant surprise that has become a favorite of the post-Madonna era, i'm 100% dreading the next Madonna album. i strongly dislike Timbaland & JT's sound and arrogance. i'm praying for M to work one of her miracles. and the 3 return-to-pop discs from P have steadily improved from Musicology to 3121 to Planet Earth, but his recorded worked hasn't been inspired since TRC, which was unfortunately marred by the clunky JW-speak. and while CW is that is his live shows are where it's at, the 3121 shows i saw in Vegas last year and other sets i've heard illustrate that without a solid backing band there's not much life left in the hits. but i digress... Panic blows me away! my ipod has been stuck on their Reading 2007 set for about five days. great blend of tunes from their debut disc, new tracks and covers. they're top rate musicians and Brendon's voice is just really fucking brilliant -- and the little shits are barely legal! can't wait for the live show.

rain fall (i might be stupid enough 2 want 2 fall again)

so what happens now?
that’s what Madonna asked
(well, Evita actually)
this isn’t where we intended to be
that’s what Webber wrote
(well, Rice actually)
whatever
i won’t say i wish i didn’t fall
because the falling was fun
even if i did it alone
i won’t say i wish i moved long ago
because the living was worth the fall
to trip is to fall, we all fall down
(that’s Wendy & Lisa)
i was your fortress u had to burn
u were my lesson i had to learn
(yes, Madonna)
i’m glad i learned it with u
safely
it’s such a shame our friendship had to end
(u know Purple Rain, right?)
anyway
if happiness lies in our own hands
we only see what our eyes want to see
and don’t see what our eyes don’t want to see
my secret is i’m not frozen
i can’t wait
(gotta love Stevie)
sweet dreams!

The Words That I Keep Writing

i put him on a plane this morning. Christmas, his birthday and the start of the new year will pass between now and then. i need the breathing room.

i don't really know y we have 2 go
our separate ways
whether or not we grow
after the seeds r sown
only time can say...

but like a bird i'll keep on singing
a song that never leaves your mind
if nothing else u've taught me one thing
never cast ur pearls b4 the swine

Unless it Should Rain Strawberry Lemonade

i'm getting sound sleep for the first time in, well, ever, thanks to Dr. Feelgood. and in getting into a routine, i've decided to start using an alarm clock, which i haven't done since high school. yesterday, i had it set to buzzer. this morning, i was already half awake when 6:45 came around. the alarm made a weird clicking noise, then i heard the familiar starting spin of a cd. (you kids remember cds, right? they're what we used to listen to before mp3s.) and then, i heard the heralding trumpets that open "Christopher Tracy's Parade." in all the years since 1986, i don't think i ever noticed what a great wake up song that is.

so the story ends with me laying in bed for the duration of the "Parade" album, drifting in and out of sleep, thinking that Prince should spend his time worrying about re-mastering his records, not suing fans. and then he should call Pete Wentz and get some tips on marketing, mentoring and breaking new bands, and how to treat the people who love you, even when you act like the spoiled child u r.

Purple Suspicion

There's this purple suspicion that lurks in my mind that u and i are alike, in more ways than 6. Can u relate?
-- Prince, Purple Rain Tour, 1985

With the belief that we are all one, with more to tie us together than to tear us apart, I humbly step into this new universe. I look forward to the journey.