Liner Notes

Every December/January I put together a CD of the songs that Mac & I listened to the most throughout the year. Every year I struggle to get that list down to the 1.2 hours of music that will fit on one CD, and end up ruthlessly cutting really fantastic songs. So here are the songs that made the cut for this year's CD, complete with a few liner notes, as well as the ones that were also awesome but just wouldn't fit. Enjoy.

Mac & Dinah's Best of 2010

1. Black Sheep / Metric (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Soundtrack)

Two words for you: Power Chords. I love them. Love! I also love that they bring more of a rockin’ edge to Metric’s typical “pretty alternative girl pop” offering—a style I also enjoy as a general rule on its own, but one that really goes well with some good old-fashioned power chords.

2. Dog Days Are Over / Florence + The Machine (Lungs)

When this album came out in 2009, the only song I listened to from it was “My Boy Builds Coffins,” a great song that my friend Amanda put on a mix for me. Then I heard this song and a bunch of others from the album on this summer’s season of “So You Think You Can Dance” and just fell in love with their Big Anthem qualities. And then, yes, this song was everywhere and overplayed, but by that point I was already in love with it, so there you go.

3. Learnalilgivinanlovin’ / Gotye (Pre-Release Singles Compilation)

A song that sounds like a lost track from The Temptations is an unlikely creation from an artist AllMusic.com describes as an “Australian electronic pop trickster.” And yet.

4. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) / Janelle Monáe (The ArchAndroid)

Loving the Motown-revival movement much? Yes, yes I am. This young lady holds the honor of being the only artist to ever perform on “So You Think You Can Dance” who was so good I not only didn’t fast-forward through her, I automatically hopped on iTunes & bought her single. Effective marketing, yes. It’s an even more effective dance song.

5. Opposite Of Adults / Chiddy Bang (Opposite Of Adults – EP)

MGMT’s “Kids” has been covered & sampled more times than I can count, but this one is the best. It also might be Mac’s favorite song of 2010.

6. WOR / Django Django (Wor/Skies Over Cairo)

Also experiencing a revival in recent years? Surf rock. I don’t know much about this band, but I know I love the hell out of this song.

7. Howlin' for You / The Black Keys (Brothers)

This whole album is so good it’s hard to pick just one song. This one is a little reminiscent of Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll Part 2,” I admit, but it also sounds like a sexy striptease. Ow.

8. More Or Less / The Soft Pack (The Soft Pack)

As long as Motown & surf rock are experiencing a comeback, why not garage rock? Why not indeed. This whole album is great. This song is my favorite.

9. Hellbound Train / Magnolia Mountain (Redbird Green)

Growing up in Evansville, IN in the 80s, the big local band was called Stop the Car. Today, a couple STC alums have put together this outfit that’s a little more country than rock & roll, but just as sexy & fun. I just wish I knew how to get this song in front of the music supervisor of HBO’s “True Blood."

10. How You Like Me Now / The Heavy (The House That Dirt Built)

Technically from 2009, this song grabbed the nation’s attention in a car commercial featured in the 2010 Superbowl, with toys that came to life and went carousing around western bars, bowling alleys & tattoo parlors. Then it hung out on the down-low for the rest of the year as simply one of Mac’s favorite songs until The Fighter came out in the fall, and became a whole new anthem for scrappy badasses everywhere.

11. Momma's Place / Róisín Murphy (Momma's Place – EP)

Straight up late 80s/early 90s dance pop.

12. I Can Change / LCD Soundsystem (This Is Happening)

I first listened to this on my niece Sydney’s Facebook wall, and it reminded me of songs I loved when I was her age. Maybe because we both moved away from our best friends when we were 14, I always think of her and my old friends when they sing, “Never change never change never change never change…”

13. MoneyGrabber / Fitz & The Tantrums (Pickin' Up the Pieces)

A treat from my friend Alf, and another neo-Motown jam, with a dash of funk.

14. Sorrow / The National (High Violet)

I love this guy’s voice and I love this album, but I love the heart-wrenching sadness in this gorgeous breakup song the most.

15. What Part of Forever / Cee Lo Green (Twilight: Eclipse Soundtrack)

It never fails to amaze me that these goofy teen sparkly vampire melodrama movies can boast these really great soundtracks that compile a lovely mix of pop, rock and indie acts. Most people will remember Cee Lo’s delightful “F--- You” from 2010, but this catchy, strummy pop number is the one that gets stuck in my head the most. Maybe it’s the whistling?

16. Grey X Sage / Theophilus London (This Charming Mixtape)

Mac calls this the “muppet song” because it sounds like there are muppets singing counterpoint. He’s not wrong. It is, in fact, one of the reasons I love the song. Because who doesn’t love muppets?

17. We Used to Wait / Arcade Fire (The Suburbs)

I feel like such a victim of marketing with this song. The Arcade Fire released this song as part of a viral marketing campaign to introduce Google Chrome by having the viewer punch in their childhood home address, which would then play the song while all these pop ups & animation come up around satellite views of the old neighborhood. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well, but it was really cool, and by the time the song was over I wanted to hear it again and again.

18. Write About Love / Belle and Sebastian (Write About Love - Single)

Less Motown but still a 60s throwback, this song reminds me of my days of punching the clock in my old corporate gig with lyrics like, “I hate my job. I’m working way too much (every day I’m stuck in an office).”

19. Light Of Love / Music Go Music (Expressions)

Wait, did I sneak in a lost ABBA track on here? No. But I did sneak in something just as joyful and fun.

Burnable CDs should be longer for songs like these:

The World Was Made For Men / The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger – A gorgeous, dreamy boy/girl duet ballad from this new group made up of Sean Lennon and his girlfriend. The whole “Acoustic Sessions” album is lovely, if you don’t mind the slightly haunting fact that Sean sounds an awful lot like his dad when he sings.

Bang Bang Bang / Mark Ronson – A fun, highly percussive indie pop song for anyone who likes that sort of thing. Like me.

Excuses / The Morning Benders – I like anthem-y tunes constructed in waltzy, ¾ time like this one. Another find from my niece Sydney.

Angela Surf City / The Walkmen – This one is another great surf rock homage, filled with all the jangly guitars & strong drums you expect, and some authentically angsty vocals that maybe you wouldn’t expect.

Not in Love / Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith – The Cure’s old front man lends his unique vocal stylings to dancey, electronic pop with fantastic results.

Lovesick / Lindstrom & Christabelle – This electronic dance track was a present from my sister Amy, and a slinky, sexy good time.

YOUR Twilight soundtrack

Like many of my friends, I am totally SQUEEEE! over Twilight and read all 4 books and already have my tickets for the movie, etc etc I'm a dork. The movie soundtrack was released a couple weeks ago and I looked it over and was like, what? No.* These are not the Twilight soundtrack songs.

So I made my own soundtrack**:

1. Something Bigger, Something Brighter - Pretty Girls Make Graves
2. Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
3. Creep (acoustic) - Radiohead
4. Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins
5. You Look Like Rain - Morphine
6. Ageless Beauty - Stars
7. Waiting For The Night - Depeche Mode
8. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
9. Take My Hand - Dido
10. Tacoma Trailer - Leonard Cohen
11. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
12. Together - The Raconteurs
13. Save A Prayer - Eve's Plum
14. The Horror Of Our Love - Ludo
15. Blood - Pearl Jam
16. The Promise - When In Rome
17. This Modern Love - Bloc Party

If you want I can walk you through my liner notes, but most song choices are fairly obvious, including the fact that my version of the soundtrack is way heavy on bands and songs I liked in jr high and high school and loving boys for the first time, since that is the feeling these books bring back for me. (How Bella feels about Edward = How I feel about "Never Tear You Apart" and that dreamy senior I crushed on.) I also tossed in a heavy dose of songs that remind me of my time in Seattle and the PNW, for obvious reasons.

Now, my fellow Twilight fans, here is the question: What would you put on YOUR Twilight soundtrack??

*I know, I sound like every other hyper-critical Twilight fan out there. "That isn't how I would have done it. That's not who I would have cast. I don't know why they had to change that part of the book." etc etc etc. What can I say? I am a fangirl.

**I also have songs picked out for New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that I will post later. Cause I'm a nerd and they're awesome.

bullets & updates

Happy Labor Day! Just a couple bullets & updates:

• I cracked the plasma in my Macbook a while ago, and finally got around to getting it fixed (being without a computer, cracks or no, is darn near impossible for me). The Apple stores, even the "unofficial" ones, wanted a stupid amount of cash to repair it. Like, just a couple hundred more and I could have a whole new computer instead of just a new screen. Ridiculous. But I was prepared to pay it because it had to be fixed, and I took it to the Genius Bar, and you know what they introduced me to?

iResQ--they fixed the exact same thing for HALF THE COST and you don't even have to go anywhere. They send you a box, you send them your broken machine, they send back a fixed machine. Genius. I'm telling all my friends. They also repair iPods.

• I saw House Bunny. As tired as I am of this whole, "Oh wait guys who aren't total douche trucks (and even some who are) actually LIKE smart girls who choose to be themselves over dim bulbs trying to be sexy?" message, I mean COME ON. The whole storyline is insulting. That said, get over it, and go see it anyway because it's also ridiculously funny. That Anna Faris is a comic genius. She wins the whole movie. And I can't stop saying people's names like I'm possessed now. (See the movie, you'll get it.) I really hope boob punching doesn't become a thing, though.

• Finally, my sister Matti sent me some fantastic CDs for my birthday, including a Monkey Mix that is brilliant and kicks off with this song, "Did Charlie Make a Monkey out of You?" sung by The Fischers. It is SHOCKING. It's this song, but it's sung by a child and includes an intro with a child pretending to be a snooty, British science professor teaching evolution, and includes a charming refrain of "wackadoo! wackadoo!" that's missing from this version. I don't know how she found this song, and I can appreciate its place on my mix (which is also part of a Darwin project she's working on), but the whole fact that these people are for real just makes me sad for humanity.

• Actual final note. My parents got to go to Invesco Field to see the last day of the DNC and said it was amazing. I am completely jealous.

you hadda be there

Trying to choose just one phrase from this fantastic R.E.M. concert review was so difficult. My mom should go to more shows and write more reviews, I think. Don't you?

Hi--

Last night we attended the REM concert at Red Rocks, and it was quite a memorable experience on many levels. First of all, I insisted that with GA tickets we needed to get there fairly early to get good seats, because it's first come, first pick of seats. So with the gates opening at 5:00 for a 6:30 concert I didn't feel it was unreasonable to get there around 4:00. Arriving at 4:15 at the parking lot at the "top," we only had a 45 minute wait in beautiful sunny weather till we could enter the gate from somewhere near the middle of a long line. But before we could enter, all our drinks had to be de-capped....yes, apparently they're afraid we'll toss our bottles of water and pop at the performers if they have caps on them. Fortunately, I had put the drinks into a plastic lunch bag so they didn't get all over the place as we carefully avoided getting knocked over as people tore past us to get the best seats! I made no mention of the two frozen bottles of water that were keeping our sandwiches cold, but Bud probably would have had he known. Think what good missiles they would make!!

Even though we parked at the top lot, we decided to go on down to the front section and were able to get seats in row 20. We proceeded to enjoy our ham and cheese on rye sandwiches and a couple of $7.00 beers (while our opened drinks went flat). The first two bands were not our favorites, but they did have their following of adoring kids. "The National" was tolerable, but in retrospect, not loved too much because people actually sat in their seats for most of the performance. A group of old hippies/bikers? in front of us started passing joints early in the show. So I didn`t feel too bad about my hidden frozen capped waters. I guess the no smoking rule doesn't apply to anything but tobacco! Ha, ha! Anyway, no one seemed to mind about the smoke. I think they were all jealous that they didn't have any.

After enduring the loud grueling throb of "Modest Mouse" or, as one of our fellow folks in line called them, "shy rodents" we were starting to wonder if we'd made a mistake in spending $150 for this lovely evening. Bud kept trying to determine if he was the oldest person there when a REALLY old hippie with a long white beard and wild white hair with little braids here and there came around selling hemp ice cream. Tourists were getting their pictures taken with the hemp ice cream sellers. Anyway, we decided that Bud was indeed older. After all, we are older than the hippie generation. We passed on the ice cream.

After an intermission, during which time they set up for the Main Event, we were all poised for a fabulous show. Needless to say, it was beyond any expectations I had. By then it was dark, the rocks around us were lit so they jumped out like a surreal Parrish print. When the music and the accompanying light show commenced, we were bowled over! When they played the second song, "What's the Frequency, Kenneth? " from my favorite Monster album, I was totally hooked. It was incredible. The light show, which included a grid of moving faces of the band members and colors and shapes and words to appropriately accompany each song,
only enhanced our nearly overloaded senses. I thought it was amusing when they played "Losing My Religion" that they focused the lights and cameras on the audience as they sang, "that's me in the spotlight losing my religion." And then the audience was on the screen. Well, you can read the reviews, but you hadda be there.

Well, a good time was had by all. And those great seats? No one sits during these concerts--the whole time!! But I didn't mind standing during the REM segment as we'd been sitting for 3 hours before that! I was able to navigate the stairs with frequent "rests," but I noticed a lot of young people resting too! I am experiencing considerable soreness in my calf muscles, but that's fine. I don't want to wait too long before we go again.

I hope you've enjoyed my "review."
Love you,
Mom

random musings

Just a couple tiny little bits before I get back to focusing on my work:
- My Google news feed today is 60% Britney's latest meltdown (Standoff at the "I'm so NOT okay, y'all" Corrall), 30% Obama's upset in Iowa (and, I guess, Huckabee's as well), 10% writer's strike and, well. Nothing else. Mind you, a fair chunk of my feeds are entertainment-related, but that still seems a little out of whack to me.

- I have these "mood playlists" in my iTunes--Feeling Strummy, Feeling Positive, Feeling Chill, etc. I just created one called "Feeling Country" to hold the likes of Dolly, Patsy, Johnny & the Chicks, and it turns out? There's 10 hours of music on that list. Who knew?

- It's raining, I'm wearing a warm turtleneck sweater, comfy pants, bunny slippers, and drinking hot tea. Today's a good day to work from home in LA, and I am grateful for it.

- I'm also grateful to my mom, my sister Amy, JL, Megan, Jeff, Brett, the lovelies over at Looking Good, and everyone else who reads my blog regularly and comments. It's nice to know my random musings aren't just going out into a void, and I just want you to know I appreciate you.

- Everyone's doing their 2007 movie & music wrap-ups. I burned a lot of CDs for people throughout 2007, so I don't know if I could deliver one CD-length Best Of this year, but I suppose I could give it a shot. Even if 2007 was the year I discovered stuff I'd missed the first time around. Like, the Dixie Chicks "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"--how pretty is this song??

- In conclusion: SIGH. And, back to work.

I will know for sure

Sometimes I'm awesome. Why? Because my iTunes is set up so that when I'm done listening to some chill Rufus Wainwright while working working working, I will know for sure that I am done when Run D.M.C. show up and announce,

IT'S TRICKY!

It's also almost 8pm. That's right, boys. It IS tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time. It's also time to stop working, get out of my chair, and shake my ass a little.

FINALLY

Today I found out that the Foo Fighters are going to be opening for The Police at their June 23 Dodgers Stadium concert. And who has tickets? Who is also a ginormous Foo Fighters Fan? Who's missed every other show she's tried to attend because they always conflict with shit she can't get out of, like weddings and trips overseas? THAT'S RIGHT BITCHES! I'm so excited. I know, they'll play a short set & all, but I don't care. FINALLY. I get to see my beloved Foo Fighters. And then I get to see The Police!! Prepare for glory!

I'M HUNGRY

I wish that I'd gotten all my girls together to go see Music & Lyrics. Every time I listen to the soundtrack I laugh and sing along. It truly is some of the funnest new music ever.

That said, I have started listening to the mixes Amy and Mike made for me. They are absolutely sensational.

Amy's mix is all duets. Depending on my mood, I'll listen to certain tracks on repeat and pretending I'm doing a duet karaoke with one of my guy friends (Mac is not down with The Karaoke). How have I never had the Iggy Pop/Kate Pierson classic "Candy" in my collection until now? I don't know, but I'm in love. Also, this band Faux Jean that Amy's put on a couple mixes for me is absolutely fabulous. I think they're local to Minnesota, but they should be big nationwide in my opinion. There are 18 tracks of goodness on this mix, those two are just highlights off the top of my head.

Mike's mixes are totally different. One is more high energy, one is more dreamy. I have a hard time getting all the way through the energetic one, because it kicks off with KT Tunstall's "You're Not the One For Me," and goll-darnit-to-heck I DON'T CARE how uncool KT Tunstall is. That is some damn catchy shit, and I keep listening to it on repeat and not playing the rest of the CD. I want to listen to this song on every road trip ever.

Mike's dreamier mix sounds like the Rocky Mountains to me. Or any mountains. I spent 10 years in Colorado so maybe this is just my take from my own experiences, but this collection of songs sounds like, I don't know... It sounds like winding roads with switchback turns, wind tickling delicate gold Aspen leaves, crisp mountain air, elks in the distance, crackling bonfires and snow falling at night. It's wild and inspiring and relaxing. It was especially soothing over this past week.

Which, okay. I have a lot of news. I'm not going to blog all of it yet.

I got my wisdom teeth out! That was a weird experience. I went in, they stuck a needle in my arm, and the next thing I knew I was laying on a gurney with my mouth full of gauze and tears in my eyes from the anesthetic. My recovery has been painful, but I'm getting there. The whole "knocked out for surgery" thing really threw me for a loop, too. I'm glad I finally got it done, but I am so ready to be recovered. For one thing? I'M HUNGRY! This liquid/soft foods diet sucks. (HA! I'm awesome. Wait, was that only funny to me and my mom? Oh, fine.) I've already started to make a list of food I'm going to eat when I get back on solids. That list so far:
BBQ - all kinds. Ribs, brisket, chicken, whatever. With a side of cold cole slaw.
A BLT - on white, with mayo. I haven't had one of these in ages, where did this craving come from??
Cajun food - I suddenly require gumbo, jambalaya and etoufee.
Steak - A petit filet would suffice.
Mexican food - Oh, all of it.

I'm sure the more soup and Slimfast I consume, the longer that list will get. I am going to make myself some decadent mashed potatoes, though. Oh, yes I am.

I have so much more to blog, but it's going to have to wait. You'll see.

And yet, I am an a**hole

When I was in Hawaii, my sister gave me a mix CD of male-female duets because she remembered me mentioning (in December) how much I loved them. It ranges from Sonny & Cher to Faux Jean and it is fabulous.

When I got back, there was a padded envelope waiting for me with two mix CDs in it from my dear friend Mikey in DC. Really groovy, personal compilations.

These are my love letters, the things that make me happy the most.

And yet, I am an asshole because the only thing I really want to listen to right now is the soundtrack for Music and Lyrics. *sigh* I can't help it. It's freaking awesome.

I must have done something right

Since my last entry? Oh, my. Lots has happened though, and I'm going try to move through it all very quickly.

We celebrated a lovely early Valentine's Day on Feb 12 at Crustacean, and stole forks. Well, Mac stole them. I am a horrible thief.

I went to San Francisco for the day on Valentine's Day--in in the morning, out at night--for work.

My brother came to visit President's Day weekend, and we enjoyed a fabulous lazy bbq with some friends complete with full-contact speed croquet and Karaoke Revolution, as well as a trip to the comic shop and a whole day of pretty much nothin'. A relaxing and fun weekend!

We threw another fabulous Oscar Party on 2/25, and I got 9 out of 24 categories correct. My butterscotch chip cookies were far more successful. Check out the whole menu, with pun-tastic names and Mac's mad photoshop skillz HERE.

I discovered my new favorite website/online community: iLike.com. Love music? Listening to music right now, in fact? Come play on iLike with me!

We went to London! It was my first time in London, and it was all I could do to restrain myself from going all, "Pip pip! Allo guvna! Wot wot! Oy!" And so on. (Why must I be so ridiculous?) Had a marvelous time, drank tea, saw many, many friends (more on this below), and got to hang out with my brother in law who was in town at the same time, because the world is just that small. Pictures are still in the camera, but I got some beauties.

Finally, last night Mac & I had dinner with my friend Stephanie and her boyfriend Matt. Unremarkable, you might think, but I've known Stephanie since we were 4 or 5, she just happened to be in town from Chicago and, oh yeah--we hadn't seen each other for 17 years.

I don't think that has enough emphasis on it.

SEVENTEEEEEEEEEEEEN YEEEEEEEEEEARS DUUUUUDE!

Which you'd think is nerve-wracking and weird-feeling and all, and it kind of was as we were approaching the restaurant? But then it was totally fine, and then it was just awesome and I was just so happy to see her again, and chat about Evansville and what funny, creative, happy weirdos we were as kids.

It's made me think a lot about the connections I've made in my life, these recent experiences. In London, I visited my London office (NERD! I know) and saw some work friends. I took the tube to Chiswick (pronouced Chissick, by the way, in case you ever go) to visit a couple of my dearest college friends who'd just had a baby on Feb 16. I went to lunch twice with a woman I met online, actually, and it was not only NOT creepy and NOT weird, it was rad and just like meeting an old friend for the first time. And I had drinks with a guy who used to be one of my best friends ever. When we weren't trying to date, or recovering from the whole "trying to date" thing, or fighting, or trying not to fight even though he and my other best friend were dating, and really? It's convoluted, and we have a lot of history, and we've been through a lot, and there was a time when I wasn't sure if we'd ever be friends again. But then I pinged him before we went to London, all "Hey, um, are you going to be around?" And he said YES! And made a trip to London from his small England town, and we went to a pub for pints and he showed me pictures of his beautiful wife and little girl, and we caught each other up on everything, and it was just so lovely.

Before we left for London, Stephanie had emailed me to see if I'd be around when she was in town, even though it had been 17 years since we saw each other last. I also got an email from my brother in law's sister that she & her partner are going to be in town and want to see us. AND a potential new friend from New Zealand, a friend of one of our Australian friends, arrived yesterday. We've promised to hook up with her while she's living here and take her around the city.

It's just really cool to me that in the time I've been on the earth, I've connected to people in such a way that I can let them know I'll be in town, or they can let me know when they (or their Kiwi friends) are in town, and we can get together for a meal and some conversation like it's the easiest thing in the world. For the millionth time, I feel lucky and grateful for these connections and friendships. And I can't help but think, for all the things I've done wrong in my life, if I've got people reaching out to me over miles and time, and responding to me when I do the same, then at some point, I must have also done something right. Right?

These are the things I've been doing and these are the things that have been on my mind.

happy

In no particular order, these are things that are currently making me happy:

So You Think You Can Dance

It's over, which is sad, but I still have Wade Robson's zombie dance to Roisin Murphy's Ramalama Bang Bang saved in my TiVO. And that makes me very, very happy.

The cast of the new Hairspray movie.

Depp and Burton, together again.

Tim Gunn.

Even if you don't watch Project Runway, you should read his blog every week. You should especially read this past week's because he disagrees with the judges, and makes them sound like idiots, except only because he's so suave and articulate. Beautiful. I love him because he's intelligent, incisive, critical-but-kind, and so thoughtful. He really cares about the designers, their efforts, and wants to see them succeed. Just like a really good teacher should.

The Rolling Stone Women in Rock Collection.
It's infinitely sing-a-long-able.

My horoscope.
Lately it's been totally spot on. Trippy.

Psyche.

So, so funny. Check out the "Psyche outs" on the site, if you don't believe me. Start with "Electric Avenue." I love these guys.

My dreams. Last night, I got to eat Twinkies and hang out with John Krasinski. Actually, we were in a play together ("Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), but I woke up before the curtain went up.

This cat.

Gofugyourself.com. Every day.

And, last but not least, my sister's new research site. Go here before you Google!

music, friendship, individuality, and love

It was a scene I would never be a part of, and it was a beautiful thing.

I grew up, the youngest of four, in a small city called Evansville, which is located on the Ohio River in southern Indiana. Although home to the University of Evansville, I wouldn't call it a college town. I lived there until I was 14, so to me it was always just the town where I grew up, where I was a kid. A place where I could ride my bike to the park and, if I was feeling ambitious, walk to the mall, and my parents didn't have to worry about me. It was a place where I lived in a castle and went to a red brick school and cheered for the Bulldogs and played the violin and grew at least one inch every year. And, in the 80's, it was a place where something really cool was happening, although I was not old enough to appropriate it or understand it.

I remember bits and flashes. I remember going to an outdoor summer festival downtown and dancing my little butt off on the hot black pavement while my older sisters' favorite local band sang, "I just want to be happyyyyyyyyyyy! I just want to have a little fun!" I was maybe 8, but that was a sentiment I could get down with.

I remember my sister Amy taking me to see A Christmas Carol at the Alhambra Theater, and thinking, "They're using an electric guitar as the chimes of the clock? They're playing all the parts and they put this whole show on themselves? These are my people!" (Or, you know, they would have been if I were older and cooler.)

My favorite memory was my sisters' joint birthday party at the castle. It was an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party for punk rockers. They drew up flyer invitations for the party, copied them on white paper, and let me color them in with my crayons. Most important, they let me attend.

The invitation said "formal-wear optional" and so I put on my favorite dress. Matti dressed up like Alice with blue dress and headband. Guests showed up in ripped jeans, tuxedo jackets and mohawks. They were all really nice to me, and I felt proud to be somehow adjacent to something I knew was very special to my sisters.

As the 80's drew to a close and I struggled through junior high and my sisters entered their post-college early twenties, the scene changed. My brother Marty was naturally welcomed into the evolving family. It didn't matter that his asthetic and musical sensibilities were more metal than punk. He was in a band, he went to Bosse and, most important, he was a Larson.

I wonder sometimes if I would have spent my high school years in this unique scene, had I stayed in Evansville. I feel certain that I would have also been "grandfathered" in by nature of my family ties. (It sounds like admission into some kind of exclusive punk rock fraternity, but it's also true.) The friendships I made in my one semester at Bosse did eventually become sort of the "next generation." It seems likely I could have easily been a part of it.

But I moved to Colorado, and some of my old childhood friends took over my place. Even if I had stayed, though, I feel certain it wouldn't have been the same.

The fact is, me trying to describe this unique time in Evansville's local music history is limited only to my perspective as a child. I can convey the essence, but not the reality.

The reality, in fact was this:

Isn't that beautiful? That's my sister Matti--her bleached denim jacket all covered with paint and patches and pins--and her friend David in our family's dining room, preparing to go out. In my mind, they're on their way to the Ross to see Stop the Car.

This weekend, some of the old crew is having their 2nd annual reunion in Evansville. Matti is going. I love the idea that maybe, just maybe, when she's at the barbecue with her old friends and her family, her daughter Lucy will be able to pick up on that same essence that slipped through my fingers when I was a child. It was about music, friendship, individuality, and love. It was, and remains, a beautiful thing.

BOYEEE, YOU KNOW! BRING IT! AW HELL YEAH!

Hi everyone. I haven't blogged properly in ages. I hope to make it all up to you today. It's long, so just pretend they're all separate entries and you're the one who's behind and needs to get all caught up. Not me. Heh.

April 14: Got my hair done.

April 15: Decided haircut was Pretty.
Also, went to Santa Barbara for Easter, hung out with mAc's family, did a truckload of shopping in preparation for annual marketing conference. Purchased first pair of Really Huge Sunglasses to ever look good on me (not pictured... yet).


April 18 - 21: National Sales & Marketing Conference.
For which I crafted three completely kick-ass mixes named for our conference theme (Fun, Focused, Fearless!), led a fun and fabulous session on making the most of your Powerpoint presentation, and delivered some of the worst karaoke of my entire life. I think at this point, it was Raining Men. Hallelujah.


April 22: Had some lovely ladies over for tea, tiny sandwiches and lemon cupcakes.
(Note to self: Do not schedule parties, no matter how small, directly following a work conference ever. Again.)


April 25: Rob Zombie at the Wiltern.
A great show to be sure, but I was a little disappointed that he didn't have any go-go dancers in fetish costume to dance along to songs like "Living Dead Girl." I had to do all the go-go dancing by myself. Not that I mind.

So there we were at the show, in your basic Rock Pose (arms crossed/in belt loops, one foot forward, rocking front to back, head bobbing), enjoying the thumping and screaming of Zombie while a screen filled with anime, horror, death and porn flashed behind him, and as I'm watching the bazillionth animated bouncing boob on the screen it occurs to me, "I wonder if there are any gay Zombie fans? I wonder if there are any here?" At which exact point, no joke, my gay friend Robert taps me on the shoulder and goes, "Dinah? Is that you?" What are the odds? He was there because his brother manages the opening band or something (and I want to follow that sentence with "of course" but I don't know if that's bitchy). But he quite enjoyed Zombie's set. I believe those were his exact words.

April 28 - 30, May 3: Vegas, baby, Vegas
Vegas was fun, for the most part. The first trip, anyway. Actually, the whole thing was awesome except for the entire day I spent at the LV airport trying (and failing) to fly home standby on an earlier flight. That day kind of sucked.

The rest of the trip was a blast, though, and a delightful reminder about why we keep in touch with our friends out of town. Because, aside from being super cool and fun (duh), old friends are the ones that you can meet up with and just start chatting about whatever. No catch-up, no "So.... what's new since we last saw you?" Just a simple "How are you" and we're off.

The exclusive Scrubs party we got to attend was pretty cool, too. Everyone I met was so nice and happy and groovy--Dave Foley shared his bottle of vodka with me. And for anyone who ever worried about how I might behave when I've tied on one too many, worry no more. Evidently, I just get hyper-professional. I walked right up to Bill Lawrence, creator and producer of Scrubs, and told him, "Bill, I've met lots of people from both the cast and crew at this party tonight, and every single one of them has told me, individually and independently, that they love their jobs and love coming into work. And Bill, YOU create that environment, and make Scrubs such a happy place to work, and that's a really cool thing. And I know you have a hard time taking compliments, but you should know that." After which he kind of sputtered a thank you (he really can't take a compliment), and I just turned around and sauntered off.

Going back to Vegas for work on the 3rd was less fun, unless you count all the ass I kicked in my Big Important Client Meeting. That was totally fun.

**By the way, you should go ahead and assume that in between the dates listed here, I'm at the office working my ass off, or at home recovering from either work or travel. Meetings and conferences don't prepare for themselves, you know.

May 5: Captain Awesome turns 1!


May 6: Cinco de Mayo Part Deux: Revenge of the Tiki Gods vs. Captain Awesome
Really good friends Janice and Kelly came to stay with us from Seattle this weekend, and on Saturday we unveiled the glory of the completed tiki bar in the backyard. And celebrated Captain Awesome's birthday with a yard full of (mostly well-behaved) puppies and (mostly well-behaved) friends. With margaritas. Lots and lots of margaritas.


May 8,9: Flew to Chantilly, VA and flew back.
The weirdest part was never adjusting to the time zone change. I couldn't get to sleep before 1 am EST because my body thought it was only 10 pm, Pacific. And when, the next day, I finished my presentation at around 10:30, I couldn't help but feel in my bones that it was simply not right to have woken up, eaten breakfast, gone into the office, and completed a one-hour presentation all before 7:30 in the morning. WEIRD.

May 12-14: Birthday celebrating and wine tasting in the Santa Rosa
On May 13, 2006, my best friend from high school and beyond, Kate, turned 30. We kid about her being "30 going on 13" but the truth is I'm jealous because she's still so young and pretty.

We went to Korbel, Roshambo and Armida wineries, ending the day with a couple bottles of chilled, delicious sauvignon blanc and a fairly civilized game of bocce ball. At which I KICKED ASS, BOYEEE, YOU KNOW! BRING IT! AW HELL YEAH!

*ahem*

May 15: mAc & Dinah, one year and counting.
As mAc said, "Year one went down like a shot of Hangar One. Smooth and buzzy."

May 17: Sucked.
First, I got a ticket. For not stopping completely at a stop sign. Which... yeah, I fucked up and got busted, and it's totally embarrassing, but damn. That stupid ticket broke an over 10-year streak of NO traffic tickets.

Second, I spent all day in a Really Big REALLY Important Client Meeting, for which I had prepared and prepared and rushed all these materials that I normally do in about 2 - 3 weeks, but had about 4 days to throw together. And y'all? My shit was TIGHT. I was ready to ROCK. So, naturally, I never got the time or opportunity to present during the entire five-hour-long meeting. Which was awesome because, you know, I LOVE wasting my time.

May 20 - 25: In Chicago
I spent the Most Relaxing Weekend Ever with my old college friends, Ryan and Carrie ("Bell"). We ate good food, hung out with the pets (including a big, sweet horse named Louie), went to the Morton Arboretum, ate more good food, and talked and talked and talked. I haven't seen Bell & Ryan in nine years, yet we caught up like no time had passed. You know, the way you do with old friends. It was beautiful and amazing.

The rest of the time was spent at a conference for work, which. Eh. It was fine. I got some decent pictures, though.


Finally,
May 27-29: Big ol' heaping gobs of NOTHING
So nice. So necessary.

May 30: Back at it.
Hopefully the next entry will come faster. Many thanks to all y'all who keep coming back and reading! *MWAH*

Stevens Point

I met someone recently who told me she was from Stevens Point, Wisconsin and unwittingly unlocked a floodgate on my childhood memories.

As a young violinist, I used to go to Stevens Point in the summer with my mom for Suzuki Camp. We'd stay in a dorm room at the university and eat in the dining hall and go to violin lessons and practice pretty much all day and all night long.

I feel like I can remember every detail of those trips: how hard I practiced, and how desperately I wanted the approval of my teachers and to be a Violin Superstar. The time we road-tripped with my friend Jason and his mom and she was driving all crazy and tailgating and scaring my mom to death. The friends I made from Wisconsin and Georgia and Tennessee and all over, and the letters we'd exchange after camp was over. The random talent show night where some guys did a skit to either "Mr. Roboto" or "She Blinded Me With Science" and it was, like, so cool. The dance we had one year at the end of the week, and dancing crazy to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and wistfully watching the older, 13 and 14-year-old kids slow-dancing to "Never Tear You Apart" (a song my friend Carrie-from-Atlanta and I agreed was, without question, the Best Song Ever).

I remember the recital in Quant Gym (is that the name? it seems like it is) where all the most advanced kids got to play solos and the rest of us felt cool just to be good enough to play in the Fiocco Allegro finale. The year Dr. Suzuki himself came and played and was so small and fragile-looking and funny and my mom bought me a sweatshirt with a quote of his on it that said, "When love is deep, much can be accomplished."

The first string cheese I ever had was in Stevens Point. I also got this t-shirt from my violin teacher that said, "Point Beer. It's not just for breakfast anymore." I thought it was hilarious. At, you know, age 10.

Throughout it all, I remember the time with my mom.

My mom used to always take me to this amazing doll shop in Stevens Point and get me a birthday present: at least one book of fancy paper dolls and a really nice doll. I got two Madame Alexanders and a Sasha doll over the years, and probably still have my Vivien Leigh paperdolls somewhere (I knew the costumes from all of her movies before ever seeing one of them). I loved the dolls because they were so, so beautiful, and I loved my mom for gifting me with such a special treat.

The last year I went I was actually too old for dolls, but we went and got one anyway. My new best friends (I always made friends immediately at violin camp and was quite the little ring leader) gave me such a hard time for having it, but I loved that thing defiantly. It was a big cuddly baby doll with a pink gingham dress and matching bonnet, with patent leather mary-janes and black hair and blue eyes and I named her Diana. She's still at my parents' house somewhere.

punk rock sanctuary

Attention rock and rollers: if you haven't been yet, you have until next Halloween to get yourself to the original CBGB in New York. After a long battle between landlord and club owner, the club was given a last-minute reprieve, and granted a 1-year extension.

In case you're not familiar, CBGB is not just some random letters splayed across the faux-vintage t-shirts of wanna-be hipsters everywhere. The club, who's name actually stands for "Country Blue-Grass Blues" played host and witness to the American punk and new wave movements in the 1970's and 80's. It was instrumental in uplifting the careers of Puffpiece favorites like The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads, and more. It was a punk rock sanctuary in a disco-saturated New York.

Today, it continues its tradition of booking up-and-coming, little-known acts that can only otherwise be found listed among indie scenesters' myspace friends. And it will continue to do so for just under a year at its original address.

Personally, I've never been to CBGB and I find it makes me very sad. I've only ever spent four days in New York in my life, and while I really wanted to check it out, we had a million other things to do while we were there as well. Here's hoping I can get out to CBGB in 2006 before it moves, and here's hoping you'll see me there.

Right on.

I have come to realize that, as I'm driving home after a long day with the music blaring, singing along and doing my own brand of The Car Dance (my version* involves rockin' the shoulders, a little head bobbing, and the occasional "wave" motion with the hand that's not on the wheel), more often than not I will get busted by another traveler on that long commute home while jamming out to the Prince classic, "Sexy Motherfucker."

That said, tonight's buster? Gave me a big ol' thumbs up. Right on, dude. Right on.

*I have to ask: What's YOUR car dance? I know you've got one.

Follow-up

As a weirdly appropo follow-up to my thoughtful entry on my musical history and passion, I would just like to say:

If those bitches in the EPC don't stop playing the BEP's "Hump" song (loudly, repeatedly), I am going to slap them.

(Incidentally, I should have slapped them yesterday when I happened upon them watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the lounge, and all I had to see was one frame of Matthew Broderick in a fedora kissing that chick in the white fringe jacket to be all, "Right on! Oom bawmp bawmp--Chick, chick-a chick-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and THEY were all, "Is this, like, an OLD movie?")

Mix of the Month: November

The November mix is different from all the others I've done, and you're not going to see the tracks listed here. But let me tell you why.

We finally finished our house, and by "finished," I mean that we got it to a point where we still have projects to do, but it is not only livable, it's beautiful. The big things are done. It's a lovely, happy, welcoming sanctuary. So far, the only picture available online is on mAc's blog, but there are more to come.

What does this have to do with the Mix of the Month? Well, to celebrate the completion of all of our hard work, we threw a party. I made a playlist on the iBook for this party, quickly dragging in every party-appropriate song we had in the library, importing a few party songs we didn't have. After dragging them all in, de-duping a couple repeats and hitting shuffle, my 2005 Party Mix was complete.

It contains 179 songs, or over 11 hours of music. I am SO not typing that up for y'all, no matter how much you beg.

It's not like I didn't have specific criteria for selecting songs--I did. I picked out dance songs, happy songs, groovy background songs, funny conversation-starting songs, and current singles spanning multiple genres, thus giving guests with a wide variety of tastes something to enjoy.

The funny thing is, I've been listening to this mix since I made it (to and from work all week and I still haven't gotten through all the songs), and I like every song. On the one hand, of COURSE I like every song. On the other, there are 179, and they are all over the map.

It's moments like this when I realize how lucky I am to have had such a musical upbringing. For those of you who don't know me well, I played the violin for roughly 20 years, starting out as a Suzuki student in Evansville, IN. I got pretty good, actually. Good enough to kick out a couple Mozart violin concertos, learn Vivaldi's Four Seasons (both violin parts) and lead the second violin section of Denver's Young Artists Orchestra the year we tackled my all-time favorite orchestral work, Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Why on earth did I stop? Well, here's the thing about the violin: it's really, really hard. You have to play every day just to maintain your level of performance, and you have to practice several hours a day to really make that instrument sing. I never had the patience for it. Seriously, I'm lucky that I had any talent at all, because 9 times out of 10, I did all my practicing the day of my weekly lesson or orchestra rehearsal.

So, at a certain point, I stopped getting better. I actually remember what I was working on when that light bulb went on: Concerto No.1 In G Minor For Violin And Orchestra, Op.26, Max Bruch. Oh, man. Do yourselves a favor and go get a recording of this concerto (there's a lovely recording with Perlman performing this, and Mendelssohn's violin concerto in E minor, on Amazon, although on this piece I kind of actually prefer Joshua Bell's slightly edgier approach). It's so sensational, I can't even deal. The first movement alone makes my toes curl.

But I couldn't play it. Try as I might, I could not make this concerto work on my violin. And I really tried with this one. I loved the music so much, I was desperate to make it sound beautiful. This piece was my passion, not to mention my comfort on rough days in college. I'd have to be kicked out of the practice room in my dorm after quiet hours on some days, because I'd just devote so much time just trying to get it right. I'd stretch my fingers on the octave chords, do the runs over and over... At the end of all my hard work, I basically go to the point where I could make the first few bars of the intro kick ass, but the rest just sounded... not bad? But not good enough.

That's when I realized it was probably a good idea to think of other areas to where I could redirect my passion for music. I was never going to be good enough to master my favorite concerto, much less have the patience I'd need to master everything else I'd have to learn in order to play professionally. Not to mention, there were all kinds of things I didn't want to have to play, and when you're in an orchestra you kind of don't get a choice. They don't care if you find Mahler overbearing and boring if that's what's on the program.

Today, I find that it makes me sad to think of the concerto I never mastered, and my beloved instrument collecting dust in the closet. It's not out of the question that I'll bust it out again someday, especially now that we have a house and I don't have to worry about my squawks being heard through thin apartment walls. (I'd love to play my violin in a band, as long as I'm being honest.) That said, I am far more happy than sad to have had those 20 years playing the violin. Are you kidding me? What an amazing gift! Not only did I enjoy experiences and met amazing people I never would have otherwise, but it gave me an appreciation for ALL music. So much so that it remains a huge part of my life.

So much so that I make a party mix of some of my favorite songs, and it's over 11 hours long.

One last note (ha ha! I kill me). I recently discovered that my old violin teacher, the one who graduated me from Twinkle to Tsaichovsky, has a little web site. There's not much too it, but look at what I found on her quotes page:

THAT IS WHY I TEACH MUSIC

"NOT because I expect you to major in music.
NOT because I expect you to play or sing all your life.
NOT so you can relax or have fun

BUT - so you will be human
so you will recognize beauty
so you will be closer to an Infinite beyond this world
so you will have something to cling to
so you will have more love, more compassion,
more gentleness, more good ... in short,
more life.

Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living
unless you know how to live?"

Author Unknown

What my CD changer looks like

The new Foo Fighters album, In Your Honor, rocks my fucking world.

I dig both discs, although I find that I am partial to the more mellow-stylings of the second. Specifically, track 6, "Over and Out." If my life ever becomes a Cameron Crowe movie, that's the song I want on the soundtrack. It's just.... I just want to hug it! Love.

And since I haven't done a CD review since that first one, I'll go ahead and add the following new albums to the list of Love:
Coldplay, X&Y
Gorillaz, Demon Days
Audioslave, Out of Exile
Nouvelle Vague
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm

There, now you know what my CD changer looks like. Now go get yourself some good music.

What's the word?

Sexy Fierce Tough Sweet Hot Happy Sassy Tight Rock Edgy Tart Power Vixen Love Cool

Excellent.

Last night, Garbage delivered yet another amazing show. They made me dance, they made me laugh, they made me scream. They made me want to attack mAc in the middle of the show. They blew my mind.

Their newest album, "Bleed Like Me," hits stores today. I'll do a full review later, but from what I've heard so far, you should just join me in running to the nearest music store and picking it up.