April in May

I'd never heard of April Winchell, but you can bet I'll be checking her blog from now on. She's got a link to a YouTube video of Paula Abdul acting like a nutjob on QVC, but scroll down to her 5/26 vlog--in that one she shows something her friend sent her. And then check out the quick videoblog she did on 5/24, which is in response to her first-ever videoblog. My kind o' snark. Link via Past Deadline

Old Love

I guess I'm just in a musical mood...it hits me every now and again... Surfing around YouTube, I found this:



I'd completely forgotten about that old Sanborn show. The more things change, the more they stay the same (yada yada yada)... Twenty years later and Clapton and Cray are still touring together. I went to Robert's site--don't think I'd ever checked it out before. I laughed when I saw something on this page. You won't know what it is or why it made me laugh...sometimes I just need to entertain myself. :)

Mojo Priest

You'd think that all that Idol chatter below would be enough musical nonsense for one day...but oh, you'd be so wrong...

Some backstory first... The morning after I went to Curtis' show in Portland in late April, I was up and out of my room at the Jupiter Hotel early on a Sunday morning. I think I may have had a bit too much caffeine during the drive up the previous day, so I didn't sleep long. I went into Doug Fir and it was nearly empty--just a (female) bartender and one guy sitting at the bar. I sat down to have a cup of coffee and idly flip through the current issue of Willamette Week. And it was in the WW that I spotted an ad for an upcoming show in PDX by Steven Seagal Blues Band. I swear to you that I thought it was a joke. I asked the other two (since I still felt a bit out of it), "Is this for real?" The guy laughed and said, "Yeah, it's real. I know, I had a hard time believing it, too."

So I'm surfing around today and I go by Jen Is Famous. She's been playing in Boise...and look who performed across the street from her venue. So then I just had to go by Seagal's website. As I commented on Jen's site (comment doesn't show up yet), when you're playing places like "Tractor Tavern" (as Seagal is tonight), I'm not sure I'd call it a world tour. Oh, but it gets better. Here are some photos of Seagal's trip to Japan, where he's seen carrying his man-purse, a vital accessory for any bluesman. But here's the piece de resistance: a 'press video' of Seagal with music clips and him talking about the origin of his album's name, Mojo Priest. (Mojo Priest...snort...) Is it just me, or has this man adopted a faux Louisiana accent?

You simply can't make this shit up.

Prince on Idol

I've been meaning to post about this for a few days, but have just been busy. Know what really pisses me off? (Besides Taylor Hicks winning Idol, I mean.) The fact that Prince was on the Idol finale...and I SLEPT THROUGH IT...WHILE MY BOYFRIEND WAS WATCHING IT...AND HE DIDN'T WAKE ME UP...OR EVEN TELL ME ABOUT IT LATER...HE JUST LET ME FIND OUT ABOUT IT ON THE INTERNET. I watched most of the show, but conked out at one point on the couch...woke up right before they announced the winner. (I know I said I would be boycotting the finale, but J wanted to watch it.)

I can't believe Jeffrey didn't wake me up. He KNOWS I love me some Prince! He's our generation's James Brown. One o' the baddest mofos on the planet. That's okay...I found the video at YouTube. But, man, is the direction bad. Dudes, don't you know that when you're shooting one of the best dancers ever you need to actually show him dancing?!

Watch the Prince video and then tell me that Taylor Hicks is the head of the Soul Patrol. Taylor Hicks isn't qualified to tie Prince's shoe...

Word all over the internet is that His Royal Purpleness showed up literally at the last second and walked offstage and right out of the building. Details here. Now that's a rock star....that's how you do it, people! :)

Look who Prince special guested with last night... PLUS Larry Graham and Graham Central Station? That's more funk than even a old-school funk-lover like me could handle! :) Rumor has it he's gonna be doing a lot of shows in Vegas this summer...might have to plan a visit to Mom's...but how the hell is a poor school lady like me supposed to afford those ticket prices?! If you've never seen The Time live, I recommend it. I have fond memories of seeing Morris Day and The Time in July '97 at the Crystal Ballroom with a girlfriend--we were celebrating her birthday. (J was out on the road at the time, as was her boyfriend, so we solo'd it.) I can hardly believe that was 9 years ago already...

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep through this moment...although I had to go to the internet to make sure I'd really seen what I thought I had. Don't you just love when life gives us moments more mind-bogglingly cheesier than any we could have scripted?

And, WHY, oh WHY, didn't any of you tell me I slept through THIS?!?!

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After posting this, I was IM'ing with Irene in Paris. She reminded me that France has their own version of American Idol, Nouvelle Star. Irene's favorite this season is Christophe. She tried to direct me to video clips of Christophe singing on the Nouvelle Star site, but they seemed to want to charge me. (I don't think so!) :) So we went an alternate route--we found video clips at DailyMotion. Here are two of Irene's favorite Christophe performances: Memory and True Colors. Nouvelle Star doesn't have their finale for another couple of weeks. Hopefully Irene will let us know who wins. :)

RobinElla

Pandora brought her to my attention...digging her big time. Check out "Break It Down Baby."

Colbert skewers Bush

Daily Kos has a transcript of Stephen Colbert's remarks at the White House Correspondents Dinner in D.C., via hchamp. Wow...Colbert really lets him have it...love it. :)

mis-queue

I had ordered up a Netflix film for J to watch when I went on my road trip three weeks ago. But he's too loyal to watch a Netflix film without me, so the envelope was still unopened when I returned. We popped it into the DVD player the second night I was home, and then I got really confused...because there were Danish subtitles. What the hell?!? Is Mark Wahlberg a big hit in Denmark or something?! The film I'd ordered wasn't Four Brothers...it was Brothers. But oh man, was it good--we thoroughly enjoyed it. Check it out.

Stage Door

Synchronicities CRACK.ME.UP. My buddy who's battling liver cancer is playing a small club in the small town where my mother used to live on July 1. (Mt. Shasta is three hours north of us.) I just checked out their calendar page...and saw that the woman who's playing there the night before...is a teacher at the school where I work. :)

Serling

Didn't mean to go a whole week without posting here...just been busy. Here's a fun idea we should all partake of: Twilight Zone episodes...performed live.

2006 Dixon May Fair Parade

Who doesn't love a PARADE?! Even more fun? Being IN a parade, as Jeffrey and I were today. More photos here...and a short video clip here.

Favorite Things Saturday

time for Ze

Fuck, this guy slays me...time for more Ze.

fish eyes

Deborah Lattimore's stunning Fish Eyes Flickr set - via Flickr blog.

Wes Anderson and American Express

Flamingess

Now this is my kind of business. And she blogs about it, too.

art murmur

A never-ending dilemma...art vs. gentrification. But it's always nice to hear when good things are happening in Oakland. Check out Oakland Art Murmur.

O.T.I.S.

Pimp My Snack

Lori-Lyn was hip to this site awhile ago, but now SFGate is jumping onto the Pimp My Snack bandwagon.