Peas 2008, Smell Ya Never

So apart from the a few traumatic experiences this year (sarah palin, economic breakdown, losing my job, leaving SF), there were things to note.

Honorable mention to Craigslist and eBay for always coming through with concert tickets, clothes, and shoes at all-American low prices that have nothing to do with Wal-Mart!

Despite being a crap year for new music, I would like to thank the veterans for touring: Stevie, Tom, Tina, George. Thanks for saving what could have been a truly lackluster year.

And of course, who can leave this year without thanking the American public for making good on the last 8 years by electing Barack Obama!

As for personals, it was the year I realized I'm old as hell and I'm not quite sure what to do about it.

I went to Honduras, the birth place of my parents, for the first time. Graciously, all the family I'd never met thought I was 18. I learned a third world country is a third world country, and wonder if they will ever catch up. At the same time, I can't help but resent spoiled Americans. Our infrastructure and general level of safety is something not to be taken for granted--ever.

I moved in with a boy. The first batch of my dear good friends were married and now have husbands.

These things have made for a very pivotal, landmark year.

So for next year I wish pragmatic things everyone around the world should have: a steady job with insurance, a home, and health.


Cheers '08! Be nice '09!

I leave you with some sexy animals who wish you all the best in the next year...

These Days I Barely Get By; I Don't Even Try

I've been meaning to write a state of the union address.

What a mess.

To start.

That's about all there really is to say, right?

I just got home from seeing a Beck show and for a second I forgot that the economy is in an absolute toilet. Not just here, but in England and across Europe.

I think it was at the first chord of 'The Golden Age' that I put aside my dance moves and really started to ponder everything going on. Aside from the usual complaint that I don't have insurance, I'm now thinking about people rolling around in dustbowls soon enough. I'm not talking about the Richard Fulds of the world who managed to put away approx 20 MILLION before the collapse. I'm not talking about the gentleman in the top hat cruising down 7th Ave in his ROLLS ROYCE as I was making my way to the poor girl's transport to get to the Beck show on 175th St. and Broadway.

I'm talking about all the people who got laid off and are now wondering what the fudge to do next when no one is spending and no one is hiring. Oof. Let's discuss a friend of mine who was recently laid off and is now pregnant. I'm sure she wouldn't want me to go in detail. She'd prolly shoot me if she knew I'd clicked 'publish post' on this one, but it's on my mind.

I won't even get into the election. My last two votes were a sham. Stolen. I don't have much faith in the next set of events. I might move. I really have nothing keeping me in any one place these days. I know I said that last time, but when there's some slimey hoe forcing her daughter to have a baby and trying to take my right to choose when and how to have my own, I will fucking leave.

Have you brushed up on your Maureen Dowd these days? If you're anything like moi, I will say you have. If not, keep posted to nytimes.com for her updates. She more than adequately and justly gives the play-by-play on that feminist disaster.

Here's the link to her latest posts in any case: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/maureendowd/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=maureen%20dowd&st=cse

To conclude, (and thereby back to Beck), can't I go back to the days when I was hanging around listening to 'Loser' or 'Where It's At?' or even 'Devil's Haircut?' I'd give anything for those bygone days.

I Love That Song, Too!

When I lived in SF (which pains me to say, mind you), our neighbor would wake me up at roughly 9:30AM every Sunday with Madonna's Hung Up. Sometimes he'd let the whole Confessions on a Dancefloor album roll through but mostly it was Hung Up--on loop!

I can get down with that album. I owned it. I shook my sassafrass to Hung Up all the time--in 2006. Not sure what place that song and album had on a Sunday morning in 2007.

Anyway, those days are behind me and since the excitement of my return to New York is all but faded, I take comfort in the little things. Yesterday I woke up to our upstairs neighbor playing the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows. I quite love listening to any Radiohead album straight through. When I lived alone, I'd play a setlist from my itunes or seeqpod.com before I went to bed. Radiohead was often included in those mixes so it was a nice return to form on a weekend after a long, long week.

This morning neighbor pal played Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode, another of my favorite songs. After that he played Blur! I don't know you neighbor, but I love you.

Ps, Welcome to the new subscribers to Get Up On This!

Isaac Hayes, Tom Petty, and Stevie Wonder!

Summer has officially began. You can tell because I've seen so many wonderful acts in such a short amount of time.

In one week I saw Isaac Hayes in Prospect Park, Tom Petty at MSG and Stevie Wonder at Jones Beach Theatre.

I've wanted to see Tom Petty since I was in high school. His songs are so timeless. I don't think I've ever met anyone with a negative feeling about his music. He's better than Springsteen in my book. Yeah, I said that.
I wish he had played 'Yer So Bad' though. It's definitely been one I've listened to a lot lately. He closed with 'Running Down a Dream' and 'American Girl.' Can't really complain. Oh! He also did 'Don't Come Around Here No More.' So great live!

Moving on to another great, I saw Stevie Wonder the next night at Jones Beach Theatre. It had been raining like a mother right before start of the show. In fact, they delayed start time so it wouldn't be so heinous for the performers and viewers. Jones Beach is an outdoor arena after all. All the good graces of the music gods aligned so that after about 30 mins of torrential downpours, Stevie was able to play a full set uninterrupted by mother nature. Not gonna lie, it was a little weird to see him live. It was like meeting Harry Potter or Kermit the Frog. So surreal and magical. He played 'Ribbon in the Sky.' Amazing. I think I teared a smidge on that one.
I can't take all the preparation work for these concerts though. The Other M coordinated all the purchases and logistics. SPANKS!

JUANES, Es Por Ti

Friday night, V and I went to see our fave Latin artist, Juanes, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. We first saw him on his Mi Sangre tour in 2005 at Madison Square Garden in New York. For those of you who don't know, Juanes is from Colombia and is the recipient of 12 (TWELVE!) Latin American Grammys. He's a political motivator and good spirit in the vein of Bono. His music is inspiring and earnest. I'll be shallow for a moment and also mention that I find him incredibly attractive. This was the closest I've been to a singer in a stadium setting. I pretty much screamed throughout the entire show. NV and I sang every song.

I love seeing him in concert because he's so upbeat and really commands the stage. He runs around to every corner and engages the audience at every turn. He also is an expert at pillow talking the ladies in the audience. It's quite incredible. From the pics, you can tell he's having such a good time working it. Here's a pic of his telling us about how lovely women are:

HP Pavilion, May 16, 2008. San Jose, CA.
A Dios Le Pido
No Creo en el Jamas
Mala Gente
Clase de Amor
La Noche
Un Dia Normal
Fotografia
Gotas de Agua Dulce
Bandera de Manos
Bailala
Suenos
Para Tu Amor
Me Enamora
La Paga
La Vida...Es Un Ratico
Minas Piedras
Es Por Ti
La Camisa Negra

ENCORE:
Dificil
Tres
Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor
? (rats, I didn't know the last song!)

Also, let me just say he has the sweetest lyrics. Lately, I've been listening to Un Dia Normal a lot lately. Mostly for this phrase:
No importa en donde estes yo desde aquí te besaré en mis sueños
Mi sangre arderá por ti hasta que se pierda por tu cuerpo
En un día como hoy caminaré más despacio
En un día como hoy defenderé mi verdad
En un día como hoy te amarraré con mis brazos

France and I Finally Agree on Something...

Kylie Minogue is the Best!

Kylie Minogue is by far my mascot. I love her to no bounds. When she announced she had breast cancer, I prayed for her every time I heard one of her songs or happened to think of her as I walked down the street. For me, she is a classy, sexy lady who has done all of Madonna's tricks first. Have you seen the 'Spinning Around' video? She basically already did the whole 'Hung Up' dance routine back in 2000 in gold hot pants. It is no surprise that France chose to knight Kylie in the Order of Arts and Letters.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=564132&in_page_id=1773&ito=1490

Most Americans got reacquainted with Ms. Minogue during her Fever era. That's cool. I don't hate on when fans became fans. My stay in London in 2003 solidified my love for her. She's as part of the culture there as fish 'n' chips! And who wouldn't adopt her as their loyal knight? She has incredible style and fortitude under personal trials and tribulations. I can't express enough how much I find her to be a the poster child for smiling and remaining positive through adversity. Even when she was breaking up with that foine slice of a man, Olivier Martinez, she was adamant to keep the press off his back to maintain their privacy and dignity. Again, classy lady.

If you haven't picked up her latest album, X, go get it! It's perfect for to get pumped up at the gym or before a night out dancing.

Kylie Minogue is today's sexy animal by the way!

Congratulations, Kylie! You deserve it, sister! God bless.

Why You Gotta Do Me Like That Apple?

This one is going to be short. I've had my third ipod die on me this weekend.

I can hardly throw out the trash without having on my headphones. When I leave my apartment in the morning and the sun is shining, do you know what I'm listening to as I bop down the street? "Come Into My World" by Kyle Minogue.

I absolutely attribute this habit to my city upbringing. It's the best way to keep out the crazies I encounter on my commute to and from my daily travels. I don't have a car. Now I'll get to listen to the drunken hobos' sexual advances or the hipster couple deciding whose going to buy the next round of weed. Thanks, Apple.

What am I going to do at the gym? How am I gonna get my arse in gear with out my 'Dance' playlist? Have I gotten too spoiled? Am I not supposed to expect my media products to last longer than a year or is it just me? Am I kiss of death for every ipod I've ever had? Do I have to succumb to the crappy policy of buying insurance for something that's inevitably going to break? Am I asking too many unanswerable questions? Makes me yearn for the bygones days of portable CD players when the only malfunction concern was a scratched CD.

I know I'm not the first to write on this subject and I'm surely not the first to be burned at the sight of a 'sad mac' face staring back at me from that little white drug that held so much promise.

Also, I'm incredibly stubborn and don't want to have to buy another ipod just for it to get outdated in two weeks. Isn't insanity repeating the same method while expecting different results?