BFF Love, Pt. 1

Jeff Tweedy finally went off and punched a guy. Oh Jeff. Tonight, Wilco will be on NPR's online concert series for the second time (the first was February 2005). It's happening in Washington, DC's 9:30 Club. I bet he won't hit anyone tonight and I bet he makes fun of himself but also attempts to justify what he did tonight. It all starts around 9pm but will be archived for a year after its airdate. You can also listen to Jenny Lewis, Built to Spill, Regina Spektor and others that are already archived.

So last month it was my best friend Karen's birthday. With the help of some of her oldest friends from childhood, I put together a CD with a song from every year she has been on this earth. It took three CDs (she's old, ha ha) and I am going to post each volume here, starting with the first, but only for a short period of time. Below, the song list. Beyond that, a downloadable zip file. You should know, Karen grew up in Manchester, England, is generous and gorgeous and hilarious and has made many questionable fashion decisions over the years.

1966 Peter & Gordon, "Lady Godiva"
1967 Aretha Franklin, "Respect"
1968 Nina Simone, "Ain't Got No - I Got Life"
1969 Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "The Israelites"
1970 The Kinks, "Lola"
1971 T.Rex, "Bang A Gong (Get It On)"
1972 Stevie Wonder, "Superstition"
1973 Gary Glitter, "I Love, You Love, Me Love"
1974 ABBA, "Waterloo"
1975 Minnie Riperton, "Lovin' You"
1976 Elton John & Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
1977 The Jam, "In The City"
1978 Buzzcocks, "Ever Fallen In Love"
1979 Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive"
1980 English Beat, "In The Bathroom"
1981 Roxy Music , "Jealous Guy"
1982 Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Come on Eileen"

Download the zip file with all the songs.

This, That. And the Other.

So I've been out of the loop for awhile thanks to a giant beefsteak tomato of a tumor in my chest that has since been removed (and it really did look like a beefsteak tomato, my surgeon took a picture on his camera phone!) While I am still in a fair amount of uncomfortable (and occasionally blinding) pain, I am no longer bed-ridden and glued to the bad TV that makes up 99.75% of what's on the air.

What don't I hate? Of course, Gilmore Girls. Although admittedly this season's premiere started off with less than a bang. Was not my favorite episode. But the one from last week with the dirty texting and the what if Pop Tart speech redeemed. I look forward to tonight's episode.

I wish Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was better. Don't get me wrong, I really like 1/2 the show. I like the characters immensely and I never, ever found Chandler compelling, but quite like Matthew Perry as Matt, I find him cute even, in a bloated sort of way. But I can do without Christine Lahti and worse yet, the "comedy" writing is simply not funny. Aaron Sorkin can write funny, I mean, Sports Night was one of the best shows, ever, in my mind. I don't mind the stage-y thing Sorkin does with his dialogue, the stilted fast-talk that sounds hyper-real only unreal but still enjoyably sharp. (Shockingly Amanda Peet handles it well, but Lahti sounds like she's in an off-Broadway play in a too big for it's own good theater.) And what a waste of Lorelei?! Ultimately the big problem is the show within the show is just not funny or hyper real or sharp. (I'm of course, not the first person to say this.) It undermines the whole premise of the show. Why doesn't he get a real comedy writer to write that stuff? Or if he already has gotten one, why doesn't he get a better one? Still, I keep watching... for now.

I love this commercial. (Wait for it to load, it will play on this front page.)

Did you know Scrubs is on like 5 hours a day? Even more than Saved by the Bell.

During my inability to leave the house (i.e., go shopping) I ordered way too many beauty products online on Sephora. I wait anxiously for the box to arrive so that I may change my look entirely and go from once tumor-ated and tired Mommy to hot author chick with (almost always) sexy husband and brilliant daughter. (By the way, daughter essentially learned how to read this week! Nothing more exciting than that, not even the Project Runway finale.) Speaking of which, I wanted Michael to win but it appears he totally crumpled under pressure. So now who? Uli? Jeffrey? Please, not Laura.

New favorite website: CookingCute.com She's inspired me to make my daughter bento lunches each morning. I would have taken a picture of this mornings but frankly, not so cute, save for the terriyaki tofu stars! You can't look at this website without smiling.

A most important note: I am currently shopping a book called Getting Over the Dork You Used To Call A Boyfriend. It's genius and if I can find a daring, smart publisher who is willing to actually attempt to sell non-fiction to the YA crowd, it will sell millions and help girls around the world. But meanwhile, I've created a little podcast and blog dedicated to Getting Over the Dork. You'll find it here, at GettingOverTheDork.com. Download the podcast!

Now for the music. Lady & Bird is a side project of French singer-songwriter Keren Ann's that she does with Bardi Johannson and here they cover the M*A*S*H theme, which is a very, very sad song in anyone's hands, but especially theirs. This Hem song was used in some financial company's ad, I think. It's a purty one. Au Revior Simone are not French, but rather from Brooklyn. They have another song on their website. I heard of them on my own blog, the other one, smallages, while Phil and others were sitting in for me. The guest posters - Deb, Zak and Phil - did such a lovely job, I asked them to stay awhile. I like this band, three girls, electro beats, sweet simple vocals, sing-a-long la la's. Everything I look for in a song. Thanks, Phil.

Lady & Bird, "Suicide is Painless"
Hem, "Half Acre"
Au Revior Simone, "Hurricanes"

More about: Lady & Bird (in French), Hem, Au Revior Simone