Songs of My Youth
Back in the summer of 1991 when I was a mere 8th grader, I fell in love with a song of the summer….I’ll Be There by The Escape Club.
The song was probably the saddest I’d heard….I think it’s still the saddest today, right up there with Pull Me Through by Jim Cuddy. It’s a terribly heart-breaking song and it and the movie “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” are the two things that remind me of that summer…if nothing else, I have those two memories.
Back in that summer, long before iTunes and downloading music, I would sit in my room Sunday mornings and listen to the weekly countdown with my stereo ready so that I could record the songs I liked. I had a little notepad which I would write the name of the song and the artist(s) and then I would either color-code or number the tape (yes, tape, not CD, not MP3) with the corresponding song list. I was very cool.
But I loved that song. I fell in love with The Escape Club. The song resonated with me deeply at the time as a neighborhood kid had died after being hit by a car while riding his bike. He’s just graduated. To me, at that time, this song was meant for him. I cried every time I heard it. I have thought about the song here and there but hadn’t heard it in so many years (although I still have all of those mixed tapes, I need to find a decent tape deck that will play songs smoothly without dragging or unwinding them). Then one day a week or so ago it sorta just popped into my head. Not necessarily the song or the melody but the memory of it. And yesterday I downloaded it. As soon as it started those feelings came welling back up. Those sad, heartbreaking feelings of loneliness and loss and devastation were right there on the surface and before I knew it there were tears in my eyes.
It’s funny how our minds and our hearts work like that. A song I haven’t listened to in close to 20 years still has the same emotional impact on me as it did back in 1991.
And I guess it seemed sort of fitting that I played that song on a morning when I woke to news that another young musical talent has left this world. RIP Cory Monteith. You helped change the world’s views on school choirs and glee clubs.
Cory Monteith
~Cheers
Why I Will Not Be Watching “The Following”
Back before Christmas I’d seen many advertisements for Kevin Bacon’s new series “The Following.” It looked soooo good and so intense and I was excitedly counting down the days until it started.
DAYYYYAMM!! He looks Good!!
And then it did. On a Monday night…late in the evening (which made me stay up waaaay past my bedtime. But I watched it. And I liked it. But then I went to bed. And then I got up. Turned on the lights. Checked the lock on my door. Checked the closets. Went back to bed. Got up again. Rechecked things. Got some weird looks from big, fat white cat. Went back to bed. Then something fell in the middle of the night and scared the bejezus out of me. So, SandyLand slept with some lights on. And earplugs in (hear no evil, y’all!). The next couple of nights were similar. Then, Blair and I watched episode two of “The Following” and I am full-on full of paranoia now – more than I had been. So, I had to make the grown up (aka big baby) decision to not watch this show anymore. Dammit. I really liked it too, but I sleep alone several nights of the week…it was just too much stress (and fear). And now I’m even paranoid when I get home after dark or have to take compost out to the bin in the evening. Searching with my eyes to see what’s lurking in the dark. It’s just too much and I have enough problems with my heart and anxiety.
So, I gave “The Following” up cold turkey. But recently, Blair and my friend Jesse have convinced me to start watching “The Walking Dead.” And not being too bright I heeded their advice. I’ve watched I think 4 episodes so far and last night all I dreamed about was zombies, zombies, a baby on a slide, and zombies. WTF is wrong with me??? I should know better.
VERY. BAD. IDEA!!!
(Don’t make eye contact, y’all.)
But, I smartened up. I made sure not to make eye contact with the “walkers” on the TV screen. And I put a chair against the door before I went to bed. Because, I whole-heartedly believe that a chair will definitely keep a zombie apocalypse out of my house.
I think from now on I am going to stick with “Glee” and “Hawaii Five-0” (hello EYE CANDY) and reruns of “Friends”….and of course, this week is the return of “Grimm” but Grimm is cool and Monroe is hilarious (and Nick and the Captain are more eye candy) so I’m safe with that.
Being a freak and scared of everything has made my life so that I find something spooky in everything. I can’t even look around at the houses after dark for fear that the aliens from “Signs” will be perched on the rooftops ready to swoop in and take over the earth. And I just don’t think I’ll look that great in a tinfoil hat.
These will protect our brains….right?
Let’s just say that I can admit that I prefer to live in a world where people sing and there are rainbows and butterflies and good things happen. I prefer to remain oblivious to the the evil that lurks in the TV.
Me = Oblivious
Cheers.
Reviving Eastwick
After talking about it during Halloween, I decided recently that I wanted to watch the series Eastwick again. Unfortunately Sadly, Eastwick was cancelled in its first season so there were only 13 episodes to watch; which I’ve done over the last few weeks.
I keep talking about this show because it was so good! I’ll never understand why shows like this aren’t given a chance. It had a crazy following, was nominated for a People’s Choice Award, headlined an incredible cast (not to mention the great guest stars: Cybill Shepherd, Rosanna Arquette, Jerry O’Connell, Joanna Kerns), and had a great story-line. It was a great show: Fun, exciting, sexy, silly. And completely perfect for watching with your girlfriends and drinking wine.
Eastwick starred Rebecca Romijn (Roxy), my girl Lindsay Price (Joanna), Jamie Ray Newman (Kat) (who’s also guested on Grimm) as three women who come together accidentally and create a beautiful friendship. And, unknown to them, they are witches, each with a specific and special power.
Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Ray Newman and Lindsay Price
In from the dust comes a mysterious man to town, Darryl Van Horne (played by Canadian Paul Gross). He’s intriguing, he’s exciting, he’s sexy, he’s….trouble.
I’m Darryl Van Horne…these are my nipples. I’m probably the devil.
Also starring are several other great actors: Veronica Cartwright as Bunn – who knows Darryl from another time but refuses to give up what she knows; The gorgeous Sara Rue who plays Joanna’s sidekick and BFF, Penny. These two girls have such a great friendship, one that’s true-t0-life and reminds me oh-so-much of my friendship with my BFF, Steph (shout out!); Darren Criss, who now plays the magnifique Blaine on Glee. And these are just a few of the people who make up a great cast for a great show. “Great.” Should I be saying “Great”? Because I feel like I should be using a better, more exciting word to describe Eastwick.
What a great looking cast!! We should be friends.
I wish that Eastwick hadn’t been cancelled. I wish that I had the opportunity, still, to sit down with a glass of wine and watch it and laugh and get caught up in the drama and silliness and the magic of this show. I loved it.
Thank goodness for the ability to watch tv online because Eastwick hasn’t been released on DVD yet. But if it ever does, I will surely add it to my collection.
Cheers.
Blog Challenge #21: MY FAVORITE TV SHOW
#21 – My Favorite TV Show:
My favorite TV show of all time is Beverly Hills 90210.
I grew up with Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Steve, Donna, David, Andrea and Dylan. It was my favorite show then and it’s still my favorite. I’m collecting all season DVDs and I can tell you pretty much anything you need to know.
Honorable mentions: Friends (hells yeah!) and SNL (haven’t missed an episode in more than 10 years) and currently Hawaii Five-0, Chase and Glee (I mean, everyone should love a musical).
Cheers.
Sandy the Social Butterfly 