music is my imaginary friend…
by Stace on January 31st, 2010
filed under radio ga ga
from all the drugs, the one i like more is music… from all the junks, the one i need more is music… from all the boys, the one i take home is music… from all the ladies, the one i kiss is music… – CSS, “Music is My Hot Hot Sex”
Shakespeare said (by way of Twelfth Night), “if music be the food of love, play on.” Personally, I think music either just plain is love, or at least it’s the food of the soul, not just love. Maybe that’s me. CSS says it pretty well, too.
I’ve been listening to some really great stuff lately. I thought it was high time I shared. Jay Nash is someone I’m still pretty new to. Layla and I both think he’s a little reminiscent of Joe Cocker, which is meant to be complimentary. Where Jay has really got my ears perked up, though, is on the TFDI EP. I don’t really know the story of how this came to be, but Tony Lucca, Matt Duke, and Jay spent some time touring together last summer. Apparently, they had such a good time, they decided to record a 4-song EP together. The concept is pretty simple: one song from each catalog, plus “The Weight,” originally done by The Band. Their harmonies are fantastic…”Pretty Things” has become one of my most favorite Lucca songs, even though I thought it was a Joe Firstman song. But this version puts all the others I’ve heard to shame. Same goes for Matt’s song, “Sex and Reruns.” Four songs, four bucks…look into it. These are some gorgeous tunes.
Speaking of Matt, if you haven’t heard of him, he’s one to check out. He’s a pretty diminutive thing, so you’d never expect this big ol’ amazing voice to come out of him…it was surreal. I always find myself listening to him for days at a time…he’s just good enough that you want to let his music play over and overDogg. He’s awesome. I’m ready for him to head back out West.
Same goes for Tony. I’m not actually sure how many years I’ve known him, but we started out as “a friend of a friend” to each other and have become friends in our own right over time. He’s one of the coolest dudes I know, but what a voice. He can play a mean piano as well as guitar, and I’m still reeling over the last time I saw him. He said that Jay and Matt were “singing their faces off,” which was exactly what I thought he’d done. I’ve seen him many, many times in the past few years. But the last time I saw him was the best yet…unbelievable. He’ll be in SF in less than a month!
As a matter of fact, he’ll be playing with Keaton Simons, a good friend who’s so talented I don’t know how it’s even possible. In addition to having played guitar for Snoop Dogg on tour, he’s got an incredible voice and is a great lyricist, too. Hell, he’s a great musician all around – if I’m not mistaken, he has a MFA in ethno-musicology. (But Key, if that’s wrong, correct me?) He’s crazy smart about music, and I’m not. Basically, I just sort of bask in his glow and enjoy it. (And his sense of humor is wicked…check out his awesome cover of Single Ladies on iTunes, for example.) There’s a new record in the works. I can’t wait for this one!
I’m just starting to get into Kings of Leon, but Only by the Night is awesome. I’m really hooked on this guy’s voice!! I’m a sucker for a sexy, raspy sound, and he’s got it in spades. They write decent lyrics, too, and the overall sound of the band is one I gravitate to. (If anyone knows if the rest of their albums are as good, let me know?)
Somebody recently recommended 30 Seconds to Mars. I only knew that it was Jared Leto’s band, and that wasn’t interesting enough to me to look into them until the vehemence of this recommendation. I’m glad I followed that instinct, because This is War is a great record. I don’t know many bands that do such a well-themed album like this, but…first, I didn’t know Mr. Leto could sing. He’s got a pretty good voice. (One complaint, and it’s silly but it drives me nuts – there’s a song called “Night of the Hunter,” and there are a few minor spoken parts in French. A woman’s voice counts “un, deux, trois, cinq…” What?!? Why are you counting one, two, three, five? Like I said, trivial.)
Alright, I admit it. I was pretty damn late jumping on the Ray LaMontagne bandwagon. But, I like to be fashionably late. And I never do things just because they’re “hot,” I like to wait until I’m sure they’re right for me. It was “Let it Be Me” that sold me on Ray. He has a lot of tunes I like, but that’s my favorite. Gorgeous. And now I’ve learned quickly – a rainy day is nothing without Ray. It’s just not the same.
Paolo Nutini is another one I’ve been meaning to download for quite some time. I dug “New Shoes,” and “Last Request” is haunting, in a good way. I finally got caught up with his two albums, but no one told me he was 23! Wow…he’s so young, and kind of a pretty boy. Sometimes he sounds like he’s in his 60s. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way, I’m just impressed. He’s got a lot going on in his voice, and it’s all good! A friend of mine said that she thought “Loving You” was the “Let’s Get it On” of our generation. Now I think she might be right.
There you have it. This is what I’ve been listening to lately…enjoy, and please feel free to report back if you found something you loved (or even hated). ‘Night!
music is my beach house, music is my hometown… music is my king-sized bed, music is where i meet my friends… music is my hot hot bath, music is my hot hot sex… music is my back rub, my music is where i’d like you to touch…
i don't wanna be a stupid girl!
by Stace on October 20th, 2009
filed under radio ga ga
I’m so glad that I’ll never fit in – that will never be me. Outcasts and girls with ambition – that’s what I wanna see… (Pink, “Stupid Girls”)
The night I met Pink, I had crashed a Teen People party in Hollywood with some of my friends. Unfortunately, those are about the most specific details about the party that I can remember: I know it was January, and I think it was 2000, but I’m not sure. I say this because I know her first album hadn’t come out yet, and it came out in April of 2000. Anyway, what’s worse is, even the details of meeting her are fuzzy for me…I do remember, though, that by the end of the night I had a “There You Go” CD single in hand. I guess it’s hard to recall the night because I would never have guessed how much she’d come to mean to me one day. Honestly, in a time where the music scene was constantly being flooded with shiny pre-fabricated, packaged rubbish, I hadn’t thought too much of another “pop sensation.” That shocking pink hair could be her idea of a “hook,” a gimmick. Who knows? She was gorgeous, and I do remember liking her, but…thanks to the likes of Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Britney Spears (and on and on), I wasn’t expecting much.
(I didn’t take this pic…I don’t think I even took any of her at all that night. I didn’t know I’d want them!)
At some point early in the evening, I had gotten in and was searching the party for the magazine’s editor, who I’d met before. (And who let me come back to the parties every year…she was my friends’ ticket in!) It was at that point that Pink was performing. Distracted as I was, I wasn’t able to really listen. Even so, as I got back out to the street to the girls, wristbands in hand, the first words out of my mouth were, “that girl is blowing the roof off in there!” She was amazing. And I guess the rest, as they say, is history…
I bought Can’t Take Me Home the day it came out. Right away, Pink’s lyrics struck a chord with me, especially “Most Girls.” “Private Show” was another favorite, and I loved to play “Stop Falling” for anyone who doubted her vocal ability/wanted to write her off as I once had as another lame pop singer. She was my kind of girl, but I had to admit – the R&B/hip-hop ish vibe wasn’t normally my style. It was just Pink I liked, so I didn’t complain too much about the style of the music. And before I go much further with my bashing pop music, I have to be honest: I was into some of it at the time, especially *NSync. Their harmonies were unstoppable, and I couldn’t get enough. I was a huge fan (and where Justin Timberlake is concerned, still am). So when Pink was announced as the opening act for the No Strings Attached Tour, I couldn’t have been more excited.
No big surprise, but my girl did not disappoint. I remember the black and white costumes, her amazing body, and that shocking pink hair. Most of all, though, I remember thinking, “God, but that woman can SING!” She blew my mind. I’d liked her since the first time I saw her, but that night, she became my favorite.
In 2001, Missundaztood came out. I remember the first time I heard it. A friend burned me a copy, and I didn’t feel right about pirating an artist I loved so much. I listened to it on the way to buy my own copy. Song after song, I just kept thinking, “this woman knows me!” It was uncanny: growing up with a difficult family structure. Feeling like she didn’t fit in, trying to find herself (somewhere between tomboy and girly-girl). Using humor as both a defense mechanism and a way to get people to like me, when I didn’t like myself much at the time. (Quite honestly, even recalling this right now, 8 years later, I’m getting a little emotional about it!) “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” “Family Portrait,” and “Just Like a Pill” all really hit home for me. I also loved “Misery” for both its lyrics and Steven Tyler’s collaborative efforts (Aerosmith is one of my most favorite bands). But it was the title track, “Respect,” and especially “18 Wheeler” that I identified with. You know that moment when you read (or in the case of lyrics, hear) something someone else wrote that is so you it’s spooky? Like they’ve been spying on your soul? That’s how “18 Wheeler” made me feel. I was so comforted to know I wasn’t the only girl who felt she had to be tough and indestructible just to make it through another day: “you can push me out the window, I’ll just get back up. You can run over me with your eighteen-wheeler, and I won’t give a f—. You can hang me like a slave, I’ll go underground. You can run over me with your eighteen-wheeler but, you can’t keep me down, down.” Although the chorus kills me, it’s the bridge that often provokes tears: “Everywhere that I go, there’s someone waitin’ to chain me. Everything that I say, there’s someone tryin’ to shortchange me. I am only this way because of what you have made me…and I’m not gonna break!” It’s difficult to express how this makes me feel…I feel as though she’s shined a spotlight on my innermost feelings, and given them a voice. It’s both terrifying and liberating. At this time in my life, I was feeling quite isolated, and these songs were an endless source of comfort to me.
A few years later, Pink released Try This. At the time, this album kind of went over my head – I don’t know where I was or what I was doing. I know I liked “Trouble” and loved “God is a DJ,” but it really wasn’t until years later that I went back and really listened to/learned these tracks. This is still the one CD I’ve connected with the least, although songs like “Try Too Hard,” “Waiting for Love” and “Humble Neighborhoods” are among my favorites.
It was 2006′s I’m Not Dead, though, that brought me to my knees. If I thought Missundaztood was a reflection of my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences, I was entirely unprepared for what she’d give me with this album. “Stupid Girls” still feels like my anthem. Pink isn’t about tearing other girls down, and neither am I. But there is something really horrifying about girls who conduct themselves as though money, men, and holding others down is what life is about. To top it off, these women are often, well…not the brightest crayons in the box. I only use the term “stupid girl(s)” to refer to the kind of woman Pink describes with the lyrics, because I won’t judge their actual intelligence. But I loved her for writing something like this…I still feel sad every time I hear the line “what happened to the dreams of a girl president? She’s dancing in the video next to 50 cent.” She has a point.
The first time I listened to Pink’s lyrical letter to George W. Bush, “Dear Mr. President,” I wept. It’s so rare for a musician (let alone anyone) to have the balls to not just make a public political comment, but to actually record it and release it on an album for anyone to buy? I thought she was a hero. The courage required to do something like that was truly inspiring, and I want to stand up and cheer (while crying) every time I hear it, to this day.
“Conversations with my 13-Year-Old Self,” “The One That Got Away,” and “Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)” were more of the kinds of lyrical masterpieces I’d come to expect and appreciate from her. There are so many times I’ve listened to a Pink song for the very first time only to sit shaking my head at the apparent similarities between my life and hers. It seems we’ve both found ways of coping that include humor: biting, razor-sharp wit and sarcasm. Underneath it all, there is a desperate wish to be allowed to be one’s self, to feel safe (and let one’s walls down), to be loved and accepted.
The juxtaposition between tough, funny girl and beautiful, vulnerable woman is a tough tightrope to walk – I know, because I try it daily. I believe that Pink’s journey has been similar to mine.
I was wholly unprepared to listen to something so gut-wrenchingly, soul-baringly, brutally honest as “Long Way to Happy.” There are very few, minor differences between her experience as a child and my own. They’re so minimal, that I feel she exposed my own wound – in a good way. Without allowing hurts like these to be exposed, it’s hard to heal. There is something infinitely therapeutic in standing up and admitting to the world that you’ve experienced something so heartbreaking. In particular, the lines “now I’m numb as hell and I can’t feel a thing, but don’t worry ’bout regret or guilt, cause I never knew your name. I just wanna thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the sleepless nights, and the tearin’ me apart…” While I not only know the name of the person who abused me, I still see him regularly, I’ve tried to forgive and move forward. There will never, ever be a day, though, that I’m not overwhelmed by the gratitude I feel to Pink for giving my childhood horrors a voice. In doing so, I’ve been able to feel some sort of crazy kinship (yes, with a woman I don’t know, which of course isn’t ideal) and grow. As a writer, I’d like to one day do for someone else what she’s done for me – stand up and own what I’ve been through. In doing so, I know that it tells others who might not otherwise have the courage that they are not alone. And of course, I know that’s invaluable.
In support of that album, she opened for Justin Timberlake as a “special guest,” which I knew meant she’d get more time to perform than most opening acts. The show was general admission, and I went with a girlfriend who was also willing to go early and sit all day in line. It paid off, though – we were in the front row. I hadn’t seen her perform in years, and again, she blew me away. I loved how comfortable she was with herself, making fun of the fact that she’s not the greatest dancer. (She makes up for it in spades with that voice, though!) Every time she happened to look my direction, I was singing every word with her. Toward the end of her set, I saw her look at me again – I could see an appreciation for someone who loved her music so much. It’s difficult to explain, but it was unmistakable, and of course meant a lot to me.
Impeccably timed once again, “So What” was the first single off of Funhouse. Having recently discovered the man I thought might be someone I’d marry was deceiving me in ways too awful to mention, I shared in Pink’s sentiment: “so what? I’m still a rock star.” Once again, her joys and pains mirrored mine, allowing me to cope and find hope of happiness. Once again, my gratitude is too deep to speak of. The entire album is beautiful and show’s Pink’s depth, as a musician and a person. I feel oddly proud of her, even though I don’t know her – I feel like I’ve witnessed such an amazing progression from a girl who was unsure of herself to a bad-ass, beautiful woman who’s almost fearless, and yet can own her vulnerability.
“Funhouse,” “Sober,” “I Don’t Believe You,” and “Ave Mary A” are all amazing songs. (I really could list every track!) My favorite, though, is “Glitter in the Air,” by a landslide. There is something really specific about the vulnerability it brings to mind (“have you ever fed a lover with just your hands;” “have you ever looked fear in the face and said ‘I just don’t care’”). The instrumentation is haunting, beautiful, and it lingers in your head. When the album first came out, I literally could listen to this song, by itself, on repeat, for days. I’m not exaggerating. I love it.
September 17, 2009. My moment had finally arrived. For the first time ever, I was going to see Pink as a headliner. More importantly, my ticket was general admission. Again, I went early, and again it paid off. I got a spot in the front row in the corner between the stage and the catwalk that led out into the audience. I don’t believe there was a better spot I could have been in.
After the Ting Tings, it was finally time. Before she came out, a video played, showing her getting ready, smoking a quick cigarette, riding a motorcycle – being her general bad-ass self, all while her cover of “Highway to Hell” played over it. And then, finally, there she was…
The set was amazing – a busted up old carnival, complete with lots of clowns. Pink, of course, was calling the shots. Her costumes were gorgeous. And she balances beauty and bad-ass just as fantastically live as she does in her lyrics (and videos, for that matter):
See?
Her cover of “I Touch Myself” was literally show-stopping. A slowed-down, unbelievably sexy version, I didn’t recognize it at first – until I realized I knew the words!
Up next was “Who Knew?”
and “So What?” – which, of course, included Pink donning a leather biker jacket
while her dancers ran around in their underwear and had pillow fights. Eventually, the dancer who played the boyfriend was hog-tied, and Pink “hit” him at the end of the song:
When a musician strips the spectacle away from his/her show, you get to see what they’re really made of. Pink never disappoints – she’s a powerhouse:
Notice, by the way, the bare feet. I love the kind of person who feels comfortable enough in front of thousands of people to skip the shoes, even just for a while (and who can blame her, after running around in those sky-high Louboutins?):
Also, I have to say that I love her candor. At one point in the middle of this, she interrupted herself and asked the crowd, “do you ever wonder what someone’s thinking when they’re singing a song? I have to tell you – at this very moment, I’m wondering how the hell Dolly Parton gets those big boobs behind her guitar!” Naturally, the crowd went wild. She went on to explain that she loves Dolly, but she doesn’t know how it’s possible. She’s hilarious. I really respect anyone (perform, or human being in general) who can say what they’re thinking and not take things too seriously.
“Dear Mr. President” is always a highlight. Call me naive, but I didn’t know Pink had such a huge gay fanbase. It made me so happy when she sang the line “what kind of father would take his own daughter’s rights away? What kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?” I was expecting a massive cheer, and there was one. I don’t know what it’s like to be gay, I can only imagine. I would have to think it’s similar to being in an unmarried/engaged relationship, where somehow the world thinks you’re less “valid” than a married, heterosexual relationship. Why? Because it’s not legal? It frustrates me. I’m not so simple-minded that simply because I’m not gay, (or, God forbid, I fear what I don’t know), I think “they” shouldn’t be allowed the same things I am. Even those who think it’s an “abomination,” do people really think it’s a choice? A tangent, yes, but it frustrates me…
Normally, Pink somehow manages to sing “Sober” while doing this crazy trapeze act. Having just injured her shoulder, one of the dancers stepped in for her, and she sat on the stage, watching from the top of the funhouse slide, dressed in a cape.
If there’s one thing I love, it’s an artist who loves other musicians that I love, and covers them well. Pink does this in spades. In addition to “I Touch Myself,” she did “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Queen is another of my most favorite bands) and “Crazy,” a Gnarls Barkley song I love – and at the risk of sounding like Paula Abdul, she has a way of making them both sound like they’re her songs.
Her style is distinct, and she puts some kind of Pink signature on everything – such finesse.
I have to talk for a minute about these amazing costumes! They’re unreal, and so is this gorgeous woman…I can’t believe what she can pull off, from girly girl to tough girl to well…showgirl. Don’t let the cape fool you…
…though it, too, is pretty cool…
What lies beneath is absolutely show-stopping!
The finale was the absolute best part of the show, for me. I wouldn’t have ever expected her to sing “Glitter in the Air” at all in concert – I guess because I think of it as obscure. But it was the perfect end to the show. Dressed in that last costume from above, she sang suspended from the ceiling and then was lowered down into the end of the catwalk. I thought that was the end, but they apparently “baptized” her in the love she’s singing about. She re-emerged a moment later, soaking wet. It was pretty amazing, and as one of my most favorite of her songs, I couldn’t have been happier with her choice to end on that note!
It was so amazing to finally get a whole Pink show, especially from the front row. I’d love one day to meet her, to actually have a conversation with her. I really think if she was just a girl I met, she’s the kind of person I’d be friends with. Maybe I’ll never know, but it doesn’t matter. I’m grateful for her – I love her so much, she might as well be a New Kid. (Don’t know what I mean? Read this.) Hope all my friends that went (and that I met that night!) had as much as I did!
