music men wrote songs about her, some said it sweet, some said it very mean

I must tell you guys about a really touching and inspiring movie I saw last night. I'd seen it before when I was younger, but my naive mind was unable to fully grasp it.

The protagonist is a brilliant fashion designer with an eccentric hairstyle and impeccable taste - some might call her a bitch, but every strong, independent woman gets called nasty names by those who are intimidated by their self-reliance.

One such person, the husband of an employee, even goes so far as to write a song mocking her aggressive ways. Catchy though the song may be, it is highly typical of this bullying man, who taunts her mercilessly - even his dogs get in on the act, calling her a "devil woman". Pretty tough talk from a being known to eat its own feces.

With her bumbling-but-well-intentioned henchmen, she embarks on a noble quest to craft a most perfect collection of spotted coats, but this couple and their pets refuses to allow this, muscling her hustle at every opportunity. Don't hate the player, Radcliffes, hate the game. The pets even use their sneaky animal advantage to connect with other dogs across the county, managing to simultaneously undermine our heroine and irritate neighbors for miles.
But even with the odds stacked against her, the plucky fashion designer doesn't give up! A testament to ambition, she continues to fight for her art. Unfortunately, the movie takes a tragic turn when, in a race against time and a truck that the dogs have (surely illegally) stowed themselves away on, the elements turn cruelly against her as well, and a snowy car crash ensues. Miraculously, she survives, but her luck stops there: the puppies, even the ones rightfully acquired from pet stores, find asylum with the Radcliffes. As for our girl, well, at least she's got her to-die-for white coat. And elegant red gloves. And gorgeous turquoise ring. And dramatic skin tone. And uber-badass cigarette holder.

So, really, methinks she was the winner all along. And while Anita and Roger are trying to co-ordinate doggy bathtime times one-hundred-and-one, Ms. Cruella de Vil will be lounging in her furs, hacking up a lung and enjoying her legacy as one of the most gloriously inspirational movies characters of all time.

P.S. You may have noticed that I've added advertisements to the blog - if you weren't incredibly offended by this post and my love for fur, maybe you'd like to do me a "solid", to use the parlance of our times, and click on a link or two. It puts a little money (and I do mean "a little" - pocket change, but I appreciate it ever so much) in my bank account.

chocolate-coated, freaky and habit-forming

Today is a pretty magical day and I have been able to feel it in the air - it crackles with the smooth electricity of Funk. You see, my friends, today is the day that Dr. Funkenstein himself, George Clinton, turns the big 6-8.

Yes, this will be a slack post, but it will also be a devilishly enjoyable one, for there is no soul on this planet that makes a picture come to life Harry Potter-style (yes, I saw Half-Blood Prince and, yes, it was freaking awesome) like George Clinton. For further proof, see my George Clinton tumblr. In the meantime, I challenge you to peruse this pictures without feeling your spirits being lifted.

I'm heading off to South Carolina so it's highly unlikely that I'll post again before late August. I hope your summers are phenomenal and if P-Funk is in your town, don't miss out. You won't regret it.
Sorry, but I probably won't have time to respond to comments - I feel pretty terrible about this, but I do love reading your comments and I do read a lot of your blogs!

you have a way of walkin' round, your feet they never touch the ground

Even if I don't talk about them as much as a lot of other bands, Jefferson Airplane has been a consistent presence in my life for years. After Bathing at Baxter's is one of my favourite albums of all time, and when this-wheel's-on-fire suggested a top 5 Jefferson Airplane list, I knew it was definitely a good call. Unlike most people, I actually prefer Paul Kantner's songs to Grace Slick's - I love his voice. But, really, they're all good.

1. "Watch Her Ride" from After Bathing at Baxter's

2. "Comin' Back to Me" from Surrealistic Pillow

3. "Two Heads" from After Bathing at Baxter's

4. "Young Girl Sunday Blues" from After Bathing at Baxter's

5. "She Has Funny Cars" from Surrealistic Pillow

I feel lazy not doing write-ups (wait...I don't just "feel", I am lazy), but there really isn't much to say. Jefferson Airplane rules, plain and simple.

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
(Click on the link to hear the songs in their entirety)

P.S. The lovely Miss Eyeliah over at Style Symmetry is celebrating her 1000th post (congratulations!) with a give-away - so check that ish out!

and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

Fleetwood Mac totally exceeded my expectations. I gotta say - Lindsay Buckingham is a bad mama jama. He busted out an incredibly epic guitar solo on "I'm So Afraid", and when they did "Oh Well" - a Peter Green track - Nicola and I screamed, hugged and near-cried. Stevie was looking gorgeous, and did a couple costume changes. (Check out her dancing with her scarf a bit here.)Mick Fleetwood had a stellar 7-minute solo near the end and whenever the Jumbotron (is that what they're called?) landed on him, he had excellent facial expressions. John McVie was on the opposite side of the stage, so I couldn't really see him, but I'm sure he was chillin'. I'd chosen 5 songs I wanted to hear - "Oh Well", "Tusk", "Dreams", "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain", and lucky me (as usual), I got to hear them all.

Anyway, WAT wants to know my Top 5 Beatles songs and, though it's a tough request, I think I can give it to ya. Though I respect them a lot, I don't listen to the Beatles very often, but when I do I much prefer late-era Beatles. One guess at my favourite two Beatles albums...

My Top 5 Favourite Beatles Songs:

1. "The End" from Abbey Road
I love love love hearing John, Paul and George trading off solos on this one. Each has such a distinctive playing sound, and Ringo ain't lagging either.

2. "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" from Abbey Road
Heavy indeed. I love Eddie Hazel's cover, but I must confess that the original is still tops. I love hearing the Beatles dark.

3. "Glass Onion" from The Beatles
"Pop! Pop! Pop! I told you bout strawberry fields" - love the opening. Mocking the fans that over-analyze all the tiny details, it does leave me wondering....what's a "dovetail joint"? I've asked some of the biggest stoners I know, and nobody seems to be aware of this term.

4. "You Never Give Me Your Money" from Abbey Road
I really can't think of anything to say about this besides that it's an amazing song all-around.

5. "Happiness is a Warm Gun" from The Beatles

You know, I was this close to giving this spot to "For No One", but the "She's not a girl who misses much..." intro did not allow me to exclude this song. Anybody who says "The Beatles Aren't That Good" (yeah, all 11 of you) are pretty much retarded.

I just realized I forgot to post the playlist....my bad, here ya go:

THE BEATLES

listen, partner, i ain't no cheap thrill - cause ms. badu always comin' for real and you know the deal

My Erykah Badu girlcrush has been out of control this past week. I love her conversational and thoroughly honest lyrics, her uniquely beautiful voice and her chill, hip-hop groove. I'm going to share with you my top five Erykah Badu songs as of right now.
In fact, I think this month, the fifth month, I'll have a running series on my top five songs by various artists. So if there are any artists where you've always wondered what my top five favourites of their songs are (awkwardest sentence....ever), I definitely welcome suggestions.
Anyway, if the following pictures and songs can't convince you that Erykah Badu is one of the coolest women alive, I've got three more words for you:
Seven, Puma and Mars.
Yeah, those are her children.

My Top Five Erykah Badu songs:
1. "Honey" from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
This chill, 70's-style groove has definitely been my song du jour. I adore the lyrics, oozing with the promise of relaxed romance that keeps one guessing...my favourite kind!

2. "Tyrone" from Live
I love any song that starts out with "I'm gettin' tired of yo' shit/You don't never buy me nothin'" This live-only gem has got awesomely badass lyrics and, if you watch the video, Ms. Badu accompanies them with delightful facial expressions. Unfortunately, the only Youtube video I can find cuts out the curse words, has mismatched audio and a fuzzy picture quality. Shame.
And if neo-soul ain't your thing, check out My Morning Jacket covering "Tyrone" with Erykah Badu, live.

3. "Booty" from Mama's Gun
Supertight drums are only the icing on the cake on this fantastic number. This is another one that's alll about the sublime lyrics. Basically Erykah Badu counts off all the ways your boyfriend prefers her, before reassuring you that she's not gonna steal your man - she doesn't want him, "cause of what he doin' to you".
I think many of my friends would agree I need to take this song pretty close to heart.


4. "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" from the Brown Sugar soundtrack
From the soundtrack of one of the only romantic comedies I've enjoyed, this is a chill, soulful number - okay, I need to stop saying that. I guess they all are! But, like Common's (who is featured on this) hip-hop classic "I Used to Love H.E.R.", this one imagines hip-hop as a person - in this case, a lover whose "words were very nice."

5. "Appletree" from Baduizm
With inspirational lyrics affirming that self-confidence is one of the most important traits, this track shows off Erykah Badu's killer vocal skills and jazz influence.
"I pick my friends like I pick my fruit/My ganny told me that when I was only a youth/I don't walk around tryin' to be what I'm not/I don't waste my time tryin' to get what you got/I work at pleasing me cuz I can't please you/And that's why I do what I do/My soul flies free like a willow tree"

ERYKAH BADU

Who else would you like to see a Top Five list about?

fly free, baby, fine with me - i'm in love with a bumblebee

10 Songs I'm Into At the Moment

1. "I'll Bet You" by the Jackson 5
Fun fact: George Clinton wrote this piece, and it shows - it's definitely a bit darker than most Jackson 5. With a killer bassline (my favourite kind) and a pass-the-baton vocal style that lets all the boys shine, this song just reminds you what a stellar pop band the Jackson 5 were.
You should also check out Funkadelic's version, which is badass.

2. "Honey" by Erykah Badu
I'm starting to suspect Erykah Badu must be one of the coolest women alive. First of all, the song by itself is awesome. I love the lyrics and her voice is incredible. But the bonus? Click on the link above and enjoy the insidiously funny, beautifully shot video. My favourite allusions were the Funkadelic reference at 00:50 and the play on her ex-boyfriend Andre 3000's "Hey Ya" video at 2:40. I can also definitely get behind the "SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE!!!!!" moral too.

3. "Need a Boss" by Shareefa

I know this song's pretty old (as in...2006) but, like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", it reflects an innermost desire that lives within us all. Who among us doesn't need "a boss like hey/who's flossin' like hey"? Especially when we're walking in slow motion away from a large explosion, our asymmetrical haircuts blowing in the breeze. But don't confuse the "need" of the title with anything but feminism: "Anything I want I cop it/I just want somebody to get fly wit/I got what I need, but can you top it?"
Word, Shareefa. Word.

4. "I Call My Baby Pussycat" by Funkadelic

The studio version? No good. (And by "no good" I mean "infinitely better than 99% of the music currently in existance but not in my top 50 Funkadelic songs") The 1971 Live at Meadowbrook version? I sat here for five minutes staring at the screen trying to think of words to describe the pure awesomeness of the live version of "I Call My Baby Pussycat." That first guitar riff sends a shiver of ecstasy to my core.

5. "I'm So Green" by Can
Looking for the perfect song for spring? I gotcha covered! This experimental German band brings you this freak-rock track, with a laboring groove and far out lyrics. Special bonus of having "green" in the title.

6. "Bret, You've Got It Goin' On" by the Flight of the Conchords
It's a shame really that it took me so long to get into the Flight of the Conchords. But, like nobody in my family ever really seems to say, better late than never. This is my favourite song of theirs, and just for the record? Bret does have it goin' on. I'm feelin' a little needy for a weedy, shy guy.

7. "From the Bottom of My Soul" by Eddie Hazel
Eddie Hazel never fails! Except, er, those years he spent in prison for assault and drug possession. But no mind - this gorgeously soulful track was previously unreleased, but I snagged it on vinyl as a bonus track of a "Maggot Brain" EP. In fact, I sort of think of it as being a "Maggot Brain" of the voice - instead of baring his soul through his guitar, he does it vocally. I didn't find out until a few months ago that Eddie Hazel actually has an incredibly singing voice, and he definitely proves it here.

8. "Gee" by SNSD (Girl Generation)
This video is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I've never really listened to Korean pop music before, but this video made me love the song. My favourites are the two with blue pants. I generally prefer not to refer to people over the age of 5 as "cute", but with these girls, there's no other way. And make sure you pay attention to the English subtitles translating the lyrics! "Your heart is so pretty, I was captured at first glance, caught so closely/I can't touch it because it's so hot, I'm engulfed in love's fire completely" is a personal favourite.

9. "(Fooled Me Again) Honest Eyes" by Lady Gaga
I maintain that I'm more of a fan of Lady Gaga's image than her actual music, but this song impresses me. Her voice sounds excellent on this Freddie Mercury-esque track and the lyrics are great.

10. "Physical Love" by Bootsy's Rubber Band
The third song on this list featuring guitar by Mr. Eddie Hazel! This kinky track is filled with classic Bootsy humour. This album was made using Bootsy's alter ego Casper the Ghost ("kind of friendly when I want to be, and funky otherwise"). Good hedonistic fun!

april 21