KirstenL4W

Here it is, the long-waited song list for my Cover Mix CD Exchange. Boyfriend also did a mix to include, so my imaginary internet friends are all getting a bonus! The format, for those who may be confused, is Song - Singer (Original Singer), followed by a quick note on why I chose or like that particular song. Here ya go:

Eye in the Sky – Jonatha Brooke (Alan Parsons Project)
Jonatha Brooke is one of my favorite singers, and one of her more recent CDs, Back in the Circus, included this cover of a song heard mostly on easy listening stations. This stripped-down version is much nicer to listen to. Buy the album Back In The Circus.

To Ramona – Sinead Lohan (Bob Dylan)
Sinead Lohan really needs to make some more music. I’ve voraciously listened to everything by her that I can get my hands on, and this Bob Dylan cover is one of my favorites by her. Buy the album A Woman’s Heart: A Decade On.

Hungry Heart – Minnie Driver (Bruce Springsteen)
Yes, that’s Minnie Driver the actress singing! If you like folksy chick music like I do, then definitely check out her albums. Buy the album Everything I’ve Got In My Pocket.

Here for the Party – The Southern Fire Band (Gretchen Wilson)
The Southern Fire Band is a cover band here in Las Vegas that I’ve seen perform quite a few times. Kelly, the lead guitarist (and an amazing guitarist at that), is a good friend of mine, and Lesly, the lead singer, is a co-worker with me in the finance department of some big anonymous company, so I get to see her every day. I’m just thrilled to bits that I could introduce you to my friends. They don’t have an album out, but they do play locally - you can get their schedule here at their website. (As of this writing I was unable to get on their website, not sure if it’s on my end or theirs. Do try again later.)

Leaving on a Jet Plane – Chantal Kreviazuk (John Denver)
Oh Chantal – there are just not enough good things I can say about one of my absolute favorite singers around. Boyfriend is generally not a fan of angsty chick music, as he puts it, but when he surprised me by attending Chantal’s concert with me, even he was impressed. I love how she adds so much of herself to this song. Buy the album Armageddon: The Album (Soundtrack).

I Walk the Line – Los Lonely Boys (Johnny Cash)
Johnny Cash is a favorite recently, with the recent movie of his life bringing The Man in Black to a whole new audience. Los Lonely Boys give this song a modern twist and make it a toe-tapping good time. Buy the album Los Lonely Boys.

The Rainbow Connection – Sarah McLachlan (Kermit the Frog)
I’ve been a fan of Kermit T. Frog since I was just a kid. My dad took my sister and I to see The Muppet Movie in the theater when I was just barely 5 – my very first movie at the movie theater. It left such an impression on me, leaving me with a distinct memory that would play very prominently in my quest for self-discovery. That movie started with this song, sung beautifully by another one of my favorite artists, one who would be instrumental (no pun intended) in defining my musical tastes. Buy the album For the Kids.

Stairway to Heaven – Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (Led Zeppelin)
Who from my generation doesn’t remember going to a school dance? This was always the last song, the “hurry up and find someone to dance with already” dance, because once this song was over, the lights came up and it was time to go home. I like this abbreviated version much better – it doesn’t bring to mind any of the long, drawn-out awkwardness of those middle and high school dances. Buy the album Run Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah.

Fade to Black – Apocalyptica (Metallica)
I had a bit of a grudge against these headbanging classics when I was in my mid-teens and lusting after a certain boy band. Eventually I warmed up to them, and also developed a taste for string quartets during a trip to England, being within earshot of Canon in D and some punk band at the same time at Covent Garden. This is off their album Inquisition Symphony, which came out in 1998, one year earlier than the Metallica/San Francisco Symphony Orchestra concert that was released as the album S & M. Buy the album Inquisition Symphony.

Everyday is Like Sunday – The Pretenders (Morrissey)
I liked 80s music ok, but since I’ve been with Boyfriend my taste for it has developed a bit more. And The Pretenders are such a wonderful part of the musical landscape over the past 25+ years that it only makes sense to include them on this mix. Buy the album Pirate Radio Box Set.

Hurt – Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
Such a cliché on any cover mix these days, but if you’ve seen the video for this song (available on YouTube), you’ll see who really owns this song. Hearing it by NIN now just isn’t the same. Buy the album American IV: The Man Comes Around.

Crazy Train – Emm Gryner (Ozzy Osbourne)
I love it when a singer can take a song and totally make it into something of their own creation. While visiting a friend in Toronto, I saw Emm Gryner perform Pour Some Sugar on Me on a late night talk show, and I spent the rest of my vacation searching high and low for her album, Girl Versions. I finally found this album of all covers on my last day there. Buy the album Girl Versions.

Fat Bottomed Girls – Antigone Rising (Queen)
I love Queen, and while Antigone Rising is technically part of that whole folksy chick genre that I like, I find them a bit too country for my taste. But you gotta love any girl group who can sing a song entitled “Fat Bottomed Girls.” Buy the album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen.

Love is All Around – Joan Jett (Theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, by Sonny Curtis)
I loved, and still love, The Mary Tyler Moore show. So much so that I was this close to moving to Minneapolis when I decided to finally move away from home, except hat I made the decision on where to go in the middle of winter and ended up in Las Vegas instead. This version of the song was used in the closing credits of the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous, which took place in The Land of Snow 10,000 Lakes. Buy the album Fit to Be Tied: Greatest Hits.

Come Sail Away – Eric Cartman (Styx)
While not a religious viewer of South Park, I do appreciate the finer artistic merits of the show. I actually prefer this version of the song to the original.
Buy the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album.

Come Together – Aerosmith (The Beatles)
There have been a lot of Beatles covers over the course of this exchange, but I had to throw one more in there. When I was in high school, I listened to Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits tape until it wore out – then bought another one to wear out. Any song from that album brings back memories of those carefree days. Buy the album Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits.

How Soon Is Now – Neil Finn (The Smiths)
Another great 80s songs, one of my favorites actually. This version is sung by one of my favorite male singers, Neil Finn of Crowded House – a group whose music I’m always in the mood for. I couldn’t find which album this came off of, I only know that I got it on a previous mix exchange and loved it, but in the spirit of cover mixes check out She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn.

Walk on the Ocean – John Mayer (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
While I like what I’ve heard from John Mayer, I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of his. Toad the Wet Sprocket, on the other hand, is just phenomenal, and this live, acoustic cover sounds pretty damn good. Again, this is a song I acquired by the above method, so I can’t find an album that this is on. But since I love Toad the Wet Sprocket, I’m going to deviate from the formula and recommend P.S.: A Toad Restrospective for you.

Amazing Grace (House of the Rising Sun) – Blind Boys of Alabama (Traditional spiritual sung to the tune of House of the Rising Sun, a classic folk ballad, as made popular by The Animals)
I hesitated about including a spiritual song on the mix, because I know how it can make people uncomfortable if they aren’t particularly religious. But this version is like a 2 for 1 cover, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s a major coup as far as this mix goes. Besides, it is the most awesome version of Amazing Grace I’ve ever heard. Yes, even better than Ani DiFranco. Buy the album Spirit of the Century.

Boyfriend’s Mix

Boyfriend was nearly as excited as I was when I decided to do this mix. After many animated discussions about what I should include along with many late nights sharing our collections, it was apparent that everything we wanted to share with you would not fit onto a single disc, so Boyfriend went ahead and prepared a bonus disc for all my imaginary internet friends. Other than that he likes the songs he chose and the way they were covered, I have no further explanation regarding his selections. However, I was told that I have to gloat to all of you that we are going to see Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine in concert in November. Anyway, here’s his list with links, if I could find them:

1. Lucille - Beat Farmers (Kenny Rogers) Buy Loud and Plowed and . . . LIVE!!

2. Don’t Fear the Reaper - Danny Elfman (Blue Oyster Cult) I can’t find any info on this one, but Danny Elfman does tons and tons of musical scores for movies. Beetlejuice is a favorite of both Boyfriend and myself.

3. Pretty in Pink - The Dresden Dolls (Psychedelic Furs) Buy High School Reunion

4. Flowers on the Wall - Eric Heatherly (Statler Brothers) Buy Swimming in Champagne

5. Enter Sandman - Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine (Metallica) Buy Aperitif for Destruction

6. Whiter Shade of Pale - Sarah Brightman (Procol Harem) Buy Diva: The Singles Collection

7. The Air That I Breathe - Simply Red - (Everly Brothers) Buy The Very Best of Simply Red

9. Passenger - Souixsie and the Banshees (Iggy Pop) Buy Twice Upon a Time: The Singles

10. Barbie Girl - Rammstein (Aqua) I couldn’t find the album this came from, nor could I read German to be sure of what I was looking at, but I did find this during my research. You’re on your own here.

11. Chop Suey - Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine (System of a Down) Buy Tuxicity

12. Summer Breeze - Type O Negative (Seals & Croft) Buy Bloody Kisses

13. Tainted Love - Marilyn Manson (Gloria Jones, but made popular by Soft Cell) Buy Not Another Teen Movie Soundtrack

14. Viva Las Vegas - Dead Kennedys (Elvis Presley) Buy Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

15. Ring of Fire - Wall of Voodoo (Johnny Cash) Buy The Index Masters

Phew!

There was so much great stuff to choose from, and I’ve been getting so much awesome music, with more to come. And pulling all those links from Amazon was very time consuming, but I think it’s worth it. I put so much thought into my mixes, and I’d like to share them with as many people as possible, so this is the best way I can think of to do it. Besides, who doesn’t like discovering a bit of new music every now and then, even if it’s a cover? And for those looking to find these links when this post is buried, look in my categories for BUY and that will bring you to all posts in which I link to products you might want to buy.

I’m going to have a piece of Boyfriend’s homemade AppleRum Pie (apple pie with rum in the filling!) Yum!

We’re having the potential for some wild weather tonight in Vegas. Usually the weather is just bright and sunny. Right now it’s cloudy, windy, and rain is threatening. There are storms just over the mountains to the west of us that don’t seem to want to visit us, and about an hour ago a tornado warning was cancelled. I was giddy with excitement, since tornadoes are very rare in these here parts. The warning was for southwestern Clark County, northwest central San Bernadino County, and extreme southeast Inyo County, particularly around the area of Sandy Valley. But the wild weather remains and we should be seeing some excitement over the weekend. Now if only my damn WeatherBug would stop chirping. And the yellow balloon stop popping up. I hate those things - I click the X to close and it still pops up about a dozen times before it gets the hint that no means no.

I’ve been pretty active in the CD mix exchanges, may a little too active, but it’s been really fun. I’m just about ready to get my Cover Mix done, and Boyfriend is contributing to that one with his own mix. When I signed up for it and started getting stuff in, he was having as much fun with that one as I was (until an overwhelming amount of ‘angsty chick music’ started trickling in), but as we talked about it, there was just so much cool stuff that we felt should be included, so he’s making a mix for my imaginary internet friends too.

Another mix I’m working on is a theme mix - everyone in the group picks a theme and keeps it a secret until the CDs arrive in everyone’s mailbox. That one has also been a lot of fun. I had my theme picked up since I first signed up, and my CDs are due to go out in November. It’s not as clever as some of the themes I’ve been getting, but this past week I had a burst of inspiration, so I’m putting together some other themes and storing them away for future use. I’d send the newly thought up ones out, but I’m rather attached to my original mix, so I’ll start with that one. And for those who are wondering, I’m not going to reveal my theme here until I send the CDs out and people start receiving them, lest there be any ADLers reading my blog. So there.

Considering how much thought and effort I put into my mixes, and my music collection in general, I was kinda thinking of starting another blog dedicated to music, along with movies too. But as you can all see, time has been in very short supply these past months, and I really don’t see that letting up until, like, ever. In the meantime, I’ll try to do a much better job of linking to stuff I mention on Amazon, just in case any of you are interested in buying it. I might even get ambitious and go through my old posts and link stuff there too. If I end up doing that, I’ll announce a new category to make it all so easy for everyone to find the old stuff.

I’m not sure what we have planned for the weekend, but maybe, just maybe, you’ll be lucky enough to get another post before Monday. I know I certainly hope so!

Yes, please.

Boyfriend and I have been trying to save some money by not eating out as much. However, when the weekend rolls around we are usually out of the proper foods to make a meal and in no mood to go grocery shopping, so we end up eating out. Saturday night we opted for LoneStar Steakhouse. We’ve been there before, and I used to eat there a lot when I worked for Mad Scientist, and have never had a bad experience. Until now.

We ordered our drinks, the usual diet sodas. After more than a few minutes went by, we still had no sodas and I was starting to get the feeling that this was the wrong choice in food joints. A few seconds after I mentioned this to Boyfriend, the manager on duty came by and said they were having trouble with the CO₂ line on the diet soda and offered us something else to drink. We made our selections, and were also offered a free appetizer for our wait and inconvenience. Since we already ordered one, it was taken off our bill.

The server came around to take our dinner orders. Boyfriend placed his order, and I placed mine. I was ordering the Sweet Bourbon Salmon - a dish I had ordered many times before and have had good luck with. When I told the server what I wanted, she informed me that they cook it medium, and asked if that was ok. Excuse me? I told her that I wanted it cooked the way salmon is supposed to be cooked - all the way through. There are no degrees of done-ness with salmon - just raw, done, and leather. It should be cooked until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. After a few minutes of me making it perfectly clear that I wanted my fish COOKED and Boyfriend telling me to calm down, the server went to put our orders in. When our dinner arrived at the table, they asked me to cut into it to make sure it was the way I wanted it. It was not. My salmon was still translucent and a very different color on the inside. It finally came back a few minutes later, cooked properly and the manager on duty apologizing profusely and offering to take it off the bill. In the end, we only ended up paying for Boyfriend’s dinner and drink (I drank water). We also agreed that we would not be visiting LoneStar again for a long, long time if ever.

Now, I know that there are some fish varieties that do have degrees of done-ness. Sushi is one thing I refuse to eat. I don’t eat raw fish, and I don’t eat cold fish. Ahi tuna is another one that I’ve seen served rare - seared on the outside and raw in the middle. Again, not something I’ll eat. Until Saturday evening, I’ve never heard of salmon being cooked any other way than all the way. I have salmon quiet frequently at home and when eating out, and have never had it offered to me any other way than DONE. I did end up going to LoneStar’s website and letting them know how appalled I was at the restaurant offering undercooked seafood. I’ll probably get some coupons in the mail.

After the dinner debacle, Boyfriend and I went home to watch a movie. We ended up watching Dogma - one that I’ve never seen before but Boyfriend has. It was quite funny, but there was a lot to it. I’ll probably have to watch it a bunch more times to get a lot more of the jokes. Boyfriend says that being subjected to Catholic school as a kid helped him understand it more, and thinks that Catholics (current and former) will have a better understanding of the movie than Protestants and non-Christians. I myself am Lutheran but didn’t have a formal religious education growing up, but that’s a story for another time. In any case, a funny movie, some ice cream, and the company of Boyfriend at home were all that was needed to turn a bad outing into a good evening.

There’s a few things on my mind today that I’d like to rant about. So, here goes:

Public Bathrooms

I can only speak about these from a one-sided point of view, as I have never been desperate enough to use a men’s restroom, and I most certainly have not spent enough time in one to notice the peculiar habits that men have when using the restroom. So, this rant will apply to the ladies restroom only.

Why is it that women are soooo concerned with putting the little paper on the seat before they sit down? Even then, I still hear the grunts from women trying to balance as they hover over the seat, trying their darndest not to touch it with their ass. I know what they’re thinking. They’re afraid of germs. In some public bathrooms this is a valid concern - gas stations and a certain bus station in upstate New York that I once used out of sheer desperation and bad timing. But in most public restrooms, this isn’t a big deal. If there are droplets, just wipe them with some TP before sitting down. But a toilet seat is by far NOT the germiest thing you’ll come across in your day to day life. Ever wonder what’s hiding in your kitchen sponge - the one you clean baby’s highchair with?

Now, these same women who are so concerned with germs that they cannot let their bare asses touch a tissue paper covered toilet seat lest they be stricken ill with a mysterious, deadly disease are also the same women who faux-wash their hands when they are done. I can tell. I sit inside the stall and listen to you run the water for 3 seconds. Wetting your hands under cold water is not the same as washing them. I know you want out of this dirty, dirty place, but come on now. Use some fucking soap, and wash like your Momma taught you how. No wonder you all use a paper towel to open the door. Since none of you actually used soap to wash, the germs are all on your hands. At least you got that idea right - but you wouldn’t need to use the paper towel at all if everyone washed their hands properly.

Pet Causes

I’m not talking about causes for your pet. I’m not even talking about causes that people believe in for legitimate reasons. I’m talking about being obligated to support a cause. Why does something have to become my cause just because someone close to me was affected?

My Mom recently was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. She’s doing fine now, and as far as I know she will not need any further treatment besides more frequent screenings of her remaining bewb (she had her left one replaced with a faux bewb). I know my mom has been a bit upset at what appears to her to be a lack of concern, but Mom, nothing could be further from the truth. It scared the shit out of me. I dealt with it in my own way, but that way was not and is not plastering pink ribbons all over the place and trying to convince anyone who will listen that this is THE cause to be involved in. First of all, I hate pink. And I hate proselytizing. People aren’t going to become more aware of an issue just because someone else says so. They become more aware because they or someone close to them has been affected. So I make sure I get regular checkups and do my monthly self-test, which Boyfriend is more than happy to help out with.

Also in the same vein, having a cousin and a foster brother who are autistic does not make me want to put a multi-colored puzzle patterned ribbon on my car. WTF is that? Were all the other colors taken, so Autism Awareness just used them all? I’m aware of autism, and I’m aware of how both my cousin and my brother have very different needs. No one knows with any certainty what causes it, so all we can do is be aware. But again, people aren’t going to be aware unless it’s something that affects them personally in one way or another. As for other people who come across my cousin and brother, we just explain to them on an as needed basis (as in, not to every freaking person they come across) why they aren’t the same as you and me.

September 11

Today is the anniversary of the attacks. I suspect in a few more years it will be known as “World Trade Center Day” (totally forgetting that other locales were also affected), much in the way that December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day. But why oh why do I need to have television programs about that day on tv for a week before and after? Why is there nothing else to watch? They tell us not to forget. Believe me, I never will. The events of that day were seared into my brain with a branding iron. By why do I have to get all nostalgic and sad every September 11 for the rest of my days? Why the hell can’t I just live my life and have a decent day? If I want to go to a movie and laugh, what’s stopping me? Memorials are one thing, but every tv station showing documentaries about it and being looked at like I’m a terrorist because I don’t stop for the requsite moment of silence isn’t doing anyone any favors. It’s been impossible to forget on the other 364 days of the year. Going about my business as usual on this day doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten. It just means that I’m not letting it get the best of me.

The Hours in the Day

There just aren’t enough of them to go around. Seriously, 24? Is that all? Whose crummy idea was that? And who the heck came up with the 5 day workweek? Because it seriously cuts into my personal time.

Now that I’ve wasted your time, you can now return to your regularly scheduled programming, which has been pre-empted for the latest 9/11 documentary.

On Monday, Snoskred posted about Do Follow. I had been wondering about that, about which is better, because everyone who has an opinion on it thinks that their way is the best way. Basically, Do Follow/No Follow is about linky love and spam. Those who are Do Follow code their blogs so that when people leave comments, the search engine 8-legged things that go out and find links will find them. Those that are No Follow code so that the links aren’t findable (is that a word?) and they won’t get spam. I coded mine to be Do Follow long before I really knew what it was.

For those people who are really obsessed about their search engine ranking and how they rank on various social networking sites, they’ll want to be Do Follow. Snoskred’s friend Sephy has a post about how to do this. On the other hand, those who are so paranoid about spam that even with comment moderation and the silly word verification thing, they want to do everything possible to prevent even one iota of spam getting through to their comments. There are ways to do that too. If you’re on Blogger, don’t do anything, since your code is No Follow by default. The spambots can be overcome with simple comment moderation. I moderate, but I don’t do the word verification thingy. I hate it myself, so I don’t subject people to having to drink to see that straight enough to fill it in. But I moderate only because I want to know what’s going on my blog before everyone else does. Hey, it’s my blog and I can moderate it if I wanna.

Now, there’s more to this Do Follow/No Follow thing. Whenever someone new visits my blog, I like to visit theirs (if they leave me the means to) and see who they are. I’ve picked up many new blogging friends this way. It also give me a chance to reply in the most appropriate manner. Which brings me to…

You comment, I reply. As you may have noticed, I have been doing my best to reply to everyone who leaves a comment on my blog. The best way for me to do that is to comment on my own blog, so it becomes like a conversation. I don’t do it so much to increase my traffic or anything like that. I just think it’s a really nice thing to do. Someone is talking to me. I should at least acknowledge their contact, right?

The one thing that I’m kinda bad about is commenting on other people’s blogs. I don’t feel obligated to comment to every post every one in my feed writes. That’s a fast track to a full-time, very unproductive job - kind of like forwarding all that “forward this for good luck” crap I get in my inbox. I do try to comment at least every few posts, to let you know I’m still reading. When someone new comments on my blog, and I visit their blog, I don’t necessarily comment unless their blog and its content resonates enough with me to want to. Simple as that.

I enjoy blogging. I don’t decide whether or not to comment on someone’s blog based on their Do Follow/No Follow/iReply status. I only comment when I have something to say, simple as that. Also, at this point I’m not too concerned with rankings. I mean, if someone refuses to read my blog because I don’t have a Technorati rating star level 74 or something silly like that, well, I don’t need ‘em. But I do want to be a good blogger, that’s something that’s going to make me happy about my blog, so that’s what I’m gonna do.

Read more about the Do Follow movement here.
Read more about the iReply movement here.

Now, Snoskred, what do you know about the whole co.mments thing? Is it extra work to the point that I’m better off just trying to remember where I commented to see if people reply, or is it a Google Reader-like miracle?

Boyfriend and I went to the Hoover Dam earlier tonite to take some night photos. They came out pretty good, surprisingly enough. We’ve been having a bit of trouble since they keep coming out blurry, even on the tripod, but he finally got it to go (even if the remote control didn’t want to work). We couldn’t go on the dam since they don’t allow pedestrians after dark, so we had to take all the photos from the Arizona side. The parking lot on the Nevada side was closed; the Arizona side has roadside parking lots as opposed to the official parking garage on the Nevada side. I’ll post a couple later, once I get them uploaded. It’s a bit late now.

Snoskred gave me a mention on her blog, and also awarded me, along with everyone in her blogroll, the Nice Matters Award. My first blogging award! I found out where the award orginated - Bella-Enchanted created it not just because her blog friends rock, but because of the friendships that came out of blogging. So, in the true spirit of the award, I would like to give this award to all of my wonderful blogging friends. Please distribute it as you see fit.

I talked to my Gram today, to wish her a Happy Birthday. She’s really an amazing woman. I’m still wowed at the fact that she earned an engineering degree back in the 40’s! Anyway, as we were talking she mentioned that my nephew, Bubba, is taller than my cousin. Now, SportsCousin is 16 months older than Bubba, and was taller than me last year when I went home to visit - and at 5′8″ (172cm), I am not considered short at all. He’s looking forward to his next birthday so he can get his learner’s permit. But my little Bubba is taller than SportsCousin! I remember holding both of them when they were born. I was just about to graduate high school when SportsCousin was born, and was just about to start my second year of college when Bubba was born. I tell ya, they grow up so fast. Soon I’m gonna hear that they’re shaving.

Question: What does 01001011011010010111001001110011011101000110010101101110010011000011010001010111 mean?

Well, that’s the news for now. I’m up late because of the Labor Day holiday - I get an extra day to sleep in. Today was a lazy day, tomorrow is a busy day with brunch with friends then a party that, knowing our friends, will last until 2 or 3am, so having Monday off to recover will be great. But first, it’s time for bed. Good night!