I wonder if I take you home ...

Here's just a little peek inside our house:

At 11:30 PM tonight, Dollie and I sat in the living room hysterically crying. She, at some certainly monumental and touching moment in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And me at a lady butchering the lyrics to "Uptown Girl" on "The Singing Bee." Mine was of the laughing-so-hard-I'm-wheezing type, which certainly makes me mentally unstable (in case you're keeping track).

Also, there will be more entries in my top 100, but I spent last week trying to dig myself out of a pit of despair, and I'll spend this week shopping, gambling and drinking, so I'll update when I can. Please stop the incessant begging.

Oh yes, and to give you a visual, please consult this video. Coincidentally, I am wearing the same pink outfit as Lisa Lisa right this minute. And Dollie is rocking the Full Force headgear and doing the dance — while reading her book! She is amazing.

100 Greatest Songs - Exhibit 2

Today, I present "Smothered in Hugs," because my sunshine fund is low and because it seems an appropriate send off for the lovely Matt Cullen.

I hated this song when I first heard it, along with everything on Bee Thousand, an album so painfully low-fi that it smacked of a rich kid slumming. Seriously, unless you're living in a cave and recording with rocks, there's no reason for an album to sound that bad.

But a musician whom I love and trust couldn't believe I didn't like the record. "Not even 'Smothered in Hugs?' " he asked. "You'd love that song."

Ugh. No. Why would I love that song?

So he sang the why for me right there.

"I believe you/ No need for further questioning/ I'm gonna leave with you/ You can teach me all you know."

Of course, he was right.

mog.com

More about this song

Share

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd put Guided by Voices on my 100 greatest list, but I made the decision a year or two ago, long after that big jerk opened my eyes. It took me time to admit it, but this song is something special.

100 Greatest Songs - Exhibit 1

As noted last week, I'm collecting songs that I have deemed among the greatest ever and posting them here for in no particular order. I do this for kicks, for posterity, to be productive and to share the love.

"Creep" by TLC

The greatness of this song inspires me to be greater. The chorus? Killer. The verses? Perfect. The breakdown? Transcendent. And the production? Whoa.

Just this morning, I was marveling over how clean the production is. I would have surgery in it. Tape the song off the radio onto an old Winger cassette single (after taping over the "do not tape over" holes, of course), leave it in a hot car for six months and play it on a boombox with blown speakers and the song still sounds pristine. It is that perfect.

But even more gorgeous that the trunk-tight (Oh yes, Fresh!) production is the song itself. I don't know how I lived without it until 1994. It makes my heart sing. It sounds like a miracle. Plus it is all T-Boz (AKA all cool -- Crazy, Sexy or Cool? There's no doubt what I'd pick) and redefines "astray" in a way that truly makes one go "hmm."

Perfect moments:

Yes, it's deadly from go, with the horn and the "Yes, it's me again." A minute in, you know exactly what's going on. You don't know how fun it is going to be to get there, but that's the magic.

1:54: I keep giving love until the day he pushes me away.

2:06 Whoo!

3:58 Oh I, Oh I, Oh I-high!

Listen up.

mog.com

More about this song

Share

everything's the way it should be, I suppose

Last night I saw Travis, just two weeks shy of 10 years since I first saw them (at Brownies. Yes, I'm awesome).

The show was great. I really like the new album quite a bit (and I've only really liked Good Feeling — which STILL holds up on a roadtrip — and The Man Who, so that's saying something), that Demetri Martin "Selfish Jean" video is far more entertaining live, and remembering to scream at Dougie's verse in "Turn" came right back to me like I last did it yesterday.

Plus they played two old timey songs for old timers like me, "Good Feeling" and "All I Want to Do Is Rock."

They didn't (and they wouldn't, but they have done — I have the November '97 setlist to prove) play "Hazy Shades of Gold," so I'll play that for you now. It's a B-side from 1997, featured on the "U 16 Girls" single. Because Travis keep putting out super light and poppy songs for your Nana (I love light and poppy songs and Nanas, of course), you might forget that they started out with a rock record. "Hazy Shades of Gold" is a good example of it.

It's rough and magical, and includes the gorgeous "Dougie, get back. DOUGIE! Get back! Thanks!" (at 1:07) moment (something about Fran needing to see the drummer during recording? I don't remember now, but I have our interview on tape somewhere). Someday, perhaps you'll see that. For now, instead, you can hear this.

mog.com

More about this song

Share

what a girl wants, what a girl needs

There's one lady who always knows what to bring and how to bring it. And when it's Xavier Boyer, the time is always right.

Thanks to a gift from this wonderful woman, I have been ferociously enjoying the Axe Riverboy album (when I'm not watching Fabrice Fabrice over and over — seriously, what is wrong with me?)

Anyway, back to the glorious Xavier. If you like wonderful songs and/or beautiful boys, you should watch this immediately. You're welcome.

I can do this now, and I have insulted you

I famously (seriously, did Nick Kroll observe my behavior at a bar one night and create Fabrice Fabrice, or is this all a coincidence? And is it wrong that I have a tremendous crush on a fictional character who bears a striking resemblance to myself drunk — well, except the clothes. whoa. — because I totally do. Last night was like a dream, really.)

Anyway, I famously (whatever, I'm still saying it) like to profess, when people are discussing a song that I like (often to talk about hating it, that really gets me going) that the song is on my top 100 greatest songs of all time list.

Which often leads people to ask what #1 is. My answer is generally, "I don't know. Also, shut up."

But yes, I have a feeling I've said this about far more than 100 songs, and I will never be able to rank them at all, but I've decided to start a project here (in association with my MOG page), wherein I begin to take stock of these pronouncements.

Why? Well, I am unemployed and alone all day (um, what do people do in NYC besides work and shop? Because since I'm not doing one, I can't do the other) and it would be nice if I had some body of work to show for my time. And I'm starting to say "This is clearly on my top 100 greatest songs of all time list" to myself. Not OK.

We're starting Monday. Get ready and get into it.

they've only got one

Henrik has re-signed. Hallelujah!

To celebrate, here is a nice video for a not-bad Sloan song. (Though, as the lovely and talented Lola has noted, the "or maybe TWO!" at the end almost ruins it all).

Oh, and THIS ... is awesome.

you wore that to your wedding?

How was my week? Well, I'm not drunk and yet I just started crying laughing at this Andy Milonakis segment. Whoa. Seriously, though, the "Do you Herbie Johnson take this lovely wife ... to be your lawfully wedded wife" part is pretty flipping hilarious. And then when he throws the water? Awesome.

don't take it personal

I had another memorable dream. Two of them. And they were way better than the stupid Sloan/ Korn one, though both were tied to work.

In one, it was my last day of work, and some IT person was running off a report of my computer, noting all the things I looked at that I shouldn't (as if I had any time for that during the day!) and as I was like, "Whatever, F- you guys," someone (with whom I do not work in real life) said, "Jane, I'd like you to meet ..." and before they could get "... Henrik Lundqvist" out I'd attached myself to the lovely goalie, never to be parted.

Then in another one, someone I really do work with told someone else in the office that I had a crush on him (gee, thanks). While this was more realistic (it was the real people, and I really do have a -- foolish, terrible -- crush on the one guy), it wasn't scarily so. For one thing, Sha doesn't know, so it isn't like he could tell the guy. Also, even if he did know, I believe he would never sell out a Queens girl like that. The best part of the dream? The crush guy, upon learning this news, took off his pants -- in the office. But no, even that isn't the best part. The BEST PART is that when he did that I said, "Really, you should put your pants back on. It's not that serious."

"It's not that serious"! Amazing. Best line ever.

I am having an exausting week. I have been cosmically clowned, and it has made me not want to do anything, not even dance with the gays. What a bummer.