lotusbiosm | Entries tagged with music

You should make more musicals.
Seriously.
Taye Diggs and Audra McDonald on a show together and there's not even one scene of her singing a lullaby or anything? And Idina Menzel is married to Taye Diggs, so it would be easy to get her to guest star...

Also, I've never forgiven you for the fact that Jesse L Martin (seriously, that man's got pipes to die for) and Jerry Orbach were on a show together and there was no singing. Or even any backstage singing footage. I'm not asking for Cop Rock or anything, just a little "Once More With Feeling."

Also, imdb and ibdb need to combine forces so that I can get all the info at once- tons of people do both Broadway and Hollywood (Bernadette Peters, Carol Burnett, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher, Scott Bakula, I could go on)

Warning- it will get stuck in your head.

We Believe (in Barack Obama) by the Hush Sound

Generally, I prefer my Creative MP3 player to the iPod in terms of user interface, but that may just be because of familiarity. I also prefer it because you can transfer things from the player to your computer, whereas with an iPod you can't. But one thing the iPod has that the Creative doesn't is an option to sort by composer. Now, a lot of people say "who cares" because if it's Bach you just make that the artist and play it that way. But I like to have both. That way I can listen to a bunch of Cole Porter but still know who's singing it, so if I just want to listen to Frank Sinatra, that's available too.
Anyway, yesterday morning I created a playlist on the iPod of Harold Arlen, Lenard Bernstein, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George & Ira Gerswhin, and a bunch of other great American Broadway composers. Now, because I haven't added any of my music to the iPod yet, it's all my Dad's which means that there's a little less Sondheim than they're ought to be, and a lot of it is instrumental (I really prefer to be able to sing along). But, it was the perfect mix for yesterday, where we were crazy busy at work, and the weather was gorgeous, if a touch too warm for April. Walking home, I passed under some Cherry Blossom trees as the meeting music from West Side Story played (you know the part where they're all at the dance, and "Mambo" is playing, and then Tony and Maria meet, and the music changes to that pretty ballet-like bit, and the world falls away around them). It was so perfectly complimentary to the flowers and new leaves on the trees.
As I was heading back out, to meet J and R for the evening, "Make our Garden Grow" was playing, and it was like something from a movie. There's this path I take that's got a canopy of trees, and in the late afternoon sun and through the lenses of my sunglasses, the trees had this magical quality. The music was swelling and I could hear the birds through it, and it was so pretty. I love when that happens.

Also, I found it hilarious that it kept playing the same songs by different artists back to back. First, "S'wonderful" as sung by Sarah Vaughn, and then the same song by Joe Williams (whom I adore). Later, "Come Rain or Come Shine", first by Ella, then again by Joe Williams. I love when "random" does that.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough- Diana Ross
Ain't No Mountain High Enough- Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing- Marvin Gaye
All I Want is You- U2
As Long as You're Mine- Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz (from Wicked)
Beyond the Sea- Bobby Darin
A Bushel and a Peck- (Tina Marie DeLeone- from Guys and Dolls, Revival Cast)
Can't Help Falling in Love With You- Elvis Presley
Come What May- Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor (from Moulin Rouge)
Cupid- Sam Cooke
El Tango de Roxanne- Ewan McGregor, Jose Feliciano and Jacek Koman (from Moulin Rouge)
Fell in Love- Moxy Fruvous
Fever- Peggy Lee
Fly- Moxy Fruvous
For Once in My Life- Stevie Wonder
Ghost- Indigo Girls
God Only Knows - Manhattan Transfer (because I don't have the Beach Boys original)
Guess Things Happen that Way- Johnny Cash
Hallelujah I Love Her So- Ray Charles
I Believe in You- Frank Sinatra
I Get a Kick Out of You- Frank Sinatra
I Wanna Be Around- Frank Sinatra
I Will Survive- Donna Summer
I Wish You Love- Frank Sinatra
I'd Give It All For You- Andrea Burns and Brooks Ashmanskas (from Songs for a New World)
If I Had $1,000,000- Barenaked Ladies
If I Were a Bell- Josie DeGuzman (Guys and Dolls Revival Cast)
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me- The Temptations and Diana Ross and the Supremes
I'm Not That Girl- Idina Menzel (from Wicked)
Irresistible You- Bobby Darin
It Doesn't Matter- Alison Krauss and Union Station
It's De-Lovely- Robbie Williams
I Quit- Hepburn
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For- U2
Jackson- Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)- The Temptations
Let It Be Me- Everly Brothers
Let's Get It On- Marvin Gaye
Love Rescue Me- U2
More (Theme from Mondo Cane)- Frank Sinatra
My Cherie Amour- Stevie Wonder
No No Raja- Moxy Fruvous
Nobody Makes a Pass at Me- from Pins and Needles
Overjoyed- Stevie Wonder
Peel Me a Grape- Diana Krall
Power of Two- Indigo Girls
Rest in Peace- James Marsters (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling)
She Cries- Brooks Ashmanskas (from Songs for a New World)
Someday my Prince Will Come- from Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
Stay- Sweet Honey in the Rock
There's a Fine, Fine Line- Stephanie D'Abruzzo (from Avenue Q)
To Make You Feel My Love- Billy Joel
Under Your Spell- Amber Benson (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling)
Wild Horses- The Sundays
You Don't Know Me- Ray Charles
You're the Top- Patty LuPone and Howard McGillin (from Anything Goes, Revival Cast)

My parents came down on Friday, and I met them in their hotel after I got out of work. I'll be so glad when training is over- it's annoying.
As always, they brought me some good stuff. My She-Ra lunch box, which I realize is supremely dorky, but it's also very retro, and I love it. Plus, no one will mistake it for their lunch. The thermos doesn't hold much, but since it's got water in it for now, that's ok. Also cloth shopping bags for groceries, and my Mom bought me a bunch of bath/shower stuff, including bubble bath. And a very nice new black skirt that is velvety and twirly at the same time. I walked home from their hotel in the skirt, my black Docs, and my shirt from work. I also took the wine and brie and crackers that the hotel gave them.
Saturday we went to the Phillips Collection. Then back to my place so they could see it, and we exchanged computers. I've had my Dad's laptop for the past few months while mine got repaired. Then we went to a very nice dinner in the hotel and hung out being silly for a little while. Sunday we went to church (I was singing, one of the reasons they came), and then to Georgetown for brunch.
Today, my computer decided that it didn't want to start windows, which sucked. I had to reset it to factory settings using the system restore disks that came with it. And this is after I downloaded a bunch of programs yesterday. But it's ok, because I'm fairly certain that I backed up all the documents I might want, and definitely all my pictures. And all my songs are on my mp3 player, and I have the disks for that and my digital camera. I need to re-acquire the software that lets me log onto GW's wireless network, but that's easy enough to do. Google has a very handy thing, called "Googlepack" that includes a whole bunch of google software, like Google Earth and Desktop search, as well as Firefox, Norton Anti-Virus, AdAware, and Trillian. So I got a huge amount of functionality restored from one download. Because Google is fantastic, and I happily await the day when they rule the world.
On a completely unrelated note, I made a playlist today of music to listen to before church. It takes me about 30 minutes to get to church, so I take my mp3 player, and I like to listen to church-y music. If any of my dear readers have some appropriate music (and I know you do) that they'd like to share with me, I'd be very grateful.
Watching ice dancing on tv now, and then time for sleeping.

Current Music: olympic ice dancing

Well, that's what Dale calls it. I'm of mixed feelings. I think you shouldn't need a card store to remind you to tell people that you care, and I know how frustrating it is to be single when everything becomes about couples. I also know the stupid pressures the day puts on people in couples to buy things and make a big deal. And the conflation of a weird image of a Roman god and a Catholic saint's day is amusing (really, the story of Cupid and Psyche would be no where near as good if Cupid was a little cherubic thing).

But, for your amusement, I provide you with my ideal V-Day playlists. Including songs about long-distance love, unrequited love, and break-up songs, as well as mushy-gushy love songs. If you're curious to hear any of them, I'll gladly send you a file to preview, but I'll be out all day on Tuesday. This doesn't come any where close to being the full range of love songs I have available to me, they're just some of my favorites.

( mushy-gushy )
( break up )
( unrequited love )
( long-distance love )

Current Mood: loved

~ I'm not telling you this one. When I use lyrics from new/obscure songs, I'll educate you. Songs like this, that are older than most of my readers, you have to guess. At the end of the year, the person w/ the most right guesses will get... something.

I took my entire CD collection to work today, as I was getting sick of listening to the same cds over and over, no matter how good they are. Listened to the "Once More With Feeling" CD, and had very inappropriate workday thoughts about Giles and Spike. Then I listened to Newsies and had inappropriate thoughts about Christian Bale.*edit: They were also inappropriate thoughts to be having before 9 AM.

Ok, this in random, but who invented the butterfly stroke? It's like the least efficient swimming storke in the world. What is it good for aside from racing? Nothing, as far as I can tell. It's energy intensive and doesn't get you nearly as far as you should go for that much energy. (Which is a good way to define inefficient). (I'm watching the Olympics, if you couldn't guess) The backstroke, now that's a quality stroke (plus now it's the men, and althetic boys w/o shirts. mmmm And they don't wear those tiny speedos anymore, which I'm a fan of.)

Anyway, work is boring and dull, but goes by quickly. I ennabled the sound card on the computer last week and moved the CPU so that I can put CDs in it more easily and so that the headphones reach from the computer to my head. Typing in numbers and updating account info isn't very concentration intense, but when you listen to good music, it's suprising how much you get done and how quickly the day passes. And using the comp. means I'm not eating batteries up like crazy. So that's that.

After work, I went to the gym. It was time for my monthly weight/measurement check. I haven't lost any weight, but I have supposedly lost inches (which I believe, I can see/feel it). But, my bust has apparently grown in the two months I've been going to Curves. I don't need that to grow. It's probably got to do w/ building pec muscles and maybe not sagging enough and slight differences in placement of the tape and body parts (different bras and whatnot) but still. Of course, I haven't been eating well, and I've missed a bunch of workouts lately b/c of the apt. hunting. So, whatever.

Then, after dinner, Dad and I went shopping. I got a bed in a bag set, sheets (soooo soft, I want clothes made out of them) lamps, towels, and a mattress pad. With the excception of the mattress pad, everything is of course, in shades of blue. The towels and one set of sheets are being washed as we speak, and then will be packed away to go onto the new bed.

Speaking of beds, the boy's living arrangements in Italy apparently don't allow overnight guests. Which I kinda get, but that's annoying, a) b/c they're adults and b) b/c now I can't crash at his place if/when I go visit. Oh well. We'l figure something out....

I think that's it for now. Just watching the Olympics and hanging out.

Mild revision on the butterfly. I hate swimming it, and think it's useless, but I think that the fact that the camera moves while the swimmers move makes it look even less efficient than it is, b/c you don't see how much progress each stroke makes. And it's partly based on the way dolphins swim, and they're mammals and aqautic, so copying them should make sense... Whatever.

</rant> One last rant. From a Budweiser commercial. Why in the name of all that is logical and holy would you drink Budweiser (American Budweiser) while in Europe? Why pay for what is imported beer over there, where they actually make good beer to drink lousy American beer, and advertise to everyone that you are a stupid American w/ no taste? Half the point of Europe is the good alchohol that is cheaper than soda. The other half is the cool art/architecture/history and whatnot. And parts are the awesome chocolate and the good public transit. Ok. </rant>