6 posts tagged “qotd”
What's the oldest article of clothing you own? Bonus points if you show us a photo!
If by this you mean the oldest piece of clothing that is mine and worn by me (not antique clothing), then it would have to be my giant blue sweatshirt from high school - it's a Coconut Joe sweatshirt.
It's the only piece I have left. I would have had more but I had a zen-like purging of my closet not long ago, getting rid of cheating boyfriend's concert shirts and other assorted items from decades ago. Never mind that it's all just crap taking up space, who needs to look at stuff and be reminded of how shitty people can be?
Considering I was wearing maternity clothes right up until a few years ago (and my kids are no longer babies) then it's pretty embarrassing to even admit having saved this ancient stuff in the first place. I have new clothes now, I've lost a huge amount of weight, and I'm happy to rid my house of bad juju from people who do not wish you well. And in this new house my closet is a walk-in and HUUUUGE, so no need to have anything bouncing around in there that I don't want to see. Even my storage areas are happy places :)
Would you ever want to be a model? Why or why not?
I actually was a model. Once. It was such a terrible experience that I refused to ever do it again.
I got to dress in all sorts of really neat clothes, but it was the kind of show where the models walked among the seated guests. And these guests simply reached out and touched the clothes, ostensibly for rubbing thumb and forefinger against the fabric to check out texture and content, but it was creepy as all hell. I had no warning at all, they never spoke, there were just hands clutching at me and I was uncharmingly yanked back as if I were a trophy fish, free to move again only when they released me. My instructions were to mingle throughout the room and keep my eyes lifted above everyone, and for God's sake, smile. It was like walking through a forest in the dark, where the trees reached out and grabbed you. I absolutely hated it -- their quietly snide comments, their scrutiny, their unseen hands snatching at me, my skinny teenage body being used as a way to sell someone's overly priced merchandise.
I finished the gig and I got the hell out of there and I never looked back. I was asked to model many more times after that (well before I got chubby from having my kids, during my long-gone days as a flat-chested rake). I don't care what the money was like or how many cool clothes I could have collected, or any of the other things that could be said about the career - I only remember their eyes, and how I felt so lonely avoiding the look in them, and how disgustingly edible their scrutiny made me feel.
I'm much, much happier being a programming, classical-music composing, plump nerd than I ever could have been as a clothes pimp. I am 100% sure on that one. I'm glad there are people out there who do it, and I'd be happier still to know that they enjoy it, but that is one career that is just not for me.
Today is Repeat Day, so we want to know: what song do you have currently have on repeat? Bonus points if you share it with us!
This morning as I drove into work I put my iPod on "Mystery Meat", which basically means I scorn any pre-made playlist I've made and just set it to "Songs". It's the first time I've done so in a very long time and I didn't even skip over any that came up. I was treated to Beastie Boys, Francois Dompierre, a few of my own songs (out of the hundreds I have loaded two of my own came up, probably as a reminder to clear them out), Andy Bell, The Ramones, and Flight of the Conchords. Then Stewart Copeland's (officially Klark Kent's) "Away From Home" came on. I've heard it LOTS of times, probably more times than my kids could stand hearing it. At my house, my Blackberry doesn't ring... my kids say, "Mum! Your phone is making that Stewart Copeland sound!" But I hadn't heard this particular song lately as I have two of his other ones on my favourite playlist instead, and for some reason this morning, it was like I was hearing this song for the first time.
I was laughing hysterically, so much so that I think the car behind me was calling the men in white jackets with giant nets. And I had previously passed her because she'd almost gone right off the road, so you know SHE wasn't in her right mind to begin with, so who was she to judge?
Anyway, I'm huge into the bonus points thing (even though they mean nothing) because I'm a big nerd and need all sorts of external approval, so I've uploaded it to share. I'm not sure it you'll find it as entertaining as I did -- certainly not enough for me to want you to cause any car accidents -- but it's an awesome track and fun to listen to while sipping locally-roasted coffee and trying not to eyeball some death rays at fellow commuters.
[ if you got here through one of my tags but didn't find what you were looking for... this is the explanation why ]
It's really very simple.
Being a writer is a shitty job. People think that writers should just write for the pleasure of it, and therefore writing is a job they won't pay you for. Not true. People think they can just sit down and decide one day to be a writer. Not bloody likely. People also think they can control what other people write. You can't.
I've always said that if you know a writer, you will eventually find yourself in one of Mork's reports back to Orson.
Does Mork care if you are in the report? Nope. Does Orson think it's wrong for people to interfere with Mork filing his report? Hell, yes.
So I'm going to admit it. I'm sick to death of the scrutiny. Quite frankly, I'm embarrassed for you -- that you think you have the right to control the things I say, what I do, what I think, and what I write about. I'm tired of feigning respect for, and continuing to smile and nod at, the people who just want to judge me. Worse: when they communicate these judgments to me and then expect me to change to fit their ideas.
I'm taking my control back. Here's what I've left for you: your scrutiny, your judgments, and your ideas. You can have them. They are, after all, just yours. I've never shared them.
This is not my first VOX blog post. I've moved almost everything into
"neighbourhood only" so that I can select who sees what, and when. How's that for showing some lady balls? I hope you aren't feeling threatened. All I'm doing is living my own life. Which is, like it or lump it, the life of a writer.
If you need access to one of my previous posts, whether through a Google search or a link that one of my friends has shared, just message or contact me, and I'll hook you up.
If you could perform alongside any artist (actor, dancer, musician, etc.), who would it be, and what would you perform?
Submitted by Kristin.
There are three songwriter/composer -type people I'm hoping to work with someday.
The first one is Stewart Copeland. Right now there's this little matter of a huge reunion tour with the Police, but his "day job" is writing soundtracks for film. He's used to having all of his fingers in the pie, like me (writing, playing, singing, producing, etc.) and the more I listen to what he's already done, the more I believe we could come up with some wicked magic stuff together. I suppose that performance-wise, I'd like something big and classical, with violins and piano and a big horn section, and of course some heavy artillery. I think a lot of harmony would be in order, as well as many different layers of whatever we can jam in there that sounds good.
Danny Elfman, of course, is the talented dude behind the Simpsons theme song, and half of the coolness you'll find in Tim Burton movies. I didn't know about him until someone compared my songs to his, and they are indeed very much in the same style and sound similar. I don't know if he'd want to work with someone who isn't much different than he is, though. Also I haven't gotten any phone calls from Tim Burton, asking if I'll score his movies. Still... it would be fantastic to collaborate with him someday. Even if he'll just let me watch his spooky choir in action :)
Three other people I'd love to work with: Jack Lenz (a Canadian songwriter who has worked on many and varied projects, like Nanalan' and The Passion of the Christ), and Rachel Portman (UK soundtrack artist for many of my favourite films from the 90s -- Road to Wellville, Cider House Rules, Beloved, Home Fries, etc.). Mitch Girio has been a hero of mine since I first met him, and though we did collaborate together on one song, it was done long-distance.
I'd give my -- actually, I don't know what I could say here that would fully explain what I'd do, give, kill, or die for -- just to work with these talented and impressively awesome people. I know it's been said that living out a fantasy is never as fun as you imagined, but in this case... I know it would be even better than I imagined.
As an added bonus, since we are talking about partners in the spotlight, here's a song that Mike Southern (formerly of King Apparatus) and I wrote together:
What are the 10 most memorable music performances you've seen? (Remember, "memorable" may not be good.)
Submitted by Bill.
I think every music performance I've seen has given me thrills. And I mean major, major thrills. I remember being a little kid and going to the high school to see their band play, and while everyone else was chatting and poking each other, I was just in raptures. If you could mainline concerts, I'd be an addict for sure.
1) High School production of Oklahoma!
I was in the eighth grade, about 13 years old. The whole town was talking about the good looking headbanger who took the lead role of Curly. He stole the show. He stole my heart. And although I didn't know it, the man who was to be my husband was playing percussion for that musical.
2) Depeche Mode (with Nitzer Ebb opening)
My very first major concert. We got to Pine Knob and I was hugely dehydrated. I was with my first boyfriend, who is English and a DM fan from the word go, and my friend Anne-Marie and her boyfriend. I remember the funny smelling cigarettes and thinking they just smelled like American cigarettes (yes, I was very sheltered). Nitzer Ebb was really fab, but... oh my... you know what happens to you when your favourite band gets on stage. Pine Knob is an open-air venue, and 'Shmode played while the sun set... the sky behind them was red and orange. It was so incredible. My ears rang for days. And I went to work the next day in a regular shirt, because my friends believed that it was just so WRONG to wear a tour shirt at all the day after the concert.
3) The Forgotten Rebels with the Ramones
I saw these two bands in one night at a small, small bar in London (Ontario). It was as incredible and dream-like as you're thinking. The Rebs were trying to regain their youth again (and in their position, who wouldn't?) by talking sexy and looking really lame for it, but we laughed and secretly rolled our eyes at each other and screamed like rabid fans, and they seemed to be happy enough with that. I had to stay out of the mosh pit because I hadn't worn my Docs, so I got hiked up onto the bar to sit, and one of the Ramones stared at me the whole concert, never mind which one. I moved around constantly to keep him from doing that because my boyfriend was furious with me for getting looked at, but he searched me out every time. I was too young to even think that it wasn't my fault, to have someone else look at me, but my boyfriend locked me in the car when we stopped at the convenience store when everyone else got out, and screamed at me about it. Other than that, great time. I also remember something about several jokes with the same punchline... "mighty presumptious of you"... but that could be a different thing altogether.
4) Erasure, Phantasmagorical tour
To know these guys is to love them. I went with my husband (who was "just" my boyfriend at the time) and he thought it was a freakshow. They started the show with a big swan cart moving out to center stage, and Andy in a dress and boa and his capital-V Voice. Eventually they pulled out the big guns, though: a small tractor with Ontario plates (ERASHR I believe it was!) carrying keyboards and Vince... Abba songs... and yes, dancing naked men in chaps. At which point the first act was done and we were sent off to do what people do during intermission, and to be honest the dancing naked men in chaps is not something you ever think could be *followed*. Smike wanted to leave but I said no way and he stayed, and thank God he did because it was right after that that he got it. He got the show, and enjoyed it, huge. One other thing I remember about this one is that I danced like a crazy person and sang (these guys know *harmony*, you just cannot NOT sing) while everyone just stood up and watched... except for this one guy behind us who danced too.
5) Depeche Mode, again
The concert was memorable only because I went with my former boyfriend, who told everyone we were back together, even though I had made it clear that would NEVER happen, and I was living with Smike at the time. Also because I got to see my friend Stephanie, and drive my new car to Windsor and the states. I don't remember much else about the concert except that we were off to the left, and there were a lot of screens with stuff on them that were pretty cool. There was no Bondage Angel this time, but you know, only one concert can be your first.
6) The Wolfgang Press
This was an unbelievable soak with serendipity. Smike and I went to see them, and when we went into the theatre we took the balcony stairs. Right after we got up there, security closed them off. So we had a private balcony viewing of this really great band, which was hugely romantic, and also quite fun.
7) Billy Joel and Elton John
You would have to be a moron of some sort to not understand what it's like to see two such huge mega giant superstar idol legends play together. I went with my friend, Mike, who got me tickets to go for my birthday. So a bunch of us, Mike and I and a vanload of strangers, drove up to the Sky Dome in Toronto. And guess what? The seats we had were on this horrible angle. It felt like you were going to fall, right straight down a thousand feet to the very ground, parting everyone's hair in front of you with your body as you fell. It was so terrifying I started to cry, which was mortifying, but Mike and this very nice couple got me out of there right away. The Sky Dome staff came over to us as we left, and... yes... gave us floor tickets. So we saw those very huge talents with their double pianos right in front of us. They were so close that Elton's many and varied latex suits looked like they were very shiny garbage bags. Don't tell him I said that.
8) King Apparatus
Ska band with a Juno, thank you very much. Very talented group of guys with the kind of music and lyrics that everyone loves. I saw them with Smike when they did their big reunion tour a few years back, after I'd just had a baby (and amazingly my old figure back). Thanks to Mitch (Girio, of King Kong Girio fame) we are always put on the guest list, and getting to run around backstage to see them is a great highlight of any concert. But the music... man... endlessly powerful, party-intense, and ska-riffic. King Apparatus baby, comin' atcher ear...
9) The Artichokes
Two things: Juggling potatoes, and the band offered everyone some of their fresh-baked bread. How could someone NOT find that memorable? Lee's Palace, Toronto (with Karen and Smike) and again on the guest list.
10) The Orchard
Drastic call from the twins: Smike, can you come play drums for us at our gig? Sure, why not. Dawn, the singer, wore a wedding dress she'd bought from a second-hand store. And me... well... I got to hear a song I'd written performed live :)
This summer my husband and I are going to see the Police (yep, neither you nor I are dreaming... I did indeed say the Police). Every so often, I remember we're going and I freak out a tiny bit.
If you go, I'll be the one with my eyes rolled back in my head, looking like I snorted guitar solos like coke, and sighing orgasmically.
