art is the new religion

Guitar Hero Roadies

This is why we won't delay for your birthday

Today is my birfday!

I started the morning off right with Cut Copy:

I arrived to work to find cards and a treat on my desk.  I had a delicious lunch with some of my coworkers, and have eaten two desserts already today.  I got many nice birthday wishes via Twitter, and was spontaneously serenaded in English and in French.  Tonight, libations will be consumed.  I love my friends and coworkers.

Check out the frosting-to-cupcake ratio here:

The waiting is the hardest part

I had some videos to show you, but they're on my other laptop which refuses to accept the ethernet cable from my Comcast hookup.  So those videos will have to wait.

Speaking of waiting, I've been waiting all afternoon for the ReloCubeTM to show up.  They gave me a delivery window of 12noon to 4pm.  When it finally got here at 3:18pm, I wanted to hug the driver.  (I did not hug the driver.)

Note that the NO PARKING signs worked! 

Now I'm waiting for the movers to get here so they can unpack it.  The movers are one hour and twenty minutes late.

I've been thinking about songs with the word "wait" in them.  So many good ones:

• "Wait" White Lion
• "Waiting For A Girl Like You" Foreigner
• "Waiting For My Man" Velvet Underground

Here's an excellent one from Tom.  I think the simple style of this video has stood the test of time.

Leave your favorite waiting songs in the comments.

• Buy Tom Petty's phenomenal album Hard Promises (mp3) from Amazon. 
  

Moving Blog: Update #5

I taped this at my friend's house where I'm staying in San Francisco.  I hope my ghostly pallor does not frighten you - I balanced my digital camera on a window sill.

CIMG1259_xvid from http://krissy.vox.com/

Jet is not my dog, unfortunately.

Speaking of dogs, my friends Andy (I mentioned him in my post about KGSR) and Kris got a new rescue dog, Maybelline.  They brought her along to brunch in Austin this past Saturday.  She is so sweet and cute that I almost stole her.  Maybelline has one good eye, and she does just fine, thankyouverymuch.

A partial list of things that I packed in boxes, that I wish I had brought with me in my suitcases:

• sweaters
• fingernail clippers (I like to keep my fingernails as short as possible)
  
• gloves
• more pairs of knee socks
• a scarf
• a hammer

I ain't no pleasure hound

Every time I hear the phrase "Cinco De Mayo", I hear this song in my head. 

• If you want to own "Cinco De Mayo", you'll have to buy the album Whip-Smart, but if you only own one Liz Phair record, please do yourself a favor and buy the excellent Exile in Guyville.

Moving Blog: Update #4 - I sold my car!

I. Sold. My. Car.

CIMG1252_xvid from http://krissy.vox.com/

For some reason the audio gets off kilter with the video toward the end.  Sorry about that, of course I have no idea what's causing it or how I could fix it!

Catch up with prior moving vlog installments:

• Update #1
• Update #2
• Update #3

The ReloCubeTM:

In Richard's convertible:

I mentioned Chad's band, but I forgot the part about how I saw peacocks today:

Happy No Pants Day, everyone!

Moving Blog: Update #3 - the pod is here!

I'm madly packing the remainder of my worldly possessions, but I paused long enough to record this update for you:

CIMG1181_xvid from http://krissy.vox.com/

The movers will be here tomorrow at 9am!!

 

Red Shirt Woman drove us to drink.  Not literally.

** The accidents my car has been in were not my fault.  I swear.

Moving Blog: Update #2

Here's my update from last night.  I spent a fair amount of time learning about formats and compression and video file sizes earlier today - the learning never ends!  (Thank you Steve and Anil.)  I am still an amateur though.  Don't start expecting "editing" or "production values" to enter into the picture.

CIMG1179_xvid from http://krissy.vox.com/

I uploaded this video to Vox which meant it loaded much, much faster than Vimeo, but there are no stats and part of the video is cut off due to the layout of my blog.  So, if you watch this, please comment!  I know how you prefer to IM me or text me to tell me you watched, but you can comment, I know you can.

Killer Flute Solo

One day last week I woke up with a song in my head and I didn't know who it was by.  Which meant I had to research it and then tell you about it.

It started with the chorus "It's gonna take a lotta love..." streaming through my head immediately upon waking.  Google told me that "Lotta Love" was sung by Nicolette Larson, no one you or I have ever heard of (correction, reader Chris says she's a known entity.  Sorry, Chris).  Yes, it's a cover of Neil Young's original, but hers was the version that was inexplicably stuck in my head.

And of course, YouTube has the video!  In this one, Nicolette is rocking a, um, natural personal style -- somewhat of a cross between Crystal Gayle and a woman that might be rescued from a cult's compound in the middle of Texas.  She's young and pretty and slightly unkempt, and therefore a perfect candidate for a makeover.  The flute solo in this song kills me:

I noticed there was a "live" version of the song (hint: it's not live) on YouTube as well.  Here, the makeover dream has come true, and she has upgraded the hired guns in her band as well.  The flute/sax player looks like a member of Kajagoogoo, which I suppose was a good thing at the time.

Nicolette had a nice career as a backing vocalist in the '70s and '80s, working with Emmylou, Willie Nelson, The Doobie Brothers, Jimmy Buffett and many more.  According to Wikipedia, she was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best New Artist in 1979.  Sadly, Nicolette passed away in December 1997, but she left a nice legacy behind.

So as not to end this post on a sad note, and to give me any excuse to talk about Heart, here's a bonus video featuring a killer flute solo.  Ann breaks into a staggering, jazzy flute solo about two minutes in.  The stage wear in this video is also a sight to behold, especially the corset/vest thing worn by the bass player.  Stay tuned to four minutes in when Roger plays his electric guitar with a violin bow.

• Related reading:  Don't look down, just look up where I explore the backing vocal career of Marilyn Martin, via her duet with Phil Collins

Weekend Update

Just when I thought that getting older meant getting more set in my ways, especially for someone as stubborn as myself, things changed.  I'm about to move across the country for the fourth time, back to San Francisco, which I never thought I would do.  And having to do something I never thought I would do is, for some reason, making me reconsider other things on my Never list.  Like selling my car or living without a television.  (Right, we're not to the skydiving level yet.)

One of my Nevers is sharing personal stuff on the internets.  I just feel like the downside is too risky.  But on the other hand, nobody's reading this really, except for all the people googling Steve Perry.  So, on Friday I was feeling stir-crazy and messing about with my digital camera, and the thought occurred to me to make a video diary of my move.  Here's my first installment.

Moving Blog from Krissy T on Vimeo.

In a way it's quicker than writing out a post (no linking! no editing! no photos!) but then uploading the video took forEVer.  That part might be a dealbreaker.  I reserve the right to delete this video and discontinue at any time.  But if this is halfway interesting to my friends who are watching, I'll continue.  You just let me know.

Frankly, I'm not sure I'll have much to say on video in the future.  It's still all about writing and music.  In fact, in the long run I think my video blog would end up looking a lot like this*:

Oh, young Michael McDonald...

* There's a Nicolette Larson post in the queue, oh yes!  Sit tight!