The Working Woman's Soundtrack to Surviving the Rough Day

7 AM - Wake up call

 

9 AM - Walking into the Board Meeting

1:15 PM - But then the presentation falls flat

4:45 PM - Quittin' time is comin' late but ... I can do it even better in 'broken heels'.

7:15 PM - Lullaby for a Lover

If This Moment Had a Soundtrack

Monday.

This moment tells the tale of a mismatched pair...featuring some tight jeans.

Tuesday.

This moment is changing gears and changing attitudes.

Wednesday.

This moment of joy-inspired choreography (and Joseph Gordon Levitt) should happen every damn day.

Thursday. 

This moment marvels at the audacity of the entitled.

Friday.

This moment is scandalous and powerful.

Saturday.

This moment is all about a low key rhythm and a surprising sound.

Sunday.

This moment feels like Sunday.

If This Moment Had a Soundtrack

Monday.

This moment is infectious. Dance-around-your-living-room-sweet? Oh yes.

Tuesday.

"Run the world? Darling, didn't you know that I already am?"

Wednesday. 

This moment is inexplicably fun.

Thursday.

This moment pays homage to one of the greatest improvisational vocalists of our time.

Friday. 

This moment is for your inner rock star.

Saturday. 

 This moment is...unexpected.

Sunday.

This moment transports you to foreign shores (even if the video is less than pleasing).

If This Moment Had a Soundtrack

Monday.

This moment is bluesy and just a little bit ready to fight. Already aware that today's victor might not be you, you are content to wail your way into infamy. And to leave a bloody trail.

 

Tuesday. 

This moment is ambitious and tormented. Every decision is an opportunity for second guessing, for regret, for redemption.

Wednesday.

This moment is open. The world is merely voyeuristic and you are ready for the tactile.

Thursday.

This moment is brazen.

Friday.

This moment is heady, euphoric. A moment in "reckless abandon". A stop over in a week full of stop overs.

 

Saturday.

This moment is conquered. Tame the game, topple the players, and dance across the stage in celebration.

Sunday.

This moment is nostalgic. It is appreciation for every friend that has traveled the road with you.

Recipe for Recovery: Overcoming the Funk

I am not sure how most people deal with, what I call, the "uninspired" periods. 

Most of the time, I tolerate very little negativity or excuses for inactivity. But every now and then the funk creeps in. You know...when everything is going wrong, but in such rapid succession that the final straw is when ::gasp!:: your bobby pin falls down the sink drain!

Or you can't get the CD player to work.

Or you forget to check the mail.

Or you discover that TBS isn't going to play a Gary Marshall film, and your weekend plans are derailed.

Or you realize that you need to retie your shoelaces. Because, well, they aren't tied anymore?!

Or your phone rings and it is a telemarketer. Not your future spouse. Not your future dream boss. Not even the local radio station telling you that you have won lifetime tickets to see any artist of your choosing. 

Or you can't find a pen. Or you find one but want a pencil.

Or you just get irritated that there are people in the world breathing YOUR air!

And for any or all of these reasons, you immediately decide that you might as well buy 26 cats and start clipping coupons in an attempt to distract yourself from the failures of life. I mean, isn't that the obvious next step? Yes, very dramatic. Quite possibly very unstable. But everyone has that day and at least once a year.  

I combat this phenomenon in the most simple way you can imagine. I revert to teenage me activities and go back to an inspired time!

A:I start reading through all of my favorite novels from high school (890 pg in 3 days!). B: I start watching favorite film clips on Youtube (during my reading breaks). C: Generally, I also start planning European vacations. D: I begin practicing French sporadically and with gusto! E: Maroon 5 and KT Tunstall begin a repeat performance pattern on my iPod.

Recipe for Battling Malaise & Apathy (a.k.a.What I have been doing the last 3 days...)

A        Archangel - My single exception to the no-sci fy rule! I can't help it!

+

B       I have rediscovered pirate treasure in The Goonies and relearned Ariel's "Ode to Hoarding" song.

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C       I have charted trains and hostels through Prague, Budapest and Berlin. Must learn German...

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D       Francophones and anglophiles please treat yourself to Mr. Eddie Izzard's brilliance HERE!

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E       I now constantly hum "Sunday Morning", which really IS an amazing song. ::sigh::

Don't Bet on Philip Seymour Hoffman

"I own every soundtrack EVER made! Mwua-haha!"

I believe that any movie, regardless of its plot lines or the quality of acting, can be tolerated or celebrated if there is an intriguing soundtrack. Among the  universally acknowledged  "great" or "generation defining" films, I doubt many people will disagree.

Look at Forrest Gump--I would categorize this as one of the "greats". It is brilliant period film, with good acting, eccentric and impossible characters, and yet what most people love are not those very "critically hailed" qualities*, but the grand scenes accompanied by music; Forrest runs across the nation to "Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne, Jenny perches dangerously on the edge of her hotel balcony to Skynrd's southern anthem "Freebird", CCR's "Fortunate Son" growls and strains as the helicopter lands Forrest and Bubba in the Vietnamese landscape.  So many memories for the viewing audience! I anticipate the music and the moments every time I watch it, even getting mildly upset if I ralize I have missed one of my favorite transitional music moments.

*[Ok, and we also love the one liners delivered earnestly by Forrest, with that adorable charm that only Tom Hanks can channel. And Lieutenant Dan! But none of this is relevant to my argument!]

In the second category, or the "generation defining" group, I am going to pay homage to a John Hughes project: Pretty in Pink. Predictable? Well, maybe. Thought I would choose The Breakfast Club? I thought about it. But I can easily and concisely demonstrate my point with PIP. Hughes, more so in his post-mortem acclaim than ever before, has been hailed as the visionary who understood the psyche of high school youth living in 80s America. I won't speak to that--I just know that everyone of my friends who were old enough to see the film back in the day still stop on TBS when it is running! When I watch Two and a Half Men, Alan is not Alan; he is Ducky and he is seeking "Tenderness" in a small little record store, to the subject of his unrequited love. When I think 80s prom, I see Molly Ringwald and James Spader is completely different scenarios, one terrified the other brooding, as OMD's "If You Leave" strikes its infectious melody. So, there you have it--two examples of my grand point!

::ends with a grand flourish of gestures, fairly similar to that of a circus ringmaster::

Examples of tolerance for the simple sake of music? Um, Anchorman? I hate that movie, but "Afternoon Delight" was a genius selection! Just as genius as the instrumental compliment to that scene in The Patriot, where Mel returns to his unit flying the American flag repaired by his recently fallen son? I struggle to admit it, but I cry everytime. Sap. Ugh.

Disagree with everything so far? Well, then stop reading, because frankly I don't feel like addressing any comments about the soundness of my logic. This is subjective and you need not feel an obligation to agree; but that obligatory comment is now made, and I am still right. So, let's move on.

One of my all time favorite films is Almost Famous. I can't even tell you why. Do I love faux bio-pics, and watching rock n' roll musicians engage in all their glorious shenanigans? Of course! Who doesn't?! And is Billy Crudup beautiful in the movie, despite his attempts to ugly it up with that beaver growing on his upper lip? Um, yes. Um, correction: absolutely yes. Is the writing fast, tense, witty, and the direction/cinematography nearly perfect? Yes. But all that together would only put the film in my top 20. And Jane Campion's The Piano, in which music replaces language as the primary mode of communication as well as currency (uh...a bit scandalous, fair warning), would be ranked higher. The thing that sends Almost Famous over the bar and into "fantastic" is the relationship developed between the storyline and the MUSIC. Remember the scene in which the band mates of Stillwater are fighting (yet again), and the tension on the tour bus becomes so palpable that silence seems a secondary character? Then, in spontaneity and genuine appreciation, the  groups begins to slowly harmonize the lyrics of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer"? The first time I saw that scene, I just smiled. Widely, unapologetically, and with honest sympathy--we have all been there. In the right setting, a song can change our perspective on a situation and set its tone. I saw the characters, who were so in love with the lifestyle of the musician, and fully participating in a culture of changing attitudes and inclusion within America (also, debauchery, but that is another mini-essay), as realistic. That was the only moment in the whole film, where I completely forgot about the storyline and yet somehow still felt connected with the personalities and emotions of the characters.

Obviously, this is an easy movie to target: it is a film about musicians, caught in the process of making music, and relying on historical music tracks to supplement the story. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays an enigmatic Lester Bangs, and his love letter to rock n'roll is so earnestly delivered, you have to wonder if the actor wishes he were Lester Bangs. So, yes I am cheating. But my point stands!

All of this is culminating in a very silly, simple observation. [What do you want from me? The disclaimer to the right TELLS you I am verbose!] I rented Pirate Radio, another film with Phillip Seymour Hoffman--the surly, hairy version...not to be confused with the Capote verison. In my head, I recognized a vibe that I thought would be similar to AF: it focused on the musical decade just before AF, and contained some very odd actors (Bill Nyhe, anyone?). I wanted to watch, enjoy some tunes, hope for something cathartic in the storyline, and just have a night in. Well...

The soundtrack is fantastic. A perfect compliment to the tale, which follows a ship-bound radio crew of the coast of the UK, playing rock n' roll and pushing the on-air censor limits during the mid 1960s. In fact, it would be easier to count the actors' lines than it would be to count the number of songs featured. Again, easy target. A film about the genesis of rock radio made for music lovers?! This is too easy! BUT, here is the major deviation point! Are you paying attention again?! Here comes the point (you knew if you kept reading that it would show up eventually):

This movie wasn't really good.  It didn't really hold my attention. It had some very funny moments, a la groupies and inexperienced ship mates, and when I looked up to find a Titanic-esque SINKING scene, I had to do a double take and get reinvested! Unfortunately, Hoffman, you are no DiCaprio. Or Billy Zane for that matter. But you are a hero in this one! And I cheered when [SPOILER] you made it to the surface in a rush! of waves and the roaring of various percussion instruments! Ha!

No, what it had was good listening. I could blog, work on some plans for future internships, think about grant deadlines, think about fundraising strategies...and so on, and so forth. I was multi-tasking. And yet I never turned the film off. It was tolerable because it had such a great soundtrack. A story was being communicated without even watching the film.



Australians Make Bluegrass...well, that is new?

I consider myself mildly cultured; I don't assume that stereotypes are always accurate (i.e. that people who like country ARE country), but I respect the fact that they exist for a reason. If it didn't have a high prevalence rate, then it probably wouldn't be a part of the collective set of "probable truths." An example: techies are smart. When was the last time you met someone who has attended a LAN party in his youth, and that person wasn't a competent sort of fellow? Point made.

Back to the topic at hand: I have traveled; I have a nice array of books (stop snickering friends: understatement is necessary here!), and I think they provide some insight into the world we live in, and the diverse people and attitudes that make it up. All of this together makes me feel pretty good about myself! ::little grin of contentment:: But then, a new combination of characteristics pops up and surprises you! And it forces you to recognize how very little you can predict the ebb and flow of popular culture.

Example(s):
Appreciation of Lady Gaga's Meat Dress
Cowboy Madonna
The phenomenon that is Dancing with the Stars
The effects of Space Jam on an entire generation of my peers (I still have that soundtrack on tape...)
Japanese culture's obsession with Paris Hilton

Ok, these are admittedly very extreme examples. But they explain the "idea" of what I am getting at. Smoosh two things that you think are in direct opposition with one another together...and you get something that has some incredible lasting power. As it turns out, I was just WAY out of the loop and there is a whole culture dedicated to "newgrass". Both in the States and among the Aussies ::sheepish blush of ignorance::

I was the very appreciative recipient of some comp tickets to see a recent performance by the Australian native band, The Greencards. They were free, it was at an adorable outdoor venue (interpret as tiny), and I thought, "Sure. I never go to concerts anymore. It could be fun! And because I am always working, let's network!" How silly of me. I was not prepared  for the musicianship that confronted me; the trio of Aussies and an American (the fiddler was MIA!) controlled their instruments with an incomparable grace and competency. Not only were the strains haunting, lively, and impossibly complex by turns, but the band members were so well synced that the impromptu "battles" between guitar and mandolin seemed a natural extension of the melodies. It wasn't until the sweat was dripping from foreheads and the mandolin player cursed at a missed chord that anyone in the audience knew that we were privy to a friendly display of competition.



Mandolin, Kym Warner; Bass, Carol Young; Guitar, Carl Miner; Fiddle, Tylar Andal (missing)

The venue was intimate, and so the performance was intimate. But the lead singer was a dear, and she quite literally fostered a conversation with the audience. I think the die hard supporters were actually directing the song choice at one point (but as a new listener to the progressive blue grass and observer of the band's kinetic energy, I just can't be sure). The Greencards are now independent artists; once supported by a label that helped foster their popularity, the band apparently chose to seek fan support and creative license in order to make the music they so loved. And while I cannot support the idea of a "lonely island" all of the time--after all, the desire to stand alone or defend one's territory in my professional field is the quickest way to lose a war by "attrition"--in this case, I am thrilled with their decision. Sisterita and I have listened to the album 3 times in quick succession. And when payday comes...can we say purchase plan?

Highlights of the Brick by Brick album:
Tale of Kangario, Loving You is the Only Way to Fly, Heart Fixer

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